5 Reasons to Go Away for Christmas
When I was younger, I remember watching Home Alone and wondering how the family could possibly be traveling for Christmas. Granted, I grew up with not much money so that kind of travel was out of the realm of reality in my life. However, just the idea of going out of town on Christmas baffled me. Now that I am an adult, I am highly considering taking a vacation for the holiday and seeing what kind of new memories we can make as a family. Why? Well there are several reasons I am considering it, but after going back and forth with it, I have found that there are some really great reason to leave.
If you are contemplating too, here are 5 reasons to go away for Christmas:
- Less family drama. I’ll be honest. Less family drama is one of the reasons that I am thinking about taking a vacation for the holidays. How nice does it sound to not have to deal with the typical family drama that comes with those family gatherings?
- Less focus on gifts. I love the idea of making Christmas less about stuff and more about experiences. What better way to do that than to create a wonderful experience out of the holiday itself?
- New memories. How nice will it be to create brand new memories for your family? I love creating memories with my kids year round, so to do it in such a grand way would be amazing.
- Christmas will be about your family. Tradition is great and family can be wonderful, but sometimes traditions need to be switched up. It may be time to create new traditions for your own family for your children to look back on fondly.
- Christmas can last longer. A weeklong vacation lasts longer than just your typical one day holiday celebration. Don’t you remember being a kid and being bummed when Christmas ended? Who doesn’t want Christmas to last longer?
5 Reasons to Choose Experience Gifts over Regular Gifts
What gifts are you planning on buying for your kids or spouse this year? If it’s just another toy, gadget or pair of socks, you may want to reconsider. Think about it for a bit. How many toys do your kids have socked away in their rooms that they haven’t even touched in months? Is that what you want to spend your hard earned money on? My guess is no. So, instead of filling up your house with more stuff, why not consider spending it on experience instead?
If you haven’t thought much about experience gifts, maybe you should start. Here are 5 reasons to choose experience gifts over regular gifts this year.
- It’s unique. People give material gifts all the time so, while we all appreciate receiving these gifts, they are not unique at all. Getting the gift of an experience is not that common and people are excited by the adventure.
- It’s more personal. If you are looking for a gift for a music lover, what do you think would be a better gift. A standard gift basket or tickets to a concert that they have been wanting to see? I would say the concert because you know that it fits in with their interests and sometimes a concert is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
- Memories last a lifetime. Memories can last a lifetime, whereas the newest gadget might last 6 months or a year. I would go with the lifetime choice.
- Something that you can do together. Okay, so you may be tempted to buy your teenager the newest iPhone, but the truth is, you aren’t going to be spending much time together in that situation. They will be busy staring at their phone. Instead, choose an experience that you can do together as a family and spend more time bonding.
5 Christmas Gifts that Cost you Almost Nothing
How many Christmas’ have you celebrated as an adult? How many of those Christmas’ have been stressful? I’m going to go out on a limb and say a lot of them probably have. The holidays are stressful. Part of the stress comes just from the business of the holiday season, part comes from family (let’s face it, not everyone looks forward to those family gatherings), and last but most definitely not least is the financial aspect of needing to buy gifts for everyone on your list.
Let’s work on making the financial part of it less stressful this year. We can do that by focusing on spending less money on those gifts that stress you out so badly.
Here are 5 Christmas gifts that cost you almost nothing that you can get to help ease your budget this year:
- Photo Prints. Walgreens often offers free or cheap 8×10 photo enlargements. On several occasions I have used these to get prints made for gifts for the grandparents. I will buy a dollar store or cheap Walmart frame to go with it and it has always been a hit.
- Cards. Why not skip gifts altogether and just buy Christmas cards? I always take advantage of coupon code deals and score personalized cards for $0.50 or less each. Which is quite cheap for a gift.
- Baked goods. Bring me a plate of cookies and you have my heart. Seriously. I would way rather get baked goods than most any other gifts. Plus, I know you made it with love.
- Sugar Scrub. These are awesome gifts and can be super cheap! You can make them with sugar and coconut oil, plus essential oils. Or, you can make them with sugar and dish soap as well. So cheap!
No gift at all. C’mon, we are all adults here. We understand that budgets are sometimes stretched too thin. Sometimes it’s okay to chat with the other adults in the family and call off gift giving for the adults.
5 More People That You Should Be Buying A Christmas Gift For
Have you created your list yet? You know, the list of all of the people that you need to shop for this holiday season? I know you have included your kids and your parents. Possibly your siblings and definitely your in laws. Nieces and nephews have probably made the list. And whoever you have drawn for in your workplace gift drawing. But is that is? Or, can you think of some other people that you should add to that list? I find myself every year scrambling to get gifts for several people that I always forget to add to my list so I have decided to create a outside list so that i can look through it each year and decide if these people should be added. If you finding yourself in the same conundrum each year as well, feel free to take a look:
Here is a list of 5 More People That You Should Be Buying A Christmas Gift For:
- Mail delivery person. If you are like me, you do a lot of your Christmas shopping online which means that your mail person has been hard at work delivering your purchases. Why not buy them a little gift such as a $5 Coffee Shop Gift Card. It will make their day!
- Your supervisor at work. Okay, some may call it brownnosing, but I call it networking. It’s always good to stay on the boss’ good side. Why not leave a little gift on their desk to let them know you appreciate them.
- Your kids’ teacher. Teachers work hard every year. Make sure they know that they are not forgotten during the holidays. I prefer buying gift cards for these as I’m sure teachers don’t have endless space for gifts each and every year, but that is a personal preference.
- Neighbor. I have a neighbor that delivers baked goods to me each and every year for the last 8 years and I moved 4 years ago! They never forget about our family, so I have made it a rule to never forget about theirs.
- Relatives in a nursing home. Please don’t forget about the relatives that you have that may be in a nursing home. Nursing home residents get lonely, especially during the holidays. You might also consider bringing gifts to nursing home residents that don’t have family that visits.
25 Activities for Your Christmas Advent Calendar
Do you have a Christmas Advent Calendar? We do, and my kids absolutely love it. As soon as they wake up, they head straight to the calendar to see what’s inside. Each day holds a piece of paper with either a service idea or an activity that we will do on that day. It’s a fun way to get the kids in the Christmas spirit. If you don’t have an Advent Calendar, no worries! Just grab a Santa hat or stocking and write up these 25 different activities. Then each morning have the kids take turns and draw one out. Here are 25 ideas that are super simple, yet fun. Hopefully these will help you out!
- Read a Christmas book and snuggle.
- Make Christmas cards for grandparents and send it in the mail (Even if they live close by!).
- Learn a new Christmas carol and sing it to a neighbor.
- Make hot chocolate and sit next to the Christmas tree. Share your favorite Christmas memories.
- Make and decorate gingerbread houses.
- Find a local Assisted Living Center near you and visit older folks. You can even prepare songs to sing or bring a small gift.
- Get in your pajamas and go for a Christmas Lights Drive.
- Write a letter to Santa (You may even have a place where they take Santa’s letters near you- if so, drop them off).
- Christmas craft day (homemade ornaments, finger paint snowmen, paint a star- add glitter).
- Invite friends, find a new hill and go sledding/tubing.
- Attend a local Sing Along event.
- Earn money by doing chores or service and go on a Salvation Army hunt. Go find a Salvation Army bell ringer at your local stores and drop your money inside.
- Make paper snowflakes then hang them around your home.
- Make popcorn and watch your favorite Christmas movie.
- Draw names and write a kind note to that person. Put them in the stockings for Christmas morning.
- Invite a few families over and have a snowball fight (You can make forts and get into teams as well).
- Make a Christmas countdown paper chain.
- Host a Cookie Swap- Invite friends who each bring a dozen cookies and the recipe. Then swap cookies so you have some of each.
- Make a playlist with your favorite Christmas songs, wear Santa hats or ugly sweaters and have a dance party.
- Give to a charity- Angel Tree or other organizations you may have near by.
- Shop for a new Christmas ornament that represents your year.
- Take a family picture with ugly holiday sweaters and hats.
- Call or Skype with family members that live far away and sing Christmas carols to them.
- Be a Secret Elf- find a way to serve each member in your family without getting caught.
- Read the story of Christmas – Luke 2: 1-20.
Awesome Slow Cooker Hacks You Might Not Have Known!
If you’re like me when fall comes around I pull out my slow cooker more! I love having dinner ready when we got home from dance or after piano lessons. But I’m traditional and don’t venture too far when it comes to using my crock pot! So this fall, it’s going to be different and you can join in too! Checkout these awesome ways you can use your slow cooker!
- Line Your Crock Pot with foil for easy clean up – I hope you guys have seen the crock pot lines they sell and we often see deals for but if you’re in a pinch and you’ve ran out, grab your foil and line your crock pot to save on clean up.
- Warm Some Potpourri Inside your crock pot – this will make your home smell like the holidays without having to turn the oven on and heat your potpourri there. I love this tip since we’re giving out potpourri as neighbor gifts this year 😉
- Use your crock pot as a humidifier – two kids are down with a cold and you only have one humidifier. No worries, you can use your crock pot. Just fill your pot about ¾ full with water and cover. Turn on high and let it go for an hour. Then let the moisture escape into the air. Please make sure you don’t let the pot run when there’s nothing in to. Just add room-temperature water as needed.
- Keep your Thanksgiving side dishes warm in the crock pot – we only have a couple more weeks until it Thanksgiving! This is a great way to free up some space on the store while still keeping your food warm! Great for mashed potatoes, green beans, etc.
- Brown your meat before cooking in the slow cooker – ever wondered why most recipes tell you to brown your meat? This locks the flavors inside giving you more flavorful and tender meat.
- Change any recipe into a slow cooker recipe – there are lots of ideas for different slow cooker recipes out there but maybe your family has a favorite you’ve only cooked in the conventional oven. You can convert your recipe into a slow cooker recipe, just add about ½ more liquid to most recipes (water or broth) and change your cooking time (you can find time suggestions on pinterest or by googling it)
I hope you guys enjoy your day in the kitchen today with family and those you love and are able to use these tips for cooking in your crock pot no matter what time of year you pull it out.
5 Things to Do with Your Kids While They are Off This Week
The holidays are officially upon us! That means that the kids will be home from school. So, what do you plan on doing while they are off. I’m sure you want to do more than just sitting in front of the TV (no judgment if that is what you want to do, my kids are home and doing that exact thing as I type). If you want to get the kids out of the rut of just sitting around though, there are some awesome things that you can do with them while they are off this week.
Here is a list that I put together of 5 things that you can do with your kids during their break:
- Do holiday crafts. You can have a ton of fun doing crafts for Thanksgiving or Christmas! There are so many options that you can do such as painting, woodworking, DIY gifts, etc. My kids, for example, are making a fleece tie sleeping bag for their cousin’s Christmas gift while they are home for their Thanksgiving break.
- Go to the movies. Many people use the holiday break to head out to the big screen. I have family members that only watch movies during these breaks. Be sure to check our website for deals and discounts on trips to the theater.
- Visit local Christmas light displays. The Christmas light displays are starting! Get the kids, make some cocoa and head out on to enjoy a warm cocoa treat while viewing some awesomely fun light displays. We do this every year and the kids always look forward to it.
- Game time. Break out those board games that have been collecting dust all year long and have some family game time together. Turn off your phones and use this fun time to bond with those you love the most. Your kids will have a blast. Game times were always among the best times for me as a child. How about you?
- Go for a walk. There is nothing more refreshing than a nice walk in the crisp fall air. Doing so with the family will help you to burn off those extra holiday calories, plus it gives you a good opportunity to have nice time to catch up with your family.
How to Tolerate Your Family this Holiday
With the holidays coming up, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with the idea of spending too much time with family that you may not love being around at the time. As sad as it is, sometimes family causes a lot of unnecessary stress and drama to your life. Whether it is because of situations that have occurred in the past or because of conflicting personalities, the holidays can go smoothly when you follow these tips on how to tolerate your family this holiday.
- Don’t take it personally. If you have a family member that criticizes you or puts down your life or your actions, try your best to not take it personally. Honestly, if someone has so much time on their hands that they can think about how flawed you are, then they are obviously doing something wrong in their life. Just brush it off.
- Have a plan. Make a plan for yourself to get to the holiday celebration at a certain time and leave at a certain time. If you can see the end zone, it is much easier to get through it.
- Don’t mention touchy subjects. Whether it is politics or something else, sometimes it is wise to not bring up subjects that you know will start a disagreement. You can’t be in control of the topics that others bring up, but you can be in charge of what you do. Make sure that you keep things on a neutral plain.
- Don’t go. If your relationship with your family is that bad, choose to stay home. Sometimes the stress is simply not worth it. You may have some hurt feelings at the beginning, but you will save yourself a lot of stress in the end. Nothing says you can’t go to the next gathering, but we all need a break sometimes.
Tips on How to Keep Kids Entertained this Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is next week! It’s a great holiday full of food, football, games and relaxation. However, this holiday can be hard for little kids, which often makes it hard on the parents. There are some fun ways to keep your kiddos entertained throughout the day and even the actual dinner to keep everyone happy. Here are a few ideas:
- Make your own place mat. This is as easy as card stock and laminating them. You can have a variety of cut outs to make this fun. You can check out this idea here.
- Use paper table clothes. For the kids table put paper butcher paper as the table cloth. Then put washable markers or crayons there for the kids to draw on while the kids are waiting for dinner.
- Be prepared and plan activities. If you have a plan for Thanksgiving day then it will run a little more smoothly. Some fun activities could be scavenger hunts, puzzles, and play-doh, Some kind of game plan is so worth it.
- Kid friendly dessert. If your kids are like mine, they do not like pie. Dessert time can be a little dramatic but it doesn’t have to be. Think of some kind of dessert the little kids could look forward to having.
- Kid friendly movie. To finish off your day have either a Thanksgiving or Christmas movie ready for the family to watch. By the end of the night it’s so nice to relax and have a show to watch.
7 Days of Gratitude! Prepare Your Family For Thanksgiving!
We’re a week away and although I’m sure you’ve been thinking about what you’ll be cooking and making sure you have all the ingredients don’t forget the real meaning behind Thanksgiving. I have a great way you can prepare your family and self to think outside the box and find things you’re grateful for.
Dinner time is the best time in our house to talk about anything and everything. It’s a great time for us to really think about what we’re thankful for. We usually hear the same things with our little ones like, family, friends, our pet dog, food, etc. but here’s some questions you can ask to get them thinking.
- What smells are you grateful for today?
- What sounds are you grateful for today?
- What place are you most grateful for?
- What holiday are you grateful for?
- What abilities are you grateful for?
- What knowledge are you grateful for?
- What song are you most grateful for?
- What technology are you grateful for?
- What in nature are you grateful for?
- What book are you most grateful for?
- What taste are you grateful for today?
- What sight are you grateful for today?
- What memory are you grateful for?
- What story are you grateful for?
- What tradition are you grateful for?
These are just a few to get you going. Another great option if your family has a hard time getting to sit down for dinner is take a picture of things your grateful for. Or have the kids answer the above questions in a collage. But get them to think and realize how much they have to be grateful for that they might take for granted everyday.
What can you do if you don’t have money for Christmas?
Christmas is coming up soon. Are you ready? Do you have money set aside to buy Christmas gifts and to travel to wherever you need to travel to? Even if you said no to these questions, you can still have a great holiday! Let’s go over the things that you can do if you don’t have money for Christmas.
So, what can you do if you don’t have money for Christmas? Well, here are some tips for you:
- Baked goods. Study your pantry and see what kind of baked goods you can make to gift. Banana breads, cookies, cakes, pies. All of these make delicious gift that almost anyone would enjoy receiving. In the past, I have actually made homemade maple syrup (4 ingredients and 10 minutes) and presented it in a mason jar and it was very well received.
- Offer your services. Maybe present a babysitting offer to your family or friends that have young children. Housesitting, petsitting and housecleaning are other options.
- Sell your unused stuff. Do you have clothes or items around your house that you no longer need? Why not put them up for sale. Some of your items might just be what someone else is looking for for their Christmas shopping.
- Do odd jobs. Post an offer on an online marketplace for babysitting or housekeeping services to earn a little bit of extra money to use for gifts. There are countless side jobs out there that people need help with that could help you boost your Christmas budget.
- Go gift free. Who says you have to buy anything? Use the holidays to spend time with your family and frieds without worrying about spending money that you don’t have. Christmas should be about these times spend with loved ones. It should not be spent worried about finances and being stressed out.
5 Tips for Getting More Out of Your Time
Do you find yourself floundering each day, trying to figure out how to get everything done? When you find yourself constantly juggling between your spouse, your children, housework, work days and the various activities you likely do in between, it can be hard to feel like you are getting the most out of your time.
If you are like me and could really benefit from learning some ideas that might help you make the most of your time, check out these 5 tips.
- Wake up earlier. Wake up earlier and get stuff done in the quiet hours. I know I have talked about this before, but I have been able to accomplish so much stuff just by waking up earlier than my family. I love the quiet of the early morning hours, plus those hours seem to be my most productive anyway.
- Schedule it. Buy a planner or use your phone or computer. Either way, there are tons of options available as far as a calendar goes. Make use of them and start scheduling your to-do items.
- Delegate. Put those kids to work! Ok, we don’t have to go all drill sergeant, but seriously, not everything is on you, be willing to accept help and require it from your family members.
- Take on fewer tasks. Learn to say no to things that you don’t have time for. You are not a superhero, you are not responsible for everything. It’s okay to say no and to let others step up every once in a while.
- Relax. You really need to set aside some time to just relax. If you don’t allow yourself to recharge, you will find yourself run down.
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Tips on How to Save the Most During Black Friday 2017
This year Black Friday ads are already popping up, are you ready? It may be a little overwhelming on where to shop and how to get the best deals when there are SO many out there. Here is a list of tips on how to save the most during your Black Friday shopping.
- Make a list. You can’t start your shopping unless you know what you are shopping for. Have your whole family write down their lists as well. Be sure to include gifts you need to buy for in-laws and neighbors. Once your list is written down, you are ready to shop!
- Compare Stores for Best Deals. This is the overwhelming part, but have no fear. Freebies2Deals will be posting their Best of the Best Black Friday deals soon where you have all those hots items compared with the BEST price listed. This way you won’t have to take the time comparing each store!
- Use store cards to access EARLY Black Friday Deals. Almost every store has their own credit/debit card. During Black Friday you can typically save more with those cards. For example, Target this year is giving REDcard holders get early access to select Black Friday deals on Target.com on 11/22 which is the Wednesday BEFORE Thanksgiving. So that’s definitely a plus. If you don’t have a Target REDcard you can apply for one now.
- Watch for Amazon Lightning Deals. These are HOT and so fun! Amazon has deals that are set to go live at pre-determined times, which means you can look ahead to see when they will go live and then add specific deals to your “Watched Deals” category. You can bookmark this page for ALL Lightning deals. Plus, if you are an Amazon Prime Member you can get early access to most Lightening Deals. This gives you 30 extra minutes to shop the deal before the general public can shop it. If you aren’t an Amazon Prime Member, you can get a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime here.
- Use Coupon Codes to Save More. Be sure to check the main page of each store when you are shopping for extra ways to save money. There might be coupon codes that will give you extra percentages off.
- Take Advantage of FREE Shipping. During Black Friday you shouldn’t have to pay for shipping. So watch for coupon codes on stores main pages or purchase minimums. Most stores will be offering FREE shipping anyway, but just be careful you aren’t paying any extra for that. Every cent counts!
- Be Quick! You’ve probably experienced Black Friday where you have all of the items in your cart, just to find out that when you check out half of your items are already out of stock. That can be frustrating! There are limited number of items for just about every Black Friday deal. So, when you are online and ready to purchase your items, be quick and check out fast.
Simple Service Ideas You Can Do This Season!
It’s that time of year again when we start to think about the things we’re grateful for and maybe the things we have that others just aren’t as fortunate to have. We’re finding ways to give and serve those around us individually and as a family. Here are some simple ways you can serve others with just a few minutes of your time.
- Donate your clothing and toys – this is a great time of year to go through what you have and what you can no longer wear or play with. Pack them up and share them with those at a local charity.
- Babysit for free – we all want a night off why not give that to someone this time of year. Find a single mom or a couple who needs to go on a date night and offer to babysit for free.
- Bake goodies for neighbors – it doesn’t just have to be Christmas when you share goodies with your neighbors. Get the family together and bake your favorite treat. Then take some around to your neighbors.
- Do a service scavenger hunt – put together simple service ideas you can do for different neighbors/family members. Then you can go as a family house to house or make teams and have a race. Even make a bingo card with this same concept and see who can complete their first.
- Write letters – send some to grandparents, military, law enforcement, widows and more. They’ll love the thought and receiving these.
- Make gifts for children hospital – checkout your local hospital and see if you can put together some fun crafts, toys or more for them to play with while cooped up. Make some necklaces with beads and buttons or get creative with the falling leaves.
- Clean the neighborhood – have someone who’s busy and struggles keeping up with the yard or isn’t in the best of health. Help them out and get a little yard work down for them. With winter coming it will feel good to have the leave racked up, grass mowed down and flower ready for the snow.
Does your family have service projects you like to do together? Leave a comment letting us know what service you’ve done together as a family or service that’s been done for you.