Hello, all you beautiful people ;)
Well, it's December. And man, did it get here fast?!
I love Christmas time. I love everything about it. Well, there might be one thing I'm not that fond of. I'm not crazy about all the money that we spend at Christmas time. Buying gifts alone is a struggle here at our house. Let's face it....holiday fun can be expensive, especially when you have kids.
Last year, we went on a "Polar Express" train ride. While it was fun, it cost $30 per adult and $20 per child....not to mention the extra cost if you wanted the "hot chocolate" package and the gift shop (filled with toys and such) that was conveniently located where the hot chocolate and snacks were. That's really expensive for a few hours of fun.
If we let it, commercialism can take over the holidays. I thought I'd share a couple of ideas and traditions for holiday fun that won't break the bank.
1. Drive around your town and look for Christmas lights. Or better yet, walk around your community if possible. We do this all the time! We make a game out of it......who can spot the lights first. We also bought some holiday specks a couple of years ago that we love using when doing this. They look like 3-D glasses and it makes all the lights look like snowflakes, Santa heads, reindeer heads, and snowmen. They are very cool :)
2. Turn on the Christmas tunes and color with your kids. My son and I do this a lot. You can buy Christmas coloring books very cheap at the dollar store and you can't beat the quality time that you are spending together. I have some very fond memories of doing this with my mom as a child. Funny how, as a child, I begged for toys at Christmas and now....I don't hardly remember a single toy I got for Christmas. I remember the memories. Material things will come and go, memories last a life time.
3. Bake cookies or build a Gingerbread House. Kids LOVE helping bake and decorate cookies! We bought a Gingerbread train kit this year and I can't wait for us to do it. My son is going to love it!
4. Have a pajama movie night. This doesn't have to cost a thing. So many Christmas movies come on TV this time of year. All you have to do is record them to your DVR and there you have it.....a free movie! Christmas movies + popcorn + pajamas = my kind of night!
5. Elf on the Shelf. If you have kids and do not have an Elf on the Shelf, you don't know what you're missing. This is so dang fun! I believe they cost around $30, but it will last a LONG time. Use it again, year after year. I wish we had gotten one sooner. It's so fun to see the excitement in my son's eyes when he wakes up everyday and tries to find his elf.
6. Make Christmas ornaments and decorations. You can make them out of paper, old cookie cutters, etc. The possibilities are endless. Popcorn garland is another fun and thrifty Christmas decoration. You could do this with the leftover popcorn on Movie Night- if there is any left :) Go crazy! Your kids will LOVE making them and seeing them displayed around your house.
7. Make a Christmas gift for someone, instead of buying one. There are TONS of great homemade gift ideas out there, just google it. It's usually much less expensive and, to me, it's fun.
8. Do something nice for a friend or neighbor. There's always a lot of sickness going around this time of year, so make a big pot of soup for a sick neighbor or friend and take it to them. Rake an elderly neighbor's yard or pick up pine cones for them. It doesn't matter what you choose. Showing your children to think of others is really important. These are lessons that they will remember when they grow up and have a family of their own.
9. Go to a Christmas concert or play. There are usually lots of community events this time of year. Go out and hear a choir concert, watch a Christmas parade or a play.
10. Have a craft day. Kids love doing crafts! Search pinterest.com for ideas.....there's a ton of them!
The last thing I want to say is, it's okay to say NO sometimes. Our December calendar tends to fill up pretty fast. Many events have costs involved.....like Christmas parties with gift exchange, etc. It's okay to say NO. I'm not saying you should be anti-social, but don't schedule so many things that you will be too busy to remember the season and too broke to enjoy it. Making memories is what counts!
So, go out (or stay in) and make some memories!
Until next time...
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