Planning for the Christmas Holidays

I am SOOOO not an organized person.  I always feel like I have a zillion balls in the air and that they are all going to come crashing down at the same time at any moment. I feel like I have ADHD but I know that I don't.  I just have too much going on.

So this year, this season, we are doing things a bit differently.  There are a few different factors that make this holiday season a bit different.

First, we are NOT going to Disney World.  Since 2007 we have gone to Disney for a week or so just before Christmas.  This meant that I had to be super organized because I would have to have everything ready for Christmas prior to us leaving for Disney as we would often be returning on Christmas Eve or on Dec 23rd.  So it ALL had to be done.  Not this year.

Second, we have like NO money for extra things.  We have enough to buy some gifts but we are not doing extravagant things and have no extra money to do other stuff that we wish we were able to do if we weren't going to Disney.  We aren't buying new decorations or more lights for the front of the house, or anything we don't NEED.  Not this year.

Third, because we are homeschooling we actually have a bit of extra time on our hands and we tend to sit around "wishing" that we could go here or do this.

Extra time + NOT going to Disney + NO extra money = Mom has to be creative.

So this is what I did.  I took an inventory of the things I wanted to do and then I surveyed the kids and asked them to give me their top 5 things they wanted to do this holiday season. Next I crossed off everything on their lists that would cost a lot of money or that included "going to Disney World".  I ended up with a nice list of things.

Some of the things the kids said were:
go Christmas caroling
go look at Christmas lights
have a party for our friends
bake cookies
go Christmas shopping for each other


Some of the items on my list were:
go look at Christmas lights
string popcorn and cranberries
do some baking
read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas" together
read "The Christmas Carol" together

Then I looked at the calendar and printed out a December calendar and started to add things on it.  This way we will have some things to look forward to each week.

We have an extra week this year and with us not going out of town we have a lot of extra time we usually don't have. I hope that this year we will be able to make some great memories just the 5 of us that won't cost a lot of money.

What do you do to plan for the holidays?  Do you have any fun things you like to do each year that doesn't cost a lot of money?

Getting Organized for the Holidays

Is it just me or you too?  I am surprised that the radio stations are playing Christmas music 24/7 already.  I love turning on the radio the day after Thanksgiving and hearing the Christmas music for the first time.  It is such a special time and a nice treat!  But NOW???  It just doesn't make sense.  We already have almost an extra week between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.  To play Christmas music already seems like a bit of an overkill to me.

However, I do like to start planning my Thanksgiving and Christmas around this time of year anyway.  Actually I usually begin thinking about the holidays just after Halloween.  I try to brainstorm and list all the things I want to do for the holidays first.  Then sort through that list and cross off anything that seems out of the question or seems unreasonable.  Then I like to get things scheduled on the calendar - go see Santa, our Christmas party, any other parties or dinners we are invited to goes on the calendar.  Then I like to categorize things in to weeks.  These would be like getting Christmas cards signed and addressed, mailing Christmas cards, baking cookies, shopping, getting the Christmas tree, outside decorations going up, shopping for Christmas dinner and baking.  Then I like to get the gift list ready.  I list out everyone I would like to give gifts too and begin to brainstorm ideas for each person on my list.  I set a budget and then adjust the list as necessary.  I try to make as many gifts as I can if possible.  I love homemade gifts.  Not all my recipients do but I love to give them so they get them.

Visualizing the calendar works so well for me.  I can see the things I need to get done.

Because we are homeschooling this year, I am hoping that I will have just a bit more time to do the things we really want to do each holiday season but don't seem to have the time.  These would include driving around and looking at Christmas lights, baking more than usual, creating some nice gifts for my family and friends.

What do you do to get organized for the holidays?  What tips do you have for busy families?  What is your favorite tradition leading up to Christmas?

Halloween Safety Tips

Halloween is supposed to be a fun holiday for the kids and adults alike.  I have compiled a few "mom tips" that I live by on Halloween.










Safety Rules:

1. Make sure that any costume fits properly and the mask fits so that you can breathe and see well in.  Make sure that capes, dresses, and other costume clothing isn't too long that it becomes a trip hazard.

2.  Wear some sort of reflective gear.  Use glow in the dark glow sticks, bracelets, etc to help be reflective.  Also reflective tape on a child's back or on their hat  helps tremendously.  We, parents, always carry bright flashlights, wear glow sticks and put reflective tape on us as well.  We are usually near the child so if the cars see us then they should slow down and look for kids as well.

3.  Check all candy out. We toss anything that wasn't properly wrapped and look for anything that could have been tampered with.  Many medical centers will x-ray your candy for free.  Check around if you are really concerned.

4.  Parents always trick or treat with kids.  We always walk around with the kids.  The more the merrier and we make this a family event.  Even though mine are old enough to go by themselves we have never let this be an option.


Politeness Rules: (these are rules my family has)

1.  Say "Trick or Treat" and say "thank you". A smile is always welcome.

2. Be appreciative with anything that they are given, whether it be an apple, bag of carrots, or a candy bar they don't like.

3.  When given the option to take a piece of candy from the bowl they are to choose quickly one from the top and not dig through the bowl looking for a piece they want.

4.  Always walk up and down the driveway and on the sidewalk or path to the house.  No cutting through the yard.

5.  NO trading candy when we get home.  This just becomes an argument in our house so we made it a rule.

6.  Mom and Dad have to inspect the candy before eating. No cheating.

The CDC has a great list of safety rules and you can find them here.

Here is a great website for more safety tips for all sorts of Halloween fun.

And finally, the American Academy of Pediatrics has a great list of Halloween Safety as well, here.


And one more "Mom Tip":  Take along a couple safety pins just in case you have a costume malfunction in the middle of the trick or treating trip.  I also carry my phone in case I need to dial for emergencies, my flashlight, glow sticks, and of course my camera.

You've Been Boo'ed! (Halloween Fun)

(from christmas.organizedhome.com)

With goblins and ghouls outside, my kids want to do scary Halloween but we don't do scary in our house.  It scares me too much. We DO do fun Halloween and this activity is so much fun.

Gather together some treats and tricks and put in a bag or smallish Halloween bucket.  We get our stuff from the dollar store.  We mix candy and pencils, little party favors and such in the bucket.  Then print off the "You've Been Boo'ed" poem and picture from on line.  This is my favorite site to get it.

http://christmas.organizedhome.com/crafts/halloween/boo-youve-been-booed-poem-signs

They have several different designs to choose from.

Then go out in your neighborhood and leave them on the front doorstep, ring the bell, and RUN!  It is supposed to be a secret who boo's you.

Their job is to make three buckets or favor bags and do the same to three more homes.  Before long most of your neighborhood will be boo'ed.

We like to start this about the second week in October in our neighborhood to get the kids and everyone looking forward to a fun and safe Halloween.

Happy Halloween! (Stay safe and wear reflectors)

Oh Halloween!

First I need to apologize for neglecting my, oh, two loyal followers of this blog. You know who you are and I am so sorry for leaving you hanging for so long.

I HAVE been busy and I have been creating. I have lots to post and lots to still take photos of so I can post. But I will give you a hint: knitting, scrapbooking, sewing and crafting have all been in my "idle hands" recently. I will post in good time though all the nifty things I have been working on.

Today, though is all about Halloween. And these:

Aren't they so cute??? I got the idea from here who got their idea from here (I loved their blog title, ha ha) and when I saw that post I just had to make some myself. I have Mason jars floating around my house and these are a perfect craft to use them for.

I followed the directions and instead of using ribbon at the top I used Raffia string. I thought it looked a bit more rustic. I put in a flickering tealight that is battery operated so I could leave them on all the time. The person from Not So Idle Hands used a string of Christmas lights in hers.

Also, new in our home are these fun placemats.

I serged the edges and backed them with a quilted white material. They are so quick to make. I bought the Halloween material last year when it was on super clearance sale and I had the quilted material left over from this past spring's Easter placemats. So in all this project was free for me.

Leave me a comment and let me know that you still read and what you did new and crafty for fall or for Halloween.

And today I made those Covered Pens.

I bought a package of pens with the clear center and filled it with scrapbook paper. I used size 1 inch by 3 inch paper. I rolled the paper up and inserted it into the tube. I think they turned out GREAT. But you tell me what you think.

Would you buy one for 50 cents??

Don't forget to enter for the give away in the entry two posts down. Deadline is August 16th.

Can we start talking about Christmas yet?

I know that the stores don't have the Christmas decorations up just yet but I think I need to begin thinking about Christmas presents and decorations and such. This year will be a lean year in our household. The economy has decreased our household income by almost 50%. So I have begun to think about who I will be buying for and who will appreciate handmade gifts. I have begun making my lists and checking it twice (laugh) and assigning projects and gifts.

I was blog hopping today and found this blog: http://craftsonawhim.com/. It is so cute and has a great many easy projects. One of the things I like about this site is that it has a difficulty factor with each project.

Here are a few I love!

Beaded Angel: Check this out. I will be making a ton of these (going out today to get the supplies for it and will be working on them tonight). How easy are they??? I am thinking that these will be nice gifts for my co-workers, as gift tag decorations, for kids to make for their teachers and perhaps to sell at the next craft show I am doing.

I found these through a link from AMR that Nicole posted and love these little clothespin magnets. I am thinking that these will also be fun to make and sell as well as for little gifts. I want to make my girls bulletin boards for their room and if I use some metal frames for them they can use these magnets too.
And what about this idea? I love the idea of putting scrapbook paper in a tube of a pen. You could do Christmas paper and give as a gift. You could do fun paper and they can be a great first day of school gift to the kid going off to middle or high school. OR for the teacher, just make it a RED pen (laugh). Oh, I think I need to make some of these too!!!

So, what are you making for Christmas gifts? Leave me a link to your blog with the ideas you have or leave your ideas in my comments, but I will tell you I can learn best from a picture!!!

You leave me a comment with some ideas or other sites that I can go to for more great homemade stuff no later than August 16th at 6pm eastern time, and I will put everyone's name in a hat and get one of my kids to pull it out and I will send you a goodie.

Two birthdays in 4 days!

Here are the birthday cakes that I made for the parties.

One was a Luau and the other was a jungle theme party and the cake is a monkey.

The kids did this project!

We are all in the holiday spirit. The kids want to help as much as I want to do it myself. So I bought these foam kits for them to make a little ornament for the gifts as a topper.

They still need a string and some glitter but I think they did a great job!

I am working on a gift basket to give to some family, neighbors, and other sundry friends. I am brainstorming what to put in them. I bought a cute little basket, and it is not big.

Isn't it cute??? The basket is about 8 inches wide by 6 inches deep and 4 inches tall.

And I bought these cute little tins with a curved top.

Wow, the tins look huge in these pictures but they are only about three inches tall and 5 inches wide. They are as tall as they are deep.

So here is what I am thinking. We will have some fruit from Florida so an orange and a grapefruit. I was thinking a jar of apple butter, some sugar cookies, some bourbon balls (maybe) or peanut butter bars, and a handmade washcloth or a potholder. Do you think that is a good gift? Is it enough? Oh, I forgot the ornament I made too. (See the blog entry from Saturday).

Well.....what do you think? do any of you make baskets for Christmas? What do you put in it?

Christmas Cards

You are in luck! I had to open a couple envelopes so I took advantage of it and snapped a few pictures to show you all (all two of you!! Hi Jingle!!) I used K &Co papers and stickers and used a pattern from Sheetload and came up with these.

Hope you are having a creative, scrappy day. Get those Christmas cards out!!

It's beginning to look a lot like CHRISTMAS!!!

Yes, it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas at our house. We have already put our Christmas tree up and we are in the midst of getting the gifts and packaging ready. It is a very exciting time of year. I just love the Christmas spirit!

In that light, I woke up this morning and decided to embark on a new project. I wanted to paint Christmas ornaments. I know what you are thinking. With really only two weeks for us to be completely and utterly ready for Christmas, I begin a new project when I probably should be working out the recipe list, gift list, and shopping.

You are in luck this time. I took pictures:

They were super easy and done with paint pens. Of course I didn't have any of the supplies so I had to go out and purchase the paint pens and ornaments. These ornaments are not the shiny ones. They have a matte finish. I have limited it to a few designs that I felt confident free-handing.
I think these will become gifts for teachers, neighbors, and friends.

Christmas in just a few weeks!! Update on Craft Show

And I am not ready yet. In years past I have gotten most of my Christmas shopping done the weekend before Thanksgiving. Then I scan the Black Friday ads and end up doing a lot of exchanges and returns and re-buys that weekend because of the sales. So not this year. I decided to wait until Black Friday to BEGIN my shopping. We are on a tighter than tight budget this year so I really have to watch my pennies. But today the Monday before Thanksgiving I am feeling a bit out of sorts. I feel like I am behind the curve for shopping and such.

I have three weeks before we go to disney world again and that isn't much time. December 13th is out due to us seeing Santa in the morning. I can use that afternoon but really want to be done done before then. I had thought of doing some holiday shopping on line this year but just haven't mentally gotten there yet either.

I really need to get my act together. I think I know what is bogging me down and I hope to have that cleared up tonight. It is that the Christmas tree isn't in the family room. We thought of putting it in the living room but it looks so lonely in there and we don't really use that room so it isn't in a place that we can sit and enjoy the tree. It isn't in the room that we live in. So here is the problem. All my scrapbooking and crafting stuff is in the corner where we usually put the Christmas tree. That means that I have to clear out all my stuff and put it somewhere so we can move the tree down there. I considered swapping my scrapbook stuff to the living room which isn't such a bad idea but then that room really is a more formal room and I tend to be messy with my stuff so it isn't quite the right place. So at this point I have to pack it all up. Yup ALL of it. And that is what I am going to do tonight. I started yesterday and I am about a third done. Tonight it just needs to go somewhere.

Just to get you in the mood for decorating your house, here are some links that you might like!

http://bucketideasforchristmas.blogspot.com/ (too many trees for me but I picked up an idea or two anyway) Scroll all the way down to the big pictures. there are soo many trees!!!

http://www.100daystochristmas.com/ cool give aways and lots of ideas on what to do to get ready for Christmas.

~~UPDATE ON CRAFT SHOW~~

Remember by goal for the Craft Show this past weekend? Well I hit my goal, sort of. I said I would like to make $150 but would be happy if I broke $100. I ended up making $130! I think that is pretty good since there weren't nearly as many people as I had thought there would be. I was really hoping for more people but they just weren't there. I suppose the economy has everyone not shopping anymore. I didn't sell any scarves and I thought they would be big sellers but not a one. Guess what everyone is getting for Christmas this year?? Sh, don't tell....a SCARF!

Oh, and while sitting there during one of the many lulls, I remembered that I forgot my camera AGAIN! sorry for no pics... :(

the holidays are approaching and a CONTEST!!

and I am getting excited. Last night I finished making 23 Christmas cards to send out this year. This is the first time I have made my own Christmas cards and I am excited about this endeavor. I think I need some more, so I will be working on them tonight as well. I will post a few pictures in the coming days.

With the economy in a slump and my husband worried about our finances this year we are paring back our gift buying. We are focusing on the kids and making sure they are covered for gifts but I will be making many of our gifts for family and friends this year.

Some of the ideas I have are:
1. A gift basket of homemade goodies, like cookies, jams or something, breads and fruit from Florida.
2. Crocheted or knitted items, someone might be getting a poncho made with a 'thick and quick' yarn. Perhaps some fleece items to make someone snuggy and warm.
3. personalized card sets, like monogrammed or with a special stamp. Watch out this gift may be yours!!! (read below)

So in honor of the spirit of giving and to help rein in my excitement of the holidays, let's do a little contest. The prize is a set of holiday cards you can mail to others or keep for your self. This set will have a Christmas theme and will have a sentiment on the front and be blank on the inside. You can tuck a note in a gift for the teachers, or use them to spread some holiday cheer, or give them as a Christmas card to someone. OR you can take the whole set and use it as a gift to someone else. However you like this set will come in handy.

Here is what you have to do: Scan through my blog here and get a feel for my craftiness and then leave me an idea or two for other gifts that I can make (quickly or easily is always great) to either include in a gift basket or for an individual gift. And then tell me what you will be making for others this holiday season. I will wait until Thursday evening and then put everyone's name in a hat and get one of my kids to draw the winner! good luck!!