7 Ways to Make Lasting Holiday Memories

By on

Welcome Guest, Sinea Pies from Ducks in a Row as she shares ideas to make the holiday’s memorable:

 

The holidays -Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s -all come with expectations.

  • We expect to make and eat lots of great food.
  • We expect to give and receive gifts.
  • We expect a certain amount of stress (some more than others) and its consequential fatigue.
  • We expect the budget to scream a little bit from the weight of all the “necessary” expenditures.

But do we expect to come away with tender loving memories? The holidays are really about being thankful for our blessings and blessing others in return. They are about family and friends. Create an atmosphere from which memories are birthed, and you’ll enjoy them so much more.

So, what do those memories look like? Mine bring a picture of my “Grampy” dressed in his holiday vest. It was red plaid. With his thick white hair and happy eyes, he looked so great. I can still see him carving the turkey at the head of the beautifully decorated dining room table. My dad continued the vest tradition where Grampy left off. Though there were many great traditions about our family holidays, that one captures my warmest thoughts.

Funny memories? My dear husband broke a tooth on his mom’s Thanksgiving turkey! It had been left in the oven way too long. She felt so bad about it. But we laughed. Chipping a tooth is no fun but it stayed a humorous event that she got teased about for years. She was such a good sport (and to set the record straight, a very good cook.)

Oh yes, and in my family it was the Christmas tree that would fall over in the middle of the night. The trunk was crooked and it just didn’t want to stand up! Each morning one of my parents would “right” it again, decorations getting shabbier each time it tumbled.

Create great family memories with…

1.  Sights: Make everything beautiful. A vision of “Christmas” typically includes twinkling lights on an evergreen tree. Add to it candles in the window and on the table, stockings hung over the fireplace “with care” and beautiful wrapped presents.

Engage your family in a series of “decorating moments”. Start the process now, pre-Thanksgiving, and have fun with it till the New Year begins. Decorating doesn’t have to happen in one day. Enjoy it as you string it along.

 

2.  Sounds: Fill the air with music!  Holiday music overflows with thanksgiving and joy. Turn on a radio station that plays continuous holiday songs or pop a CD in the player. Keep your home, and car, filled with the sounds of the season and remember to SING along! Engage your kids in singing the catchiest tunes. Everyone’s welcome. Musical talent not required!

 

3. Smells: Bake, Bake, Bake!  Holiday food fills your home with a sweet aroma as you bake desserts and roast the turkey. Fond memories of going to grandma’s house have been built around these delicious smells!

4.  Touch: Cuddle-time a must! We get so busy that we can forget to spend quality time close together. Everyone needs it: mom, dad, the kids…even the dog! It’s how we get re-charged. Read a storybook together. Snuggly blankets a must. Schedule a pajama movie night with a great holiday classic. The menu? Popcorn and hot chocolate, of course.

 

  1. Team work: Everyone has a part to play. Getting ready for the holidays includes anticipation of good things to come. Everyone should be a part of the preparations. Bake cookies together. Wrap gifts. Decorate. Dust and pick up “stuff”. Even the littlest tyke can have an assignment – much praise included. Remember, a two-year old will dust like a two-year old will!

5.  Reach Out – who needs you? Your children and spouse need you, of course. Your parents, friends and relatives do, too. But, who else needs you? Is there someone you can think of who has no one at all? What can your family do to show them some love?  Teach this giving-spirit to your children when they are young and they will be teaching it to their children someday. The giving-spirit is not taught as much as it is “caught”.  We all learn by doing.

 

6.  Enjoy the moment. Remember to step back and appreciate what you have. No matter the struggles or hardships life may bring, there is something you can focus on that says “life is good.” Think on that.

 

Thanks so much, Angela, for inviting me to guest post once more on The Grocery Shrink. It is an honor! I enjoy your website so much and it’s such a pleasure to be able to a part of it from time to time. Please let extend my warmest invitation to your wonderful readers to stop by my site, Ducks ‘n a Row.

Photo credit:   

“Little Boy Decorating Christmas Tree” by Erierika Dreamstime.com

“Christmas Tree Cookie” from sxc.hu

Fall Colors on a Missouri Drive–Plus guess the answer

By on

Darren preached in Macon yesterday. It was a 3 hour drive. We left home with 3 kids in tow at 6:30 so I slept most of the way. My eyes popped open when we were 30 minutes out and I was overcome with how beautiful the trees were.  I snapped sone pictures:

image

image

image

image

image

Grant enjoyed the drive too 🙂

image

The older children stayed home and went to our regular church for the first Christmas program rehearsal. It’s hard to believe it’s already that time of year. Speaking of Christmas, do you know when the cheapest prices are for buying Christmas gifts? Put your guess in the comments below and I’ll reveal the answer later this week.

Christmas Wreath Ornaments from Stacy Makes Cents

By on

I’d like to welcome back Stacy, from Stacy Makes Cents.  She has a really quick Christmas craft to show us that is fun and appropriate for young children to do.

Hi – my name is Stacy , Queen of Mess. I am not blessed with craftiness, so I have to try really hard to be crafty. This project, however, is EASY. If I can do this, a 5 year old can do it. I’ve been making these ornaments for a few years and they are really fun to make – and they are a super easy project for children. Are you ready? Let’s mess craft!

 All you need are plastic rings, green pipe cleaners, and mini bows. That’s it. No glue included….and my hands are thankful because they have a love/hate relationship with my hot glue gun. If the hot glue comes out, so do the band-aids. The best part about this project? It’s CHEAP. If I’m anything, I’m frugal…..and this ornament is right up my alley. The green pipe cleaners and mini bows always come from The Dollar Tree.  The plastic rings come from……

 bottles you have at home….which are FREE! Is that exciting or what?! You can come across these rings pretty easily. They’re on soda bottles, medicine bottles, and some vitamin bottles. You just have to pay attention. If you want lots of rings, ask your friends and family to save them for you. You’d be surprised how quickly you can collect a ton of them. You’ll be able to make several different sized wreaths since most of these rings are in various sizes. The hardest part of this project is getting the plastic rings off without breaking them or losing your religion.

 Take a pipe cleaner and begin wrapping it tightly around the ring. The wire inside of the pipe cleaner makes it stay put, eliminating the need for glue – a huge plus for doing this project with your kids….or with an accident-prone girl named Stacy.

 This was a fairly large ring, so I used two pipe cleaners total. How many you use will depend on how tightly you wrap them.

 I always make sure to buy the bows that have the ties on them. That allows me to tie the bows on and eliminate the need for hot glue – are you sensing a theme here? Try to find the smallest bows you can. These are larger than I normally like, but they were the smallest ones I could find this year. The next time I find the smaller ones, I might buy all they have. I’m a bow hog.  Tie your bow onto the wreath in the position that you like. Just twist it on there like a twisty tie.

 Ta da! How cute is that?! I’m just tickled with myself. J You can make a lot of these very quickly. They are good for last minute gifts if you need them….or so I hear from OTHER PEOPLE. Because I would never leave any gifts till the last minute. *Cough*

 You might find several different types of pipe cleaners. Here you can see I made some with a plain type and some with glitter green. I like the glitter best – but my husband has banned glitter from our house – funny that his first child was a daughter…not sure how long that rule will stick.

You can give these in a box as a great homemade gift, or you can use them yourself. We used them on my mom’s tree this year. You can add a ribbon to tie them on the tree or you can just slide them on the tips of the branches. Sometimes I just stick mine on there, letting the sticky needles hold them on.

Merry Christmas!

Homemade Extracts

By on

Watch this short video on how to make flavored extracts to use in cakes, cookies, frostings, salad dressings, and marinades.  They make great and inexpensive Chrsitmas gifts.

Cranberry Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

By on

Pin It

These delicious cookies are a great way to use fresh frozen cranberries.  These would be wondefully festive for your Thanksgiving or Christmas snack table.  When I buy fresh cranberries, I immediately put them in the freezer in their original bag.  They are easier to chop or grind this way for recipes and keep for over a year.

Cranberry Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

In an electric mixer cream together: 1 cup softened butter 1/2 cup white sugar 1 cup packed dark brown sugar 2 tsp vanilla 1/4 cup milk Add slowly, mixing well after each addition: 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt 3 cups wheat flour 2 cups quick oats 2 cups chopped frozen fresh cranberries 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips Drop by teaspoonful onto greased cookie sheets.  Bake at 375 degrees for 12 minutes or until golden around the edges.  Cool on a wire rack.  Makes 4.5 dozen at 133 calories each.

Pin It

Guestpost: The Pros and Cons of Layaway

By on

Stacey Makes Cents is back today to talk with us about layaway.  (Hey–I’m a poet :).

 

By now you should know that Barry and I are NOT fans of credit cards. If we don’t have the money for something, we don’t buy it. For some people, this is a problem at Christmas time. I try to combat that problem by buying Christmas gifts all year long – when I can find them on sale, at yard sales, and used. However, I know that most people are not planning freaks like I am. Shocking, huh? If I can’t plan for something, it makes me want to go nuts. I would like to give you a challenge this Christmas. Here it is…..ready? Don’t put any of your gifts on a credit card. I know, I know. Some of you know you have the money to pay for it and just put it on the credit card for points. But, here’s a thought – if you have the money to pay for it, why don’t you? Why use a credit card if you have the money in the bank? Points for pondering. Some of you have good intentions on paying off that card, but you get carried away with the holiday festivities and find yourself in a bind once the bill comes due in January. Then you have to pay interest, making the decision to put the gifts on your card a very bad one. Oops.

For those of you who didn’t plan and don’t have the money to buy all your gifts at once, there is a program out there that can help, without the interest rate of a credit card – layaway. Layaway is a good alternative for those of you who don’t want to use credit cards this Christmas. Several retailers are now offering layaway again and it’s become very popular around the holidays.

 How does layaway work? Each store will have their own policy, but basically you pay a small fee (most stores charge around $5-10) and the retailer holds the item for you while you pay it off in installments…..interest free. I’m a fan of this because I don’t like the high fees that credit card companies charge. The only fee for this program is your up-front charge for participating. Even though I am a fan, there are several disadvantages that you also need to keep in mind. Below I’ve listed several pros and cons about layaway so you can make the decision yourself.

-You are able to pay for Christmas gifts, interest free, even if you don’t have all the money immediately.

-You avoid credit card interest fees. The fee is usually lower than interest rates, unless you’re only buying one or two small ticket items. The fee should be less than 10% of the item.

–The store holds your gifts so you don’t have to find a place to hide/store them at home. A big plus if you have inquisitive children…..or spouses.

–You get a better selection. You can put your items on layaway before the holiday rush starts. You won’t have to brave the crowds or pick from what’s left.

-You avoid the January blues when a credit card bills comes due. You can actually ENJOY the New Year.

-If you change your mind about the item(s), you don’t have to return it to the store. You can just give it back to them (some stores MAY charge a cancellation fee).

-If you find a great sale but cannot afford the purchase at the time, you can “lock in” the price and pay for it in installments….interest free, did I mention that?

-If the item goes on sale later for a better price, the store will usually let you take advantage of that sale. Some stores limit this price adjustment to one time.

-If you don’t complete the sale you don’t have to worry about credit card companies calling you in the night threatening to eat the bread off your plate.

 

Of course, there is the flip side to the coin.

–Limit ONE to the price adjustment (in most stores).

-If you cannot afford it all at one time, should you really buy it?

-If you have NO discipline, layaway could cause you to spend more…..especially if you dream big.

–If you miss a payment, your items will go back on the shelf and you’ll be out of your service fee and perhaps have to pay a cancellation fee. Most stores aren’t so hard core that they keep your money. It will usually be refunded, although sometimes it’s returned in store credit.

–If the store goes out of business, you’re in trouble.

 

Barry and I will always prefer to shop with cash, but if you don’t have that option then maybe layaway is for you.

Remember, don’t use your credit card this holiday season. Are you with me?

Stacy and husband Barry are debt free bloggers and recently gave their debt free scream on the Dave Ramsey radio show.  You can read more about Stacy at her blog:  www.Stacymakescents.com

Guest Post: Getting Ready For Christmas

By on

By Sinea Pies of Ducks ‘n a Row 

 

Do you believe this title?  “Getting ready for Christmas?”  Come on.  Are you like me when you walk into a store in October, or early November, and see Christmas decorations? Is your reaction like mine?  “Christmas! Can’t we at least do Thanksgiving first?”  I feel the pressure just thinking about it, and Christmas is my favorite holiday!

Perhaps it’s the “mom-thing”.  We moms are planners.  We like everything to run smoothly.  We want all of the bases covered — nobody left out, every event a winner.  We hate rushing around at the last minute, though it inevitably seems to happen, whether we like it or not.

If you start your planning now, it should lighten the load when the holidays do arrive.  Early preparation eases the tension later on.  Moms deserve to enjoy Christmas just like everybody else, don’t they?

So what can you do in October? 

Start with a schedule! Pull out a blank calendar, or find one online, to use for holiday planning only.  It feels good to start with a clean slate.  Don’t lay your other calendars aside, though.  You’ll need to refer to them to see what the family “must-do’s” are.  This will keep you from double-booking.

Now, write in Thanksgiving, Christmas eve, Christmas day, New Years Eve and New Years Day.  If your family also celebrates other holidays such as Chanukah, which is Dec. 20-28 this year, write that down.

Birthdays:  Do you have birthdays in October, November, December or early January.  My family has 9 birthdays, 1 anniversary, Christmas and Chanukah.  There should be a law, don’t you think?  LOL.  I love every one of them but it can get tiring, and expensive. This year my 5 year old granddaughter is dancing in the Nutcracker. Now, that will be an important night-out! 

Now that your overwhelming social calendar is set, what needs to happen?

Plan! There will be gifts to buy, cards to send, schedule-coordinating with others, food to purchase and prepare, decorations to get out and display.  How about special clothing needs? Does a winter coat or suit need dry cleaned or are there little sewing projects that have been put off way too long?  Pencil in when these things need to occur.  Use a pencil because this part of your schedule can be flexible.  You can change it, if you need to.

Think about what you can turn into a family memory.  Not everything has to be work.  The holidays are more about people than anything else. Make a little party around whatever you can to build lasting memories and warm-fuzzies, as I call them. 

 

Shopping! Shopping can include a stop for a bite to eat together.  How about writing out Christmas cards together at the kitchen table?  Put on some holiday music to get everyone in the mood.  Tree trimming is always a fun family event.  Finish it with a pajama party.  Everyone in the family gets on their comfiest p.j.s or sweats, grabs a fuzzy blanket, some popcorn & hot chocolate and watches a great holiday movie together! Remember to include a treat for the dog.  All of the family gets into the spirit.

When it comes to shopping, pace yourself.  If you truly enjoy going out to shop, plan it and make plenty of time to not feel rushed.  If online shopping is more to your liking, be sure to leave plenty of time for the merchandise to arrive and an exchange be made if something doesn’t work out. If you mail gifts to out-of-town relatives, that shipping time also needs to be considered.

Cookies!  What’s a holiday without decorative cookies?  Even the youngest tot can do something to be a part of the cookie baking process.  Your little ones do what they can do and you do the rest.  Make sure that everyone gets to have a hand in the decorating.  Again, you are making great memories, not just good food! 

If you have time, invite family and friends to join you for a cookie swap.  It’s a party where everyone brings several dozen of one style of Christmas cookie.   One or two dozen is brought for sampling at the party, the others you bring are your “swapping” cookies. You switch them out for an assortment of other kinds of cookies to take back home with you.  This kind of holiday party can be so much fun and much of your baking has been done by somebody else!

So, there you have it. It may be October but the New Year is right around the corner.  Get organized now and it will be easy to get into the holiday spirit…when the time comes!

Sinea Pies is a freelance writer for a popular parent magazine, social media manager and blogger.  Please visit  her website Ducks ‘n a Row and “like” her Facebook Fanpage, too.

Feel like you need more help with Christmas Planning?  You’ll love How to Have a Grocery Shrink Christmas  It is full of printable forms; recipes; gift ideas and more to help you stay organized and sane on a limited budget this holiday season.

To-do list for today

By on

Today we are all feeling better!  After I do my exercises, I will finish scrubbing the house to get rid of germs, wrap the final presents, and address and mail out my Christmas cards.  If I get those things done–it will be a full day along with keeping up with meals and kiddoes.  Hopefully we’ll start our 500 piece puzzle to work together too :).  Tonight Darren will take me to the famous Kansas City Country Club Plaza for dinner and a walk around the Christmas lights.  It is our belated anniversary date.

I got a fun book in the mail yesterday.  It’s 11 years old but still one of my favorite baby sewing books.  The designs are super cute and classic and easy to make.  Heidi is looking throug it to see what she’d like to make for her new baby brother.  It’s available for $.99 plus shipping at http://Alibiris.com –love that place.   Don’t you love the bunny slippers on the cover?  Do you have a favorite baby sewing book?

Molasses cookie cutouts

By on

This is my favorite Christmas cookie!  It’s chock full of iron rich molasses, uses healthy oil (and less of it) and has half the sugar of traditional cookies.  We went simple on the frosting and drizzled a thick glaze in random patterns over them.  So pretty!  This recipe is also included in the Grocery Shrink Christmas ebook.  We used the same recipe to cut out pieces for a gingerbread train that we will put together tomorrow at grandma’s house.  You can get the free pattern here.

Molasses Cookie Cutouts

1 cup blackstrap molasses (you can use light molasses, but it has less nutrition)

2/3 cup oil (The healthiest one you prefer)

Simmer these 2 ingredients together for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile…

Cream 1 egg, 1 cup sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla

Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, 1/2 teaspoon cloves, and 1 teaspoon salt.

Dissolve 1 teaspoon baking soda into 1/2 cup hot water and blend into the creamed mixture.

Add simmered molasses mixture, pouring it right in the center of the bowl.  (If it touches anything cold like a metal bowl or mixer, it will instantly harden into hard candy and make a mess!)

Gradually stir in 6 cups of flour.  (I used whole wheat, but you can use whatever you like.)

Roll out about 1/4 inch thick.  Cut with cookie cutters and place 1 inch apart on a greased cookie sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Cool on a wire rack.

Mix 2 cups of powdered sugar with 2 teaspoons of milk.  Gradually adding milk and powdered sugar until you have a glaze that will drip from a spoon but hold it’s shape on the cookie.  Drizzle the cookies with glaze and leave out to dry for 2-3 hours or until glaze is hardened.  Package in air tight containers.

If your cookies get hard, add a piece of soft bread to the container.  The cookies will soften and the bread will get hard.