Search Results for: blog are you ready for christmas morning

Christmas Morning Part I

After all our frugal preparations for Christmas, I was particularly excited for Christmas morning this year.  Our son was really excited about Santa Claus bring presents to put under the tree.  Our daughter, who had just turned one, was far more interested in opening presents and listening to Christmas music this year than last year.  We were excited and interested to see how she would react to the lit tree with presents beneath. I went to bed on Christmas Eve excited for the morning.  Little did I know that it would come sooner than I expected. At four thirty on … Continue reading →

Inexpensive Ways to Countdown to Christmas

My 8-year-old adores her Snoopy countdown to Christmas calendar… and her wooden Advent calendar… and her chocolate-filled Advent calendar… and well, you get the idea.  My kid is obsessed with counting down to December 25th. While I enjoy seeing her excitement as she tears open the doors to her various candy-filled chronicles, Advent calendars don’t come cheap.  Neither do secular versions featuring syndicated cartoon characters. Fortunately, there are ways you can celebrate the coming of Christmas without going broke.  For example: Paper Chains:  Kids can craft a countdown to Christmas chain to help them visualize how many days until Santa’s … Continue reading →

Post-Christmas Shopping Tips

I haven’t even finished clearing the sea of ripped holiday wrapping paper from the living room floor and I’m already being flooded with post-Christmas sale reminders. My email inbox is filled with alerts heralding major day after Christmas deals. Macy’s sent me a link to a WOW! Pass, which allows me to take $10 off my purchase of $25 or more. JCPenney is offering the same deal, while Old Navy is selling women’s jeans for just $15 all-day tomorrow. In addition to the after-Christmas discounts, retailers are poised for an onslaught of shoppers looking to redeem gift cards they’ve collected … Continue reading →

Organizing Holiday-Themed Layouts

I just spent an hour going through the Christmas photos I snapped earlier this morning. My goal was to select about a dozen or so to email to my mom in Hawaii, as she is trying to finish a year in review scrapbook and needs shots of the grandkids opening their presents. The rest of the photos will be featured in my holiday-themed layouts, which will be dramatically less elaborate than my mother’s page designs. Unlike my mom, I didn’t go wild buying a ton of new Christmas embellishments this year. Whereas I plan to look for scrapbook supply deals … Continue reading →

Scrapping Christmas Past

If my mother had her way digital scrapbooking would be something you’d only see in the movies or on TV like… Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Needless to say, my mom has not exactly embraced advances in the world of scrapbooking, especially if they involve technology. She is old school all the way. Really old school; as in early 1900’s old school. My mom is a huge fan of vintage scrapbooking. In fact, she is currently working on a Christmas-themed heritage album. Whereas she is not filling the pages with photos of my great-great grandparents, she is using a … Continue reading →

Helpful Hints to Help Kids with ADHD at Christmastime

The closer we get to Christmas, the more excited most children will become. Parents of children who have ADHD need to be able to separate the myths about this disorder from the facts. There are certain things you can do to help your child cope with the holidays. There are some myths about ADHD that your relatives may mistakingly think are facts. December is a month that typically involves lots of family gatherings. Parents of kids who have ADHD might want to be prepared to gently educate their relatives about their misconceptions about this disorder. Studies show that there is … Continue reading →

Are You Making Things Harder on Yourself?

Still in a turkey coma? I wish I was, too much cleaning and decorating going on at my house. Remember the good old days when Mom just made everything magically appear and all you had to do was enjoy? When I was growing up the tradition was that Santa put the tree up on Christmas Eve. Looking back I’m not sure if that made things harder or easier. Especially when my mother was a single mother. It’s so hard to get everything ready all by yourself. I can’t imagine how hard that was to do alone. Get the kids to … Continue reading →

Don’t Take It Out on Your Husband

Our family is a bit unique, in that my sister married my husband’s brother. So that means my sister is not only my sister but my sister-in-law. Confused? What this also means is that our families see each other a lot. We are so closely intertwined that it can be a blessing but it can also be a challenge. Take Thanksgiving…we have always had a rotation schedule. My sister and brother-in-law host Thanksgiving, while my family hosts Christmas. But this year, for reasons that don’t really matter, we are getting the task of hosting both. The pressure I feel in … Continue reading →

Capping Christmas Spending

If there is any time of the year when people tend to bleed through money it’s the holiday season. Fortunately, you don’t have to seek out an emergency transfusion if you play your cards right. When preparing your household budget for the holidays remember to be creative. You don’t need to spend an arm and a leg to lavish your loved ones with unique gifts. If you plan ahead and eliminate the temptation to purchase a slew of last minute gifts, you can save plenty of green. Procrastinating around the holidays typically comes with a hefty price tag, as retailers … Continue reading →

Have You Started Christmas Shopping?

Our neighbor from down the street, a single dad of two young children, announced yesterday that he is done with his Christmas shopping. Apparently, he went to Toys “R” Us last weekend and purchased five toys for each kid, and officially called it a day for the year. He’s done. He’s delighted. He’s so not me. I barely made it through September and am slowly limping my way to the end of the week. Christmas? I can’t even see beyond Columbus Day. Yet, like it or not, the gift-giving season is quickly moving in for the kill. My 7-year-old has … Continue reading →