So the holiday's are almost upon us.......
Turkey day:
Will be spent at my mom's this year. It's her & Joey's first thanksgiving in their new house!! Mom said I get to decorate the table... I am so excited. I love making the holiday tables look like something Martha Stewart would be proud of. So I have all my dishes, napkins, napkin rings, center peices, place card holders, chargers & everything else needed all ready. I can't wait!!
Christmas:
Last year for my immediate family I made their gifts. I was tired of buying everyone crap they never use. I wanted it to mean something. I wanted to be able to include someone who was not able to celebrate with us, so, I wrote everyone a letter about my cousin who is fighting the war over in Iraq. I wrote about silly times, him as a father, how heroic he is, among other things. I enclosed a picture with of him in his fatigues in a nice frame, a yellow ribbon magnet for everyone to put on their car, then tied the letter up with a ribbon & an American flag. It was a gift that everyone said they appreciated more than anything store bought. It brought everyone to tears & made my Aunt cry uncontrollably (not my intention) while stating it was the best gift she has ever gotten. It even prompted a letter from my grandmother a few weeks after Christmas thanking me again for such a wonderful gift to our family. It was a way for me to include someone very dear to me that I wished was there.
Don't think I can top that one & I am not even going to try....
I usually do Christmas presents by themes. So I was thinking this year I want to go green.
I have become obessed lately with using canvas bags at ALL stores trying to eliminate as many plastic bags as possible. I have become more concious of what we waste & also started with my recycling. I try to buy things that are made of recycled materials or are organic. Not a huge eco-head but every little bit helps....
So this left me thinking that I want to buy gifts that are eco-friendly, organic & good for the planet. So I googled some stuff & I think I am on the right path. I want it to be a gift that can be used & appreciated, not some dust collector. I want to do my part even on the holidays.
On another note today I recieved my Good House Keeping mag & I was reading ways to make christmas decorations for the home. Granted I have a decent amount of store bought ones but there were so many cute ideas & easy ones too that I could do on a boring day like today with Alyssa & Tori. So I can't wait to start creating holiday decorations & memories with my children that we will cherish while saving some money in the process.
www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidaycrafts
I also started to discuss holiday plans with my husband & we decided to have the gingerbread house / reindeer food making day here. This is a traditon with my family & a great way to get everyone together & make some more fun memories for the kids. (Though the parents usually are the last ones at the table finishing once the kids have lost interest) We have had many interesting gingerbread "houses" over the years from the adults... I wish I had pictures to post. One year we had a gingerbread trailer park, broke down cars & old tires, furniture on the lawn included. ( We robbed the kids toy box) Yes, this one of my favorite parts of the holiday season.
So this year I am going to home make invitations with Alyssa for our gingerbread extravaganza once I coordinate a weekend that is good for everyone.
This brings me to SANTACON 08. If you live in NY & you like the city & have a great sense of humor... You will love this. It is Dec 13 -14 in NYC, it is a pub crawl. It starts in the morning & lasts all night. This year about 800 people are expected. It is the one day Manhattan is taken over by santa & friends. You're only requirement is you have to dress up like either Santa, Mrs.Claus, an elf, rudolph or anything christmas oriented. It is insane & so much fun. It is my goal to attend this year & I have a few of my chicas coming with me. We decided to be elves, getting the costumes ready is half the fun!!
http://www.santacon.com/
So that is it so far for the holiday ideas... This is my way of saving money, going green & making memories.
Turkey day:
Will be spent at my mom's this year. It's her & Joey's first thanksgiving in their new house!! Mom said I get to decorate the table... I am so excited. I love making the holiday tables look like something Martha Stewart would be proud of. So I have all my dishes, napkins, napkin rings, center peices, place card holders, chargers & everything else needed all ready. I can't wait!!
Christmas:
Last year for my immediate family I made their gifts. I was tired of buying everyone crap they never use. I wanted it to mean something. I wanted to be able to include someone who was not able to celebrate with us, so, I wrote everyone a letter about my cousin who is fighting the war over in Iraq. I wrote about silly times, him as a father, how heroic he is, among other things. I enclosed a picture with of him in his fatigues in a nice frame, a yellow ribbon magnet for everyone to put on their car, then tied the letter up with a ribbon & an American flag. It was a gift that everyone said they appreciated more than anything store bought. It brought everyone to tears & made my Aunt cry uncontrollably (not my intention) while stating it was the best gift she has ever gotten. It even prompted a letter from my grandmother a few weeks after Christmas thanking me again for such a wonderful gift to our family. It was a way for me to include someone very dear to me that I wished was there.
Don't think I can top that one & I am not even going to try....
I usually do Christmas presents by themes. So I was thinking this year I want to go green.
I have become obessed lately with using canvas bags at ALL stores trying to eliminate as many plastic bags as possible. I have become more concious of what we waste & also started with my recycling. I try to buy things that are made of recycled materials or are organic. Not a huge eco-head but every little bit helps....
So this left me thinking that I want to buy gifts that are eco-friendly, organic & good for the planet. So I googled some stuff & I think I am on the right path. I want it to be a gift that can be used & appreciated, not some dust collector. I want to do my part even on the holidays.
On another note today I recieved my Good House Keeping mag & I was reading ways to make christmas decorations for the home. Granted I have a decent amount of store bought ones but there were so many cute ideas & easy ones too that I could do on a boring day like today with Alyssa & Tori. So I can't wait to start creating holiday decorations & memories with my children that we will cherish while saving some money in the process.
www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidaycrafts
I also started to discuss holiday plans with my husband & we decided to have the gingerbread house / reindeer food making day here. This is a traditon with my family & a great way to get everyone together & make some more fun memories for the kids. (Though the parents usually are the last ones at the table finishing once the kids have lost interest) We have had many interesting gingerbread "houses" over the years from the adults... I wish I had pictures to post. One year we had a gingerbread trailer park, broke down cars & old tires, furniture on the lawn included. ( We robbed the kids toy box) Yes, this one of my favorite parts of the holiday season.
So this year I am going to home make invitations with Alyssa for our gingerbread extravaganza once I coordinate a weekend that is good for everyone.
This brings me to SANTACON 08. If you live in NY & you like the city & have a great sense of humor... You will love this. It is Dec 13 -14 in NYC, it is a pub crawl. It starts in the morning & lasts all night. This year about 800 people are expected. It is the one day Manhattan is taken over by santa & friends. You're only requirement is you have to dress up like either Santa, Mrs.Claus, an elf, rudolph or anything christmas oriented. It is insane & so much fun. It is my goal to attend this year & I have a few of my chicas coming with me. We decided to be elves, getting the costumes ready is half the fun!!
http://www.santacon.com/
So that is it so far for the holiday ideas... This is my way of saving money, going green & making memories.
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