Christmas with Kids

If you haven’t put in for vacation for the remainder of the year, you’ve got to do it now. Everyone will want to take time around Thanksgiving and Christmas and unless you are the first one to ask for it, you aren’t going to get it. Have a family meeting tonight and figure out how to spend the rest of your free time this year.

This post is for those of you who have never been to IKEA. If you have an IKEA near you, you have got to make this store a part of your holiday shopping and preparation. Not only is it a fabulous place to buy gifts, it’s a great place to update your housewares and textiles within almost anyone’s budget!

Worried about the kids while you shop? IKEA has a solution with their fantastic supervised children’s play area and ballroom. When it’s time for a break, the IKEA restaurant has a kids’ menu.

I just want to encourage you to give it a try.

Visit their website at http://ikea.com

Fabulous photo courtesy of Sarah606

These color-changing LED lights are the most interesting lights I’ve seen available! Each light changes color, they are cool to the touch, and you can use them indoors or out. If you’re looking for something to spruce up your tree this year, try these lights! Your family, friends, and other guests will be talking about them all year! Enjoy!

Color Changing LED RGB Ball String Christmas Xmas Lights Belt Light, 2063rgb

Set of 100 Round Red Green Blue Color Changing Ball LED Christmas, Chanukah and Holiday lights for home and store fronts. Approx. ¾” (1.75CM) 1.5M long Power Cord. FEATURES: High quality, High efficiency, Indoor or Outdoor. The epoxy plastic that encapsulates the LED bulbs is cool to the touch solving hot bulbs that cause Christmas tree fires. Bulb Type: Approx. Diameter of ball: ¾” (1.75cm) Bulb Life: Up to 50,000 Hours Power source:120V Dementions:Cable Length 1.5 M

 You will not want to miss out on this. It’s very hard to find! Luckily, we purchased ours at the LEGO Store in Orlando last month.

I think the highlight of this Advent calendar is the Yoda Santa Claus! Yep. Your Star Wars fans, young and old, will love this Christmas activity!

Click here to order yours today!

It’s snowing in Florida! Actually, you can decorate with snowflakes anytime of the year, in any location! There are different styles of snowflakes to choose from!

Silver Glitter,  Golden Glitter, Ornate Black

Go and immerse yourself in a fun ambiance with these stickers! These removable, repositionable, and reusable stickers are the perfect and convenient way to adorn and decorate any space. Easy to peel off and to stick on walls, doors, windows, tables, refrigerators, and more! When you want to reposition your friends peel them off with ease without peeling off paint/wallpaper and without leaving behind any residue. Perfect for nurseries, homes, stores, dorms, and anywhere else! It’ll liven up any room and give it a new vibrant life!

Do you like to sing? Do your kids like to sing? Now is the time to get involved in choral organizations if you want to be a part of their annual Christmas programs. There are many opportunities to sing during the Christmas season. If you don’t have a church home, now is a great time to “church shop” if being a part of a music ministry is important to you and your kids. If you do have a church home, find out when the choir meets and go give it a try! In my experience, choir folks are some of the friendliest people in church and love to have a good time together! For kids, it’s a great opportunity to work as a team. Singing in a choir builds self-confidence and is a very positive experience for all participants!

Find a program that meets your scheduling needs, because this is supposed to be fun and bring joy, not drudgery and complications!

Psalm 100  says “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord” or “Shout for joy to the Lord!” Excellence is important (Psalm 33:3,) but only comes through experience. So, get out there and spread the Good News this Christmas!

Do you bake the same cookies every year? In preparation for the big cookie baking season ahead, take some time today and look through your cookbooks for recipes you’ve always wanted to try. This is the time to get those out and do a test run. You don’t want to wait until the week you need 12 dozen cookies for the cookie swap! You need an opportunity to tweak it and make sure it’s going to work for you. Here are ten of my favorite holiday cookies:

1. Snickerdoodles
2. Shortbread
3. Thumbprints
4. Bourbon Balls
5. Rum Balls
6. Buckeyes
7. Haystacks
8. Gingerbread
9. Lemon Snowflakes
10. Turkish Delight (this is a 4-pack from Amazon, and my favorite brand!!! Authentic and delicious!)

Make a note of all of the cookies you want to try, print them out or copy them, and put them in a 3-ring notebook inside page protectors. This is a cheap and easy way to make your own personalized cookbook. For even more fun, you can make up your own cover page, or decorate the notebook as you like! Enjoy!

If you are hosting Christmas, do everyone a favor and give them some direction, but not too much direction. I can only imagine what situations might have caused Thanksgiving hostess Marney to pen this letter! With a little planning, you should avoid most of those and do it gracefully.

People appreciate knowing your expectations ahead of time. Invitations don’t have to be fancy, but they do need to be informational.

Guests want to know:

• Arrival time
• What to bring (ex. green vegetable side dish for 12, BYOB, etc.)
• If there be a gift exchange, and  house rules
• Time food will be served
• Where they can park
• What time the event ends
• What to wear – is this a formal dinner, or are we eating off paper plates and swimming?

It’s hard to believe, but it’s that time of year to start thinking about Christmas. Check back with us every day for useful information on planning, shopping, and celebrating the most wonderful time of the year!

Where will you be spending Christmas this year? Will you be at home? Traveling? With family, or friends? Now is the time to make your travel plans or send invitations if you’re planning to host the big event this year.

Please let us know where you’ll be this Christmas by participating our poll!

Today is Black Friday. While the retailers want us all to do our part to boost the economy, be careful out there. Just because it’s a traditional shopping day, doesn’t mean you need to get out there and overspend. Make a list and check it twice. Have a budget. Stick to your plan. Don’t dig yourself deeper into debt! Bake cookies for gifts, spend $10 more and go watch a movie if you have to go to the mall! Be smart!