Where do you get your Christmas Tree decorating ideas?  Do you choose a new Christmas tree theme each year? Do you have more than one Christmas tree?

My Christmas tree decorating doesn’t change much from year to year now that the kids are older.  We’ve kind of made the tradition already in my house.  I try to have two Christmas trees decorated.  One downstairs in the family room, and one upstairs in the living room.

The family room tree is all about the kids.

It’s the fun tree, and anything goes.  We string it with the big colored Christmas lights.  The kids set it up, and decorate it with all of the Christmas tree ornaments they’ve made over the years.  You know, the ones they were so proud to make (and give to mom) in elementary school.  The ones you spent hours helping them paint on a Saturday craft day. 

These are all very special and bring many memories with them, for both the children and me.  I think it’s important that they be displayed, so we don’t lose that part of their childhood.  But I also don’t necessarily want them to be displayed in my living room anymore.  When the kids have friends over, and spend time in the family room the Christmas tree is there, and decorated for them to enjoy.

The Living Room Tree is a bit more Formal

I have it filled with white lights, decorated in burgundy and gold ribbon, and loaded with ornaments.  I choose to keep it the same, because that is what I enjoy, and it also matches the color scheme in my house pretty well.  The upstairs tree is where we put all of the gifts and presents, and where we congregate on Christmas morning to open them.

The upstairs tree does have special ornaments as well.  Things like special ornaments the kids receive from me, ornaments that are old and have been handed down, the ones that I have received from co-workers and friends.

We have the first weekend of December as our decorating weekend.  This is when the house is transformed into a Christmas land with wall hangings, and Christmas ornaments.  But always first to go up are the Christmas trees.

I love to sit with a cup of coffee in the peace of the evening nearing Christmas.  I turn all the house lights off, and just have the Christmas lights on, I turn some Christmas music in the background, and just enjoy the season.

What traditions do you enjoy when decorating your Christmas tree?

Merry Christmas!!

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Do you want your next card to be treasured for a lifetime, or just tossed in the recycling with the grocery store flyers and unwanted catalogues? Of course not! You want your cards, be they invitations, announcements, or holiday greetings, to be happily posted on refrigerators, pinned on bulletin boards, and cherished by those you love. What better way to ensure this will happen than using a photo card for your next snail mail endeavor!

Photo cards are absolutely wonderful and versatile designs that can help you not only reach out to those you care about but do so in a way that will be remembered and celebrated. While text alone may convey the message you wish to send, a picture as they say is worth a thousand words and really connects you to your recipient in a basic, human way. It elevates your card from just a message to a feeling, an emotion captured in time and shared.

One of the best things about photo cards is the variety of designs available (check out all these free card making options). One popular option is to have the photo printed on high quality card stock and have the message be printed on the back of the image. This is a great style because no matter what, the message and occasion marked will not be separated from the photo. Having the photo be separate from the card means that someday, the two parts could be split up, leaving people not remembering what the photo is commemorating or even who is in it. Printing a brief message on the back of the image ensures that your occasion will be remembered forever. This style is great for baby photos, engagement announcements, and graduation notices. Another great design is to have the text of the message appear just below the image, so the entire card is a more pronounced rectangular shape than a square. This style works well for holiday cards.

The one thing to remember when crafting a photo card to be kept and treasured is to ensure it is printed on high quality paper. Whether it is glossy or matte, big or small, color or black and white doesn’t matter. What matters is that the recipient can clearly see the people in the photo and that it is a high enough quality they want to display it or keep it in their memory box. Choosing a high quality print is also an indication how important the card was for your to send; if you send a bad copy, it will reflect your lack of interest in the event you announcing. However, a high quality print is another way to share your pride, excitement, and or joy and will translate to your recipient finding it more valuable and worthy to be kept.

For your next announcement, augment that joyful text with a matching photo. It will help add power to your message and create a beautiful item that your friends and family will want to treasure forever.

About the Author

Edith Rich is a stay-at-home mother of three, and loves doing crafts with her kids, putting together projects and is a self proclaimed collector of Christmas Photo Cards. She also loves blogging about crafts!

Today is a day to be thankful.  But it is also a day to be with family, and friends, eat too much food, and make some fun Holiday memories.

Thought these couple of videos would get you smiling:

Have a safe and happy holiday weekend. And take time to do YOUR Thanksgiving Inventory!

Happy Thanksgiving!!
Heather

I thought that being as this is a holiday weekend for most of my American Friends, we should have some fun today.  Also, did you know that Christmas Day is only one month away (of course you did, silly me) ?!?  Here is a bit of an impromptu Christmas/Holiday Meme.  Tell me about your holiday stuff…

1. Have you started your Christmas shopping?
2. Tell me about one of your special traditions.
3. Are you a Black Friday Shopper?
4. When do you put up your Tree?   
5. Do you Travel at Christmas or Stay home?
6. What is your funniest Christmas memory?
7. What is your favorite Christmas Movie of All time?
8. Do you do your own Christmas Baking, what’s your favorite treat?
9. Fake or Real Tree?
10. What day (as a mom) does the actual panic set in to get it all done?
11. Are you still wrapping presents on Christmas Eve?
12. What is your favorite family fun time at Christmas?
13. What Christmas craft do you like the best?
14. Christmas music. Yes or No, and if yes What is your favorite song?
15. When do you plan to finish all your shopping?

So I would love for any blogger to participate in this meme, even if I haven’t tagged you.  I will go back and add your blog link to the list if you wanna play along.

• Just simply copy and paste the questions into your blog, and then answer them.
• Then tag 5 or more of your favorite blogs, and leave them a comment telling them they’ve been tagged.
• When you post your blog, please spread some Christmas cheer, and leave a link back to this blog (Top 10 Christmas), and the blog that you were tagged by.

That’s it! – I’d love to hear all the answers, and for sure come back and put a link in my comments to show us all the great answers we get.  Just a little something to get us all in the Christmas spirit.

Okay so to start things off, I’m going to tag:

• Pepper – Pepper Scraps
• Ivette – Wahm Bahm
• Tracey – Ascending Butterfly
• Robyn - Simply Delightful
• Jennette – Classy Mom
• Amy - Moving on from the Drama

I might a few more as I visit blogs that are Christmasie  (is that a word, lol).

Happy Thanksgiving,

Heather

This is a really simple, but really cute Christmas gift idea.  In fact it’s what I plan on doing for some of the people on my list this year.  I always like to give something to say thank you to the people that are involved in my children’s lives.  These would include teachers, classroom assistants, youth workers, coaches, you know the list.  You want to give them something, but you can’t afford to go overboard.

AND the great part is that because it’s so easy, the kids can help with it.

I’m talking about cookies in a jar.  They are very easy to do, and are quite cost effective.

This is an example of M&M Cookies in a jar, but you can really use any of your favorite recipes.

The secret is in the layering.  You want to layer to provide the most contrast with all of the dry ingredients.  Then you write out the recipe, telling what kind of wet ingredients are need.  Put a festive lid on the top, and you are done.

The kids can help measuring and pouring the ingredients with some supervision.  I really enjoy giving handmade gifts to people on my list, and I really enjoy recieving them as well.

Merry Christmas,

Heather

We all love the old time favorites of Christmas.  But what about when you just need a good laugh?  Here are my Top 10 Christmas songs that make me laugh.

These are all meant in good humor, and I hope they make you smile too!!

1. Twas the Night After Christmas – Jeff Foxworthy
2. Here’s You Sign Christmas – Bill Engvall and Jeff Foxworthy
3. SNL Christmas Song – Adam Sandler
4. Twelve Days of Christmas – Bob and Doug McKenzie
5. I Want a Hippo for Christmas – Shirley Temple
6. I want a Boob Job for Christmas – Virginia Kegel
7. Grandma Got Run over by a Reindeer – The Irish Rovers
8. All I want for Christmas is a Real Good Tan – Kenny Chesney
9. I saw Mommy kissing Santa – John Mellencamp
10. Who’s That Up on the Roof? – The Caroleers

If you are like me this year, you don’t have a bunch of extra cash, but you still want to have a nice holiday.  Finding ways to buy Inexpensive Christmas Gifts can be difficult, if you’re not being creative.  Here a few ways that you can cut down on costs with out really even noticing the difference:

1. Use Your Air miles - So many of us collect all of these points.  It seems like every single store we go into, has some sort of card that you need to use to collect the points.  But what are we collecting them for?  Many of us NEVER end up using them.  I had a friend this year that got smart about it.  She logged into her air miles.  And with the points she had accumulated, was able to by six great gifts for the people on her list.  Didn’t cost her a thing.  It doesn’t have to be just with air miles either… many stores and credit cards have a catalog of things you can buy with the points you have earned.
2. Use your discount if you are in a direct sales company - Giving gifts that are from the product line you sell (allowing you to use the discount) saves you money, and gives you possible clients in the future if they love the product.  And let’s face it, you wouldn’t be selling the stuff yourself if you didn’t believe it was a great product, so people will be very happy to get that as a gift.
3. Talk to you extended family and friends –   Many of them are also looking for ways to save money.  Why don’t you talk about doing a gift exchange for the family instead of for each individual person in that family.  Or draw names for the adults.  In our family my brother, sister, and I still buy gifts for our children, but we ourselves do not exchange anymore between the siblings.  That saves us all time and money.
4. Set Limits – Again talking with your family and friends.  Set a limit on how much is appropriate to spend on a gift.  Everybody decide on the amount, and then stick to it.
5. Try doing some homemade presents. They are often appreciated.  For example, I always give presents to the teachers, assistants, co-workers, that sort of thing.  Try doing something homemade, and of value.  One year (using our tag-team method) we made three different kinds of jelly and jam.  Wrapped them up in a festive wrap, put a bow on top, and voila!  Done.  I had teachers asking me for the recipes for months.  They didn’t feel cheated out of a gift, and I saved a bunch of cash.

These are just a few really simple but effective ways to save money this year with your gift giving.  What do you do to save money, while still trying to get it all covered?  We’re all looking for ways to save on the green!!

Merry Christmas,

Heather

I’m a mom.  And so speaking from experience, I know how crazy busy, pull your hair out, stressful all of the Christmas preparation can be.  Don’t get me wrong for one minute – I love Christmas, it is my favorite holiday.  And I love getting everything ready for Christmas.  BUT…

I know that as Mom’s most or all of the Christmas preparation is left up to us.  We want our Christmas to be perfect.  We want our children to see how magical this time of year can be.  We want to have people over to ‘relax’ and have some fun.  We want to attend all of the Christmas concerts, parties, and church plays.  We want perfect food, a beautiful tree, well behaved children, a husband that notices all we do, beautiful wrap on all of the gifts, family time to do special activities for the kids….. SHALL I CONTINUE?

No – I think you get the idea.   Alot of the stress from Christmas we put on ourselves.  We want to make sure that everyone in our family has the best Christmas.  It’s hardwired into us.  We are Mom’s – that’s what we do.

The problem is that we are mom’s all year round, and most of us are already stretched to the max with our precious time as it is.   So to find the time for all of the extra Christmas activity we usually take it from what little sleep we get, or the few minutes of “mommy time” we have before or after the kiddo’s are in bed.

It is so very important to Take care of Mom at Christmas time (That’s you).  Make sure you take time each day to be good to yourself!!!  Do something (even if it is very little) to help you re-charge everyday.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Quit wrapping present 15 minutes earlier tonight, and go relax in a hot bath or shower.  This will help relax you for bed, and help loosen the knot you have between your shoulder blades.
2. Eat Healthy – This is a hard one, but make sure you are eating healthy most of the time to give your body energy.  AND DON’T SKIP MEALS!!!
3. Get enough sleep – We can function on 2 hours and 2 pots of coffee, but it is definitely not a good way to go about it!!
4. Grab a specialty coffee as you go running around town trying to do errands today.  Just giving yourself that extra treats says – I’m worth the time.
5. Tag Team – Get together with another mom, and tag team – I’ll help you clean your house, if you help me clean mine.  Working in pairs often keeps your spirits up, gets more accomplished in less time, and is way more fun.
6. Delegate – What jobs can you pass off to hubby?  Are the kids old enough to help with some things?
7. Take a power nap with the kids – Set a timer, and just go to bed for a half hour.  Those little afternoon siesta’s can really help you keep up the energy.
8. Meditate and deep breath – You can do this several times a day.  Close your eyes, do some relaxing breathing, and think of things you are grateful for. (Don’t sit there and think of all of the things that you STILL have on your list – that will stress you even more)
9. Take a walk – Even for ten or fifteen minutes, getting outside and enjoying the fresh air is a very healthy way to de-stress.
10. Listen to Music – Happy upbeat songs will help you keep your spirits up.  It can be Christmas music, but it doesn’t have to be.  Whatever makes you smile. 

These are just a few examples of ways that you can take time to be good to yourself EVERYDAY and help prevent the seasonal burnout that is so common this time of year.

Oh and I think most important for me – Is to laugh!! Laugh with your kids, laugh at yourself, whatever you have to do!    Make sure you take time everyday to belly laugh – it keeps you young!

What kinds of things do you do to help you keep it together during the Christmas season?

Merry Christmas,

Heather

One of the activities that I have always tried to do with my kids is to help a family that doesn’t have as much at Christmas.  I think this is a great activity to do as a family.

It’s a natural reaction for children to get into the “me” mode during the holidays.  Most children get sooo much stuff at Christmas time from Mom and Dad, Grandparents, Aunties/Uncles and the list goes on.   They can get a bit greedy in all the excitement.  I don’t like that.

Picking a charity to help a family that is going through a tough spot can help children understand that yes, we are very blessed.  But it’s important to be thankful and grateful for what we have.  And it’s really important to help some kids that don’t get Christmas presents.

You can ALWAYS find groups in your local area that are collecting presents for kids, or food hampers for families.  Programs like the Salvation Army’s Adopt a Family have a greater need than ever now a days.

Once you decide on the charity – involve your kids with the joy of preparing the gift.  We generally like to do shoe boxes, and we do one for a girl, and one for a boy and then we will also do a big box for the food bank.

To give you some ideas I’ve created a short list (there are so many organizations that could use the help at this time).

Samaritian’s Purse: Operation Christmas Child

Metro Ministries – Boxes of Love

Toys for Tots

The Family Giving Tree

Angel Tree

My Two Front Teeth

These are just a few ideas to get you thinking…

I’d love to hear from you?  Do you have a Christmas tradition like this?  Who does your family help during the holidays?

Merry Christmas,

Heather

As Mom’s we all know that the each day we get closer to Christmas there is more to do.  Baking, shopping, cleaning, cards, parties, lunches, gift wrapping,  the list seems endless.

We want our children to have a great holiday, but we need to find ways to keep them busy with fun Christmas activities. 

Instead of searching for hours to find some fun Kids Christmas Activities that will keep our kids amused, as well let them learn while they play.  Why not just get it all in this one handy download?

It comes with all kind of fun Christmas games for kids, as well as Christmas printables.  The bonus is that they are educational as well as fun.  These ebooks come with:

• Word Puzzles
• Math Sheets
• Coloring Sheets
• Mazes and more…

It’s easy to find creative ways to keep your kids happy, and then you can get back to working on that to-do list.

Merry Christmas