Christmas is a time for family and friends. The traditions you create or pass down to your children now will create lasting memories for years to come. Here are a few Christmas Eve traditions for your family.

Attend Church - Many churches hold special services on Christmas Eve to celebrate the birth of Christ. Bring your family to church to the special Christmas Eve service. Take this time to remember and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas or go on Christmas morning to really feel the true meaning of the holiday.

A Festive Home - Is your home in the Christmas spirit? Light cinnamon- or cookie-scented candles throughout your home. Decorate with ribbons and bows. Make simple swags and table centerpieces with baskets of cinnamon-scented, wax-dipped pinecones. Add single strands of clear bulb lights to your mantle. Simple touches create a warm, holiday environment for your family.

Visit Family - If you have family to visit, plan your trips for Christmas Eve. Bring your gifts to deliver to friends along the way. Many families travel during the holiday season, so remember to drive with caution.

Christmas Cooking - Get your family involved in the Christmas cooking. Make candy and cookies with your children. Have them roll the dough, or cut out the cookies, even young children can help. Christmas cooking is always a fun thing to do on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Walk – Bundle everyone up and go for a walk or drive around the neighborhood to look at the lights. Children love looking at Christmas lights and this will really set the festive mood for the holiday… and don’t forget the hot chocolate when you get back home!

Tell a Story – Set the mood for Christmas on Christmas Eve, gather everyone around your cozy living room, light the tree, serve some hot chocolate or eggnog with a few Christmas treats and tell a special Christmas story. You can tell the story of the meaning of Christmas or a story about Santa for younger children. You can even sit around and talk about the meaning of Christmas, the upcoming year or everything you have to be thankful for.

Enjoy this special time with your family and remember that you’re creating life-long memories for your children… make it special.

The holidays are busy for travelers. Families everywhere take trips to visit relatives that they haven’t seen in a while.

It is advisable to be prepared if you must travel. There’s nothing worse than getting on the road, or arriving at your final destination, and realizing that you forgot something important. If your family is going on a trip during this holiday season, use this checklist to help you keep track of what to take:

1. Medications. Even if your children are healthy, be sure to bring along any and all medication that they could possibly need. You never know when a situation will arise that will require those medications for your kids.

2. Toothbrushes and toothpaste. Mom and Dad find it easy to remember to pack their own dental hygiene items. Younger kids may need reminding, though. Be sure everyone packs a toothbrush and toothpaste.

3. Sewing kit. Mishaps always happen. A button pops off. A skirt hem falls out. Pack a mini sewing kit in your suitcase to have on hand, just in case you need it.

4. Proper clothing. Call ahead of time and find out what the weather will be like where you are headed. Get specific temperatures if possible so that you will know what type of clothing to bring.

5. Bring extra clothes. Don’t forget to pack extra clothes as well, for everyone. Kids will need more clothing than adults, but it won’t hurt to throw in an extra outfit or two for you as well.

6. Shoes. Be sure you have matching shoes to wear with your outfits and don’t forget to bring the right shoes for the right weather.

7. Hair accessories. If you have daughters and they wear hair accessories, be sure to pack plenty to go along with their outfits.

8. Games for the kids. Kids get bored on road trips, especially if the trips are more than an hour or two. To save your sanity, be sure to bring along several fun games that they can play in the car. Puzzle books, audio cassette tapes (with a walkman), and printable games online are just a few ideas you can use.

9. Don’t forget the camera, you’ll definitely want to record all your family Christmas memories so don’t forget the camera and make sure it has batteries and film too.

10. And lastly don’t forget the presents! It’s a much too common scenario, you pack up the car, start your road trip to visit relatives for a relaxing family Christmas only to realize you’ve left the presents behind. Make a list of everything you’ve decided to take and check things off one by one.

As you prepare for Christmas dinner with your family, you may be wondering how to set your dinner table. Here are some ideas to get your creativity started:

Plan Your Menu - The first and most important step is to plan your menu. Does your family usually serve a traditional Christmas dinner? Do they like tradition, or would they mind something new? What types of meat does your family eat?

Once you’ve decided on the main meat (turkey, chicken, duck, pork, etc.), now you should decide what vegetables to serve. Is anyone allergic to any particular foods? Do certain members have certain vegetables they prefer to eat with their meat? Plan a nice variety to ensure that everyone will find something they like.

Next, plan your sides and desserts. Will you serve dinner rolls? What types of drinks will you offer? What desserts does everyone like?

When you plan your Christmas menu, remember that it is okay to ask for help. Perhaps it will be easier on you to call your guests and ask that everyone bring their favorite dish or dessert. This will take a lot of stress off you and ensures that there is a nice variety of food to eat.

Set the Table - Now that your dinner is planned, you’re ready to set the table. Try going for a theme that will encompass your dinner. Are you serving lots of casseroles? Go for a country-themed setting. Are you planning a four-course meal? Create a more elegant setting, with china and stemware.

Many family Christmas dinners are relaxed. This may be a good option, especially if you have young children. Create a simple, yet graceful centerpiece with candles and an edible fruit tree. Sometimes simple is best, offset the simple setting with some delicious food and great company for a memorable family Christmas.

The holidays can be a stressful time for moms. From holiday travel to baking and cooking, you can get overwhelmed and stressed out in a hurry. This holiday season, as difficult as it sometimes is, try to remember to stop and take time for you.

Reduce the Stress:
Do you find yourself so stressed out during the holidays that you can’t even enjoy your company? If so, it’s time to reduce your stress.

* First, ask yourself what tasks you can delegate to family members. Perhaps you can share the responsibility of your family dinner. Have everyone bring a dish. Maybe you need help at home on baking day. Ask your kids to pitch in and help with making cookies or candy or even with the clean-up.

* Next, remember to breathe. When you are in the middle of a stress-filled moment, stop, close your eyes and take in a deep breath. Remind yourself that this day should be filled with happy, joyful memories.

Be Nice to Yourself:
As women, we tend to take care of everyone first, then ourselves last. The problem with this is that usually after we’re finished taking care of everyone else, we have nothing left to give back to ourselves. During the holidays this year, take some time to be nice to you. Here are a few ideas for you:

* Take a coffee break. While you’re out shopping for gifts, stop and take a coffee break. Buy one of your favorite magazines to read while you enjoy your favorite latte.

* Read a book. Buy yourself a new book and allow yourself an afternoon of doing nothing but lying in bed, reading your new book.

* Take a bubble bath. Lock the door, turn off the phone and run a bubble bath for yourself. Relax and forget about all the plans, cooking and presents and just enjoy a nice, relaxing thirty minutes alone. It’s amazing how much these thirty minutes can re-energize you and help you cope with the tasks ahead.

So many of us worry about gaining weight during the holidays, those dreaded holiday pounds can really sneak up on you if you’re not careful. Here are some tips for cutting down the calories and forgetting about the extra pounds this holiday season:

Tip #1: Get another taste tester. If you are doing the cooking this year, stay out of the pot! If you need a food taster, ask somebody else to do that job for you.

Tip #2: Don’t nibble all day. It’s irresistible to stay away from all the food and sweets when it’s sitting on the counter. This is where even the most faithful dieters throw in the towel. They nibble here and there all day, then eat a full meal. Try not to nibble, have a glass of water or a piece of fruit instead. Cut an assortment of veggie sticks and keep them close at hand. Often we nibble on food out of habit, not because we’re really hungry.

Tip #3: Stop after the first plate. Don’t go back for seconds. I know it’s hard. Aunt Suzie’s homemade sourdough bread is probably calling your name. But don’t go back for more! Eat your dinner and stop there. After about 30 minutes or so you’ll brain will have had enough time to register you’re actually full and you will no longer feel like seconds.

Tip #4: Drink water. It is a fact that if you drink a glass of water at least 30 minutes prior to your meal you won’t be as hungry as you normally would be. Try to drink as much water as you can throughout the entire day and you won’t be as hungry.

Tip #5: Use a smaller plate. You are going to fill up your plate, no doubt about it. So use a smaller plate. Instead of using the big plates, grab a smaller plate to eat off of. You won’t be able to fit as much on it. Less food on your plate means less calories you’re taking in!

Last year I gave my husband a fun and sexy gift that kept giving all year long, LOL. I got a pack of 3×5 cards and made up one coupon for each week of the year. I can’t tell you what the coupons were for….but they were all things he likes. I packaged these coupons in a fireproof box and wrapped it up. On Christmas day he and the kids thought I had gotten him a nice box as a gift. Later I gave him the key so he could see the *other* gift inside.

To keep things simple, let’s just say….he liked it!

Every year I buy lots of fun goodies to go into my children’s Christmas stockings. This year I told my husband that he and I need to fill each other’s stockings so that we have fun stuff to open too!

Ideas for a woman’s Christmas stocking:

-a jar candle in her favorite scent

-if she likes office supplies like special pens, post it notes, or other small items, get ‘em!

-a great-smelling bar of soap

-maybe she has a hair product, cosmetic item, or skin care product that she loves but is expensive so she doesn’t always buy it. Now’s the time!

-a new pair of gloves or mittens

-hair accessories

-gift cards

-a special CD or DVD

-chocolate or a favorite snack

Ideas for a man’s Christmas stocking:

-new gloves or a winter hat

-some manly skin care products that he will enjoy but wouldn’t want to be seen buying for himself!

-guys like candles and nice soaps too! (I bought my husband a “Red Hot Cinnamon” scented candle to put into his stocking….he’ll understand the message….)

-if your husband likes hunting, fishing, or any other sport or activity, there are usually handy little extras that you can find to add to his enjoyment of his hobby. For example, hand warmers, scent away products for hunters, warm socks, cool accessories, and so on. Browse the sporting goods section and you will find lots of good ideas!

-a lot of men (and boys!) like flashlights and knives. Mag Lights are really good and come in a wide range of sizes, but you can get less expensive lights as well. Pocket knives and all-purpose tools are handy for lots of things guys do.

-travel coffee mugs are nice

-why not add some of his favorite coffee or beverage? even a bottle of wine can fit into his stocking!

Once you get thinking about it, you’ll come up with loads of ideas, and Christmas morning will be even more fun this year when you and your honey have lots of fun stocking stuffers!

Ready to decorate for Christmas? Try these simple ways to add some Christmas spirit to your home this holiday season.

Use Bows - Pretty Bows add a special touch to any decoration. Choose your color scheme this year, then buy matching ribbon and make lots of bows to add around your house. You can even find color-coordinated pre-made bows in the Christmas section to match your tree decorations.

Indoor Lights - Use clear, white lights to decorate inside this year. If you have indoor trees or greenery, add a small string of clear lights to them. You can add lights just about anywhere. Placing a string of white lights in an oversized vase or bowl will make a festive modern statement. String some lights on your mantelpiece for a more traditional feel.

Front Door Wreath - Instead of buying a wreath to hang on your door this year, let your kids make one. Buy a plain, undecorated wreath and a nice variety of miniature tree decorations. Supervise with the hot glue gun while the kids create a special wreath for your family’s front door.

Nature Centerpiece - Do you have pine and oak trees in your front and back yard? Gather pine cones, acorns and colorful leaves. Create a beautiful nature centerpiece for your holiday dining table. Make holiday swags with sprigs of green pine needles, complete with a red bow in the center.

Holiday Scented Candle - Stock up on holiday scented candles. Keep several candles lit in each room while entertaining. Some popular holiday scents are gingerbread cookies, French vanilla, cinnamon sticks, and eggnog. Check your local department stores or specialty candle stores for more fun holiday scents.

Don’t let this holiday season be stressful. Simply organize yourself to get it all done with little to no hassle. Get started early with these easy holiday organization tips.

Be a List Writer - Writing lists is an excellent way to keep yourself organized and on track. Write your list by hand then type them into a computer and print a neat copy to keep handy. Some list ideas for you: Christmas gift shopping list, spending budget, holiday cards list, meal planning, etc. Be sure to keep each list separate and mark off every task as it is completed. (And make sure you have someplace to keep your lists so you don’t lose track of them!)

Learn to Delegate - When it’s time to decorate for the holidays, get your family involved. Delegate specific tasks to each person. This will help you by reducing decorating time. Your family will also have fun decorating the house for Christmas. Your family members can also help get the house ready for Christmas by doing laundry, dusting, clearing snow and shopping.

Order Online - You can cut your shopping time in half (or more!) just by ordering online. After your shopping list is complete, sit down and shop online. You will most likely be able to find the majority of your gift list online. What’s even better is that you can save time and money by having some gifts automatically shipped to friends and family afar. You can even order your groceries online in some areas.

Think Ahead – Christmas happens every year and every year you swear you will put those decorations back in the right place. This is a good time to think about what you can do this year to make next year easier on yourself next Christmas. Organize your Christmas decorations before storing them in the attic. Jot down any ideas you might have for next year in a special holiday journal. Collect those favorite family recipes you requested this year and save them in your holiday journal for next year’s family dinner. And remember to untangle the Christmas lights before putting them away!

Share the Love – Plan your holiday dinner early and share the love (or food). If you’re hosting the Christmas dinner ask family and friends to each bring a dish, make sure you ask what everyone is bringing so you don’t end up with ten desserts and no main courses. This will take a huge amount of stress of you and your family members can show off their favorite recipes. If you’re going to someone else’s house for dinner offer to bring a dish along, your offer may be greatly appreciated.

By starting early, doing some online shopping and learning to delegate you can dramatically reduce your Christmas stress this year. Christmas shouldn’t be a time of stress and worry, try to slow down so that you can enjoy the sites and festivities around you and more importantly share it with your family. Merry Christmas.

When my husband and I got married (15 years ago!) we decided that instead of buying boxes of ornaments for our Christmas tree, we were going to purchase special ornaments that had something to do with us, our year, travels we took, or things that were happening in our life, even if it meant we might only have a handful of ornaments for a few years.

The first year I got to give my husband a “Dad To Be” ornament, and we still have a lovely ceramic lovebirds ornament that we choose together. Our relatives gave us special “Our First Christmas Together” ornaments as well.

The next year we got to buy “Baby’s First Christmas” ornaments and personalized ones with our new son’s name on it.

As the years have gone by, and we now have six children, it has become a highlight each year for the whole family to go out to the store to pick out special ornaments. The kids now pick ones that they particularly like, and I use a sharpie marker to label in an inconspicuous spot their name and the year. We are getting a lot of ornaments and it helps to be reminded which ones are for which people.

When we decorate our Christmas tree it is so fun to get out each ornament and have the kids exclaim, “Oh yeah! This one is mine!” or, “This was mine when I was a baby!” We also collect ornaments from special places we go, so there is plenty of “Remember the time when we went there?” too.

We don’t have a fancy, color-coordinated tree, but ours is filled with happy memories, and to me that’s the best tree to have!

The holidays can cause total chaos and turn into a stressful occasion if you’re not careful. This year, take care of yourself and use these tips for staying stress free during the holidays.

Stress Free Holiday Tip #1: Stay healthy. Focus on your health during this holiday season and it will probably make a much bigger difference than you could ever imagine. Pay attention to what you eat. Stay away from junk food and nibbling throughout the day. It’s hard not to taste-test your dishes, but remember that every bite adds up to pounds and inches.

Stress Free Holiday Tip #2: Stay fit. Make a special effort to hit the gym as often as possible. The holidays are a stressful time and everyone is rushing around in a flurry of commotion. Stop and make time to stay fit. Even if you can only fit in a 30-minute workout twice a week, that’s better than nothing. You can work out a lot of your frustrations in a single 30-minute workout.

Stress Free Holiday Tip #3: Stay calm. When you feel anxiety rising, take a deep breathe and hold it in for a ten count. Slowly release your breathe, then take another deep breath in. Repeat this simple exercise three or four times, until you feel calm again. Remind yourself that you are only one person. You can’t do everything all at once or on your own. If you need help, ask for it. Do whatever it takes to keep yourself calm.

Stress Free Holiday Tip #4: Stay happy. When you are stressed out to the max, it is difficult, at best, to find a ray of sunshine. However, if you are unhappy, everyone around you will notice this. Follow the three tips above, then smile. Sometimes smiling, even when you don’t feel like smiling, will lighten your mental load. Give it a try. Smile and be happy.

Stress Free Holiday Tip #5: Don’t do it all. We often overload ourselves during the holidays, promising to bake cupcakes for school, cook dinner for all the family, volunteer at the shelter and buy gifts for everyone we’ve ever known. There really is no need to do so much. Yes, it’s great to give back but do it within reason and don’t stretch yourself too far.

Try to remember what the holiday season really is all about and take some time to relax and enjoy this special time of year.

Hey folks!

I have some freebies available for you when you shop at my online businesses this month:

At Supermom’s No-Lice Advice you will get a FREE eBook “Creating an Old-Fashioned Family Christmas” with every purchase. This great little book has decorating ideas, nature activities, other fun holiday activities for the whole family, and lots of great recipes, including my personal favorite, Dangerously Easy Two-Minute Fudge!

I am also giving away a wonderful 26-episode collection of The Cinnamon Bear to every Baby Boutique customer this month!

The Cinnamon Bear is a classic radio program from 1937. Families used to
enjoy listening to one Cinnamon Bear episode a day from Thanksgiving until
Christmas. What a precious way to build family memories!

The CINNAMON BEAR is the classic story of Judy and Jimmy Barton who search
for the family’s Silver Star which goes on top of their Christmas tree.
They discover the star has disappeared from the attic. Then they meet The
Cinnamon Bear, and fly to Maybeland in his Soda Pop Airplane in pursuit of
the Crazy Quilt Dragon, whom they believe took the ornament. They meet a
host of characters, including Crazy Quilt Dragon, The Wintergreen Witch, Fe
Fo the Giant, and even Santa Claus.

Each customer will also get a FREE downloadable Cinnamon Bear coloring book!

You can learn more about the Cinnamon Bear audio presentation giveaway here.
I am also giving away the Cinnamon Bear audio presentation to those who purchase Supermom’s Complete No-Lice System.

I also have a great freebie that will be especially interesting to homeschoolers and those of you that just love learning! For every purchase of my Healthy Home Products each customer will receive a FREE eBook, Globalmania: Master World Georgraphy in Just 7 Months. This is a brand new, not-yet-for-sale resource that has a $12.95 value.

The Healthy Home Collection now includes:

Homemade Laundry Detergent Kits (make your own healthy laundry detergent and save money too!)

Natural Dishwasher Detergent (stop washing your dishes with chemicals)

Handmade Soaps (We love them! My personal favorites are the peppermint and the cinnamon, oats, and honey. I’ll never go back to regular soap!)

Peppermint Shampoo Bars (My new favorite way to wash my kid’s hair. Awesome! I posted a product review about it here.)

and a nice Healthy Home Sampler Pack so you can try it all!

Weary of the hassle of holiday shopping? Many shoppers line up for hours on end to get a deal on the hottest toy of the season, or newest fashion craze, then there are those who dread shopping and just put it off until the last minute, or give gift certificates to get out of shopping altogether.

Holiday shopping doesn’t have to be a hassle. It can be quickly executed without so much stress and anxiety, if you plan ahead. Try these tips to make your holiday shopping a breeze this year:

1. Set a budget in place. Do you know how much money you can afford to spend on gifts? If not, sit down right now and make that budget. This will be a huge time-saver in the end, plus you won’t have to deal with the fall-out if you overspend!

2. Make your list; check it twice. Create a list of who you need to buy gifts for this year. Start with family first, then add friends, co-workers, etc. How does this list look, compared with your budget? Too long? Pare it down. Despite what you think, you don’t have to buy as many gifts as you think you do. Trim your list until you have it down to a reasonable number.

3. What do they like? Now that you know who you will be buying gifts for, start thinking about what these people like. You may already have a good idea of what kinds of things they like. If not, do some snooping and find out. Make a shopping list of these things for each person.

4. Shop early. If possible try to avoid the last minute rush and shop early. Another good option is to go late at night. Many department stores operate late hours during the holidays. It’s a good time to leave the kids with your spouse and do the shopping on your own without worrying about the crowds or the kids needing to be fed or changed.

5. Shop online. Now that you know exactly what you need to buy, start by shopping online. You can find lots of good deals on auction and discount sites. You may want to consider giving your business to shops (like The Baby Boutique!) that do not charge for shipping. You can actually have each item shipped right to the recipient! Shopping online can save you a lot more money than you’d think, and it will definitely save you the hassle of fighting those Christmas crowds!

In recent years there has been a real push toward gift giving that is clutter-free. People are tired of just adding more *stuff* into their homes and lives. We’re so busy, in many cases we don’t even have the energy to deal with managing more things. Between having six children and all the *stuff* that accumulates from them, and the fact that I tend to attract clutter somehow, I am greatly in favor of the clutter-free concept.

This year I am very excited about giving the handmade soaps that I sell here at The Baby Boutique. I love to give a little token of my appreciation to special people in our lives. For many of us that list includes:

bus drivers
teachers
church teachers
speech therapists
hair dresser
neighbors
friends from church
sport team coaches
pastors
special friends
party hostess
coworkers
exchange gifts
family stocking stuffers
and more!

I’ve tried a lot of handmade and natural soaps over the years, but in many cases I have found them to be small, overpriced, and they seem to get used up really fast. (not because of extra use–just because whatever they were made of made them disintegrate quickly) I’m so thrilled with the soap in the Baby Boutique because it’s the best from every angle:

They smell great!
They work well.
They have no chemicals or junk in them. (did you know that triclosan, which is in most soaps now, is a dangerous chemical?)
They last as long as “regular” soap.
And the price is right!

Right now you can get four bars of your choice for just $20 which includes the shipping! OR you can get 9 bars for $45 (free shipping also). If you are in need of a larger quantity of soap for lots of special people, or just to stock up for your own needs, we can even send collections of 20 soaps for $90 or 30 soaps for $130.

There are tons of scents to choose from–and every scent is natural, NOT synthetic! My two favorite soaps are the peppermint and the cinnamon, oats, and honey. However, there are many I haven’t even had the chance to try yet! Check these out:

Lavender Sunshine Baby Soap:
Made with olive oil, sunflower oil, and lavender essential oil. This soothing scented soap is perfect for babies and others with sensitive skin.

Almond Honey Bee Baby Soap:
Made with olive oil and beeswax, and just a touch of essential oil. Mild and perfect for your baby!

Chamomile Dreams Baby Soap:
A pure Castile soap, 100% saponified olive oil with a touch of chamomile essential oil. Pure and natural. Castile soap is the mildest soap available, perfect for your baby or you.

Cinnamon, Oats and Honey Soap:
I just love this spicy scented soap. It’s like taking a bath with Big Red Gum! Real oatmeal adds a mild exfoliant that feels great. Made with rain water, lye, lard, olive oil. coconut oil, ground oats, shea butter, beeswax, honey and cinnamon oil. Bars about 3-4 oz each.

Classic Lavender-Lightly Scented Soap:
If you love lavender you’ll love this wonderful lathering soap made from olive, coconut, and palm oils. These oversized bars give you more soap but aren’t as smooth and uniform as the other varieties. 4-5 ounces each.

Coconut Almond Fudge Soap:
Made with coconut oil, cocoa butter, and bitter almond essential oil. It smells so good you’ll want to eat it! The creamy soap with fudgy swirls will put you in chocoholic heaven!

Grapefruit-Peppermint Soap:
This lathering soap combines the cool scent of peppermint with the fresh scent of a just- cut pink grapefruit. Made with Coconut, olive, palm kernel, soybean & essential oils with a touch of shea butter and cranberry fiber for color.

Herbal Lavender Soap:
An wonderful lavender with dried lavender flowers right in the soap. Made with coconut oil, olive oil, lard, & essential oil this is a sudsy hard soap with a lovely scent.

Lemongrass Soap:
Would you like a soap with a refreshing lemon scent? This one’s for you! Made with rain water, lye, olive oil, palm oil, coconut oil and essential oil. (Plus 2 yellow crayons added to the mix for color!) About 3+ oz each.

Ole Pioneer Soap:
An all white bar, pure and mild. This is classic lye soap with no colors or scents: just rain water, lard and lye. The perfect soap for those with sensitive skin or for use in removing laundry stains. Large 4-5 oz bars.

Peppermint Patty Soap:
This wonderful soap smells so good I look forward to using it in my shower. My littlest son rubs it all around his belly with a grin, “Mmmmmm…peppermint!” Made with rich cocoa butter, and other high grade vegetable oils & combined with essential peppermint extract and cocoa powder, this soap is amazing. 4 oz

Rosemary-Peppermint Soap:
This excellent scent combination is made with
mango butter, olive, coconut, canola, palm kernal and essential oils.

Christmas makes kids wide-eyed, with thoughts of a ton of presents under the Christmas tree. Some kids even like to count their presents under the tree. This holiday season, teach your kids the true meaning of Christmas — giving to others.

Give to Others - One simple way to teach your children the value of giving is to have them donate to a local shelter. Have your children go through their toys and clothes. Make sure they give away one really nice thing that they don’t really need or play with. Place an emphasis on the fact that there are many children who have no home or parents.

Another way your children can learn about the gift of giving is to donate canned goods to a local food drive service. These services provide food to families in need. The holidays are often a difficult time for those in need. Take your children to the grocery store and have them choose a nice variety of canned foods to donate. If they can spend some of their own money to make a purchase, the impact will be even more meaningful to them.

One more way your children can learn a lesson in giving is to buy gifts for others. Choose a needy family in your church or community. If you don’t know of anyone in need, ask around. Officials at your city’s municipal building, or local pastors will be able to make recommendations to you.

When I was growing up there was a family at our church that my parents had a soft spot for. They were pretty poor and had a lot of needs. Even though we never had an overabundance of money, my parents somehow managed to provide gifts for this family every year.

My parents never let them know that the gifts were from us. They wanted to bless these people without gaining any personal credit for it, and without making the relationship awkward. We often dropped off the gifts in a large bag in the dark on Christmas eve. It became a lot of family fun to park our car down the road from their house, and having my dad run through the snow with this big bag, and then run back to the car as fast as he could.

We learned how to give from what we had, even if that wasn’t very much, and to give without expecting to get anything (even admiration) in return. Good lessons that have lasted and helped make me a better person.

If you have one or more children involved in church or school, the holidays can get a little out of hand. Keep yourself (and your kids!) organized this year with these quick ideas:

School and Church Activities:

* Use a calendar. This is the most important thing you can do to keep yourself organized. Keep a large, wipe-off calendar in the kitchen. Write their parties or other holiday activities on the calendar. This way, everyone will be able to see who has an event scheduled. This will help to prevent over-scheduling or double-booking any day of the month.

* Keep a running list. Your kids will probably be asked to bring refreshments to contribute to their class party. Keep a running list on the refrigerator so that you can do your shopping all at once. Having this list will prevent you from making several trips to the grocery store.

Gift Giving:

* Create a budget for your kids. If you will be providing money for your kids to buy Christmas gifts with, then make a budget. If they will use their own money for shopping, you should still help them make a budget so they don’t overspend.

* Make a shopping list. Again, create a list with each child of who they need to shop for. If they know what kind of gift they will buy for their friends, then let them go ahead and make that list. Don’t take them shopping without a plan or it may end in disaster, with you spending a lot more than you’d intended to in the beginning or worst shopping for hours without finding the right gifts.

Christmas is a wonderful time to bring your family together. Many families establish certain rituals that are attached to specific holidays. This year, spice up your holidays with some fun family Christmas activities.

Christmas Caroling - Christmas carolers are almost a thing of the past. This year, gather your family, bundle up to keep warm, and go Christmas caroling through your local community. Be sure to visit your local nursing home, as they love these types of holiday celebrations. IN years past my husband and I have done this around our neighborhood with our children. The neighbors loved it, we had opportunities to get to know some people that we don’t normally visit with much, and we gave out cards and homemade fudge at each house. Good memories!

Make a Gingerbread House - A gingerbread house is a very fun way to involve your family in a long-loved Christmas tradition. Bake the pieces to your gingerbread house, then let the entire family construct and decorate the house.

An alternative to this is to use graham crackers and ready-made frosting to put together little houses. If you can get some small boxes to use as your house form it will work even better. Just use the frosting like glue, put your walls and roof together, then decorate! My children love to make their houses on trays, and we use coconut and/or popcorn for snow on the ground and rooftops, lots of little candies for decorations. Upside down sugar cones makes great Christmas trees, and pretzel sticks make great fences. This is one activity my children beg for every year.

Make Handmade Christmas Cards – Instead of buying your Christmas cards, make your own this year. You can purchase all the materials you’ll need at your local scrapbook shop or craft store. Buy blank note cards then decorate them. Insert your family’s Christmas photo inside each card before you mail them out to family and friends.

If you prefer to write a holiday letter, do that, but add a special touch to the paper such as each child’s hand print. This has been especially fun on the years when we’ve had new babies. (and, if the baby doesn’t want to open their hand, as many tend to do, a foot print is even cuter!)

Lighting of the Tree - A fun family Christmas activity is to make it a special occasion to erect and light your family’s Christmas tree. Plan a special day of family fun. At the end of the day, gather your family to decorate and light the Christmas tree. Then, sit around your beautifully decorated tree and read the Christmas story while you sip on eggnog or hot cocoa.

There’s a lot in the media about the importance of families eating their meals together. My family is unusual, I guess, in that we eat together for every meal except for the lunch times when the children are at school. However, with six children in the family, I have often wondered if we are really getting very much value out of these meals, because there is so much noise, complaining, getting up and down for drinks and things, and goofing off. It is hard to have a meaningful conversation most of the time! On the occasions when it isn’t chaos at our table, I usually have a hard time thinking of what we could talk about. Today I found out about a new tool from the Menu Mailer lady: downloadable Conversation starters!

So, if you’re like me and need a helping hand for ways to make your family meal times more meaningful, or if you’ve got company coming for Thanksgiving and need some good ways to get the group interacting in a positive way, check it out!

Still scrambling to figure out what you’ll be eating and doing on Thanksgiving? Check this out:

Today begins a series of articles for you on preparing for the holidays. I already told you about Flylady, and later on I found out that she has a >wonderful FREE downloadable Holiday Control Journal. I went and checked it out and printed it off. It is just the thing I needed! I had been thinking that I needed to decide on our Thanksgiving Menu, and start figuring out what we would be giving for gifts, etc. This handy tool has lots of charts, reminders, etc. to help me think of everything and keep all the lists in one place. Check it out!

Are you looking for a way to keep your Christmas season organized, beautiful, and keep the focus on Jesus? This ebook is the answer!

Within this 146 page ebook you will find:
–Blank monthly and weekly calendar pages for planning your year
–Weekly “To Do” lists showing exactly what needs to be done each week
–Thanksgiving and Christmas Menus forms
–Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Recipe Card forms
–A Holiday Self-Evaluation form
–Shopping Lists
–”Sheri’s Tips”- tips to make your holidays meaningful, shared throughout the ebook
–Christmas Craft and Gift Ideas
–Memory Making Ideas for the Family
–Holiday Journal Pages

Plus many forms such as:

Christmas Gift Shopping List
Gift Making Checklist
Christmas Card Checklist
List of Baked Items to Share/Give Away
Favorite Meals to Freeze for Later
Decoration Ideas
Needed Supplies to Purchase This Week
Holiday Baking Schedule
Kids’ Gift Idea List
Christmas Gifts to be Shipped

PLUS!!! “The Glorious Coming: A Jesse Tree Celebration of Advent” - Jesse Tree devotionals, ornaments, and instructions to make your own Jesse Tree!
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PLUS!!! Some favorite holiday recipes!

Buy once, and never buy another holiday planner again!

Buy yours today and begin your holiday planning now! Get ready for a more meaningful, organized, Jesus-centered holiday season!

You can read more about it and purchase yours here.