A Heart Warming Comment from Grace!

Although I will be posting periodically throughout the year, I thought that I was done posting about Christmas for a bit.  But, something happened this morning that I wanted to share. 

Yesterday, I was asking the kids which Christmas activities they like the best, were there any that they don't want to do again, etc.  I was not surprised by any of their answers.  Then, this morning, Grace came up to me completely out of the blue and said, "I really liked my letter, and I would like you to write one every year."

Just thinking about this warms my heart.  For those of you who don't know Grace, she is one tough cookie.  She is strong, confident and smart.  I know that these are all great character traits that will ultimately serve her well, but they can create some challenges at this stage in her life.  Sometimes, it just seems like we are talking to her on a different frequency.  Today, we were so thankful and blessed to know that we got it right (at least this one time)!

Please share!

As we welcome in 2012 and wrap up the 2011 Christmas season, I would love to hear about traditions and activities that you and your families enjoyed this year.  If you have a minute, please share! 

Wishing you and yours a blessed New Year.

Off-Season Projects

If you came across an idea this Christmas for a big project that you would like to do for next Christmas, consider working on it during the off-season.  For example, if we decide to try to make a family tree skirt, I will work on this during the summer so that we don't get bogged down with this project during the Christmas season.  Although it is unlikely that I will take on a project like this because I am not a crafty person, I might try working on my sugar cookie baking skills throughout the year so that we have a chance to make prettier cookies next year.

Take a Picture

If you really liked how some of your decorations looked this year, take a picture before you pack them up so that you don't waste time next year trying to remember what you did this year.  When it is time to decorate again, simply pull out the pictures, and you can easily see what worked well.  Also if you thought of something this season that would improve or simplify your decorating next year, write it down so that you will remember. Little things like this can decrease the amount of time and energy that you expend on these chores next year which should make the Christmas season more peaceful and less stressful.

Pack Smart

As I start packing up our Christmas decorations and materials this year, I try to think about ways to make things easier in the fall when we start getting ready for Christmas next year.  Here are a few tips that have worked well for us.

• Make a Christmas binder.  I have a simple three ring binder that holds various Christmas related resources that I want to make sure that I don't lose.  I use plastic page protectors so that I can rip things out of magazines or print materials off of the Internet and then just slide them in.  This is where I keep my Christmas notes for the following year. 
• Store Christmas planning materials in the house.  This would include items such as magazines, books and my Christmas binder.  I start planning for Christmas well before we are pulling Christmas decorations out of the attic.  It just works better for me if these materials are easily accessible.
• Make it easy to find your nativity scenes.  If you decide that you want to put your nativity scene(s) out before decorating the rest of your house, make them easy to find.  I am always scrambling the afternoon of our first family night because we are trying to transition to Christmas right out of Thanksgiving.  Last year, I purchased new Christmas storage bins.  Everything but my nativity scenes were stored in green bins.  The nativity scenes were in red bins--a fact that I completely forgot about but thankfully had written down in my Christmas notes.  Anyway, it was so easy to find them this year.
• Christmas books and crafts. I also like to be able to easily find my Christmas crafts and the kids' Christmas books.  I do store these in the attic, but they are in boxes/bins that make them easy to find.

I am sure that there are other ways to pack smart, and I would love to hear what works best for your family.  These are just a few things that have worked well for us.

Take Note!

At the end of each Christmas season, I take notes for the next one.  Sadly, I think that I will be able to remember everything that I want to remember for the next year, but I just can't.  Here is a list of a few of the things that I take note of:

• What was each family member's favorite activity?  I want to make sure that I include these on our Advent Activity Calendar next year.
• Were there any activities that my kids did not enjoy or that they seem to have out grown?
• How can I improve any of the activities or family nights? 
• What new ideas did I come across that we might want to try next year?
• Where have I stored various Christmas items?
• What crafts do I still have? This comes in very handy when I place my order from Oriental Trading the following year.  Without this list, I always over-buy because I can't remember what I have in the attic.
• What Christmas supplies do I need?  This also helps me avoid over-buying in the fall once the stores have rolled out all of their Christmas items, but I haven't gotten all of my stuff down from the attic. By looking at my list, I know if I need gift tags, wrapping paper, etc.
• What gift ideas do I have now that might work well for next year?  Often, I will see or receive a gift that I think would work really well for various people on the other side of the family.  For example, last Christmas, I received a very simple bookmark from my mother-in-law with my initial on it that I loved. I found out where my mother-in-law bought it and picked up one for each of the girls on my side of the family for stocking stuffers this year.
• What one Christmas decoration would I like to add next year?
• What aspects of Christmas did I really enjoy this year? 
• Where there any Christmas "chores" that were stressful that I might choose not to do next year?

Raking Leaves and Santa Dollars

Yesterday, the kids and I had a great time in the front yard raking and bagging leaves.  Sam and Grace did an excellent job of jumping in the leaf piles, filling bags and hauling them to the curb.  In the end, we filled 20 bags, and the kids each earned 5 Santa Dollars.  Today, the kids will trade their Santa Dollars for real money, and we will take them shopping for each other.