gift for baby jesus craft image
kiwi
We're going to my daughter's apartment for Christmas this year.
I've rented a room at a nearby motel for Christmas Eve. I will be taking my Grandkids swimming at the motel in the afternoon. The motel clerk said we can check in early, no extra charge, as they won't be busy that day.
My daughter will be dropping in with supper. Either burgers or a pizza. Maybe we'll swim a bit more after supper.
Then, a leisurely evening, snacking and talking about Christmases Past, going down memory lane. Showers whenever, and bedtime. A nice queen sized bed for the kids to share, a second bed for me.
On Christmas morning, we will have the continental breakfast, then call the kids' house to ask if Santa arrived. Then, go over and open gifts.
This way, my daughter and my hubby can set up the apartment for Christmas early on Christmas Eve. No need to wait for the kids to go to sleep. My hubby will be staying there overnight, sleeping in my grand daughter's bed. Less stress on all.
Answer
I adopted a new tradition two years ago and I honestly believe that my children enjoy it more than all the presents on Christmas morning.
We pack the car up with snacks and drinks, take the dog with us and head off in the car to a local "Christmas town". The entire town participates in having light displays both on their homes, yards and also downtown. So, basically we drive really slow through the town, listen to Christmas music and it is so magical. It really gets us all in the spirit of Christmas.
Another tradition I adopted is one week prior to Christmas me and my two children make a Gingerbread House and decorate it. We take lots of pictures and share them with family through email. We also get the prepackaged crafts from Michaels craft store and we make Christmas crafts and keep them as keepsakes to display in the future (for Christmas).I make a bunch of hot cocoa with marshmellows and we all drink it and marvel at our completed crafts.
Our very favorite tradition of all, and I started this one when my kid's were very little is on Christmas Eve, I clear out a circle in my living room floor (or you can use a large coffee table) and we start off by making a craft. Last year it was a manger scene with cotton balls, popcycle sticks and hay and glued it to construction paper. Each of us made our very own manger scene. The kid's loved it!!!! After we are done with this project, I light candles all over the circle and turn out all the lights(this really gets the kid's excited and keeps their attention). Then I put a real porcelain manger scene in the middle of the circle (we usually sit indian style around it) and I get out books (that are all centered around the birth of baby Jesus) and religious based Christmas stories and I read to the children by candelight. After this, the children are getting pretty sleepy. We end the Christmas Eve night with us all singing Christmas carols in the circle (I have a book of all the Christmas songs) and my children really love this as well. They usually fall asleep at the very end of this. It is just a really nice memorable tradition. My children still bring it up and ask that we do it every Christmas Eve.I'm sure this may change as they get to be teenagers (he he) but at least this is something that they will carry with them and appreciate in the years to come.
Well, thanks for letting me share these lovely memories and traditions and thanks for sharing new ones with me. God Bless and Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas!
I adopted a new tradition two years ago and I honestly believe that my children enjoy it more than all the presents on Christmas morning.
We pack the car up with snacks and drinks, take the dog with us and head off in the car to a local "Christmas town". The entire town participates in having light displays both on their homes, yards and also downtown. So, basically we drive really slow through the town, listen to Christmas music and it is so magical. It really gets us all in the spirit of Christmas.
Another tradition I adopted is one week prior to Christmas me and my two children make a Gingerbread House and decorate it. We take lots of pictures and share them with family through email. We also get the prepackaged crafts from Michaels craft store and we make Christmas crafts and keep them as keepsakes to display in the future (for Christmas).I make a bunch of hot cocoa with marshmellows and we all drink it and marvel at our completed crafts.
Our very favorite tradition of all, and I started this one when my kid's were very little is on Christmas Eve, I clear out a circle in my living room floor (or you can use a large coffee table) and we start off by making a craft. Last year it was a manger scene with cotton balls, popcycle sticks and hay and glued it to construction paper. Each of us made our very own manger scene. The kid's loved it!!!! After we are done with this project, I light candles all over the circle and turn out all the lights(this really gets the kid's excited and keeps their attention). Then I put a real porcelain manger scene in the middle of the circle (we usually sit indian style around it) and I get out books (that are all centered around the birth of baby Jesus) and religious based Christmas stories and I read to the children by candelight. After this, the children are getting pretty sleepy. We end the Christmas Eve night with us all singing Christmas carols in the circle (I have a book of all the Christmas songs) and my children really love this as well. They usually fall asleep at the very end of this. It is just a really nice memorable tradition. My children still bring it up and ask that we do it every Christmas Eve.I'm sure this may change as they get to be teenagers (he he) but at least this is something that they will carry with them and appreciate in the years to come.
Well, thanks for letting me share these lovely memories and traditions and thanks for sharing new ones with me. God Bless and Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas!
Cutting back on Christmas gifts?
debbie
This will be the 3rd year I haven't even bought a single gift for MY side of the family since we live so far away from them, but we spend every Christmas with my husband's family. That's 7 adults and 3 kids. I have a couple ideas for semi-homemade gifts for the adults so that I won't have to spend as much. But I can't see a way around buying new for the kids - not our place to tell them Christmas isn't about Jesus AND presents. By the way we will be WITH all these people with a presents-opening session.
The problem is most of them can still afford to buy nice things for us, and that makes me feel guilty. Should we mention it ahead of time that we are cutting back? Or just sit there while I open some fancy expensive sweater and they open a tin of cookies? I mean if it came down to it I would rather they give something practical/needed to us - we are expecting our first child 2 weeks after Christmas and the budget is tight.
How would you approach this with the family?
Answer
I like the drawing name suggestion-we usually do that in my family. I do not believe in the "gifts for the kids only." First of all, that in no way solves your problem and second of all, it's short-changing anyone who has no kids or fewer children than others. The lavishing gifts on kids thing should come from those kids parents, IMO. (It drives me nuts when my husbands family tells me to only buy gifts for their kids because I maybe see those kids once a year, barely know them, and I have much closer relationships with the adults in his family, but that's another subject :).
I would definitely tell them in advance to head off any feelings of disappointed Christmas day. You could say something like, "Hey, things are a little tight since we're saving for the baby. Would you guys be interested in participating in a conservative Christmas and keep our gifts semi-homeade." That way they know you aren't going to spend much. It may or may not affect the gifts they buy for you. At least give them the opportunity to give the kind of gifts you are giving them so there's less feelings of awkwardness. One year when i was broke I talked my family into having a Dollar Tree Christmas, whereby all gifts had to be purchased from the $1 store. It was actually a lot of fun and no one had to spend more than $10 per person. One year we also did a homade gift exchange.
As far as homeade gifts for the kids,http://familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts/season/specialfeature/holiday_gifts_ms/ but one of the best homade gifts I ever made was a video. My brother is famously quiet and secretive. For his gift, I made a video of the rest of the family in a mock game show. I acted as the host and quizzed the rest of the family about facts from my brother's life. Everytime they got one wrong (which was a lot!), they had to add a piece of bubblegum to their mouth. By the end of the show everyone was dying laughing because they couldn't talk with those huge wads of gum in their mouth. My bro LOVED the video-wants it played at his funeral.
Sorry I wrote you a book! :)
I like the drawing name suggestion-we usually do that in my family. I do not believe in the "gifts for the kids only." First of all, that in no way solves your problem and second of all, it's short-changing anyone who has no kids or fewer children than others. The lavishing gifts on kids thing should come from those kids parents, IMO. (It drives me nuts when my husbands family tells me to only buy gifts for their kids because I maybe see those kids once a year, barely know them, and I have much closer relationships with the adults in his family, but that's another subject :).
I would definitely tell them in advance to head off any feelings of disappointed Christmas day. You could say something like, "Hey, things are a little tight since we're saving for the baby. Would you guys be interested in participating in a conservative Christmas and keep our gifts semi-homeade." That way they know you aren't going to spend much. It may or may not affect the gifts they buy for you. At least give them the opportunity to give the kind of gifts you are giving them so there's less feelings of awkwardness. One year when i was broke I talked my family into having a Dollar Tree Christmas, whereby all gifts had to be purchased from the $1 store. It was actually a lot of fun and no one had to spend more than $10 per person. One year we also did a homade gift exchange.
As far as homeade gifts for the kids,http://familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts/season/specialfeature/holiday_gifts_ms/ but one of the best homade gifts I ever made was a video. My brother is famously quiet and secretive. For his gift, I made a video of the rest of the family in a mock game show. I acted as the host and quizzed the rest of the family about facts from my brother's life. Everytime they got one wrong (which was a lot!), they had to add a piece of bubblegum to their mouth. By the end of the show everyone was dying laughing because they couldn't talk with those huge wads of gum in their mouth. My bro LOVED the video-wants it played at his funeral.
Sorry I wrote you a book! :)
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