Christmas Challenge: Day #7

One of my friends posted on Facebook about the rising cost of stamps.  He said he couldn't remember the last time he even bought stamps!!! I was surprised to hear this, but as I asked others, the consensus was the same!  E-mail, facebook, and skype seems to be doing away with the "old-fashioned" mail system! 

My father was a postmaster, so mail is something I have always been familiar with...and used!  I still hand-write letters!  I love to send birthday cards!  And, well, Christmas is my favorite time of year to send mail: Christmas cards!!!!  Not only do I love sending them, I love receiving them, and displaying them!  I received my first Christmas card in the mail yesterday from a friend in Illinois!!!  It was great to see the happy shiny picture of her little family!  A card we'll enjoy all Christmas season!

I ordered my Christmas cards weeks ago!  They are addressed, stuffed, and ready to go!  But then I realized that this is a tradition that I want to teach my son!  I don't want an additional person to lose interest in old-fashioned correspondence!  SOOOOO...I pulled all of my cards off the shelf, pulled out some Christmas stickers and let Samuel decorate the envelopes! 

With Samuel being two, most of the cards didn't receive any stickers, but a few lucky ones got a TON of stickers :0)  Another option is to purchase plain cards, and let your child decorate them!  That's my plan for next year...we'll see how that turns out :0)

Christmas Challenge Day #6: Cleaning out the toy chest/Host a toy swap

Ah yes, it's that time of year again!!!  Time for more TOYS!!!!!!!  Where are you going to put all those new toys???  You know even if you do all things in moderation, there will still be an overflow...what to do, what to do???

Host a toy swap!!!  My local MOPS group does this (we did it last week!!!), but it is such a brilliant plan and a great way to clean out the toy stash!  The concept is simple!

You and your child go through their toys and decide what they actually play with, and what they don't.  The toys they don't use, or have rarely used in the past year...put them in a bag! My son has about 10-15 toys that he just adores!!!  We don't keep a lot of toys around, but the toys that just kind of get shuffled past, I bagged them up!  (Please note: if your child is one who might not be open to this idea you can do one of two things: go through their toys when they aren't looking or explain to them the idea of swapping/sharing).

Then contact all our mom friends that you know!  Our built in MOPS group is perfect, but you only need one or two other mom's to make this work!  Ask that they each bring their unloved toys (I've read where some people set a number like 5 toys) or they can bring all that they want!  The toys should be in good, working shape!  Don't worry about cleaning...that can happen later on!

Then set a time and place to host the swap!  We have ours during our meetings...I know friends who will host it in their dining room!  Whatever is best for you!  And make the swap, Samuel didn't play much with a few puzzles he mastered...but he loved matchbox cars!  I was able to pick up a few matchbox cars, and find a new home for the puzzles he no longer played with!   This swap we got a couple boats for the tub, a play telephone, a sesame street popping toy, and a train! 

At the end of the swap, any toys left over can go back to the owners or make a donation to a local charity who might be able to use them!  It's the perfect way to clean out your stash, a great teaching moment (if applicable), and your child gets new-to-them toys!

Samuel with his train he got!

Christmas Challenge Day #5: Trimming the Tree

A Christmas staple to any family that celebrates Christmas: decorating the Christmas tree!!!!!

I've always enjoyed having that "perfect" tree...until my poor ornaments met my son!  Last year, the ornaments went on...15 minutes later, those that hadn't been pulled off or broken by a certain little boy were taken off by me!

So this year, a new plan has been put into action!  Lots of lights!  Lots of soft ornaments!  No hooks!  No beloved ornaments! And no worries!  This tree is for Samuel!!!  Listening to Christmas carols, we decorated as the family!  And enjoyed the OOOOOH! and look for joy on Samuel's face as we lit the tree!!! 

This is also a great work in progress!!!  Our tree does look a little bare right now, but next week Samuel and I are going to make some homemade ornaments for the tree!!!  Maybe even some garland too!!! 

Tree decorating is one of my favorite traditions, and I'm so happy that I could share it with my son!

Christmas Challenge Day #4: Christmas Stories!

My son loves for me to read to him!  Each year when I pull out the Christmas decorations, I also pull out our Christmas books!  They are getting a worn look to them since we've used them frequently over the past two Christmases, but Samuel was excited to see them again!!!

So this leads to Christmas Challenge Day #4...reading holiday stories with your child!  The selection out there is huge!  And fun!!!  Each year I buy two books for Samuel and give them to him as a St. Nickolas Gift (December 6th).  It's a great holiday tradition, and a little extra something special during the holidays just for him!  Our selection of books has a wide range, and they aren't necessarily Christmas oriented, some are more winter focused.   We have the Grinch Who Stole Christmas, Snowballs, Winter Friends, and Maizy's Christmas.  This year, Samuel will be receiving a book about the birth of Jesus and a fun book called Santa Clause.

Let me clarify up front, we are very frugal (we are on a one income family since I stay at home with our son)...so I'm not hitting up Barnes and Noble for brand new books!  I pick up books throughout the year at yard sales and Goodwill and at our MOPS toy swap.  Our books are well loved, and are starting to fall a part...so the .50 of $1 I spent has been well worth it!

Short notice to look at yard sales for this Christmas, but also remember your local library!!!  Most libraries do story times for a variety of ages.  I live in a very small town in Maryland, and our local library has an amazing story time weekly!  And like clock work, the focus is on the holiday season!!!  Samuel enjoyed the holiday stories, Christmas craft, and Christmas flannel board this past week!  Plus you can check out holiday books...free!  Samuel loves to help pick out books!!!  It's a great one-on-one activity that is free and fun for your family!!!

Just a hint, when I was a new mom, I attended a different library that provided a story time for infants.  It was a great outing and a very good program, but not quite the right fit for me and Samuel.  If you are new to the library scene, be sure to look around and try different libraries!  We tried three different libraries before we found one that best suited the needs of an active little boy!  He loves going to the library and always gives Miss Nancy a hug!