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“It is better to give than to receive.” And there are plenty of opportunities to give throughout the year. While gift-giving is so much fun and brings enormous joy to both the giver and the receiver, gift-buying can be a stressful ordeal if you have not planned ahead. Here are some occasions in which you […]
Now that Christmas is over, many people are beginning to receive bank statements and credit card statements and wondering, “What happened?” Even some with the best of intentions just could not seem to reign in the “Spirit of Giving” during the joyous holiday season. It is a great thing to give, but it is an […]
Guest Blogger – Jessica Ryan 1. During these troubled economic times, re-gifting can save us money. Just because something is not to our taste doesn’t mean your neighbor Nellie won’t go gaga over it. Remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder! 2. Presents for birthday parties cost a fortune. Unless your kids are […]
My husband likes to keep the Christmas decorations up through New Year’s and every year, I think I will try to make it until then. However, the decorations that looked so pretty just a few days ago look terribly cluttered the day after Christmas. None if means the same to me the day after Christmas. […]
Though my children are still pretty young, there are quite a few practices that have come to be accepted tradition in our home during the Christmas season. They are activities, foods, or things that would definitely be missed if we couldn’t have/do them sometime during December. It is fun to take the things that I […]
We live on 3 acres of mostly wooded property here in Maine, but for the past 2 years, we had decided to go to a tree farm and pay for a Christmas tree. We liked the idea of making it an event. There was usually hot chocolate and candy canes. They took our picture each […]
Gift-buying and gift-giving should be happy experiences. They should fill you with a sense of goodwill. Usually, however, shopping for gifts fills me with a sense of dread about staying in budget and finding the “perfect” gift. Here are a few of my rules when it comes to finding presents for people. Set a budget […]
Friday is Family Movie Night in my house. This year, I am so excited about the prospect of introducing my children to some Christmas classics for kids! We start with pizza, then move on to cookies or brownies, and then plop down on the sofa all together for some movie magic. Combined with the magic […]
I love Christmas! The sights, smells, sounds are all wonderful, but my favorite part might very well be the taste! Cookies rank really high on my list of favorites. I like to make several different kinds throughout the month of December. Here are the cookies that usually make an appearance (and then a quick disappearance […]
Hiding gifts from kids (and significant others) can be a challenge. Here are some guaranteed ways to preserve the element of surprise in your gift-giving. 1. Have some unlabeled, moving or liquor boxes emptied and ready to be filled. 2. Before shopping bring along some bags from OTHER stores… for example if you are planning a […]
This morning, we brought up the 8 tubs that I use to store (almost) all of my Christmas decorations. The kids and I have been waiting for this for weeks! I laid it all out on my kitchen cabinets and then set about to redistribute it all throughout the house. Not an easy task! I […]
I am so grateful that you have stopped by my blog. It means so much to me that you have deemed List Mama Blog a worthy place to visit, especially during Thanksgiving! Here are my wishes for you, my fellow listmakers. May you be surrounded by family and friends. May you feel the joy that […]
As an active child myself, I remember feeling excitement about a family holiday with lots of new and old faces, but I also remember the excruciating boredom of being at my grandmother’s house with lots of adults and no toys. If you are worried about the potential for trouble caused by your own children’s lack […]
I LOVE Christmas music, and from my meanderings around the blogosphere, I know that I am not alone. I had 1 Christmas CD available this weekend, so the kids and I have been listening to it, but I am eager to replenish my stack of old, much-listened to Christmas CDs. Here is my list of […]
I could have listed my favorite main courses, delicious side dishes, elegant centerpieces. But no. If I had to choose my favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal, it would absolutely have to be the pies! Not just one. There should be a selection. Now in our home, the Thanksgiving meal is just set for our […]
We will not be visiting family, nor will we be having company for the holiday, but that does not mean I want it to be any less special or memorable for my family. Each year, I am getting more and more satisfaction out of the reactions of my children on a holiday that centers around […]
Up until last year, I had a dilemma concerning sibling gifts. I wanted my children to know the joy of giving to their siblings, but I had a terrible time trying to figure out how to work out the shopping trips alone and control the cost of the gifts. I read in a magazine how […]
I know there are still 2 weeks until we celebrate Thanksgiving, but it is never too soon to show gratitude for the good things in one’s life. This has been a year of events in our family that I hope will never be repeated but that I will remember forever. Trey and I have had […]
Today is my husband’s birthday. It just so happens that I was born 2 days before him, so we have had 14 years of him feeling like I was stepping on his thunder and me feeling like I was just the warm up for his big day. Oh well. Then, of course, he likes to […]
A few years ago, I had noticed a trend. Liberally spending money begins in October, picks up in November, and is full-blown by December. I have several theories on why this happens: a bombardment of advertising to get me to spend, more activities and holidays to enjoy, and (lots of) gifts (for everyone) are a […]
That’s right! Tomorrow is the big 3-6 for me. I can’t believe it. I feel like I don’t know how I got here. I was 11 when my mom turned 36 and I thought she was so OLD! I was only just 18 and heading off to college. I’ve been married for 14 years already!! […]
The two days before Thanksgiving are two of the busiest travel days of the year! It is human nature to want to be with friends and family on traditional holidays. Christmas also brings a strong desire to hop in the car for a roadtrip or jump on a jet or take a train. Whatever method […]
Guest Blogger – Clair Boone Christmas is a-coming and in a frugal household that may evoke a couple of emotions a) The dreaded fear of what to give and how to make it count when you don’t want to spend a lot of money, OR b) Trying to come up ways to celebrate the meaning […]
Though “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” first made an appearance on TV in 1966, it still holds every bit of the magic it first had. Many of us grew up watching this classic Halloween episode, knowing that it was officially Halloween when it aired on TV for the season. My family has watched “It’s […]
I once read an article about a woman who talked about her family’s tradition of giving at the holidays and how it began. Her son was a wrestler on his high school’s team. One day, the meet was against another school in a more impoverished district of the city. She recalled watching her son’s team […]