Family Game Night {Day 9 of The 12 Days of Frugal Holiday Fun}

Day 9 of The 12 Days of Frugal Holiday Fun ~

Family Game Night

The hustle and bustle of the Christmas season was about to swallow us up, so we had a 'night in' on Saturday with a Family Game Night.

I had visions of sitting around our dining room table playing Candyland or a card game. But my husband had a different plan...

He turned on our Kinect Dance Party and Wipeout games.

We had so much fun.

We laughed until our bellies hurt.

We munched on popcorn and did end up playing a couple games of Go Fish. We had an enjoyable,  relaxing, and silly evening spent as a family.

Our kids are feeling a little over-scheduled this month. They have had 3 Christmas parties this past week, so they really appreciated and loved the family game night.

So whether it's board games, card games, or your TV interactive games, gather the family and plan a Family Game Night this month and enjoy the 'night in'!

What are your family's favorite games? Let us know in the comments.

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Our {Artificial} Christmas Tree

I hesitated to put the word, artificial, in the title of the post. It seems that word when associated with Christmas trees provokes much debate. Part of me was embarrassed to admit it, but here goes:

We have an artificial pre-lit Christmas tree.

I feel so much better now that that is off my chest.

Here's another secret. Our tree doesn't have a theme. It also doesn't have fancy garland or matching ornaments like the beautiful trees that you see in Better Homes & Garden magazine. And if you look closesly most of the ornaments are at the bottom of the tree, because that's as far up as the kids can reach. But our tree is filled with ornaments that reflect significant events, preschool crafts, and handmade love.

Such as our "First Christmas Together" ornament given by a great aunt as a wedding gift.

or an ornament from my 1980's childhood...

or my all time favorite ornament that was made for me by my great-grandmother. She crocheted one for each of her great-grandchildren back in 1980. My mother left the hand-written gift tag on the ornament all those years ago.

But the kids' ornaments really dominate the tree.

My oldest baby's first Christmas:

Every year, our girls find an ornament in their stocking that reflects their current interests, such as Elmo

or smurf girl.

I love the hand prints that each of my girls made two years ago. I found the molds on a clearance rack at Target and turned them into Christmas ornaments. It's amazing how much their hands have grown in two year.

So I guess there is a theme to our tree, our family, and there is nothing artificial about that!

Have you put your Christmas tree up yet? Real or Artificial? Let us know in the comments.


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Where I'll Be at Midnight on Black Friday

My bed!

I know there are bargains to be found and bought on Black Friday, but I have yet to find one that was worth the sacrifice of my sleep.

Prior to motherhood, I had a career in department store retail, mainly as a buyer. So Black Friday isn't foreign to me. In fact, for 13 years I awoke at 4:45 AM every Black Friday to work at the store when it opened at 6 AM.

Yes, there was a time when stores waited until 6 AM on Black Friday to open and that was considered early.

Because I worked so many Black Fridays in the past, I try to avoid shopping on that morning. I have no desire to battle a stranger for the limited door busters that are available. If I do go out on Friday it is usually in the mid-afternoon when the traffic has slowed down. Stuff is still on sale and there are still coupons. I can usually get a parking spot somewhere closer to the door and the stores are somewhat quiet, because everyone else is home taking a nap.

Last year I did a lot of my Christmas shopping online. That does eliminate a bit of stress as long as you know what you want to buy, but I'm someone who needs to browse to find ideas for my family, so I don't buy everything online.

This year, I am intrigued by one sale that I came across at a local department store.

Every year, we shop for a local family for the holidays and the mom has asked for a king sized comforter. That size is usually quite expensive, so $19.97 for a king sized comforter is a steal. Therefore, I'll be sending my husband out for the comforter on Friday. He LOVES to shop on Black Friday. And he might even be nutty enough to go out at midnight.

But me, I'll be snuggled in my bed, exactly where I want to be.

Will you be shopping at midnight on Black Friday?  Let us know in the comments.

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My Holiday To-Do List

Can you believe it is already November 15? I swear Halloween was just yesterday. I knew this season was going to fly by at a high speed rate. We, as a family, have been too busy to take any time to breathe. And I really don't want December 26 to show up and feel like we didn't enjoy ourselves over these two months.

At the beginning of November, I started a holiday to-do list. It's not on fancy paper, just my spiral notebook where I brain dump on a regular basis. I got out my calendar and looked through our events and tried to anticipate my major tasks that were ahead. Now that we are half way through November, I'll start focusing on what I need to accomplish in December.

Have you created a master to-do list for November and December?

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Holiday Countdown Calendar

The level of holiday excitement is building up in my home. Every day I hear, "mommy, how many more days until the parade?" or "mommy, how many more days until we're off school." I'm just waiting for "mommy, how many more days until Santa comes?"

To help my girls with their patience (and mine), I printed blank November and December calendars that I found online and posted them on the refrigerator. I've entered the holiday activities that I already know about and we found that there's plenty of room for a few new events and our favorite traditions, such as trimming the tree, baking cooking, decorating gingerbread houses, visiting Santa, and spreading good cheer.

Now when my kids ask, "mommy, how many more days until...", I tell them to refer to the calendar. And every day, the kids take turns crossing off the days and our Christmas countdown has begun.

How do you manage all of the holiday activities with your family? Let us know in the comments.

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