Jolly Christmas in Bama

Christmas Countdown Week 2- Reality Check

2008-11-02T09:54:00.000-08:00

[X]Divide Christmas card list into five groups. Write and address one group this week.
I already have my MHH Cards done, will have family cards done soon! Then onto my CafeMom cards!

[X]Make a holiday budget. Work together with your spouse to set a comfortable level of holiday spending. We make it easy with our printable holiday budget form. Add a printable master shopping list to speed errand days.

[ ]Do your visual field a favor with a quick decor declutter. A clean sweep now makes holiday decorations all the more impressive!

[/]Set up a holiday housework plan. Print our chore checklist form. Post it publicly and hold family members accountable for delegated tasks.

[X]Make a family wardrobe check. Fill out the family wardrobe worksheet, and put any "To Buy" items on your shopping list.

[ ]Print a master shopping list, to organize shopping excursions through the holiday season.

[X] Do you keep a gift closet, adding new gift items year-round? Take inventory now, before you shop for holiday gifts. Use our printable gift closet inventory form.

[X]Establish good health habits to cushion you and your family from holiday stresses. Focus on regular bedtimes, proper diet, mild exercise and stress reduction.

[X]Perform a tabletop check. Inventory serving pieces, table linens, china and flatware. Check store flyers for sales. Will you be ready to set a pretty holiday table?

[X]Schedule family haircut appointments.

[X]Check smoke, carbon monoxide detectors on Time Change Sunday. Change the batteries and test detectors to keep your family safe.

To Buy This Week:

[X]Begin Christmas gift shopping. Divide the master gift list into five sections. Purchase gifts for one-fifth of the List entries. Wrap gifts as they are purchased. Keep a running total of gift expenditures and enter on the holiday budget form.

[X]Purchase any needed holiday clothing for family members.

More Christmas Crafts...

2008-10-28T11:48:00.000-07:00

Here is a craft from allfreecrafts.com, there are tons of Christmas crafts, so visit them and enjoy!

Fancy Beaded Ornament Hooks

Designed by Twila Lenoir
Copyright © 2004-2008 Jane Lake All Rights Reserved

These beaded Christmas ornament hooks are best-sellers at Christmas bazaars and craft shows; they also make great homemade Christmas gifts.

Fancy Beaded Ornament Hooks

Supplies you will need:

18 Gauge copper wire or similar wire that you have on hand
Assorted pretty beads
Needle nose pliers
dowel - or something similar, like a pen, to bend the wire around

Ornament Hook Instructions

You'll be surprised how quick and easy these hooks are to make.

Clip off about 4 inches of wire. Find something fat enough to make a hook shape when you wind the wire around it - I used the handle of a paint brush. Bend the wire clockwise to make the hook then, on the straight end, thread on a very pretty bead. For smaller beads I added three beads with a bigger one in the middle and two smaller beads at each end. For larger beads, like the flag bead, one is enough. I love that flag bead!

When you thread on the last bead, bend the wire so that the beads won't fall off, as shown in the picture. With something larger than your first dowel or pen, (maybe a magic marker or a highlighter marker) bend a large loop, again going clockwise at first but with the next loops going anti-clockwise, or the opposite way of the first hook at the top.

Make the anti-clockwise loops with needle nose pliers, simply circling the wire in towards the larger loop.

Put a fancy Christmas ornament on the bottom loop and feed it through until it lies on the larger loop. Make several of these for a great homemade Christmas gift.

Fast, easy and it really does look great and one of a kind. Enjoy!

Toddler crafts for Christmas....

2008-10-28T11:45:00.000-07:00

HANDPRINT WREATH

What You Need
Coloured construction paper, paper bags or coloured paints (oranges, reds, browns for Fall or reds, greens and white for Christmas)
There are two ways to do this craft. One is to trace the child's hand onto paper and cut out the prints. The second is to make paint handprints on the paper and cut those out.

How To Make It
Make nine handprints (3 of each colour).
Cut out the prints and glue to form a wreath.
You can decorate the wreath further with pictures (like leaves, pumpkins or corn). These can be: stickers!
hand drawn artwork by the children,
pictures from colouring books, magazines .

REINDEER FOOD

What You Need
Oatmeal
Un-Popped Pop Corn ( magic corn :-) )
Glitter
Small zip baggies
Ribbon

How To Make It
1.Pour about 1/8 cup of oatmeal in snack-size baggie.
2.Add some glitter and the "magic corn". Close the zip baggie.
3.Attach a message with ribbon (or glue) to
the front of the baggie

REINDEER FOOD POEMS

The big day is coming,
Santa's on his way.
His reindeer are busy

pulling the sleigh.
They are going to be hungry,
so give them a treat.
Sprinkle this reindeer food

on the front lawn
for them to eat!

OR

Sprinkle on the lawn at night
The moon will make it sparkle bright
As Santa's reindeer fly and roam
This will guide them to your home

FROSTY SNOWMEN
What You Need
Styrofoam balls in two or three sizes
Small black pom-poms
Felt
Scissors
Styrofoam glue
White tempera paint
Glitter
Toothpicks
Floral foam

How To Make It

Decide which ball will be the "base" of your snowman and cut about 1/2" off the bottom so your creation can stand. **Paint and glitter Styrofoam balls using the technique outlined below. When paint is dry, stack balls with toothpicks, using Styrofoam glue to hold them together. Dress the snowmen with hats, scarves, earmuffs, and other winter gear cut from felt. Add black pom-poms for eyes and mouth.
**Painting the styrofoam balls is optional but makes for a "prettier" craft. If doing this craft with your toddler, you might want to "pre-paint" the balls or skip the paint altogether**

HOMEMADE SNOW GLOBES
(This is more of an "advanced" craft however our kids LOVED helping to create their snow globes! With proper supervision, this is a wonderful craft that will bring squeals of delight from your toddler when the project is finished and they are able to shake up the snow!)

What You Need
Baby food jars, washed and with labels removed
A bag of glitter
Glycerin or baby oil
Small figurines (about 1.5” tall)
Glue
Felt
Paint to match felt
Pretty ribbon or cord
Permanent Marker

How To Make It
Paint the outside rims of the baby food jar lids the same color as the felt. You don’t have to paint the bottom, as these are getting covered with felt.

Cut the felt into circles approximately 2-1/4 inches in diameter. Glue the felt to the bottom (outside) of the baby food jar lid.

Flip the lid over and glue the figurine in upright to the inside center of the baby food jar lid. Make sure that the figurine will fit all the way into the jar with the lid screwed on before gluing it in! A hot glue gun works especially well in gluing the figurines upright into the lid.

You should now have a baby food jar lid, with a painted edge and felt glued to the bottom. When the felt side is down, there should be a small figurine glued standing upright on the lid.

Pour about 2 teaspoons of glitter into the baby food jar. Fill ¾ of the way full with glycerin or baby oil. Don’t use water, as the oil is thicker and causes the glitter to fall more slowly. Slowly screw the lid onto the jar. Your figurine should now be hanging upside down in the jar, in the oil, with the felt on top. Make sure the lid is screwed on very tightly.

Use your pretty ribbon or cord to tie around the base of the lid as a finishing touch. The permanent marker can be used to write your child’s name and date on the bottom of the felt, with a message if desired.

Flip the jar over. The “snow” should fall slowly over the figurine.

CANDY CANE FRAME ORNAMENT (with or without photo)
What You Need
Candy Canes (small or large)
Glue
Felt
Ribbon

How To Make It
Form a heart with two candy canes; glue together at both top and bottom. Let dry, then run ribbon through the heart and glue to the top of the candy canes to secure.

Trace heart's outside edge onto two pieces of felt and cut out. In one heart, cut an oval or square window. Line up photo in window, and glue in place between the felt pieces; let dry.
Glue candy canes to felt; decorate with glitter.

PAPER PLATE WREATH
What You Need
White or Green Paper or Plastic Plates
Tissue Paper (Red, Green)
Glue
Ribbon

How To Make It
Cut the the tissue paper into 1 to 2 inch squares. This can be done by adults prior to crafting.
Cut the center out of the paper plate to leave a round "donut" shape. This will form the base of the wreath. Again, this can be done prior to craft time.
Scrunch the pieces of tissue paper into balls. You can do this on the end of a pencil to make more of a flower shape or you can just make a ball with your fingers.
Glue around the paper plate to make the wreath.
Tie a bow with the length of ribbon and glue it to the top of the wreath.

HOLLY WREATH
What You Need
Paper plates
red and green construction paper
glue.

How To Make It
This one is quick and easy. Cut a circle out of the centre of a paper plate. Decorate the outer circle with cut out holly leaves from green construction paper. Add small circles of red construction paper for berries. Hang by a string.

EASY STAR ORNAMENTS
What You Need
Cardboard
Felt
Glue
Sequins Glitter or other Baubles

How To Make It
Cut star shapes out of card board and felt. Glue felt onto card board piece. Edge star with glued on sequins

October Rudolph Day

2008-10-28T08:51:00.000-07:00

Here is what I should have done on Rudolph Day!!

[X] Start Master Grocery Shopping List
[X] Wish List for all Family Members
[X] Buy 4 Gifts
[ ] Finish Crafty Gifts

Christmas Countdown Week 1- Get Organized

2008-10-28T08:44:00.000-07:00

To Do This Week:
[X] Make the promise! Spend 15 minutes each day this week to get organized for Christmas.
[X] Get comfortable for holiday planning--create a Christmas holiday planning center
[X] Set up your Christmas planner in a notebook or three-ring binder.
If you're using a clear pocket binder, print the cover and spine pages. Insert in pockets of your clear-view binder
[X] Add blank lined pages for any notes and records.
[X] Make or designate a holiday planning calendar. For your Christmas holiday planner, print the Countdown plan calendar.
[ ] Begin at the beginning: review your family's holiday values. Print and record your findings on the holiday values page.
[X] Gift-buying looms! Start a master gift list. Print the master gift list form and use it to record purchases and home-made gift items.
[X] Begin a Christmas card list. Locate addresses, and consider making a computerized Christmas card address list for maximum time savings. Or, print a Christmas card list for your Christmas planner notebook.
[X] Print a home spruce-up worksheet and complete the holiday home spruce-up exercise. Plan and schedule any pre-holiday home improvement projects.
[X] Will your family travel this holiday season? Make travel plans and reservations this week.
[X] Will you host houseguests this year? Make arrangements for any overnight guests.
[X] Make an appointment for family photo sessions for holiday giving or photo Christmas cards.
[X] Schedule carpet cleaning now! As the holidays approach, business picks up. Call now for your choice of appointment times.

To Print This Week:
[X]Christmas Countdown Calendar
[X]Holiday Planning Calendars
[X]Get Organized Week Checklist Form
[X]Holiday Values Worksheet
[X]Master Gift List
[X]Gift Ideas Planner
[X]Christmas Card List
[X]Holiday Home Spruce-Up Form

To Buy This Week:
[X]Christmas cards or supplies for Christmas letters
[X]Holiday stamps

Just Updated!!

2008-10-27T21:18:00.000-07:00

So I have added the glorious Blog ring to the side of my site! Please share and see what others are up to also! More post tomorrow!

First Rudolph Day post!

2008-10-20T14:27:00.000-07:00

Here is where you will find all of my Christmas Celebrations! You will find ideas, pictures, and of course my monthly Rudolph Day preparations for next year's Christmas! I can't wait to share with you, and see all of the other blogs of others!