2 years ago, we found a Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt online and printed it out for our annual drive around town.
It was SO much fun.
However, some of the items were just impossible for us to find. People around here don’t really put Santa on their roofs and you don’t often find streets where only one house is undecorated.
This year, I made the lofty goal that we were going to find EVERYTHING on our Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt list!
Except…I cheated 😉
I made our own list! Everything on this list is manageable and I know (from experience) that we’ll find multiple instances of each and every item on this list in the surrounding neighborhoods.
The prize is that once we find everything on the list, we get to come home and have a special Christmas treat!
I decided to share the printable list with y’all. It might not fit your needs, but you can always change it up or play it however you like.
EDIT in 2018: Guess what!!! I have made an UPDATED printable! Or you can just look at it on your mobile device. Either way…I hope you enjoy!
This is a repost of a very popular 2014 craft! Let me know if you make it!
Yesterday was a big BIG day for my kids! They each had a fun school Christmas Party.
That tray above had big plans. That was the before, and here are the afters:
Snowman Marshmallow S’mores
You might remember that for Halloween, I made these adorable Ghost Peep S’mores as gifts for the kid’s classmates.
So when I was searching for a great classmate gift for Christmas, and I stumbled upon my friend Stacie’s adorable Snowman Marshmallow S’mores on her blog The Amazing Mess (fabulous blog, you should check it out!), I knew I had to make them!
I’m totally going to be known as the Crazy S’more Lady at the school! 😉 (Now to brainstorm an Easter S’more gift!)
Head on over to the Amazing Mess to get this super simple gift idea.
Marshmallow Snowmen Candy Sticks
Next, I needed a centerpiece for Lizzie’s classroom. I was in charge of decorations, and since I was sick with Strep Throat all last week, I was coming down to the wire! I saw these adorable Sugar Crystal Covered Snowmen and I knew I had to make them!
They were super simple to make:
Ingredients:
Light Karo Syrup
Clean small paintbrush
Large Marshmallows
Candy Sticks (I got the long ones)
White Sparkling Sugar
Rolos
Mini Oreo Cookies
Fudge Frosting
Mini Chocolate Chips
Orange confetti sprinkles
Directions:
“Paint” the sides of each marshmallow with karo syrup and roll it around in the sparkling sugar to coat.
Push 3 marshmalllows onto each Candy Stick
Make a face using the mini chocolate chips (I just pushed in with the pointy side) and the orange confetti sprinkle (I had to put a bit of Karo Syrup on my sprinkle to make it stick)
Take your oreos apart.
Eat the side with the frosting 😉
On the other side, use the fudge frosting to stick the rolo to the top and to attach the hat to the top marshmallow
After this point, I found a basket and stuck a small styrofoam block in it (just one that came in with a package). Next I stuck my candy stick Snowmen into the styrofoam and filled the bottom with mini marshmallows. I tied some ripped fabric for a pretty effect.
They were a real hit with the kids and they were pretty simple to execute!
Both of these projects were done in about an hour and a half at a frantic pace, but the results were well worth it!
Whether you are on a tight budget, barely making it paycheck to paycheck, or comfortably setting aside a chunk of change into a robust savings account each week, it’s time to start thinking about your Christmas budget! Have a more joyful and stress free Christmas season by getting organized for Christmas NOW in 5 easy steps!
It’s hard to believe, but Christmas is closer than you think.
If you are like me, I like to take life one day and one HOLIDAY at a time.
However, this can be short sighted when it comes to BIG holidays like Christmas. Preparation and good financial planning is important to truly enjoy these holidays that often come with a big price tag.
A well thought out Christmas Budget can make a HUGE difference in your enjoyment of the most wonderful time of the year.
Here are a few things you can do NOW to make your Christmas season a bit more stress free!
Christmas Budget Tip #1: Decide What Your Realistic Christmas Budget Will Be
Do you need to start saving? What is a reasonable amount to save each week? Do you need to cut something that you aren’t really using anyways?
Some banks and credit unions offer special Christmas accounts that automatically take a set amount of money from your bank account each month and set it aside for you. This can be an awesome way to make adding to your Christmas Budget a bit less stressful!
Christmas Budget Tip #2: Write Up A List of Who You Need To Buy For
Who are you buying for this year? It’s time to make a list of alllll your loved ones and decide who is getting a gift from you this year.
In addition, don’t forget teachers, extra tips for hairstylists, etc.
Basically, if you even *think* you will spend more money on this person than you ordinarily would the rest of the year, include them on this list.
Christmas Budget Tip #3: Decide How Much You Will Spend Per Person
Now it’s time to decide how much you want to spend on each individual. It might be a good idea to write down your ideal next to everybody’s name and then work backwards. After you have all of the dollar amounts written down, compare that to the number you worked out in step 1.
It it’s equal to, or less than, your set budget…great job!
If it’s more than your set Christmas budget, you have a few options. First option is to go back and start decreasing the amounts you will spend on each person.
You other option is to see tip #4!
Christmas Budget Tip #4: Do You Need To Make Extra Money?
Maybe you only need a bit more money to hit your Christmas budget! Or maybe, you realized on your current income, you can’t afford Christmas gifts at all!
I encourage you to check out the following posts to learn how you can make OR find more money to add to your Christmas Budget:
I post deals ALL YEAR LONG. I highly encourage you to create a gift closet! If you periodically stock your gift closet all year long, not only will it help you at Christmas time, but it can also help you with birthday parties, housewarming parties, baby showers, etc!
If you have specific ideas for what you want to get each person, be sure to join my Family Friendly Frugality facebook group to keep up with the deals I post each day. You can also email me directly to let me know what you are looking for a deal on!
Here are some gift ideas if you need something ASAP!
Something Homemade: Who doesn’t love homemade gifts? We all do! I have a fun Homemade Christmas Gifts board on Pinterest that I’d love for you to check out! (Follow me on Pinterest here!)
Gift Cards!: I mean seriously. I know some people claim they are lazy gifts. Well, I’ll take this “lazy” gift any day! Gift cards are a great way of saying, “I care about you enough to let you get what YOU really want!”
Magazine Subscriptions: Okay, this is GREAT! It’s the gift that keeps on giving ALL YEAR LONG! Go ahead and purchase a subscription for your loved one (use the coupon code FAMILYFRIENDLY to save on magazine subscriptions from DiscountMags.com) and then purchase the current issue out in stores. Print out your subscription receipt and gift the current issue with the receipt during your gift exchange!
Looking for a cute memorable Christmas Ornament craft to do with your kids or students?
Check out this Snowmen From A Hand Print Keepsake Christmas Ornament that my daughter came home from school with today!
It’s an ordinary ball ornament, but if you look closely, you can tell it’s ACTUALLY her handprint!
It looks like they dipped her hand in some white pant and had her place her hand as if she was holding the ornament. Then (after the paint dried) with either markers or colored sharpies they created snowmen out of her fingers and thumbs! On the opposite side is her name and the year.
Then they tied a little ribbon to the top.
SO cute! Definitely a keepsake that will be on our tree for a long time to come!
Enjoy!
Thanks to Ms Saskia & Ms Karen for this AWESOME crafty Christmas idea!
One of my favorite things to do during the month of December is watch movies on ABC Family! I love ABC Family 25 days of Christmas!
I always end up messing up and missing some of my favorites though, so for the past few years, I’ve made it a point to get the list ahead of time. This way I can set the shows we really want to watch to record. No worries about missing your favorites!
Please share this list with your friends and family so everyone can enjoy the 25 days of Christmas!
