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Three Easy Steps to Stress Free Holiday Gatherings

December 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment
girl holiday present

Follow these tips to keep your holiday season full of cheer and stress free.

The Holidays are here. (I hope you already knew that.) With the "most wonderful time of the year" comes a lot of headaches. However, making powerful plays to keep things simple can really create a fantastic holiday. Follow these tips to keep your season full of cheer and devoid of stress. Delegate You are not Santa Claus. No matter what level superman/woman you are, the holidays cannot hinge on one person. It is the season of giving, but that doesn't mean you should give everything you have ... Continue Reading

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Filed Under: Entertaining, Holidays Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Holiday Crafting With Your Kids This Season

December 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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Making your own Christmas decorations is a great way to slow down and connect with your kids during the hectic holiday season.

With the holiday season officially underway, it’s important to embrace opportunities where we can spend creative quality time with our kids. If you still feel the need to get your craft on after all the Halloween and Thanksgiving projects, making your own Christmas decorations is a great way to slow down and connect with your kids during the hectic holiday season. When my 10-year-old was younger, we would paint white craft glue onto plain glass ornaments purchased from a crafts store such ... Continue Reading

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Teaching Kids To Give

December 9, 2011 By 1 Comment
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Ways to teach your kids to give during the holiday season.

The holiday season is by far my favorite time of the year. It's not just the excitement of taking a bite into holiday meals, decorating the perfect tree, or sipping that first cup of hot chocolate with extra marshmallows that bring me pure joy; It's finding new ways to teach my kids how to give. Here are some creative and inexpensive ways your kids (and you too) can give this holiday season: The giving jar. Have your kids throw any loose change they find into a jar throughout the year. ... Continue Reading

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Filed Under: Holidays, Raising Kids Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How To Make A Frugal Holiday Wreath

December 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment
wreath 2

Make a holiday wreath using items from around the house and the dollar store.

I will admit it. I am as frugal as they come and I'm always on the look-out for great deals on clothes, shoes, food, and definitely on my holiday decorating. I am not willing to put out $50 for a beautifully decorated wreath, so we make our own.  We also make wreaths for our relatives too, because, along with being frugal, I am green. I don't want to throw away anything I can continue to use. My kids can even take the wreaths when they start their own families. Until then, we use them ... Continue Reading

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Create Your Family’s Holiday Tradition

December 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment
christmas tree family

It’s never too late to create new holiday traditions for your family.

I adore the holidays; the sights, smells and the warm fuzzy feelings.  With the current economy, now is a great time to bring back the real reason for the holidays (which is not retail shopping). Our children's favourite things about the holidays are not the gifts ... no, really!  Their favourite things are the traditions we have made together as a family.  They talk about the foods, activities and yearly activities.  Here are a few ideas that might work for your family. Start the ... Continue Reading

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Take the Stress out of Holiday Gift-Giving

December 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment
girl holiday present

How to make holiday gift-giving more affordable and less stressful.

Holidays are quickly approaching. Are you dreaming of decorations and a holiday dinner around the family table, or are you feeling anxious as you try to figure out where you'll find funds for all of the holiday activities, potlucks and gift-giving? Whether you're worried "Santa" is not bringing enough gifts for your children, or maybe how you can afford to give gifts to everyone from Fido to Great-Aunt Suzi, gift-giving can turn from something pleasant to something you dread during the ... Continue Reading

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Filed Under: Home & Food Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Ultimate List of Holiday Nightmares #HolidayNightmares

November 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Ultimate Holiday Nightmare List

We asked our SocialMoms to share their worse holiday nightmares with us. Check out what bugs them the most and share your holiday nightmares too!

We're compiling the ultimate list of holiday nightmares. And we would love to hear your biggest holiday nightmares! The holidays can be the most wonderful time of the year with family gatherings, gift-giving and more.  But, unfortunately, they can also be the most stressful time of the year. From visiting relatives to being overbooked to crowded grocery stores, the nightmares of this time of year can be endless. And exhausting. We all look forward to this time of year but we also realize ... Continue Reading

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Score Holiday Presents For Little Money at All

November 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
girl holiday present

Get holiday presents with a little time and effort – through contents, Twitter parties, and more.

The holiday season is a time where children expect presents, but not everybody can afford to get their kids what they want (or deserve). I'm here to show you how to keep your out of pocket costs to a minimum so you can save that money for what’s really needed - bills, groceries, mortgage payments and more - hopefully keeping you out of the 70% of families who fall behind on bills between November 1st-December 31st. Here are some ways to get some incredible holiday presents, for little to ... Continue Reading

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3 Family Friendly Movies for Thanksgiving Day

November 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The Muppets 01

Heading to the movies this Thanksgiving? Check out Arthur Christmas, Hugo, or The Muppets.

There are at least two times a year where a family movie day is in order – Thanksgiving and Christmas. My family has made a tradition out of heading to the theater together during the holidays and it’s an event we all look forward to every year. Whether you have the same tradition or you would just like to get out and see a good film, on the day before the Thanksgiving (November 23rd) there are 3 Family-Friendly movies premiering which are perfect for kicking off the Holiday ... Continue Reading

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