7 Ways to Make Lasting Holiday Memories

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Welcome Guest, Sinea Pies from Ducks in a Row as she shares ideas to make the holiday’s memorable:

 

The holidays -Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s -all come with expectations.

  • We expect to make and eat lots of great food.
  • We expect to give and receive gifts.
  • We expect a certain amount of stress (some more than others) and its consequential fatigue.
  • We expect the budget to scream a little bit from the weight of all the “necessary” expenditures.

But do we expect to come away with tender loving memories? The holidays are really about being thankful for our blessings and blessing others in return. They are about family and friends. Create an atmosphere from which memories are birthed, and you’ll enjoy them so much more.

So, what do those memories look like? Mine bring a picture of my “Grampy” dressed in his holiday vest. It was red plaid. With his thick white hair and happy eyes, he looked so great. I can still see him carving the turkey at the head of the beautifully decorated dining room table. My dad continued the vest tradition where Grampy left off. Though there were many great traditions about our family holidays, that one captures my warmest thoughts.

Funny memories? My dear husband broke a tooth on his mom’s Thanksgiving turkey! It had been left in the oven way too long. She felt so bad about it. But we laughed. Chipping a tooth is no fun but it stayed a humorous event that she got teased about for years. She was such a good sport (and to set the record straight, a very good cook.)

Oh yes, and in my family it was the Christmas tree that would fall over in the middle of the night. The trunk was crooked and it just didn’t want to stand up! Each morning one of my parents would “right” it again, decorations getting shabbier each time it tumbled.

Create great family memories with…

1.  Sights: Make everything beautiful. A vision of “Christmas” typically includes twinkling lights on an evergreen tree. Add to it candles in the window and on the table, stockings hung over the fireplace “with care” and beautiful wrapped presents.

Engage your family in a series of “decorating moments”. Start the process now, pre-Thanksgiving, and have fun with it till the New Year begins. Decorating doesn’t have to happen in one day. Enjoy it as you string it along.

 

2.  Sounds: Fill the air with music!  Holiday music overflows with thanksgiving and joy. Turn on a radio station that plays continuous holiday songs or pop a CD in the player. Keep your home, and car, filled with the sounds of the season and remember to SING along! Engage your kids in singing the catchiest tunes. Everyone’s welcome. Musical talent not required!

 

3. Smells: Bake, Bake, Bake!  Holiday food fills your home with a sweet aroma as you bake desserts and roast the turkey. Fond memories of going to grandma’s house have been built around these delicious smells!

4.  Touch: Cuddle-time a must! We get so busy that we can forget to spend quality time close together. Everyone needs it: mom, dad, the kids…even the dog! It’s how we get re-charged. Read a storybook together. Snuggly blankets a must. Schedule a pajama movie night with a great holiday classic. The menu? Popcorn and hot chocolate, of course.

 

  1. Team work: Everyone has a part to play. Getting ready for the holidays includes anticipation of good things to come. Everyone should be a part of the preparations. Bake cookies together. Wrap gifts. Decorate. Dust and pick up “stuff”. Even the littlest tyke can have an assignment – much praise included. Remember, a two-year old will dust like a two-year old will!

5.  Reach Out – who needs you? Your children and spouse need you, of course. Your parents, friends and relatives do, too. But, who else needs you? Is there someone you can think of who has no one at all? What can your family do to show them some love?  Teach this giving-spirit to your children when they are young and they will be teaching it to their children someday. The giving-spirit is not taught as much as it is “caught”.  We all learn by doing.

 

6.  Enjoy the moment. Remember to step back and appreciate what you have. No matter the struggles or hardships life may bring, there is something you can focus on that says “life is good.” Think on that.

 

Thanks so much, Angela, for inviting me to guest post once more on The Grocery Shrink. It is an honor! I enjoy your website so much and it’s such a pleasure to be able to a part of it from time to time. Please let extend my warmest invitation to your wonderful readers to stop by my site, Ducks ‘n a Row.

Photo credit:   

“Little Boy Decorating Christmas Tree” by Erierika Dreamstime.com

“Christmas Tree Cookie” from sxc.hu

New Closet or Swimming Pool?

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Brandon cracks me up.  He’s so tiny and has a little voice, but he thinks grown up–with a dry sense of humor. Today I was painting his closet.  He wanted me to do other things–like get him a stick of gum :).

His room is a disaster and we are hoping a new closet system will help.  Right now the places to put things that he can actually reach are pretty limited.  So things end up in a pile on the floor.  I forget the exact measurements of his room (that he shares with Grant and Warren) but it’s huge.  The bigger the room, the bigger the mess!

The whole time I was painting, I was thinking of how lovely the new closet system is going to be.  And I said to Brandon, “just wait, you are going to be so excited when you see your new closet!”

He replied, “A new closet is going to make me excited?  I don’t think so.  Now if you were in there making a swimming pool, that would be something to get excited about.”   I was on a step ladder cutting in the ceiling, and didn’t say anything.  I was too busy concentrating on staying on the ladder while holding an open bucket of paint and shaking uncontrollably in silent laughter.   He’s too short to get a drink of water.  He still has all his baby teeth.  He wears footie pajamas.  But the boy has logic.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking since the weekend about frugality and making a home.  I’m  in my potential dream home right now, but it needs a LOT of work before I can even feel comfortable having a neighbor drop by for tea. It feels like everything takes money, or time–both things in limited supply.  There was a day when I would drag stuff down the street from the neighbor’s trash and clean it or redo it for the home. But my methods are changing a little this time.  I’m really thinking about what DIY projects will save me the most cash for the least amount of time spent and then saving up to buy the rest.  I still watch and wait for the sale and keep detailed lists of what I’m looking for. I’m no longer looking for “anything” but THE thing that will make the area perfect.

Their closet kit is an example. I spent a lot of time researching all the options. Priced building it out myself and then finally settled on this set from Amazon.  I waited for my swag-bucks to accumulate to cover about half of it and then took the plunge. It sat around for weeks since we did our own demolition of the old closet, mudding, sanding, and painting.  I think that’s the hardest part about frugality–it’s the waiting.  Trying to have patience for the great thing to come while we fit the labor in around our crazy busy lives.  But there’s also a peace that comes from paying cash for things as we go and not having any bills accumulate along the way.

 

Thanksgiving Traditions

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I’m big on traditions. That was something my mom did really well when I was growing up. I’m still trying to figure out what I want our traditions to be, lol. But one thing I’m sure about is reading Stories of the Pilgrims by Pumphries every year starting the first of November.

We have yet to actually finish the book after many years of trying and the kids have the first part of the book nearly memorized. Heidi groaned when I brought the book out this year (typical 12 year old) but after we started reading it, she didn’t want me to stop for the night.

There is another option too that we took advantage of two years ago–the book is now available on mp3 to listen to! And it’s on sale right now here: http://jimhodgesaudiobooks.com/MP3_downloads.html

It’s always good to read aloud to kids, but sometimes there is laundry to fold, dishes to wash, or Christmas gifts to crochet.  It can be nice to listen while we work or even in the car.

(I’m not affiliated with Jim Hodges and he didn’t ask me to write this post.  Just passing on one of our faves.)

This is my super busy day–working all day to finish up menus  for the mailing tomorrow.  But I am still photographing and keeping track of food.  Hope to get that up soon :).

Week 2 Day 3 Food Journal

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Yesterday was crazy! I was gone most of the time. While I snapped a few pics, for santy’s sake, I’m going to skip it and start in with today.

Breakfast: Bran flakes, almond milk and strawberries.

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Snack 1: Greek Yogurt choclate mousse made with stevia and half a pomagranate. I didn’t stir them together because the pom is so lovely I wanted to taste it in it’s pure form.

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My brother-in-law is a master carpenter and is hanging my dining room trim today.

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I love how it is shaping up! I’m off to the grocery store to stock up with some amazing preholiday sales.

Lunch: Apple, cranberry, sunflower seed Spinach salad. I found a packet of restaurant raspberry dressing, so used that. It is fat free and had a great ingredient list on the back that will help me make my own recipe.

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I need to grab some red wine vinegar first, and bummer, I was JUST at the store. I’ll go back tomorrow though to get some one day specials and grab another round of good deals that were limited on the quantities they would let me buy.

I had some upsetting news this afternoon. Not something I want to talk about, but it definitely took my appetite away. The only thing I could do to cope was strap on my running shoes and hit the pavement. Heidi and Darren watched the kids for me so I could work things out. I would run hard and then take a break to walk and all of a sudden find myself running again. I couldn’t tell you how long ago I started running. My mind was racing, looking for solutions, praying. And when I got home I was completely spent and felt as good as if I had given into a long cry. So I skipped my afternooon and evening snacks.

Dinner was one taco with grass fed ground beef from Darren’s parents.

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It was delicious!

Food Journal Week 2 Day 1

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Combine a super busy schedule with not writing my food down and you get a total nutrition fail. But that is behind me now. 🙂 The musical is over, soccer is soon to follow and we are carving out family time again.

Last night we started our November tradition of reading aloud Stories of the Pilgrims. I love this story and the kids do too! 15 pages a day will have us finish near Thanksgiving Day.

Pictures of the musical to follow later today. They are on my good camera and it’s dash to work time. For now, here’s my easy breakfast:

1 cup bran flakes, 1 Tbs sunflower seeds, 2Tbs craisins, 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

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Snack 1: 1 cup mountain high lowfat plain yogurt with 1/4 cup peanut flour, 1 Tbs stevia and 1tsp homemade vanilla extract stirred in. Topped with 1 chopped gayla apple. And a dallop of whipped topping.

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Right after the snack, I did the Fit Yummy Mummy workout of the month. November Tabatas A. I loved this one because there was no equipment involved and I could complete tthe whole thing. Yet it was still hard enough that my muscles felt super challenged.

Lunch: 2 cups each lettuce and spinach. 3 oz chicken breast, 2 Tbs craisins, 1 oz almonds and 2 Tbs raspberry viniagrette. I’m out of this dressing now and decided to try making my own so I can pronounce the ingredients. I’ll let you know how it goes.

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I was still starving a little later so had 2 slices of winter wheat artisan bread with Neufchatel cheese and strawberry jam. Then regretted it. It put me way over on my calories for the day. A hot cup of peppermint tea would have been a better chaser.
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Snack 2: 1 string cheese, 1/2 an apple, 1/2 cup black grapes and 1/2 oz almonds.

Dinner: 1 cup homemade lasagna soup with 100% whole grain noodles. 2 oz homemade bread from Healthy Bread in 5 minutes a day recipe.

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Totals: 1843 calories, 233g carbs, 99g protein, 40g fiber. If I want to burn fat tonight, I will need to add my intervals in before bed. My day is busy enough tomorrow that it would be nice to get them out of the way now. I plan to run stairs for 15 minutes after doing homework with the first grader.

Grant likes Pomegranates

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The first time we tasted a real pomegranate was 3 years ago. My MIL worked in a local food pantry and several cases of the fruit were donated. None of the underprivileged would take them–at least there, they preferred cakes, doughnuts, and prepackaged foods. And often left the fresh fruits and veggies to rot.

They were going to have to throw them away, so my MIL brought them to me, dozens of them.  I had never seen one before and was shocked when I broke into it. It was like a cache of rubies! The gems were filled with the most delicious juice and a tiny seed that gave just the right amount of crunch.

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I was hooked. But the fruit are expensive! We hadn’t had once since…Until today. Aldi had a sale and I bought just 1. I peeled it this morning and rubbed the little rubies free of their white membrane.

Grant was instantly by my side as if to say, “What lovely thing do you have there?” I gave him a taste expecting that to be the end of it. I thought the seeds would deter him.
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But instead, he snatched the entire bowl for himself. He ate the whole thing cupping his baby hand around the spoon as he brought it to his mouth so none of the precious rubies would fall to the ground.

I’m glad he likes healthy food. I wish I bought 2 🙂

Week 1 Results

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Whew! This is the week of the musical up at school. All four kids are in it and it’s a little crazy. I’ll pick up my food journal again after it is over, but if I have time to throw in a few recipes before then, I will.

I weighed this morning. I had been feeling a little discouraged. I was trying so hard to make good food choices and yet it felt like my body wasn’t changing much. So I stepped on the scale just to see where I was and I am 1.8 lbs down. For one week that is ok with me! It’s amazing how I felt like giving up until that moment and to see a little bit of progress was a real morale booster.

In response, I’m learning a new workout to do during nap time–it’s FYM’s workout of the month from club FYM. It looks super challenging, but I’m ready to kick it up a notch :).

This morning I had a bowl of bran flakes and almond milk with craisins and sunflower seeds. Snack was Greek Yogurt Pumpkin Mousse. Lunch will be some kind of salad with chicken. I’m out of apples and most other fresh fruit. I’ll be super happy for Thursday when our budget starts over and I can restock :). Only two days away.

BOT Day 6 Food Journal

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Yesterday was a terrible food day.  But all the cookies are gone now 🙂

This morning I made a new protein pumpkin pancake recipe that went over great with all the kids.

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I made them in the blender and it was thick for my old vitamix, but it worked. Add all the ingredients in the order listed blending well after each one. Then fry on a griddle turned down a little. Between 300 and 325 degrees.

1 cup lowfat cottage cheese
6 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp baking soda
2 Tbs honey or real maple syrup
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown rice (dry)

This made 21 pancakes and I had 3 with about 2 Tbs of light syrup. I’ll figure out the calories in a bit 🙂

First snack was a dairy free taco salad with hummus instead of ranch.

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Lunch and Snack (I just nibbled in the sewing studio while frantically sewing costumes): A huge protein bar and 2 oz of sun chips.

Dinner: 1 oz Almonds, 1 string cheese and 1 Apple. (Hoping for something better after our evening soccer games are done. I ran home just to unload the sewing stuff before coming here to the fields.)

BOT Back On Track Day 5 Food Journal

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Today has been harder for me. I started out ravenous at 5:30am and never felt full until 2:30 when I could only eat half my snack. This is about the time I want to give up trying to eat healthy, but I am determined to keep with it.

Breakfast: Veggie Omelet with winter wheat toast, cream cheese and jam

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First snack: 1 oz almonds, 1 cup fresh strawberries and a splurge of a spice cookie.

Lunch: Taco salad– lettuce, chicken breast, freeze dried corn, half an avocado, lots of salsa and a drizzle of ranch. Yum!

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And then another spice cookie. Oh dear.

Snack: Peanut butter powder, cocoa powder and stevia stirred into plain yogurt–not Greek, needed a thinner yogurt for all the powders. I could only eat half because it was so rich and then had a small Gayla apple.

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Dinner: 1 slice homemade pizza and 1 big salad

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Snack: Other half of mousse snack. I just got back from spending the evening in the costume room for the school musical. We made 4 mice costume and cut out a suit with tails. I’m exhuasted–so glad I’m not the director! I’ll spend the day there tomorrow to finish up, hopefully in time for cast pictures and a full dress rehearsal. Then we have a bake sale in the evening for church and hope to go ice skating as a family after that. I’ll have to plan carefully food for tomorrow so I can take stuff with me.

BOT Day 4 Food Journal

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I just got home from exercising with friends. We did Jillian again.

Breakfast was a spinach, mushroom, and onion 2 egg omelet. I chopped and sauteed extra veggies to make another one even faster tomorrow.

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Snack, pumpkin pie mousse: 3/4 cup Greek Yogurt, 1/3 cup pumpkin puree, 1 Tbs stevia, 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice and 1/4 cup whipped topping.

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Lunch: Leftovers from last night and 1/3 cup of egg salad made with light mayo and mustard with 4 poppy seed wafers.
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Not the best lunch, but the best I could do with all that is going on today.

Snack: 1 pure protein chocolate bar and 1 cup of fresh strawberries.

Dinner: Deluxe Deli Sandwich with nut bread, 2 oz of deli ham, tomato, avocado and spinach. Served with half an apple.

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Evening snack: 1 oz frozen almonds

Totals for the day: 1614 calories; 100 g protein

and 1 spice cookie, sigh.