Search Results for: blog christmas lights

Inexpensive Ways to Countdown to Christmas

My 8-year-old adores her Snoopy countdown to Christmas calendar… and her wooden Advent calendar… and her chocolate-filled Advent calendar… and well, you get the idea.  My kid is obsessed with counting down to December 25th. While I enjoy seeing her excitement as she tears open the doors to her various candy-filled chronicles, Advent calendars don’t come cheap.  Neither do secular versions featuring syndicated cartoon characters. Fortunately, there are ways you can celebrate the coming of Christmas without going broke.  For example: Paper Chains:  Kids can craft a countdown to Christmas chain to help them visualize how many days until Santa’s … Continue reading →

Finding the Christmas Spirit

  Sitting on Santa’s lap is not the only way to get into the Christmas spirit.  There are dozens of affordable travel opportunities that will help you get into the holiday mood, including: Indiana:  Gather the kids and head to Santa Claus, Indiana.  The town celebrates Christmas all year long, but during the month of December things really hit a fever pitch.  In addition to snapping photos of your kids with St. Nick, your entire clan can tour a Santa Claus museum, shop at Santa’s Candy Castle or enroll in Santa Claus training workshops to learn the find art of … Continue reading →

Bright Lights, Empty Wallet

Have you seen the oh-so cute, fluffy-looking light-up pink Christmas flamingo that Target is selling in its seasonal section? You know; the one that all the kids are drooling over, including my 8-year-old. You know; the one that is not on sale. Yeah.  That one. What parent can rationalize paying nearly 50 bucks for a knee-high bird wearing a Santa hat?  Sure, he lights up, but so does the inflatable snowman at the Dollar Store… if I place a string of LEDs on him. Newsflash:  I did not win the Powerball jackpot. In other news:  My kid doesn’t care. She … Continue reading →

Free Christmas Apps for Android

An easy way to get into the holiday spirit is by playing around with a Christmas themed app. Every year, there are some interesting, and free, Christmas apps for Android. They are great for keeping small children happily occupied while you are waiting in line by the registers. Christmas Games is a free app for Android. It has five Christmas themed games for children (and adults) to play. There is a jigsaw puzzle and a shape puzzle. It has connect the dot, a memory game, and a scratch game. The connect the dot game fills in a detailed cartoon image … Continue reading →

The “After Christmas” Sales have Started!

It’s not even Christmas yet, but stores are already putting their holiday items on sale. Last year, the “After Christmas” sales started about a week before Christmas. This year, you can take advantage of those sales right now. Target has a small batch of coupons that will help you save on some of the holiday items that you can find at Target. The coupons are: Get $1.00 off when you spend $7.00 or more on Holiday boxed card sets. Get $1.00 off when you purchase three greeting cards. Get $0.50 off when you buy 1 Holiday card set. Get $1.00 … Continue reading →

Three Ways to Control Impulse Buying at Christmas

The shiny decorations, the pretty lights, the wonderful smells, the bustle of shoppers, the increase in commercials, and the demanding kids all combine at Christmas to raise the risk of impulse buying. Many debt services report that the number of phone calls they get for help really drops off in December, as people put aside the idea of debt and just go ahead and spend. Of course, the calls in January are another story. These agencies often see their highest traffic then, as people find themselves in debt crisis. Don’t let this happen to you. Control your impulse buying at … Continue reading →

Disney Christmas Day Parade Filming Dates

Big news first: I know the filming dates for the 2012 Disney-ABC Christmas Day Parade. This is an elusive event where the tickets go on sale and sell out almost immediately. This year I have an inside line on the taping; the daughter of a friend of mine is going to dance in the parade. They’re taping the last week of November/the first weekend in December. The big day should be Saturday, December 1. I couldn’t verify this information online, because Disney hasn’t posted anything official about it yet. They probably won’t until November. But I can guarantee that the … Continue reading →

October Christmas Deals

Think October is too early for Christmas? Maybe not. Just look in any of the stores where Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations are displayed side by side. Perhaps it is the season of Hallowgivingmas? I’m not sure of that, but what I am sure about are some deals and savings that are available now, in October, as the stores try to get a jump on the competition for holiday shopping. Toys I’ve been seeing a lot of discounted board games out there. Whether these are left over from the summer, or an early start to the winter holidays, I don’t … Continue reading →

Are Your Chirstmas Lights Still Up?

Yesterday when the sun was shining and I was playing in the yard I started making a list of all the things I need to do outside. One thing I forgot to put on that list was take the Christmas lights down. It’s a mix of rain and snow today so I don’t think it will get done today. It did make me start to wonder why I needed to take them down. Here in Utah we usually get our first snow in October and since I have to get on the roof to put the lights up, they have … Continue reading →

How to Store Your Christmas Ornaments

When it comes to home storage solutions, I am not particularly gifted. Desperation and a desire to be clutter-free tend to guide my thinking. It is in the spirit of seasonal desperation, otherwise known as “where did that important family ornament go … and oh dear, I just stepped on it!” that I bring you these tips for putting away the Christmas ornaments. We used to store our ornaments in boxes. We’d surround them with tissue paper and nestle them away. This still works, but it does make it challenging to find ornaments. Before you pack your ornaments away, discard … Continue reading →