Holiday Traditions

Clever and Frugal
Holiday Traditions
To Start This Year….

~*~ Christmas Story Time~*~
Read a favorite Christmas story,
such as the 'Night Before Christmas'
together as a family before
going to bed on Christmas Eve

~*~

~*~Ornament Keepsake~*~
Give each family member an ornament every year
and sign/date it or place a label where it can't be seen to sign/date it.
Your memory will live on and on through the years.
Variation: Starting this with Baby's First Christmas
will be a gift he/she will cherish when they leave home to
start their own family.

~*~

~*~Christmas Elves~*~
Each week in December, have each person draw the
name of a different family member.
Do secret acts of kindness for the person during the week.

~*~

~*~ Family Christmas Book~*~
Each year and on separate pieces of paper,
ask each person torecord a favorite memory
about each of the other family members.
The written memory should be about something that occurred
during the past year -- it could be a shared
experience, a kindness done, a good attribute noticed
or an amusing anecdote.
Collect all the papers and preserve them in your
Family Christmas Book
to savor for years to come.

~*~

~*~Heirloom Wreath~*~
Cover a straw wreath with strips of material of your choice.
Embroider the family names on each strip.
One side for dad's family and the other side for mom's family.

~*~

~*~Gift Ornmanets Recived~*~
Place each Christmas ornament that were received as a gift
in separate Ziploc bags. In each bag, along with the ornament,
add a liittle note that tells who the ornament belongs to
(kids can take theirs with them when they're grown),
who gave it to them, and any other special information,
such as it was handcrafted or if it was a particular ornament
they desired that year.
This makes each ornament even more special!

~*~

~*~Wish Book ~*~
Many of us use some sort of organization system to remember
kids, grandkids, family members and friends sizes, favorite colors, etc.

When this idea was submitted to us,
I thought it was the perfect way to record
everything in one place.

Using a medium-sized notebook, make a divider for each person in the
family.
Each person's section includes a page for clothing sizes,
items needed, items wanted, favorite colors, hobbies, etc.
Decorate the book with fabric, wrapping paper, or contact paper.
When Christmas (or birthday) gift suggestions are
needed, one glance at the book and you can select the perfect gift.
Compare notes so that you others won't buy the same gift.
Keep the notebook in a location accessible to all family members
and use it year after year.
Add year dividers at the end of the notebook
to keep last year's pages.
You'll enjoy looking back in the years to come.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Special, special thanks to
http://dcrafts.com/cmasideas.htm
Please visit this site, they have a lot of wonderful ideas