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As I think back on the 32 Christmases I have experienced, a handful of memorable gifts come to mind:

• The Pound Puppy watch I received from “Santa”, which after opening, my grandpa told me he had set it to the right time already, thus confirming my suspicions that Santa did not exist.

• Tickets to go with my family to see STOMP, an Off Broadway Show.

• A family trip to England, Scotland and Wales when I was 7 years old.

• My sewing machine and serger.

• A bracelet my sister made me.

• Ten passes to a local yoga studio.

Although I’m usually quick to write off the idea of giving gifts, thinking of this list makes me realize that gifts are not a waste of time and/or money. These have all been gifts that in some way or another have been significant for me.

In general, I am a practical person and I don’t like a lot of “stuff”. I read in a book once that giving gifts that can be “used up” are great because the person can fully enjoy the gift, but not have to feel the need to hang on to it for life. (more…)

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This time of year there is a lot of talk about gifts, what we’re giving, what we hope to receive. Much of the giving centers around children and creating a magical holiday for them.

Within the circles we run in there is also a lot of discussion about how much is too much, minimizing the materialistic, consumerist driven aspects of the holidays and focusing instead on the intangibles, the things that really matter. It’s got me thinking about the gifts that we give, as parents, to our children, not at holidays, but everyday, over the long haul of a childhood. The gifts that affect who they ultimately become. The gifts that were given to me and how to intentionally craft those into the next generation.

I’ve given it a lot of thought and there are many really important gifts to give our kids, but I keep coming back around to one: Self-Sufficiency. Maybe you’d argue that there’s another, more important gift to give, and that’s okay, because there are certainly many that are indispensable. It’s not like we can give only one gift to our kids, we give hundreds of them, every day. But for me, Self-Sufficiency is the best gift my parents gave me, and the one I’m most determined to pass on. Let me tell you why. (more…)

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I hesitate to say “cheap” holidays… it makes it seem trashy, like the “cheap” toys at the Dollar Store.  Hopefully you know what I mean… cheap in terms of money expended, very rich in terms of celebration, joy and relationships; the very things which mean the most.

The economic crisis is touching every single person I know in one way or another.  Everyone is mindful of money this year. It is not just us, living out of backpacks, who are focused on conserving resources and paring down. This has got me thinking about ways to make the holidays what they are meant to be: a time of family celebration focused on faith and relationships as well as a joyous celebration for the children.

Here are a few of my ideas… I’m sure you have many more.

Advent or The 12 Days of Christmas

Every year we celebrate advent. I make calendars of one sort or another for my kids and a few others. Some years they are big and crazy. Other years less so. Either way, it serves as a way to focus our kids’ attention on the coming BIG gift of Jesus at Christmas.

One year we stuffed tiny treasures inside toilet paper tubes and wrapped them like Christmas crackers and opened one per day.

When we’re in the States for the holidays we use a special calendar I made when we were living in Marseille, France. It’s a tree with slots for tags to be pulled out, one surprise written on each tag.

This year our advent calendar is a paper chain in the shape of peppermint candies, colored red and green.  On the back of each “candy” is written a special privilege or relationship building prize, like “bake with mom.” There are six prizes rotated through four kids… 24 days. Doesn’t cost a dime.

Craft-ernoons

Every afternoon in December is a crafter-noon this year. It is a cheap and easy way to decorate our house for the holidays and it is OH so much fun. Using recycled egg crates, meat trays, toilet paper tubes and the new markers and glue our friends mailed to us, the children are spending every afternoon making merry and bright. Here are a few links to some ideas to get you started:

Kids Holiday Crafts This link is to their “winter” page but there are loads of free downloads and craft ideas for all seasons!

Family Fun has loads of great ideas with clear instructions, photos and inspiration for even the most craft challenged family!

Kaboose has a directory of crafts for all seasons with lots of free downloads!

Free Gifts

My friend Lois sent us the most beautiful paper napkin rings for Thanksgiving and ornaments to make for Christmas.  She had printed them off of a website called www.thetoymaker.com I had never seen it before and have since fallen in love.

I’ve also discovered Canon’s paper craft site and we’re making all sorts of interesting things! Using this website and your color printer, you could EASILY assemble free craft packs for all of the kids in your life.

There are fun advent calendars to print and make on both sites!

Candy: Make It, Don’t Buy It!

I’ve always been a homemade candy girl, but even if you aren’t you could be this year, and save some money stuffing stockings!

Here are two SUPER easy recipes: 

Pretzel Sticks: dipped in melted chocolate with festive sprinkles on top.  Tie them in a trio and presto!  Hostess gift or stocking stuffer. (Thanks Lois, for sending the fixin’s to Africa!)

Peppermint Bark: my personal favorite. Use the box of broken candy canes that is one the markdown shelf. Give a three year old the serious job of pounding them to bits in a ziploc bag with a rolling pin. Melt white or brown chocolate, stir in the bits, pour onto a cookie sheet and cool in the fridge. Broken into chunks with a shiny bow on the cellophane bag, they look like they came from Harry and David.

Coupons

I know, I know… BORING.  But ya know, they don’t have to be!

With a little thought you could really give a gift that each child would treasure for a lifetime.  A day alone with Mom.  A coupon for a multi-family sleepover. Sometimes an experience lasts longer than toy the same amount of money could buy. Our best coupon ever: A camel ride on the Sahara!

Those are just a few of the thoughts that have come my way while looking for ways to create a joyful holiday on a dime. Won’t you share yours with us?

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Can food be super yummy and actually good for you? Heck yeh!

If you read my post last month, What to Do About Halloween (and all those other holidays that follow), you have a good idea of what a full on food geek I am, and tasty desserts that are good for me are important!

I write a lot about the importance of community when it comes to food. This month I am sharing a recipe developed by my friend, Erin. Erin was a lab researcher turned homeschooling mom and midwifery student. She can’t get away from her research roots, though, and she develops really delicious recipes.

Just how good is this recipe? Taste-wise it is off the charts and will replace the pumpkin pie that I used to enjoy prior to Erin’s creation.

You may have noticed that I wrote about the Whole 30 in my last Uncommon Childhood post, and as an added bonus, Erin’s recipe is pretty darn close to Whole 30 compliance. I would even use it as a meal substitute if I was crunched for time because it is basically a meal.

Now for Erin’s recipe, for which I provide two versions. The first is Erin’s, unaltered. The second version discusses the tweaks I made to the recipe to bring is closer to compliance with the Whole 30. Enjoy! (more…)

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A really wise friend and healer framed Halloween and the upcoming holidays this way:

We are entering the sugar season and our culture is “profoundly youthful and immature” in relation to how we eat during the holiday season. Could he be more on target? Sugar – public enemy number two after wheat (see Wheat – Cut that Shit Out!) – spreader of disease and death.

The past four months have brought tremendous healing to my family (amazing how much healing there is to do given the strides we have made in the last three years!) and we can see more clearly than ever what sugar does to us. Best of all, we are much more capable of resisting it because we have overwhelmingly broken its grip. In fact, we are sweetener free. No sugar, honey, maple syrup or any other sweetener.

Just so you don’t think we are only hard core food freaks with super sugar avoiding powers (which we are), we didn’t get here over night – it took five years. And we stumbled A LOT!

You can read about the stumbles and many lessons here: So Much Sugar in Two Years! Mistakes happen, and we have to be kind to ourselves. Breaking from the American sugar/food/emotional reward system is tough!

Now on to Halloween – the Sugar Bowl Kickoff.

What to do about it? Most kids are going to pound their candy and their parents will be enjoying some too. I lived that frenzy all of my trick-or-treat years and beyond, and I have the mouth full of crowns and mercury to prove it.

Because the candy that people normally eat for Halloween is just plain nasty – full of wax, colors, preservatives and who knows what else – I have never let my now eight year old eat it. We trade his trick-or-treat haul for a toy and an organic dark chocolate candy bar. The funny thing is that this year, when our eating is as good as it can get, he doesn’t even want the candy bar. He is just in it for the romp through the neighborhood and the toy.

If an eight year old rejects really yummy chocolate, you know that breaking the sugar addiction is possible.

Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years will quickly follow (talk about a one, two punch – all of that wheat AND sugar), and what are you going to do when those treats start popping up everywhere you go? I will be blogging some more between now and then, so check out Moving Strongly Forward for motivation and ideas for conquering the holiday treats.

Until then, just do your best to help your kids (and yourself) break away from the usual Halloween nonsense.

Make it fun.

Get a substitute for the candy – it doesn’t have to be a big thing. It doesn’t have to be a thing at all – it can be an event. Maybe bowling or putt-putt golf. Just something besides sugar.

If you want to do some advanced reading and get a head start on kicking the holiday junk food in the pants, check out the Whole 30. If you dare to take this healing food adventure, your life will be powerfully, profoundly and positively changed.