Savvy Tip: Putting Christmas Away

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Happy New Year to everyone! Resolutions on my mind and confession being good for the soul, I have a confession to make: I am just now putting away my Christmas tree. Doesn’t it seem like it takes twice as long to put them away as it does to take them out?

I’d like to say that I was leaving all the decorations up until Kings Day (January 6th) and this was my plan from the start, but I can’t. We had a house full of out-of-town guests through January 4th. We tackled the outside decorations first, because we didn’t want the neighbors to know it was still Christmas at our house. And here I am . . .
Savvy Tip One:

I can’t take the credit. I think it might have been in the Martha Stewart Magazine a decade ago (I know it was before jail). I hot-glued plastic cups to pieces of cardboard, sized to fit into my storage tub. It is the perfect way to store all those little ornaments that don’t have boxes.

I labeled this storage tub “Kids”. It is full of unbreakable ornaments that they can handle when decorating the tree each year. Not having to monitor what they are touching makes tree-trimming move along much faster.

How many times have you put the last box into the attic, embraced the New Year, and spotted a forgotten decoration? (At my house there always seems to be one or two or three or four. . . that escape being packed each year!) Exhausted, my first thought is always, I wonder if I could get away with leaving it up all year long. What a great reminder it would be! The Christmas colors, the red and green, are all about Jesus, His death and the Life He now gives.

Something tells me that I am the only one who would ever see the symbolism. The neighbors would think we turned into That Family. You know them, that family that leaves their decorations out all year and is in violation of just about every HOA rule—every neighborhood has one. I suppose the best way to display our faith is to love our neighbors a little better this year.

Savvy Tip Two:

I keep a tub marked “Christmas Oops” just inside the attic door. It gives me easy access to put away my little discoveries (It’s also handy for new purchases made throughout the year)—always with a little smile on my face as I remember Christ. We never really put Christmas away at our house.

Reindeer Food - Classmate gifts!

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 As I mentioned below, I'm learning how to balance my new life.  My weekends consist of crafts with the kids.  Last weekend my boys and I made reindeer food for 40 of their closest friends...aka their classmates ;)!  It's moments like this, that I miss their tiny European classes (last year they had an average of 8 kids in their class...but I digress).

What is reindeer food, you ask?  Well, its a cute idea that Jo came up with when we lived closer together.  We would make these and sell them at local craft fairs, and it was SUPER popular! 


This is a cute, cheap, way to spread Christmas joy to all your children's friends

What you need:
Equal parts of the following...

• Krispy cereal
• Oats/oatmeal
• Birdseed (I omitted this.  I'd like to think it's because I'm in Africa, but who am I kidding?  There is birdseed here...I'm lazy!)
  
  Also needed:
  
• A few shakes of colored sugar (red and green add to the seasonal cheer)...I ran out of green sugar, and couldn't just run to the supermarket, so I actually made my own...see the savvy tip below!
• Sandwich bags (preferable those without the zip tops, but you can always cut off the zip, like I had to do this year)
• Ribbon or yarn (you will see in the above photo, I used ribbon...much cuter.  But this year I used yarn...limited craft supplies and all :)!)
• Card stock and a cute poem!

 For 40 bags, I used about 3 cups each, and the boys scooped in about 1/4 cup of the mix in each sandwich bag.

Directions:  Place all the ingredients (except the sugar) in a large mixing bowl and stir CAREFULLY to combine.  Scoop about 1/4 cup into a sandwich bag.  Add a few shakes of the sugar to each bag.  Once the food is in the bag, tie off the bag with the poem (printed on card stock and punched hole!).

As the poem says, on Christmas Eve, the kids take the food to the lawn, and sprinkle it for the reindeer to feed on while Santa is placing the gifts.  (Can you tell Jo and I grew up in AZ...no fireplaces, hence no chimneys, hence Santa landed in our back yard!)  This is why birdseed is helpful...the birds will hopefully eat the evidence before the kids realize they have to go check out if the food is gone. 

Savvy Tip:  If you don't have a large yard, careful about just sprinkling it in the road.  Or you may find yourself, in a robe...at 5am...sweeping up the evidence...while explaining to the neighbors what you are doing...YES THIS HAPPENED TO ME, CHRISTMAS 2007!

Our Poem (if you use our poem, you must reference us...thanks for understanding!)

 

Savvy Tip:  Don't have colored sugar, but you have food coloring?  Make your own colored sugar.  Use 1 cup of sugar and at least 2 drops of food coloring (the more drops, the darker the color).  Add to a ZipLock bag and shake vigorously for about a minute...VIOLA!  Colored sugar!

Time to start planning for your Christ-Centered Christmas

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It is time to start planning for your Advent celebration. Please take some time to re-visit this post from last year on my Annual Advent Workshop.

This year Advent begins on November 27th.  I am starting to put together this year’s big plan—although it still feels like August outside and I am just not feeling it. It doesn’t really help that the house across the street has been under construction for the last month and all the clanging and banging is starting to give me a headache. I think I need a little prayer to get me in the mood ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... (that is me saying a quick prayer).

My craft project “formula” is: three hand-made crafts to give away (My guests leave with Grandma, Aunt Shelley, and Uncle Mike’s Christmas presents ready for gifting--no Chinese foamcore kits please) + one Christmas decoration for the whole family to keep + 1 simple craft for each child to take home.

Christmas decoration for the whole family to keep

Last year I found the cutest paint-your-own, ceramic Nativity kits on sale after Christmas for 90% off.

I am a little nervous. I think they are a little too complicated for the short timeframe we have. I am also picturing little painted fingerprints all over my furniture. I think I might chicken out and let everyone just take it home as a parting gift. I will let you know how it goes.

Simple craft for each child to take home

I found these cute bracelets on Amazon.com. I have done a similar project before. The kids loved it. However, the kit came with plastic string. It was too difficult for the kids to tie. I am planning to have some twine and elastic on hand just in case.



Two down, three to go . . . Stay tuned for more!

Advent Workshop—The Big Plan

This is the plan I have used for years. It is a casual evening. I provide a soup bar buffet. Guests mingle, eat, and craft.

Each craft station has a sign with step-by-step instructions and a finished sample. They are all simple, easy, do-it-yourself crafts. Each year I vary the crafts to keep things fresh. I also try to incorporate one service project.

Some of the children get together to practice a short skit. They read their lines from index cards. It is not fancy. Then we sing carols and have a wreath lighting demonstration.

I hang out in the wreath section to help people make wreaths. My kids make crafts and play with their friends. My husband hovers near the food.

Schedule of Events:

5:30 Arrival of Guests

5:40 Welcome, Prayer, and Explanation of Activities

5:45 Craft Centers and Buffet Open

6:45 Children’s Skit and Carols

7:00 Wreath Lighting Demonstration

7:15 Closing Remarks

7:30 Cleanup

Craft Centers:

Wreath Making

Jesse Tree Ornaments

Prayer Chains

Christmas Cards for Meals on Wheels

Christmas Story Bracelets

Planning for a Christ-centered Christmas

Everyone's focus has shifted from Halloween to Thanksgiving (My second favorite holiday of the year).  I, however, am knee-deep in planning for Christmas (Stay with me.  I have a great reason).  November 28^th is the first Sunday in Advent.  It is a special day in our house.  Each year we celebrate by hosting an Advent wreath making workshop.  This is a fun event that really emphasizes the heart of Christmas—Christ.  It helps keep us centered.  We use our wreaths throughout the season to countdown the coming of Christ, not Santa.  If you are not planning to host or attend a workshop, you may still enjoy this tradition at home with your family.

The Advent wreath has become a popular way to count down the days of Advent.  Many people don’t know that we have Martin Luther to thank.  He recommended its use as a way to educate children of his day. He certainly didn’t invent the wreath itself, because that goes back to ancient Roman times, and probably even earlier. People used wreaths as an Advent decoration long before Luther, but Luther used the wreath as a Christian-education device and thus popularized it. The Advent wreath in its present form started in Germany as a Lutheran family custom. Since Advent wreaths were originally used in the home, most of the ones you find for sale are small. They didn’t become popular in churches until the middle of the twentieth century. Now they are nearly universal. (You didn’t know you were going to get a history lesson today, did you?)

An Advent wreath is made from greens to symbolize continuous life and contains four candles— three purple and one rose. Often a fifth candle (white) is added to the center of the wreath for lighting on Christmas Eve, in celebration of the birth of Jesus.

First Candle Color: Purple Theme: Hope First Sunday in Advent

Second Candle Color: Purple Theme: Love Second Sunday in Advent

Third Candle Color: Purple or pink Theme: Joy Third Sunday in Advent

Fourth Candle Color: Purple Theme: Peace Fourth Sunday in Advent

Optional Center Candle Color: White Theme: Christmas Christmas Day

How to Make a Fresh Advent Wreath

You will need:

• 4 taper candles (1 pink and 3 violet) 
• 1 white pillar candle
• Wreath frame with 4 candle holders
• Florist wire and wire cutters (Available at the Dollar Store for $1-score!)
• Clippers (for the tree boughs)
• Fresh boughs (pine, fir, cedar, spruce, boxwood, and holly---anything available in your region during the holiday season). This is a great time to prepare the bushes in your yard for Christmas light decorating. 

Step 1:
With the clippers, snip the boughs into 6-10 inch fronds.  Group an assortment of sizes or tree varieties into small bunches of 4-6 fronds.  Wire the cut ends of the bunch with florist wire.  Repeat. 

Step 2:
Affix one end of the florist wire to the wire wreath frame.  Take one bunch and affix the bunch to the frame. 

Step 3:
Add the next bunch of greenery in the same direction as the first and connect it with the same wire. Repeat this process until all of the bunches have been added to your wreath, save a few.  Take a step back from your creation, then fill in any gaps on the wreath with the extra bunches.

As you get to the “end” of the wreath, you may need to pull up your first bunch and tuck the final bunch under it for a seamless look. 

Add additional holly berries or pinecones for decoration.

Step 4:
Place the wreath flat on the table where you’d like it displayed.  Insert the four taper candles into the holders.  Place the white pillar candle in the center of the ring. 

Note: Lit candles and fresh wreaths could be a fire hazard if not treated properly.  Remember to keep the wreath moist so it stays fresh.  And never leave the candles unattended.  Replace them before they burn to the level of the wreath.  

There are many available devotional booklets to use daily with the Advent wreath.  One good online booklet may be found here.