Easter!

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Well it is March, and Easter is just around the corner!  Even if there is still snow and ice on the ground. :(

What does Easter have to do with Christmas and Santa you may ask?  Well, Everything.  The Easter Bunny is kind of the little brother of Santa.  He doesn't typically bring as big of things as Santa, but you really can't believe in one without the other.

FYI: My 6 year old is TERRIFIED of the Easter bunny and we have to hang a not on her door each year, asking the big bunny to NOT come in her room.

However, It is time to start gearing up for Easter!  A few years ago, I did a creative fiction piece where I Interviewed the Easter Bunny.

Now is also the time to start stocking up on Basket Fillers (like stockings, we keep baskets to a $50 budget).

And I'm starting to compile lists of Easter specials and how they rate in keeping the Easter Bunny safe!  Check back next week for a new tab with the list!

This Week's to do:

1. Buy new baskets (If you replace them each year)
2. Buy Grass for baskets
3. Buy plastic eggs.

Let the Christmas 2014 Prep Continue!

Earlier this month, I shared my basic Christmas budget and plan for 2014.  If you are looking for extra ways to pad your Christmas budget, check out this post over at Brooke Blogs This.

Now is also the time to start making lists of gift ideas. I find people are pleasantly surprised and grateful when you remember something they mentioned they liked from months ago.  It tends to make them feel important!

If your crafty, go buy Christmas themed crafting supplies!  These will disappear around Valentines day and won't return til Halloween (when they will be much more expensive).  You can also get ahead start on your crafting for next year so the holiday season will be more relaxed.  If you are looking for crafts, Pinterest is the place to be!

Happy Prepping!

Christmas 2014...starts now

Happy New Year!

Now is the perfect time to start planning of Christmas 2014. Now? Yes. Now is the perfect time to look back over what you just spent on each person for Christmas and who you forgot to buy for.  Make a list of each person,  and how much you spent on them total.  I prefer to use Microsoft Excel for this as it is easy to manipulate the figures. Mine starts off like this.

Hubs       $49.86
Fred       $302.01
Lilo        $302.01

Then I've added:
My parents
The Inlaws
My brother and his wife
My Brother in laws and their wives
6 Nieces
1 Nephew
Each child's teacher
A budget for exchanging gifts at school
My office
My boss
Hub's counter part at work
Hub's employees
Our neighbor

I ended up spending right at $1000 this year.

Now that you know what you spent this year, are you happy with that? Did you over spend and need to spend less?  Are you hoping to better prepare and spend more this year?  Adjust the numbers to reflect what you would like to spend.  I then automatically add $100 for someone who may come into our lives this year that we would like to buy for, or in case we find the perfect gift for someone that is slightly more that budgeted.

My adjusted figure for next year is $1500.

Now how am I going to come up with that money?  You can put back a certain amount each month, or if you know you are going to get a bonus at work, plan on putting that money towards your goal.  We like to pull at least the kids presents portion out of our tax refund.  Them having presents on Christmas is the most important for us and if everything else falls through and it's a rough year, we still want their Christmas to be amazing.  We will place $800 in a savings account that can't be accessed from our checking account when we get our refund.

We will also put back $50 each month for Christmas (Another $600 total).  The other $100 we plan to take out of mine or the hubby's overtime.  We both regularly get paid for working overtime or holidays so this is a pretty safe option.

What is your plan to finance Christmas next year?

Merry Christmas!

Did Santa make it to your house last night?  Did he have any trouble?  He visited us and I have some very happy children.  I'll be taking the next few days off to spend with my family, but I will be back after New Years.  What will I be blogging about between now and Christmas 2014 you ask?

1. Planning and Budgeting for next Christmas
2. Santa Facts
3. Christmas Gift Ideas
4. Grading more movies
5. and MUCH MUCH more.

Merry Christmas. I hope everyone made it on the nice list.

Checking my list twice

It's Christmas Eve.  Santa has checked his list twice and started his around the world flight. 

Some of us (cough..me....cough) are not quite as on top of things.  I still have presents to buy, cookies to make and supper to plan.  Below you will find my general Christmas check off list and a last minute plan to accomplish any of it that you may still need or want to check off.  I've broken it down into categories...with Santa preparations at the top. =)

SANTA

• At least one present to for each child from Santa. Leave now, stop reading this and go finish Santa shopping! If you are on a budget and don't get paid til after Christmas, still go get SOMETHING, it can be $5 dollar toy, the important thing is Santa came!  You can run to any local store (even grocery stores and gas stations) to pick up something, anything. Or if you are creative...make something. I know what it is like for money to be tight and after the new year, we will start talking about budgeting and planning for next year so we will never be caught here again!
• Stocking Stuffers.  You can stuff a stocking FULL for $5-$10.  Run to the dollar tree or the party aisle at Walmart.  You can buy packs of pencils, suckers, and lots of other stuff for a $1 and split it between multiple kids. Make sure to get 1 or 2 big items (not necessarily an expensive item) to help bulk up the stocking.  Think cup, ball, candy or the old standby-fruit
• Cookies, Santa will need cookies.  If you have competed most of the other items on this list and have the time, money and desire, make home made cookies.  You can take the almost homemade route and make the slice and bake cookies, or just go buy some store cookies.
• Double check to make sure you have all the tools to put Santa's gifts together and have the proper batteries

FAMILY CHRISTMAS

• All gifts bought and wrapped. If you haven't done this, I recommend going to 1 store that carries a variety of things so you can get the buying completed at one time.  For wrapping, set up shop and get it done. Bows are not necessary.
• Meals/Dishes to bring planned and all the groceries bought. Go to the grocery store if needed.  I plan and buy all of my groceries through December 26th.
• Take the yearly Santa Picture.  The Malls are still open today and Santa is still there. If you have a Bass Pro in your area, they also have other activities for the kids.
• Double check that no long lost relatives have suddenly been invited that you need to pick up a little something for.
• If you did not get around to sending out Christmas cards this year, send out a Christmas email!

ENTERTAINING THE KIDS

• Start out by checking out NORAD Santa Tracker. Kids can track where Santa is and learn about Christmas in other countries.  There is even an app for your iphone.
• Make those cookies we talked about earlier and let the kids decorate them with icing and sprinkles. They can even decorate the store bought ones.
• Make a Christmas craft.  At my house, we have already made ornaments out of foam board. We cut shapes out of foam board (circle, star, tree/triangle) and then hot glued other shapes we cut from foam board or paper (or other craft items) on to decorate.  You can use a hole punch to make a hole and tie ribbon or yarn to make the ornament. We will also be making snow flake garland to hang.  We will be cutting snowflakes out of colored copy paper and then using  the hole punch to make a hole and stringing them on yarn to hang in doorways.
• Watch a Christmas movie...Disney has several safe movies playing this morning (Eloise at Christmas and Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas). ABC Family will have Prancer and The Polar Express which I have graded (click on the movies tab). Starting at 7PM ABC will start showing  How the Grinch Stole Christmas (cartoon version followed by the full length film) and NBC will have It's a Wonderful Life.
• Read a Christmas book.  What better day to read those Santa Clause stories and of course, the story about Jesus's birth. Our favorite is The Night Before Christmas (which you can find online).
• Have dinner as a family and reflect on all the blessings you've had this year.

What is still on your to-do list?

Santa Picture

I LOVE this year's Santa Picture!!  What is your best and worst Santa photo?

Dear Disney

Dear Disney,

I am ashamed of you.  My daughter watches the Disney channel every afternoon after school and I've never been worried about what she would see, until Christmas rolled around.  Not one of your your Christmas specials have been acceptable.  It has broken her heart that I've made her turn off her beloved shows. 

You are killing the belief in Santa Clause.  Good Luck Jessie, A NYC Christmas and Austin and Alley both show people obviously dressing up as Santa and other people providing the special Christmas gift.  Neither one show a jolly man dressed in Red magically bringing boys and girls presents on Christmas Eve.

Last night "Santa Buddies" came on and I got excited...a new Christmas movie to watch with my daughter. I had to turn in off after 10 minutes in when one of the puppy claims to not belive in Santa, that all the Santa's are fake and begins to list reasons of why he knows this.  Santa also has a vehicle that resembles a mail delivery truck to deliver presents instead of making the trek in his red sleigh on Christmas night!

It seems that someone out of touch has decided that kids need stories about non believers being convinced there is a Santa and/or practical answers for how Santa does it.  Maybe some older children need that, but who exactly do you think your audience is?  Do you really believe that most of your audience is 4th and 5th graders who are beginning to have doubts and questions?  You are DISNEY, a large majority of your audience is made up of the 3-7year old demographic. They BELIEVE in Santa and don't need you to put doubts in thier heads.

Disney has always been associated with Magic...you have the Magic Kingdom!  If you want children (who later become adults) to believe in the Magic of Disney, then don't kill the magic of Santa.

Sincerely,

A Mom Who is Considering Boycotting Disney this Christmas (and yes I mean merchandise too)