Christmas Traditions: 25 Meaningful Ideas for Families

Here's a new Momscape article. You are welcome to reprint, forward, or otherwise share the article, as long as the About the Author box stays at the bottom of the article.

Christmas Traditions: 25 Meaningful Ideas for Families
by Susie Cortright, http://www.susies-coupons.com

The holidays are a time to revel in the gratitude and love we feel for one another. Here are 25 meaningful ways to celebrate your togetherness this season.

1. Go for a family nature walk near your home to collect seasonal items that you can use in your holiday decor. If you live near a forest, the obvious choices are pine boughs and pinecones, but long dried grasses can look just as festive tied with a holiday bow.

2. Make a few handmade holiday cards this year as a family.

3. Make appreciation cards. Replace the annual Christmas letter in your holiday cards with a brief letter of appreciation for the recipient.

4. Create or purchase new ornaments each year for the tree. Create or shop for an ornament that reflects a defining event or sentiment for the year.

5. Enjoy a Family Night with special holiday crafts or games.

6. Start a Christmas-themed puzzle somewhere in your home. A puzzle table, placed in a quiet room is great for holiday visitors. Whenever your guests want to get away from the action, they can retreat to work on the puzzle. This can be a great stress reliever, and it’s wonderful for those guests who always have to be busy doing something.

7. Play special music. What is everyone’s favorite holiday CD? Allow each family member to choose and keep them in the CD changer so everyone’s musical taste is represented.

8. Take a photo of your children standing in a particular spot each year -- in front of the tree, by the front door -- anyplace that will be consistent from year to year. Make a special holiday ornament or scrapbook album that depicts the growth and change of your family each year.

9. Research the holiday traditions of your nationality. Adopt a few of these traditions into your annual celebration each year to celebrate your heritage.

10. Ask each child to write a Dear Santa letter. (Small children can draw pictures). Keep a special record of these letters in an album or treasure box.

11. Create an evening tradition of taking a family walk or drive in your neighborhood to view the holiday lights.

12. Cut snowflakes from wrapping paper, festive holiday advertisements, or last year’s holiday cards, and string them together into a festive garland.

13. Adopt a special cause each year and spend some time as a family helping those in need, or raising or donating money for a charity of your choice.

14. What are your favorite holiday memories? Pose the question tonight at the dinner table. Use your family's answers to plan this year's celebration. You may be surprised at the special memories that have nothing to do with gifts or elaborate events.

15. For fifteen minutes, write down things in your life that you are grateful for. Ask each of your family members to join you in creating their own lists.

16. Bundle up and head outside. Make snow angels or build a snow fort with your kids. When it's time to warm up, build a cozy fire and roast marshmallows in your living room.

17. What's your favorite homemade holiday treat? Write down the recipe, and share it with your friends. Encourage them to do the same.

18. Challenge each member of your family to fill a box or bag full of items to give away. Decide as a family where to make a donation.

19. What was the best book you read this year? With whom would you most like to share its message? Purchase a copy for them and drop it off, anonymously.

20. Take your family to a performance of The Nutcracker. Purchase a CD or DVD of the Nutcracker to bring the memories home.

21. The holidays can take their toll. Make a holiday tradition of recharging your own batteries. Gather your daughter and your best friend and head to the day spa for a much deserved pedicure or massage.

22. Reach out to those whom you haven’t seen all year. It takes a little extra effort this busy time of year, but make a goal to send a card or note to someone you think about but don’t see much anymore.

23. Keep a "Joy Journal" this holiday season, in which you record the funny things your kids say, joyful times you share, your favorite things to do with your family (and by yourself), and all the things for which you are grateful. Use your Joy Journal as a reminder of the facets of your life (and this holiday season) that are really important.

24. Give small and simple gifts (homemade cookies or a small book) to a few of the people who make your everyday life easier, such as the trash collector and postal carrier.

25. Share your family traditions with friends and ask them to tell you about the family traditions that make their holidays sweeter.


About the author:
Susie Cortright is the founder of Momscape.com and Susies-Coupons.com, where she hand picks only the very best online coupons and products, including coupons for photo processing and photo gifts.

Teacher Gift Ideas

Teacher Gifts:
Wondering what to give your child’s teacher this holiday? Here are 30 ideas.

This article has also been published on the Momscape site here:
Teacher Gifts: http://www.momscape.com/articles/teacher-gifts.htm )


Teachers work hard all year with our children. If you are looking for a special gift for your child’s teacher this year, why not try something different this year.

Here are a few gifts for teachers’ ideas:

1. Stationary with pens

2. Coffee mug with gift certificate to his/her favorite coffee bar

3. Homemade cookies and candy

4. Mini scrapbook or photo album, ready to insert pictures into

5. Candy-filled glass bowl

6. Books from his/her favorite author

7. Keepsake box

8. Small jewelry box

9. “Pamper Me” basket, filled with bubble bath, soaps, body lotions, etc.

10. Deliciously-scented candles

11. Handmade cookbook, filled with your special/favorite recipes

12. Gift certificate for “two” to the movies

13. One dozen of her favorite flowers

14. Scarf, knitted by you

15. Small bottle of favorite perfume

16. Personalized keychain

17. Personalized gift basket, filled with all her favorite things

18. Tote bag with name or initial embroidered on the front

19. Pretty refrigerator magnets

20. Potpourri jar

21. Handmade soaps or lotions

22. Handmade pillar candles

23. “Why you’re special to me” book – Purchase a small notebook or journal. Have each child in the class write why the teacher is special to them. Present it to the teacher as a class.

24. Surprise party

25. Decorative watering can, filled with pretty flowers or greenery

26. Variety of specialty teas inside a china teacup

27. Home cooked meal, delivered at the day/time of teacher’s preference

28. Monetary donation in teacher’s name, to her favorite charity

29. Custom made charm bracelet

30. Food baskets (fruit, canned foods, specialty items, etc.)

New Article: Holiday Shopping tips

Here's a brand new Momscape article. Again, you are welcome to reprint, forward, or otherwise share the article, as long as the About the Author box stays at the bottom of the article.

Holiday Shopping Tips
by Susie Cortright, http://www.susies-coupons.com

I confess that holiday shopping once felt like an enormous, energy-draining chore, and it was one that I dreaded all year. Now I have found a way to really enjoy it. Here are some tips to help you take pleasure in it, too.

1. Make it fun. Do whatever you need to do to make the prospect of holiday shopping more enjoyable. Some people get energized by the mall, but, for me, the mall is a big energy drain. Instead, I love to sit curled up in a big fleece blanket with a cup of cocoa and a stack of catalogs. For weeks now, I've been tearing out pages and circling gift ideas for my favorite people. It's fun to get inspired in this way. Then, I'll make my list and search for online coupons for the stores I've selected (since I hardly every make an online purchase without a coupon code.)

Whichever method of shopping is most fun for you, do it. Maybe you'll go on a special lunch date with your spouse and power shop for the kids. Maybe you'll make a daytrip to the most festive outdoor mall with some girlfriends.

Shopping can be one of the most enjoyable parts of the holiday season. Just make sure you are doing it in such a way that it doesn't feel like just one more thing you have to do this time of year. The key is planning ahead and asking yourself what you really enjoy about the process of finding gifts.

2. Start with a budget. What is the dollar range that you wish to spend for each person? Make sure you stay in a range you can afford. Nothing takes the fun out of holiday shopping more than knowing you will still be paying off the bills next Christmas.

3. Plan ahead. I know that many people have all of their holiday shopping completed in July, but I never have – and probably never will. However, I can get myself to jot down notes throughout the year (in the back of my Daytimer) about things that my family members have mentioned they like or would like to have. Make notes of each of your loved ones' favorite things to do, favorite places to go, favorite brands of clothes, favorite games, favorite possessions. Sit for a minute and brainstorm the possibilities. You might be surprised at the good ideas that pop up.

4. Shop online as much as you can. You can save significantly at the online discount stores, such as Overstock and SmartBargains. Some sites will save you sales tax; others will have items you wouldn't find in your local mall. And you can generally find a coupon code this time of year to save even more.

After you've been shopping online for some time, you may find (like me) that most of your gifts come from the same two or three websites each year – and that can save you money on shipping, too.

5. Save for the holidays throughout the year so you're not crunched come December. It's easier for me to stay in the Christmas spirit if I don't have to feel like I'm searching for the best bargain on every single item. I would rather find the exact perfect gift and then use a coupon code when purchasing it online, rather than running all over town (or all over the world wide web) to find it cheaper. That probably costs me a little more in the end, but it saves me a ton of time.

6. Look for quality and personality, not quantity. Nothing squashes my Christmas spirit more than focusing too much on the price tag…Have I spent enough on this person, have I bought her enough gifts? Will I give their family as many presents as she will give my family? When shopping takes on the air of competition, it's no good. Look for things that are beautiful, lasting, heartfelt, and sentimental.

Sometimes it helps to supplement something store bought with something handmade. Buy or create a gift while trying to imagine the look on their faces when they open the gift.

About the author:
Susie Cortright is the founder of Momscape.com and Susies-Coupons.com, where she hand picks only the very best online coupons. Check out her blog for great deals of the day.

Christmas Gifts for Neighbors: 15 Ideas for Sweet and Simple Gifts

Here's a brand new Momscape article. You are welcome to reprint, forward, or otherwise share the article, as long as the About the Author box stays at the bottom of the article. Happy Thanksgiving!


Christmas Gifts for Neighbors: 15 Ideas for Sweet and Simple Gifts

The more holiday cheer we can spread, the better, especially in our own neighborhoods.

Here are some ideas for simple, sweet, inexpensive gifts that are just right.

1. Holiday Cookies. Carve out a day to spend with your favorite ladies, and bake away. Pool your recipes and divvy up the goodies into gift bags or decorative plastic gift trays at the end of the day.

2. Have a stack of classic chocolates on hand. My kids' school has a fundraiser in September so we can buy just such incidental gifts, along with gift wrap. If you don't have such a fundraiser in your neighborhood, you might think about starting one. (Innisbrook.com handles ours.) If you are just looking for some yummy chocolates to stock up on, Ferrero Rocher is a big favorite, and these chocolates can be purchased inexpensively in beautiful holiday arrangements at most discount stores. It's nice to have a stack of extra gifts like these in the cabinet during the holidays, when you never know when you'll need an extra gift.

3. A bottle of your favorite (and relatively inexpensive) wine.

4. A journal and a nice pen. It's nice to have a special place to record their favorite personal thoughts of family memories.

5. Homemade crafts. If you're a scrapbooker, make a mini holiday album. If you love to sew, fashion some new placemats or potholders. And if you are not craft inclined, shop for neighborhood gifts at your local holiday craft fair. These are great for finding inexpensive holiday gifts that are often just sentimental enough.

6. Favorite fixin's. Combine the dry ingredients of your favorite sugar cookie recipe in a plastic bag and slide it into an inexpensive Christmas stocking. Print the baking ingredients on a festive tag, and use a pretty ribbon to tie it to the stocking, along with a holiday cookie cutter.

7. Fresh flowers. A simple bouquet of flowers, artfully arranged, is always welcome, especially when it arrives with a heartfelt note. Potted plants are wonderful, too.

8. Wreaths or poinsettias. There's always room for more holiday greenery.

9. Gift certificates for your local favorite coffee house, café, or soup restaurant.

10. Movie tickets (and if the family has young children, throw in an offer to babysit, too.)

11. An assortment of candles in festive shades and aromas, or an aromatherapy diffuser and essential oils. Scents of peppermint and cinnamon are especially lovely this time of year.

12. A personalized ornament for the neighbor's holiday tree.

13. Simple photo albums or photo frames that match your neighbor's décor.

14. An inspiring book of quotes or meditations.

15. A simple note telling each neighbor what they bring to your life and how much you value their friendship.

Happy holidays from our neighborhood to yours!

Copyright Susie Cortright

About the Author: Susie Cortright is the founder of Momscape.com and Susies-Coupons.com, where she hand picks only the very best online coupons and products, including coupons for shoes.

May be shared with About the Author box intact.

Holiday Stress Management: Four Tips to Help you Enjoy all the Fa-la-las

Here's a new Momscape article. You are more than welcome to reprint or otherwise share the article, as long as the About the Author box stays at the bottom of the article.

Holiday Stress Management: Four Tips

Decking the halls and spreading good cheer can be stressful. Here are some tips to make sure you enjoy every last fa-la-la.

1. Stay Centered. An energized and peaceful holiday season is possible only when you can keep your priorities straight. Take a pen and paper and ask yourself: What do you value, above all else? What comes second? Third? How important is your spirituality, your family, your profession, your time for yourself? After some thought and reflection, rank your top priorities on a Post-it-Note where you will see it throughout the day. (Mine is on my computer monitor). Refer to your list when asked to make commitments and compromises. If the request does not jibe with your list, you do not only have permission, you have an obligation, to say no.

This list of priorities may set the course for new holiday traditions, as well. Maybe you will donate toys, books, and food to charities. Maybe you will help serve dinner at a homeless shelter in lieu of a holiday meal.

2. Indulge the ghost of Christmas Past. What memories immediately come forth that evoke a fond nostalgia? For me, it isn't the gifts or the shopping or even the parties. It's rocking my infant, alone, by candlelight, to "Silent Night." It's letting my 2-year-old crack the eggs for the cookies, and seeing the pride on her floury face.

Decide what the holidays really mean to you. What is really important? Then make a plan to weave more of those activities into your holidays, and reduce the rest.

3. Deck the Halls with Light and Love. Don't let commercialism spoil your fun. Make the simple promise to yourself that, this year, you'll actually enjoy your holiday shopping. Brainstorm ways you can make this happen. For me, the mall is a giant energy drain. The look of worried resignation as a shopper hands over her credit card tells me that she is shopping out of a sense of obligation and not one of joy. And it sours my holiday spirit.

Instead, I carve out an afternoon all to myself. I put on an Andrea Bocelli CD, sip Chai tea from a giant mug, and curl up with a fleece blanket to surf the Internet and page through catalogs. That's how I find just the right something for everyone on my list. When it ceases to be fun, I stop. I so enjoy shopping this way that, throughout the year, I bookmark sites that offer just the right items.

If you find the materialism of the season draining your energy, commit to making an attitude shift. If you want things to be different this year, only you can make it so. Take the lead for your family, and live in such a way that you prove less stuff really does equal more fun.

Maybe you'll take the money you usually spend on one-too-many toys and enjoy, instead, a weekend family getaway. Maybe you'll make homemade goodies, such as picture frames, home movies, or goodie baskets, which the whole family helps to create.

Maybe you'll bag the traditional gift-giving and start a new tradition. In our family, it goes like this: Each guest brings a wrapped gift of roughly the same dollar value. We sit in a circle and each person, in turn, has the option of taking a gift that's already been opened or opening a new one. It's fun. It's festive. It gets everyone moving and talking, and it switches the focus to the relationships and the event...not the gifts.

4. Start early, plan well, and take care of yourself. Here are some tips:

Simplify as much as possible. Use paper plates. Eat out. If a holiday tradition is old and tired, reinvigorate it or start a new tradition of staying at home.

Plan ahead. To help, chances are, your favorite food website has a checklist for big holiday events.

Replenish your natural energy by taking care of your body. Eat right. Exercise (in the crisp outdoors once in a while). Drink plenty of water. Sleep.

Energize your image. Give yourself an early holiday gift or a great haircut, a brow shaping, a pedicure with bright red polish, or a free makeover at your favorite cosmetics counter and a purchase of the most vibrant lipstick shade you'll actually wear.

Decorate with items of comfort and joy. Display photographs from past holiday celebrations. Keep in full view reminders that you take care of yourself...fresh flowers, indulgent hand crème, inspiring music, and energizing scents, such as citrus or peppermint.

Spend the season with your most energetic friends. Instead of letting the Scrooges in your life yank you down, send them something sweet from a Secret Santa. A little anonymous enchantment may be just what they need.

Keep a "Joy Journal" this holiday season, in which you record the funny things your kids say, joyful times you share, your favorite things to do with your family (and by yourself), and all the things for which you are grateful. Use your Joy Journal as a reminder of the facets of your life-and this holiday season-that are really important.

Happy holidays from my home to yours!

Copyright Susie Cortright

About the Author:
Susie Cortright is the founder of Momscape.com and Susies-Coupons.com, where she hand picks only the very best online coupons and products, including sites that offer free gifts with purchase.
May be shared with About the Author box intact.

New Article: The Short List (Some Thoughts on Time)

I have just finished posting a new article. You are more than welcome to reprint or otherwise share the article, as long as the following About the Author box stays at the bottom of the article:

About the Author:
Susie Cortright is the founder of Momscape.com - http://www.momscape.com - and Susies-Coupons.com - http://www.susies-coupons.com - where she hand-picks only the very best online coupons and products each day, including online coupons for running shoes: http://www.susies-coupons.com/children.htm

Here's the article:

The Short List: Some Thoughts on Time
Is there a subject more charged than that of time, especially among parents? It's the source of many of our conversations ("How are you?" "Busy!") and much of our guilt. Here are some thoughts on taming our own perception of time.

New Mailing List for Article Reprints

I've been getting lots of requests for article reprints lately, so I've set up a special "Susie's Articles" newsletter for publishers. If you'd like to receive new articles as soon as they are available for free reprint, subscribe at our main article reprints page here:
http://www.momscape.com/articles/reprints.htm

New Momscape Newsletter - Secrets to Creating Happy Family Memories

I've just published a new Momscape newsletter:
Momscape Newsletter Issue 17.7: Secrets for Creating Happy Family Memories, Thanksgiving Traditions, Hot Toys, and more
Please feel free to read it online here:
http://www.momscape.com/news-archives/Issue17vol7.htm
and/or click here to subscribe.

New Article: Treadmill Running Tips

I have just finished posting a new article. You are more than welcome to reprint or otherwise share the article, as long as the following About the Author box stays at the bottom of the article:

About the Author:
Susie Cortright is the founder of Momscape.com - http://www.momscape.com - and Susies-Coupons.com - http://www.susies-coupons.com - where she hand-picks only the very best online coupons and products each day, including online coupons for running shoes: http://www.susies-coupons.com/shoes.htm

Here's the article:
Treadmill Running Tips
And the Article Description:
Treadmills ensure that the runner in you never has to sit out for a season. Here are a few points to consider when you begin your treadmill running regimen.