• 10 Gift Ideas for Holiday Shopping on a Budget

    The holiday season is all about goodwill, good friends, family, and love. Unfortunately, we’ve been conditioned to believe that the best way to show these feelings is through elaborate gifts.

    If you’re strapped for cash this year, but don’t want to give up the giving aspect of the season, look no further!

    Here are some great gift ideas for when you’re pinching pennies during the holiday season:

    Gourmet tea and coffee

    Create a gourmet tea or coffee basket combining a hand-picked mug with a favorite flavor or two of coffee or tea. Add in other items as desired, such as honey, sweetener sticks, specialty creamers and marshmallows to suit the gift recipient.

    Homemade cocoa mix

    Create a homemade cocoa mix by combining powdered sugar, cocoa, powdered milk, and other desired ingredients. Layer the mix in a jar to create a unique gift and include instructions for making the hot cocoa on the gift tag.

    Homemade baking mix

    Follow the same idea as the homemade cocoa mix, but this time with cookie or brownie mix. Layer the individual ingredients like flour, sugar, and chocolate chips in the jar to create a unique gift. Include clear instructions so the recipient can recreate your favorite cookie recipes.

    Gourmet gift baskets

    Combine gourmet cheeses, meats, crackers, mustards, jams, and other ingredients to create your own gourmet gift baskets. Buy the individual items yourself and save a great deal of cash in comparison to buying pre-built gift baskets from specialty stores.

    Gardening gift basket

    Combine flower seeds, vegetable seeds, and other gardening goodies – like trowels and hand shovels – to create a gift basket for someone who enjoys gardening. Add other goodies as desired, like plant markers, pretty containers, and homemade soil mix.

    Home movie basket

    Combine a gift card for movie rentals with popcorn and butter spray or seasoning and a box of movie theater-style candy to create a gift basket for enjoying movies at home with the family.

    Breakfast gift basket

    Combine pancake or waffle mix with a bottle of real maple syrup and any other gifts that you think would suit a “breakfast in bed” theme such as a relaxing CD or a nice book.

    Muffin baking basket

    Combine muffin tins with a couple of different store-bought or homemade muffin mixes and some fresh berries or chocolate chips. Include the recipe for each muffin mix.

    Recipe box and cards

    Put together a handmade recipe box with some of your favorite recipes inside. Put the recipe cards together yourself, decorate them to suit the recipient and add in extra cards for their own recipes. Use stickers, colored pens, and calligraphy to create unique recipe cards or dividers for the recipe box.

    Favorite candy jar

    Buy and decorate a glass jar and fill it with some of the recipient’s favorite candies. Layer different colored candies to create a colorful effect. For example, separate gummy fish by color and layer them from bottom to top, then hand paint an aquarium scene on the outside of the jar.

    You can customize all of these gift ideas to suit the recipient, and each gift is meaningful because you put it together yourself. To give gifts that truly matter, make them yourself, and put your heart into them. You’ll be surprised at how much money you can save when you create homemade gifts yourself!

  • 10 Ideas to Keep Your Kids Busy at Home

    Kids.

    You love them, but they’ll drive you crazy if you let them. LOL It’s not easy to deal with your children each and every day when you’re used to them being at school for 40 hours each week. Having them at home and keeping them busy is a significant challenge.

    You hate to see them sit in front of the TV all day long, but you hate to hear them whine about being bored even more.

    No one is completely happy about the current circumstances, but as a parent, you have the responsibility to navigate this challenge with your children.

    Use these ideas to keep your kids busy at home while maintaining your sanity:

    Write

    Most kids love to write stories, make lists, and record ideas. If your child is one of those that likes to write, give them a writing task.

    • Tell them to write a scary story about two friends lost in the woods.
    • Maybe your child is older and would like to keep a journal.
    • Write a story together. Take turns writing a couple of sentences. The next person has to pick up where the last person left off.

    Art

    Regardless of age, there are many people that like to draw, paint, sculpt, color, or cut and paste. Have an art hour each day.

    • Watch a video on how to draw a face and practice together.
    • Give your child some chalk and tell them to play in the driveway.

    Garden

    Gardening can be a lot of fun. It’s exciting to plant seeds and watch them grow. Flowers, vegetables, berries, and herbs are all options. Try planting some foods that your child loves to eat.

    Hike

    Get out of the house and hike in the woods. Many parks have walking or hiking trails. It’s great exercise and an easy way to change the scenery for an hour or two.

    Bake

    Kids love to bake. Depending on their age, some children need more help than others. Bake a cake. Make some cookies. Allow your child to fix or help with dinner. Try some new recipes.

    Remodel

    Let your child remodel their room. It might be time for a new color or a new desk. Perhaps the artwork on the walls is getting a little old. A new lamp? Give your child some freedom to make their own choices.

    Watch old movies

    Has your child ever seen Goonies, The Karate Kid, or the original Star Wars? Honey, I Shrunk the Kids? Relive some of your favorite childhood movies with your children.

    • They might laugh at the special effects found in a movie from the 70’s or 80’s, but that’s part of the fun.
    • Talk about some of the differences between these old movies and the ones they normally see today.

    Old toys

    Pogo stick? Hula hoop? Hopscotch? Old board games? Or maybe pull out some of their old toys from the attic, basement, or garage.

    Build

    Build a birdhouse, treehouse, doghouse, or fort. Build something out of popsicle sticks. Construct a raised flower bed. Build some shelves.

    Zoom

    While there are many platforms for holding virtual meetings, Zoom has become especially popular these days. Set up a meeting for your kids and their friends. They can spend time together and catch up with each other’s lives.

    If you’re at the end of your rope with your kids, you’re not alone. It’s not easy to keep your kids occupied in a healthy way. However, there are plenty of things your kids would enjoy doing that they’ve never even considered.

    Put on your creative hat and give your kids a few things to do that will benefit them more than watching TV or playing video games. You’ll all be glad you did!

  • 9 Things You Do When Your Child Tattles

    What Will You Do When Your Child Tattles?

    One day your children are interacting peacefully, and the next thing you know, one of them turns into an informant. They’re dying to let you know that their brother ate a cookie before dinner or their sister was on the phone after bedtime. They might even start reporting on the neighbors if they’re letting their grass grow too high.

    Tattling is annoying, but it’s a natural part of growing up. It’s a sign that your child is starting to outgrow hitting and screaming, but they’re still unsure about how to resolve conflicts more maturely.

    The issue becomes even more complicated when you’re trying to teach your child when to deal with situations on their own and when it’s important to tell an adult.

    Try these tips for helping your child to tell the difference between tattling about small stuff and telling an adult about serious matters.

    Discouraging Your Child from Tattling about Minor Issues:

    1. Identify their reasons. You can determine if your child is tattling or telling you about something urgent by examining their motives. Let them know that you disapprove of trying to get someone into trouble, but you’re proud of them when they want to be helpful.
    2. Step back. While there are many things you can do to guide your children in a positive direction, you want to give them enough room to work situations out on their own. As long as everyone is safe, consider ignoring tattling rather than rewarding it by intervening.
    3. Provide validation. While you may disapprove of tattling, you can reassure your child that their views matter. Empathize when they describe being mistreated or seeing someone break the rules.
    4. Demonstrate tolerance. Living in a community sometimes requires concentrating on your own responsibilities and overlooking the choices of others. Talk with your child about how to handle injustices.
    5. Promote friendships. Your child may want to stop tattling if they know it will cost them, friends. Explain why other children may avoid them if they tattle too much.
    6. Teach compassion. You can also help your child to understand how tattling affects others. Ask them how they feel when someone tells on them. Roleplay so they can act out being embarrassed or hurt by gossip.
    7. Build confidence. Some children tattle to get status and power. Explain how they can boost their self-esteem in more desirable ways like excelling at school or playing team sports.
    8. Remove temptation. You may be able to prevent tattling before it starts. Children who sleep and eat well are less likely to lash out.
    9. Explore alternatives. Talk with your child about what they can do instead of tattling. They might practice sharing instead of fighting over toys. They might focus on their own grades even if a classmate skips their assignments.

    Encouraging Your Child to Tell You about Serious Matters:

    1. Examine feelings. Small children may have trouble putting ideas into words, but they still have strong emotions. Ask your child to come to you if they experience anything that frightens or confuses them.
    2. Discuss distinctions. Talk about the difference between being unsafe and being annoying. Compare throwing rocks at someone to chewing with your mouth open.
    3. Spend time together. Your child is more likely to reach out when they’re in trouble if you work at staying close. As a bonus, they’ll also be less prone to tattling just to get your attention.

    Raise your children to avoid tattling about minor issues, but ensure they know that it’s okay to reach out to an adult when they’re trying to help themselves or another child.

    Once you understand why your child is telling you about someone’s behavior, you can help them practice strategies that will support healthy social and emotional growth.

  • Make Cleaning Fun For Kids

    Getting your kids to clean their rooms can be easy with the right approach. Make cleaning time fun by getting organized and talking to your kids in a way that engages them.

    Develop realistic expectations

    Children often view their room as space they can control. This is especially true for pre-teens and teens, who are often seeking privacy. You do need to guard against any health hazards, especially if your kids have dust allergies. On the other hand, it’s okay to value a happy family life over keeping every surface pristine.

    Don’t worry – most kids who throw their clothes on the floor still grow up to be responsible adults!

    Set a good example

    Kids always pay more attention to what you do than to what you say. If you put away your clothes, they’re more likely to follow your lead eventually. By taking care of your belongings and creating an orderly environment, you send a message that these are good habits.

    Ban food in the bedroom

    Except for water, keeping food out of the bedroom will prevent many messes from ever happening. Eating in the kitchen and dining room also encourages more family time and less excessive snacking.

    Clear away clutter

    It may be difficult to clean if you’ve got too many possessions. Make a family tradition of regularly getting rid of unused or worn-out items. Let kids help pick the charity where they want to donate their old toys. Alternately, have a garage sale and share the profits with your kids.

    Invest in storage solutions

    Make it easy for kids to keep everything in its proper place and you can all spend a lot less time straightening up. Put frequently used items on lower shelves and hooks where small children can reach them. Get big bins for large items and small bins to keep items with multiple parts organized.

    Teach your kids how to clean

    Kids will be less resistant to cleaning if they feel confident about basic tasks. Praise them for helping you dust or make the beds so they’ll learn by observing and imitating.

    Break cleaning sessions down into manageable chunks

    Children have limited attention spans. Cleaning for 10 or 15 minutes at a time will often get better results than marathon sessions.

    Do some regular maintenance

    It’s easier to keep a neat room tidy. Make morning or evening pick-up times a daily ritual. Do a little dusting before your Saturday outings.

    Communicating with your kids is a huge key to this being successful! Here are some things you can do:

    Invite your child’s input

    Help your child to value their surroundings by giving them a voice in decorating their room. They can help shop for storage systems or choose wall art they like.

    Work together

    Household tasks can be a time for you and your child to enjoy each other’s company and conversation. Small children need plenty of guidance when cleaning. As they get older, you can back off a little on supervising and just do some spot-checking.

    Develop educational games

    Cleaning games are a great way to entertain and educate small children. Drill them on vocabulary by naming household items, or play counting games as you roll up socks.

    Offer choices and rewards

    Everyone likes to be given choices. Ask your child if they want to clean their room before or after soccer practice. Use positive praise and rewards to reinforce good behavior.

    Most children have messy rooms from time to time. Set reasonable standards and communicate effectively to make cleaning fun and efficient. You’ll be rewarded with a better relationship with your kids and a neater home.