Homemade Christmas With Children

The best Christmas memories are made by hand. 

And if that is true, then perhaps the worst Christmas memories are those made when we spend the majority of the holiday season in department stores without our children, trying to purchase toys that will be played with for a few days and then forgotten. 

I love gifts, and giving them is important to me, but often the gift that our children most long for is the gift of our undistracted time.

On the other hand, many of us envision making things by hand as just another distraction from our children. When these gifts are difficult projects that must be done solo, we are again forced to choose between time with our children, or time doing something for them, but not with them.

Last Christmas, I did spend a few hours away from my children. We had a theme of "used or homemade" for Christmas gifts which meant that I would take a few children at a time to hit up thrift stores, or I was sewing simple gifts for them such as capes and doll blankets.

This year, we are forgoing elaborate (or thrifted) gifts that our children will open in favor of an ultimate field trip. We are heading to Africa at the first of the year to do ministry to children and families, with a stop in Ireland on our way to celebrate Christmas with a beloved aunt and uncle.

However, we still want to have a few gifts on hand for grandparents and friends, and since this year we are on a tight budget we chose to make a few of these gifts.

These are a few of the simple gifts that we made;

Rolled Beeswax Candles

You need:
Beeswax Sheets
Wick

• Carefully cut your beeswax sheets in half lengthwise. 
• Cut your candle wick to fit.
• Place wick at the edge of the beeswax and carefully fold over the first roll.
• Finish rolling tightly.

Our two sheets of beeswax made 4 thick candles. You could also cut the beeswax in thirds for thinner candles or cut in quarters for short candles.

Essential Oil Bath Salts

Soaking in bath salts is a great way to supplement your body with magnesium and get better sleep.

You need;

1 32 oz package epsom salts

essential oil (we used Young Living Lavender Oil)

pint sized mason jars

Christmas fabric and ribbon

• Pour your epsom salt into a large bowl. You could also add himalayan pink salt, dead sea salt, or other mineral rich salts.
• Add about 15 drops lavender essential oil.
• Stir well to combine.
• Use a scoop to pour bath salts into jars.
• Cut circles from your holiday fabric that are slightly larger than your jar lid. We used a gallon size jar lid as a template.
• Place fabric over lid and then screw on jar ring. 
• Tie ribbon around jar ring and add a gift tag if desired.

There are loads of other possibilities for homemade gifts, bean soup in a jar, cloth doll, a simple cape, or even potted plants such as geraniums that you start from a cutting. 

We can turn the tide on Christmas expectations, and create a holiday celebration that is defined by precious moments spent with our loved ones.

Do you want more alternatives to shopping this Christmas (or online shopping alternatives)? Check out this post

If you are struggling to figure out how you can pay for Christmas, please check out my new course, Bountiful Homeschooling. When you use code, "Budget" the course is only $18 and all proceeds go to a project we are doing in Tanzania, Africa this January. Not only do you get inexpensive help with your budget, but your purchase goes towards helping others.

This post has affiliate links. 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

I have three birthdays in December, and keeping up with all those birthdays, definitely took a toll on our excitement about Christmas. We had decided back in October to focus on used or homemade gifts for Christmas, in an effort to create less junk, and save money for things that we value, and although that worked out really well, the entire holiday just seemed a little less exciting to me this year. 

Hopefully, my children did not catch my lack of Christmas spirit. We played lots of Christmas carols, sang at a convalescent home, baked cookies, and walked by Christmas lights in an effort to make the season bright for our children, and keep their eyes bright with the joy of the season. 

 We also had a fabulous three days at the coast just a week and a half before Christmas, which didn't help with our Christmas prep, but certainly contributed some wonderful relationship building time, which is what Christmas is really about anyway.

 I confess, I am happy that it is over. I feel so excited about setting goals for the new year, and getting back into the wonderful routine of homeschooling and gardening, and mothering my children. 

For the last several years I have posted my goals for the new year here. It has been a really good way to keep me accountable. As I set goals, I pray that my vision would also be aligned with what God wants for me in the coming year.



I have been reading, Becoming Myself, by Stasi Eldridge, and one of the exercises that she has you complete in the book, is to write a list of all your biggest dreams. Sometimes, in the busy years of mothering and homeschooling, we fail to look down the road at the bigger picture. 




Even Sarah Mackenzie, in her talk at the Wild and Free conference in Virginia talked about looking forward twenty years, and dreaming about what you want your children to remember about their homeschool years. Dreaming is an important first step in any goal setting process, if we don't know what the long view is, how can we make daily or monthly goals that make sense?

So this week, as I prepare to make three month goals for the year, I am setting aside time to dream and journal about what  the focus of this next season will be. 

What are your big dreams, and the daily steps you will take to accomplish them?

This post has affiliate links.

Why I Am Not Out Shopping On Black Friday

I can hear my children playing in the next room, and as I do the head count, I invariably step around toys that someone has left lying around. This has led me to believe that instead of needing lots of new stuff for Christmas, we would be better served by taking time as a family, or by encouraging talents through purchases geared towards creativity.

Sometimes it feels tiring, or stingy, to say no to toy requests from my children, I love them so much and would love to give them the moon. However, more stuff, does not equal more satisfaction. What it does equal is more time spent managing all the stuff.

Some of the things we will be doing this season;

Building a snowman

Drinking cocoa

Watching Elf




Reading "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever"



Making homemade gifts

Painting Christmas themed art




Caroling at a convalescent home

Putting Thieves on our feet to prevent sickness

Cutting down a Christmas tree

Hanging out on the beach

Going to the Monterey Aquarium for Homeschool Days.

I love that our Christmas plans involve so much togetherness, and hopefully, with a few less presents to buy, I will be able to focus more on relationship and connection, and less on buying, wrapping and  cleaning up stuff.

























This post has links to Amazon items that we own and love.

Christmas Shopping on a Budget

"Something you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read."

                              


I love Christmas. We actually went through several years where we questioned whether Christmas was even okay for us as Christians to celebrate, and even in those quiet years, I still managed to sneak in some kind of gift giving and stocking filling for my children.

What I don't love however, is getting into debt, buying stuff we don't need, and neglecting the poor. 

The desire to live within our means so that we can be free to give defines our Christmas gift giving.

I want Christmas to feel extravagant for our children, but I don't want to spend extravagantly. With this goal in mind, there are a few strategies that I use each Christmas.

1. Keep Expectations Low- Every year I tell the children that it will be a small Christmas and they won't receive many gifts. I do spend a morning asking them what they would like for Christmas and writing it down, I love hearing what they are dreaming of, but I make it clear that they will not get everything on their list.

2. Use A Formula- I love the phrase, "Something you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read".  It has been attributed to Ann Voskamp and is a very good guideline for me on gift purchasing. With seven children, I need a framework to keep the gift purchasing simple.

3. Start Early- Throughout the year, I am constantly on the lookout for good books at thrift stores. These are stored in my closet where I will then divide them up between the children for their Christmas gifts. There is nothing quite like a new book with a holiday to enjoy reading it. This is a good principle for all gift giving, while being careful not to overbuy or overspend.

4. Wrap Everything- I use Christmas as an opportunity to give my children things that they already need. Socks, underwear, toothbrushes and toothpaste. I may spend a little extra to get day of the week undies, or a character toothbrush, but even necessities should not be taken for granted, and giving them as gifts helps my children recognize that fact. I also wrap small things like crayons and drawing pads which were purchased for a few dollars back in August.

                             


5. Keep Relationship as the Priority- Throughout the holiday season we try to keep relationships at the forefront. Making time to read through an advent devotional, sing songs, build a puzzle, and reach out to the needy are what the holiday should be defined by. If all my time is spent shopping, the memories will be bitter for everyone.

Christmas can be a wonderful time, free of debt and stress, it just might take a little more thought and planning.


For more ideas on a simple, thoughtful Christmas, check out www.bewildandfree.org. The December subscription, Wonder, is full of beautiful ideas for Christmas celebrations that keep Jesus as the center while making special memories with your children. Our recent Little House on the Prairie Christmas Party, along with recipes and a craft is one of many lovely resources included.

If you need some help to define a budget, and create a more simple Christmas, check out the course, Bountiful Homeschooling on a Budget. The price is only $18 when you use the code "Budget" and all proceeds fund ministry to children and families in Tanzania, Africa. But hurry, enrollment for the class ends December 20th. 

This post contains affiliate links.