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Easter Traditions

March 29, 2009 By Becca 16 Comments
Easter eggs
Image by jmurawski via Flickr

Each year I feel as if Easter sneaks up on me.  I am never prepared.  I am always shopping for things on Easter Eve at 12 am with all of the other people who were clueless as to the date of Easter.  It is a tricky holiday that moves around more then migrant birds.  Each year I forget to check when it is coming.  Often times I realize that it is coming quicker then I think.  So what is the point Rebecca?  Well the point is that I looked on a calender yesterday for the first time.  What sparked me to do such a thing?  I have been reading all about it and everyone is off to Spring break.  When I looked I was shocked!  This holiday has snuck up on me yet again!  I think that forgetting about Easter is my biggest tradition at this point.

There are some other traditions we have as well.  Because I am often clueless as to when Easter is from year to year we do not always have time to fit in all of these traditions.

  1. Dying Easter eggs.  I know this is not all that traditional but the kids LOVE it.  I have to admit that I think it is a lot of fun too!
  2. Easter egg hunts.   Our town has one, our church has one and my grandmother has one.  It is a fun time to watch the kids on a hunt.  I remember a year or two ago Abigail was actually sweet enough to make sure that Emma had a full basket as well.  It melted my heart and made me think that they really do listen all of those times I lecture about helping others!
  3. Asparagus… yes I know but it really is a tradition.  There is never a year that we do not have asparagus with our Easter dinner.  In fact I will go as far as to say it would not be Easter without this odd looking veggie!
  4. Egg fights.  This tradition is courticy of my Aunt Pat.  Each person picked a hard boiled egg that looks good to them.  The tap the tops together in a “fight”.  The person who has a cracked egg has to eat it and the other person goes on to “fight” with someone else.  I think that this was her way to get us to eat the eggs as kids but you know what?  IT WORKED!
  5. Family is another tradition although it always ends up that my in laws are mad.  We go to my grandmothers each year.  There are not a ton of holiday we spend together so for Thanksgiving and Easter I like to assure that we are with my grandparents.  Some of the family gets upset but I feel as if it is where I need to be at this point in not only my life but my grandparents lives.  Either way we always will spend Easter with family!

So these are some traditions that we have.  What traditions does your family have?  I am so interesting in hearing some of the interesting things that you all do.

Becca

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47 Days Until Christmas

November 13, 2008 By Becca Leave a Comment

Christmas Tree

What would Christmas be without a Christmas Tree? This is a question that some people do not even understand. Of course you have a Christmas Tree. It is what symbolizes Christmas in our homes, our malls, Rockafeller Center and even the White House. There is even a whole Christmas Carol dedicated to it. “Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas tree”. We all sing its praise year after year. It is what you first learn to color and decorate as a child and what you dream that there will be presents under. So where did this Christmas tree come from is an important question to be answered.

  • The Christmas tree has been said to have first brought about in Germany. A monk had traveled to Germany to teach the people there the word of the lord. This monk used a fir tree, a triangular shape, as an example of the holy trinity. This the became a German tradition at Christmas time. People would even hang their trees upside down. As trade evolved so did the Christmas tree. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, who was German, are said to have made the Christmas tree what it is today. Queen Victoria was well liked and people did whatever she did in order to keep up with the times. When people had seen that she had decorated her tree people followed. Ornaments at the time were all home made. From there the Christmas tree has evolved into what we know it as today. Thank goodness we do not put candles on our trees. I would be far to nervous!
  • Real Or Fake? This has been a debate that I have struggled with for years. Do I want a real tree or a fake one? Each year we go for the real one. There is nothing like smelling a fresh cut Christmas tree when you walk into your house. It is magical. For those who are happy getting that scent from a candle they may be just as happy with a fake tree. I will say this for a real tree, it is magical. Look at your child’s face when they come on a Christmas tree hunt with you. The joy hand magic they have at that moment becomes contagous. It is not lugging a big box out of the basement and assembling a tree. It is real. Part of what God gave us on this earth. It is magical.
  • Going Green: I know that many people out there are into a going green kick. It is the new cool thing to do. I know that cutting down trees is not good for the o-zone and who knows what else. There is something to consider though. These trees would not have been here if it were not for Christmas. They are all so perfect now because they come off of tree farms. So please put the green aside and just decide to recycle or reuse your tree when you are done. It will still be used as wood chips, fire wood to cut down on heat or to carve something special out of.

Becca

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73 Days Until Christmas

October 14, 2008 By Becca 3 Comments

Save money on Christmas, make your own gifts.

A bauble on a Christmas tree.

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Ok so we are two days into our 75 day plan. I have chosen some items to list on ebay. One of my goals will be to list some of the items. The next thing that I would like to think about is making a few gifts to save some money. When looking at crafts to make you have to be quite careful. They can end up spending more money then if you were to just go out and buy the item new. A few years ago I had made Christmas Tree skirts for my mother, my mother in-law and my sister-in-laws. They loved them but my mother-in-laws was ruined last year. I am thinking that I will make her a new one this year.

Today I am off to AC Moore and JoAnn Fabrics to buy some fabric and check out some new craft ideas for others on my list. I think that I will see what types of things the kids can make for their grandparents as well. Grandma and Grandpa always love some homemade treasures. The kids also love to make new treasures. This will be a great thing that we can do together closer to Christmas. I figure if I buy it all now I will have a chance to make it when I am ready. I will not have to rush out and shop on the day that I want to make something.

I would also like to look for some Christmas tree ornament crafts that the kids and I could make together. This will create some special memories and help to fix out Christmas tree tragedy from last year. Again the kids and I will have a great time together making some special memories.

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75 Days of Christmas

October 12, 2008 By Becca 4 Comments
Christmas cards with angels, scandinavian “nis...

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How to Get Through Christmas

Christmas Day is in 75 days…

I know that I sound like a huge retailer trying to make up for the missing back to school specials! If you are like I am you want the holidays to be PERFECT! So far it never has been and I am starting to think that it never will be. Last year we did not have the money to go out shopping until December 23rd and it made the entire season VERY stressful. So here we are with 75 days left to make it perfect. I know, I know, it will never be PERFECT but perhaps I can come a little closer if I start planning it all out now. There are so many things to think about. Forget about Halloween this year, forget about Thanksgiving! This year I am setting my sights on Christmas!

OK, so here I am sitting all motivated to do something to make the season better than ever. Where should we start though. I think that the most important thing to do this year is to establish an early budget. This will make the entire season more enjoyable. I think that in order to examine a budget I have to look at who I need to buy for and how much money I plan on spending. This will help me determine how much money I will need. So here it goes…

Nieces and Nephews: There are 6 of them now and I estimate that I will spend $15 each. I know that I sound cheap but I am a bargin shopper. I am going to round this up to an even $100. This way I can go over and under and stay within my budget. The truth is that kids do not know nor do they care how much you spend on them. All they care about is that you buy something fun!

Parents: I tend to spend about $40 for each of my parents and about $100 for Rob’s mother if not more. Any presents that she gets come from all of her kids so I think that it is important for her to have a Christmas that is magical too! I will round this up to $200 to be on the safe side. It never hurts to have extra money.

Siblings: This year Rob’s family has decided to do a grab bag. We need to pick two $20 gifts for the grab bag. I also have one brother who has no children. I try to get him something cool since he gets the girls things. I figure about $40 is what I will spend. Again I am going to round up to be on the safe side. This makes this section $100.

Our Girls: While Santa does do some of the work, Christmas is still an expencive venture. I figure that we will spend aboiut $300 on Abigail and Emma and about $150 on the baby. As kids get older they want things that cost more and more. By aiming high we will assure that we have enough money to make their dreams come true. This brings this section up to $750.

Pictures: It is important to me that we have pictures taken this year. The last few years we have not had the money so I plan on doing this early. Although there are deals, I figure we will spend about $100 on pictures this year.

Cookies: While baking cookies is a day or two of fun for the kids it can be quite expencive. This year I would like to put about $100 aside for baking. I figure this will cover any cakes, candy, and cookies.

Wrapping and shipping: Wrapping paper can add up. For family gifts this year I plan on making wrapping paper. This will help us to save money and it will be a great activity to do with the kids. We will have to buy and ship Christmas cards and a few gifts to family who lives far away. We will also need to donate some paper to Santa. This will all total about $80 this year.

New decorations: Well, last year our tree fell and about half of our tree ornaments broke. I was quite upset. I have had almost a year to recover though. Now I am excited about being able to get some new treasures and memories for out tree. I am putting about $50 aside for this.

Teachers, bus drivers, mail person and others: If you are not careful this can really add up. I think that it is ok if you do not have a lot of money to give these people cookies and treats that you are baking. Last year I gave the bus driver a Dunkin’ Donuts gift certificate for $10. This way he could stop and have some coffee. Classes in our school do teacher presents all together so this should only be abbout $10 this year. It will be cookies for the rest. This will add up to about $20 this year.

So all in all I think that I will need about $1400 for this Christmas. It sounds like so much for one day but I am determined to make it special. They key is to spend cash! With the economy in a state of “crisis” I would rather not have to rely on anything other then the money that I have.

I would like to do a lot of my shopping on Black Friday. I find great deals and love getting up early with my female in-laws and hitting the pavement. So I would like to have at least half of the money for Black Friday. Thanksgiving is about 6 weeks away. This means that I will have to put about $130 away a week to assure that I do not have to spend on credit on Black Friday. This is going to be a huge challenge. Things are tight right now to begin with, but I have a plan!

I think that we should all avoid spending money on our credit cards this year. Work out your personal budget and see what you have to save a week to reach your goal. I will post new posts everyday with craft ideas, fun activities, money making tips, and recipies to use for the next 75 days. It is going to be a great Christmas this year!

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