Moms Vibe:
By Krystle J. Bailey
The holiday season tends to be an expensive adventure no matter how you cut it. This year, the financial pinch feels tighter than ever for many families as so many people are changing careers, regaining their financial footing post-Covid, and learning how to manage the rapidly inflating prices on everything. Just when our wallets begin to recover from back-to-school spending, the holidays arrive. The holiday season should be filled with love, light, and magic, and yet, many of us find ourselves stressing about money and shopping. This week, take a minute to breathe and remember that Christmas only comes once a year, and regardless of your financial situation, the magic of the holidays can still be experienced.
Here are a few cost-saving holiday activities to keep the spirit of the season alive.
Create homemade ornaments
Switch up the holiday decor this year with some hand-made ornaments. Remember all the ornaments we made for our parents in school? Recreate those with your little ones. Spend an evening stringing popcorn for the tree, painting pinecones, and making salt dough ornaments. Pinterest is full of crafty ideas for DIY ornament making, from filling clear ornaments with sprinkles to tying together twigs and sticks with festive string.
Salt dough ornament recipe:
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F
- Whisk together 4 cups flour with 1 cup salt
- Slowly stir in 1.5 cups water until a dough forms (use your hands when it gets thick)
- Transfer dough to floured workspace and knead until soft
- Use cookie cutters to cut desired shapes (⅛ inch thick)
- Don’t forget to punch a hole in the top for the string
- Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for approx 1 hour
- Let them cool, then decorate using acrylic paint, glitter, modge podge, or whatever craft supplies you have on hand
Visit all local parades
See all the parades and, therefore, all of the Santa Clauses for free. Almost every local town has a Christmas parade. Make a list of the upcoming parades and events, then see how many you can check off the list before Santa comes to town. Visit our weekly Events & Happenings segment to stay up to speed on times and dates.
Learn about other holidays
Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, all of them, or none of them, take a trip to the local library to search for books about all December holidays and traditions. Learn about how other religions and cultures celebrate with their loved ones this month. Try a new craft, food, or tradition that isn’t already a part of your yearly traditions. This is a great opportunity to have a conversation with the kids about inclusivity and love.
Make holiday cards
My kids always seem to end up with more crafts than they know what to do with after Christmas. Pull out all the unused supplies from this last year and create a holiday card-making station. Make cards for loved ones, strangers, active duty military, homeless individuals, or whoever else speaks to your heart. Giving feels good, and there’s nothing like a homemade gift of love to spread joy through the holiday season.
Check out holiday lights
The holiday lights seemed to have increased over the last several years. There are drive-thru light displays, free yard displays, and houses lined with every light color imaginable. Take a night, or several, to check out the local lights. Put on the Christmas music in the car, make a bag of popcorn for the road, and take a slow drive around the neighborhood. Hit a different neighborhood each night then come together as a family to vote for the best lights in town.
Make a movie watching party
Grab the popcorn, the blankets, and the remote, and make a big deal about holiday movie watching. Pick some classics, favorites, and check out what’s new this year. Create a calendar of movies you want to watch before the end of the season, then make intentional time each week to snuggle up with your little ones for movie night. These are the moments your children will remember for a lifetime.
Keep in mind that there is always magic to be found in the little moments. The most memorable life experiences don’t always come with big price tags. Create experiences that fit your budget and lifestyle. Do the best with what you’ve got this year! Make the most of the season by filling it with simplicity, togetherness, and love.
Krystle J Bailey. Multimedia journalist, Author, Poet.
Connect with Krystle on Instagram @thedailybailey5
