14 Inexpensive Gift Ideas for a Busy Mama

I don't know about how things work in your family, but it seems like at my home, my husband tends to struggle with ideas about what kinds of gifts he wants to give on special occasions.  Seriously, I'm not picky.  I just like to know that he thought of me enough to pick something out.  I do know that sometimes he has amazing, complex ideas that just don't work out.

I decided to make a list of ideas for my husband and any others looking for great ideas for their loved ones.  Please leave a comment below telling me a fantastic addition to this list.

* Massage Oils

* Handmade Soap

* Exercise Videos

* Homemade Dinner

* A Live Plant

* A New Bag

* A Simple Date (hiking or a fire on the patio)

* Photos of the Kids

* Hobby Supplies

* A Fun Hat

*Hand Crafted Jewelry (think Etsy)

* Coffee and a favorite creamer

* A Tshirt from someplace significant to your story

* A framed map, menu, or advertisement of the place you met

Looking back on Advent

I can hardly believe that we have reached the end of the advent season.  We have truly been blessed this month as we have anticipated the celebration of Christ's birth as a family.  The advent calendar has given us purpose to our meal times and family together times.  It has helped us be intentional about remembering others and sharing the story of Christmas. 

My favorite activites from the last month:
*Christmas at the Farm - I love watching my boys experience the story first hand.  Manasseh has begged several times each week to go back. 
*Making Christmas ornaments.  The boys get so excited about art.  It is fun to help them complete projects.
*Collecting money and sending it to Heifer International. What a joy to work toward a goal as a family and bless other families around the world!
* Making presents for friends was a lot of fun too, the boys loved coloring wooden cars for some of their friends.  Their friends were blessed by them.  In fact, one friend added colors to his car and named it his "teamwork" car because Cassius had started it for him.
* The boys have loved every excuse to play with the nativity set and act out the Christ story. 

I am already looking forward to advent next year.  We have started talking about what activities we might add, and what we might change.  I urge you to begin considering practicing advent with your family next year.

Did you practice advent this year?  What are your favorite advent activities?

Advent Day 17

Do your kids love to play but sometimes need direction?  My boys would play all day long - jumping off of things, climbing anything they can find, rolling on the floor, tackling each other, etc.  They do play with their toys some, but they frequently need help to use them well.

Last night's advent was perfect for helping them practice using toys in a story-telling fashion.  Tonight they put the Little People Nativity Set up on the table and acted out the story of Christ birth.  They also had a lot of fun making up stories with the animals.  I love helping them learn the art of story telling through toys, through words, through song and art - any way they can practice it!  Here are a few shots from their nativity adventure.

I'm sure the safety guide would recommend that you do not put the manger on top of another manger.  It seems like a safety risk.  Apparently Mary and Joseph did not know better.

The horse was giving wagon rides to anyone that wanted them.  I especially enjoyed the turkey vulture getting a ride in the wagon.  Do you remember the part of the story where he swooped down to pick up the dead animal in the road?  Me neither, but in the boy's story there HAD to be a turkey vulture.

I also loved the positioning of the animals.  We had 3 baskets of food for them all to crowd around.  One of the camels and one of the donkeys decided that they needed a little nuzzling.

Have you used the Christmas story to help your children practice or learn story telling?  How have you done this with your children?

Advent Day 16

It's another "Candle Sunday".  This week our theme is "joy".  We talked about joy being like happiness.  They are similar because joy is actively choosing to recognize our contentment because of God's gifts in our life.  We talked about the gift of Jesus and sang "Joy to the World".  

We lit the candles together and remembered what each of the purple candles on our wreath stands for.  The boys prayed thanks to God for the joy that we have and for giving us Jesus.  To close our devotion time at the dinner table, they each got to use permanent markers (with very close supervision) to color an ornament that says "joy" on it.  They later put pipe cleaners through the small holes at the top of their ornaments and hung them pridefully on the tree!

Thank you God, that even in times of sorrow, you are our joy.  Your joy is my strength and when I have fear and doubt myself, I can rely on that strength to accomplish my daily tasks.  Amen.

Advent Day 15

He is our peace and our hope.  He is truth and love.  In him is life.  Apart from him is nothingness.  A meaningless existence.  

God, right now as we anticipate the celebration of your coming as a baby, we need your light more than ever.  Senseless tragedy has ripped sweet young children from their families.  Heroic adults have put down their lives to protect the children that you love so dearly.  God, our world does not make sense.  It is so filled with evil.

Be our light this advent Sunday as we light the candle of joy.  Remind us that we can delight in you even when we feel as though darkness consumes us.

Lord, I lift up the families of all those precious people who died yesterday.  I ask you to hold the other students and staff close to you in the coming weeks and months as well.  Be with the officers investigating this horrific event.  I pray that they see your light and feel your peace and love this holiday season.  Be with each of those effected through this tragedy.

I am so thankful tonight for my3 little men.  I'm grateful for a loving husband that points us toward you.  I pray that you help us continue to thrive in health and service.  God, even in the face of tragedy, let us not forget your blessings.  Hold us all close to you as we celebrate the birth of your son this season.

Bethlehemian Rhapsody

Maybe you've seen it on Facebook, maybe not.  I just finally decided to watch this one from Fairfax Church of Christ today and I love it!  I have to share it with you.  Take 5 minutes out of your day and enjoy the story.

Have you seen any excellent videos about the Christmas story this week?  Leave the links below!

Advent Day 13, Heifer International

We started this project over a month and a half ago!  As a family we set to work making crafts that we could sell at a church craft bizarre so we could raise money to help impoverished families through Heifer International.  The boys decided that we would make a goal of raising $150 so we could buy a goat and a beehive.  That would help 2 different families and matches some of our own interests.

Tonight was the night that we counted our money and ordered the gifts to send to another family.  We did not have quite enough for a goat, so we had to alter our plans.  The boys enjoyed looking through all the options with daddy and picking out their gifts.

Next it was mama's turn to help them out.  I got to do the ordering of their selection.  Instead of helping 2 families, we get to send animals to 3 families!  The boys chose a flock of ducks, a flock of geese, and a beehive!  They were still so thrilled to be able to bless another family.

This might not been the most fun and exciting part of our advent, but we all loved that with the help of friends and family, we were able to bless others.  This is an activity that has helped the boys learn so many important virtues that we want them to practice every day!

Thank you to everyone that has helped make this donation possible.  You have made an impact on my little world-changers.

Last Minute Quick DIY Gift Ideas

I don't know about you, but I'm done with shopping.  I mean it.  All of my holiday shopping is complete.  Well, mostly.  Note I didn't say my gifts are done.  I am working on making as many gifts as I can on my own this year.  One problem is that I'm not great at arts.  I'm not a fantastic sewer, I can't crochet, I don't really paint.  So I thought I would share a few of the things that I'm working on for gifts in the next 13 days.  If you are receiving one of these - act surprised and pretend you like it!

Cheap & Easy Toddler Sleeping Bag

 This is a toddler sized sleeping bag.  The material cost me $2.88 at Walmart.  The project took about 15 minutes to complete.  I made 2 more out of some slightly more expensive fleece from JoAnn Fabric.  They turned out beautifully, I can't wait to give them to my boys as part of their camping play set.

Felt Camp Fire & Logs

Along with the sleeping bags, I've made a felt campfire and logs.  (I'm not quite done with the logs).  I find that felt is extremely easy to work with and my felt projects are pretty rewarding.  My fire is poofier than this and I'll add pictures at a later date (after the logs are completed).  The total cost for this project was approximately $1 because I already had poly-fill on hand.  No money?  Don't limit yourself to poly-fill.  I used socks to fill a bean bag for the boys.

Tent Kit

Next is a tent kit (called a Fort Kit) in this link.  Mine is not even as complex as this.  A fabric bag with a couple of twin sized sheets (we have extra) and some clothespins.  This is all stuff we already have at home, it will just be repurposed into tent making supplies!

Easy Storage Canister

I'll come back to the boy stuff in a bit.  I'm working on a few fun things for some favorite adults in my life.  You may or may not be one of the people on my list.  I found these super easy, cheap repurposed canisters.  I also found some really cute knobs at Hobby Lobby on clearance.  I love clearance.  These will be filled with different things for the various people who receive them.


One will have a pancake mix as part of a breakfast set.  Another will have a salad topper mix as part of a salad kit.  One might have crayons as part of an art set.  There are others - I just have not exactly figured out what will go into them!

DIY Apron

Along with these crafty, kitcheny gifts, I am making aprons.  I have a pattern with several styles in it!  I also have some fun reclaimed fabric to use!  This is not my pattern.  There are so many cute tutorials and patterns.  I can't wait to try a few for my friends!

We are putting together a cookie kit for someone as well.  This will be complete with an apron, cookie cutters, hot pads, tray liner, and a few other trinkets.  It may also include the necessary supplies for a LARGE batch of sugar cookies and frosting.  It will not likely fit in these cute jars.

Another set we are putting together is an arts and crafts variety box.  Each kit has a variety of crafty odds and ends tucked into shoe box for hours of bonding fun with the families that will receive them.  No pictures or tutorials available on this one.

One final project: Knight costumes.  These will be for my older 2 boys and my middle 2 nephews.  They'll all get them when we celebrate Christmas together.  I anticipate an amazingly fun time (but isn't it always?).  These costumes were SO easy to make using old pillow cases and a little bit of felt.  The total cost for each was around $3.  The crowns are double sided, one side has 3 shapes, the other has 2 shapes and an initial.  Even a so-so sewer can do it!


What are your Christmas projects?  Share a link in the comments below!

Advent Day 11

Okay, I'm out of order.  It's been a busy few days.  

Tonight for advent we scheduled Christmas Caroling.  Then we had a flat tire that ended up keeping the boys and I away from home until dinner time.  That meant late dinner, and late bed time.  We decided to change our project (and we are thankful that our boys can't read yet).

We chose to make baby Jesus out of play dough!  The boys LOVED the project.  We had fun talking about what Jesus looked like (our babies have mustaches).  Here is a quick clip from our family time.

Finding Peace through Advent

Have you noticed that we tend to fast forward through our holidays?  We try and fill our time with all of the great festivities and busy ourselves with shopping.  Christmas time is frequently anything but peaceful.

This week, as we lit our advent candle, we talked about peace.  Peace is often a struggle - I like fast paced living.  I like the rush of adventure.  I fret about things like "am I doing enough to teach my boys" and "what should I be doing to make my home a healthier, happier place".  While these are great things to consider - I sometimes forget to allow myself to experience the peace of God.

This month, as we celebrate advent, Randy and I have set out family activities that help us focus on the season of Christmas.  We have something every day that points us to the anticipation of the coming of Christ.  The change of our change of focus, the other concerns are less.

My lesson: When Christ is my focus, my problems fade.

How has advent changed your family life?

Advent Experience: Week 1 Review

This is the first year we are practicing the celebration of Advent.  We are excited about the idea, but uncertain about how it would all work out.  Randy and I sat down and briefly reviewed our week together tonight so that we could talk about what, if any, changes we would make during the next weeks.

What we like:
- We have an excuse to sit down at our table every night - it's easier for us to say no to going out to dinner when we have a planned activity after dinner. 
- We've got a planned conversation topic for our meal.  This really helps with engaging the boys.
- It's given purpose and shape to our learning with the boys.
- The boys have changed in their prayer life (even in this week).
- It helps us focus on the birth of Christ.
- The boys look forward to our special family time.
- We are building beautiful memories and new family traditions!

What we are not so sure about:
- It's been more difficult to schedule our time at the gym.
- The boys are staying up later because it has changed our routine.
- We sometimes struggle to focus on the reason instead of the activities.  We'll modify some of our activities for next year.

Overall:
We are enjoying the celebration of Advent.  We'll absolutely make it part of our family tradition as our boys grow.  The boys have changed even in this week from begging to eat dinner out, to thanking God in their prayers that we can eat healthy food at home instead of at a restaurant. 

Advent Day 7

Today was day 7 of Advent.  At dinner we talked with the boys about the meaning of Hope.  They are starting to understand a little better.  Cassius pulled the activity out of our calendar to find out what we were going to do today.  Pulling the activity card out of the envelope has become a coveted job for our boys.

The chosen activity for this evening?  Making ornaments!  I spent a little more time than I had planned looking up DIY ornaments for preschoolers on Pinterest.  I did not find nearly as many as I had hoped, but I got crafty and we had fun with things we already had around the house.  (Hoorah for not needing to drive across town to buy craft supplies at the last minute.  Below are pictures of our not quite completed ornaments - each needs some finishing touches to make it last longer than this week.

Finger Paint hand and foot prints.  At least one for each child.  They were made on white construction paper.  I will be writing their name/date on the back of each one, then covering them with contact paper and stringing them with ribbon once they have dried.

Glitter pine cones.  This was the EASIEST craft we did and the boy's favorite.  I tied spare yarn around the top of the pine cone so I can make a loop to hang it.  The boys poured their own glue onto the pine cones - this was tricky for my 2 year old.  Then they went to town, sprinkling sparkles all over the pine cones.  I still need to loop the yarn, otherwise these are completed.

Watercolor paper ornaments.  The boys got watercolor paints in their stockings this morning.  Each boy had 4 paper ornament cut outs to paint.  When they are dry, I will mount them on cardstock and punch a hole through the loop at the top.  Then I will string them with ribbon.

Milk Jug Christmas Trees.  I grabbed an old milk jug, rinsed it out - then drew these simple tree shapes on 2 of the sides.  I cut them out for the boys.  They used permanent markers (with close supervision) to color them.  I made holes in the top of each with the scissors.  They still need to be strung so they can hang on the tree.

Foam photo ornaments.  These came in a kit from Hobby Lobby last year after Christmas.  They were super cheap and have been cluttering my house for nearly a year!  The boys needed help to glue the pieces onto the fronts of their ornaments, but enjoyed decorating them.  I still need to print pictures of each boy to put behind the foam, and glue the cardboard onto the back of the ornament.

There you have it, a preschool ornament party in my dining room.  What kinds of ornaments do you like to make with preschoolers?

  

Advent Day 6

December 6 is St. Nikolas Day!  Children traditionally celebrate by leaving stockings or shoes out for St. Nick the night before in hopes that he will leave gifts for them.  We had Awana on December 5, so decided to wait.  As part of our St. Nikolas Day celebration, we decorated stockings and hung them by the fireplace.  December 7 we woke them early to open their stockings and again shared about who St. Nikolas was and why people like to remember him.

Cheap & Super Easy Toddler Sleeping Bag

My "big" boys are getting new mama-made sleeping bags for Christmas as part of a camping play set that I'm putting together.  I got some incredibly cute fabrics the day after Thanksgiving at an amazing price and am looking forward to putting those together very soon.

We were at Walmart the other day and I got to thinking that the little guy is just starting to get to the point that he wants to do what his brothers are doing.  He will probably want his own sleeping bag for playing camping in the very near future as well.  We happened to walk past a big bin of cheapo, thin fleece blankets - they were something like $3 or $4 a piece.  I picked one out that I didn't think looked TOO girly, and had a fun print on it.

Seriously, this is how simple his sleeping bag is... I opened it up, found the halfway line, pinned some ribbons on the OUTSIDE of the fabric.  I made the pattern on the ribbon face outside, next time I'll reverse it so that when I tie the bag together the pattern shows easily.  I measured my ribbon by wrapping it around the rolled blanket and giving it enough slack to make bows.

Next I pinned the blanket sides together, leaving the ribbons on the outside of the fabric - which became the INSIDE of my pins, they were hidden while I sewed.  I used a quick straight stitch about 2/3 of the way around the folded blanket, leaving room to fold the top open for easy entrance/exit.

Here is the finished bag, ribbon closures in place.  I folded the corner down, which you cannot see at all in this picture.  One thing I like about using the blanket is that it already has finished edges, so it looks like I did a lot of work.

Rolled, tied, ready to wrap for a Christmas morning surprise.

If you were putting together a camping play set for preschool/kindergarten aged boys, what would you make sure to include?

Advent Day 5

Oh how beautiful the lights of Christmas!

Lights on one of the pedestrian bridges downtown.

It's hard not to love the breathy "WOW"s of my boys as we drive through the neighborhoods and see all of the decorated houses.  Our advent activity was driving around town to look at the lights.  I freely admit that I was hoping they would also fall asleep on the drive (they did not).

As we looked at the lights, we were reminded that Christ is the light of the world.  Thank you for the gifts of hope and light.

Advent Day 4

On the 4th day we set up the nativity scene under our Christmas tree.  The boys were really excited about taking it out.  Manasseh immediately set to work putting it together exactly how he thought it should look and was incredibly frustrated that his brothers wanted to play with it as well.

We also finished decorating our tree during this time.

Surprise, at the bottom of the ornaments was a second nativity.  Manasseh chose to combine the two for an interesting, festive look.

Advent Day 3

For our day 3 activity we chose to make a paper chain for decorating the tree.  I admit, I was highly skeptical about our children's ability to maintain interest in such a project, but my dear husband was eager to do this with them.

He won.  They loved it.  The boys glued, he built.  While they built together, Randy told them about when he was a child and they did not have any decorations for their tree one year because they had just moved overseas.  Since they were without, they made paper chains to decorate the house.  I love that as we celebrate advent, the hope that we have in Christ, the boys are able to connect with their own history on a deeper level.

Another Hope Activity

Candy Corn Hope

At dinner time we sat a jar of candy corn on the table, next to the wreath, where all the boys could see it.  As soon as we sat down to eat, Manasseh asked if he could have candy for dinner.  We asked the boys if they remembered what hope means.  Manasseh said, "when you go to the store and your mom says you can't have something and you hope you can have it later."  Okay, so he kind of got the point to the other exercise.  We talked about hope as having faith - believing that you will receive your promise.  

Randy asked the boys if they believed that mommy would tell them the truth and do good things for them.  Of course, they said yes.  I told them that after dinner they could all have some candy.  They said they believed me.  We shared that this meant they had hope that mommy was going to give them candy corn.

After dinner, the boys got candy as promised.  We talked about God's promises to us and the hope that we have because of Him.  We shared that we can trust God because he has good plans for us.

What have you done this week to share hope?

Advent Day 2

Day 2 was "Decorate the Christmas Tree".  We actually ended up with an extremely busy day, so we chose only to put it up and save the decorating for day 4.  The boys were incredibly excited about helping to put the tree together.  Mr. Crum talked with them about the reason we have an evergreen tree.  They really enjoyed this activity and look forward to adding decorations during the advent season.

Azariah hung out in the Christmas tree box while the big boys helped put the branches on (I miss real trees).

The big guys were very focused on making sure the tree branches went in just the right spots.

Of course, they needed a little help!

A picture of all 3, together?  Right!