Category: family fun

Christmas Activities on a Budget

For many, Christmas is stressful due to a tight budget. Using a little creativity, you and your family can happily enjoy a budget-friendly holiday season. 

Tree Decorating

Spend an afternoon decorating your Christmas tree. Put on Christmas music or a movie to make the activity more festive. If you need a Christmas tree, check out your local thrift store. When downsizing, many people donate larger artificial trees. 

Make Christmas Ornaments

Yes, you can buy inexpensive ornaments at your local dollar store or at the thrift store. Or you can spend time making homemade ornaments. Salt dough ornaments, construction paper chains, stringed popcorn, canning lid ornaments, and numerous others are simple and inexpensive. Make ornaments as a family activity.

Make Homemade Christmas Cards

Construction paper, glitter, glue, markers, or paint can be found at your local dollar store. Spend time making together making the Christmas cards. When you are finished, hand-deliver the cards. 

Attend a Tree-Lighting Ceremony

Many communities hold tree-lighting ceremonies or present Santa with a key to the city. Attend local events. Generally, outdoor community events are free. 

Attend a Christmas Parade

Christmas parades or light parades are a fun community tradition. Many communities combine the parade with the tree lighting ceremony. 

Attend a Live Nativity

Churches often host live Nativity events. Viewing the Nativity scene does not require you to be a member of the church. Enjoy the evening.Sing carols. Many churches invite people inside to drink hot cocoa and eat cookies. Some churches even set up free activities for children. 

View Christmas Lights

When decorating a home or business, some people go all out. Every part of their property is highly decorated with lights, figures, and other Christmas related items. Take a slow drive around your community and look at the Christmas lights. The outing is a perfect evening activity. Consider packing snacks to enjoy on your night out. 

Visit Santa Claus

 Many places play host to Santa to get you to come inside the business. For younger children, visiting Santa Clause may be a dream come true. Often, candy canes or other small treats are passed out as part of the event. Depending on the business or event, visiting Santa may include live reindeer or photo opportunities. 

 

 

Host a Christmas Movie Night

Pick out a Christmas movie or cartoon to enjoy as a family. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer or A Charlie Brown Christmas are two popular favorites. Serve hot cocoa, popcorn, or other snacks. 

 

Make Christmas Cookies

Make a batch or two of your favorite Christmas cookies. Christmas cookies would go fantastic with your movie night. 

Go to the Library

When thinking of Christmas activities, visiting a library is probably not on your list. But go to your local library to check out Christmas-related books. Reading to younger children is a great way to spend quality time. Older children may find Christmas stories fun to read. Many libraries allow you to check out movies, DVDs, or other media to make the holiday season more fun. Also, your local library may have a visit from Santa or other Christmas related events for your family to enjoy. 

Being on a budget doesn’t mean you have to skip on family fun. Enjoy the simple things, the memories you make will last forever.

Start a New Thanksgiving Tradition

Thanksgiving is the perfect time to give thanks for everything in your life. Gathering friends and family for a bountiful meal is a long-standing holiday tradition. Are you looking for a new tradition to go beyond gathering around the dinner table? Consider the following ideas:

  • Donate one or two turkeys and all the fixings for a family in need
  • Volunteer at a homeless shelter or other community organization
  • Donate groceries or money to your local food bank
  • Invite your elderly neighbor over for Thanksgiving dinner
  • Unplug for social media. (Yes, wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, but then put your device on vibrate.)
  • Bake (or order) an extra pie for your neighbor, dog groomer, hairstylist, postal worker, child’s teacher, bus driver, etc.
  • Stay in your pajamas, eat a buffet-style breakfast, and watch the Thanksgiving parade together
  • Make homemade Thanksgiving decorations, placemats, and name tags
  • Set up a craft area to occupy children while you are preparing the meal.
  • Watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving 
  • Binge-watch your favorite series
  • Host a Friendsgiving
  • If the weather allows, get aside as a family, go for a walk, go for a nature hike, or play touch football.
  • Play cards or board games
  • Participate in a Turkey Trot
  • Go on a trip
  • Take a group photo
  • Write your Thanksgiving blessings on leaf-shaped notecards and hang on a tree. Or collect them to save in your scrapbook

Spending time together is the best tradition. Enjoy each other’s company during the downtime of the busy holiday.

 

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Throwing a Last Minute Halloween Party

Is the perspective Halloween forecast limiting your trick-or-treating options? Keep your children inside, throw a Halloween party. Planning an impromptu Halloween is the perfect way to celebrate on a cold, windy night. 

Tips for Last-Minute Halloween Party Planning 

The key to throwing a last-minute Halloween party is organization. Grab a tablet and begin to make plans. Do you need some help? Consider the following tips to make your party planning go smooth.

Guest List

The guest list is essential. Start by writing out a potential guest list. Begin calling, texting, or emailing the people on your list. If you are on Facebook, consider making a private group or invite page for the Halloween party. The group allows you to keep track of the number of people coming. Parents will be able to ask questions about the party. Most parents will ask what can they do to help. Do not be afraid to accept their help.  

Menu

When you get an estimate on the number of people attending, you can start food shopping. Finger food is always a party favorite. Mini sandwiches, snacks, and punch are simple treats for quick party planning. Or if your budget allows order pizzas. 

Craft Area

Set up a corner with different crafts for children to enjoy. The crafting material does not need to be elaborate or costly. 

  • Paint 
  • Paintbrushes 
  • Glue 
  • Glitter 
  • Pompons 
  • Markers 
  • Yarn
  • Googly eyes

Use small gourd-shaped pumpkins for painting. Or go to your local store to find some Halloween themed wooden cutouts. Even a posterboard can be a template for a spooky theme. Allow children to create and decorate. The party-goers will love the fact they get to take their creation home with them.

Games & Activities

Kids love to participate in fun, easy games. 

  • Long-Standing Tradition: Bobbing for apples is a Halloween tradition.
  • Ghost Toss: Make ghosts from white lunch bags.  Stuff the inside with newspaper or other lightweight material. Set up baskets to toss the ghosts in. 
  • Pumpkin Smile: Instead of Pin the Tail on the Donkey, play pin the smile on the pumpkin. Use large orange poster board to make a pumpkin cut out. Draw in the eyes and nose. Use yellow or black poster board to cut out mouths.
  • Scavenger Hunt: Hide Halloween themed items throughout the house. Make out clues that will lead your partygoers from one place to another. 
  • Ghost Hunt: Use tissue paper to wrap suckers in the shape of ghosts. Hide the ghosts throughout the house for your Halloween guests to find. 
  • Photo Booth or Display: Use a black sheet or other cloth to set up a photo area. Set out Halloween themed props. Designate someone at your party to be the official photographer.
  • Fear-Factor Inspired: Putting your hand in a box without knowing what is inside can be scary. Cold spaghetti noodles can pass for worms. Peeled grapes can be eyeballs. Just use your imagination. Or have some edible insects on hand for those who are brave enough to try. 

Take-Home Treat Bags 

Fill treat bags with goodies. The Halloween take-home bags do not necessarily have to be filled with just candy. Balls, fangs, spider rings, skeletons, puzzle pads, and other Halloween themed items are available. The size of the treat bags is entirely up to you. If you use the ghost toss game, the extra white bags are perfect for take-home treats. 

 

Rebecca’s Top 20: Halloween Movies for Family Night

Changing leaves, cooler weather, football, and Halloween are all a significant part of October. For added fun, incorporate Halloween themed movies into your family night.

Rebecca’s Top 20

  1. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (An all-time Halloween favorite)
  2. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (the collection has The Legend of Sleepy Hollow)
  3. Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie
  4. Curious George: A Halloween Boofest
  5. Disney’s Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Treat
  6. Casper’s Halloween Special
  7. Sesame Street: Trick or Treat on Sesame Street
  8. Paw Patrol: Halloween Heroes
  9. Toy Story of Terror
  10. Spongebob Squarepants-Halloween
  11. Scared Shrekless
  12. The Halloweentown series including  Halloweentown, Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge, Halloweentown High, and Return to Halloweentown
  13. Any of the Scooby-Doo movies
  14. The Addam’s Family
  15. Hocus Pocus
  16. Ghostbusters
  17. The Harry Potter series including Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 & 2. 
  18. Beetlejuice
  19. Little Vampire
  20. Any of the Goosebumps movies

What is your favorite family-friendly Halloween movie?

 

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31 Days of Halloween Fun

Cooler nights, changing leaves, pumpkins, October is the perfect time to enjoy Halloween fun. Whether you participate in activities with friends or family, try out these ideas for 31 Days of Halloween Fun. 

31 Halloween Themed Activities 

  1. Visit a pumpkin patch. Bring home a pumpkin or several 
  2. Decorate for Halloween.
  3. Go to the library or bookstore to find Halloween themed books. 
  4. Make homemade Halloween cards. 
  5. Make monster cookies.
  6. Plan and make a homemade Halloween costume.
  7. Make two loaves of pumpkin bread. One to keep and one to give away to a friend. 
  8. Create a Halloween diorama. 
  9.  Watch classic monster movies. 
  10. Paint zombie, monster, or pumpkin-themed rocks to hide around the neighborhood. 
  11. Make a Halloween themed meal.
  12. Make orange tye-dyed t-shirts.
  13. Go on a haunted hayride.
  14. Walk or drive around to see the different pumpkin and Halloween decorations. 
  15. Tell or write a spooky tale. 
  16. Host a Halloween cartoon movie night. 
  17. Drink freshly pressed cider or warm apple spice cider. 
  18. Create a Halloween playlist. 
  19. Carve pumpkins.
  20. Roast pumpkin seeds.
  21. Visit a haunted house.
  22. Host a Halloween themed craft day. 
  23. Attend a pumpkin weighing contest.
  24. Go through a corn maze. 
  25. Attend a trunk or treat event. 
  26. Go on a haunted tour or ghost walk. 
  27. Host a bonfire night. 
  28. Have a Halloween themed photoshoot for you, your friends, your family, or your dogs. 
  29. Attend a Halloween parade or other community event. 
  30. Host a Halloween party. 
  31. Trick-or-treat. Happy Halloween!

30 Fall Activities

Autumn brings cooler nights, changing leaves, and new opportunities for family fun. Gather your family, friends or even your fur baby and enjoy everything fall has to offer.

30 Fall Activities 

  1. Go to a cider mill to watch apple pressing
  2. Drink cider
  3. Pick apples at a local orchard
  4. Go to a local pumpkin patch
  5. Attend a football game
  6. Host a tailgate
  7. Attend your local highschool homecoming parade
  8. Go for a nature walk
  9. Collect fall fallen leaves
  10. Make homemade hot cocoa
  11. Make a scarecrow
  12. Host a bonfire night
  13. Carve pumpkins
  14. Roast pumpkin seeds
  15. Go through a corn maze
  16. Eat caramel apples
  17. Attend a fall concert
  18. Go on a hayride
  19. Collect and paint acorns
  20. Go to a fall fair or craft show
  21. Go to a local farmer’s market
  22. Take fall family photos
  23. Rake and jump in a pile of leaves
  24. Have a fall BBQ
  25. Go hiking at a local state park
  26. Go on a fall color tour
  27. Host a fall-themed craft day
  28. Do leaf rubbings or other leaf art
  29. Make birdfeeders
  30. Host a fall-themed dinner with finds from the farmer’s market

 

Benefits of Apple Picking

Noticeable signs of the start of the fall season are all around. Warmer days turn into cool, crisp nights. Leaves are slowly beginning to transform into bright, bursting colors. The official start date of autumn will be here in a couple of weeks. Even though garden harvests are coming to an end, apple season is just beginning. Many orchards allow apple picking. The benefits of apple picking go beyond delicious fruit. 

Get Outdoors

Back to school activities, sports, work, and other commitments quickly take time out of your week. Set aside a day or afternoon to venture out into an apple orchard. Enjoy the sunshine. Walk around the orchard. Being outdoors is good for your physical and mental health. 

Unplug

Going to an apple orchard gives you and your loved ones a chance to step away from electronic devices. Walking through an orchard can provide a nostalgic feeling. Orchards are a connection to the past. Old apple trees, apple picking, and cider pressing give a glimpse of past generations. 

Valuable Lesson

Picking apples is a useful lesson for children. The activity shows how the fruit is grown. The apple picking outing allows the fruit to go from the tree to your table. 

Best Fruit

Picking your own apples provides you with the opportunity to find the best fruit for you and your family. 

Enjoy Other Activities

Apple orchards may offer different activities for you and your family to enjoy. Wagon rides, cider pressing, corn mazes, and other hosted events turn apple picking into a memorable adventure. 

Apple varieties become ripe at different times throughout the fall season. Calling ahead or checking your local orchard’s website is ideal. Make plans for a family outing. The best benefit of apple picking is eating your harvest.

Staycation Ideas for the Holiday Weekend

What is a staycation? The term refers to staying at home or close to home during vacation time. The Labor Day weekend generally provides three days off without school or work commitments. The time can be spent on the road heading toward a travel destination. Or you and your loved ones may participate in staycation activities. Spending a leisure weekend with your family may turn into a lasting memory.

25 Staycation Ideas for Labor Day Weekend

  1. Host a family BBQ
  2. Go hiking
  3. Visit a local landmark
  4. Attend a community event
  5. Go on a picnic
  6. Visit a dog park
  7. Volunteer
  8. Go swimming
  9. Read a book
  10. Eat ice cream
  11. Make banana splits
  12. Go for a walk
  13. Go stargazing
  14. Go miniature golfing
  15. Visit older family members
  16. Go to a farmer’s market
  17. Visit a petting zoo or farm
  18. Relax in a hammock
  19. Host a bonfire
  20. Visit an art gallery or museum
  21. Host a craft day
  22. Go for a bike ride
  23. Go on a local tour
  24. Visit mom and pop style restaurants or businesses
  25. Have a movie or game night

 

Celebrating World Photography Day

Did you know August 19th is World Photography Day? Starting with film and advancing to digital, cameras have been around for decades. A camera can catch a glimpse of reality before passing away into history. From haunting disasters to daily routines, every photo tells a story. 

Ways to Celebrate World Photography Day

Photography is your personal journey. Taking pictures is the best way to celebrate World Photography Day. Do not be afraid to show others your view of the world. 

Unplug from Your Computer

Unplug from your computer or other devices during your lunch hour, for the afternoon, or the entire day. Grab your camera or mobile phone and head out to take some pictures. Find your personal inspiration.

  • Go outdoors. 
  • Go for a nature walk. 
  • Take your dog for a hike. 
  • Enjoy the scenery.
  • Photograph a meal.
  • Set up a scene.
  • Photograph your family, pets, or friends.
  • Photograph from different angles.
  • Make your photo adventure a family activity.

Buy a Good Camera

If you enjoy taking pictures, consider investing in a high-quality camera. 

  • Do your research to find the right fit for you. 
  • Ask friends or family members for input.
  • When you go to purchase a new camera, ask questions. 
  • Hold the camera. 

Remember a camera is just a tool. True photography comes from your inspiration and personal viewpoint.

Learn the Rules

Photography has rules. Composition, exposure, balance, and lighting are just a few of the common areas. 

  • Take a class.
  • Attend a workshop.
  • Go to the library or local bookstore for photography books.
  • Join social media groups.

Break the Rules

Yes, photography has rules. Do not be afraid to break them. Every person views a subject differently. Your pictures are your own personal viewpoint. Let your personal inspiration shine through in your photo. 

When you get to caught up in the right way to take a photo, you miss out on the experience. Have fun. Photography is an art form, your art. Never let anyone diminish your art.

Celebrate National Book Lovers Day

Today, August 9th is National Book Lovers Day. The printed word has fascinated people for centuries. Dedicating a day to those who love to read is a great way to honor the written word. Are you wondering how to celebrate National Book Lovers Day? Try any or all of the following ideas.

Ways to Celebrate National Book Lovers Day

According to the dictionary, a bibliophile is a person who collects or has a great love for books. Does this sound true for you? For avid readers, an entire day celebrating the love for books is ideal.

Read A Book

Sit, relax, and read. If you do not have time to read numerous chapters, read a small portion of the book on your lunch hour or before cooking dinner.

Reread Your Favorite Book

Is there a past book calling to you to read again? Find the old favorite on your bookshelf. Many book lovers find rereading a book is comparable to visiting an old friend.

Go to the Library

Do you need a book to read? Head to your local library.

  • Browse the different books available.
  • Search for books on the library computer.
  • Most libraries display new arrivals.
  • Ask the librarian about any new books within your favorite genre.
  • Join the library’s reading group for an opportunity to discuss new reading material.

Go to Your Favorite Book Store

If you lucky enough to have an independent book store in your town, go and browse the aisles for something new to read.

  • Spend your lunch hour or an afternoon amongst the stacks of books.
  • Learn about local authors.
  • Grab a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy the atmosphere.

Listen to an Audiobook

Listen to an audiobook during the morning commute, gym workout, or working around the house. Audiobook narrators use different voices and sound to bring the story alive.

Support a Book Lover

Do you know someone who loves books more than you? Or do you want to encourage younger minds to enjoy the endless possibilities of storylines? Support a book lover by purchasing a book as an impromptu gift. Or buy a gift card or certificate for the local bookstore.

How do you want to spend National Book Lovers Day? Go outdoors, relax in a hammock, and enjoy your favorite book.