#12WaysofChristmas - DAY 6

Whew I was almost late!!

Apologies! Pictures for this one will come, so for now....

:))

6. Gift of Play

Playfulness is a skill. Staying playful is an art that allows an individual to tread lightly through life. It's an ability to have fun or at least laugh at the inevitable ups and downs we all experience everyday. Playin aint easy y’all.

Find any and all opportunities for laughter during the holiday season as you spend time with family. Get outside and play in the snow. Build a snow man, or an epic snow fort. Have a snow ball fight. Freeze your balls off outside to make winter s’mores outside over a warm fire!

Play a board game, or a card game, or wii, or all of them.

PLAY WITH YOUR FAMILY!

Run your family through a dance class,

or follow an old aerobics tape/class on TV…

that will definitely get everyone laughing!

Wrestle with them, rough house, play tag, play hide and seek...in the DARK!

There is SO MUCH you can do to play it’s incredible.

ALL ADULTS and children must participate.

Adults need play the most, to loosen up, feel young, and be young.

Children learn through play, it's like school or work for them. 

Get weird and silly with your family.

This can help everyone quit taking themselves too seriously.

It will ease the atmosphere, reduce tensions, and promote laughter and joy.

**If family tension is a real deal for you…avoid wrestling and rough housing, those can quickly escalate into no good. Also, don’t really force family members to play who don’t want to, this could create tension rather than reduce it.**

**Following Way #2 will make Play much more enjoyable**

#12WaysOfChristmas - DAY 5

5. The Gift of Homemade

I’m not against gift giving. I think it is a very filling and delicious experience. I find that putting time and thought into a gift is more gratifying for both the giver and the…getter. The internet is loaded with DIY gift ideas that range from simple to complex…easy to find, practical, thoughtful, and inexpensive tutorials and gift ideas! Rather than using money to buy an expensive gift with no real function or purpose, use money to purchase materials you can manipulate into a gift literally “made with love”.

A great gift idea that costs nothing but time is a “coupon booklet” where the giver creates each coupon to benefit the getter.

For example, if you’re making one for your mom. A few coupon ideas could include:

-One Free Spa day. (Complete with refreshments, face masks, and great conversation.)

-Buy 4 years of tuition, get unlimited hugs for free!

-One Mama’s Day Off Pass. (Relieve yourself of family obligations and take a mini get away while we handle ourselves.)

-One Free Neck Massage

Those are just a few ideas, and I left a link to ideas below. Customize the coupon to whoever the gift is for! It’s a cute gift that shows someone you know them well, and know what they like, and what they need. If you really want them to get put to use, use expiration dates ;).

I can't post a picture of what I made for presents because...well...they're presents!

Sooooo, if you get crafty this holiday in such a way POST A PICTURE !! 

#12WaysofChristmas

Get crafty and innovative people.

<3

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=diy+coupon+booklets&FORM=HDRSC2

#12waysofchristmas - DAY 4

4. Cooking Contributions

Contribute to cooking! Participate in the cooking process with your family, even if no one else is helping, be the one to help. If your working with a small kitchen, you can still contribute despite the “too many cooks in the kitchen” difficulty. Again, everyone can contribute something. Perhaps a few help with preparation, others do the cooking, some set the table, and the rest clean up the mess. Although, not everyone loves the last one ;).

The satisfaction of feasting on Christmas dinner is guaranteed to be 12 times juicer if you put some work into it. We all know that work can be gratifying, but whether we always choose to see it that way is questionable. Try to enjoy "the work" this holiday.

So, don’t leave Mama bear, Grandma bear, or Papa bear all alone in the kitchen slaving over the stove and managing multiple receipts. Ask to help, and accept whatever job they give to you. This can count as participating in the previous “way", learning a new skill, because you can learn a new receipt or cooking strategy!

Although this isn't our Christmas dinner we'll be having, we did stock up on red cabbage and green pepper for xmas stir fry dinners the rest of this week :)

#12waysofChristmas - DAY 3

3. Gift of Learning

Learn or teach a new skill! Anything goes here. A practical skill will make the experience even juicier. Sewing, crocheting, woodwork, DIY projects, movement skills, art skills, simple crafts, cooking, musical, skills, etc. the list could go on for years, there are infinite skills!

Every human is completely unique, with different traits, talents, practiced skills, and life experience. Learn something from the ones around you! Let’s be open to what friends and family can teach us (intentionally or not). Often times if we don’t like a characteristic about someone, it’s because we are pretending not to see the exact same quality in ourselves, maybe that is what needs be learned! Nevertheless, that’s a tough one that I’m still learning.

Pick a fun cheap craft.

I’ve posted a DIY ornament below that is clean, pretty, cheap and fun!

Get enough materials for everyone to participate.
You could ask for 2 dollar donations from everyone if you’re on the financial struggle train like myself.

Create an environment for your family

Have a crafting pow-wow,

Play some holiday music in the background,

Light some candles, and enjoy learning to make something together.

This creates a magical gift that can’t be wrapped and put under a tree, the gift of family. The gift of our minds and intelligences problem solving together. A gift of tradition, if you choose to make this regular happening on your holiday celebration each year. ‘Tis a good one my loves.

Charlie Brown Tree-free the top from one of my favorite evergreen trees that got broken in half during the tornado.
Ornaments- Free close pins I got from a classmate friend. Recycled plastic water bottles. Hot glue, string, sewing needle, yarn.
Outfit- Skirt sewn from scratch, using a tutorial linked below. Then attached to an existing top with an added zipper in back. Ear warmers made from scratch, felt and hot glue. 

http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2010/12/diy-striped-paper-ornament.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqNzQeTAXwQ

#12waysofchristmas -DAY 2

2. Tech the Halls.

Once again, balance is key here. Take pictures, note thoughts and experiences you want to share, call and text friends and family…but cut yourself COMPLETELY loose too. Did I dare say completely loose? Cuz that’s what I mean. When it comes to phones and technology during the holidays, on and off relationships are actually encouraged.

At least 3 times, shut off your phone and leave it behind. Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram will have no trouble waiting, and frankly the entire world doesn’t care that much about your status…

I’m still learning that my world isn’t as important as I think it is compared to the big picture. Rather than losing moments by over sharing them on social media, start USING MOMENTS to bring about joy!

Find satisfaction in simply experiencing. Don’t get me wrong, I will definitely be snapping photos, but let’s try our best to delay gratification of instant sharing. Hold off until the end of the night to get lost on Twitter, Facebook, and IG. Rather than scrolling through media during awkward moments, conversations, and dinner time, (hu)man the fuck up and deal with the now.

I know someone out there is thinking, “well what if I’m just bored with the moment….? Twit. FB and IG keep me entertained.”

Reality check! Turns out you’re most likely a human being just like me…and guess what…we’re interesting, weird, loving, loud, intelligent, and funny little entertaining things. If you struggle with boredom, try REALLY looking at your life for exactly what it is now. Then realize that you can do something right now to end boredom.

Watch the people around you, rather than the people online. Go for a walk, ask your parents a weird juicy question about the past, tell stories from your time away…. Mix yourself up and try something new and ridiculous and you will be surprised! The possibilities are too endless for boredom to be excuse…a weak excuse!

SO, give yourself and your phone some space…you both need it.