The following post is from Emily of Live Renewed: Most of us have probably started to think about Christmas already. Every year I feel like I should wait until after Thanksgiving to start thinking and planning for Christmas, but then it's almost too late and I don't have the time to plan or do some…
In addition to raising funds for military families in need, the Red Cross spearheads the Holiday Mail for Heroes campaign to send encouragement and joy to troops during the holiday season. Each December, they deliver tens of thousands of Christmas cards to veterans, military families and active-duty service members at hospitals and installations around the…
When we were in college, both Sean and I lived at home (it helped that our families lived across the street from each other!), but we had several friends who lived together in a townhouse nearby while they went to school/worked/etc. We spent a lot of time hanging out there, and one of my favorite…
The following guest post is from Jennifer of Swing Whistle Zing: Music is about as important to the holiday season as cookies and presents. What would Christmas be without its accompanying soundtrack of carols, hymns and original popular Christmas songs? But, if your children get stuck on a favorite album (or worse a favorite song)…
As part of this year's 101 Days of Christmas series, I'm sharing a roundup each Sunday with more ideas from across the internet! It's been a few years since our family has done this advent activity. Basically, the idea is that you wrap up 25 books and unwrap one each day during advent to read…
Looking for a simple way to celebrate advent? Be sure to print out these cute advent calendar ornaments. Our family will be using them during our 12 Days of Christmas this year, but they are numbered from 1-25 and ready for you to use however you wish: Write an activity on the back of each…
I love this idea for designating which gift is for which child and making the presents easy to sort on Christmas morning: Rather than using gift tags or labels, simply use different wrapping paper for each child. They won't know which presents are theirs (which also makes it harder for them to snoop!), and even…
As part of this year's 101 Days of Christmas series, I'm sharing a roundup each Sunday with more ideas from around the blogosphere! I love advent in general, and although our family tends to stick to a 12-day countdown rather than starting on December 1st, I love all of these creative ideas for counting down…
I love all Christmas music, but I especially love classic Christmas carols like O Holy Night and Joy to the World. So this year I put together a collection of printable carols. You could print these out and put them in a folder to use as song sheets or print your favorite on pretty paper…
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:13-14 Sometime tomorrow -- whether it's first thing in the morning or later in the evening, gathered around the tree or cuddling on…