Ashwood Santa and Christmas lights
There are 2 sets of Christmas lights worth seeing in Ashwood, Victoria now…
The first is in Arthur St (I don’t know the number but the house with lights is on your left coming from Huntingdale Rd, about 400 m from the corner) has a huge Santa out the front and some nice lights.
Meanwhile, on the corner of Ashwood Drive and Baryn St, there is a decorated house with lots of lights including reindeer leaping along the roof, blue archways and Santa parachuting. This is someone who loves Christmas lights and sharing the Christmas spirit!
Being close together (and not far from lights in High St, Highbury Rd and Burwood Hwy), I’d say 3 santas and well worth a look (they’re also not well-known yet so traffic isn’t a problem!)
School Kris Kringle
I’ve noticed in the last few years that schools are encouraging (if that’s the right word) Kris Kringles for gifts between the kids.
Not sure if this is good or bad really. Certainly easier if kids just give each cards but a few would always want to give a gift to special friends. Then there is the risk of hurting people if one gets a gift and another doesn’t so it can be hard to stop. I see both sides of that.
One child did one at school last week and the gift had a $10 to $20 limit – that’s a lot of money for kids I think, especially if it’s not for someone you know well so it could end up being $20 of nonsense or unwanted things. I also found it a big range – some kids will spend $9.99 and get a $21 gift, and so on, which is a bit unfair but could lead to disagreements and hassles in the playground.
Tonight, another child says she will be doing a KK too. A week of school left and they’re told it’s happening with details to be discussed tomorrow! So guess who’ll have to go shopping over this weekend – someone who had thought Xmas shopping finished because I don’t want to go within cooee of a shopping centre at this time of year!
SO am I the only one not enthused about school Kris Kringles this year?
* Image courtesy of 123rf
Finger puppet gift
We went to a break up party last night for scouts and every child got a gift from Santa – we expected a bag of lollies or such so were very impressed with the actual gifts.
All the younger siblings were given an animal finger puppet.
It was only small and probably cost no more than a bag of lollies (less if you count the time it would take for someone to make said bags of lollies!) but I think it’s a much nicer gift. It will last and didn’t hype the kids up at the end of an exciting night as sugar would have – and no one had to worry about allergies either.
So if you’re after a token gift, keep animal finger puppets in mind – they work a treat! Especially when Santa hands them out 🙂
You really mean personalised!
In the past, I’ve organised some Santa letters for my kids – they liked them so we’ve done it every year. Last night we opened our Love Santa letters and the difference is incredible.
It’s not just that there is the little surprise added, stickers on the envelopes and the craft and recipe ideas are a great idea. Having different letters for each child was a nice change (yet so important for realism to my thinking).
But what really blew us away was the obvious fact each letter is adjusted for the child. You changed the good deed wording I typed to actually fit the letter wording and added lovely comments that could only have been done manually – a truly personalised letter that made my son stand up straight and feel proud of his achievements this year.
Love Santa letters make great scrapbooking pages
I’ve let the kids play with previous letters and never had any desire to keep one. This year’s letters are going in their scrapbooks – and so will next year’s!
Thank you for a wonderful addition to our Christmas celebrations – and this blog of people’s stories and traditions is heart warming.
Christmas entertaining tips
Welcoming people into your home is one of the delights of Christmas – socialising, seeing those you care for, relaxing and being hospitable. But it comes at a price – preparing to entertain.
Christmas entertaining can mean a lot of cleaning up, buying food and supplies, cooking and planning. All of which can add up to a lot of stress for many people. Especially if you’re on a tight budget and trying to minimise expenses.
Entertaining tips
Here are a few tips to get your entertaining preparations under control this Christmas:
- delegate – most Australians are used to ‘bringing a plate’ so don’t be afraid of asking people to help with the food. Get someone else to bring the bonbons or ice, too.
- ignore ‘unseen’ parts of your home for December – don’t bother dusting, vacuuming or even tidying the study, en suite, garden shed, etc if no one will be going in those areas. Stick to public areas. And go for clean and presentable rather than perfect
- use short cuts in the kitchen. For example, buy packets of fruit mince pies or fruit cake and just ice them yourself, buy tartlet cases, prepared custard and fruit to make fruit tarts, use an electric mixer or blender instead of stirring or chopping by hand, and cook in advance and freeze food to reduce cooking on the day
- get the kids to make paper chains as a cheap decoration. Bonus – it helps keep them busy while you work, too
flat red sheets make great tablecloths – easy to wash, can be reused as sheets and are big enough for large tables. They’re generally cheaper than tablecloths, too. You could decorate them with fabric pens and paints, or leave them plain so you can brighten them up in different ways for each event and following Christmases. Pretty runners, tinsel, Christmas balls, scattered popcorn, ivy and other greenery, glitter and paper chains are all ideas for adding interest to the table- put some candles around the room and house – they give a lovely light in the evening. Plus they can smell beautiful. Candles are much quicker to set out than a lot of other decorating ideas yet look classy
- give yourself permission to relax and enjoy the events you host. Remember, people are there to see you and celebrate Christmas, being together and the end of another year so relax and be with them instead of running around aiming for an impossible target of perfection
- consider using plastic cutlery and plates so you can set them out in advance without interfering with your daily needs. Think about using some good plastic plates and cutlery such as from your picnic set. The bright colours will just add to the festive atmosphere and plastic takes away any risk of broken dishes hurting people. Yet it is cheaper and ‘greener’ than disposable plastic stuff.
- set yourself a schedule for cleaning so it doesn’t become so overwhelming. For example, sweep and mop on Monday, clean the bathroom on Tuesday and dust on Wednesday. On the actual day you then only need to do a quick once over for everything to be ready
flat red sheets make great tablecloths – easy to wash, can be reused as sheets and are big enough for large tables. They’re generally cheaper than tablecloths, too. You could decorate them with fabric pens and paints, or leave them plain so you can brighten them up in different ways for each event and following Christmases. Pretty runners, tinsel, Christmas balls, scattered popcorn, ivy and other greenery, glitter and paper chains are all ideas for adding interest to the tableCelebrating Baby’s first Christmas
Not every baby dresses as Santa for Christmas, but you can mark their first Christmas as something special in various ways…
Does your family do something special or different when there is a new baby experiencing Christmas for the first time?
It has become commonplace for retailers to offer stockings and baubles with ‘baby’s first Christmas’ on them, but there are many other ways to make the first Christmas special for the new parents and everyone’s memories.
Maybe start a family tradition of Christmas photos (thanks for the idea Bronwyn) or the youngest person gets the first gift. Or perhaps rethink the venue and format of your Christmas celebrations to be more baby and child friendly. Get everyone to sign a Christmas card or scrapbook page (like a 21st key or wedding guest book) or record a video message.
So, what does your family do for first Christmases? Or is another Christmas experience considered more important in your family?
Good deeds you can do
Santa knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake…
Sometimes wanting to be good isn’t enough – you need some ideas on how to be good and do good deeds that people (including Santa) will appreciate. So we’re adding to last year’s list of good deeds suggestions – including some from this year’s list of good deeds Santa is including in his letters to Aussie children.
- don’t wake anyone up during the night unless it’s really important – usually rolling over and going back to sleep is easier for everyone
- helping with keeping the house tidy and clean
- keeping your bedroom clean and tidy
- doing nice things for Mum and Dad – like giving foot rubs, making fresh orange juice, brushing hair and finding their keys
- being brave about seeing a doctor or dentist
- dressing yourself – especially if you do it quickly and without a fuss
- using good manners, such as saying please and thank you
- giving lots of cuddles and kisses to Mum and Dad, and other people
- doing your best at sport and in classes
What good deeds do you think Santa has noticed about you this year?
Family Christmas fun
Having some family fun around Christmas is great for bonding and releasing some of the end-of-year pressures we all face.
I started a list of fun ideas when posting about making family happy at Christmas, but here are some more ideas:
- perform for each other – play music, sing songs, do skits, etc where the aim is the entertainment rather than be sensible or polished
- set challenges for each other – who can be silent for the longest, avoid touching wood or metal, stand on one leg, hold their breath longest, etc
- spend an evening without power – see how creative everyone gets when there is no computer or TV
- cook together
- tell stories
- read books out loud
- play in a playground – parents, too!
- get outside and play cricket, chasey or whatever game takes your fancy
- have a picnic in a park or at the beach – even better, have a picnic somewhere special to your family
- watch a movie outdoors – various parks offer this now or try setting up your own in the front yard!
- look through photo albums or home movies – remember people and events you share as a family. Take it further and create scrapbooks or albums together
- do impersonations – start with relatives and move onto celebrities
- play Christmas songs on your musical instruments (turn off the electronic music options for a couple of hours!)
The emphasis is on fun so let everyone be a bit silly – in fact, you could almost make that the only rule (you must have fun and be silly!)
What other things could families do for fun? What does your family do to relax together?
Real or fake?
So what sort of Christmas tree do you have in your house? Did you think about it or just go with habit or the first option?
I LOVE the smell and atmosphere of a real pine tree in the house, but I feel terrible cutting down a tree for a few weeks’ pleasure. So here are my thoughts on which type of tree is ‘best’.
An artificial tree is good because:
- doesn’t kill a real tree
- cheaper than buying a tree every year
- doesn’t droop or go brown over December
- no mess (pine needles can be a pain to clean up)
- fire-retardant so safer
- often on sturdy stands which may be safer than a tree held in a bucket by a few bricks
- easy to access – most big shops sell them and you can even order them online!
- it is lighter to move around – and easier when folded – than a real tree
making family happy at Christmas
Most people with a family probably like the idea of doing things together and enjoying the Christmas season as a united celebration. Yet it isn’t always easy to do, especially as kids grow older.
I think a key to making Christmas a family event is to include each person’s values and ideals. That probably means taking the time to discover what each person’s values actually are, of course, and then working together to incorporate those things.
For many Australians, Christmas Day is a whirlwind of opening gifts, visiting people and having huge meals before travelling to the next event. Yet what are the little things that actually matter to you and your family? Maybe it’s the tradition of opening gifts on Mum and Dad’s bed or having fresh fruit for breakfast, perhaps it’s singing carols together or having quiet time between gift-giving and dealing with lots of other people, and so on.
Plan at least one important thing for each person into your Christmas Day FIRST and then fit in other things. This way, everyone feel included and can look forward to part of Christmas Day.
Be willing to discuss new idea, too, and accept that some old traditions may not suit any more (what was cute for a 2-year-old may be embarrassing or boring for a 14-year-old).
Throw in some extra fun, too, as part of the lead up to Christmas – and maybe in the days afterwards. Make things more relaxed, having everyone at home without guests or the need to dress up, and do family things – play board games, sing karaoke, do a jigsaw, play charades, make paper chains, watch a movie, give each other massages or play ‘truth or dare’.
Building some family Christmas memories will make Christmas fun and probably reduce some of the stress Christmas can cause.
Feeling crafty this Christmas?
Inspired by Jess and Sam’s post about making Lego ornaments for Christmas, I looked up some sites I know offer patterns for other Christmas ornaments. If you want to make ornaments or are looking for a gift for a crafty person, try:
Needlework Boutique (based in Melbourne) 
A design by Krista Lynn (I like the Santa one!)
Modern Teaching Aids (mainly aimed at groups but you could just make heaps of them as gifts!)
Just stitching – kids and adults (check out their hints & tips, too)
Christmas crafting and other craft books from Fishpond books
Paint Christmas balls (adjust the materials and do all sorts of balls)
Any other suggestions?
Unfortunately, none of the above really cater for a summer Christmas and there is a lot of snow featured. If you know of some crafty patterns that suit an Aussie Christmas, please let us know!
manual North Pole postmarks
The postmarking machine at the North Pole has stopped working, just when they have the most letters to mail across the world!
While repairs or an alternative is being worked on, every letter will be manually processed and an Elf written postmark will be used to ensure the mail is not delayed. Maybe these hand marked envelopes will become collectors items and treasured more highly than the usual postmarks!
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