Children with stimulating games on the snow, street dying after a white night images are unique to the UK in snow season.
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| The two babies inspired to start the game skiing at Helmsley, the north of England. Picture: Reuters. |
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| Parks in Norwich Sloughbottom “instead of white coat”. Photos: Telegraph |
Throw a Snow Ball
In Big Sky, Montana, where I live, it can snow every month of the year–and it usually does. We often get a dusting on the Fourth of July. An average winter brings us 33 feet. This is perfectly acceptable to us. After all, we live in a ski town. Snow, you might say, is our cash crop–and we can’t complain about a bumper harvest.
Still, there are some people, such as our Sun Belt relatives, who wonder how we manage to stay sane when each winter morning brings the possibility of having to dig out from yet another big dumping. The secret, my neighbors and I have found, is to view snow the way kids do. A big snow, to them, is just nature’s way of saying, “Hold everything! Let’s party!”
It was in this spirit that our Snow Ball was born. With the drifts piling up all around, a group of us decided to see just how much fun we could have outdoors. We already had shovels, sleds and snow clothes, and, as it turned out, we didn’t need much else. Like an immense sandbox, the snowy winter landscape seems to inspire creativity.
Keep in mind that unlike most parties, a Snow Ball can’t always be scheduled in advance. In most cases, all you can do is make preparations and then hope for bad weather. So gather the extra gloves, stock up on supplies (you can never have too much cocoa), and start eyeing the yard for good game sites. As for the day’s events, think of the following games and activities as a stockpile of suggestions, waiting to be adapted to your own creative crowd. When that next big storm strikes, you’ll be ready to seize the moment. Because who knows when the good times will melt away?
FAMILYFUN contributing editor Barbara Rowley eagerly awaits snowstorms with her husband, Taylor, and two-year-old daughter, Anna.
Note: Please use good judgment when determining whether a project or idea in this book is appropriate for your situation. The author does not take responsibility for the results of any decorating project, and urges you always to keep safety a priority in your home, especially where children are concerned.
My name is Kathy Wilson, and I am the author of “Quick Decorating Ideas Under $20: The Budget Decorator’s Bible” and Editor of TheBudgetDecorator.com and DecoratingYourSmallSpace.com. I am also a home decorating expert for LifetimeTV.com.
I have been a stay at home Mom for almost 21 years now, and we had been raising children on a single income… Now when I say we’ve been raising children, I’m not kidding around…I have 5 kids, and three stepkids. That’s right, you were not hallucinating, we have EIGHT children! So when you all tell me you don’t have much to spend on decorating and homemaking, I definitely hear you. I have been there, and still deal with the daily challenges to our family budget. But I also have always lived by “If there’s a will, there’s a way!” so in early 1997, I started to look for ways I could start a business to help out my family finances, and also find ways to create a warm home for my family. The Budget Decorator was born! And that’s what brings us here today.
The holidays are my favorite time to decorate, and if you celebrate Christmas on a budget, this is the place for you! Please enjoy this ebook and join us at the website at www.TheBudgetDecorator.com for year round free tips and projects. You can join our free online newsletter at the website. Join us…it’s free, it’s fun, and it could change the way you look at your home, and your budget!
Welcome to How to Decorate Like a Pro, for Christmas! You will be learning how to decorate your home for the holidays with “Creativity, Not Cash!”TM Your course will include step by step instructions, photos, and printables to help you on your way to a Christmas Wonderland, on a budget. So join me in your first lesson, and thank you for joining The Budget Decorator on your creative journey!
There’s nothing better than the feeling you get when you give someone the perfect gift. As the readers here have discovered, sometimes the most special and creative gifts are also the least expensive. These memorable presents focus on experiences and items whose value lies in their meaning — not in what they’d fetch in a store.
A Box Full of Memories
One of the best and most memorable gifts my family ever received was a wooden treasure box, about 10 inches square, that came from my brother and sister-in-law six years ago. In the top of the lid was a poem written by my brother:
There once was a box full of treasure
That carried good times without measure.
Each year as it passed
We placed memories to last
Ev’ry Christmas it brings us great pleasure.
The two of them explained that through the year we were to put souvenirs of good times in the box. Then at Christmas, we could take out the items and remember the activities.
It has been fun to see what our family thinks is “box-worthy.” We have included programs from concerts our kids have been in; zoo tickets; a hat we bought at the circus; a stick we found on a hike; an ostrich feather from when we went to an ostrich farm; the key tag from our new car; and cotton from a field near where I grew up.
Looking through the treasures and talking about our experiences brings back those happy feelings. The box reminds us of what it really means to be part of our family. - Christina Reay, Peoria Arizona
With the TV and Newspapers being full of doom and gloom these days, its nice to think that Christmas is only around the corner………. or is it? Christmas can be as stressful as any other day for a lot of people -Particularly if they are the main planner in the household.
Its not easy to look forward to all the joys the festive season can bring, when you have to think about food, presents, wrapping, cards, guests etc. etc. By the time that everything has been completed, all you probably want to do is run and hide. Christmas can be difficult for those that enjoy the celebration - if you are someone for who thinks that Christmas is just not your cup of tea, but still has to put on a family celebration, then you are looking at a complete nightmare scenario.
Whilst most people enjoy Christmas shopping, and the spirit of giving, there are many people for whom this is a time of financial stress. Some people have a large family or group of friends to buy for, or feel they have to buy expensive presents for them. There are ways to deal with this problem, however. One of these ways is to budget carefully leading up to shopping time, and another is to buy things during the year rather than leaving all your shopping to be done at the same time.
Before you start creating a budget for your Christmas shopping, make a list of all the people you are going to buy presents for. Remember any employees or co-workers, and others such as your children’s teachers or your mail carrier, who you would normally give a gift to, as well as your family and friends. Don’t forget any toy drives for charities which you normally contribute to as well.
Thousands of Christmas trees on the market make it difficult for us to decide on this one and only Christmas tree. To make your choice easier, here are a few tips that should be borne in mind when choosing this most important Christmas item.
Christmas trees are in Christmas tradition for ages. They came to us from Germany and early became one of the most important element of Christmas and symbol of this holiday. Now we can’t imagine how our Christmas would look like without it. So we are not wondering anymore ‘have or not to have Christmas tree’ but we rather think ‘which one to choose’.
(From Robert Sabuda method - wikihow.com)
One of the first things that herald in the Christmas season is greeting cards. The shelves are stacked with boxes of varied, assorted and made to order cards, ready to be signed and mailed. Imagine for a moment how wonderful it would be to personalize your cards this year, and make your own Christmas tree pop-up card to send to those special friends and family on your list!
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