Cheap/Free Holiday Traditions?

[AndreaDM]

My other "cheap" tradition is to read Jill's annual Christmas gift thread on the DIS. Every year she writes up what gifts her MIL gives her family.

ooo is there a link to any past years? I could use a chuckle!

 

[skw444]

Every year for Christmas, each girl gets a nice hardback Christmas book. On Christmas Eve, the girls get into their new Christmas PJ's and we cuddle up with hot chocolate and read all our Christmas books from years past. In the cover of each book is a hand written message from us and the girls love hearing what we had to write. I try to find books that reflect the girls interests that year. For example, one year my one daughter was into the Wiggles, so we got her a Wiggles Christmas book.

 

[skw444]

I am a self proclaimed Christmas freak! One of my favorite inexpensive is the 12 days of Christmas. It's a doorbell ditch and it's a ton of fun! Every year we choose a family to be the recipient of 12 days of anonymous gifts. They each come with a tag relating the item to the song, and they are all inexpensive silly things. For example day 5 is "On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me 5 golden rings! Well I'm sorry we think your family is great, but gold just isn't in the budget so we got you 5 Golden THINGS!" the gift is 5 gold wrapped chocolate bars (Hershey symphony) I always include an uplifting story or a Christmas crossword (with the answers coming the next night) with the gift. It is soooo fun to try to be sneaky enough to not get caught. We never tell who is giving the gifts and we try to enlist the help of neighbors and strangers to keep the family guessing. Some people do the same thing with a nativity. Giving one piece a night for 12 nights until the family has a complete set.
I can give you the link the poem we usually use if you like!

I'd love to see the poem that you use for this!

 

[jme829]

When we moved here, we started going to the Macys in downtown Minneapolis. We start at the Mall of America, take the light rail downtown then go to Macys' where they have a really elaborate holiday display set up that is free....It's several "scenes" displayed based off a theme...then we take the train back to the mall and window shop, get some cocoa..etc..

Nothing fancy, but the kids love doing this.

They also have a weekly parade that we may try to hit this year..I think it is sponsored byTarget...Holidazzle I think its called. Its several evenings in December.

We also use our zoo pass when we go back to Ohio and go to the light display at the Toledo Zoo with my parents. We get in free with our pass.

And then of course on Christmas Eve, we watch a Christmas Story while setting out the goodies for Santa.

 

[puffkin]

ooo is there a link to any past years? I could use a chuckle!

Here is last years. You can do a search for the others. I think they are linked in the comments too. Be warned, you should not be eating or drinking while you read them IF you like this one, go back and look up the others. They are so funny to read in order as she sometimes references past gifts.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2033027&highlight=Annual+MIL+gift

 

[etoiles]

This is not a family tradition, but one that I do with friends. We get together to bake cookies while we nibble on snacks (Everyone brings some snacks to eat) and then we share our cookies so we end up with a ton to take to our family gatherings later in the month.

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

I help cook for the Christmas party for Legion where my husband belongs.
I send care packages to the staff that work in the ER with my Mom Christmas Day....This is the first year she'll be off in 15 years!

Take extra bags of food to the food pantry in our county.

We send holiday boxes to the soldiers from our town who are serving.
That can be very cheap......plenty of home made cookies, boxes of hot chocolate & thank you notes from your kids or drawings.

 

[Darsa]

Here is last years. You can do a search for the others. I think they are linked in the comments too. Be warned, you should not be eating or drinking while you read them IF you like this one, go back and look up the others. They are so funny to read in order as she sometimes references past gifts.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread....nnual+MIL+gift

OMG I think I hurt something!

 

[Angelhalo]

I make Chocolate Peppermint Bark every year and give it out to everyone. It is SUPER cheap and everyone loves it!!!! You can put it in festive bags with ribbon or chinese takeout containers or even in ziploc baggies if you're trying to keep it even cheaper.

 

[crazelion]

We go to the East Ridge Christmas Parade, Star light Parade, Holiday boats on the river. Me and mom talking about putting up the Christmas Tree early this year.

No kidding we is in the Christmas Spirit early this year.

 

[C.Ann]

I do what I call "Light Night". A friend of mine, who is equally as enamored of Christmas lights as I am, and I drive around aimlessly looking at lights and decorations and listening to Christmas music. Usually hot chocolate is also involved.

DH will also humor me and do an abbreviated version of "Light Night" with me by driving home the "scenic" route when we are out, as opposed to taking a highway or main road route, so I can look at lights. He won't drive around aimlessly though, like my friend and I do.

This has always been one of our absolute favorites!!

 

[lillygator]

these are GREAT ideas...thanks all....angel - do you have a recipe for the peppermint you can post?

 

[Nevergrow'nup]

In our house Santa "wraps the room" the tree is in. He uses the extra wide gift wrap and closes it all in so that no one can peek until everyone is awake!! This has been so much fun! My DS19 and DS16 still want it done every year. They plan how they are going to break through the paper.

One year Santa even wrapped them in their rooms by cover the doorway in paper. It was quite funny to hear them discover it on Christmas morning!

I never sleep Christmas eve, too excited to see reactions on Christmas Day!!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

We drive around and look at people's Christmas lights.

 

[pilotwife_02]

One neighborhood in town goes crazy with their lights so we take a few trips out there. They even have their lights set to music, it's REALLY neat!

http://www.picktownlights.com/

We also have an annual zoo pass, so we'll go see their zoo lights.

I have a cookie exchange with friends (that I know can bake ) so I can have a nice variety of cookies without having to bake a lot. But of course still do the fun cut out cookies with the kids.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Decorate our tree as a family.
Decorate Gingerbread houses as a family, sort of a contest where each kid gets a house to decorate and it's our kitchen table centerpiece all December.
Make time for family movie nights and watch holiday movies(maybe from Library)
We make a trip into the local city to view the 'big' tree but if you live close it could be a day trip
Bake cookies
Put up outside decorations
Christmas eve the elves leave a little surprise on the front doorstep, it could be anything from tiny presents to dessert, and the kids love it.
Of course, driving around looking at lights is on our list too.

This all keeps us pretty busy, no time for any other new traditions here

 

[dizluvah]

My suggestion is actually my aunt's tradition - she makes her own garland with popcorn and cranberries - she strings it with a needle and thread - she makes the garland in the evenings and then she adds it to her tree.

 

[lovemygoofy]

We don't have children and are a couple of saps so take our traditions for what it is worth. We do alot of giving at this time of year well and alot of buying. I hope I can get enough families here to participate to do some things here.

We go caroling with other military families to the local Fisher house or veteran's home or military hospital.

We drop off ALOT of baked goods made from several families at the local Fisher house and veteran's home.

This year we are particpating in helping pack local food baskets for families. Other families are providing food and then a bunch of us will back and deliver.

We pack up cookies and good coffee and drive around to see the lights.

We participate on the big donation night of Toys for Tots. We help sort toys or go around getting the donations from those that can't bring them to big site.

This year being new to the D.C. area will be great! Lots of free things to do here that we plan to take advantage of. We love Christmas and had a Christmas wedding to prove it.

 

[ogreenlee]

I buy a new Santa for display every year. I've gotten quite the collection going. I was collecting snowmen/women for my mom to display at her house, so I'll probably decorate the room she slept in here with those and continue that tradition. I'm going to have to buy shelves for display b/c I'm getting so many.

I've picked up some Disney ornaments over the last couple of years, and will probably continue that tradition, as well. I'd like to have a Disney tree.

This year, we'll be at Disney the whole week before Christmas. I have to make sure everything is done for Christmas Eve before we leave. YIKES!

My DD loves to make cookies, so we spend a day baking. We will probably spend the 24th doing this.. as I hope I'll have everything bought and put away by then.

Things will be different this year, and with only one grandparent left... well, we're just now starting to make our own traditions. My DD loves waking up on Christmas morning to find a letter from Santa on her performance throughout the year.

 

[mom2travel]

we play Christmas music while we decorate the tree together. The kids love seeing all the ornaments - we have some they made, some I made as a child, ones that were my grandmother's growing up, ones we've purchased on various vacations, ones that the kids have gotten as gifts (my mom likes to get them one each year themed to their interests; it's funny to see how things have changed over the years)

We bake tons of cookies. We have our "must-bakes" (rainbow, PB-choc kiss, punch (thumbprints), choc chip, gingerbread) and the kids each pick one or two that they bake with me (separately - one on one time).

DD also usually has a cookie-decorating party with her friends

We listen together to the narrated version of The Polar Express

DS and I shop for gifts for the family his youth group adopts. And both kids shop with us for Toys for Tots.

On Christmas Eve we go to Mass, have a casual dinner just the four of us, and watch A Christmas Story.

Thank you for starting this thread. DD and I were shocked to hear Christmas music the other day when shopping and totally "bleh" about it, but I feel some of that Christmas spirit poking through - can't wait to get to the day after Thanksgiving so we can pull out the decorations! Keep the stories coming