I am sure that we all have oodles of funny mom stories. In fact, weekly breakfasts with my mommy friends is often my favourite time of the week as we get to share our stories with each other. My favourite mommy story to tell is about my two year old daughter Kristin and I thought that I would share it with you.
After a long day with my daughter, I was beginning to prepare dinner for the family. My husband would be home in a few hours and I wanted to have something special planned. My daughter was watching me cook which was always one of my favourite times of the day. She was generally very good at keeping herself busy and loved to participate in many activities. She loved to color, to play with her toys and sometimes she just enjoyed watching me cook dinner. It was cute to listen to her speak as she was in that exploratory phase. She wanted to know what everything was and when she found out, she would practice saying the words.
After about an hour or so, my husband walked through the door, he said hello and was ready to sit down to eat. Just as we were about to start eating, Kristin began to throw a fit. While I was used to it every now and again, I was frustrated that she had to pick then to throw a big one. In an attempt to enjoy dinner with my husband, I sent her out of the room. I told her not to step foot in the kitchen until we had completed our dinner.
Our kitchen was adjacent to our dining room and because there were two different floorings between the two rooms, there was a distinct line in between the carpet and the tile. To continue with her defiant streak, Kristin stood along the line and stuck her big toe across it while staring at us both directly in the face and not saying a word. After all, she was not stepping a foot into the kitchen, just her big toe. It was then that I knew I was going to have a nightmarish teenage phase with this one!
Enjoy your children’s stories and be sure to write down your favourites. Not only will your family and friends get a kick out of them, but your children will enjoy listening to them later in life. And, don’t forget that they can be the best stories to tell your future daughter or son in law’s!!

You may be the traditional type that cooks the same dishes each year for Christmas, or you may be more adventurous, willing to give new concepts and recipes a try. No matter which type of cook you are, you can be sure to deliver a great Christmas dinner for your family and friends. Consider the ideas below for this year’s Christmas dinner.
Turkey Dinner

One of the most traditional Christmas dinners consists of turkey, mashed potatoes, peas, dinner rolls, carrots, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Depending on how many people are coming for dinner, you may want to prepare some dishes ahead of time to make it easier on the day of the feast. Get your children involved with the process and delegate tasks such as setting the table, filling the water glasses or contributing to the dishes by chopping ingredients.
Ham Dinner
Another traditional Christmas dinner choice is Ham.  There are a lot of similarities with the turkey and ham dinner menus, including mashed potatoes and peas, although some people go for scalloped potatoes instead of the mashed potatoes.  Some people also exchange the traditional stuffing that is served with turkey for pineapple stuffing, since pineapples are a popular item to serve in combination with ham.
Lasagna Dinner

A great alternative to a traditional turkey or ham dinner is to serve lasagna. Lasagna is relatively easy to cook, serves a large quantity of people and is popular among almost everyone. In addition to a large pan or two of lasagna, you could also make a salad, garlic bread and desert to complete a holiday dinner spread.   You may even want to consider cooking several different types of lasagna to give your guests variety; vegetable, traditional meat, sausage or eggplant.
Less Traditional Christmas Dinner Main courses

If someone wants to try something different for their Christmas dinner, instead of having the usual turkey, ham or lasagna, there are some people who have fish like trout,  salmon, or lobster.  Other main courses that people have are lamb, prime rib, Cornish game hens, and chicken.  A lot of people use their traditions from their native countries when creating a Christmas menu. In addition to the primary dishes, there are limitless options to consider for side dishes and for dessert.
So, be creative this year and serve an alternative menu for Christmas dinner. Surprise your guests and keep them on their toes on an annual basis when it comes to your Christmas dinner menu.

Are seeking alternative ways to celebrate Christmas this year with your family? Some families are overwhelmed with the total costs of Christmas or do not want their children to receive too many presents from all of their family members. Some families desire for their children to experience religious traditions during the holiday’s so that they understand the origin of Christmas itself. If you are seeking alternative ways to celebrate this year’s Christmas, consider the strategies below.
Volunteer Together
One of the best ways to get your family into the spirit of the Christmas season is to volunteer together. The lesson of service is something that stays with a child through adulthood. Consider these volunteering strategies this year:
•    Spend Christmas day serving dinner to the homeless in your area
•    Sponsor a family in need and work with your children to provide Christmas; organize food, gifts and activities to share with another family in your area
•    Organize a Habitat for Humanity build in your area and spend a day in service
•    Organize a clothing drive with your friends and family and give your unused clothing items to charities in your area
•    Organize a food drive with your friends and family to give to those who are hungry in your community
Give Instead of Get
If you want to really shake things up this holiday season, instead of giving gifts to each other, give the gift of time or money to those in need. When most of us really think about it, we don’t need most of the gifts that we receive during the holiday season. What if you could give to others who truly need? Organize a campaign with your family of what you would like to collect and who you would like to help. Seek creative ways that you can help along side of your family this year and experience the power of giving.
Establish New Holiday Traditions
While giving thanks is a tradition during Thanksgiving, there are other similar traditions that you could begin for Christmas.  For example, you could encourage those that you love to share positive thoughts with each other. Place small decorative boxes at each person’s place at Christmas dinner filled with blank note cards. Encourage each person to write one of the following responses to share with the others at the table; ‘This is what I love about you, This is what I wish for you or Thank you for….’ Allow each person to read their responses. These responses will be treasured by the recipients and is a great holiday tradition to start with your family.

With the holidays just around the corner, everyone is rushing around to get their last minute shopping done. While there are a variety of standard gift ideas to give your friends and family, there are also a variety of unique gift ideas that can put that special little touch to the holiday season.
Last Minute Gift Ideas
If you are in a rush to get gifts for your loved ones, consider the following ideas:
•    Gourmet gift baskets that you create by going to your local specialty foods store. You can personalize the gift by selecting items in particular that you know that they will love.
•    Coffee or tea selection gifts- for those that love either, choose an assortment of items and accessories for a gift that they will be sure to love
•    Gift cards- while this is somewhat impersonal, if you know of a particular store that someone loves, purchase a gift card from there so that they can do after Christmas shopping at a discount to find exactly what they want
Personalized Gift Items
If you want to create something special this year for your family, consider personalized items:
•    Candy with a picture, name or logo imprinted on them- i.e. M&Ms this year is offering the opportunity to print personalized phrases and pictures onto a choice of colored candy
•    If your children are heading off to college, create a simple iron press quilt made up of important T-shirts and fabrics from their childhood. Showcase their important accomplishments and create a one of a kind gift
•    Create a brag book for someone you love- while this takes more time than most gifts, people will really appreciate the thought. Gather information on accomplishments, awards and special achievements and put them together in a scrapbook. This gift will be something that they will be sure to love for generations.
•    For a mother or grandmother, create a special collection of thoughts from the entire family. Send out personalized note cards to the family several weeks in advance of Christmas and ask the individuals to write their favorite stories or memories of the special person being honored. Collect the cards, create a memory or scrapbook and give this as a gift for Christmas.
Homemade Gifts
Everyone appreciates the time and thought of a homemade gift, especially now that people have become so busy. For some simple homemade items, consider baked goods presented in special gift boxes or baskets, stationary sets with homemade cards or Christmas ornaments. Each of these items will be something that the recipient will be sure to appreciate.

I get a lot of questions about how I manage to get my kids to behave, eat right and help around the house. The answer is simple. I bribe them.

People don’t like to say ‘bribe’, though, so now I call it a ‘reward system’. Here are a few parenting tips on how to reward your own kids!

1.    Make a rule that they behave in school. If they do, they get to have their TV time for the day. If not, sorry! No TV. I have an agreement with my kids’ teachers to send a note home if my child misbehaves so I know instantly instead of at the end of the week. They usually behave!  When they don’t, they don’t even ask to turn on the TV.
2.    Make a rule that they eat all of their dinner without complaining. If they do, they get dessert. If not, sorry! No dessert. I don’t fight with my kids about eating. Even my two year old in the morning knows if he eats his eggs, he gets syrup on his pancakes. If he doesn’t eat his eggs, his pancakes are plain. He usually eats his eggs! When he doesn’t, I don’t make a fuss.
3.    The kids have a list of chores. There are ten chores to do each day. If they do them, they put a sticker on the chart. They get a dime for each sticker. The money they earn is for special snacks, ice cream bars, temporary tattoos and other stuff they can get at school. If they don’t earn their money, they don’t get to buy stuff at school the next day. They usually get to shop at school! If they don’t, they don’t even complain.

I don’t know if you will choose to use this parenting tips with your own kids. All I can say is, bribing - I mean, rewarding - my kids, works for me!!

Girls and fashion have gotten way out of hand. My daughter is nine going on nineteen. She has to have her little outfits, and they have to be exactly right! Last year, I messed up because I didn’t buy her a Bobby Jack shirt.

I’m sure all of you in the mom online community know about this. A few of the ‘cool kids’ at school get something, and then if you live in a small town there is a huge battle at Wal Mart for the last few of anything that gets tagged as the most ‘in’, the most ‘cool’ or the most ‘hip’.

This can be awful. Some moms go crazy, using their carts to block you while they grab everything in sight. Other hang back, then use the sneak approach, lifting the desired item out of your cart when your back is turned, then making a beeline for checkout.

Fortunately, I lucked out this year because I found a Bobby Jack shirt at the thrift store! Of course, I had to pretend like it didn’t come from the thrift store or that would have been a problem. None of her friends can know anything of hers came from the dreaded thrift store.

There needs to be a clearinghouse of info for moms, that tracks girls and fashion and can warn us in advance of the nest ’big thing’. Then the big fights at Wal Mart can stop - we can all order online in advance like civilized people, and have them use the ship to store option.

This will cut down on a lot of stress. I know Wal Mart doesn’t want to overstock anything, but in a town with 4,000 nine year old girls, we need 4,000 size nine Bobby Jack shirts. Not fifty. Do you see what I mean??!!

When the economy struggles,  inexpensive gifts for Christmas are in demand! Fortunately, homemade is coming back into style. You can make lots of things that will bring true joy to friends and family simply by creating and giving gifts that have immediate value to the recipient.

Don’t be shy about trying new things!  Break out a new recipe and take it for a test drive. You can make unusual gift basket with non-traditional items. Instead of pumpkin bread and cookies, try a coffee mug with a few powdered gourmet coffee creams. You can dip the bowls of sturdy plastic spoons in white or dark chocolate to use as flavored stirrers.

Other unusual gifts include potpourri sachets to go in drawers or inside pillowcases. Pair them with a couple of candles for a basket of scented delight! You can even add a packet of spices and cinnamon sticks to heat on the stove in a pot of cider to ensure their house will smell like Christmas all month.

Don’t forget the kids. Fun gifts can include such silly stocking stuffers as you can pick up at any dollar store, and don’t forget little ones are as likely to play with the box as anything else. Some kids actually even like clothes as gifts, especially teens, so combine necessity with the holiday spirit and include a gift card to their fave designer store.

Even teens themselves can get in on the act, choosing to make their own gifts. Photos can be made into collages for grandparents, or scrapbooks started as a project to do with younger siblings. Babysitting services are a great gift for Mom and Dad! Younger kids can get busy with the artwork as gifts - the memories made this way are so special.

Gift games are a great way for extended families to share the Christmas joy. If each adult buys one gift appropriate for an adult, plus a gift for each child from another family group, there will be plenty to go around. The kids can have their gift opening time, then the adults can play a form of white elephant sale, taking turns choosing an a gift from the pile or ‘stealing’ a gift from someone else.

Another great idea for the holidays is to pool funds and take a short trip, enjoying the time spent together over instead of an actual gift exchange. This works well for families where the kids are grown, but grandkids aren’t in the picture yet. A outing to a picturesque location and a few days spent as a family unit can create memories that will last a lifetime!

These are only a few ideas of how to manage the best Christmas ever on a shoestring budget, without stress or anxiety getting in the way. Remember, Christmas is about the spirit of giving, not material things. Even if money is short, love doesn’t have to be, and you can think of a number of unique and fun ways to give the best gifts of all!

Dear Readers,

Enjoy our Mom’s Life Blog Carnival!

1. Starting Early and Saving Often

http://www.destroydebt.com/blogs/debbie/325-starting-early-and-saving-often.html

2.  Family Travel Lanes Take Off in Time for Holiday Travel

http://www.travel-advocate.com/2008/11/23/family-travel-lanes-take-off-in-time-for-holiday-travel/

3. A Beginner guide to life Insurance

http://www.insurance-toolbox.com/2008/11/28/insurance-toolboxs-guide-to-life-insurance/

4. Four Simple Ways to Reduce Your Grocery Bill

http://www.discoverdebtfreedom.com/2008/11/26/4-simple-ways-to-reduce-your-grocery-bill/