Creating Christmas Memories with your Kids on the Cheap

Today, I am THRILLED to welcome Lynn from Spiritually Unequal Marriage.

Some of you know that I can be a bit wacky. With that said, my adventurous nature is in full gear during the Christmas season. And I am adventurous. And I share my escapades with my daughter. We have built memories that will last forever.

One of our favorite things to do at Christmas is decorate. Ya, ya, ya, blah, blah, blah, decorate (yawn)…. What else is new?

Yes, but we decorate in “Donovan” style. We always decorate the outside of our home. And it’s never typical. We like to create our decorations and we don’t do anything ordinary.

One year we created our famous Pinecone Village. Complete with a candle lit walkway, town center sign, trees and of course, pinecones. But, these aren’t any average pinecone people, no we gathered up my daughter’s friends and they MADE the people. The pinecones are two feet tall. We hunt for them in the mountains, bring them home, bake off the sap and then let the glue gun roll. It’s an absolute blast. Who knew you could be so creative with a giant pinecone.

We have placed a manger out front, including hay and trees and lights. I would have added a live small pony but the association rules preclude live farm animals in suburbia. Darn it.

This was an enormous hit in the neighborhood, even made the newspaper.

And the stories we still share today about gathering the prickly tumbleweed, how it blew out of the back of the truck and blocked traffic, how we wrestled into place….. ALL priceless memories and we still laugh about these adventures today.

Okay to make a tumbleweed snow man.

• 1 “reasonably” round, large tumbleweed. 1 small tumbleweed for the head. Note: Be sure to handle wearing gloves. Tumbleweeds have been known to bite.

• 1 can of white spray paint (cheap paint at Wal-Mart)

• 1 garden stake

• 1 Black hat (purchase at a hobby store)

• A few remnant pieces of material (any fabric store)

• Assembly: Spray paint the tumbleweeds by rolling it slowly on top of newspapers or on the grass.

• Pound a small stake into the ground place the tumbleweed over it, secure it by winding fishing line around it and to the stake.

• Secure the hat with the fishing line

• Cut the material for the mouth and eyes. Tie a long piece of flannel fabric around the neck for the scarf.

Walla.

Take Pictures. Giggle. Make Memories for life.

Lynn is the founder of Spiritually Unequal Marriage and the co-author of the book/Bible Study, Winning Him With Words. Married since 1992 to her best friend, Mike, she lives in Temecula, California. They have a son, a daughter and a zany dog named Peanut. She loves to laugh out loud, play Fantasy Football, and enjoy a strong cup of coffee, not necessarily in that order. She lives each day in awe of God’s grace in the lives of ordinary women.

Now it’s YOUR Turn. On the last day of sharing traditions, you get a voice! Click here: My Christmas Tradition and share one of your traditions.

A GIFT for my readers. One reader of Sharing the Journey will win a prize package valued over $250. Click here: Christmas Giveaway for ALL the details and to enter!

Make sure to visit these wonderful gals in our 25 Days of Christmas Series for the month of December:
25 Days of Christmas: Home for the Holidays @ Graceful Abandon
25 Days of Easy Christmas Crafts for Toddlers & Preschoolers @ Sidetracked Sarah
25 Days of Simple Christmas @ Simply Living for Him

Linking up today with:Lowercase Letters, Graceful and No Ordinary Blog Hop

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