Sometimes it can feel as if cleaning your home is a full-time job. One that you have to do in addition to taking care of the family, working your actual career, and all the other things that fill your overflowing to-do list. However, there are some strategies you can use that will make cleaning faster and easier, and free up more time for the good things in life. Keep reading to find out what they are.
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It’s the first week of Advent and if I’m being totally honest I’m fatigued and my heart just isn’t 100% in it. Having to always be the bearer of bad news to my kiddos has really taken its toll on me. In the past few weeks I’ve had to crush their spirits over and over again by relaying news that yet another Christmas event or festivity that they were looking forward to attending and/or participating in is either cancelled, postponed, or has gone virtual. As a huge proponent of the gift of experiences and the magic of sharing said experiences with extended family members this Christmas is really hitting hard…it is the quality time together with family and friends that really means the most year round but especially at Christmas. It’s the touring the Manor House with friends, watching the classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life” at the Valentine Theatre with a live audience and everyone ringing bells at the very end, it’s even being the co-chair of the Santa Shop and watching little ones eyes light up as they shop for that special someone, I miss it ALL and it’s really hitting me harder than anticipated. I guess you don’t realize just how rich your life is until you’ve had everything halted and you can reflect back on it just like George Bailey did, now if only we could tell Clarence, “I want to LIVE again!” and just like that it’d all go back to normal. Wouldn’t that be lovely? But it can’t, thus we will continue to put on our courageous faces for the sake of the kiddos, we will continue to try our best to make this Christmas as special for our kids as we can and for our family that includes celebrating the Feast of St. Nicholas. It’s a wonderful tradition that has been passed down over the generations. Not familiar with St. Nicholas Day?
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Non-profit Sauder Village has joined #GivingTuesday, a global generosity movement, unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and their world. GivingTuesday will kick off the generosity season this year by inspiring people to give back on December 1, 2020, and throughout the year.
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Make this Christmas even more magical with Portable North Pole!
Without the chance to see Santa at the mall this year, Portable North Pole makes it easy to safely celebrate Christmas with Santa with up to 60+ messages ready to be personalized for your loved ones. Whether you’re sending a message to a child, a teenager, or even a grown-up, Santa will amaze everyone on your list! Stay comfortable in your own home and explore our collection of calls, video calls, and video message scenarios that make the perfect gift for your friends and family near and far – or even for large groups like your employees!
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With modern life being exciting, busy, and filled with things to do, it can be hard for a lot of young people to find interest in their religion. While they will develop an understanding of the importance of this part of their life as they get older, many young people struggle to take their faith seriously. Not only will they have plenty of other exciting things in their lives to focus on, but religion is often filled with old traditions and ideas that don’t always make sense to someone from a new generation. This doesn’t mean that your youngsters are going down the wrong path, though; it just means that you need to find some ways to get them interested in their faith.
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The holiday season has just begun. The 6 weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s is perhaps the most eagerly awaited period of the year. This is the time for family, friends, gatherings, fun, and frolic. The kids are full of zest, but unfortunately, moms tend to go in the opposite direction – stressed out and tired. They’re just pulled in every direction imaginable and stretched thin in each.
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It never fails; you research awesome personalized and custom made gifts to no end, finally find that perfect gift, and then realize you just missed the deadline to have the order shipped before Christmas. NOT THIS YEAR! (2020 WILL NOT STRIKE AGAIN, lol! )Here are 8 awesome personalized Christmas gifts to order today!
6+ hours daily, 30+ hours during the week, & 8+ hours of screen time on the weekends and that’s just for school! That doesn’t include all the extracurriculars that are on Zoom, Google, Skype & Facetime or their social lives that seem to be strictly on screens these days since kiddos can’t play in-person. Thus, ask any kid what they want as a reward and chances are it’s no longer more screen time. In fact, my kiddos have so much screen fatigue that they’ve actually requested technology free days. And for Christmas they’ve asked for books, not a book online, not an audio book, an actual book they can hold. Once I heard this I knew precisely where I needed to go for a broad variety of topics, titles, ages, reading levels, and most importantly QUALITY books (yes, Scholastic has cheap books, but they are cheap books, I’ve had to literally throw a few away after a bit of liquid spilt on them)…I prefer to invest in our home library. If you’re looking to invest in your Home Library this Christmas then Usborne Books has you covered!
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We have spent more time than ever at home this year, leaving many of us exhausting all the entertainment options possible. With kids, it can feel a bit of a minefield trying to find fun new things for them to do all the time. Most of the attractions we would have normally gone to as a family are now shut, like Children’s Wonderland and other attractions, so the entertainment is left to us to figure out new things at home. The thought of weeks that stretch on forever with bored children and too much energy can leave you with chills running up and down your spine, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Just because you can’t leave the house as easily as you used to doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun as a family. If you are on the lookout for some fun activities to do as a family, here are some top ideas to get you inspired.
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As we reach the end of 2020, I’m sure we all can agree that this school year has been far from normal. Whether your kids have returned to in-person classes or moved to remote learning, we have all experienced the different learning styles the pandemic has introduced us to. As a family, this time spent in the unknown is a great opportunity to learn from each other. It could be something as silly as a TikTok dance your kids are obsessed with or something more fundamental like how to balance a checkbook. This unprecedented time together can create a perfect storm for valuable life lessons to be learned. Consider delving into the areas highlighted below as a way to jumpstart some family learning.
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