Five Things

5 Favorite Christmas Movies for Kids

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is pulling out all the holiday movies and moving them into rotation on the DVD player. Here are my top five kid shows:

1. A Charlie Brown Christmas. The pinnacle of Christmas-ness for me! It brings back great feelings of being cozy in my feetie pj's, snuggled in front of our small TV on our family room rug. Such a great message, and Bible verses -- what more could you want?

 

2. The Year Without a Santa Claus. Who could forget the Heat Miser and Cold Miser? And "I believe in Santa Claus" will be stuck in my brain for eternity.

 

 3. The Santa Clause (plus II and III). I loved the original, and really enjoyed the two follow-ups as well. Tim Allen is a darned believable Santa, and these three movies have given us many quotable lines ("MMMM! I LOVE COCOA!" and "Well, isn't that a pretty picture. Santa coming down the street in a Panzer!")

4. Jingle All the Way. John and I saw this in the theaters when it came out, and I'll admit it was pretty lousy. But for some reason, we bought it on VHS a few years later. Now, it's one of the most-watched movies in our house. Sinbad is unbeatable as the slightly psycho postman, Arnie is wonderfully comic against Rita Wilson's straight man, and the meddlesome neighbor is perfectly played by the late, great Phil Hartman. ("Balthazar!")

5. How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I love the remake with Jim Carrey, but nothing beats the original. I imagine my children's children will be watching this someday!

Come back tomorrow when I share my top five family/adult Christmas movies (and before you ask, yes, they're all PG-rated!)

Did I miss any? Share your fave kids' Christmas shows!

A Weekend in 5 Photos

 

Clockwise from top left:

1. John getting a manicure from Cal.
2. Ben being camera-shy.
3. My darling niece, Alexis, joined us for Thanksgiving. It made the day that much more special!
4. An impromptu puppet show became the Thanksgiving dinner entertainment.
5. I'm sick of leftovers, how about you? (Yes, that's homemade bread! Haha!)

Next month, I'll be documenting my December in daily photos placed on a weekly layout. Want to join me? Stay tuned for Wednesday when I announce my December goals (this project is one of them!)

Weekly Goals Update

1. Gym. Five for five again, INCLUDING Thanksgiving!

2. Soup. Yup. We had Cream of Spinach soup. Everyone liked it (or at least the kids did until they found out it was spinach).

3. Thank-you notes. DONE AND MAILED!

4. Clothes consignment. Appointment is Monday!

5. Christmas presents. I bought some on Black Friday, and I ordered a photo book that I 'made' myself. Does that count?

I'll be announcing my five December goals next week. Want to join me?

5 Places I'll Be Today

 

Yes, it's Black Friday! And I am a dedicated early-morning shopper. I actually don't have a ton of holiday shopping to do today, but it's a tradition. And I'm not messing with tradition! So here are five of the places I'm hitting today

1. The gym. Of course! Can't screw up my perfect attendance this month. :) They open at 5 AM, so I'll just tell myself I'm getting a discount on weight loss. ;)

2. Kohls. I love Kohls. Even more than Target, I think! (Shh... don't tell Target I said that.) I'm a relatively new convert to Kohls. When one opened near us, I went to check it out and was very disappointed. The sale items advertised weren't available, and there was stuff all over the floor (the same reason I don't shop at Macy's). But about a year ago, my sister introduced me to them again, telling me about the radical deals and money back offers. I feel like I get paid to shop there! I tell my family that it must be a money-laundering deal with the Mob. They don't WANT to make money --they want to lose it! And I'm glad to help them.

3. Target. Despite #2 above, I'll be at Tarjay today, bright and early.

4. Swoozie's. This is a new find here in MA. It's the cutest store! Tons of polka dots (Julie, you'd love it). They're having an after-Thanksgiving sale, and I want to point out a few things to Santa for MY list.

5. Ella. What, haven't you heard? Ella's having their ONLY sale of 2009! 20% off your purchase with the coupon code TURKEY09. Check it out. :)

What about you? Do you brave the cold and the crowds on Black Friday? Where do you go?

5 Things to Do Thanksgiving Afternoon

You're replete with turkey and stuffing (I just like the stuffing!). Your hubby's doing the dishes (or watching football). You've been through all the Black Friday ads (you ARE going out, aren't you?). So now what? Here are five fun activities you can partake of (or you can just take a nap. I'm down with that!)

1. Go on a walk. Can you believe we don't have snow here in New England yet? This may be my last chance to get some fresh air before I am in self-imposed hibernation through the winter. I'm going for a trek in the woods across the street.

2. Play a board game. Our current family favorite is Apples to Apples Junior - The Game of Crazy Comparisons! . It's hilarious! Even our non-reading (well, kind-of reading) little one can play. She just picks any random card and tosses it in the pile. She wins more than half the time!

3. Scrapbook. Remember that? (Can you believe I haven't done a paper-based page in a L-O-N-G time?? I'm getting a little worried about my mental health.)

4. Read! My current fave is The Hunger Games. This book will keep you up all night reading it! Better yet, my 11-year-old loved it as much as I did. We already devoured number two in the series and are anxiously awaiting #3.

5. Make an advent calendar! This is the perfect time to pull out the scrapbooking supplies and get to work on a calendar for December. Need some ideas? Check out this post.

Okay, what are you doing after you eat? (Besides napping, of course)

5 Things I Remind Myself Every Day

1. Quantity does not equal quality. I have problems with accumulating. I won't call it "hoarding," because I don't think I've crossed the line into pathology (though my husband may disagree!). I like to have a lot of the stuff I love -- shoes, yarn, scrapbook supplies, and books, to name the main ones. But I'm trying to move towards LESS. Reminding myself that books don't mean anything if I don't ever read them, and yarn is nothing if I don't ever knit with it.

2. Let it go. Physically and emotionally. Whatever I'm holding on to, let it go. I have trouble letting go of physical items, and emotional hurts. I know, I know -- everyone does, right?? Misery loves company and all... but this is my own baggage! I'm really trying to travel lighter.

3. Breathe. Sometimes when I think of this, I realize I haven't taken a full breath for hours. I'm no doctor (nor do I play one on TV) but this can't be good for me. I concentrate on taking one deep breath, and exhaling fully, pushing my shoulders down. Ahhh... relief...

4. Names, names, names. This is a work-related reminder. My huge goal for this coming year is to get Ella's email list to 10,000 names. It won't be easy, but I know we can do it. Most of my efforts as CEO are focused around growing our visibility. When I lose focus, I come back to this mantra. (Wanna help? Send this link to every scrappy person you know!)

5. Be here now. When I was in high school, a teacher told me, "Do what you're doing. Don't do what you're not doing." That was my first hint at mindfulness, or conscious living. At the time I used it as a reminder to pay attention in class (instead of doodling or doing homework for another class). Now, I use it as a reminder to pay attention to my life.

What about you? Do you have daily reminders to help you live more consciously, easily, happily?

5 Easy Placecard Ideas

We're still not quite sure what we're doing for Thanksgiving, but I like to have the details wrapped up! Here are some adorable, easy placecard ideas I came across while trolling the web:

1. Ribbon Ovals.

  

I saw this on Our Wedding, but from the photo it appears it was taken from Martha Stewart (as so many good things are!) These would be adorable in harvest colors and several different ribbons.

2. Papertrey Christmas Placecard.

This is simply too cute! I found this on Maria's Craft Room. It starts with patterned paper, stamped with the Christmas tree and finished with vellum and a button. Click on over to get a little more step-by-step.

3. Vintage Photos.

The images on these cards are taken from vintage children's books. This one is for a wedding, but I think you could easily adapt it for holidays. Think about fun cartoons (Betty and Veronica!) or Dick and Jane. Originally posted on Intimate Weddings.

4. Screen Prints.

You can buy these cuties from Pixelimpress at Etsy. Or you could probably make your own using rub-ons from Hambly on some graphic or holiday-themed patterned paper.

5. Indian Corn.

How fun! A placecard and dessert in one. Step-by-step instructions on Holiday Crafts and Creations.

What about you? What special things do you do for your holiday table? Which of these is your fave?
 

5 Ways to Simplify Your Holiday Season

Simple is good. Simple is good. Simple is good.

The holidays go completely against simplicity, with the encouragement (and desire) to do more, buy more, be more. But I'm fighting that! Here are some (five, haha!) tools to help keep your holiday season simple:

1. Read this article from professional organizer (and scrapbooker!) Aby Garvey: "5 Steps to an Organized (and Joyful) Holiday Season." No, I didn't pick it only because she lists five steps; it's actually a fabulous reminder on how to keep the season of excess under control.

2. Watch this video on creating a holiday binder from another professional organizer (who I'll be interviewing here soon) and all-around impressive person, Krista Colvin.

3. Create this handy-dandy holiday organizer (vintage ScrapHappy Christmas Countdown project!)

4. Browse the Christmas Coach's christmasorganizing.com site. I haven't fully checked out all her offerings (haven't had time to get organized -- haha!) but it looks fun.

5. Go to the queen of all things organized, Martha Stewart, for her Holiday Organizing Tips. I love how these are listed! Very easy to navigate and read.

What is your best holiday organization/planning/sanity-maintaining hint? (Mine is to go to Aruba, but unfortunately those darned kids are insisting on a tree with all the trimmings.)
 

Weekly Goals Update

After several weeks, I'm seeing some weak spots in my goal completion. See if you can find them! ;)

1. Soup Night: Yum yum -- corn and carrot chowder, adapted from a recipe sent to me by Nicole Maki. (She's got some awesome recipes on her site!). I also made bread by hand -- it was really really really really good.

2. Clothes to Consignment: Appointment on 11/30. Nothing new to report!

3. Christmas Presents: I have some ideas -- see this post.

4. Thank-You Notes: Kinsey's haven't been mailed (still!) and Callie has done one. One. Ugh.

5. Gym: Oh yeah, oh yeah -- five for five! I did go at 9 one day instead of 5:30 b/c Ben needed some homework help that morning. But I'm keeping it going! I even added five minutes onto my bike routine.

And you????

5 Reasons to Check Out Doxzen!

Breaking news: You need to check out Doxzen Pet Photos for awesome pet photography!

1. Great photography - even if you don't adore pets.

2. Paula is really cool.

3. Pets deerve some love, too!

4. It'll make you smile.

5. I said so. ;)