Celebrating The Holidays When Your Family Is TINY

My family is TINY, as in just the four of us plus my mother and my mother-in-law. I usually don't think about it, but around the Holidays, when society's emphasis is on ALL THINGS FAMILY, I feel bad. We don't have large family gatherings with tons of people running around, my kids don't get loads of presents from relatives, and on special occasions, most of our friends want to be with their own relations, not us. Still, the reality is that until my kids get married and have children of their own, the family is not going to grow; in fact, since the two mothers are older, the clan is actually going to get smaller before it get bigger. 

Having a small family is a challenge around the Holidays...it makes me sad.

Coping with all of this pressure to have FAMILY has been a real challenge for me. Even though it's silly, I feel guilty that I can't give the kids more relatives. So my husband and I have come up with our own holiday traditions, fit for the interfaith family we are.

Hanukkah

Since my husband is Jewish, he's in charge of Hanukkah. We light the menorah and say the prayers every night. We've turned Hanukkah into The Literary Holiday by giving the kids books the first night only. Hubby hides the books, turning the gift-giving into a pseudo Scavenger Hunt by giving the kids hints as to where the books are. We have a special meal and continue to light the menorah whether my husband makes it home on time or not; it's important for the kids to know that I (the non-Jewish parent) respect Dad's tradition enough to carry through whether he's home or not. 

Pre-Christmas (Okay, so it's not a holiday, but it has become it's own materialistic season.)

Seymour (as in he "sees more")

Since I am a former Catholic and we're raising the children Unitarian Universalist (which embraces all religious traditions), we have a Christmas tree and TONS of decorations. Elf-On-A-Shelf came after Thanksgiving and he delights my daughter every day as he moves from place to place. My kids get stockings which Santa fills with little things like socks, which seem to consistently disappear, and sugar-free candy. Now for the two biggies:

Christmas Eve

First, we have a special Christmas Eve dinner, usually lasagna (my son's favorite), and the kids drink special sparkling apple cider out of plastic champagne glasses.

Later, we attend our church's Christmas Eve service for children. I fell in love with this years ago when my son was a baby. Our minister starts off by pointing out that God loves the sound of children, so we shouldn't worry about keeping the little ones quiet. He also tells the Nativity with the wee folk ages 6 and under coming up to the Sanctuary and acting the story out. When my kids were younger, they were angels and shepherds; I'm sad that they're too old to participate now, but it's still fun to watch.

Depending on how we're feeling, we may go to our town hall's free Christmas Light Show. Sometimes we drive around looking for extra-special house displays as well.

My daughter (who is 9) prepares the snacks for Santa and spends quite a bit of Christmas Eve making gifts for Santa and Mrs. Claus. She also says goodbye to her Elf who will be picked up by Santa when he comes later that night. 

Christmas Day

Yep, that's a bit smaller than our family - just a bit.

The first rule is that no one can go downstairs to look at the tree until EVERYONE is out of bed. We then go downstairs where Santa has given the kids three presents (the Wise Men gave Jesus three, so that's how many the kids get as well) and we have given them one. They also see what's in their stockings.

Everyone opens one present one at a time while we all watch. Then, while the kids enjoy their presents, either hubby or I make a special breakfast (he makes THE BEST OMELETS!).  Then my daughter and I start cooking for the grandmas while my husband goes to pick them up and Junior amuses himself.  Since the Nanas LOVE to eat, and must eat early, dinner is usually over long before 5PM, so we all sit down to watch a holiday movie (often, "It's A Wonderful Life"). 

Chris Moose

Okay so it isn't a lavish celebration, but from what I hear from other people, it's also not filled with the bickering and pettiness that families with larger families experience. Our Holidays are simple and they're ours. I'm savoring this time with the children, knowing that they won't be home with us forever. 

I guess cherishing time with the family you have and not bemoaning what you don't have, is really what the Holidays are all about.

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I found two fantastic articles on celebrating holidays when you don't have a large family. Since they resonated with me, let me share them with you:

Tara-Michelle Ziniuk wrote this lovely article in which she tells about celebrating Hanukkah with her family of two.

Dresden Shumaker explains how she envies those with big families in this wonderful piece.

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Thank you for reading! Please come back again, won't you?

15 Uses For Old Books

Got old books? Here's how to re-use them!

 

So you've got a pile of books you and your kids haven't read in a long time. You've donated some to the local library, hospital or nursing home. Now what? Never fear! Here are 15 uses for those old tomes:

1. If they're textbooks, sell them on Amazon, Ebay, or at Cash4Books. 
2. Make a Book Safe – Cut out the center of old books to hide valuables (you can find instructions here. A word of caution: I made this as a present for my son and although it was time-intensive, Junior is now able to hide some of his valuables from his little sister by merely placing the safe among the books in his bookshelf.
   
3. Use Modge Podge to decoupage a table top, lamp shade, etc. The illustrations in many children's books are especially good for this.
   
4. Stack them to add height to a lamp (see photo). We
   

   

   Use books to increase a lamp's range.

   needed more light in this area, so we stacked books underneath. The result:  more light and a great look!
   
5. Use them as trivets. I'm always bringing warm pans to the table, but don't want to harm the surface. Old books work great to protect tabletops from too-hot plates, pots and pans.
   
6. Make a picture frame from an old board book (you can find instructions here). What a great, unique gift!
   
7. Make shelves to hold small knickknacks or other books. This is a wonderful craft (the how-to is here, especially since you can match the shelf to your room's décor.
   
8. Re-use the pages as kindling, mulch, packing material, or as wrapping paper.
   
9. Make a unique night-light. These instructions from craftster.org list this project as a “lamp,” but I think the amount of light given is really more suitable for a night-light or accent light. 
   
10. Make coasters. Take inexpensive ceramic tiles (the kind you find at Home Depot), a few book pages, decoupage using Modge Podge, and varnish. You could even add a photo or two.
    
11. Decorate a notebook. I'm always using salt-and-pepper notebooks I pilfer from the kids. They take on a more adult-look when covered with pages from a book.
    
12. Make a clock. Take a beloved book, glue the pages shut, cut out room for a clock mechanism and numbers (available at local craft stores) and you've got a clock which subtly reminds us to “Take Time For Reading.”
    
13. Decorate a portable calendar. I buy the inexpensive appointment calendars from the Dollar Store. Decoupage book illustrations or passages from an old book for a “classier” look to your calendar.
    
14. Turn an old book into a purse (find instructions here).
    
15. Make a planter for succulents (click here for the how-to).

Yes, your old book can be a planter!

Do you have any other uses for books? Please comment below! I'd love to hear from you!  And, as always,

Thank you for visiting!