Helpful Mom

As if we moms don’t have enough clutter to deal with on a daily basis, then comes the holidays with all it’s decorations, gifts, and cards.  Here are a few ideas I came across for wrangling all those cards.

1. Hang a Card Garland. To create a festive garland, laminate the cards, then punch a small hole in the top conrers of each and link them together with ribbon.  This makes a unique and inexpensive decoration and adds a personal touch to the holiday trimmings.

2. Give them a place at the table. After the holidays you can make place mats with photo cards sent by family and friends.  Arrange the pictures on poster board, add borders and text cut from other holiday cards, and laminate the finished product.  Your family can enjoy the photo cards year round.

3.  Start a Blessings Basket. This one is my favorite idea.  Place the photo cards in a basket in the kitchen, then choose one card each night at dinner.  When you say grace, ask a special blessing for the person or family whose card was chosen.

4.  Make an ornament. Cut the card front into even strips.  Stack strips and poke a hole through both ends.  Using a needle, pull sturdy thread through one hole, knot at the base.  Thread through other hole, leaving enough string to make a loop for hanging.  Push the stack of strips down into an arc, knot thread at the base.  Fan out strips to form a ball.

5.  Spice up Recipes. No you’re not going to eat them!  Cut the fronts off your cards and use them to make festive recipe cards by writing a favorite holiday recipe on the back of each one.

6.  Lend a hand. Cut out your child’s handprint from card fronts.  On the back of each hand write a kind act your family can do for others.  Attach to a garland and hang.  Each day, pick a hand, then perform that deed.

• Advent Chain-Cut 1 inch strips of red and green construction paper and write a verse that relates to the birth of Jesus on each.  Glue or staple each into a circle, making a chain.  Each day in December, let your child carefully tear off one link and read the verse.  (This can also be done to countdown til a Birthday or other big day your kid keeps asking when it’s coming ;P)
• Help your kids make their own gift wrap with butcher paper, sponge stamps, and poster paint.  Instead of the usual Santas or snowmen, buy or make Nativity-themed stamps such as stars, mangers, angels, doves, and crowns.  Discuss the importance of each symbol.
• Instead of the usual gingerbread house at Christmastime, in one family the children would make a gingerbread stable.  They would create a special place for baby Jesus to help remind the kids of the real reason we celebrate Christmas.

If you are looking for some family fun this Christmas look no further than the Garden Factory in Gates, NY.  This is a yard and garden store much like a Gro-Moore farm during the spring, summer, and fall months, but come Christmas time it’s transformed into a family center.

Last week my girls wanted to go to the zoo!  It was less than 20 out so in an attempt to do something different I suggested going to a couple of Christmas stores to see the decorations.  Some simple FREE fun that didn’t involve much effort, I just looked up the locations of a couple stores dedicated to Christmas decorations.  I laid out the ground rules before going in to each store so there would be no begging or things broken.  Look with your eyes, not with your hands, and we are NOT buying anything so don’t ask, and stay with mom or else you will have to ride in a cart.

That said we had a great time.  They marveled at the trees and various angels, Santas, deer, and bears that were lit up, moving, or singing.  Katrina couldn’t help but hug the purple decorated tree we came across, since purple is her favorite color.  But our absolute favorite store was the Garden Factory.  I had seen ads for it last winter but never made it so was curious to check it out this year.  I knew that somewhere they have a huge model train set but we took our time exploring the entire store before finding it, I hadn’t mentioned it in case we couldn’t find it.  There were whole rooms with nothing but poinsettias and Christmas wreaths, decorations and lights.  The girls delighted in the large selection of wind chimes and the stuffed birds that play the authentic bird calls.  We checked out all the decorations and garden statues and then we found it… The room with loads of beautifully decorated Christmas trees, huge garden fountains, and a HUGE train setup.  Not just one train but more like 5 or 6 sets all set up together in one huge display.  I find these model train sets fascinating because of the attention to detail is amazing.  They have whole little towns set up with tiny people, cars, animals, you name it they have it.  And the girls could watch the trains go round forever.  It was nicely set up for kids too because all the way around it’s boxed in with fencing, but then they would have steps up to a platform where the kids can stand up and get a good view of the trains going around.

And beyond that is all set up for their Holiday Family Fun activities which includes: a child sized train for rides, bounce house, turbo tub, speed slide, mini ferris wheel, firetruck playfort, and make your own ornaments for kids.  Now this is not free and is only open on weekends but it sure looked fun and I’m hoping to fit it in before Christmas sometime.  It’s for ages 2-10 and most of the rides cost 2 tickets, which are either $0.50 each or 25 for $10.  It began the weekend of Thanksgiving and continues through Christmas.  The remaining weekends are Dec 13 & 14, and Dec 20 & 21 from 11am-4pm.  The model train will be set up through Dec 27, closed Dec 25.  And on those weekends from 12-4pm Santa will be there for pictures and taking wishes.  And while you are there it’s a great place to pick up a precut tree while your kids are playing.

The Garden Factory is located at 2126 Buffalo Rd, Rochester, NY 14624