Non Toy Christmas Gifts

(Huffingtonpost.com)

If you're like me, you're already scouting out presents, and you are also wondering why in the world you want to bring more toys in to junk up the house.  That's why I loved this article in the Huffington Post.  Tons of ideas for non-toy presents!

One thing my sister does that I want to do is take a family trip instead of opening presents.  Another family I know only gives 3 gifts each Christmas to tone down the "entitlement':  an article of clothing, a book, and a toy.  My sister-in-law skis with her family over the holiday and only has her kids give gifts to each other.  What a sweet way to create memories!

Homemade Toy Storage Ideas

Toy storage doesn't have to be expensive.  You can cover cardboard boxes with paper or cloth and store them under the bed, in a closet or on a bookshelf.  Once I even stapled heavy duty black garbage bags around cardboard and printed out pretty labels (this was for my recycling bins, and probably not appropriate for areas children play because of the plastic hazard, but hopefully it will inspire you to come up with innovative solutions....like....spray paint?) Here is how to make some with cloth and glue.

(http://www.topinspired.com/)

Here's another one of my favorites:

(http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/)

My Favorite Recipe Book

(source: firstoptiononline.com)

You may have been wondering why I never post any fast recipes for busy families like I do on my writing blog.  Probably not, but I'm going to tell you anyway because it's going to CHANGE YOUR LIFE!!  And after I posted about how important family dinner is to families, I needed to give some practical advice on how to make that happen!

The reason I haven't been posting fast recipes for the busy mother is because I no longer NEED them.  Because I found the greatest recipe book on earth. (That may be the humorist exaggeration taking over in me, but it's how I feel.)  The book is called, Slow Cooker Revolution, by America's Test Kitchen.

I do not exaggerate when I say I cook out of this every day.  It is full of slow cooker recipes that do not look and taste like mush at the end of the day.  They use real ingredients and the spices they use give it amazing flavor.  My kids LOVE everything I have made from this book, as does my husband.  No, this is not an infomercial, this is just a mother saying to all of you people like me who struggle to get dinner on when we are so busy parenting and writing;  this will solve your problem!

I just put it on in the morning and go.  One less thing to worry about....and there are tons of recipes for every taste, which is why I can cook out of it every day.  You will also save money and increase your family's healthiness  by cooking things from scratch instead of relying on ready-made foods.   I hope it helps your family as much as it helped mine!

Happy parenting!  You'll have much more time to do it now!