Holliday shopping

[CookieCookie]

Well maybe it is a bit soon but the holiday season is coming.. And I figure that if I don't want to spend a small fortune on gifts and other stuff this year I better start shopping now while there is plenty of time to still find a bargain. Anyone else starting early?

So far I'm really psyched that I started early because this year my husband and decided to take the kids to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and I found a discount code where you can get Orchestra tickets for only $49.99, the only thing is you have to order them by October 18th. It's so great because we definitely saved a bundle on tickets and now I've got more to spend on gifts.. All you have to do is go here: http://www.radiocitychristmas.com/49family and type in the code "49FAMILY" when purchasing your tickets.

[Rebecca]

I spoke at my son's Kindergarten parent night this past week about the effect of Media in our children's lives. One of the parents brought up how eliminating media has really changed the way the holidays happen at her house with her three children. Since they are not viewing the ads that tell them what they should want/ ask for for the Holidays, her children no longer have a list a mile long. I thought that was an interesting side effect and wanted to mention that now might be a good time to consider limiting media exposure with your children- especially commercial programming.

Consider gifts where the family does something together, as suggested by our previous post. One year, my parents bought us train tickets and we went on a trip to S. Florida on Amtrak. It was an experience we'll never forget and it was fun to get to spend that time together playing games. I've also shifted my focus for toys to those that are simple and my boys can use their imaginations. They tend to be more expensive (higher quality), so there are fewer toys, but we end up with toys that are not cast aside when their luster wears off. I also feel good supporting smaller companies. I like companies like Hearth Song and Magic Cabin, though there are many smaller companies out there. I love to find that small family owned business and buy things from them where I know the toy was made with love.

We've really down-sized our holiday celebration and that feels good all around. Would love to hear how you all are managing the holidays this year and hear what has worked for your family!