I’m planning Christmas for our tribe and I thought it would be fun to process “out loud” while I work out details!
You know I love to go all out at Christmastime. But how I used to do Christmas when there were only six of us does not work now that there are 14 of us.
I’m looking for ways to have a lot of fun without spending as much money this year also. Here’s how I’m hoping to get away with spending very little out of pocket this year.
How I’ve been saving/earning “free” money for Christmas this year
- I’ve spent time earning Swagbucks during the past few months and made my way up to $100 free dollars in gift cards! I decided to redeem them all to use at Sam’s, so now I have $100+ to use for gifts there!
- I got a “check” from Costco as part of their cash-back program. I plan to redeem that for free gifts.
- I’ve been saving the cashback that we earn from our Discover card and I can use that at Amazon for gifts.
Meanwhile, I’ve found some great deals here and there and have been buying and tucking away stocking stuffers for a few weeks.
How I’m Planning Christmas for Our 14 This Year
- I’m looking into games that our entire family can play (which is a challenge since our kids are ages 1-25!) This Saran Wrap Ball Game is perfect though.
- I’m putting together these Christ-Centered Christmas gifts for our entire family, which will be the main part of our Christmas day.
- I’m focusing on consumable gifts again so that we don’t pile more STUFF into our house. :) Here are ideas for consumable gifts (not just food!).
- We’ll plan a day after Christmas to enjoy with “just the grown-ups.” So much of our life is focused on the little ones, which is exactly as it needs to be. But two years ago we started a tradition of hiring sitters for all the littles for an entire afternoon and evening. We bigs all head to our church fellowship hall where we eat and play games for hours together. It is much needed and so much fun!
What about the FOOD?!
You might remember that our traditional Christmas dinner for the past several years has been Lasagna. I’m changing that this year because 1 out of 14 of us refuses to eat lasagna. NEVER do I ever cater to one person’s pickiness on a regular day. But this Christmas I’ve decided to. Why? Because our Christmas meal is supposed to be special, and if my daughter can’t possibly put lasagna into her mouth and it causes a fight at mealtime? No thanks. Not on Christmas. (This is my gift to me.)
So we’re having a Nacho Bar. Everyone can fix their bowl or plate the way they like and everyone wins. Plus, by the time we’re hungry enough to eat Christmas dinner after a big breakfast, it’ll probably be time to pull out games anyway. So we can munch on nachos and play games in the afternoon. It’s perfect!
What about that big breakfast? I’ll make an Easy Breakfast Casserole ahead of time and bake it while we dig into gifts that morning. I’ll serve it with fresh fruit and one or two of the following (I haven’t decided yet!):
- Orange Poppyseed Muffins
- Applesauce Bread
- Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bread
- Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies
- Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffins
- Easy Chocolate Cheesecake Muffins
- Easy Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Muffins
- Easy Banana Cheesecake Muffins
- Easy Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins
- Eggnog Muffins
- Honey Cinnamon Muffins
- Monkey Bread
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls
Here are a lot of great Make-Ahead Christmas Breakfast Ideas to look through!
Do you have fun Christmas traditions or some that you’re starting this year? I’d love to hear!
Sounds great, Laura! Here’s a Discover tip, in case you missed it like I did. I used to just check out on Amazon and pay with my Discover points for Christmas gifts. However, Discover now offers the option to redeem your points for a digital Amazon gift card at a discount (5%, I think) It’s small, but it helps those dollars stretch a little farther!