Christmas Bucket List for Couples

I hope you enjoy this couple’s bucket list as much as I did. 

1. * https://shyopinionated.blogspot.com/2020/12/jesus-is-reason-for-season-playlist.html?spref=pi

2. ** https://www.thedatingdivas.com/christmas-light-scavenger-hunt-date-night/

3. *** https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/recipe/easy-divinity/

4. **** https://www.thedatingdivas.com/merry-kiss-mas/

 

Jesus is the Reason for the Season Playlist

 

New Years Traditions to Start with Your Family

 

New Years Traditions to Start with Your Family

December 2, 2020

 

Sample Schedule:

-Have your evening meal with mocktails – use the conversations starters here. You can take turns reading them and then go around the table answering the questions.

-Play a game

-Write your New Years resolutions – or talk about them

-Watch a movie

-Take pictures (photo booth’s are a great way to get people to participate)

-Make a time capsule (can use the pics from the photo booth, depending on the camera you use)

-Have a countdown to “midnight” – reset the clock (or at least one of them), if you have young children, so midnight is at bedtime

 

Decorating Ideas:

-Disco balls make a big impact

-Feather boas and strings of beads can make a statement

-Use cheap picture frames to label things

-Using gold or silver or another metallic color, can make things feel fancy

-Use top hats or glass vases to hold noise makers, confetti packets (if you are that brave), midnight kisses (Hershey kisses), sparklers and tiaras or party hats

-Make your table look special

-I like to use clear plates and put a picture of a clock between the plate and charger. -These can easily be downloaded and printed using Google clip art.

-Using anything with glitter is messy and balloons aren’t environmentally friendly – I try to steer clear of these

-Here are a few pictures as examples

 

Evening Meal ideas:

-Order in Chinese

-Make lasagna with a big salad and garlic knots

-Order in pizza, garlic bread/fingers and add wings

-Order from a fancy restaurant you all like but don’t usually go to

-Have a potluck – if inviting extended family

-Make a ham with all the fixins’

-Everyone makes their own pizza from a spread of items (use small pie plates – you can get tin ones from the dollar store)

 

Whatever you decide – be prepared for that to be the “tradition” when you have children. We had to make homemade lasagna for years because it was the thing to do and somehow it got switched to Chinese take-out (on the busiest night of the year) when our daughter was a teenager.

 

Sample Mocktails:

Concentrated fruit juice, cranberry pop & ginger ale

Put cotton candy in a fancy cup (can be clear plastic) and at the appropriate time, fill with sprite or ginger ale

For mock champagne see the websites listed here:

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/32333/mock-champagne/

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/255557/pink-champagne-mocktail/ 

  

For a festive touch, rim your glasses with colored sugar and add a cherry, strawberry or raspberries

Desserts:

 

Dessert Ideas:

With any special meal, it is always good to have dessert or you can always save it for later in the evening if you are full.

-You can make a family favorite

-Try a dessert charcuterie board

-Order ahead from a bakery – cheesecake or macarons are always popular

-If you are brave, something flambe, or decorate a cake like a clock and add sparklers

-Arrange a candy or hot chocolate bar – both are good for movie or game snack time

 

Conversation Starters:

I highly recommend this tradition as it brings up topics you don’t usually talk about and it can lead to some teachable moments and also be a lot of fun. Here are a couple of links you can use or print the ones I have attached.

https://thedatingdivas.myshopify.com/products/family-conversation-starters-1

https://www.thedatingdivas.com/hot-topics-at-dinner/

 

 

Time Capsule:

This is a fun thing to do every 5, 10 or 20 years. You can do it every year or every other year as well.

Here are a couple of links with some time capsule ideas.

https://www.personalcreations.com/blog/time-capsule-ideas

https://www.thedatingdivas.com/our-year-in-review-printables/

 

-I keep my time capsule in my New Years decoration bin and then I always know where it is. You can choose to bury your time capsule if you wish. Just make sure it is in a waterproof container and make careful note of where it is.

-There are containers available on Amazon specifically for this purpose. For myself an old chocolate tin works great. Some of them I have spray painted and some need nothing extra at all. I don’t suggest using glass as there is a chance of it getting broken.

-These can tie in well if you are doing a photo booth and using a camera that prints pictures immediately. Otherwise you either have to plan ahead to have the pictures you want; or have them printed in the new year and put them in at a later date.

 

Movie Time:

-This is a time to slow down the evening and let little ones rest for a bit.
You can choose a new movie or a family favorite. In the Fall, if I see one that will work I usually pick it up and set it aside for the occasion.
-This is a fun time to use the candy bar if you set one up, or to make specialty popcorn, such as kettle corn or cheddar.
-Some movies lend themselves to fun games: for example, in Star Wars, every time you see a storm trooper you have to do five jumping jacks or eat a marshmallow or something of that nature. You can assign each family member a different character to make it more interesting. If a character in a movie keeps saying the same expression you can have everyone do something at that time.

Family Game Ideas:

-Sorry

-Charades

-Pictionary

-Skip Bo

Countdown to the New Year Ideas:

-Tie small bundles of sparklers together to set off just before midnight

-Bag up a few Hershey Kisses

-Buy some special crackers for popping

-If you are really brave - confetti poppers

-If you are actually staying up until Midnight you can participate in the countdown on TV or radio

Whatever you decide – make it special for your family

 

Snippets of advice:

-No matter what traditions you decide to start, make sure it is something you can maintain year after year. Children love tradition and once started they don’t want to deviate from the plan.

-If you don’t want to cook a big meal every year, plan something that works for you.

-If you want to have a candy or hot chocolate bar, think about having that earlier in the evening. They are fun and beautiful but can make for difficulty sleeping and upset tummies.

-If dancing, music or karaoke is your thing – add it to the schedule.

-Some people choose to end their evening with fireworks, this is a tricky tradition to maintain. If you move, laws change, etc. Some towns have a firework show and you can plan to attend that. If you do decide to have fireworks one year, make sure to tell your kids it is a special year and it may not be repeated the following year.

-It can be fun to dress up – but it’s not worth the fight if everyone isn’t into it.

-Think about how much prep time you have and want to spend. Things like time capsules, photo booths and cooking your own food can take a lot of time. They can make great memories but remember you want to enjoy this evening as well and sometimes simple is better. 

-Once you are set up with all your decorations and props, you can store them and just bring them out every year – this definitely cuts down on your prep time. 

 

 

 

Majestic

Check out that Body Language!

Home Safe During Covid 19 - Activity List

Home safe during Covid -19? No problem!                   March 31, 2020

Remember you get what you put in and creating moments of joy will take a little bit of work. If you want to look back at this time with good memories you will have to put in some extra effort. Make a plan for your days, make sure you stay in a routine, regular mornings and bedtimes, get dressed and take care of your hygiene, make a meal plan and eat healthy, make sure to move your body at least once a day, meditate, do yoga and get some fresh air.

Activity List

☐       Start on online club, cooking, painting, knitting, book etc.

☐       Spring clean your kitchen

☐       Cook something you haven’t made before

☐      Clean out your closet and get rid of anything you haven’t worn in a while, isn’t in good shape anymore, is outdated or doesn’t fit. Set these aside to give away.

☐      Do a virtual tour of a museum https://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne

☐      Read a book you have been meaning to read. If you don’t have the kindle app, download it, you can easily add books from Amazon at good prices.

☐      Check out videos cams at the zoo https://kids.sandiegozoo.org/videos

☐      Or this YouTube video from the zoo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6UzpzMwwT8

☐            Choose a topic and find YouTube videos to share with each other

☐           Find reasons to celebrate, a birthday, holiday, international day, etc. https://www.calendarlabs.com/holidays/international/2020

☐           Choose a country and cook something they would eat and Google some traditions and information to share

☐           Do a tour of your house and make a list of all the little things that need minor repairs and take this time to do the ones you can

☐           Do the same with your closet, small rips, buttons need replaced – no time like the present

☐      Organize something, books, music, pictures, recipes, etc.

☐           Connect with old friends

☐           Take a free course, www.coursera.org

☐           Find a fun exercise routine online, an app or use a video

☐           Put a slideshow of old vacation pics on the TV and eat a snack/drink that reminds you of that time

☐           Plan your next vacation – even if it is five years away

☐           Have a spa day or evening

☐      Put your mattress on the living room floor one night and have a campout

☐      Make s’mores, if you don’t have a fireplace, use a candle (remember to use precautions around fire). Use what you have, peanut butter cookies, mint Areo bar, Nutella, fruit flavoured marshmallows, caramel filled Celebration cookies, etc. be creative.

☐      If you have a yard, BBQ, make a snowman family (if you have snow), have family Olympics, do some birdwatching.

☐      Experience the Harry Potter escape room https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSflNxNM0jzbZJjUqOcXkwhGTfii4CM_CA3kCxImbY8c3AABEA/formResponse

☐           Make popcorn with flavour boosters (peanut M&M’s) to watch favorite movies