Have a happy and safe Fourth Of July.
Joe-
Many years ago my mom started a new Christmas Eve tradition called Crazy BINGO. Basically she’d wrap up some cheap gifts (candy, gag gifts, little trinkets) as well as one “grand prize” of $10-$20, and everyone would play BINGO (or more recently Uno Attack), picking out a gift when they won. The fun was trying to guess which package contained the best gift, and stealing it when you won as you had the option to take a new gift or take someone else’s (and then they could choose to do the same). The game play would end once everyone was in possession of a gift. Then the gifts would be opened and people were free to swap with one another. Of course no one ever swapped the main prize, especially when it was $20!
This tradition almost ended last year because my mom hasn’t been feeling well and didn’t want the hassle of finding the gifts. I happily took over because it’s one of the things I look most forward to every year. The main prize is now less than $20 as I don’t want to blow my holiday budget, but I’ve still been having a lot of fun finding interesting inexpensive items for this game. Dollar Tree, the One Spot at Target, and Five Below are all great places to snag some decent stuff without spending a lot. In all I spent under $20 this year to keep this tradition going. That includes the “grand” prize of a $5 Target gift card I scored for free during one of my epic shopping trips.
While I can’t share the items I purchased as of this writing since some of participants will likely be reading this, I can share with you a quick photo I took last night after wrapping them.
There are a total of eight gifts since we’re expecting eight people to be present for the game.
There’s a good chance I’ll have completely forgotten what’s in which package by the time Christmas Eve rolls around so I can enjoy the game just as much as everyone else. Or I can mess with everyone and covet the wrong gift in an attempt to throw them off the trail. Muhahahaha!
What fun traditions do you participate in during the holidays?
If you don’t have a ton of money to spend, or you just don’t care to spend too much money this holiday season, but you still want to have a little fun with your family and friends, I’ve got a few low-cost suggestions on ways to enjoy the holiday lights this year:
Cosley Zoo is a small zoo in Wheaton that waives its admission prices for the month of December so you can check out their Festival of Lights. Here’s a sampling of some of the lights when we visited in 2011.
Aurora offers the Festival of Lights which is a free drive-thru attraction.
In addition, if you do a little Googling you will often find lists of homes in your area known for going all out for Christmas. Put together an itinerary and take the kids on a drive to check out the lights. We like to make some hot cocoa ahead of time to sip on while we make our rounds.
Candy Cane Trail (Carol Stream) – This home goes all out every year at both Halloween (when it’s called Canyon Trail Cemetery) and Christmas, including music synced up with their decorations. It’s a must see!
Holiday Lights at Lilacia Park (Lombard) – This park boasts tons of lilacs and tulips in the spring but in winter it’s lit up to celebrate the season.
Illinois Tacky Light Tour – This is a new find for me, but it looks promising.
Feel free to share your tips in the comments for places to see holiday lights.
If you’re in the Chicagoland area, ComEd has some holiday deals for you!
Among the offers you’ll find at the link:
BOGO admission to Illumination at the Morton Arboretum (which is going on now through early January)
BOGO admission to Holiday Magic at Brookfield Zoo (which begins Dec 6th)
Oh do I love Thanksgiving! I think it’s my favorite holiday because I love to eat. Every year I try to perfect my turkey cooking technique, so I was happy to find this article – 10 Common Turkey Mistakes. I’ll be studying it before it’s time to put my bird in the oven (and which is currently defrosting in the refrigerator).
I like having a lot of sides such as classic green bean casserole, crescent rolls, cranberry sauce, etc. but one of my favorites is this Sweet Potato Casserole from The Pioneer Woman. Only she can come up with a dish appetizing enough to make me eat the dreaded sweet potato! Ever since I discovered the recipe I make it for both Thanksgiving and Christmas.
What are your favorite Thanksgiving dishes?