The Advent Book Box

A great idea for the holidays is to set aside a special box or basket containing your family’s special Christmas or other holiday books. The Holiday Book Box only comes out during the Advent season, and is put away again with the decorations after the first of the year.

THE ADVENT BOOK BOX

This list of Favorite Christmas Books was compiled following a discussion between a group of mothers looking for “twaddle-free” holiday reading for their families.

A Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens

Becky’s Christmas
by Tasha Tudor

(The) Best Christmas Pageant Ever!
by Barbara Robinson

Christmas at Long Pond
by William T. George

(The) Christmas Box
by Richard Paul Evans

(The) Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey
by Susan Wojciechowski

(The) Christmas Stories of George MacDonald
by George MacDonald (out of print)

(The) Christmas Tree
by Julie Salamon

(The) Crippled Lamb
by Max Lucado

(The) Donkey’s Dream
by Barbara Helen Berger

(The) First Christmas
by Marcia Williams (out of print)

(The) Glorious Impossible
by Madeleine L’Engle

Martin Luther’s Christmas Book
by Martin Luther

(The) Night Before Christmas
by Clement Moore, illustrated by Jan Brett

A Northern Nativity: Christmas Dreams of a Pairie Boy
by William Kurelek

One Wintry Night
by Ruth Bell Graham

Rembrandt: The Christmas Story

Seven Stories of Christmas Love
by Leo F. Buscaglia

(The) Story of Christmas: Words from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke
illustrated by Jane Ray

Tale of Three Trees
by Angela Elwell Hunt

This is the Star
by Joyce Dunbar

OTHER HOLIDAY-RELATED BOOKS

Unplug the Christmas Machine, by Jo Robinson
Don’t wait until Christmas to read this book! The earlier you start thinking about the holidays, the easier it will be to make any necessary changes in your celebrations.

Debt Proof Your Holidays, by Mary Hunt
Whether you’re just looking for further frugal ideas for the upcoming holiday season, or you’re truly dreading another after-holidays debt hang-over, this book will be beneficial.

Frozen Assets: How to Cook for a Day and Eat for a Month, by Deborah Taylor-Hough
Less time in the kitchen means more time for activities you really enjoy. This book will show you a step-by-step plan to simplify and revolutionize the way you cook. Save time; save money; save your sanity! Contains a special Ten Day Holiday Meal Plan — perfect for simplifying your holiday meal preparation.

Simplify Your Christmas, by Elaine St James
Simple ideas for taking the complexity out of the holidays.

Hundred Dollar Holiday, by Bill McKibben
“What we need and long for now are the gifts of time, meaningful family connections, periods of silence, a relationship with the divine,” McKibben writes.

~Debi

Autumn traditions, treats and fun!

The weather’s changing, summer’s finally over, and there’s a definite chill in the air many days. Now we can look forward to some of those fun activities that only happen in the autumn: Collecting leaves and pine cones for wreaths and other decorations; heading out to the local pumpkin patch; baking fresh apple and pumpkin pies; brewing hot spiced apple cider (hey, I can smell it simmering just thinking about it).

At the end of November, the United States celebrates Thanksgiving Day. One of our family traditions for this particular holiday is making a Thanksgiving Tree. People tell me every year that they like this particular idea so much, I repeat sharing it (sorry if it’s a repeat for you!). 

Anyway, we make a tree trunk with bare branches out of black craft paper and tape the “tree” to the dining room wall. Then we cut out individual autumn-colored leaves (red, orange, yellow, brown) from more craft paper.

As someone in the family thinks of something or someone they’re thankful for, they write the item or person’s name onto one of the leaves and then tape the leaf to the tree branches.

We try to put the Thanksgiving Tree in place by mid-November so our family has at least a full week to add more leaves to the tree. By Thanksgiving Day, the tree is FULL with the names of people, events and things we’re thankful for. This is great fun for the kids and a meaningful addition to our family’s holiday traditions.

And what would holidays be like without a few special treats?

My favorite recipe for hot spiced apple cider is one of those throw-it-together-as-you-go recipes, but I’ll try to explain the process as best I can. First, I take a large jug of apple juice (a gallon if we’re entertaining). Then I pour the juice into a large pot on the stove (or into the slow cooker if I don’t want to use a burner). Heat to a simmer.

Then add the following ingredients to the pot:

• about one cup of frozen orange juice concentrate (this ingredient is a MUST)
• approximately two teaspoons (more or less) of EACH of the following: Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Ginger, Cloves (whole or ground)
• and sometimes I add about one cup (or less) of cranberry juice cocktail

Let it all simmer for awhile (half an hour at least). The smell wafting through the house while the cider is simmering is simply heaven. Mmmmm … Serve the hot spiced cider in mugs. For a nice touch, add a whole cinnamon stick to each mug.

Having a large pot of cider simmering on the stove when company arrives is a sure way to make them very happy that they chose to come over to your house.

And for another treat, make some baked pumpkin seeds (you can also do this with acorn squash seeds). After all the pumpkin carving or pie making, don’t throw out the seeds. Separate the seeds from the stringy pulp (don’t rinse or remove every last bit of the pulp — the pulp adds flavor). Place the seeds on a cookie sheet, stir in about 1/4 cup of melted butter, sprinkle with a small amount of salt and then bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes until lightly browned. Enjoy!

And if you’re wondering what to do with the leftover stringy part of the pumpkin guts, visit my real-life friend Diana’s blog for a tasty recipe:  Pumpkin Gut Bread

Happy autumn to you and yours!

~Debi

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• Easy Autumn Craft Ideas

New! – Simple Times Ezine Archives

When my email newsletter, Simple Times, was switched to a new server last year, I lost all the back issues and the online archives.  Trying to make sure I have a back-up archive in place this time, I just finished uploading  the past year’s worth of Simple Times’ issues to a new online archive.

Check out this issue from last year that has a very helpful 12 Week Holiday Countdown.  Yes, I know it’s a little scary but it’s already time to start thinking ahead to the upcoming December celebrations. 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thesimpletimes/message/2

(The holiday countdown article starts about halfway through the newsletter so keep scrolling if you don’t see it right away.)

What is Frugal Living?

If I want to know what a word means, I usually run to my dictionary or do a quick search online.  Keeping true to my normal mode of operation, here’s what I found in my first search for the meaning of “frugality.”
 
According to Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), frugality is “the quality of being frugal; prudent economy; that careful management of anything valuable which expends nothing unnecessarily, and applies what is used to a profitable purpose; thrift; — opposed to extravagance.”
 
If I sat down to choose a catch phrase to define frugal living in today’s world, I’d probably say frugal living equals “living within your means.”
 
The reality is all riches have limits.   Some of us live with more limitations in the riches department of life than others, but even the largest fortune can still run dry if no restrictions are set on spending.   After all, how many mansions, yachts and private jets does one billionaire really need?
 
By cutting back on basic expenses, it can enable you to live out your dreams, get out of debt, and find yourself on the road to enjoying a financially stress-free life.

Why Live Frugally?

I’ve found over the years that people choose to live frugally for one of the following reasons:

1) Limited income

Whether someone’s just starting out in an entry level job, or perhaps a young family choosing to have one parent home full-time, there are a variety of situations that make it necessary, either temporarily or long term, to live on a small paycheck.

2) Emergencies

Unemployment and medical emergencies are two common and usually unexpected difficulties that can throw even a financially well-off family into the “we-have-to-reduce-our-expenses” mode of living.

3) Debt reduction

With consumer debt rising each year, many find themselves juggling debt, maybe even borrowing money from one credit account to pay the monthly fees on another.  Reducing debt can seem like an overwhelming prospect, but for people who are serious about getting out from under the heavy weight of monthly installment payments, frugal living can be the perfect solution.

4) Stages of life

College students, young married couples, single moms, and retirees can all be in stages of life when there’s a lot more month left at the end of the money and it becomes needful to examine the budget to look for ways to pinch a few pennies here and there.

5) Philosophical

Many people look for ways to reduce their spending as they voluntarily choose to simplify their lives, maybe to allow more time to connect with their families, community, and hobbies.

The Benefits of Frugality

Reducing spending can have far-reaching benefits beyond just today’s grocery bill.

1) Achieving dreams

By cutting back on monthly expenses, many people are able to fulfill dreams they may have decided were out of reach:  Going back to college, being home full-time with their children, working from home, buying a home, starting their own business, pursuing a favorite hobby, or acquiring acreage in the country.

2) Becoming debt-free

The first step for getting out debt is to stop going further into debt. Choosing to live within your means is the beginning of debt reduction.

3) Easing stress

Pinching pennies in daily life can allow you to re-prioritize your expenditures and have more available for things like vacations and hobbies, and if you don’t have to work as much just to meet basic expenses, you’ll have more time to spend with your friends and family.   If you’re in over your head financially, a huge stress
reliever is putting an end to phone calls and letters from bill collectors.

4) Reducing ecological footprint

One way that frugal living helps the environment is when someone chooses to use more homemade food items, it cuts down on relying on over-packaged convenience items.  Those items may make life a little simpler in some ways, but the packaging adds a huge amount to local landfills.

So whether you’re a single mom trying to make ends meet, a middle-income family deeply in debt, or you have life dreams you’d like to accomplish but think you can’t afford, frugal living could be just the ticket to get you on your way to accomplishing your goals.

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For more information on frugality and saving money on your regular family expenses, read Frugal Living For Dummies® by Deborah Taylor-Hough (aka “The Simple Mom“).

 

 

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• Lost Pennies

Easy Autumn Craft Ideas

Here are a couple of ultra-easy Autumn craft ideas.

Leaf Prints:

Make your own cards or gift wrap by using nature’s bounty of freshly fallen leaves. Use poster paint for printing on paper (for cards, gift wrap, etc.), or use acrylic paint if you decide to decorate an item that needs a waterproof finish (glassware, clay pots, etc.). Brush a small amount of paint onto the underside of the leaf where the veins are more pronounced. Carefully place the leaf where you want the design printed and cover with a layer of paper towel. Gently roll a rolling pin over the top (or you can use the side of an empty bottle). Remove the paper towel and lift the leaf.

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Wheat Weaving:

Soak wheat on the stalk (from craft stores or local farmers) in a tub of water for an hour or so. Holding three seed heads together, braid the stems of the wheat stalks. Curve the ends around to make an oval loop, a circle wreath, or even bend it a bit to make a heart shape. Tie with brightly colored ribbon. As the stalks dry, they’ll hold their shape. Add to your autumn decorations.