When it comes to decorating your house, don’t compete with the Jones’. It’s great if Mr. Jones has a 12 foot Santa riding a Motorcycle on his roof, that doesn’t mean that you have to.  Personally, I don’t even decorate outside, I’m sure that makes me an awful parent but you know what? It’s costly, and time consuming, and then I have to take it all down after the holiday, not get the strands of lights tangled up and find a place to store it all in my garage, it’s not an enjoyable experience for me so I skip it, and did I mention the electricity bill after a month of those lights on the roof? It really adds up so I move on to the parts of decorating I love. I decorate inside, that’s where we spend a lot more family time together and those are the memories I want for my children. I remember growing up, my favorite thing to do was decorate the fireplace, that was my job and no one else could touch it. It was my masterpiece every year and I should warn you, when I took over the fireplace responsibilities I think I was seven. So, I’ll be the first to admit that my Mom had to sneak in there after I went to bed to fix it up a little.  But every year, I got a little better and by the time I was 12, it was perfect. Our fireplace decorations included one strand of lights, some fake ivy, a few pine cones and some fake red berries. That was it. Simple, festive, colorful and perfect.

 There are several things you can do to spice up your decorating without breaking the bank:
String Popcorn to hang on the tree, you can add cranberries for a touch of color. This is a great project for the little ones, they can hang their art on the tree, sneak a few bites of popcorn along the way and really feel accomplished and included. When you think about it, how many chances do the kids have to make such an impact on the holiday? Make it a movie night, they can munch popcorn, make decorations and watch your favorite Holiday movie all at the same time. (My favorite is A Muppet Christmas Carol)
Collecting pine cones is another great family activity you can do with the kids. Bring some bags and take a hike through a park, forest or mountain nearest you collecting pine cones along the way. You can sprinkle pine oil on them to incorporate the holiday smell throughout the house, or paint them. Another great project for the kids to be involved in, but I’ll warn you adults, it’s a lot more fun than you think so make sure you collect a few extra for you to paint.
Don’t feel you have to get all of your ornaments in one year. It took your parent’s years to collect what they had, start small and add a few every year. We made it a Christmas tradition that I give each of my kids a new ornament to put on the tree each year and I give it to them the day we bring our tree home.