The lazy girl’s guide to throwing a New Year’s Eve party
I am all for elaborate, well-planned bashes, but sometimes ain’t nobody got the time for that. With the holiday season in full swing, between getting ready for Santa, work being busy at the end of the calendar year, and other commitments, there is just no room in our days to Martha Stewart-ize this party we want to throw. So I threw together a party game plan with minimal effort, and am sharing with you the fruits of my (limited) labor.
What are your family’s holiday traditions?
This morning my child Jasper woke up at 6 AM, shook my husband and I awake, and sped off to the living room where our alien head-adorned Christmas tree is sitting. There were a handful of presents underneath it that we had to put out the night before so our kid wouldn’t spend every day leading up to Christmas trying to rip the presents apart.
Homie holiday decor: A peek into your homes
I put out the call for our Homies to send us their holiday decorations. Damnit, I want to see how y’all offbeat the holidays. And WOW did I get some amazing peeks into your homes. We’ve got alien-head tree-toppers, Mid-century Christmanukkah decor, beer ornaments, and trees that are both sideways AND upside down!
Celebrating Christmas as an Atheist
I’m a non-believer, but for me, Christmas has always been my favorite holiday for all the seasonal and festive reasons. I love the lights, the baking, the presents, the family togetherness time. Agnostic seasonal decor was a great post last year, but one of the unanswered questions, is what do you DO as a non-believer at Christmastime? If you’re curious, these are my reflections, conclusions, and current practices as an Atheist as Christmas.
Make these three low-budget toys (and then get into some open-ended play!)
One of the things I love most about this time of year is how excited so many people get to spend time with their families and friends over the holidays. In all the excitement, though, there are always some unexpected lulls. Whether you’re their awesome uncle or their godmother from another state, here are some new ideas to help you have fun and connect with the children in your life. Make them in 30 minutes or less, toss them in your bag, and you’ll be prepared no matter how unexpected the lull.
How to turn record album sleeves into swanky boxes
Do you have some record album sleeves left over from your record-melting crafty-fun-times? Are some of those records you picked up at that garage sale looking awesome but not sounding so great? Here’s how to upcycle those old album covers into a new life as 3D boxes that hold all kinds of things! Prezzies! Foods! Toys! What will you put in yours?
How can I raise freethinking children in a religious community without seeming like an angry atheist?
I want my daughters to be able to enjoy the holidays, but I don’t want them involved in the religious dogma that is so apparent everywhere. On the other hand, I don’t want to be too obviously anti-religion around my kids — then I’ll be no different than the opposite side of the coin I grew up on. How do I manage to accomplish this without also coming across as a raving anti-religion monster?
Recycle your wedding decor into holiday decorations
Remember this awesome widely-circulated Pinterest image? I loved it and we made some similar lights for our wedding in our color, lime green. Now it’s the holidays, and we celebrate Christmas. I was sad at the thought of taking apart our beautiful light strands to turn back into icicle lights (plus, it sounded like a lot of work), so I decided since they were green I’d use them for our holiday lights anyhow!