It's the Holiday Season

I can't believe Thanksgiving is just a week away. I've officially started Christmas shopping, which is a fun process of making lists and comparison pricing. Some years I find it more difficult to shop for one or two of my kids, and I really have to do some research and clandestine investigating. So far it's going well this year, and I haven't run into any problems yet.

Hasbro has a new line of building toys out called KRE-O that look like a lot of fun. My kids love to build things with blocks of all kinds, and Chris and I enjoy joining them too. I particularly like huge model sets with two 75-page instruction manuals. No seriously, I do. Here are a few things I really like about KRE-O:

1. They are compatible with other brick sets. This is a huge deal, and totally genius. Mix and match - I love it!
2. The sets are versatile. The Transformers sets allow you to make either the Transformer robot character, or the corresponding vehicle, how cool is that? Plus my kids love Transformers!
3. The sets come in a variety of prices for every budget, ranging from $7.99 to $59.99.

I know KRE-O sets are something my entire family would enjoy, even Mathilda who, I can imagine, would joyously steal key pieces and throw them down the laundry chute.

While I love Christmas shopping, there are many aspects about the holiday season that just make this time of year magical. This is how I like to keep spirits bright and spread holiday cheer:

1. Christmas music! While I have a full on Christmas music ban in effect until the day after Thanksgiving, after that I will be playing Christmas music often and loudly. We have one or two radio stations in the Detroit area dedicated to Christmas music, plus we have some Cd's. Additionally, we have a few Christmas carol books, and the kids love when we get them out at story time and sing our favorites together.
2. Baking. I love Christmas baking. Every year I carefully choose several cookie recipes, shop for all the ingredients, and get busy. There are some favorites, like sugar cut-outs, and I also like to try something new ever year. The kids get involved, and we like to share with our friends and neighbors.
3. Host at least one holiday get-together. Most years we host two or three. Whether it's Christmas Eve dinner, breakfast on Christmas morning, or a big holiday party in between Christmas and New Year's, we always open our home to family and friends during the holidays. This is the best part for me. It's a lot of work, but so worth it.

What about you? What are your favorite holiday traditions?


I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Hasbro blogging program, for 8,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points and a KRE-O gift. The opinions expressed in this post are mine and don’t necessarily reflect the opinions of SocialMoms or Hasbro. For more information on how you can participate, click here.