A Christmas Tradition..

Typically on Christmas, the family gathers in the morning, eats breakfast, takes turns giving, and then goes our separate ways by 11 or 12...including my kids (they go to their dads). So that leaves pretty much the entire rest of the day open.

Not having the kids on Christmas started of course when I left their dad in '08. My sister was living with me at the time, so it helped ease the void. Naturally, our go-to is going out and doing something fun, but we never have money at Christmas so it has to be something free. Looking at our options, we had rain, a car, golf clubs and a bat bag in the trunk, and a park near by. Golfing in the rain it is.

This has now become a must every year and I get all giddy if it is raining on Christmas day. One year we walked on to a golf course and just played till we got bored. Lots of divots that day. One year we played at a parked filled with geese, ducks, ponds, and playgrounds...all just hazards in the game. I think I managed to break 2 or 3 clubs that year. Doesnt really matter where...as long as houses and cars wont be injured...

True to form, we busted out the clubs and the golf balls I bought at a yardsale  and trekked over to our local baseball park. This was awesome. The goal was to hit it clear over the backstop and over the homerun fence. Its not as easy when its raining and bitterly cold. Cant tell you how many balls we sliced to the other diamond...or into the bleachers.

 I must say...retrieving the balls was half the fun for me. Mud, squishy grass, HUGE puddles. The EXACT reason I always wear steel-toe rubber boots...ya never know when yer gonna need em!

We found MOST of the balls we started with, plus, someone ELSE's totally jacked up ball. Its a momento for another successful Christmas spent golfing in the rain :)

Easy Mistletoe Craft

Decorating a doorway with mistletoe is an old tradition...and very simple to do! 

Step 1: Look for the only green spots left in the trees. After all the leaves have fallen, it is very easy to spot. Cut it down with tree trimmers. Either cut small portions for personal use or the whole bundle to make a lot :) 

Step 2: Trim the branches leaving enough stem to tie them together.

Step 3: Separate your trimmings into big and small piles. (IF you cut down the whole bundle that is) I used the bigger ones to make fancier decorations (that Im selling for $2) and the smaller ones for a more simple look (selling for $1).

Step 4:  Pick out 2-3 branches from the same pile and bind them using bread ties, pipe cleaners, ribbon, string, or anything you have that is strong enough. Using the same ribbon you are going to use for decorating will work as long as its tight enough for them not to slip thru.

 Step 5: Make a small loop for hanging before tying ribbon around mistletoe, using the same ribbon to make a bow.

Step 6: Decorate! Ribbon scraps are excellent for this project. you can also get festive ribbon at the Dollar Store. 

Fun Extras: I used some jingly bells and silver star garland that I also found at the Dollar Store. You can twist the wire garland around your finger to give it a spiral look. 

 

 

 Small and simple ones