Christmas SALE!-Family Fun Friday Book!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

As a thank you for all your support and friendship, Family Fun Friday Game and Activity Book (pdf version) is on SALE for $4.99, from now until Christmas. That's 50% OFF. Featured on KSL Studio 5, The Matt Townsend Show, and numberous blogs and websites, families rave about Family Fun Friday's.

$4.99 for over 90 pages of unique fun for your family. And remember, most games and activities use supplies that are already in your home and are perfect for families with members of all ages. Even your little ones and your teenagers will not only be able to play, but they will WANT TO PLAY!

The sale is for the digital download which is perfect because it means you will have your book and all the amazing games and activities in time for your holiday celebrations with family and friends.

Family Fun Friday's has never been sold for this price, so grab it quick and start playing with your family TODAY.

Click here, or click on the red BUY THE BOOK tab at the top right of the page. Simply choose the pdf download version of the book and enter familyvolleyfun in the Discount Code box in the bottom left corner of the screen and the book is all yours.

You and your family are going to love playing together!

Elf on the Shelf-Ideas for Where to Put Your Elf (Week Two)

Time for more Elf on the Shelf Ideas for you to use at your house. Remember, if you are following along, Family Volley is taking the guess work out of where to put your elf this holiday season. Here are 7 more ideas for the upcoming week.

1. Set your elf up to have a snow ball fight with another toy. Use blocks or lego's and make two little walls and have the elf and the other toy stand behind their respected walls. Then, scatter some mini marshmallows around the scene.

2. Photo Booth: make a few tiny photo booth props. A mustache on a stick would do the trick. Then have your elf posing with the prop. You could make a few extras and have your elf posing with a few stuffed animal or Barbie friends.

3. Set your elf up holding a small pair of scissors, cutting a snow flake out of paper. Be sure you put another finished snowflake next to him too.

4. Using candies or cereal have your elf spell out a message to for your kids. "Be Good", "Happy Holiday's", etc...

5. Set your elf up working on the computer.

6. Set your elf up doing a puzzle.

7. Using big Marshmallows, have your elf building a snow man. They make jumbo size marshmallows now also. Those would work even better.

I would love to hear your favorite Elf on the Shelf ideas. Share it with us in the comments, or email me, and I will include it next week with a shout out to you.

Elf on the Shelf-Ideas for Where to Put Your Elf (Week One)

December 1 is here, which means many houses will start their Elf on the Shelf tradition this week. (If you are unfamiliar with Elf on the Shelf, see this post to tell you more about it and give you some fun modifications you can use in your house).

One of the biggest complaints from parents is that they want to do Elf on the Shelf, but they run out of places to put him. Which seems pretty normal seeing as how you have to come up with 24-25 ideas. That can be a lot. Especially will all of the other responsibilities that come with the holiday season.

Well, look no further. Family Volley is here to help. Every Saturday I will post a weeks worth of locations for your elf. This will take all the guess work out of your tradition. If this has been a tradition that you have wanted to start, now is the perfect time. Even if you don't start December 1. Just start. You kids will love it. 

Get ready to have some fun!

1. Let your Elf arrive in style. Use a Kleenex/ paper towel/ or small scrap of fabric and some string to make a parachute for your little elf. Hang him from a ceiling fan, light, hook, any where. Tuck a little note in his arms announcing his arrival for the season.

2. Place your elf next to the calendar. Give him a pen and have him circle Christmas Day. You can include a little note about how "he will be watching over everyone for the next few weeks." 

3. Prop your Elf up and have him reading the toy catalog. 

4. Put your Elf in the bathroom, wrapped up in a pile of toilet paper. 

5. Set out the cereal bowls and cereal and have your elf eating some breakfast.

6. Set your elf up in the bathroom, getting ready to brush his teeth.

7. Place your elf next to other friends in the house. Have him join other stuffed animals and action figures, "Toy Story" style. They can be having a little tea party, playing a game, or building a tower together.  

Does your house celebrate with the Elf on the Shelf? 

Merry Christmas to All, and to All a Good Night.

Opening her very first present on Christmas Eve. 

With children nestled all snug in their beds, we are calling it a day. 

I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas. 

FAMILY FUN FRIDAY-Red Nosed Reindeer!

You will love this game. It is perfect for the holiday season. Think of it as a Christmas version of Shoveling Snow. 

YOU WILL NEED

Red Pom Poms

Because Rudolph was a red nosed reindeer. 

In a pinch, any color could be used here also.

Vaseline

 Red Ribbon

Any color ribbon will work, but red is great because it is christ-mas-y.

Reindeer Antlers

Although not necessary to play, they would be a very festive addition if you happen to have some sitting around. 

PREPARATION

1. Take your red ribbon and cut it about 15 or 16 inches long. Small children will need a shorter ribbon. 

2. Attach a pom pom to the end of your cut ribbon. A hot glue gun would be perfect for this job. 

3. If you have reindeer antlers, have the first player put them on their head.

LETS PLAY

1. The first player, using only their nose, has to dip their nose in the Vaseline. the more vaseline, the better. Players are NOT allowed to use anything but their nose, to apply the vaseline. That includes using their hands to hold the vaseline container. 

2. Once the player has vaseline on their nose, they take the ribbon (the end without the pom pom) and hold the very end in their mouth. No cheating here. Grab that ribbon right down at the end. The ribbon should be hanging down towards the floor with the pom pom at the bottom. 

3. Now comes the challenge. The player, must swing the ribbon/red pom pom and get the pom pom to stick to their nose. 

RULES TO REMEMBER

1. The pom pom and ribbon cannot touch any other part of the players body, except their nose. If it touches another body part, or another part of the players face, and sticks to their nose, it doesn't count.

2. NO HANDS ALLOWED. If a player touches the pom pom with their hands, their turn is over. 

TO KEEP SCORE 

(aka HOW TO WIN)

1. Set a time limit and see how many times each player can stick the pom pom to their nose in the given amount of time. 

2. Set a number limit. For example 10. Time each person and see how long it takes them to get the pom pom to stick 10 times. Who ever does it the fastest is the winner.  

Family Members young and old will love this game. Perfect for upcoming Seasonal, family gatherings. If you play, be sure you take pictures. I would love to see all the fun you are having.  

Do you have any fun weekend plans? What are you and your family doing this weekend?

Can You Have Christ and Santa In the Same Holiday? A Family Activity.

What a wonderful time of year. The Spirit of Christmas is all around us. We can see it, and smell it, and taste it.

It can also be a tricky time of year for parents who are trying to navigate Christ and Santa. In our home, Christ is the reason for the season, but, what about Santa? Can you have Santa and Christ at the same time?

We are not against Santa. My husband and I both grew up with Santa, and are just fine with our kids "believing", but, we don't want Santa to be more important than The Birth of Our Savior Jesus Christ.

We always think of Christ and Santa as opposites, but do they have to be opposites. Here is a fun activity (inspired by a recent Sunday School lesson) you can do with your families to better navigate the two.

You Will Need...

• A picture of Christ wearing Red or White. Which is most pictures of Christ. A couple pictures would be great. My favorite is the picture of Christ knocking at the door with no door knob. 
• You can also round up pictures of the following, or the real objects if you have them. (Wreath, Evergreen tree, Candy cane, star, gifts, and any other symbol of Christmas you want to include)

Hide the picture of Christ so that your kids can't see it. Even better, put it behind something your kids can open.

Then begin to explain that...
"A very special guest could visit our house soon. I am going to give you some clues about him and you guess who it is."

- this visitor has a beard
- he loves children
- he knows if you are sleeping, he knows when you are awake, he knows if you have been bad or good
- you usually see pictures of him in Red and/or White clothes
- he has special gifts for all of us
- he can come into our homes even when the doors are locked
- you can never see him, but you can feel him
- he hopes we will be good so we can be ready when he comes.
- he gives us a wonderful warm feeling inside
- he has special powers

It will only be natural that your kids will guess that your visitor is Santa. At this point, have one of your children uncover your picture of Christ, or "open" what ever is hiding the picture.

The kids will be very surprised to see a picture of Christ, and more surprised to realize all the similarities between Christ and Santa. Take a few minutes and talk about how the clues apply to both.

Take some time to teach your children that we can be reminded of Christ through lots of different Christmas symbols, even Santa. (Think love, service, kindness, faith and hope and believing in things you can't see). Yes, Santa can remind us of Christ and the true meaning of Christmas. Talk about other symbols of Christmas that remind us of Christ and his birth. (Evergreen trees, candy canes, wreath, star, gifts, etc...)

Your kids will love this activity, and you will love its ability to focus on Christ, yet include the idea of Santa during this Holiday season.

Is Santa part of your Christmas celebration?

Would this work at your house?

How do you keep your kids focused on the true meaning of Christmas?

Family Traditions - The Passing of Ornaments

Years ago, 33 years to be exact, my grandmother started a tradition. Every year at Christmas she would give me a new Christmas ornament. It was one of my favorite parts of the holiday.

The ornaments were always different. They usually included the year. Sometimes on the back, sometimes on the front. 

They might represent hobbies I was enjoying that year, sports I played, vacations we might have taken, or vacations my grandparents had taken. Or they reminded my grandmother of me. Some were funny, some were sweet. Each one was perfect. Much thought and love was put into every choice. 

As a child, when my mom pulled out the ornaments to decorate our tree, I would sit down to reminisce. I loved looking at all the ornaments and talking about them. Remembering where they were from and why my grandma gave them to me. 

When my husband and I got married we received lots of very nice gifts. Perhaps the most special of them all, came in a big silver box from my mother. 

She had taken all the ornaments that my grandmother had given to me over the years, all of them, and gave them to my husband and me. That had been the plan all along.

Our first Christmas we didn't have a naked tree. We had a tree filled with beautiful ornaments and memories. I sat with my husband and he patiently listened as I told him about each one. We carefully hung them and felt gratitude for the "full" tree and "full" hearts we had that year. 

When we had our first child my grandmother continued the tradition with him. He got one ornament before she passed away.

My grandfather carried on the tradition until he passed away, and now my mother has taken over. 

The grandkids get ornaments each year from my mother, their grandmother. 

I am not looking forward to them getting married any time soon. I am still coming to grips with the fact that our oldest is 8. (I know I just birthed him yesterday.)

I am looking forward to the day that I can wrap up all their ornaments in a silver box and give them their collection. I hope it brings them joy and peace and feelings of gratitude, just as it has for me, each and every Christmas Season. 

Do you have any favorite family traditions?

FAMILY FUN FRIDAY! Gingerbread Houses

Every year, before Christmas, our family gets together to make gingerbread houses. It is one of our family's favorite holiday traditions. 

You Will Need

*Graham Crackers.

*Anything and Everything for decorating.

*Cement Frosting. Recipe to Follow. 

*Cardboard covered in tin foil. One large piece for every person.
   

Take your cardboard and cover it in tinfoil. This will be your base. 

Gather all the GOODS. We open the panty and grab everything we can see. This is a perfect way to use left over Halloween Candy too.

Make the Frosting. Let me tell you. This is the best gingerbread house frosting EVER. Works every time and it tastes good (for when you have to lick your hands).

1 Batch of Cement Frosting. 

1lb. powdered sugar

3 egg whites

1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar.

Add all together and beat on medium high speed for 7-9 minutes. I always beat for 9 minutes. Put it into a piping bag (or a ziplock will work), snip the end to make a tip, and start decorating. 

There were 8 people making houses tonight and I made 4 batches of the frosting. You don't have to make each batch separately. I put the ingredients for all four batches in together.

Give everyone a piece of cardboard, a pack of graham crackers and a bag of frosting. 

LET THE FUN BEGIN!!!

Just getting started. Look at that concentration.  

***FUN MODIFICATION***

To switch things up a bit. Put the names of different buildings into a hat and let everyone choose what it is they are going to make. For example. Town hall, post office, grocery store (general store), church, house, etc. What ever you pick is what you make. When everyone is done you will have made your own little town. You can even get a cloth, or big board and put everything on display. Once everyone is done with their buildings, help make roads and street signs. Don't forget the trees. Sometimes it is hard for people to think of something to do. This will help give some structure and guidelines. 

Have a wonderful weekend.

Christmas is only a week away. Yikes!

Home for the Holidays-Family Activities

The kids will be out of school in a day or two. That means they will be home all day, ready for some holiday fun. It is a great time of year to draw closer to one another, serve others and have some fun. I put together a list of 21 of our favorite ideas for family fun. Put them on your list and check them twice.

Don't miss my favorites: #2, #3, #4, #9, #12, #14, #16, #17, #19. I have lots of favorites. Wink.

**If you have an advent calendar, why not replace some of the candy and treats with slips of paper that list some of these fun family activities. Your kids will love the time together. **

1. Family Movie Night. Watch a favorite Christmas movie together. Don’t forget the popcorn.

2. Drive around town and look at Christmas lights. Take a little treat for the house with the "Best Christmas Lights". Leave it on their porch with a little note. Make hot chocolate for everyone and take it with you to drink as you go. Make sure the cups have lids to avoid the spills. The paper cups with lids that they sell at the grocery store work great. 

3. Read about holiday traditions around the world. Teach your children where their ancestors came from and learn about the traditions there. You could even make a traditional treat from the country. It is very easy to find recipes on line.

4. Make Christmas sugar cookies. Let the kids help decorate. Even your little ones can help. Not only can they decorate, but frost also. Just have them use the back of a spoon instead of a knife.

5. Bake a treat (like the cookies above) and deliver them to a few of your neighbors.

6. Go caroling. While you're delivering the cookies to your neighbors sing them a little song. It might put your family a little out of their comfort zone, but it a great opportunity for your family to do something hard together. And it will provide a lot of laughs.

7. Write letters to Santa. Drop them off at your local mall. 

8. Make Rice Krispie Treats, or popcorn balls. Add crushed pieces of candy cane to make them festive.

9. Make ornaments for the birds. Simple sugar cookies will work. Before you bake them, take a straw and put a little hole toward the top. Make sure it is big enough to not close up when they bake. Over-bake them so they are brown and crispy. String a thread through the hole and let the kids hang them outside in your trees. Be sure you put them by a window so your kids can watch the birds eat. We like to spread ours with peanut butter once they cool. The birds love it. You could also pick up some pinecones from outside and cover those in peanut butter, then hang them. If you have birdseed lying around, roll the peanut butter cones in seeds before you hang them.

10. Have a little outside snow party. Bundle up and sit on the porch and drink hot chocolate.

11. Have a hot chocolate party. Make a few different types of hot chocolate and let everyone decide what they want to put in theirs. Candy canes, shaved chocolate pieces, sprinkles, mint extract, whipped cream. The possibilities are endless.

12. Ask the kids to collect all the toys they don’t like or play with any more. Donate them to kids in need. Take the kids with you to make the donation. It will make a big impression on them. This will also help un-clutter your house. You can also do a Sub for Santa and provide Christmas for another family. 

13. Visit the senior citizens center or local hospital and sing to the patients. Be sure you call first to find out what their policies are.

14. Turn on some holiday music and play Freeze Dance. You kids will love it. You control the music, when you turn it on, your kids dance around the room however they want. When you stop the music they have to freeze and stay in the position. Have everyone look around and laugh as they look at the silly faces and positions everyone has found themselves in. It doesn’t matter the age, all kids “feel” music and will move with it. Our kids could play this for hours. You can get active also. Instead of sitting while they play. Get up and dance with them.

15. Make a paper chain to countdown to Christmas. Just link strips of paper together and have the kids take one off each day until Santa makes his appearance.

16. Make gingerbread houses. We have made this a family tradition. Grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles and cousins alike. We are doing this tomorrow. I will post pictures and give you the best cement frosting recipe ever.

17. Head to your local library and check out a bunch of holiday books. Read a different one each night before bed. Or, sit down for a little read-a-thon and read all of them at one time. This could be a great Christmas Eve tradition. Don’t forget the popcorn and hot chocolate.

18. Help your kids make homemade gifts for the family. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Let them get creative. 

19. Don’t want to make the gifts. Take each of the kids to the mall for their own little shopping trip. Or better yet, take them to the dollar store and let them shop for family members. They can choose what ever they want and you don’t have to tell them no because it is too expensive.

20. When it snows, build a snowman. Go sledding. Make snow angels.

21. Make Rice Krispie Treat Trees. Make regular rice krispie treats but add some green food coloring to the melted marshmallow. Add the crisp cereal and spread evenly in a 9x13 inch pan. While they are still warm, use a tree shaped cookie cutter to cut out the trees. Have some little candies like M&M’s ready and let the kids decorate the trees. 

WHICH ACTIVITIES WILL YOUR FAMILY ENJOY?
DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVORITES WE SHOULD ADD TO THE LIST?

FAMILY FUN FRIDAY! Elf on the Shelf- Modification Included

This is a FUN FAMILY TRADITION. 

It's not too late to start this year. 

You Will Need...

One Elf

Any Elf will do. It can be a girl elf or a boy elf, old or new. A good place to find your elf, your grandparents house. They seem to always have the perfect elf sitting around. 

How To Play...

First...Name your elf. That will give him his magic powers and bring him to life. 

Next...Explain the rules. 

*Every Christmas season the elf leaves the North Pole and comes to your house. The elf's job is to be the eyes and ears for Santa. Santa can't be everywhere to see who is naughty and nice. He needs his elf on the shelf to help.

*The elf listens and watches and then gives a report back to Santa.

*Each night, the elf flies home to the North Pole and gives his report. 

*The elf arrives back at the house every day in a different location, ready to watch and listen again. 

*Children are not allowed to touch the elf. If they do his Christmas magic will disappear. 

*The elf does not speak to children, but he can and does speak with parents. 

*Parents can send and receive messages from Santa through the elf.

To recap...Every day the elf will appear on a different "shelf". Or in a different location in your home. The elf is there to watch over your children and see if they are being naughty or nice. The elf flies back to the North Pole every night and gives his report to Santa. Then he flies back and reappears the next day in a new location in your home. On Christmas Eve the elf can either fly home for good, until next year, or he can come back for Christmas Day to watch the children open their gifts. You decide. 

Added benefits...

Your children will look forward to this tradition every year. They will absolutely LOVE. IT. 

You will find that your children actually behave better. Not wanting the Elf to give Santa a negative report.

There will be a lot of excitement around "finding" the elf each day in his new location.

Modification...

You don't have to celebrate Christmas or Santa to have your own "elf on a shelf". And, if you do celebrate Christmas but don't want the focus to be so much on the commercialism but more on Christ, this will still work great in your home. Choose a different character or object to watch over your family. Instead of emphasizing the naughty or nice, have your character watch for ways that family members or children serve one another, good deeds children do, and situations where children are being obedient. Your character can report to parents or magically write about the kindness on a family chart that is on display. Instead of making it an individual "competition" see if your children can collectively fill up the chart with good deeds and when they do, do something fun together as a family. When the chart is full read through all the good that has been done. It will be fun for your family to re-live all the great things they have done for one another. (You could also fill a jar with slips of paper where the good works are written. You could fill a glass jar with marbles or candies for each good thing done, etc...)

Remember...

As with all family traditions, make it your own. Do what works best for you. Modify. 

Don't like the idea of Santa, no big deal (see the modification above). Don't like elves, use something else. Think outside the box when you find places for the elf to observe. You don't have to make this a "heavy" tradition. Meaning, you don't need to use the elf as a threat, constantly pointing out the elf and his watchful eye. Keep it fun and light with gentle reminders and you will see that children naturally want to be good and do good. 

DO ANY OF YOU HAVE THE ELF ON THE SHELF TRADITION?

WHAT MODIFICATIONS HAVE YOU MADE?

I would love to hear if you adopt this tradition in your home. Le me know how it goes. 

Don't Mess With Holiday Traditions - To Wrap or Not To Wrap

Christmas Morning 2009

Waiting to see if Santa came.

Christmas Eve 5 years ago. Our son was three and a half and we knew that this year he would remember what happened at Christmas. It had to be perfect. 

It was late and the kids were fast asleep. I sat down to start getting Santa's gifts ready. I was surrounded by bags when my husband walked into the room.

"Where is the wrapping paper and I will help you"? He said.

"I would love some help, thanks".

"Okay, so where is the wrapping paper"?

"There is a little down stairs, why"?

"To wrap the gifts." he said.

"What gifts". I said, concerned.

"From Santa". He responded.

I laughed, "What? Santa doesn't wrap his gifts". I said.

"Yes, he does". My husband said.

"OH. NO. HE. DOESN'T". I said.

"OH. YES. HE. DOES". My husband said.

And so it continued, for the next FIVE hours, into the wee hours of the morning. We went back and forth and back and forth and back and forth over this Christmas tradition.

You see, when Santa came to my house as a child, gifts were not wrapped. They were set out by child and each of us had a special spot in the room. My gifts were on the chair, and my brother's gifts shared the couch. The small gifts in our stockings were sometimes wrapped, but the main gifts from Santa, THEY WERE NEVER WRAPPED. SANTA DOESN'T WRAP GIFTS.

My husband completely disagreed. In his house growing up, Santa wrapped everything.

How silly. That didn't even make sense to me. Still doesn't for that matter. Never the less, that was my husband's tradition and he wanted to see it carried on to our family as badly as I wanted to see my Santa tradition carried on.

I had dreamed of the day that our kids would run down the stairs to see their gifts on display.

My husband and I don't scream and yell at one another when we disagree, and we didn't that night either, although we got close. Really close. I can tell you there was a lot of crying (by me), and going to bed at 4 am on Christmas Eve does not make for a very enjoyable Christmas Day.

We argued our cases and the more I cried (I mean talked) the more I realized how strongly our beliefs stemmed from our traditions growing up.

We were at a stand still. No one wanted to move. How could we, you don't challenge Christmas Traditions. In fact, I didn't even know I cared whether Santa wrapped his gifts or not until my husband challenged my tradition.

If we wrapped Santa's gifts our kids would miss out on all the great Christmas memories I had growing up. I knew that what ever we choose that night would have to be the tradition forever. We couldn't switch back and forth.

That was the worst Christmas I have ever had. I woke up after only two and a half hours sleep, frustrated, hurt and still upset. I faked it all day long.

For most families November and December are filled with more family traditions than any other time of year. Traditions passed on through generations. Traditions that mean so much to us that we make sacrifices of time and energy, money and sleep, to make sure they happen. 

You don't dare mess with holiday traditions. In fact, for couples, compromising on holiday traditions brings more contention than money or intimacy. That is a lot of stress. Questions like, Where do we spend Christmas, do we open one gift on Christmas Eve, do we give matching pajamas to everyone in the family? 

How can we ease the frustrations that come over holiday traditions?

Two things...

1. Talk about your expectations for holidays and traditions before they hit. Discuss what means the most to you and why. Remember, you are not the only one with traditions that you love. Your spouse has his/her favorites also. Talk about it in advance. It would have been a lot easier to talk to my husband about all of this in July, instead of on Christmas Eve. 

2. Create your own family traditions.

It is natural to carry on your family traditions. It is important. Research shows we take about 50% of what we did in our families growing up, with us when we get married. We just don't want to get caught up in keeping score. Your traditions or mine. 

The best thing to do, create some of your own traditions. Unique to your family. Traditions that don't belong to either of your families. New traditions just for you. 

For example... My husband spent a few years in Germany. His time there made a huge impact on him. It only makes sense that we incorporate some German Christmas traditions into our family. My parents don't do that. His parents don't do that. They are only our traditions. A challenge:  This year, establish a new family tradition, unique to you.

In your house, DOES SANTA WRAP HIS GIFTS OR NOT? I MUST KNOW.

HAVE YOU EVER DISAGREED ON A TRADITION?

***An added note***

At 4 am a settlement had been reached. Around 3:30 am, amongst much anguish, something hit me. I realized that my husband had never, ever fought for any of his family traditions before. Ever. Our family has carried on traditions my family grew up doing. My husband likes them, he is fine with that. But I realized that he had never cared enough to fight before. If it meant so much to him that he was willing to fight for it, then it was important we did it the way he wanted. In our house Santa now wraps his gifts.