I’ve said it before, and I will say it again… and again: I don’t know what kind of parent takes young children shopping in the wee hours of Black Friday.
Clearly, we can deduce that the parent is frugal, as he or she is willing to do whatever it takes to score a sizeable discount on Black Friday merchandise. In addition, it is probably safe to say that said parent is a law-abiding citizen, especially if the only other option she has is to leave her baby home alone or locked in an unattended car. Both could lead to an arrest and that would be the end of that shopping trip.
Personally, I wouldn’t dare step foot into a mall or any other retail space with or without my young child on Black Friday. I hate being elbowed in the face by complete strangers at 3 a.m. more than I love getting a great deal on a flat-screen HDTV.
While the rest of the world is playing shopping cart demolition derby at Target, Kohl’s, Toys R Us, Best Buy and other big box retailers, I’m home with the kids working on the following activities:
Homemade Countdown to Christmas Calendar
We call them Advent calendars in our home, though if Snoopy and the gang are featured on them, then they are referred to as Countdown to Christmas calendars. The calendar is designed to count down the number of days until Christmas, or in the case of the Advent calendar, you’re celebrating the season and anticipating Christ’s birthday. Either way you can make your own at home instead of shelling out upwards of $60 for one. The simplest design, which is best suited for very young children, is to create a paper chain with red and green construction paper. Cut 12 strips of the red paper and 12 of the green, and then number them from 1 to 24. Next, let your children decorate each link with crayons, markers, glitter, and other embellishments. Finally, hang the paper chain where the kids can reach it. Your children will be removing one link per day from December 1st until Christmas Eve.
Cookie Ornaments
Black Friday is a big baking day in our home. Since we eat leftover Thanksgiving turkey for lunch and dinner, the oven is free to make cookies. However, instead of stuffing ourselves two days in a row, we bake cookies and transform them into ornaments for our Christmas tree. All you need to do is find your favorite sugar cookie recipe, select different Christmas-themed cookie cutters, and get cracking. Don’t forget to place a small hole at the top of the cookies so you can hang them on the tree. You can decorate the cookies with sprinkles or crushed hard candies; however, I don’t recommend using frosting, especially if you live in a warm climate. Once the cookies are decorated you can add some ribbon through the holes and place them on your Christmas tree.
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