This is a sponsored post on behalf of Dollar General.
All opinions are my own and were not influenced by any parties.
December is a month filled with parties, shopping, decorating, baking — just lots of craziness. I’ve done this myself for years, and by the time Christmas is here, I am wiped and just done with it all. This year, I decided not to let that happen for my kids and me.
Instead of getting hung up on the busy work of the holidays, this year, I am focusing more time on my kids. I decided to spend more time with them doing things they love. And, since we are on a budget, I want to find things we can do that keep the wallet in check.
That means we don’t rush to all of the big shows or holiday events around our city. They can be fun, but they can also really hit the wallet hard. Instead, I found things I can do with my kids that are fun and affordable!
One place that we like to check out for fun things to do is visit our local Dollar General. Wait, what? Dollar General for creative things to do?
Yep! You would be shocked at what you can find there!
I wanted to surprise my daughter with some crafts. I saw some on Pinterest, but sometimes, taking the time to find all of the items and then figure out how to make it can be a bit too much. I love to purchase ready to make craft kits. That way, we’ve got everything we need in one kit that is ready to assemble.
I wasn’t sure if what all I could find, but, after a little looking around, I found several things for my daughter to make – nothing that cost me more than $5!! Most items ended up being just $1!
When she opened the sack and saw all of the goodies inside, she was so excited! The first thing she grabbed to work on was the Gingerbread house (which did not surprise me at all).
It came with all of the pieces she needed, and she was able to create it without needing any help from me. She had so much fun, and now, it sits on her desk in her room as her own Christmas decoration!!
The next day, she got into the sack and decided to color the wooden penguin and ornaments and color her velvet poster. The kits were only $1 each (so affordable – even for school parties) and included the markers she needed.
When it was time for another project, she decided to make a silhouette ornament of our little Yorkie, Jade. She loves that her little face image is now hanging on our Christmas tree.
We’ve got other things she is going to do later this month. She is going to do Shrinking Plastic ornaments (I did not even know they still made these because I made them when I was a kid). She will even get to paint some small ceramic ornaments.
Another thing we do that costs nothing at all is celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas. No, we don’t sing the song. For us, it is finding a way to be more present. Each day we are doing something fun and new from baking to watching movies to reading some of their favorite books. Download yours HERE.
The holidays don’t have to be a crazy time of the year. Take the time to do some things with your kids. They will never remember what was under the tree for them, but they will always recall what you did with them to make the holiday season special.
Make a Dollar General run and check out the crafts you can find at your store. Your kids will LOVE them (and so will your wallet).