Dec 5, 2017

A Freeschoolin' Holiday & FREE Colouring Pages!

Illustration by Wendy Elizabeth Hart

We are on a quest to find ways to celebrate the happiest, healthiest Holiday possible!

Over the years we've experienced some amazing holidays but as our values have evolved, so have our ways of thinking about celebrations. This year, our goal is to eliminate as much of what we don't need anymore to make room for new, more simple ways to acknowledge the holidays and also re-evaluate clearly what we are celebrating at this time of year. Here's how we aim to achieve this year's ideal holiday celebration. Food

During the holidays the weather gets colder and it's easier to get sick, so nutrition rather than indulgence is our focus. Sure, there will be organic chocolate floating around, but not to excess and not in place of good fuel. This year we will just have a simple, healthy dinner like organic, homemade Sweet Potato Macaroni and Cheese. We'll bake some organic cookies for presents but avoid a sugar overload.

Activities

Frugal is the key here as we're saving up for a vehicle. We plan on doing a drive with organic hot chocolate and snacks to see holiday lights, getting second hand skates and a sled and going skating and sledding and checking out the new local playplaces. We also want to go swimming in a public indoor pool; something we've never done before as a family. Of course we'll decorate, craft and get into holiday movies and shows; our favorite traditions. We have family coming to visit early in December as well which will also be festive fun.

Decorations

I purged all the old decorations that I'd been carrying around for years for sentimental value and am not going with anything new in plastic or synthetic materials in the future. Lights that will last years are acceptable. I am working with what I have this year; not buying any new decorations at all. I am making greenery arrangements with cedar and pine boughs and a natural wreath to enhance our home. It's already looking so lovely!

Gifts

We're going with more presence rather than presents. Hope will get a few things she's asked for, we're doing simple stockings and we're gift exchanging with a little family but that is the extend of our physical gifting this year. We make cookies, photo packages, greenery arrangements, ornaments and other crafts to give away instead of buying things. Gifts from the heart, from the Harts.

Speaking of Gifts, here are 2 brand new colouring pages available to download FREE!