FESTIVUS

During Christmas we spent a lot of time trying to help our 5 year old understand why consumption can be a problem. We spent hours explaining the whole "giving is better than receiving" bag on a kindergarten level. She generally buys it. During her time off from school we spend time together and trade old stuff for new (to us) stuff. The goal is to generally try to instill the concept of modest living and creative frugalism in our home. Hey, isn't that what JC himself woulda done? So this year we challenged ourselves to create something from a commonly trashed item in our neighborhood. Hence...our detergent bottle Christmas tree (see below). We spent a few weeks gathering bottles from local laundromats. It was fun to make and it looked (and smelled) great. As Easter approaches we have already had to fend off the grocery store bombardment of candy displays and other "holiday" accoutrement. Rather than throw the "we don't celebrate___" wet blanket on our kids, we want to help them create fun alternatives for themselves. Hear is to hoping.

We generally skip Easter and go straight to Earth Day. This year, thanks to peers and Duane Reade, our young one has taken notice and is not letting it slide. We are at a loss. So we thought it would be great to hear ideas for fun and frugal ways to celebrate Easter, Earth Day, First Day of Spring or whatever your family's next holiday may be. (Though I, for one, will not front on those yummy jellybeans) Please share!