Have you ever felt like Scrooge when the holidays are coming up?!? I have had my share of seasons! One year, I was dealing with a slumlord and lived in a house rental where I couldn't imagine celebrating much of anything. The house had so many issues that living there daily caused me & my family so much stress and anxiety! So, the thought of my kids waking up on Christmas morning in this house made me angry and kept me full of bitterness & disappointment (Scrooge mode). Also, this year, we had an additional teen (our beautiful niece) living with us, so I knew I had to shake off my winter blues. I needed a game plan to get me some holiday cheer and the ability not to walk around mumbling 'bah humbug' all December!
Rewind to Valentine's Day, I won an IG contest from #ilovehsv, and one of the prizes was a one-night hotel stay at a new local hotel downtown. I figured this was a great way to cash in my reward! So, after booking the hotel, I started looking up fun games and ideas for families traveling for Christmas. This opened Pandora's box of creative fun that sparked my holiday cheer and delight! I got SO wrapped up in surprising my family that I forgot about the housing debacle for a few days!
On Christmas Eve, I checked in and got to work! Earlier that month, I shopped at Five Below to get matching PJs, which worked perfectly. Dollar Tree is always a holiday go-to! There, I grabbed five candies, socks, mugs, stockings, and other treats. I grabbed those goodies and added them to everyone's own overnight basket. The little details I printed, cut, wrapped, created, and cooked were nothing shy of a "Christmas Miracle" because I was not in any festive spirit leading up to this.
I'm not a big cooker, but I love a good crockpot meal! And I love trying new recipes for the family. Since it was a Christmas party, we had three different dips - queso, corn, and spinach & artichoke- right in our hotel! One of the highlights was setting up a Christmas Scavenger Hunt I found online. I hid clues throughout the room and the hotel lobby. The prize from the hunt led them to a Wrapped Bubble Surprise! We had never heard of the Saran Wrap Game, but playing the Christmas version of this made it magical!
A Christmas headed toward the Grinch's lair was redirected and turned out to be one of the best holiday parties KayDi's Events has ever hosted!
