Fun, cheap entertainment!!!

Well, for those of you who know me, you know I am all about cheap entertainment! Yesterday, we had one of those afternoons - fun, cheap, and memorable! It all started after school. Parker had a meeting at school (can you believe we have started those??!), so it was just me and Kinlee. For her birthday, she had received a baking kit with cookie cutters, utensils, an apron, etc. With it, she had also gotten some sugar cookie mixes and those cool markers that you write on the cookies with (Thanks, Becky and LB!!). She had been asking since the party to make them, and since I just now have recovered from the party, I figured today would be a good day. So, we had a great time rolling out, cutting, and decorating the cookies. They were our dessert after supper last night. Total cost on our part: $1.25 for the icing we went by the store to pick up!! Not bad!

The REAL family fun came after supper (and cookies)! Every Halloween for the past few years, our family has gone "Booing!" For those of you who have no idea what that is, you fix up Halloween treat bags, print off a boo! poem, and make a ghost shaped sign that says "I've Been Boo'd!" You then take these things to an unsuspecting friend's porch, leave them there, ring the doorbell, and run!!! The idea is that they will put the sign on their door for all to see, enjoy the treatbags, and, in turn, Boo! 2 other people in the neighborhood. It is so much fun to see it "grow" down the street as more and more get boo'd! We had such a good response at Halloween this year, that we decided to go "Jingling" at Christmastime. So, you guessed it, last night was our night to prowl! The adrenaline was pumpin' and we were on a mission. It is so funny to see, though, because as we approach the porch, you get so nervous that you'll get caught. Mark is usually the one to ring the bell. The kids don't even normally make it on the porch at all - they take off as soon as we get close to the house. I know one place we went last night, me AND the kids took off and left Mark on the porch alone! He said he rang the bell, turned around, and we were nowhere to be found! It is so much fun - here is a copy of the letter:

You've Been Jingled

Christmastime is drawing near,

So here's a fun way to share some cheer!

"You've Been Jingled" is the latest sensation

To get a merry start on your holiday celebration!

Choose 2 families and choose them with glee,

Give each an ornament for their family tree.

The "jingling" will spread from home to home

As your family passes on this jingling poem!

What to do:

1. Now that you've been jingled, enjoy your ornament!

2. Hang your "I've Been Jingled" sing on a door or window where it can be seen!

3. In the next few days, make two copies of this page with the poem and instructions, create two "I've Been Jingled" signs, and gather 2 ornaments.

4. Secretly deliver your ornaments, to 2 families who have not yet been "jingled", then watch to see how far this festive, new tradition travels in your town!!! ENJOY!!!

It was so much fun! We always end up laughing hysterically and have a new story or two to tell everytime! (Like at Halloween, when Mark got caught in "tomato fencing" and cut his leg to pieces, or when we got stuck hiding behind some bushes because the people we "Boo'd" decided to hang out on the porch for about 20 minutes after they came out to retreive their goodies!!) I can still picture Parker running like a mad-man last night, and Kinlee hanging so tightly onto my hand that I lost feeling! Again, cheap, fun, and memorable. Total cost: $4 for two ornaments. Total cost of the memories we're making: PRICELESS!!!!