I do it and think it's fun. But the elf only moves. No mischief or messes AT ALL. My older kids who stay up late are in charge of moving it because I go to bed much earlier. It's simple and easy and a very fun part of December for us.

My son is 26 and I made them for his first Christmas. I was definitely doing it long before I was on social media.

I don't start it remotely but I do use the timer a whole lot. It works because I don't want the clothes sitting wet for hours. I put dirty clothes in before bed and set it to be finished when I wake up. If I actually started the load before bed they would or could get stinky.

We went to Nashville for spring break a couple years ago (from Nevada where my kids are born and raised) and my teen boy was SO confused by the terms of endearment he was being called. Honestly almost offended but we had to talk him through it and explain it was normal 🤣

I ended up ordering the beach towels with everyones favorite color and name embroidered on it. I did hand towels that say "Grandma's bathroom" for great grandma who is wintering at her daughters house in the same towns as us. I am so relieved to have this figured out so early. I think I will also do Christmas crackers just for fun.

Oh my gosh! These are crazy cute! I think I'm going to get a set with the clay for the kids to do and add to our village.

Thank you! Some good ideas! I am leaning towards Christmas crackers because that does sound fun and easy and relatively cheap. Ok but I want opinions on this. We are big on going to the beach. It's been a yearly thing for many many years. I wanted to do the nice thin Turkish towels I've seen advertised but they were so pricey for this. I stumbled on this etsy listing last night and I keep thinking it has to be too good to be true. The reviews are ok though. Thoughts? https://www.etsy.com/listing/1211704671/personalized-turkish-beach

But I looked and can't find it. It's been quite a few years. I was hoping to look back on it for more ideas for this year. On Christmas Eve we do a big dinner and on our plate is a gift. The gift is either the same for everyone or the same/similar category. This wasn't so hard when it was myself my husband and some kids but some of our kids are grown now and it just gets so hard every year to come up with something. I will list as many of the previous ones as I can remember. We will have babies- great grandma with all ages in between. Santa hats with their name Christmas pillow cases (I sewed them for everyone, each one was different) Personalized ornaments Favorite Team t shirts Blank journals Books Light sabers (toddlers got cheaper ones, babies got a teething ring with a crocheted light saber on it) Insulated tumblers/cups Puzzles T shirts(individual with funny sayings) Rechargeable camping lanterns My mom did this growing up which is where the tradition came from but she never had this kind of age spread to accommodate. I used to keep it under $10 and would love something in that range but know it's not super practical anymore. We will likely have 14-20 some people. Not sure exactly yet. Sometimes my sister in law buys or pays for her family's gift but usually I do it because I like it to be a surprise for as many as possible. At some point we may need to switch to each individual family doing their own but I don't want to do that yet. I would like to be able to keep it up forever. I already sew Christmas pajamas for everyone and they help me so those aren't a surprise. I am pretty crafty, sew, knit and crochet, embroider, scrapbook etc and it's early so I might be able to pull off something hand made. I could do something like bath bombs or something but that doesn't seem super exciting for the men especially. I do have to make a quilt for my son who just got married out of all the Christmas pj fabric scraps from growing up and I'm probably sewing my husband a Santa costume so I don't have excessive amounts of time but I have some. Thanks for any ideas!!!

No I use white. Generally hard white but I have also tried soft white for non bread items. We do whole wheat for most including bread and pancakes/waffles but it's just a few things like biscuits, pizza crust and garlic knots that we just prefer white a lot. I also feed my sourdough starter with white flour. Not really sure why I just always have.

Thank you. We have WinCo here and I usually get my wheat from there so that would be an easy enough change. There are just things I prefer with white flour 😬. I try to do at least 1/3 fresh ground though still. Ive had a wheat grinder for 20+ years and still don't love whole wheat biscuits and things like that.

I have too many Christmas decorations. I have too many Christmas decorations. I have too many Christmas decorations.....

Where is everyone buying organic flour and wheat berries? For reasonable prices etc. I have a wheat grinder but also use white flour for some things.

So so funny. He is my new absolute favorite comedian. I've watched everything I can find multiple times 😜

I had one and loved it. My mom still has it and my kids play with it there 😉

I had mine out at 28 due to problems. I was breastfeeding a baby and chose to only have local anesthesia. It was HORRIBLE. The actual experience plus the recovery. Way way way worse than child birth which I did 10 times (7 of them natural at home). My kids get them out in their late teens.

In my opinion it's not the gluten exactly but the lack of proper processing. Quick rise yeast seemed to be such a blessing but it prevented the long slow rise of sourdough which breaks down the gluten. We feel a big difference when we eat bread etc that is properly soured/prepared. I have close family who has been gluten free for years/decades for health and genetic reasons and can eat sourdough just fine.

Oh not at all. Just offering a different perspective. I do absolutely think it's not something to show with no warning.

Well I took pictures of my baby in her casket. They are sweet and tender with my other kids looking on etc. But I don't go around randomly showing them. Very few people have seen them and they know what they are viewing when they do.

Our local school does this too. It is so stupid. My kids are homeschooled in high school but have done electives and sports a bit.

My doctor would not be ok with that TSH. Optimal is also different than technically in range. But you would need to seek alternative Drs as most wouldn't treat that.

Oh me too! I hate it hate it hate it. I don't mind Halloween itself but I don't know why it has to be gory. It's gross and I feel disrespectful of death and dying. But I find im about the only one.

I only do light reading on a Kindle for a most part. Like novels that it doesn't really matter if I remember it past reading it for the plot. Anything that is more knowledge or research based is done on paper and then I have to limit it to day time and/or use glasses

Yup. I'm only 46 but I can't read real books at night. If there is a lot of light I can with glasses. But my kindle can get the font big enough for my comfortable reading. I wish it wasn't so but it is.

This probably isn't helpful but I estimate it took me ten years to stop craving it/sneaking it. It was HARD. And mine was only Dr pepper. I think something like coffee would be even harder. Good luck. I absolutely believe it is better/worth it. Anyone who needs a substance every day to function is not at optimal health. No offense to anyone but it's my opinion.

Mostly at night but also while waiting for kids a lot. Like they are in lessons and I'm in the car. Gives me 30-45 mins. I don't generally read during the day unless I need to rest/lie down. And I don't feel guilty about that but I have a chronic illness so it's just life. I DO listen to audiobooks a lot during the day while doing menial work like dishes/laundry and while driving by myself. I have no qualms about audiobooks "counting". It's still reading to me. ETA: and I bring a book everywhere so read while waiting say at the Dr office. Sure sometimes I dink around on my phone but I try to not make that a habit and I want my kids to be in the habit of using that for reading time too so we all grab a book or Kindle before we leave. I don't like reading on my phone but I will occasionally have a book on there if I forget one. ETA2: I have had a goal for the last 4-5 years of 50 books a year and I generally make it or come very close. I am currently at 30 so might not make it this year. This only includes books I read or listen to, not ones I read to my kids.