My mom and I have a time honored tradition of going shopping the day after thanksgiving. We used to go for 4 or 5 hours and I don’t think we’ve missed a year since I was in high school. We have waited in long, long lines. We have gotten free prizes for being insane enough to drag ourselves out of bed at 5 AM…mind you it used to be 6 AM. A few years ago however, retailers realized if people were crazy enough to start shopping at 6:00 then they were probably willing to give up one more hour of sleep. Don’t get me wrong, we have snatched up great deals on lots of things over the years. Especially the super sock sale at Fred Meyer, Kyler’s little chubby feet have long grown out of his socks but we are holding out for fresh ones the day after Thanksgiving. Socks are tough to find used, they tend to just wear out.

But as Christopher and I continue to find our own way and think about life and how we want to shape our family, one thing that constantly surfaces is a desire to be content with what we have and to not be sucked up by the materialism that has overtaken our country. Simple is almost always better. We have purged many, maybe most of our toys in recent months. Especially all the junky, cheap, plastic kind. What we have left is wood blocks, wooden train tracks and trains, wood puzzles, dress up/pretend play supplies, and a giraffe for Audrey named Sophie. So heading into the holiday season, wanting more than anything to pass on a legacy of what matters to our children and build new traditions that are uniquely ours, I have so much swirling around in my head on the matter. One place I love reading, with great ideas and thoughts on simple living, is called Mustard Seed Associates.

That’s where I found the link to “Make Something Day“. I love it. I am challenging myself to keep the list minimal for the 29th and to be inspired to make new efforts in the area of making instead of buying. I’ll keep you posted on how it works out!