PLANNING FOR FUN THIS SEASON

DO YOU HAVE A PLAN FOR THIS SEASON?

We often say that we want to do certain things at different times of the year. In the summer, maybe we want to make sure we spend lots of time outside. During the fall, we might want to go apple or pumpkin picking. Then in the winter, we often have plenty of ideas of holiday-related activities we would like to do. Instead of doing something you would really enjoy, you can get caught up in all of the other things that take up your days. Or you might even just spend the day not doing much of anything. This happens if we just let the time go by without planning what we want to do with our time.

Just as we put productive things on our schedule that we want to get done, we should make sure to plan time specifically for fun in our schedule. Having a plan can be even more important when you have a family with different schedules. If you are not intentional about when everyone can be available to do something together, the days can easily get away from you.

SCHEDULING FUN IS FUN

Often planning for fun things to do can be just as much fun as the actual activity. There is fun in planning. Having something to look forward to creates more happiness in your life. If you are having a rough day, thinking about what you have planned can take away some of the stress you are feeling. It’s always nice to have something to look forward to and get excited about. Planning for seasonal activities can be even a little bit more fun since they only occur at certain times of the year. So, it can make the activities feel more special.

“WE SHOULD” USUALLY DOESN’T LEAD TO ANYTHING HAPPENING

With good intentions, we often say “we should”. We should go apple picking this fall.  Maybe we should have a family game night this week.  We should check out that new restaurant.  We should go to a holiday craft fair. How often do we say “we should” and it never happens? While we really mean that we should do these things, and we really want to do these things, they often don’t happen because we don’t put them on our schedule. We all lead busy lives and there is always something else that can take up our time. When we say we should do something that would be fun, taking the time to put it on the calendar will make it much more likely to happen.

Recently, I saw an advertisement on Facebook for a local fall craft fair. I checked the date and time and found that me and my daughters were actually all going to be free. Instead of just looking at it and saying, oh maybe we should do that, I took a minute to put it on my calendar right away and told the girls we would be going. We ended up having a really nice time walking around the craft fair and then went out for lunch afterward. Had I not taken action and put the event on the calendar and told them about it, the day would have come and gone and we would have missed the opportunity to do something together.

IF YOU PUT IN A LITTLE EFFORT, YOU CAN USUALLY FIND SOME TIME

We often think that we don’t have time to fit in things just for fun.  It can especially feel this way during very busy times of life such as during the holidays. Maybe you might not have time to spend several days lounging out watching Christmas movies. But, when we make it a priority, we can often find the time in our schedule. Even if it’s less time than we would like to have, there is usually some extra time. Taking the time to do simple little things still makes a big difference in our day. Maybe it’s just having a special drink and having a fun holiday movie on in the background while you make dinner.

SCHEDULE FUN THINGS ON YOUR CALENDAR

If you had a doctor’s appointment, you would make sure that you put it on your calendar to make sure you did not miss it. Why not do the same thing for fun activities? And when you have activities that are specific to holiday events, there are only a specific number of dates available. We might think of it, but without putting it on our schedule as an actual commitment, the time can often get away from us. Maybe we forget that we had wanted to order pizza and do a drive around the neighborhood to check out the decorations on Tuesday night.

Putting something on the calendar makes it more of a priority. It also takes up that slot of time so that something else doesn’t come along to fill it in. By putting some things on your calendar earlier too you can avoid some of the last-minute crowds if you are going to a popular event.

PLANNING FOR FUN IS NOT FUN – NOT TRUE!

People often feel like planning for fun takes the fun out of it. They want to be spontaneous and do things as they feel like it. But, I think that the reality is that for most of us that doesn’t really happen too often. We have busy days, working, cooking, and cleaning. It can be too easy to say maybe next week, maybe next month. Today always seems like there isn’t enough time.

So, by planning for fun things to do and actually scheduling them, we can actually do things we enjoy. Otherwise, we are always waiting for this day to come when everyone happens to be available and we are all looking for something fun to go do! You do not need to be rigid about the fun that is planned on your schedule. Planning for fun is not about forcing the fun. It is just about making it a priority so that you don’t let time slip away without doing these little things you enjoy.

START EARLY WITH YOUR PLANNING

It can be a good idea to make a list of the things you would really like to do this season. Doing this early can help you make sure you have time to get into what is most important and identify what you would be ok with skipping if needed. Planning early also helps a lot when trying to coordinate with older kids or other family members. It makes it a lot easier to say next Friday we are doing the holiday light drive-through, rather than wait until that night to find out everyone isn’t able to go.

SOME FUN FRUGAL HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES

Having a cookie baking night, maybe try at least one new cookie recipe. Have Christmas music or movies on in the background while baking.

Driving around the neighborhood is one of our favorites, even with my youngest being 17 and my oldest being 21.  We still love to get in the car, stop at Wawa for hot chocolate and drive around to look at what everyone has done. With Facebook now we have found some really great neighborhoods to add to our drive because everyone shares the best-decorated houses to go see.

Donate a toy. One thing we do each year is find the local Toys for Tots drop-off and then go buy a toy to donate. It’s really fun to go pick out something to donate. You don’t have to spend a lot of money.  We often find some really nice toys for $10 or $15.

Plan a gift-wrapping night if you have gifts to wrap for friends or family that do not live in your home. It can be fun to get out all of the wrapping supplies and have everyone help with wrapping gifts. Even smaller kids can help, gifts don’t have to be wrapped perfectly. And it’s cute for a gift tag to be written in children’s handwriting!

Try a special holiday recipe outside of one of the main meals. For example, we started a tradition of making these bacon and egg breakfast tarts each Christmas Eve morning.

Make predictions for the upcoming year. A couple of years ago, on New Year’s Day, we started writing down predictions for the upcoming year.  We then read them out loud on New Year’s Eve the following year. We then write new predictions on New Year’s Day again for the following year. It’s only a few pieces of paper, so I keep them in the same place where I keep my bills and other important papers so that I can just grab them when the time comes. Just be mindful of predicting things that will make someone feel bad if they don’t come true.  You don’t want to bring people down on New Year’s Eve! For example, if someone is struggling in school.  Don’t predict they will do great this year!  If that doesn’t turn out to be the case, it can be upsetting when reading what your predictions were.

Thanks so much for checking in! If you would like to hear the podcast version of this topic to check out Lola’s Frugal Life Podcast! Also, be sure to check out my other blog posts on this site!

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