Any thoughts on how you maintain a culture balance for holiday make and take (we can't do all Christmas decor). What about budget? How do you manage expenses for this event? Do you ticket it to maintain a count? I am seeking logistical assistance.

We are hosting a holiday craft night this week. I'm trying to figure out ways to make this as meaningful as possible. Is it weird to have families write about their experience right after the activity?

In my area, you can find loads of canning jars on craigslist and at estate sales on www.estatesales.net (they're usually stored in the basement). You'll want to buy the rings/lids new. If you start collecting throughout the year, you'll be in good stead come craft night.

There are some great instructions online for using old Christmas cards (or greeting cards in general) for making ornaments. For the older kids, try origami ornaments. My kids had great fun making those. Even learning how to make traditional cut-out snowflakes was a treat. The paper is inexpensive (you can use scrap-booking paper for both and get 4 out of one sheet) and learning how to make the intricate looking snowflakes gave them bragging rites for years to come.

If you haven't tried www.pinterest.com for ideas, you must. It's my new crack as a PTO member and mom. LOADS of ideas for everything under the sun and a great place to keep them all. I keep a board for each school event and pin ideas throughout the year so I don't have to go hunting for them come Easter or Halloween. It worked out great for our Fall Bash!

As for finding pine cones, it sounds creepy, but around here, one of the best places are the cemeteries. They have this fascination with planting tons of pine trees there.

In the past we've had kids decorate pinecones to make them look like Christmas trees. Usually someone knows where to find a bunch of fallen pinecones. A really popular one is snow globes. It can be expensive because you have to buys jars, then little items to put in them (for instance a reindeer that is already hot glued onto the lid). Also, a popsicle stick picture frame to decorate.