Vegas Ultimate Holiday Fun Guide 2013!

It's the most wonderful time of the year......  Here is your guide to all the Southern Nevada holiday fun!  Click on the title to link to the websites!  Feel free to comment with any events I may have missed.

Magical Forest  6300 W Oakey  Open nightly Nov 22- Jan 6  5:30-9 pm (10 pm on weekends) website has promo calendar for ticket discounts (passport tickets which include entry and rides are 19.99 adults and 17.99 children) Mondays are buy one child get one free.

Boulder City Santa Train December 7,8,14,15,21,22 hourly departures at 10 am- 3 pm $5 per person 600 Yucca Stree Boulder City, NV

Ethel M Chocolate Lighted Cactus Garden  2 Cactus Garden Dr  open through Jan 1 5-10 pm nightly.  Free admission which includes the factory tour and a free chocolate sample!  Santa visits 5-9 pm on Nov 29-30, Dec 1, Dec 6-8, and Dec 13-23.

Glittering Lights at the Speedway  Las Vegas Motor Speedway off 95 N of Vegas  5:30-9 pm, til 10 pm weekends through Jan 1.  $15 per vehicle weeknights, $20 on weekends.  ***December 10th is a FREE admission night!!

Live Nativity  6050 S Buffalo, Dec 11 6 pm, Dec 12 6 pm and 7 pm, Dec 13-14  6 pm, 7pm, or 8 pm.  Free admission

Cowboy Christmas and Car Show  Floyd Lamb State Park, December 7th 10 am -2 pm, farmer's market, entertainment, hay rides, games, visit from Santa.  Free admission!

Santa's Sleigh Rides  Gilcrease Orchard 7800 N Tenaya, Nov 29-Dec 24 $12.50 per person, online reservation required.

Springs Preserve Train Rides with Santa  It looks like the Springs Preserve is not doing a Holiday Spectacular event this year.  They are having train rides with Santa on Dec 23/24 hourly 11 am - 3 pm.  $5 per person with general admission or $3 for members.

Michael's Holiday Crafts  December 7 Ornament, December 14 Wintery Art.  $2 per child, classes offered every 30 min 10:00 am-11:30 am.

Home Depot kid's workshops  Saturday Nov 30 Toolbox,  Saturday December 7 Tic Tac Toe game 9 am, register online  Free!!

Lowe's Build and Grow  Saturday December 14th, 10 am, Christmas Train Engine.  Register online, Free!

Tuacahn Christmas in the Canyon  If you want to take a drive up to the St. George area, this looks like a really fun event with a Live Nativity, lights, music, and train ride.  Free admission to stroll the area or $2 per person for the nativity or train ride, $15 max charge per family.

Polar Express Train in Ely, NV If you really feel like taking a trip, you can head up to Ely for their Polar Express train.  It takes about 3-4 hours to get there.  We did this last year and it was really fun (dress WARM).  I've heard the Polar Express train ride in Williams, AZ is amazing but this one is much more affordable and a little closer drive.  If you did an afternoon train ride, you could make it a day trip.

Wherever you go, whatever you do, I hope you are blessed with love, laughter, friends, and family and filled with joy and peace as we celebrate the true meaning of the season, the birth of our Savior.

Our Christmas card from last year!  Can't believe how much the kids have grown!

Rethinking our Holiday Spending

Last year, my sister told me she was going to give handmade gifts because she was tired of the commercialization of Christmas.  I took her words to heart and did a combination of gifts handmade by me or someone else and bought at the store last year.  The other thing I did last year that really helped my budget was I bought the kid's big ticket items early and shopped around for the best deals online. This year, I got their gifts in September, free shipping to my mom's in Montana where we are going.  The gift I got Amilia was listed for $34.95.  Yesterday I saw it at Walmart for $39.97.

My kids are getting very few things this year.  Thankfully the baby doesn't have an opinion yet and I limited Austin's gift requests to less than 5 things.  I also avoid the toy sections when we are in the stores this time of year and DO NOT WATCH LIVE TV with your kids between October 31-December 25!! The commercials are everywhere!

Another gift to consider for yourself or others is the gift of time or experiences. This year I asked Ryan for a gift that will keep on giving, a membership to houseseats.com that offers free tickets to a variety of local shows, concerts, and other events.  Ryan bought the membership this month because of the 2 for 1 special.  I got 2 years for the price of 1 and got the 4 ticket membership so we can take the kids or friends with us.

Here is my challenge to you!  If you can, consider purchasing gifts from independent business owners or making some of your own handmade gifts.  If you can't (you have a family member with a specific item request) shop around online for the best deals.  Walmart is not always the low price leader!

Below I have compiled a list of my favorite handmade businesses and local independent consultants.  Together, we can put more money in their pockets this season rather than corporate America. Click the underlined words to link to their websites.

Little Ragamuffin Boutique Tule dresses and skirts, bows, and other handmade clothing items.

 Metal Stampin Mama  Custom metal stamped jewelery and ornaments for a variety of occasions.  I have ordered gifts from her several times and they are beautiful!

Handmade Crocheted Hats  She makes hats, braids, and finger puppets!

Once Upon a Costume  Beautiful custom costumes, princess dresses.  She is also selling stick horses to raise money for her daughter's trip to Washington DC!

Patty's Perfectly Posh Bath and body products, Patty Munch

Patty's Jamberry Nails  Nail art without a bottle of polish, Patty Munch

Mary Kay Barbara Peterson, independent beauty consultant in Las Vegas.

Scentsy  Wickless candle warmers and home fragrances.  Kathi Torres

Lia Sophia  Beautiful jewelry, great specials!  Kimberly Hirsch

Lula Roe   Maxi skirts and more!  Melissa Everett

Etsy  Online market place for handmade, vintage and craft products.

Pampered Chef  Stephanie Yenchek  Yenchek@cox.net

Stampin' Up stamps, paper, craft products  Terri Green  rtkj@cox.net

Las Vegas Craft Show on November 23rd  Click this link for the upcoming local craft show at Lummis ES.


Please submit a comment to add additional independent businesses!

November shopping deals and events!

November brings some great shopping deals!  Now is the best time to stock up on baking supplies and of course, hams and turkeys!
I was happy at some great deals over at Winco today and will post some of the other grocery deals as the month goes on.  Here are the Winco deals as of Monday, Nov 4!

Gala Apples 58 cents/lb, celery bunch 78 cents, 5 lb potatoes $1.78 (has been cheaper before), snack pack puddings 68 cents, brown sugar or powdered sugar 2 lb bag $1.28, baking chips (they had white choc and butterscotch) $1.88, Stove Top stuffing mix 2 packs $1.98, mini marshmallows 88 cents, Crisco veg oil $2.18, Winco mac and cheese 28 cents, evaporated milk 78 cents, Winco whip topping 78 cents.

November Events in Las Vegas

Lowe's Build and Grow Free Kids Clinic Saturday, Nov 9 10:00 am register online (lowesbuildandgrow.com)

Michael's Kids Crafts $2 per child 10:00-11:30 am every half hour: November 9th-snow globe, November 16th-reindeer craft, November 23rd-felt stocking

Artful Potter free painting nights with purchase of pottery piece, Mondays 5-8 pm, Fridays 6-10 pm.  Rainbow/Smoke Ranch.  This is a fun place to take the kids to make a gift for someone.

Centennial Hills Library Thanksgiving activity for school aged kids 6-11, Wednesday, November 27 4:30 pm.  Passes given out 30 minutes prior at the children's desk.

Craig Ranch Regional Park-This park is now open!  I have seen some great pics from friends who have been there so far and I can't wait to take my family.  It is located on 628 W Craig Road (old Craig Ranch golf course).

Looking for some variety in your weekend activities?

Fall Bird Watching!
Henderson Bird Sanctuary, open 6 am - 2 pm daily in November more info here
Wetlands Preserve open dawn to dusk info here

Shoot for the Stars!
CSN Planetarium-Mystery of the Missing Seasons presentation, Fridays 6 pm, Saturdays 3:30/6 pm.  $6 for adults, $4 for kids.  3200 E Cheyenne

It's November now!?!

I can't even keep the days straight anymore!  Between work, church responsibilities, home projects, and October events (including our family Disneyland trip) I have been pulled in a million directions!

After the second Halloween event we attended in October, I seriously thought Halloween was already over!
We went to a Trunk or Treat at Austin's school and also to the Springs Preserve Haunted Harvest event, which was very inexpensive due to our family membership.

We enjoyed our Disneyland trip over Nevada Day weekend with Ryan's parents.

Ryan's office had their annual cubicle trick or treat afterschool on the 31st which was great fun. Then we got some take-out dinner and Ryan spent nearly 2 hours carving our enormous pumpking that Austin picked out at the pumpkin patch.
We had very few trick or treaters as compared to last year, but Austin still had a nice time going around our neighborhood.  Our cul-de-sac was definitely the most festive!

I spent Halloween night getting ready for a women's craft night at church the following day.  I donated supplies and volunteered to do handmade cards and gift tags for a free craft.  I made soup to contribute to the dinner, made cookies for the goodie table, and brought some of my handmade gifts to display.

My inspiring friend, The Prudent Homemaker was there working on some of her projects and had many of her beautiful sewing and embroidery items on display.

Here are some of my latest savings:

Savings at Disneyland:
*We carpooled with Ryan's parents to save on gas.
*I packed snacks and drinks to take in the park and made a large batch of rice krispie treats that I wrapped individually for our breakfasts along with some bananas.
*I used 2 $7 off Enfamil coupons to get 2 FREE packs of toddler milk drinks to take for the baby.
*For some meals I ordered the kids meal (which is still pricey but less than an adult meal that's too much food anyway).
*I took the baby to the room to nap every day, so I also had lunch in the room one day from food I brought from home.
*For the first time ever, I did not buy anything for myself at the shops! Each kid got $20 to spend this year.

Savings at home over the past few weeks:
*Made breakfast muffins and granola bars
*Made a double batch of dry pancake mix rom a new recipe found here and stored it in mason jars. It requires water, oil and one egg for every 2 cups of mix.  I made several pancakes to freeze for the kid's breakfasts.
*One morning when we had french toast, I made extra to freeze as well.
*Trimmed my own bangs and waxed my own brows/facial hair
*Took a friend to a free show on the Strip and my hubby to a free UNLV game with my free Fill A Seat membership from teacher appreciation week.
*We ate out on very few occasions in October.
*I hosted a Lula Roe maxi skirt party a few weeks ago.  I got a free skirt just for having the party and another free skirt for selling the minimum at the party.

I'm getting ready for my favorite time of the year and looking forward to some of the great handmade projects I have prepared for my family!

Fun and productive week!

This was my kind of week!  Fun, free events and it was General Conference weekend for us LDS folk.  That means there is no church on Sunday, but rather, a conference session broadcast live on TV full of inspired talks from various leaders in the Church.  So while I listened to the talks, I was able to have a baking marathon in the kitchen!

Here's what I was able to accomplish and save this week:

-Made some baby food peas (she needs some veggie supplements as she is still quite picky)

-Made my weekly breakfast banana muffins!

-Peaches were on sale, so I made a peach cobbler for Sunday dinner at the in law's!

-Made 3 large loaves and 4 mini loaves of french bread.  The mini loaves will be used for french dips later this week with a double duty roast.  Aren't they cute?

-Made a large batch of cream of chicken soup mix.  Used two servings of it as part of the ingredients to make a crockpot potato soup with the last of my potatoes in the fridge that needed to be used up.  We had the soup for Sunday lunch and then I was able to bottle up a serving for my lunch and a quart to freeze for another weekend lunch.

-Made a quadruple batch of pancakes!  Two batches I mixed up to make pancakes for breakfast and some to freeze and the other two batches I mixed the dry ingredients only in a quart size mason jar with the directions for adding the wet ingredients for a future baking.

-Made a double batch of chocolate pudding mix, used part of it to make frozen pudding pops.

-Made a batch of homemade dishwasher detergent.

-Austin and I worked on some handmade cards and gifts for Halloween.  I found some cute glass jars at the 99 cents store, we added washi tape, ribbon and a tag and filled them with candy.  He is giving one to his teacher tomorrow!

-Ryan was able to spend his week of government furlough to help his dad with their house renovation project.  He has been doing this on Friday nights and Saturdays for the past few months, so he skipped this past Saturday so we could spend a nice day together as a family.  We took the kids to the Free Home Depot Kids Workshop/Safety Day.  They had a wooden plane kit to build and paint, free Lego sets with safety information, a fire truck and ambulance to tour, and other fun activities.  We then headed to Michael's where I paid $2 for the Scary Jewelry class and Austin made several fun bracelets and got his face painted.  We hit the park before going home to enjoy a the picnic lunch I packed for us.

Austin is sporting his pink and red face paint hearts! I love that he is such an individual! We had sandwiches, walked around the duck ponds, and Austin played catch with his dad while Amilia chased after the dogs.  Gorgeous Fall day in Vegas!

-I got free tickets to Gordie Brown at the Golden Nugget with my free 6 month membership to Fill A Seat I got for teacher appreciation week last Spring, so Ryan and I went out on a date for the first time in awhile and had a great time!  

-We did not eat out this week, but I went to an afterschool get together with teachers on Friday and had a soda and shared an appetizer.  It was fun to get to know some of the teachers at my new school.  Ryan and I also enjoyed some Cold Stone creamery for the first time since before the baby was born.  It was splurge well worthe $ and calories!

Hope you are all having a terrific October and enjoying the cooler weather!  

October Family Fun!

It's October 1st in Washington DC, and even though the government has "shutdown", Viva Mom Vegas is still going strong bringing you all the awesome Vegas events for October!

I love October, the craziness of school has settled down, the air is cooler, and the excitement and joy of the holidays are near!  The kids' Halloween costumes have already been purchased (thank you to my mother in law for her kind contribution) and I will have a cute Pirate Jake and Tinkerbell to show off soon enough!

Free Events:

Saturday, October 5th Home Depot Kid's Workshop (Fire Rescue plane project) 9 am- noon, register at www.homedepot.com/workshops

Saturday, October 12th Lowe's Build and Grow (Spooky Stacker project) 10 am, register at www.lowesbuildandgrow.com

Saturday, October 19th Free Kid's Day at Discovery Children's Museum!  First 1000 kids 17 and under will be admitted free to the children's museum starting at 10 am.  Adult fee is $12.00

Saturday, October 19th 10 am - 2pm Community Safety Saturday Spring Valley HS 3750 S Buffalo.  Car seat inspections, safety demonstrations, free fingerprint kits for kids.

Saturday, Octboer 19th  10 am - 2 pm  Ward 2 Trunk or Treat/Car Show, Veteran's Memorial Leisure Services Center 101 N Pavilion Center Drive (Summerlin), free fun activities for kids plus Trunk or Treating through the cars on display!

Saturday, October 26th 10 am - 2pm.  Halloween Spooktacular free event for all ages at NW Career and Technical Academy 8200 W. Tropical.  Trick or Treating, Costume Contest, crafts, and more.

Inexpensive Fall Fun:

October 11-13, 18-20, 25-27  5:00 pm-9:00 pm Springs Preserve Haunted Harvest, trick or treat stations, crafts, carnival games, entertainment, haunted house, etc.  This is one of the best events in Las Vegas!  We love going to this every year!  Admission $8 for adults, $5 for kids, 5 under free.  Members receive 1/2 off!

**If you go to this event, GO EARLY so you can get a better parking spot.  I also recommend getting advanced tickets from their website www.springspreserve.org (they charge $1 fee for each online ticket).

If the Spring's lot is full, park at Meadow's Mall and walk across the street.

Stu Miller's Pumpkin Patch (various lots around LV, including Centennial Center and Flamingo/215), they have a few kiddie rides, bounce houses, and slides along with a petting zoo that is fun for kids to do.  Buying a mini pumpkin here won't break the bank, plus it's cool to go to the "Pumpkin Patch" when you're little!  Their website is www.seasonaladventures.com for more info.  They also offer preschool field trips so mom groups can take their little ones for a small flat fee for (last year it was $6 per child). I'm guessing they will be open by this weekend (Oct 4).

Saturday, October 5th 1:00-3:00 pm, Michael's Great Pumpkin Event, purchase a 9" pumpkin for $5 and use their supplies to decorate it!

Saturdays in October, Michael's Kid's Club 10:00-11:30 pm (can sign up for a class every 30 min), $2 per child, register in-store.  October 12-Bandana Masks, October 19-Duck Tape Costumes, October 26-Treat Bag/Face Painting/Parade.

**I was not able to find any info on a "Treat Street" or other safe trick or treating venue for October 31st, so please comment or email me if you know of anything going on so I can update this post!  I know many churches also sponsor "Trunk or Treat" events, so please share so everyone can provide safe Halloween fun for their little monsters!

Back in the Savings Game!

I got really sick last weekend, so all my savings goals went out the window.  I spent my Saturday night at the 24 hour clinic, but once I got some antibiotics in me, I was back to my savvy self!  I'm still hacking occasionally and the wind has kicked up some nasty allergens, but I was able to accomplish most of my goals for the last weekend of September!

*Made homemade granola bars
*Made a dozen breakfast muffins
*Got some Yoplait Pumpkin Pie yogurt and used it to make a yogurt pie with homemade graham cracker crust!
*Baby is down to one bottle in the morning, so we are saving a ton on formula cost!
*Cleaned toilets with baking soda and hydrogen peroxide.  Scoured my sink with baking soda.  Hubby cleaned the floor with my new O'Cedar pro mist refillable floor cleaner using 50/50 vinegar and water cleaning solution.
*My mother in law watched the kids Friday night while Ryan helped his dad and I ran errands and met a friend for dinner at Chili's.  Ordered from the happy hour menu and water to drink for an inexpensive dinner out. One of my errands was collecting the McDonald's Wizard of Oz Happy Meal toys.  I wanted the whole collection to put in a cute container as a gift for the baby.  With a little networking and a few stops at 4 McDonald's in my area, I was able to get all of them!  I contemplated ordering the set on Ebay, but by asking around and buying the toys only, I saved over $10.
*Took the kids to the Asian Harvest Moon Festival at the Springs Preserve on Saturday.  It was a gorgeous day, entry was free with our family membership.  The kids made paper lanterns, aren't they cute?

*I used the escrow overage money that my mortgage company sent me to get a head start on Christmas gifts.  Bought materials for the handmade gifts I'll be making and other things I needed on Amazon and ordered more than enough for their free shipping.  It's been fun getting packages in the mail all week! This is going to be a simple Christmas as we are flying to Montana so won't have much room for the kids' gifts.
*The kids and I all needed shoes.  I bought the baby's shoes at the Payless BOGO sale.  The cheaper the better for her shoes because her feet are growing so fast.  Austin's feet have slowed down and he is very hard on shoes, so spending $20 on cheap tennis shoes that will wear out in less than 2 months isn't the best plan.  I let him pick from the sale shoes at Zappos, get free shipping, and get high quality shoes that will last more than 6 months.

We are getting excited for the fun October festivities just around the corner!