This time of year my home is filled with the smells of freshly baked cookies, muffins, and Pinterest fails (I’m looking at you peppermint ornaments) but nothing makes a cold day a little warmer than my favorite apple crisp in the slow cooker.  It’s my favorite thing to throw together before a potluck, holiday event with our families, or just a random Tuesday evening when we just need some comfort food.

My husband and I are big believers in experiences over things when it comes to gifts for our kids.  Don't get me wrong - we are not against toys, we just try to make smart choices when it comes to toys and then use the rest of the budget for fun experiences. I've done a lot of research on different fun experiences happening in Columbus over the next few months, that would be perfect for our kids, and I'm sharing it all below.  I hope it helps inspire you to find something fun to experience with your family.  

When I was child my Pa, created this super special gift exchange for our family. It didn't involve a lot of money or a few moments in the store, but it did require a lot of thought, and a great deal of planning.  On Christmas Day, the members of our family who participated had a blast exchanging their gifts, and when I became a mom I knew that this gift exchange was one I wanted to recreate for my family as a special tradition. 

If you’ve been a reader for awhile you know that this is my favorite time of the year! I LOVE the holidays! We have a few very special traditions that make this time of year extra special and one of those traditions including spending time in Downtown Dublin.  We love walking through Downtown Dublin and checking out the local shops, grabbing ice cream at Jeni’s, and warming up with a hot chocolate from Starbucks!

We recently discovered Fantasy of Lights and I am so glad we did - our Decembers will never be the same.  :-) Butch Bando’s Fantasy of Lights is a drive thru light show located at the Alum Creek State Park Campgrounds.

I’m a big believer in experiences over things which is why I’m so excited to share with you my suggestions on experiences to gift to the adults in your life. These can be used for anyone - your boss, parents, spouse, babysitter, etc. I’ve broken them down into categories so they are easy to browse. If you have one I should add to the list - comment and tell me!

Quest To Clean Up is the only app in the app store showing kids that if you want something you have to work for it. Because of the wishlists Quest to Clean Up has access to exactly what kids are wanting.  Since we are hitting shopping season they have graciously decided to share this with us so we can be prepared for shopping this weekend (Black Friday, Small Biz Saturday, and Cyber Monday) as well as the rest of the holiday season. I’m breaking it down by age to make it as easy as possible.  

This time of year makes me really thankful for the friends and family that make up my world - the people who I spend my days with, laugh with, cry with, and some of those people I only know thanks to this blogging world. I have met some of the most amazing women through starting this 614 Mom journey and I am so thankful that they are in my life.