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Everyone at Team RRPG had a terrific holiday! We've rounded up a great collection of some of our favorite things about the holiday season and we are excited to share them with our readers.
You may want to bookmark this page for future reference - we've included LOTS of great ideas and links!
Our team kicked off the holiday by participating in the Welcome Warehouse Adopt-A-Family Holiday Program. We were matched with three Dublin City School district families and were so pleased to provide them with gifts for the children and grocery cards for holiday meals.
We also had a white elephant gift exchange here at the office. One of the most unique and inspiring gifts was from Peggy Bartsch, who made the choice to shop "blind" this year and purchase her gift from Two Blind Brothers. 100% of their profits are donated to the Foundation Fighting Blindness. Do you know their story? Be sure to check them out and consider "shopping blind" (as they say) for your next gift.
Bill Root and his family spent New Year’s weekend in a cottage at the Oglebay Resort in West Virginia. Bill says this activity is always lots of fun and the Festival of Lights never disappoints!
Logan Philipps and his family enjoyed several fun activities over the holidays. Pictured below you'll see Logan and his two older boys, Crosby and Sammy, skiing at Mad River Mountain; sledding with all three boys on Christmas day; driving his brother, Graydon (dressed as Santa), to a house for a visit; making homemade pizza on Christmas Eve (Logan's wife, Molly, made the dough from scratch); and decorating their house.
One of Derek Graham's favorite memories from this Christmas (and every Christmas) is the joy of putting his kids to bed on Christmas Eve.
"My daughters are 11, 9 & 7 and at those ages they are so full of excitement and joy that it is great to watch. Of course, right after they go to bed the real work begins and the euphoria comes crashing down quickly!"
Linda DiCocco had a very funny family tradition to share:
"Several years ago, my kids got me an ugly and gaudy Christmas ornament. When I opened it, I couldn’t tell if it was a joke or if they sincerely thought I would like it. After the puzzled look on my face wore off and my questions began, they confessed it was a joke and we all had a huge belly laugh over it.
Every year since, they get me a tacky ornament and we all totally crack up over it. My tree is now adorned with them and they still make me laugh."
This fun-loving joke has turned into a tradition. Linda looks forward to seeing what kind of crazy ornament her family picks for her each year.
Audra Cremeans and her husband, Travis, snuck away for a winter hike in Hocking Hills.
"It’s so different to take to the trails in the cold and snow. It’s not busy and you can really hear the sounds of nature all around you.
Travis found this beautiful ice-covered tree branch during our hike down Cantwell Cliffs - which was particularly frightening due to the icy rocks we had to climb. It was a great hike that we hadn’t done before, and the fresh air was perfect."
Meredith Monroe and her family had a lot of fun playing holiday-themed "Minute to Win It" games.
Need a few Minute to Win It game ideas for your family? Check out this blog for some good, old-fashioned family fun!
Angela McCormick and her family added a new Christmas eve tradition this year. They held an ugly sweater cookie decorating contest and let their friends on social media determine the winner. Sweaters 3 and 4 were the favorites with tied votes.
They also had a lot of fun with a gift Angela snagged in our white elephant gift exchange at the office.
She put her husband, Tristan, to the test with the Shocking Liar Lie Detector Game and got a big kick out of his reaction.
Can it really detect a lie?
Nah, don't worry Tristan - we know the truth! 😉 😂
Peggy Bartsch's daughter, Meghan, created a drawing and had it made into a puzzle for their family - which according to her mom was pretty tricky!
Do you have a design or photo of your own that you'd like to make into a puzzle?
Give this site a try to create your own, one-of-a-kind puzzle!
Charity Hinkle and her family took in the Legendary Lights of Clifton Mill - one of the country’s finest light displays, with over 4 million lights illuminating the mill, the gorge, the riverbanks, trees and bridges. There is even a 100 foot “waterfall” of twinkling lights!
Lora Leuzinger's family spent some time on the Xbox this break and played Lego Harry Potter (years 1-4) together, achieving 100% of the game goals! Perhaps they were inspired by the Harry Potter marathon that was on TV over the break, because they have now started working on years 5-7 together. Now that's teamwork!
Jen Crabtree and her family took a Christmas Eve drive through the Lucy Depp Park Lights show, one of the most technologically advanced neighborhood light shows in Central Ohio. Six houses, 7 1/2 acres, and 60,000+ lights - and it keeps getting larger every year!
They were overjoyed to have a nice blanket of snow, so they capped off their Christmas Eve with late night sledding and snow angels.
They were sure to include their dog, Buddy, in the activities - who not only loves the snow, but enjoys stealing mittens too!