Holiday Time Equals Family Time #HolidaysConFamilia

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #HolidaysConFamilia #CollectiveBias

This year the holidays are not going to be like the holidays in the past. This is the first year that my dad won’t be with us. I now know how my husband feels every Christmas that he is away from his family in Mexico. It is a little different as he can always get on a plane and go see his parents but I won’t get to see my dad until I am called home.

My dad was the strong and protector in the family. I guess that is why I was so attracted to my husband. My husband like a lot of Hispanic men has a very strong protective side. And just like my dad this side comes out when it comes to family.

Being away from family during the holidays is  hard but learning to accept the new norm that you won’t see that family member again is harder. So that is why I came up with some ideas for my girls for my girls to  make. I came up with these ideas when I was shopping the aisles of BJ’s Wholesale Club.

I am always looking for ways to reuse and repurpose items and I thought what better way than to reuse the cardboard tubes that come in rolls of Cottonelle toilet paper. I am always saving them and also yelling at my husband for throwing them out because I just might do something with them. And Cottonelle toilet paper is one of the things I always stock up whenever I am there. I also wanted to stock up on Kleenex tissues as this holiday season, besides it being the time for cold and flu,  will also be a time of tears as we remember that last year was spent in hospice watching my dad slowly slip away.

That is why I wanted to get my girls involved with making some things for our memory tree. They were quite simple to make actually. The first thing we made was a message box as these could hold messages for my dad in heaven or for their abuelitos, Mama Luceita and Papa Felipe aka as Papa PP in Mexico. They were actually quite easy to make. All I did was buy some burlap with the lace already on it and hot glued it on to toilet paper tube. I didn’t close up the ends until the girls wrote their messages and placed it inside the tubes. These messages were a way to make them feel better about the holiday and being away from loved ones.

Then the next thing we did was to take the Cottonelle toilet paper and hot glued it around the cardboard tube making a dress. Then covering a styrofoam ball with Kleenex tissue for the head,we attached it to the body. The wings were made out of Kleenex as well. It was a great way to keep both their hands and minds busy instead of focusing on what is ahead.

I love how easy they were to make and I know that after the holidays they will be sending the ones for their abuelitos in Mexico to them. I have a strong feeling that the messages for Grampie in Heaven will be a tradition that will continue in our family.

And I love that I can buy  products from Kimberly Clark like Kleenex and Cottonelle, at BJ’s because I know that their main focus is spending time with family and not getting caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. That is what is really important and buying products in bulk from BJ’s makes it a lot easier to do that and there is no running around involved.

Right now BJ’s WholeSale Club is offering a free 60 day BJ’s membership for you to shop for all your holiday needs. Grab this awesome offer here.  Looking for more ways to get your home ready for family check out this page. And while you are at it check out this sweepstakes.
KCC BJs Holiday Giveaway

So now I showed you how we are preparing for the first holiday without a loved one, how are you preparing for this holiday season? 

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