What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?

Before I had kids, I was convinced that the only way to spend New Year’s Eve was out. It didn’t have to be a big expensive party. It just had to be somewhere that wasn’t wherever I was living at the time. Now that I have a family, I’d rather stay home and enjoy them after the hustle and bustle of the past month. I also don’t feel like spending any more money, and if you’ve been out on New Year’s Eve, you know how fast it can add up.

If staying home on New Year’s Eve is appealing to you, here are some ideas to help you enjoy the evening with your family, affordably.

Family Game Night

Twister anyone? Pull out the family’s favorite board game, rent a fun game on DVD or even pop that Just Dance game into your Wii, Playstation or other video game console. Nothing makes me smile more than watching an adult and a child go head to head in a video dance competition. Family game night is fun, virtually free and builds memories your entire family will hold with them forever.

Movie Night

Sometimes movie night starts as pajama day and just never ends. If you’re not tired of Christmas movies, a good one to watch on New Year’s Eve is It’s a Wonderful Life. If you start early enough, you can have each family member choose a movie and still have time to switch the TV to Times Square in New York to watch the big ball welcome in the New Year.

Fireworks

For several years our New Year’s tradition was to head out to the country for the evening and light off our own fireworks with friends on their property. Don’t let living in the suburbs keep you from closing out 2012 with a bang. Get some sparklers for the kids and celebrate a shiny new year.

Make Your Own {Fill in the Blank} Contest

My husband and I started this long before our son was born, and now he likes it as much as we do. We make our own pizzas, and the sky is the limit on creativity. Of course, three pizzas and three judges generally ends in a tie, but when you get to eat the contest entries, everybody comes out a winner. You can do this with anything. Make your own ice cream sundaes. Decorate your own cookies. Build your own nachos. The possibilities are endless.

NYE Under the Stars

What’s the next best thing to a telescope? Apparently it’s a smartphone. Using apps like Google Sky Map (Android) or Sky Walk (iPhone/iPad), simply point your phone to the night sky and it will tell you what you’re looking at. Want to look at a different planet or star? Tell your phone where you want to go and it will help you navigate your led screen to the right spot in the sky. Go ahead. Grab your smartphone, build a fire, gather the family and reminisce about your favorite moments of 2012.

Happy New Year!

Shedding Light on Holiday Animal Adoptions

Admit it. You like it when your pets wear clothes. The sweater may keep Chuy warm on the two days a year it gets cold here in Dallas, but the tutu on Fifi is just plain fun. You don’t even care if it embarrasses them because it just makes you smile. That’s the kind of fun that could win you $50 cash. Learn more here.

If you don’t have a pet, this is a great time think about adopting one from a local shelter. Adopting pets gives them a second chance at life. Rescue shelters can also help pair you or your family with a pet that’s right for your lifestyle. A pet that needs lots of attention or companionship may not do well in a home where nobody is home 10 to 12 hours a day. A pet easily frightened by a lot of noise and activity may not be the best choice for a home with one or more children. Shelters know the right questions to ask before you adopt a pet. Most shelters are non-profit facilities dedicated to the humane treatment of animals. Adopting a pet from a shelter is much more affordable than going to a breeder and helps support the care of the animals still waiting to be adopted.

Do pets make great Christmas presents? Absolutely they do when the right pet is paired with the right family. That is more difficult to do when the entire family is not present to choose a pet. The best approach to take is to get a gift certificate for a pet that your child or family can bring to the shelter with them when they pick out a pet. Yes, it’s probably exciting for a puppy or kitten to jump out of a box on Christmas morning. However, if the pet doesn’t bond with your family, you may be creating more problems than you are solving by adopting a pet from a shelter in the first place.

For more information on adopting a pet this holiday season or any other time of the year, check out the wealth of information available at the American Humane Association website. We wish all of our members and their pets a Happy Paw-i-days!

Happy Paw-i-days!

The holiday season is upon us! Do you LOVE to embarrass your pet by dressing them up for the holidays? Show us and you could win $50 COLD HARD CASH!

 

The Rules –

1. Each member has the option to submit up to three (3) entries by e-mailing your pet’s photo to marketing@myncu.com with the subject line “Happy Paw-i-days”.

2. To be considered for the prize, all entries must be posted by January 1st at midnight.

3. On January 4th we will select the photo as our winner and announce them on Facebook and here on our blog!

4. This contest is only open to legal U.S. residents ages 18 and older who are members of Neighborhood Credit Union.

Be sure to include your current e-mail address with each entry so that we are able to contact you if you are the winner of the contest. 

Skipping Your Loan Payment Will Help Save a Child's Life

We’re about two weeks away from Christmas. By now, I’m usually kicking myself for failing to make my list and check it twice so I know exactly who to buy for and how much I can spend. I actually have some friends who are selling things they own for extra money. Wouldn’t it just be easier if a money tree could sprout up in the back yard? (I know, I’m still waiting on that one, too.).

NCU has the next best thing to a money tree. They’re letting us skip a loan payment this month. Yes, you read that correctly. For a $10 donation to the Children’s Miracle Network, you can skip your December auto loan or unsecured loan payment. You don’t have to worry about late fees or credit scores or anything like that. You’ll just have to figure out how you’re going to spend the extra money you just came into, and that’s probably not hard to do this time of year.

This is a win-win situation. You skip my loan payment. You don’t go into debt from holiday shopping. You  help raise money for a really good cause. If you listened to the radio-thon our credit union was a part of this past weekend on  KVIL, you know Dallas Children’s Hospital works miracles every day, and they don’t always get paid for what they do. That’s why our donations are so necessary. Children who are sick don’t get turned away if their parents can’t pay. They are treated, because every child deserves a fighting chance.

I have personal experience with Dallas Children’s Hospital and I can say this much. You never want your kid to be sick and in the hospital, but if that day comes, you want him or her in Dallas Children’s Hospital. They don’t just treat kids for illnesses. They do their best to make each child’s hospital visit as normal as possible. There are playrooms where they can go play with toys and other kids. There are several libraries with both children and adult books. There’s an arts and crafts room. They even had a Valentine party while my son was in there a few years ago. He got to decorate a cookie, make a craft play bingo and win a stuffed animal. That type of distraction is exactly what children need when they are ill and probably confused.

Can we do this together? NCU wants to raise $10,000 this holidays season, and it’s only going to cost you $10. Skip a loan payment this month and help make life better for an ill child. To skip your payment, click here and fill out the online form.

FREE Santa Photos & Other Free Holiday Events

There’s a song that calls this holiday season the most wonderful time of the year. When you’re watching every penny, or even if you’re not, this also tends to be the most expensive time of the year. It’s not just gifts. It’s all those “little” extras that add up, like the ornament and cookie exchanges, the cost of a Christmas tree, replacement lights for the artificial tree and, of course, the  photos with Santa. If your budget could use a little free holiday, you have come to the right place.

Free Photos With Santa

It is generally free to sit on the lap of any mall Santa, but they get you with the photos, which often start at $20 and keep getting higher. There are at least two totally free Santas in the DFW area.

Bass Pro Shops give you a free 4x6 photo with Santa, plus free games, crafts and more.

North Park Center does not give you a free photo but allows you to take photos with your own camera. Other locations may let you do that, as well, but they don’t advertise it. You’ll have to ask.

Holiday Lights

Kaleidoscope of Dreams Light Show at the Village at Fairview  - come see one of the largest holiday light shows in North Texas with 250,000 sparking LED lights. Shows run every 30 minutes between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. at the Macy’s fountain entrance.

Village at Allen Interactive Tree Show - features more than 100,000 LED lights dancing to music. Runs daily from 10 a.m to 10 p.m.

Frisco's Christmas in the Square runs from the day after Thanksgiving through early Jan, featuring choreographed holiday lights and music, as well as special activities on select dates in Dec.

Carriage Rides

Watters Creek at Montgomery Farm offers free holiday carriage rides through the streets every Friday night from Nov 26 - Dec 18.

Entertainment

Santa's Village in Richardson is fun for the whole family! Join Santa and all his pals as they celebrate the season with crafts and good cheer! Come visit your Credit Union family at Polar Bear Credit Union.

Slappy’s Holiday Circus at the Dallas Galleria- experience a classic European Circus with puppets, magic, clowns, contortionists and jugglers in a fast-paced show fun for the entire family. Presented by Slappy’s Puppet Playhouse on Saturday, Dec. 1, 8, 15 and 22 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Location: Level 1 near Saks Fifth Avenue.

Macy’s Grand Tree Lighting Celebration - The Macy's Grand Tree Lighting Celebration at Galleria Dallas features Missile Toes, Galleria's ice-skating, back-flipping, pyrotechnic Santa Claus, live performances from Olympic and National Champions and local children performing to introduce the lighting of the country’s tallest indoor tree. Saturdays, December 1, 8, 15 and 22 at 5 p.m.

Celebrate Chanukah with our custom-designed Menorah. Following the first lighting on December 8, enjoy entertainment, refreshments and goodies for the kids. As with tradition, another candle is lit each subsequent night of Chanukah. Dallas Galleria, Level 1, near the guest reception center at 5 p.m.

What are some other free activities you have planned for the holiday season? Please leave a comment here or on our Facebook page so all of us can benefit from your information.