Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Managing the Stress from Christmas
This year, Christmas caught me completely off guard. I was completely unprepared for what Christmas would bring: from the decorations to the presents, it was all stressful.
My daughter's birthday is December 12 and we spent the last several months preparing for her BIG 1st birthday party. After that, I didn't even get a day to relax before I was making a Christmas Present list and ordering our gifts on Amazon {thank you for free 2 day shipping with Prime!!}. As our gifts started rolling in, the idea was to wrap them as they came in..didn't happen.
I was out on the 23rd shopping for last minute stocking stuffers, my husband was out on the 22nd getting our presents and I was up until 3 am on the 23rd wrapping presents so I wouldn't have to do it Christmas Eve. So we {my husband & I} decided that we need to make a plan for next year so that this is not us again.
So I am putting my plan here in blogland for 2 reasons:
1. Accountability - I give you permission to yell at me if I don't uphold my plan.
2. Reminder - I can come back to this next year and make sure that I have a plan to follow.
The Plan:
Shop through the year/Start early: For my husband, mom, dad and brother - no one gives me a list of what they want. So, it is up to me to be creative. For my daughter, I can always pick up stocking stuffers. Throughout the year as I am shopping, I am going to be picking up things as I find them. I will put them in our Christmas Eve box {if they fit} or in our "other holiday" box in our storage area. I have created an Excel Spreadsheet that I can update throughout the year, and created a shortcut on my desktop, if it's not easy to get to, I won't keep up with it.
Create a Decorating Plan: Pinterest is great. It gives you so many awesome ideas for decorating for the holidays, wrapping presents, Christmas card inspiration and food ideas. It is also overwhelming. I have put on my Google Calendar November 1st to start coming up with a decorating plan, for each room. I end up having decorations up until February and put away somewhere else because I don't know what I have or it goes up so late I hate to take it down so soon.
Put Everything on the Calendar: There are some things I can add to my calendar to do. For example: Christmas cards. I have put on my calendar a date to think of what picture I would like to include, when to get the picture done by, when to order cards and now when to have them all sent out by. {Confession, I just sent out my last Christmas cards today}
Start wrapping December 1st: I love wrapping presents. I actually would love to be one of the wrappers at the mall. I just love wrapping presents. However, this year, my present wrapping was the worst it ever was. I was rushed and it felt more like a job I had to do than something fun I enjoyed. It completely diminished my Christmas Spirit.
Create a way to remember the real reason for Christmas: With all of the worldly stresses from this year, it wasn't until Christmas morning, reading from Luke that I took a moment to reflect on why we celebrate Christmas in the first place. It's not for the gifts or the wrapping or the cookies {even though they are good} it is to celebrate the birth of Christ. I will come up with an idea for this and share it here when I have it :)
Thank you for taking the time to read this and help me to be accountable. What are some ways you help to alleviate the stress from the holidays? Please I need the tips!!!
I was out on the 23rd shopping for last minute stocking stuffers, my husband was out on the 22nd getting our presents and I was up until 3 am on the 23rd wrapping presents so I wouldn't have to do it Christmas Eve. So we {my husband & I} decided that we need to make a plan for next year so that this is not us again.
So I am putting my plan here in blogland for 2 reasons:
1. Accountability - I give you permission to yell at me if I don't uphold my plan.
2. Reminder - I can come back to this next year and make sure that I have a plan to follow.
The Plan:
Shop through the year/Start early: For my husband, mom, dad and brother - no one gives me a list of what they want. So, it is up to me to be creative. For my daughter, I can always pick up stocking stuffers. Throughout the year as I am shopping, I am going to be picking up things as I find them. I will put them in our Christmas Eve box {if they fit} or in our "other holiday" box in our storage area. I have created an Excel Spreadsheet that I can update throughout the year, and created a shortcut on my desktop, if it's not easy to get to, I won't keep up with it.
Create a Decorating Plan: Pinterest is great. It gives you so many awesome ideas for decorating for the holidays, wrapping presents, Christmas card inspiration and food ideas. It is also overwhelming. I have put on my Google Calendar November 1st to start coming up with a decorating plan, for each room. I end up having decorations up until February and put away somewhere else because I don't know what I have or it goes up so late I hate to take it down so soon.
Put Everything on the Calendar: There are some things I can add to my calendar to do. For example: Christmas cards. I have put on my calendar a date to think of what picture I would like to include, when to get the picture done by, when to order cards and now when to have them all sent out by. {Confession, I just sent out my last Christmas cards today}
Start wrapping December 1st: I love wrapping presents. I actually would love to be one of the wrappers at the mall. I just love wrapping presents. However, this year, my present wrapping was the worst it ever was. I was rushed and it felt more like a job I had to do than something fun I enjoyed. It completely diminished my Christmas Spirit.
Create a way to remember the real reason for Christmas: With all of the worldly stresses from this year, it wasn't until Christmas morning, reading from Luke that I took a moment to reflect on why we celebrate Christmas in the first place. It's not for the gifts or the wrapping or the cookies {even though they are good} it is to celebrate the birth of Christ. I will come up with an idea for this and share it here when I have it :)
The Feast of the Seven Fishes - Christmas Tradition
Today I am sharing over at Today is the Best Day my Christmas Traditions. Growing up, my family always celebrated the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve. We still continue the tradition on the first weekend of December with my cousins and their families.
Go take a look at how we celebrate the Feast and what I bring to the party: my "Almost" Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits. Get the recipe here.
What are some of your Christmas Traditions?
Go take a look at how we celebrate the Feast and what I bring to the party: my "Almost" Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits. Get the recipe here.
What are some of your Christmas Traditions?
How we paid $0 for our Family's Christmas Presents
For years now my husband and I have been finding interesting ways to pay for Christmas Presents. Usually, it results in using overtime money he brought in, saving for Christmas instead of saving in our normal savings accounts, and inevitably the "third paycheck". You know, every month you get 2 checks but because you are paid bi-weekly two months a year you get 3 checks. We have always just made it work.
This year I had a brilliant idea. I found a way that we were able to pay for ALL of our family's presents without paying a dollar.
We used credit card points. We use our Citi Forward Card for everything. We accumulate so many points but we can only get so many gift cards to use for ourselves. So Amazon recently teamed with Citicards and offers the opportunity to use your points to pay for your order.
My daughter's birthday was a week ago, so I didn't even start thinking about Christmas until Monday. That's right..no need to adjust your screen..Monday. Amazon Prime makes it super easy with two-day shipping to get all of my last minute gifts and now to use my Citicard points! This is my kind of Christmas.
The only gifts we said we were paying for are the gifts for our daughter and our gifts for each other. We have budgeted for our daughter's gifts and our presents for each other will be paid for out of our own savings accounts, but will for sure go on our credit card for points. My husband already knows he is getting his Year of Dates from me.
In the new year I will be going into more detail on how we budget and use our credit card for everything. In the meantime, how do you budget or pay for your Christmas?
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**This post contains Amazon affliate links. If you sign up for the free trial of Amazon Prime and/or join, you will help to keep this blog running at no additional charge to you. Thank you for clinking! Visit my full disclosure here.**
Mini Ornament Garland
Just stopping in to let you know I am guest posting today at Confessions of the Perfect Mom. Go over and check out my super simple, super affordable mini-ornament garland!
Hope you are having a great Thursday!
Hope you are having a great Thursday!
The Top 10 Best Christmas Songs - 2014 Edition
I love Christmas music. I could listen to Christmas music every day all year long {thank you Pandora}. So I think that makes me a self-proclaimed expert on the subject.
Every year my favorites change somewhat. There are always classics but new ones always creep in. For example: 2002 - N'Sync would be almost all 10.
Here are my favorites for the 2014 Christmas season.
#10 - Baby It's Cold Outside - Idina Menzel & Michael Buble. This song was never really on my top 10 list. I did like the version from Elf, but this song was always kinda creepy to me. I think this version is super cute. And I love the use of kids in this video :)
#9 - Joy to the World - Mariah Carey. I know when you think Mariah Carey Christmas you think "All I Want for Christmas is You" but her voice is so powerful in the songs on this album that it makes that song almost fall to the wayside. This year I am choosing "Joy to the World" because it is just a fun song to sing and dance to. {I couldn't find a good version for YouTube - this was the best I could do}
#8 - Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer - Elmo & Patsy. This song is just so fun. How could this not be on a Top 10.
#7 - While You Were Sleeping - Casting Crowns. What a non-traditional song. And a great reminder to what Christmas is really about. Do you have room for the king?
#6 - Mary, Did You Know - Pentatonix. I love this song done by almost anyone I heard it from. This song would have been in the Top 10 anyway, but this rendition by the acapella group Pentatonix is amazing. {FYI - never knew they were as famous as they were but have seen them on Sesame Street a couple times so I knew they were something :)}
#5 - Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer - Jack Johnson. Again, this song would not really be in my Top 10 but I love this version by Jack Johnson. This is how I really imagined Rudolph reacted to the other reindeer.
#4 - The Night Before Christmas - Brandon Heath. Another non-traditional song reminding us about Christ's birth and why we celebrate Christmas.
#3 - Christmas Song - Dave Matthews Band. When I first heard this song, I heard Dave Matthews voice but had to check to make sure it was him. This song is so unexpected from Dave Matthews but a really great song talking about Christ. I really debated on if this was #3 or not.
#2 - Little Drummer Boy - Jars of Clay. This is my favorite version of this song. I heard it in 2000 and it has to this day been one of my favorite songs.
#1 - Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey - Ok I may get some slack for this being number 1. But let me explain. This song is not only fun and upbeat, but it reminds me of my crazy, wonderful Italian family. I also had a great uncle {the great uncle who always hosted our crazy Italian family for the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve} who always called me Josephine, for some reason, and when I hear the name in this song it just fills me with joy.
I hope this list has added a bit of unexpected happiness to your Christmas Spirit.
Every year my favorites change somewhat. There are always classics but new ones always creep in. For example: 2002 - N'Sync would be almost all 10.
Here are my favorites for the 2014 Christmas season.
#10 - Baby It's Cold Outside - Idina Menzel & Michael Buble. This song was never really on my top 10 list. I did like the version from Elf, but this song was always kinda creepy to me. I think this version is super cute. And I love the use of kids in this video :)
#3 - Christmas Song - Dave Matthews Band. When I first heard this song, I heard Dave Matthews voice but had to check to make sure it was him. This song is so unexpected from Dave Matthews but a really great song talking about Christ. I really debated on if this was #3 or not.
#2 - Little Drummer Boy - Jars of Clay. This is my favorite version of this song. I heard it in 2000 and it has to this day been one of my favorite songs.
I hope this list has added a bit of unexpected happiness to your Christmas Spirit.
What is your favorite Christmas song for me to consider for next year?
Holiday Hostess Gift Ideas & a Giveaway
Now it is after Thanksgiving and I know you all have started to receive your holiday party invites. Most of us gift a bottle of wine to our hostess when we attend a party. This week I am partnering with EVCreations to bring you a super simple way to jazz up that bottle of wine for your hosts.
Holiday wine labels make it easy to gift wine to hosts for the holidays. Not only are these labels easy to attach and witty, they are personalized with our family's names. No need to even gift the wine with anything! And the best part is that the host knows who the wine came from.
But just in case you are like me and want to make your wine a little more like a gift {it is the holidays after all}, here are some simple ideas to dress up your wine.
You can simply add an ornament for a festive look.
Want to give the hostess a little more than just wine? Pair it with a great candle and a box of chocolates. My personal favorite combination: DaVinci Chianti, Sea Salted Caramel Chocolates and Twisted Peppermint Candle.
There are so many options to dress up your personalized wine for your holiday parties this year. Here is your chance to win your very own set of personalized holiday wine labels. Good luck!
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a Rafflecopter giveaway
I found these great bags at Dollar Tree this season. What a better "outfit" for a bottle of wine than a Santa suit, elf costume, or just a little Santa hat?
a Rafflecopter giveaway
How to Plan your Year of Dates Present
This year, my husband asked me to gift him A Year of Dates again. If you missed last year's present, read it here.
I am cheating a little this year and reusing one that was extremely popular and re-gifting dates we didn't get to do, so I feel confident I can share them with you.
I am sharing with you how I am planning my gift to him this year. I obviously cannot share specifics since he does read my blog. I will be posting throughout the next year about what dates we are doing so you can use them for your gift next year!
*some links used are affiliate links*
Matching Months to Dates
Pretty obvious, but it is harder than you think! I used my Date Ideas Board on Pinterest to provide some inspiration.
I have a handy, dandy printable that I used to help me plan. It has a column for the month, the date that I chose {use pencil - lots of erasing and moving around}, as well as cost for the entire date and what I am willing to contribute. I am always sure to include a BIG date in there. Big date = most expensive. I always pay the full amount for that one, because some months, I opted to not pay for the entire date and that month we just budgeted in some of the money needed. For the rest of the dates, I mixed in some cheap and free dates as well.
I also have added columns so that you can note what gift item you will include {gift card, voucher, cash, etc} and a column to help you remember if it is completed or not.
I also have added columns so that you can note what gift item you will include {gift card, voucher, cash, etc} and a column to help you remember if it is completed or not.
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| Click here to download planning page |
Spa Date - I opened up the Schramm Spa for one night only. I gave him a choice of 6 options, he got to choose 2. {can't have it all} I found recipes online for facials, foot scrubs, bath salts, massage oil and a lavender face mask. When he made his choice about what we would like and made his 'appointment', I gathered my materials and made what I needed to make. I was rather inexpensive because it is done at home and all of my treatments were made at home as well. This was by far his favorite date.
Hiking Bushkill Falls - we didn't get to do this date because of the timing. The height of the season this year fell later and it just didn't land on a weekend we could get up there. Going for a walk or hike is a perfect date. You get exercise, beautiful views and best part for us is we could take our baby girl along. You can find hiking trails near you and pack a picnic to take along.
Drive-in Movie - We still have a couple if drive in movie theaters near us. It seems like such a great experience. You can see if there is one near you. If not, many movie theaters are starting to convert to full service theaters. This would be a great "dinner & a movie" all at once.
For ideas, you can follow my Date Ideas Board on Pinterest, check out Groupon or Living Social {just be aware of the expiration dates} and be sure to think about some things you did when you first started dating and throw those in there too. These traditional things took up most of my dates for our first year.
Writing out your dates or Printing them out
I have to admit, this was my most difficult task. I wanted to say something meaningful but everything came out not-so-cute quirky or it didn't make sense. Since I hand-wrote each month's date so I went through a lot of paper. Surprisingly, this is the one thing I got the most comments on from my last post - how handwriting the notes really adds something special to the gift. I have always believed in handwriting notes when it is especially sentimental or meaningful.
This year I started to type out each date idea. This way I can have my wording available and then hand write on the pages I chose to use.
Some tips to help you:
Title page: Explain why you are gifting this to him. In our case, my husband's love language is time spent together so this is my expression of love. Here is a glimpse of last year's.
Month descriptions: Give brief instructions on how it is to work. This is also where you can make it sweet or add any cryptic messages you may want to add {wink,wink}.
Assembling it all together
Month descriptions: Give brief instructions on how it is to work. This is also where you can make it sweet or add any cryptic messages you may want to add {wink,wink}.
Use any envelope you would like. I used these larger ones because I had some gifts that wouldn't fit in a small envelope. This year, I may use the small envelope - haven't decided.
Here are the labels that I used for the large envelopes. I have included ones for smaller envelopes. Print, cut and paste onto the envelope.
Put in a box and you are ready! Happy Holidays!
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| Click to download the large labels or small labels |
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Our Year of Dates Christmas Present 2013
Christmastime always seems to be my favorite time. I love the lights, the tree trimming, the Christmas carols {even in October}, but my favorite part is choosing the BEST gift for everyone on my list. I start making my list and checking it twice in September.
So I'm starting Christmas on my blog now!
So, I started scheming and planning in July. I had come up with all of my dates and pre-paid for some of them.
Here are our dates for the year:
So I'm starting Christmas on my blog now!
Last year, my husband and I were having a baby. Her due date was December 16. Knowing she was due so close to Christmas, I was making sure that I had ALL of my presents purchased, wrapped and under the trimmed tree by Thanksgiving. Yes that's right - Thanksgiving. I started thinking about what I could possibly give to my husband {besides a baby} that he would love and would hopefully bring us closer together {again, besides a baby}.
I saw this on pinterest and it gave me a great idea. A year of dates!
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If I give him a year of dates, we will be forced to spend time together after the baby is born.
January - Philadelphia Home Show {tradition} and money for cookies at Reading Terminal {tradition}
February - Schramm Spa Date {his ABSOLUTE favorite}
March - Beer Tasting at a Brewery
April - Movie on me
May - Spring morning walk and money for breakfast
June - Drive in Movie Theater {yes we have some near us :)}
July - Couples Massage {most pricey and reminder of our honeymoon}
August - Wii Game Night
September - Bushkill Falls Hiking {tradition}
October - Apple picking, hot apple cider and apple cider doughnuts {tradition - first date}
November - Dave & Busters fun date
December - TBA {he reads this blog}
So my grand idea is amazing! Execution - not so much. Out of these 11 dates, as of today we have done 7. For some reason, I thought it would be easier than it is to a) leave a baby, b) find a babysitter, c) have a free weekend and d) did I mention leave the baby?
So, as per his request, I am putting together another year of dates for him next year! I told him I am reusing ones we haven't done yet - makes it easier on me :)
Since he does read my blog, I did have to keep it all under wraps but you can check it out here.
I also have created a Year of Dates for Kids!
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Packing Shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child
Christmas is upon us, even if we're not ready for it yet. The spirit of Christmas is all about giving. Today I am presenting you with a way to give, making a HUGE impact and is little to no cost for you.
What is Operation Christmas Child?
Operation Christmas Child is a program run by Samaritan's Purse that brings gifts to kids around the world at Christmastime. They also share the reason for Christmas, Jesus.
Here are some stats from Operation Christmas Child:
- Since 1993, Samaritan's Purse has collected and delivered more than 113 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in over 150 countries through Operation Christmas Child.
- In, 2014, Samariatn's Purse hopes to collect enough shoeboxes to reach another 10 million children through the Operation Christmas Child project.
- More than 500,000 volunteers worldwide, with more than 100,000 of those in the United States, are involoved in collecting, shipping and distributing shoebox gifts.
- Samaritan's Purse will deliver the gifts to children in more than 100 countries on six continents.
My husband and I started this tradition of packing shoeboxes four years ago. It is something that we enjoy doing together - picking out toys and essentials for the kids - and is something that I am excited to do with my daughter.
What is in a shoebox?
Here are some of the items that we include in our shoeboxes.
For every box we include: bar of soap, loofah or washcloth, toothbrush {no toothpaste as it is considered a liquid}, pencils {sharpened}, notepad, manual pencil sharpener, and a stuffed animal. We fill in the rest with books and toys. Operation Christmas Child also provides you with a list of suggestions too.
The one thing that the children say that is their most favorite gift, is a note. So this year, we made sure to include some handwritten notes from our family.
Another item that we include is a candy cane with a poem. I print out this poem, cut it in half and tape a candy cane to the left of the poem, so the hook is facing the baby Jesus.
I have included the free printable for you to download here.
After your box is packed up, you can provide a check for $7 per box {combine if you have multiple boxes} to help cover the cost of the shipping. They also have a cool feature where you can donate this money online and track your box. We have done this for the past two years. It is so fun to find out that our boxes ended up in Dominican Republic and Haiti.
If you don't have access to a shoebox, you can just show up at the drop off locations with your goodies. They have the red and green boxes available for your there.
Drop off week starts Monday!
Drop off's run from Monday, November, 17 through Monday, November 24. Find a drop off location near you.
What can you do to help even if you don't have time to go shop for materials?
If you don't have time to pack your own box, you can go online and pack a virtual box! For $25 you can choose a boy or girl and choose the items that go inside. I never saw this before and think it is such a great idea!
The best way you can help is pray. Pray that these children will receive exactly the box they need. Pray that Samaritan's Purse can fulfill their goal of reaching millions of children around the world, especially children who may not have ever received a gift.
Operation Christmas Child is a program run by Samaritan's Purse that brings gifts to kids around the world at Christmastime. They also share the reason for Christmas, Jesus.
Here are some stats from Operation Christmas Child:
- Since 1993, Samaritan's Purse has collected and delivered more than 113 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in over 150 countries through Operation Christmas Child.
- In, 2014, Samariatn's Purse hopes to collect enough shoeboxes to reach another 10 million children through the Operation Christmas Child project.
- More than 500,000 volunteers worldwide, with more than 100,000 of those in the United States, are involoved in collecting, shipping and distributing shoebox gifts.
- Samaritan's Purse will deliver the gifts to children in more than 100 countries on six continents.
My husband and I started this tradition of packing shoeboxes four years ago. It is something that we enjoy doing together - picking out toys and essentials for the kids - and is something that I am excited to do with my daughter.
What is in a shoebox?
Here are some of the items that we include in our shoeboxes.
The one thing that the children say that is their most favorite gift, is a note. So this year, we made sure to include some handwritten notes from our family.
Another item that we include is a candy cane with a poem. I print out this poem, cut it in half and tape a candy cane to the left of the poem, so the hook is facing the baby Jesus.
I have included the free printable for you to download here.
 |
| Click here to get your free download |
If you don't have access to a shoebox, you can just show up at the drop off locations with your goodies. They have the red and green boxes available for your there.
Drop off week starts Monday!
Drop off's run from Monday, November, 17 through Monday, November 24. Find a drop off location near you.
What can you do to help even if you don't have time to go shop for materials?
If you don't have time to pack your own box, you can go online and pack a virtual box! For $25 you can choose a boy or girl and choose the items that go inside. I never saw this before and think it is such a great idea!
The best way you can help is pray. Pray that these children will receive exactly the box they need. Pray that Samaritan's Purse can fulfill their goal of reaching millions of children around the world, especially children who may not have ever received a gift.
Help give others ideas - what did you pack in your box? Leave it in the comments!
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