With Christmas just about two months away, do you know which Christmas decorating theme is perfect for your family? If not, Balsam Hill has the perfect Christmas decorating quiz and giveaway for you on Facebook! Through the quiz, you can find out the Christmas decorating theme that suits your family, and be entered to win a 6-piece, Egg Blown Glass Ornament Set! Twelve daily winners will receive Egg Blown Glass Ornaments in sets of 6, available in Burgundy & Emerald, Gold and Champagne, and Silver and Blue. I took the quiz, and the quiz determined that I would most like Balsam Hill's Continue reading...
Saving for the Holidays Sweepstakes
Note from Lauren: The holidays are almost here, so I am excited to be offering this Saving for the Holidays Sweepstakes with several other great bloggers! One lucky winner will win a $100 gift card to Target! Who couldn't use that? To get your entry in for the sweepstakes, just enter your information into the Rafflecopter below!The sweepstakes ends on November 8 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Good luck! Welcome to the Saving for the Holidays Sweepstakes Organized by Budget Earth Co-hosted by Barbara's Beat | It's My Party | Simply Sherryl | Mirth and Motivation | Coupons and Freebies Mom | Continue reading...
Holiday Baking Learn and Conserve Challenge #2
As you might know, I am participating in the Learn and Conserve Challenge friendly competition with several other local bloggers. My first post for this series was on winterizing the home to save energy – and cash – over the winter months. Thanks to NRG Residential Solutions, I’ve learned that winterizing the home doesn’t have to be difficult or cost a lot of money! Now that NRG’s Ambassadors are on our second challenge, we have the task of cooking without our ovens and microwaves as much as we can for the next two weeks. This is a tough challenge, as it falls right in the holiday baking Continue reading...
Winter Getaway – #Marriott
When winter rolls around here in New Jersey, I start longing for a getaway from the winter's cold weather and dark nights. I've found that quick winter getaways are a great way to chase away the winter blues! But because I don't have a big budget, I can never go away very far on my winter getaways. But that doesn't matter, because my friends and family have discovered that even booking just an overnight or two at a local Marriott can be a lot of fun! Ring in the New Year In past years, my family and two other families on our block have celebrated the New Year at a local Marriott. The Continue reading...
Scrapbook Paper Gift Tags
I am a big scrapbooker and have been working feverishly to get this year's scrapbook of family photos completed! Since scrapbook paper is so pretty, I always save my paper scraps in case I can use them for something someday. Well, while watching the finale of The Voice with my daughters last night on TV, I figured out how to use all those scraps -- I converted some of them into pretty scrapbook gift tags for all the gifts I have yet to wrap! (LOL) With only three days of school left before the winter holiday, I decided to let my kids bring in their teacher gifts today -- but we needed Continue reading...
The Christmas Pickle – A Fun Holiday Tradition
This holiday season, I have been into creating new Christmas traditions for my kids. Just a few days ago, we started using our new decorated advent gift boxes to count down until Christmas -- my daughters have been having so much fun opening the boxes each morning to find little treats and surprises for them nestled inside! Christmas Pickle Ornament Yesterday, I was in a local dollar store and was very happy to find glass pickle ornaments for just $1 each! I've heard of the tradition of hiding a glass pickle ornament in the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve, and have always been curious about Continue reading...
7 Christmas Advent Calendars
I just love advent calendars. Since I've created my gift box advent calendar for my kids, I've been noticing other really great advent calendars from other blogs. I'd love to create one of these other advent calendars and add to the fun my kids and I have been having with our advent calendar! Gift Box Advent Calendar To create my family's advent calendar, I gathered some of the mini gift boxes I've saved over the years. I used some scrapbook paper to decorate the boxes, and either hand numbered them or used number stickers to number each box. In each box, I placed special treats Continue reading...
Christmas Advent Calendar Boxes
Now that December is here, my kids absolutely cannot wait for Christmas! So, I came up with the idea of creating cute numbered advent calendar boxes -- my kids can open one up each day as we count down to Christmas. Yesterday, I created a few advent calendar boxes, for 23, 22, 21, 20 and 19 days until Christmas. I'll eventually add the other boxes as we get closer to Christmas! In each box, I nestled yummy treats, stickers, and other fun finds. They opened the 23 days until Christmas box yesterday to find a large piece of bubble gum each. They were happy to get the gum! I got my Continue reading...
Tween Holiday Gift Guide
My daughters (who are both 10) have hit the tween years, and I have to say that buying gifts for tweens can be tough! Toys no longer fill their gift wish lists, and they are a lot pickier about what they like. If you are looking to buy a gift for your tween, however, don't despair! The gifts on this 2013 tween holiday gift guide are sure to please just about any tween. 1. Kindle Fire HD A Kindle Fire HD (Kindle Fire HD 7", HD Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB - Includes Special Offers) is an excellent gift for your tween. My tweens each have a Kindle, and they use their Kindles constantly! On their Continue reading...
Christmas Decorating
My Recollections ornament boxes makes unpacking the Christmas ornaments so much easier. It snowed here in New Jersey yesterday. My daughters were so excited! I am trying to wait until after Thanksgiving to decorate for Christmas, but I know at least one of my daughters would like to start decorating for the Christmas holiday NOW! Especially since the snow has put them both in the holiday spirit -- one of my daughters has been wearing a Santa's hat to bed every night already! Christmas Organization Thanks to some organizing I did just after last Christmas, Continue reading...