Contest Giveaway

31 Day Give-a-way

A young friend of mine, who is participating in the 31 day challenge is offering a free give-a-way on her blog.  She is blogging for the next 31 day.....decadent desserts.  Oh my are they decadent!
Check out her blog by using the button on the right. 

{31 Days to a Stress-Free Christmas} Day 6~ Consider Handcrafted Gifts Pt. 3

I often like to take the stress out of what to get people on my list by thinking of a "themed" gift basket. I have done baskets for individuals as well as for families. Below I have listed some of my favorite "Themed" gift basket ideas. 

Spa Basket- Purchase or make bath salts, manicure supplies, lotions, & candles. Put                             everything in a pretty basket and attach a pretty bow.
Chocolate Lover's Basket- Purchase or make gourmet chocolates, fancy chocolate tea cookies etc. & wrap in a decorative box lined with tissue paper
Garden Lover's Basket- Purchase garden gloves, seeds,bulbs, hand trowels, garden statuary & arrange it in a large flower pot.
Book Lover's Basket- Purchase bookmarks, bookplates, book light. I have purchased books if I know the reading preferences, if not, I have tucked in a book store gift card.
Kitchen Gadgets Basket- Purchase an assortment of kitchen gadgets & tea towels and put them in a colander.
Tea or Coffee Lover's Basket- Purchase an assortment of specialty teas/coffee, sugar cubes, and mugs. 
Movie Night Basket- Purchase Popcorn and put in a large Mason jar, add some popcorn seasonings, a 6 pack of bottled soda, and a great family movie or two.
Christmas Morning Basket- Add Pancake mix, canned ham, real maple syrup, mini-muffins, coffee.
Car Care Basket- Purchase car wash soap, car wax, armor all, air-fresheners, tire cleaner, & chamois 
Dinner Basket- Purchase a gourmet jar of spaghetti sauce, spaghetti, hot roll mix, and put it all in a stainless steel colander.

This past Christmas I gave each of my teenage nieces a "Party in a Box". For one of them,  I put a popular board game in a large box and added all sorts of snacks and party invitations. For the other I put all sorts of manicure items, nail art kits, invitations & snacks. On the out side of the box I wrote "Party in a box...Just add friends". They both loved them. I especially love the "family" baskets. One large gift for everyone means less time spent in the stores which means less stress. 

{31 Days to a Stress-Free Christmas} Day 5~ Consider Handcrafted Gifts Pt. 2

Well, yesterday I shared why I love making and receiving homemade gifts for Christmas. Today I thought I would share some of my favorite easy gift ideas.

Food Gifts

Who doesn't like special treats during the holidays? There are so many things I like about giving food gifts. First of all, they are consumable. This is a great idea in this "everybody has too much stuff anyway" world.  Some people are hard to buy for and by giving a gift that can be eaten and enjoyed takes the pressure off of me and I don't fret about what to give them. My favorite things to give are either a cookies tray or some type of quick bread. In the past, I have made several kinds of cookies but if that is too much for you, one kind will be just as delicious. I do like to bake and most years I build time in my December schedule to have a few baking days. ....pssst.... One year, I didn't have the time to bake cookies from scratch so I picked up several packages of cookie mix from the baking isle and nobody knew the difference. A friend of mine, who is "famous" for her cookie baking, told me recently that most of the cookie mix companies have a website. On the website, they have recipes that start with a mix, add some ingredients, yielding a more "like homemade" cookie. I have also used some of the quick bread mixes for gifts. Krustease makes a cranberry orange bread that is really good. One year I bought some decorative mini loaf pans, whipped up the bread mix, and got raves from the people who received them. 

Personal Gifts

For some of the special people in our lives, we need to give a more personal gift. My tendecy is to make something for their home. As I said yesterday, my favorite site for craft ideas is Pinterest. One thing I really like about this site is there is a picture of each craft. Very helpful in choosing. There is also a wide range from super easy to more difficult. There are things you put together from scratch or things you re-purpose. Like these "chalk board" trays. 

Or maybe you have a teen girl in your life- this button monogram would look great in her room. Fleece blankets are still a great gift idea. Most fabric stores even have sports team fleece. You can find the instruction for this no sew project online. 

Check back tomorrow for part 3-  Stress Free Themed Gifts.

{31 Days to a Stress-Free Christmas} Day 4~Consider Handcrafted Gifts

I love to receive homemade gifts. Why? Because the real gift was not just the handcrafted item that I received, the real blessing is that someone used their precious time to make something for me. 

"But.....I don't do crafts"

Giving a homemade gift doesn't mean you have to be an accomplished seamstress or know how to crochet or knit. It may be a little risky to attempt something new but there are so many things that can be put together to make a gift you can be proud of. The products available these days are so much easier to use and more accessible at local craft stores than in the past. 

Ideas Ideas Ideas

Where to find ideas for homemade gifts? If you are reading this there is a whole craft world at your fingers.....the Internet. You can simply Google homemade Christmas gifts and come up with tons of ideas. My favorite site for anything, lately, is Pinterest. You have to be sent an invitation to join, but it is free and has great ideas for just about anything. It also provides a place to store all these wonderful ideas in one convenient place. 

How do I chose what to make?

The first thing in choosing what to make is to look at a picture of the item and read the directions. If they leave you saying, "huh"? than that is probably not the craft for you, no matter how cute it is. You know your skill levels so pick something you would be comfortable doing, not something that makes you sweat by just reading the instructions. 

This is also one way that I avoid those Budget Busters from Day 2. Over the years, I have found that I can make a nicer gift for less money than I would spend to buy something of the same quality. 

Piqued your interest?...check back tomorrow for some of my favorite "Stress Free" gift ideas.

{31 Days to a Stress-Free Christmas} Day 3~Consider Lay-a-way

About 5 years ago, I went out on a limb and decided to try a lay-a-way program for purchasing our families Christmas gifts. I am totally sold on lay-a-ways.

Getting Started

The first thing to do is to get the details of the law-a-way program from the stores in your area. Some stores charge a small fee others offer free lay-a-way. Other thing to find out are what is the duration of the lay-a-way, when are payments to be made, how much must be paid each time, and when the lay-a-way must be picked up. One year the lay-a-way had to be picked up by the first week in December. Last year the store I use didn't have any specific date, which was nice because it gave me a few extra weeks to pay it off. You also want to know what can and cannot be put on lay-a-way. Some stores do not allow certain electronic items to be put on law-a-way.

The Benefits

• I refuse to use credit cards to pay for Christmas gifts. I don't want any big bills I have to pay off in January. By using a Lay-a-way, I don't have to have all the cash up front. I can budget money out of each paycheck to make the payments and when I bring the things home I owe no one.  
• I make a point to start my lay-a-way in October. By doing this, I not only avoid the crowds but I don't feel like everything has been picked over. 
• I don't have to find places at home to store everything for months. The store that I use packs everything in a few large boxes while I watch. How is this a benefit, you ask?...let's just say... no longer do gifts get hidden so well, that even I can't find them. 
• I can pick up the lay-a-way early on a weekday morning, bring everything home and wrap it.

The Drawbacks

• Most of the "hot ticket" items of the year are not out yet in September or October so if your shopping for people that have asked for the latest and greatest this may not work for you. This has never been an issue in our family. 
• It can be overwhelming to do all that shopping on one day. 
• You have to remember to go to the store and make a payment each week or two. 
• There is an outside chance that the store could lose or misplace your lay-a-way although this has not happened to me.

For our family, the benefits far out way the drawbacks. It gives me peace of mind to know that all the gifts have been purchased without using credit cards. 

{31 Days to a Stress-Free Christmas} Day 2~ Avoiding Budget Busters

Budget Busters....

Most people love to look at all the great retail displays in the stores at Christmas time. The end-caps of each aisle are filled with adorable "add-ons" that would be perfect for grandma, great-aunt Marge, or your pampered "pooch".

The best way I have found to avoid those impulse budget busters begins with the list we made on day 1. After I make my master gift giving list, I take a moment and decide how much money to spend on each person. I usually have a dollar amount that I want to spend for all the gifts I have to purchase. I then begin to divide that up between those on my list, adjusting amounts as needed. 

By keeping that "pocket" list with me when I shop, I know who I have left to purchase a gift for. When I see that I have already purchased a gift for great-aunt Marge this year, I am able to muster the strength to walk on by the display of chocolate covered peanut butter what-nots in the re-usable Christmas tree jar..... hmmm... but then again there is that lady down the street.... 

Stick to the list!

{31 Days to a Stress-Free Christmas} Day 1~Making a List & Checking it Twice

The Christmas season is my most favorite time of the year. I love listening to Christmas Music, finding the perfect gifts, Advent celebrations, and  decorating the house with our 64, yes 64, Christmas trees! What I don't love about the season is.....STRESS! I have learned the hard way(aka: making my family miserable) that planning ahead makes our Christmas season full of joyful memories and eliminates feeling rushed and full of regret. I pray that these next "31"days of 
ideas will help get you off and running to...'the most wonderful time of the year....

Making a list

October 1st reminds me to do the 1st thing. I spend a few minutes making a list of all the people that we will be getting Christmas gifts for. I include everyone from the obvious immediate family members to good family friends. Then, I add special people like those who teach my children piano or dance and our Pastor. This year I am expanding my list to include a few people whom we would like to know that we appreciate them, like my mail carrier and our garbage men.  For some of us, this list may be frighteningly long but

 Don't Panic!

Seeing the list in black and white really helps me to decide if I need to add or decrease  the list. I can't tell you how much money I have spent on last minute-oops I forgot them- gifts. It can be a real budget buster. 

I make my lists on a spreadsheet and save it in my computer. I like the columns because I can add names, sizes, specific gift ideas, etc. I also make a note if I want hand-make a gift for that person. In the last two columns, I add the things I have purchased for each person and how much I've spent thus far. 

After my "Master" list is created I cut and paste the list of names into a list that I can print out on card stock cut small enough to carry in my purse. (This year, I have a smart phone so I will add my names to a list created on the phone.) This helps me to not only take advantage of sales I come across but to remember who I have yet to buy for. I update my master list regularly, adding my purchases. Then I cross off the names on my pocket size list when gifts have been purchased. 

Let the Shopping begin...