Christmas is here! I love the holidays, the music, the food, the religious significance, the ambiance. It’s especially magical with kids. My family has lots of traditions surrounding the holiday, today I’m sharing one of my favorites. My kids are constantly asking if they can open a present before Christmas… and my two year old doesn’t even ask, she just goes for it, I think she gets it from me. I found a great solution to this query! Each year I wrap up 25 of our favorite Christmas books (we’re a reading family!).
Beginning December 1st each night the kids take turns choosing one to unwrap, then that book is our bedtime story that evening. Whomever opens “The Polar Express” is the house hero, it’s their favorite. The kids love the tradition, I love it and it keeps the holiday feeling throughout the month. If you don’t have 25 Christmas-themed books, try it with just one on Christmas Eve!
Happy Creating!
Yesterday was my husband’s birthday. We had planned an epic day of hiking The Subway in Zion National Park with friends. As luck would have it, some of the heaviest rain all year began to pour through the desert region and slam us with water. Here is Mike at the back country office
The Subway is both hiking and canyoneering, so when flash flooding hits you do not want to be in a canyon! There was tons of water coming down the huge sandstone walls and flooding all over. We opted instead for a beautiful high-ground back country hike on the east side:
Too bad for Mike that the entire birthday celebration was the all-day hike, even his birthday gift was this truly beautiful photograph of the Subway. Which just kind of rubbed it in, like, oh look how pretty of a hike you DIDN’T get to go on for your birthday! In the end, all was well…
Happy Birthday babe!
***Update 5.21.2014 Two of these plates still look fantastic, the other two have faded! I can’t find a rhyme or reason why two would work and the others wouldn’t. Just wanted to give you a warning!
I am shameless about giving myself presents. For birthdays I email links of my wish list in order of preference to my husband and on Christmas I wrap my own gifts. I love surprises, but I also love getting stuff that I really want or need. It’s very unromantic I know, but the end result is always awesome.
It’s no surprise then that this week my nephews and kids made Mother’s Day presents with me. Who makes their own Mother’s Day gifts!? Totally me. So fun and so easy.
1. Find a plain plate. I bought Corelle plates for $3.23 at Walmart because I wanted them to last
2. Color with sharpie markers
3. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes
DONE! I hope I have these plates forever. If you’re looking for a last minute idea for someone in your life, try this personalized gift.
Happy Creating!
image by http://www.theroguenews.com
Some good friends of mine were watching the news two years ago during a feature on Black Friday shoppers. They were commenting to each other “who in their right mind does that!?” When who splashes across the screen cheering and laughing and waving to cameras? Me. It was a proud moment. My sister and I were some of the first through the doors at Target, I was jumping with happy excitement, she was doing high kicks for the camera. It was fun.
A lot of people despise the whole idea of Black Friday (my husband is in this category). My family and I happen to love it. It is a way to stretch your dollar. We strategize, plan, and really get into it. Often we each make our lists and then assign one adult to each store, then we meet and exchange purchases. It’s our very own running of the bulls if you will and we are veterans of the sport. During the past few years however, even the die hards like us feel it is becoming tainted. Two things kinda take the fun out of it for me: early openings, on Thanksgiving, and I do not like the greediness aspect of it all. So, this year I decided to share some secrets and give you my Top 10 Survival Guide tips. enjoy and be careful out there!
image by http://www.blairphillipsphotographyblog.com
10. If you can buy it online, buy it online.
9. Go in pairs. One of you saves a place in the check out line, the other gets the stuff. The check out lines are the most time consuming part of Black Friday. Grab it, buy it, and move on!
8. Prioritize your shopping. Scour the ads if you have to, but be ready.
7. Remember your neighbor and teacher gifts. Neighbors, if you are reading this, yes I buy your gifts on Black Friday every. year. (But you already knew I like a bargain!)
6. Plan beyond Christmas morning. I buy all the pants my kids will need for an entire year. I also buy 20 or so birthday gifts- it’s fun to show up to a party with a $20 gift that actually cost $6 and I didn’t have to run to the store to get!
5. Bring your own shopping bag. Carts are time consuming and cumbersome. It’s about time people! Big blue IKEA bags are my personal favorite.
4. Remember the rebates! Mail in your rebates the SAME day so you don’t forget! Also, usually you can not receive more than one rebate per receipt, per household. So, if you have to buy two of the same rebated item make sure it’s on a separate receipt and you have another address that it can be mailed to.
3. If there is something you really need go to the store the day before and scout it out. One year I was in charge of Kohls, with seven peoples shopping lists. My sister and I went on Wednesday night and made a map. Ha! Besides getting everything we needed, we could help other shoppers too!
2. Do you really need/want it? I mean, really? If you don’t, don’t grab it. If you are saving $10 go home and get some sleep… if you’re saving $1000 I’ll save you a place in line friend.
1. Play nice. Be kind to the fellow shoppers and be kind to the employees! Pushing, shouting, stealing from carts or being rude to store employees will get you a first class ticket to the naughty list. Stay calm and shop on.