Archives for December 2012

Last Minute Christmas Gifts that Don’t Seem Last Minute

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Are you still trying to think of what to give someone on your list?  Are you panicking a bit because Christmas will be here in less than a week?  I have been in the same boat because of all the sickness in my house for the past few weeks.  I was really behind and playing catch up on gift shopping.  I found some great gifts though that I am happy to give my family and I’m pretty sure they’re gonna love them.  Here are some last minute Christmas gifts that don’t seem last minute:

Give a magazine subscription

Buy a Magazine from a local store (Target or WalMart) and give it with a card that says the recipient is getting a new subscription to the magazine (be sure to sign them up for a gift subscription). Amazon has lots of magazine subscriptions available for many different magazines.

Some ideas are America Girl for girls ages 8 & up, Clubhouse for boys and girls ages 8-12, Clubhouse Jr. for boys & girls ages 3-7, Real Simple Magazine for women, Kiwi Magazine for the mom who is green and eats healthy,  Wired Magazine for anyone into the latest technology.




Gamefly

For the gamer in your family get them the subscription to Gamefly. The game service that allows them to rent games for as long as they like and then return them for a new selection. $15.95 a month gets you 1 game at a time.

Netflix

Give the gift of unlimited movies with Netflix.  My family has a Netflix subscription and we love it! Watch instantly over the internet on your computer, mobile & tablet device or on your TV via Wii, PS3, Xbox and many other devices. A month of service is $7.99 and you can sign up for just one month or multiple months.

Kindle Ebooks

You can purchase specific Kindle books at Amazon to send to someone.  One of my favorite books to give is Ann Voskamp’s 1000 Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are.  It is beautiful and life changing (and only $3.79 for Kindle right now).

Kindle books can be gifted to someone who has a Kindle OR someone who has an iPad or iPhone and has the Kindle app on their phone.

Starbucks

Starbucks allows you to email gift cards to a recipient and choose your greeting.  If you have the iPhone Starbucks app you can also send a gift right from your phone using the recipients email address.

iTunes

If you have iTunes you can log in to your account and give gift cards from the store.  They will be emailed on the date you select.  iTunes gift cards are great for anyone who has an iPod, iPhone, or iPad.  It allows them to purchase music, movies and apps.

Spa Finder

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SpaFinder allows you to print or email a SpaFinder gift card that the recipient can redeem at over 20,000 Spas, Yoga, Pilates, & Fitness Studios Worldwide.

Amazon gift card

Last but not least, email an Amazon Gift Card that allows your recipient to purchase just about anything they could think of on Amazon.com

What are your go-to last minute gifts?  I hope you are having a lovely Christmas season and not feeling too rushed!

Disclosure: Some affiliate links are used in this post.

Filed Under: Finding the Best Gifts Tagged With:

Make Christmas Memories With Your Kids in an Hour {or less} a Day

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Here is a great list of ideas to make Christmas memories with your kids in an hour {or less} a day.  These ideas are to help you all enjoy the season, remember what it is all about, teach them to be grateful for what they already have and teach them how to be thoughtful in their own gift giving.

  • Go see Christmas lights- make hot chocolate and put it in hot cups with lids and head out to a neighborhood known for doing Christmas lights well.  Play Christmas music, enjoy your hot chocolate and ooh and aah over the lights together.
  • Act out the Christmas story- use sheets to dress up as Mary, Joseph, shepherds,  wise men, sheep, etc.. (or have the kids play multiple rolls). Read the Christmas story in the Bible and have the kids act it out.
  • Do a live nativity scene with the kids in your neighborhood.
  • Make Christmas cookies together with your kids {here’s an easy recipe to get you started}
  • Take cookies to those who serve you in your neighborhood {firemen, policemen, etc…}
  • Random Acts of Kindness to strangers- Pay for the people behind you in a drive through. Hand out gift cards for $5 to Starbucks. Feed meters with change downtown.  Go to the library and pay off over due fines.  Reach out to a single mom and offer to help her out with babysitting, extra groceries, or even gift money. Include your kids and have fun spending time together blessing others.
  • Make old fashioned decorations for the Christmas tree- string popcorn for the tree or a garland using a needle and thread, make cinnamon spice ornaments {they smell amazing}, or let the kids paint new ornaments.
  • Spend time talking about ways to give to others- Get your kids thinking about ways they can serve others this Christmas. Have them decide what they can give to those who don’t have as much as they do.
  • Have your kids make a gift list- This is not a list of what they want but rather what they already have that are gifts in their lives.  Teach them to be grateful for what they have.
  • Help them think of creative ways to give thoughtful gifts to the ones they need gifts for- Don’t’ simply buy gifts for your kids to give but spend time with them teaching them to be thoughtful about what they give to others such as teachers, friends, cousins, daddy, etc… Give your kids opportunities to earn the money {by doing chores} to buy gifts for others.

 

Filed Under: Make Memories with Your Kids

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Cracker Cookies Recipe {& a Gluten-free Version}

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If you haven’t ever tried this Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Cracker Cookies Recipe before you are missing out (sorry, just being honest). They are sweet and salty at the same time and so very good. They do not necessarily fit into my idea of eating super healthy but they are a once a year Christmas treat. I have made these every year since I was a little girl and my mom and I discovered them at a craft sale one Christmas. My family loves them now too and I would get in serious trouble if we didn’t make them. They are pretty simple to make. See the recipe notes below for a gluten-free substitution.

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Cracker Cookies Recipe {& a Gluten-free Version}
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Cookies
Ingredients
  • 1 box Ritz crackers (or use the an organic version of butter crackers from Whole Foods)
  • 1 (16 oz.) jar creamy peanut butter
  • 2 (1 lb. ) Packages of Chocolate Almond Bark or any melting chocolate of your choosing
Instructions
  1. Spread peanut butter on a Ritz cracker and then top with another cracker to make a sandwich. Repeat this until you have used up all of the Ritz crackers.
  2. In a double boiler (or a glass bowl on top of a pan with about 1½ inches of water in it) melt the chocolate over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. Once the chocolate is melted, remove the bowl from the stove and use a fork to dip the ritz and peanut butter sandwiches into the chocolate. Pick up the chocolate covered Ritz with a fork and gently tap it on the sides of the bowl to remove excess chocolate. Place cookies to dry on wax or parchment paper.
  3. Once the cookies are dry store in an airtight container. They stay good one the counter for about a week or you can make them ahead and freeze them.
Notes
For a gluten-free version use Glutino Gluten-free Original Crackers. They end up tasting pretty close to the same thing when you add the peanut butter and cover them in chocolate.

Filed Under: Family Friendly Recipes Tagged With: ,

Debt-Proof Your Christmas {A Review}

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If you’re like me you want to know how to Dept-Proof Your Christmas.  Imagine with me that you look back and your Christmas was the best yet. You think about the past few weeks leading up to it and smile.  It really was how you imagined it could be and you feel joy and peace at knowing that you had the Christmas you intentionally planned for.  Sounds great doesn’t it?

I love that Mary Hunt has written a book full of practical ideas as well as the inspiration we need to get ourselves in the mindset of a debt-free Christmas. Her book, titled Debt-Proof Your Christmas, is amazingly thorough on the subject of celebrating the holidays without breaking the bank.  She shares inspiration for having the right mindsets and developing a plan for your Christmas spending.  Mary doesn’t beat you up with past failure but rather encourages you that it’s never too late to start on a path towards a debt-free Christmas.

“You can decide right now that Christmas for you and your family will not be dictated by the retail industry, which has it’s sight set on your wallet and your wealth.”

Dept-Proof Your Christmas covers everything from budgeting, how to find great deals, homemade gifts, and holiday traditions to all kinds of creative gift ideas and even a section on holiday entertaining.  This book is sure to help you find ways to cut back, be more creative and give more intentionally thought out gifts.  I believe you will find it to be a very helpful book whether you are going into Christmas not sure how to make it all work or you are already on top of the budgeting and planning.

What are some of the ways you plan for a debt-free Christmas?

Available September 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Disclosure: I received this book for free from Revell to review. Also, the links in this post are affiliate links that allow Mommy Kudos to earn a small commission on any purchase you make with them.  I will only share with you what I use and recommend. I hope you enjoy them!

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: ,

Being Prepared for when Mom is Sick

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Being prepared for when mom is sick doesn’t seem like a fun thing to do but, trust me, it is worth thinking ahead for.  When mom get’s sick (and it happens when it is least convenient) it can be very tough, especially if other family members are sick too.  I have been nursing 4 of my 6 kids back to health this week and just restocked my storage box of items for myself.  I did it just in the nick of time too because after loosing sleep and caring for so many sick kids I am starting to not feel so great myself.

When you are not feeling well and daddy is at work all day, there are some ways you can make life easier on yourself.  Here are a few things I suggest throwing in a labeled storage box and stashing somewhere out of everyday sight:

The “For When Mom is Sick” Box

Kid snacks I would suggest stocking several non perishable snacks (granola bars, crackers, nuts) so that when the kids are hungry you have stuff on hand.

Easy to prepare meals– mac n cheese, canned soups, jars of spaghetti sauce and pasta, or other quick and easy meal ideas that you can put together quickly to feed the kids.

Easy Foods for you– Broths and soups and snacks in case you do have an appetite.

Vitamins and medicine– Since you are preparing for when you are sick you might as well go ahead and get these things. It’s no fun to have to go to a store when you are sick.  Throw in some Sambucus Syrup (Elderberry syrup) to help boost your immunity and help keep anyone who isn’t sick yet from getting sick too.  I also like to have Oscillococcinum on hand, which works well to reduce the duration and severity of flu symptoms.  I have been very grateful for it’s effectiveness in the past. Also, load up on vitamin C and make sure you’re taking vitamin D (see your doctor for doses).

I am also learning about the effectiveness of essential oils in treating all sorts of illnesses and issues.  Since I am a big advocate of using natural products as much as possible I am excited to learn more about the use of essential oils for treating illnesses.

New Games, Movies or Toys for the kids– Kids seem to have extra energy when you have none.  Help keep them entertained with a new game, coloring books, small toys, etc… Why should it be new?  Because they will be more likely to spend more time with it if it is new.  You may even save a new movie for this occasion.

Do you think ahead for things like being sick?  It’s not pleasant but very helpful. What would you add to your box?

Filed Under: Making Mom's Life a Bit Easier Tagged With: , ,
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