Here is a fun accent for your Holiday Dinner party.... Candy Cane Hearts. I used things I already had at home.
For (1) plate decor:
This is a great idea for your teens... custom made headphones. They get to design the colors and artwork. I am going to print up a coupon for my daughter and put it under the tree for Christmas morning. The coupon will include the website address and a little note entitling her to create her very own "one of a kind" headphones. Ya know, that is always a winner, having something nobody else has!
Click Here to visit their website - currently they are offering 40%, pricing ranging from 19.99 - 34.99
This is the perfect gift for the person who has everything! The prices range from $50 and up, depending on the product and if you want 3,6,9 or 12 months. They have a huge selection of clubs...Snacks, Pickles, Chips-n-Salsa, Cigars, Beer, Liquor, Books, Puzzles, Flowers, Back to College, Golf Balls, Condiments, Bread, Pancakes and the list goes on and on. If your not sure what they want, you can get a Gift Certificate and let them browse the site for the perfect items. Just click here to see more...MonthClubStore.com
Here's a fun game I found that the whole family can enjoy... Danceopoly, using the Monopoly concept the players expand their dance studios to dance theaters, they audition for Broadway and TV reality shows. They are currently running a promotion that if you take the Dance IQ quiz on their site, you will $5.00 off the purchase. Click here to go to their site. Danceopoly.com
I was looking for some Christmas games for my neighborhood party and for my 1st grader's class party and found a great site. I have spent more time over the past few holidays trying to find new and different games to play. I am so excited to have found Christmas Games A to Z... Click here to see what I mean Printable Games for Christmas Fun. This site has oodles of games for every holiday. So I purchased the 60 Christmas Printable Games for $19.95. (Of course no shipping) Now I can go onto the site anytime I want and have access to the games for 90 days. Here are just a few of Christmas themed games... Charades, Jeopardy, Word Find, Trivia, Movie Characters, Anagrams, Scrabble, Coloring Pages, Christmas Around the World, Christmas A-Z, Santa's Cookies, Bible Babies, Right & Left, Carol Match, Reindeer Games and more, including.
6 New Year's Games !!
Kidkraft Fashion Dollhouse...SAVE 50% only $99.98 (originally $100) - Plus FREE SHIPPING
Save $10 on any $75 purchase with coupon code SW-8937
Here's an overview of the product:
Last Christmas I really wanted a couple of nice Christmas wreaths, one to hang on the front door and one in the entry way. I had no idea how expensive the artificial one's cost. Boy was I surprised - Yes, there were some cheap, ugly small ones I could have bought from anywhere between $35 - $75. But I wanted a nice one that I could keep for years to come. The nice ones cost between $75.and $200. That's INSANE and out of my budget. So I took a few extra moments to really look at a few of the wreaths - not much to them. It really didn't look like it would be that difficult to make myself, and believe me, I had no prior experience. So I drove to the closest craft store - Michael's - and waa laa - everything I needed AND on sale. I spent less than $50.00.
I bought supplies for two types of wreaths - an artificial and a real wreath...
As the hostess of the After Dinner Drinks and Desserts portion of our Neighborhood Christmas Party, I wanted to come up with something inexpensive, but nice, to give to each of the families that attend the party. So I went to Hobby Lobby and browsed around the Christmas stuff. Just about all of it is 50% off, which in some cases were pretty good deals. I chose these sweet little resin "old fashion" Santas $2.each). They are about 3 inches tall and have an area on the back large enough for me to write a special message. I can use them as part of the table decor while we enjoy dessert, drinks and some games. The main hostess has picked a few games to play and I am going to peek around the Internet to find a few more. I'll let you know what I find.
We live on a street where 90% of our neighbors are either retired or without kids. So you would think we would be the outsiders. To the contrary, we are right in the middle of all the action. My husband and I made the conscious decision to get to know the people around us and include them in our lives. For the past two years we have had a Halloween costume party and I have to tell you, the retired folks get into it more than us young and crazy kids. Ha! Their costumes are always the best and several of them stay to the wee hours of the morning. We are very fortunate and happy to have such great neighbors and friends.
So I'm excited to say our neighbor across the street is hosting the 1st Annual Christmas Block Party. I think she is doing a great job managing the whole thing. With so many people involved (I think 18 houses) here is how she is keeping it simple and fun.... 2 Easy Steps
STEP 1
She sent out a cute flyer saying Santa Claus is coming to our Neighbor for a Party(which her husband will dress up for an appearance). Here is what she asked the group's preference:
How are you going to make your dollars stretch this Christmas - having kids, especially teenagers, it harder to get away with the inexpensive barbies and tonka trucks. My teenager and all her friends are focused on the electronics - video games, phones, cameras, ipods....
Do they already have an iPod:
PodMaxx Software will allow you "unlock" iTune music. What does that mean? With iTunes you are only allowed to transfer music onto ONE iPod, with PodMaxx you can transfer music onto multiple iPods. Saves you money and takes care of the whole family.
www.mypodmax08.com
Do they already have a Cell Phone:
Ring Factory Software will allow them to download music as a ringtone for NO CHARGE. They can create any ringtone they desire and you will save some dough. I found this out the hard way - big charges for downloading ringtones.
www.myringtonefun.com
To receive 50% off on PodMaxx and Ring Factory - just enter this priority code: Black50 at the online check out...
I don't know about the kids in your life, but in mine, if they are over 11years old, it is really hard to find gifts that they like without them telling you exactly what they want.
What happened to the old fashion way...searching and searching for just the "perfect" gift, buying the wrapping paper, the bow, the whole works. Only to find out that "that's not really what they wanted". Then you spend more time taking the "perfect' gift back. God forbid you can't find the receipt, that's always the biggest bummer. It becomes even more complicated when you are sending gifts out of state.
So instead of just buying a visa or MC gift card, I buy Gift.com Gift cards. I can personalize the note with a message and a picture- makes it a bit more fun.
Here is how it works for them:
Step 1
Your gift recipient receives an email with your gift card and a certificate with a redemption code. If you want to deliver it in person, just print the gift card yourself.
Step 2
Your recipient browses through hundreds of top merchants and picks a merchant to redeem their gift card. Because we're all about freedom of choice, they can redeem your entire gift amount at one store or split it across multiple merchants.
Step 3
Your recipient clicks on the link and enters their claim code. They can redeem some now and more later if they want, or spend it all in one shot. That's the beauty of the Gifts.Com Gift Card—the choice is all theirs.
Step 4
Depending on the merchant, they'll receive the merchant gift card via mail or email. Some gift cards are for shopping in person or at a restaurant, others can be used online.
Today I received an email from a friend asking that when I do my Christmas cards, could I take one and send it to this address:
Holiday Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456
As always, when it comes to our US Soldiers fighting today, I had a wave of emotions.. sadness, gratitude, anger and pride. There is not much I can do to stop the madness, but I can make a difference in someones life. So of course, I will be sending multiple Christmas cards to this address. I want them to be different and include a special note- maybe funny cards would be best. I am not sure, but I will do my best to touch a soldier this Christmas. I am also going to take this email to my 1st grader's teacher and ask if she would have the class make cards. Nothing like a small child's sloppy handwriting and pictures to make you smile. I know this is such a small thing, but sometimes those small things in our lives mean a lot.
If you agree, please send a card and pass this note on to your friends.
Christmas is right around the corner and if you are like me, I feel I am already behind. The gifts, the tree, the decorations and outside lights and of course the entertaining. Wheeww - it's quite a bit of work, but I love it all!!
There are a few things I do to spruce up the house for our Holiday party - simple, inexpensive and always noticed by the guests.
1. Simple flower arrangements
I always go to Costco the day before the party and pick out one or two big bundles of flowers. My rule is to keep it under $20.00 and no carnations. I have never been disappointed. This gives me enough flowers to separate them and create smaller arrangements, which I feel are better than 1 big tall one. Smaller arrangements are more versatile and give you color throughout the house, instead of in just one room. Over the years I have collected all sorts of shapes and sizes of vases (whatever I can find on the clearance shelf - TJ Maxx is a great place to look for something different.) You can also find simple vases at the dollar store - remember the flowers are the focal point not the vase.
Where do I place the flowers:
