Monday, December 28, 2009

Coupons


I have gathered below some links to sites that offer great coupons.  In this economy, we can sure use them.

At some of the sites below you may have to spend a small amount in order to get a great deal whereas others offer free coupons. 
Hope the coupons help!

Marlin

Monday, December 21, 2009

Holiday Decor/Santa in Your Home & on the Phone

Here are some holiday decorating ideas that I found interesting and wanted to share.  Just click on the links and enjoy!
Picture of Santa Claus in Your Home

Now on to the picture of Santa Claus in your home.  I posted this before but wanted to post again for those that have children that still believe that there is a Santa Claus.

Go to Capture the Magic where you can upload a photo of a room in your home that is currently decorated for Christmas.  You would then drag and drop a realistic image of Santa (there are various poses to choose from) into the picture of your room to make believe he was really there.  You would then download it to share with your children on Christmas morning via your computer.

The cost is $9.95 for the first picture while the 2nd one is free, and any more after that costs only .99 cents. I did this last year and my children were very excited and said that the next year they wanted to sit up and wait to make sure that they did not miss Santa coming in to our home. I think your kids will be surprised and excited without a doubt to see Santa in their own home.  It's a neat idea and we enjoyed doing it. You may have some questions later on once they realize that there is no Santa Claus, so enjoy it now while you can.

Phone Call from Santa Claus

For those that are on the borderline of believing if there really is a Santa, what a perfect way to make them believe by getting a phone call from Santa himself! 

When you go to fill out your information, you can put down facts about your child/children. Your child will be shocked that Santa knows so much about him/her. Santa can also speak with them about things they need to improve on (i.e., – not getting along with siblings, etc.).  Santa would also love to compliment them on what they are doing well with (i.e. good grades, etc.).  This call is a "live" 3-5 minute call, so book it now and get your video camera out to capture the look on your child's face.  I have yet to try this one out, but I think I will this year!

The price for this is $15 before Dec. 15th (as you see it's already passed this date)
Between Dec 15 - 23 it would be $20.00
On Dec 24, it would be $29.95
On Christmas day, it would be $39.95

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

Marlin

Monday, December 14, 2009

Decorating Holiday Presents


Many times I go the easy route of not actually wrapping presents.  I end up putting them in gift bags with some tissue paper and I am done.  This year, I decided to mainly wrap the gifts but things got a little too busy so I didn't get as creative as I would have liked to with my wrapping. 

Although I have not been as creative with my gift wrapping, I do enjoy seeing others gift wrapping ideas and am very impressed with what some people do with their presentations.  There are times that I honestly prefer looking at the gift rather than wanting to know what is inside of it; it can be too pretty to unwrap. 

So, hopefully you all get inspired to be a bit more creative than I was this year.  If not, I hope you get a gift from someone else who was inspired to get creative with their gift decorating. 

Either way, here are some ideas to get you started. 
  • Wrap the box or gift in pretty ribbon.
  • Add raffia as a ribbon around the present.
  • Use felt cloth to create a fortune cookie and put paper or the "fortune" in it to say who the gift is going to.  You can even wrap the gift in Chinese takeout menus.
  • Use ornaments as a secondary gift to put on top of the gift.
  • Flowers, pinecones or berries can also be added on top of the gift.
  • Create a snowman theme by using cotton balls.  Use gift wrap in a solid color and then glue the cotton balls all over the present and then on the top create a snowman with a hat and scarf.
  • Continue with a cotton ball themed gift by creating a scene on the gift.  You could use the cotton balls as clouds and attach felt patterns on plain gift wrap to make a house, a tree or whatever you want your picture to represent.
  • Make it a themed present, if the gift is a remote control airplane or car, you can wrap the gift using a road map. 
  • Make a paper fan or snowflakes - just like the ones we created as children - and use it embellish the top of a gift.  
  • Cut out a Christmas tree, gingerbread man or a star from a single color felt paper (use a cookie cutter to get the right shape) and then place on the gift wrap.
  • Use one holiday themed cookie cutter on top of a wrapped present; just attach it to the ribbon to keep sturdy.
  • For the grandparents, wrap gifts with their grandchild's artwork.
  • If you know a hobby that the person the gift is going to enjoys, you can make it unique just for them.  For someone who enjoys creating art, attach a paint brush to the top of the present.  For someone who enjoys reading, attach a bookmark as the label.  For someone who enjoys to sew, add buttons all over the present.
  • If you want a flashy gift (just add a red ribbon) or you simply ran out of gift wrap, go to your kitchen and get some aluminum foil and use that as wrapping paper.
  • Another idea if you run out of wrapping paper, wrap your gift using newspaper and just add a colorful bow or ribbon and your problem has been solved.  They will think you are so creative, when you simply ran out of gift wrap!
  • For kid gifts, attaching small gloves to the top of the gift would be a cute idea.  You could even add a scarf to use as a big ribbon.
  • Use a jump rope as ribbon.
  • As you see the ideas are endless!
If you chose to get creative yourself, here are some items that you may want to keep on hand:
  • Glue (Elmers or fabric, depending on what you will be using)
  • Scissors
  • Tape
  • Ribbon
  • Bows
  • Labels
  • Pen or markers
  • Felt
  • String
  • Foil
  • Wrapping paper
  • Road maps
  • Embellishments (pinecones, cottonballs, cookie cutters, berries, etc.)
Enjoy your week ahead!

Marlin

Monday, December 7, 2009

Holiday Decorating



I wanted to get some holiday decoration ideas to you before it gets too late.  In this post, I have posted as well as written ways to make your Poinsettias last through more than just the December holidays;  how to make some unique wreaths; and other miscellaneous decorating tips.

Poinsettias

For those of you that love Poinsettias and would like them to last longer than just the holidays, check out these tips.

Wreaths

Beautiful and interesting wreaths, for all the "do it yourself" folks out there.

Miscellaneous Tips
  • Extra bulbs or decorations can be put together in interesting containers.  You can place similar colors together (i.e., the containers I have pictured are old, brass cooking pots that my grandmother used long ago and I placed red beaded garland along with red ornaments in one, blue silver garland with silver and royal blue ornaments in another and gold ornaments in the smallest pot) and place them all together to make a unique statement to a drab area.

  • To make the area intimate, add candles with ornmanets or garlands around the table.
  • Add bows to chandeliers, bowls, glasses, and vases to bring out the color theme in your home.
  • Holiday greetings are getting overcrowded on your mantel?  Put them on a trellis or cork board.  Hang them on a ribbon that can be draped or hung from the ceiling and can be attached by decorative clips. 
  • Add wreaths in front of every window or if you can only place one, make it interesting on your door.  The picture below is the one we have used for our front door.  Since our front door is black, we chose a red Poinsettia to make it stand out. 

  • Wreaths can also be placed flat on a dinner table to be used as a centerpiece. You can place a bowl inside the center of the wreath and fill it with ornaments and greenery.
  • Items to use for decorations can be anything that you believe to be festive - pinceones, chestnuts, cinnamon sticks, peppermint candies, candy canes, candles, cards, your child's or your own art work, your ornaments, garlands, glasses, vases, flowers and plants, etc.  The list is endless.
Please check out my older Christmas/December posts for further ideas as well.

Enjoy your week!

Marlin

Whatever It Takes