Showing posts with label gift ideas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gift ideas. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

A Book We LOVE!


Tickle Monster by Josie Bissett
Little Bit received this book and the tickling mitts that go along with it for her first birthday, and it has just become a favorite in our house. I would highly recommend it for Christmas gifts this year! It is great for any age...and my husband loves to read it because he gets such a reaction out of them. My one year old lifts her shirt to show her belly and says "tickickle mama". I believe the mitts are sold seperately, but they are totally woth it! LaLa and I are also working on rhyming words, which is quite interesting with a three year old. This book is great for language patterns and rhyming! Plus, this is one book that you won't get tired of reading...and we all know how that is when you have the SAME book multiple times every night over and over! You know when you try to skip pages thinking your tired little one won't notice. Of course, they always notice though and you are totally caught!
Tickle Book at Amazon
Mitts for the Tickle Monster

Mama Drama Rule #85: You can never have too many books!

Elf Update: Little Elf has been quite a handful today. LaLa has talked about him non-stop. It motivated her to clean her playroom. She gave LeeRoy the Elf a special seat to watch her...just so he could let Santa know how good she was! Hmm...I didn't see this coming but maybe this will work to my advantage!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

The Reason for the Season!


Time to begin the 25 day countdown until Christmas! As we begin, let's remember the reason of the season!



I found this wonderful ornament at...you'll never guess it...the dollar tree! This little ornament met all of our family's criteria:

1st: It has my favorite color theme for the holiday season...the traditional red and green.
2nd: It is not breakable, which is very important in our household of little ones!
3rd: It sends a message that I wants my kids to know.

I bought several of these for ornament exchanges and hostess gifts for upcoming holiday events! I have cute boxes for them to go in...also a dollar store find! Add some pretty tissue paper...maybe a yummy treat, a note...and, voila! a sweet gift with an unforgettable message! I'm not sure if the designer of this ornament meant for the "BELIEVE" to insinuate believe in Santa or believe in Christ's birth.
For us, though, it's a great opportunity to talk about the true meaning of Christmas!
The teacher in me is always looking for a teachable moment when it comes to my kids!

"Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

(The Christmas Story can be found in Luke 2:1-14)

Mama Drama Rule #80: Create traditions that teach the deeper meanings of why we celebrate our holidays!Children learn more...when they don't realize they are learning! I knew that applied in the classroom, but I am learning that it also applies to my family and in my home!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

I AM A Crazy Cheap Craftin' MAMA For Christmas!

First, let me just put out there that if you are friend or family....you will probably see one of these items for a Christmas gift...just remember wonderful is wonderful regardless of how much it costs! If you would rather keep the "magic" alive & think I spent a fortune and hours of tireless effort...then read no farther! I always laugh because people think I spend a fortune on my kiddo's parties...uh, nope...a little creativity with dollar store items go a LONG way. It's like my coupon addiction...you walk into a store or see catalogs, and you think...hmmm..there has to be some way I could do that cheaper! If you are in any of my current categories of ...crazy (yep, what mama isn't), cheap (well, duh! at this point we all are!), craftin' (this can be my downfall...as we all know!)...then, read on and be prepared to steal some grand ideas for your Christmas plans!

I fully believe in being reasonable for Christmas. Most of us (me included!) spend and spend all caught up in the excitement and wants...then, we feel that January remorse! As a teacher...on that monthly pay...I really felt that slam after Christmas! Now, I feel it all over again as a one income family! I love to craft & I love to create...so these blogs were wonderful for me! I get quite carried away in dollar stores...especially now that I have my embroidery machine. I am trouble with a capital T in those stores, especially during the holidays, but I try to remind myself that I am technically saving money because I am only spending a dollar for stuff that I would otherwise spend much more for...BUT everything I see...I think...hmmm....what could I do with that? That is why these blogs cracked me up! This is ESPECIALLY true on this particular day because I visited three dollar stores (yes, I'm quite serious) and Target and Michaels...just to visit their dollar sections! I feel quite accomplished with all of my goodies, BUT please know if you do not hear from me in future posts, it's because my husband found out exactly how much one woman can spend....even when each item was only a dollar...and maybe you should contact someone...you know that can prosecute him. He would probably claim insanity because when he found out how much...he had to be insane...because that could just not be possible! So, if you have any great husband excuses for why you spent so much money in dollar stores, I would love to hear them! I will definitely try them out!

Here's the blogs...Enjoy!

http://madincrafts.blogspot.com/ (This site is by an author, Jessica Hill. She is actually a guest writer for dollarstorecrafts (see below), which is exactly how I discovered her site today!It was funny because I actually bought...um, over 15 mugs...today in my dollar store binge! I planned on using them to embroidery monograms or a single initial on them for gifts! I am very excited that I have discovered her site right before the holidays! Perfect timing! Let's just say, I was on her site for QUITE a long time with a pen and paper taking notes!

http://dollarstorecrafts.com/ (This site is by Heather. Her site is full of wonderful ideas that are all made from things you can find right in the dollar store! She has categories on her site that make her site so easy to navigate and to get inspired for just what you are looking for! I have been playing on her site for a while, and every time I get giddy! She has a lot of items that I would have never even thought of! You'll get so excited because it is all stuff that even a non-crafty person can do!)

Mama Drama Rule #71: INSPIRATION is the hardest part of CREATION...so don't try to reinvent the wheel...let others inspire your own creation!