Category "Family"

Regifting | How I Gave a Repurposed Gift in a Meaningful Way

Queen Darlene - July 2, 2015 - $20 or Less, Birthday, Christmas, Family, Get Well

Have you ever repurposed a gift? Yep, I have! Ever told the recipient that it was a repurposed gift? I recently did!

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It was a book titled “Cationary Meaningful Portraits of Cats” by Sharon Montrose and purrrfect for my friend.

My husband and I have started talking about downsizing. Retirement is on the horizon, and we want to have more with less! More time to travel, less time working in the yard. More time for hobbies, less time cleaning the house.

More time for everything we want to do and less time doing the things we don’t want to do. You see a pattern? Continue Reading

Picture Frames | The Keeper of Memories

Queen Darlene - May 28, 2015 - $20 or Less, Birthday, Christmas, Family, Housewarming

Picture frames are wonderful gifts for all occasions. They keep memories close to our hearts by celebrating weddings, birthdays, friendships, vacations, children, couples, and families.

There are five of us girls who have been BFFs for close to 40 years. We still enjoy celebrating each other’s birthdays when we are together.

This year we decided to give three yellow (her favorite color) picture frames to Linda. We brainstormed what pictures to place in the frames.

1) Charlie, her faithful companion.

2) A picture of a swimming dolphin from one of her vacations.

3) Of course, a picture of us five girls together. Continue Reading

Unique Checkbook Money Gift | Graduation

Queen Darlene - May 4, 2015 - Birthday, Christmas, Congratulations, Family, Gifts for Him, Graduation, Kids, Money

I’ve mentioned before that the number one gift request for graduation is money. I’ve also talked about how impersonal it feels to write a check or place money in a greeting card.

The Checkbook Money Gift is so easy peasy you’ll wonder why you didn’t think of it!

You’ll need new one dollar bills from your bank. The amount is up to you.

You’ll also need a checkbook cover. You can use the free checkbook covers from your bank, or purchase one with a style, color or design that fits the graduate’s interest or personality. Instead of a checkbook cover, you can use a wallet with an insert for a checkbook. Continue Reading

We’ve Opened Up an Etsy Shop!

Princess Diana - February 25, 2015 - $20 or Less, Baby Shower, Birthday, Christmas, Family, Father's Day, Mother's Day

You can now visit the Sunburst Gifts Etsy Shop at www.etsy.com/shop/sunburstgifts!

We’ve had requests for babysitting gift certificates so we made that our first product. Thoughtful gift givers can purchase instant downloads of our printable babysitting gift certificates in yellow, pink and blue colors or buy them as a 3-pack bundle.

Every parent can use more time for themselves so babysitting gift certificates always make popular gifts for baby showers, birthdays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Christmas.

Individual and Family Memberships | Experience Gifts

Princess Diana - December 16, 2014 - Birthday, Christmas, Experiences, Family, Father's Day, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, Wedding

I have thoughtful last-minute gift ideas for you that will create year-round fun for the lucky gift recipient or their entire family!

What is it? Individual and family memberships or annual and season passes.

You can easily purchase these items online and they are easy peasy to wrap. Best of all, experience gifts make the most memorable type of gift! That’s my “experience” any way.

Envision this… children will have you to thank for their trips to the water park, families will have you to thank for their zoo outings, and couples will have you to thank for their season tickets to a performing arts theater.

If your gift is loved, it can become your annual Christmas gift tradition!

For a “thoughtful twist,” pair the membership or pass with a small related gift item, such as a stuffed lion with a zoo membership or a pair of ski goggles with a season pass to a ski resort.

Here are some ideas for types of membership and passes that make wonderful Christmas gifts.

INDIVIDUAL & FAMILY MEMBERSHIPS

Herbs, Spices, Rubs, Sauces | Gift Sets

Princess Diana - December 9, 2014 - Family, Food & Drinks

Selecting an appropriate gift for a Dirty Santa gift exchange can be tricky since you want something that will be popular with the majority of the people playing. There’s always a sense of pride when it’s your gift everyone keeps “stealing.”

You don’t want to be that person who brings a super lame gift like one-size-fits-all Dust Mop Slippers that supposedly clean your floors as you walk around your house. Trust me. It has happened.

Let me set the stage for this thoughtful gift idea. Everyone needs to eat food so most people cook whether they like to or not, which is why this gift idea works for pretty much everyone!

When it comes to cooking, the right herbs, spices, rubs, sauces, and extracts can easily turn ordinary dishes into extraordinary ones!

Herbs, spices, rubs, sauces and extracts come in so many flavors and varieties that you can find Gift Sets for all taste buds! I’ve come up with a list to get you started on selecting the right edible gift set to bring to your next Christmas party or family gift exchange.

Fun Themes for Christmas Gift Exchanges

Queen Darlene - November 20, 2014 - Christmas, Family

Have you ever thought of having a theme for your family’s Christmas gift exchange? It takes some of the guessing out of what to get Aunt Bev, Uncle Bob and Cousin Larry.

My friend, Elise, and her family plan a fun theme idea every year for their Dirty Santa gift exchange. They have a very large family – with many aunts, uncles, first, second and third cousins along with grandparents and grandchildren. One year they had an All Things University of Oklahoma theme for Christmas. It was a hit because they are huge OU fans. Elise says it’s one of the few things they all agree on! Continue Reading

Passing on Important Life Lessons & Values

Queen Darlene - September 23, 2014 - $20 or Less, Catch All, Family, Kids

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Return with Honor – The Purpose of Life – To Make a Difference!

A powerful quote to live by and an important life lesson to teach children and grandchildren.

The Lillard boys – Joe, Sam and Luke are amazing kids! They are five, seven and 11 years old. Their grandfather, Dick, is the Chairman of where I work. Not only is he my boss, he and his family have become my precious friends.

This year was the first time all three boys traveled on a business trip together with grandparents and parents to Washington, D.C. to meet with Oklahoma’s congressional delegation.

We scheduled all day meetings and the boys were troopers going from building to building, meeting to meeting and sometimes waiting long periods of time. They were respectful when they met with congressional staff and the congressmen were extremely impressed! They looked so handsome in their suits!

“I Love You” Jar Filled With Handwritten Notes

Princess Diana - August 26, 2014 - $20 or Less, Anniversary, Birthday, Family, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day

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During a family reunion this summer, my family wanted to let my Grandma Anna Marie (our amazing matriarch) know just how much we love her and to thank her for bringing the whole family together. I came up with the idea to surprise her with an “I Love You” Jar.

jar and notes written on leaf-shaped paper

Fill any container with handwritten notes to create a sweet and sentimental “I Love You” jar gift.

I bought a beautiful glass jar (this one happened to be made of mercury glass) and some die-cut paper in the shape of leaves. The leaves represent our family tree.

During the family reunion when my Grandma was out of earshot, I asked everyone – even the little kids – to write Grandma Anna Marie handwritten notes on the leaves that said something along the lines of:

I love you because…
I remember when…
Because of you…
Thank you for…

That was just to get them started because really they could write anything that conveyed “I Love You.”

Like Father Like Son | Rain Gauge for Birthday Gift

Queen Darlene - August 21, 2014 - $20 or Less, Birthday, Family, Father's Day, Gifts for Him

Why would anyone want a rain gauge? You can Google the rain fall in your area to find out. Do you want to know the answer? It’s because we become our parents.

My husband, Randy, is just like his dad. He talks, walks, thinks and laughs just like him. So it is no wonder he likes the same things as his dad. I just didn’t see it coming!

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When we first started dating, Randy’s great sense of humor attracted me! His mother is funny too so I thought he got his sense of humor from her but through the years I saw glimpses of my father-in-law’s humor. Looks like Randy got it from both of his parents!

Randy’s dad was a “thinker.” He would mull around on a problem for as long as it takes and when he figured it out in his mind, he would fix the problem. Once! That’s it – no do overs.

When we were younger, it would drive the entire family crazy because some of his projects took so long to complete but in the end it was done perfectly. These are the things I see in Randy. He’s a thinker too.

Randy’s dad became our family’s weatherman since he followed the weather and would tell us how much it had rained by using his E-Z Read Jumbo Rain-Gauge
. Continue Reading