Posts Tagged: "brother"

Birthday Adventure With Adult Siblings

- - Birthday, Experiences

A Birthday Adventure! Doesn’t that sound fun? Especially if it is with your siblings.

birthday-adventure-epic-fail-store-closed-thoughtful-gift-ideaTo celebrate my sister-in-law’s 64th birthday, I suggested my husband and his brother take their sister on a secret trip. They both thought it would be a great idea as the three of them had never-ever been on a trip together as adults.

Road Trip With Siblings

Randy and Kyle picked up Lesa and drove 1 1/2 hours to Tulsa. They teased her all the way about what was waiting for her at their destination. Did she like ink and pain? A hint of tattoos. It’s so like brothers to try and scare their sister!

They arrived at their destination — Rustic Cuff, a one-of-a-kind jewelry store phenomenon. Continue Reading

Beef Jerky Gift Baskets & Samplers | Gift for Him

This gift idea men will literally eat right up.

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Give him his favorite flavors or some new flavors sure to awaken his taste buds!

When it’s hard to pick out a gift for him, you can’t go wrong with edible gifts. Beef jerky and meat sticks make awesome presents because they’re such a tasty “manly man” food snack.

You can get him a jerky gift basket or jerky sampler that fits every budget, taste preference and meat preference. In addition to beef jerky, there’s venison (deer) jerky, chicken jerky, turkey jerky, pork jerky, bacon jerky and even pineapple jerky for the vegetarian.

You can also buy gourmet jerky and exotic jerky made from elk, wild boar, alligator, alpaca, kangaroo, ostrich and even fish! Now that would make a memorable gift!

When it comes to flavors, it seems like they’ve come up with 101 varieties. You can buy jerky in flavors like teriyaki, barbecue, jalapeno, Cajun, bacon, maple bacon, lemon pepper, sweet and spicy, chili pepper, pepperoni, and so much more.

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Why I Gave My Son a Baby Doll

I’m raising a little human. He happens to be a boy.

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Playing is learning!

In our culture, many unsaid rules exist about how little humans called “boys” should act. Even more so for “girls.”

At the age of two, I bought my son a little doll, a newborn baby dressed head to toe in pink pajamas. I wanted to give him access to a wide variety of toys, not just those considered “gender appropriate.”

My son will grow up to become a father one day, and every parent needs to know how to nurture and nourish.

We give boys race cars and doctor kits all the time although only a very small percentage of them will actually grow up to become race car drivers and doctors. Compare that to how many boys will one day become fathers.

As soon as I showed my son the pink box containing the doll, he grew excited. He yelled, “Baby!”

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Worth Every Penny | Pennies From Birth Year

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On my 50th birthday, my dear friend, Susan, gave me 50 pennies all made in 1952 – my birth year!

Heart-box-with-pennies-gift-idea-sunburst-giftsThe pennies came in a small heart box. I cherish that gift because it was so unique and thoughtful.

I have used the penny idea many times for birthdays and anniversaries. I use the pennies on significant birthday years such as 30 – 40 – 50 – 60 year old and up.

By the time a couple has been married for 50 years or more, what can you give that they do not already have or that is unique? Fifty pennies from the year of their wedding placed in a heart box is a for-sure-keepsake gift! Especially seeing and remembering those wheat pennies! They bring back the memories of simpler times. Continue Reading

Unique Money Gift for Graduates

- - Graduation, Money

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Face it. Kids want money. Even though most people want to give a memorable gift, many times they end up giving money in a blah graduation card. I’ve come up with a fail proof “you will remember this money gift above all else” high school or college graduation gift.

Purchase the latest issue of Money Magazine which gives advice on how to save, invest and make money. Graduation-Money-Magazine-gift-idea-sunburst-giftsHide multiple crisp dollar bills (or higher!) within the pages. Now roll it up with tissue paper and tie it up with a ribbon like a diploma.

It never fails. When they open it, they say…”oh, thanks”… and this is where your part comes in.

You say something like, “There is a wealth of information in that magazine about how to manage money wisely. Now that you have graduated and you’re an adult, it’s important that you learn this skill.”

They usually say thank you and place the magazine to the side  – without even opening it.

This is when you enthusiastically encourage them to open it and find an article to read. They will oblige but unwillingly. (I have yet to have one person open a page with a dollar bill showing. I have no idea how that happens!)

Graduation-diploma-gift-idea-sunburst-giftsThey usually have to thumb through and when they discover some of the cash money, they’ll quickly flip through page after page to look for more and when they do that’s when you’ve done it! You’ve made them smile really big. (And that’s hard to get teenagers to do you know.)

Then they’ll get smart and go back to the very first page and methodically turn each page looking for more dollar bills until they’ve found them all. This gift is as much fun to give as it is to receive! The only way this gift gets a backseat to any other graduation gift is if the graduate gets keys to a car!

The safe way to double your money is to fold it over once and put it in your pocket.  – Frank Hubbard

 

Mother & Me | Copycat Photos

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Mother was a very visual person. She was deaf so her eyes were truly her window to the world.Mother-&-Me-copycat-photo-gift-idea-sunburst-gifts

She loved to look at everything and she filled her home with lots of beautiful and unusual things! There was not a spare inch on the bookshelves, hutch, desks, cabinet counters, windows sills or walls. She even collected more than 10,000 owls! (But that will have to be another story.)

Pictures were important to Mother. My brothers and I learned to stop whatever we were doing right then and there to take a picture if Mother wanted it. It was just easier to get it over with than to fuss with her. (Funny how history repeats itself. My boys stop and turn on the smiles for me – click – then they are off and on their way).

Mother cherished her pictures, and they brought her much happiness.

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All Day Flower Deliveries

My mother-in-law Betty was turning 80. Seriously, what do you get someone who has everything?

Betty loves roses so I decided to get her a LOT of them.Birthday-Mother's Day-Roses-gifts-Sunburst-Gifts

We found a flower shop willing to make deliveries to her home every two hours on her birthday. Each bouquet of roses was delivered with an “original” poem from a family member.

Don’t let the poem part stress you out. They were simple. Like this one.
Roses are Red
Violets are Blue
Happy Birthday
and We Love You Too!

The first two deliveries were a dozen roses. The next four deliveries were 14 roses each to equal 80. One was from my father-in-law, three from each of her children and their spouses, and the last two were from her grandchildren.

Her living room looked like a flower shop there were so many different colored roses everywhere!

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