Monthly Archives: November 2016

Share Memories Year Round With Custom Photo Calendar

Princess Diana - November 29, 2016 - Birthday, Christmas, Family, Father's Day, Mother's Day, Retirement

We all know that time flies, especially the older you get. So it’s important to preserve happy memories with photographs. Even better, share them with loved ones so they can enjoy them year round!

As a birthday gift for our mother, my siblings and I collaborated to give her a custom photo calendar.

We all provided pictures so the calendar would contain photos of ALL of her children and grandchildren. We also included group family photos from when we were together during the holidays.

Many websites make it easy peasy to design a personalized photo calendar with your own photos and text. Just pick a template, drag and drop photos, and you’re done! I created mine using Shutterfly.com.

Since you can choose the starting month of your photo calendar, you can give this gift at any time of the year. They make excellent gifts for birthdays, Christmas, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and family exchanges.

7 Gifts to Give Children at Christmas

Princess Diana - November 24, 2016 - Birthday, Christmas, Kids

Have you ever heard of toy hangover? Kids may not recognize it, but parents sure will.

Toy hangover occurs the day after Christmas or a birthday when kids are walking around dazed and confused after consuming too many toys in a short period of time.

Instead of dazed and confused, parents feel stressed and overwhelmed.

Where is all this stuff going to go?

I came across a toy hangover cure I’m going to start this year. It’s an easy solution to how to shop for children at Christmas (or birthdays) so you end up with quality instead of quantity.

You are limited to seven gifts for each child. Don’t freak out on me. Having a limit is a good thing.

By having a a set limit, it forces you to think very carefully and thoughtfully about what those seven gifts will be.

These seven gifts are from the parent(s)/Santa. If you feel like you’re being Scrooge-ish, just remember your kids will receive additional gifts from family and friends.

There is a more important reason than preventing toy hangovers as to why I want to decrease the amount of Christmas gifts my kids receive. I don’t want the primary focus of Christmas to be gifts. Yes, gift giving is a fun holiday tradition but it’s not the reason for the season.

Make-A-Recipe Gift Basket

Princess Diana - November 22, 2016 - $20 or Less, Christmas, Food & Drinks, Gift Baskets, Housewarming, Teacher Gifts

I have this recipe for Roasted Pecans that is so good and so simple. You might say it’s easy peasy!

When you make it, your entire home smells like heaven. I’ve shared the recipe in a previous post because Homemade Roasted Pecans make great gifts.

My friend, Jacqueline, and her husband recently invited us to their housewarming party. Since Jacqueline has asked me about my cooking before, I thought she would enjoy receiving one of my favorite recipes.

Why not make it easier I thought and give her a whole kit for making the recipe?

A Make-A-Recipe Gift Basket – that would make a perfect housewarming gift!

Make-A-Recipe Gift Basket

Here is what I included for my friend’s housewarming gift to make roasted pecans:

Woolzies Natural Fabric Softener

Queen Darlene - November 17, 2016 - $20 or Less, Birthday, Business, Christmas, Housewarming

The name Woolzies instantly intrigued me, and it’s natural colored packaging with a cute sheep made me want to learn more about it.

I had never heard of a natural fabric softener and got excited. You’re thinking, really? Excited over fabric softener? Well…yes! I like using natural products.

My friend, Janet, who loves all things natural, gave me Woolzies as a birthday gift. I love using products my friends swear by!

Woolzies look like fuzzy little white tennis balls. Simply toss the ball in your dryer with your clothes for softer fabrics.

The dryer balls are 100% pure New Zealand wool, eco-friendly, and hypoallergenic. Not only are they better for your laundry and your skin since they’re free of chemicals, but they also make your clothes feel very soft. Continue Reading

Custom Quote Canvas Art Gift

Princess Diana - November 15, 2016 - Anniversary, Baby Shower, Birthday, Christmas, Congratulations, Father's Day, Gifts for Him, Gifts for Me, Graduation, Housewarming, Mother's Day, Retirement

Everyone has a favorite quote or words to live by. It’s something that inspires us and speaks to our soul.

My favorite quote since college has been “Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory” by General George S. Patton.

I now have a new favorite quote, “Thank you for playing with me” by my son Aiden Jaeger!

Aiden first said it to his grandmother. I told my husband what our son had said and weeks later after an enjoyable One Day Staycation together, he said it to me that night. I’ve repeated that quote myself too.

I love that quote for so many reasons! It shows appreciation to someone for spending time with you, and it’s a reminder to play like a kid again.

Family Motto

It’s not just a quote anymore. It has become our family motto that we say to each other.

I wanted the quote to hang in a permanent place in our home so I created a Custom Quote Canvas Art. It displays the quote in a stylized font on a cool background.

Jumbo Airwalker Balloons

Princess Diana - November 8, 2016 - Birthday, Kids

If you’ve never seen Airwalker Balloons, they’re jumbo size balloons that stand on the floor instead of float in the air.

They’re bigger than most kids!

For my son’s 4th birthday party, I purchased the Chase PAW Patrol Airwalker Balloon. The puppy-shaped balloon stands 54″ tall!

Talk about an attention getter!

All of the kids and adults couldn’t believe how big Chase stood. Not only was it the best piece of decoration at the party, but it also entertained the children, AND created the perfect photo prop!

Jewelry With Special Meaning

Princess Diana - November 5, 2016 - Anniversary, Birthday, Christmas, Congratulations, Father's Day, Graduation, Kids, Mother's Day, Retirement, Valentine's Day, Wedding

It’s that feeling you get every time you touch the pendant around your neck or glance down at a bracelet, and you’re reminded of its special meaning.

A piece of jewelry with special meaning tells a sentimental story of who gave it to you and why.

It’s not just a fashion accessory. It symbolizes a relationship, a feeling, an event or a memory.

For my mother’s birthday, I wanted to surprise her with a new piece of jewelry since it’s not something she often buys for herself. I decided to browse on the Rustic Cuff website since it’s an Oklahoma company.

I came across this beautiful gold and silver cuff. The center is a gold hexagon with a smaller, silver hexagon inside it. Immediately, this thought popped into my head.

The six sides of the gold hexagon represent her six children. She is the silver hexagon in the middle because she is our center that holds us together. The other special meaning is her influence on us and the people we’ve become. We became a hexagon because she is a hexagon.

It’s what I will tell my mother when I give her the bracelet. Every time she wears it, I hope she thinks of her six children and how much we love her. Continue Reading

Pep Rally Office Retirement Party

Queen Darlene - November 3, 2016 - Birthday, Business, Retirement

Our office landscape is changing due to the retirement of baby boomers. We’ve already had three retire this year!

When a longtime employee is retiring, it can get teary-eyed and emotional but a fun office retirement party will bring out the celebration and laughter.

Phil retired after 30 years and for his send-off we organized a pep rally style retirement party with six employees participating as “cheerleaders.”

Each cheerleader had a card with a letter that together spelled R-E-T-I-R-E. Individually, they would raise their card with their letter and enthusiastically call out, “Give me an R” and the audience would loudly reply “R.”

The next cheerleader would hold their card up and say “Give me an E” and so on until the word R-E-T-I-R-E had been spelled.

To further excite the crowd in the room, the cheerleaders asked in unison, “What does it spell?” The audience would scream their response, “RETIRE!” This went on a couple more times. Continue Reading