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Make Someone the Star of a Book | Personalized Custom Books

Everyone likes to see their name in print. From children to grown adults. It makes us feel special when we become the star of a book. It turns an ordinary book into a keepsake.

I personalized a book for my son Aiden that tells the story that my love for him is forever and unconditional. It’s like what we say in my family, “I will love you for eternity +1.”

Personalized Custom Book Gift IdeaMy favorite part of the book reads:

Aiden,
I love you as BIG
as a great lion’s roar,
and as deep as the ocean,
I love you much more.

And I love the message this sends about loving him even when he has misbehaved.

Aiden,
I love you when you’re nice,
and when you’re cranky too.
I love you without liking
the naughty things you do.

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What Do You Get Your Best Friend When Her Mother Dies? | Condolence Gift

- - Condolence

My best friend Leslie’s mother died two years ago. Not just died – but died unexpectedly.

No last goodbye.

No final “I love you.”

It sucked, it was unfair, and I felt her pain. My father was murdered when I was seven years old and we lived in the Philippines. When I said goodbye to my mother to move to the United States with my grandparents, I didn’t know she would die of cancer before I had the chance to ever see her again.

condolence gift idea for best friend when mother dies

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I’ve known Leslie since the fourth grade and her mother, Tina, loved me like her own daughter. She clothed me; she fed me; she came to my school activities.

She taught me about selfless giving and so many other things about life… (In junior high, she bought Leslie and I a copy of Playgirl. That sure answered a lot of our teenage girl questions!)

I wanted Leslie to know I shared her loss because I loved Tina too. I also wanted to show Leslie that her mother lives on through her because they share many of the same qualities. More than anything, both of them were known to go the distance (like Timbuktu far) in helping anyone in need.

But what condolence gift would convey my emotions and sentiments? Flowers weren’t going to do the job.

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Throwback Thursday | Framed Vintage Girl Scout Badge

I am long time volunteer of Girl Scouts because I love its mission of building girls of courage, confidence and character. I am also a member of Girl Scouts – Western Oklahoma’s young professionals group, GS Cornerstone.

framed vintage Girl Scout Hospitality Badge GiftIt has become tradition that each year a board member of the organization hosts GS Cornerstone in their home. I helped plan our most recent event, and I was put in charge of the thank you gift.

I definitely wanted it to be Girl Scout related. But what to give our hostess – a very accomplished woman who seemed to have it all?

I brainstormed with Queen Darlene and we came up with the idea of giving her a vintage Girl Scout Hostess Badge. After all, she will have met the requirements after graciously opening her home to all of us!

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Reusable DIY Buffet Food Table Signs

Our friends Vernon and Katie hosted a Housewarming/Super Bowl Party. Like me, Katie loves to cook and entertain and the invitation said she was providing all of the food for the party and everyone just needed to BYOB. I wanted to give them a housewarming gift that was food related, maybe even something they could use at the party.

reusable DIY homemade buffet food table signs housewarming hostess gift idea I remembered I had come across a blog that showed how to make your own reusable DIY buffet food table signs. I was going to make them for my next get-together but hadn’t gotten around to it just yet.

I realized they would make the perfect housewarming gift! Think about it – whenever you have a bunch of food spread out on a table, it’s inevitable people are going to ask questions about what’s what.

“What’s in this bowl?
“Is this salsa hot or mild?
“What’s this dip called?”
“What type of cheese it this?”

So by setting out buffet food table signs, you’re telling people up front what’s what and eliminating having to answer a bunch of questions over and over. Plus, if they’re cute signs you’re just adding to your table decor!

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Heart-Shaped Steaks Make Memorable Valentine’s Day Dinner

This Valentine’s Day I was looking to give my true love a gift that had the WOW factor. I wasn’t looking for romantic or sentimental. I was looking to knock his socks off!

heart-shaped-steak-valentines-day-gift-idea-sunburst-giftsSo I bought him two pounds (hoping he would share!) of prime aged hand-cut ribeye steak from a local meat market – and check this out – asked the butcher to cut it into the shape of a HEART.

A “Sweetheart Steak!”

It looked stunning – all that bright red meat marbled with strands of cream-colored fat and covered in a delicious spice rub.

The perfect hunk of meat for my sexy, hunk of meat.

The heart-shaped steak got the reaction I wanted from my husband Kevin. He was surprised by the shape and impressed by the size. (Men and their preoccupation with size… I swear.)

He had never seen anything like it, and he couldn’t wait to throw it on the grill and eat it. Mission accomplished!

The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.  – Unknown

How to Buy Your Wife Gifts That Won’t Get Returned

Queen Darlene and I have a co-worker who follows our blog. He sent us an email one day after one of our gift ideas reminded him of a gift-giving strategy that has served him well as a husband.

How to Buy Your Wife Gifts That Won't Get Returned Sunburst GiftsEldon’s idea of how to buy your wife clothing, jewelry, accessories or other gifts that won’t get returned is so good that we wanted to share it with our readers! Here is what he wrote to us:

I tried to buy clothing gifts for my wife. She returned them all  because they were the wrong color, etc. So, I got wise and would find a cute photo of a dress, purse, shoes, earrings, etc. that I wanted to buy – usually if I listened closely I could pick up the hint of what she wanted.

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Surprise Love Messages and Funny Pick Up Lines

You’ve heard those people who complain about Valentine’s Day. “Valentine’s Day just forces people to buy stuff.” OR “Why do I need a holiday to make me tell someone “I Love You’ on one specific day?” You know what? Those people are absolutely right!

milk does a body good funny pick up line gift idea

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You don’t have to buy someone “stuff” to show your affection for them. You should also find ways to say “I Love You” to your special someone throughout the year, if not every single day.

This year, I’m using Valentine’s Day to kick off a year full of How-much-do-I-love-you-let-me-count-the-ways type of love messages to my husband.

All through the year, I’m going to surprise my husband with love messages that begin with things like:
“I love you because…”
“I know you love me because…”
“I am lucky to have you as my husband because…”
“Aiden is lucky to have you as his father because…”
“Thank you for…”

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For the Home Brewer – Personalized Beer Bottle Caps

My father-in-law Greg began brewing homemade beer a few years ago – and man! – has our family enjoyed the benefits! While he’s brewed all sorts of kits, types and flavors, my favorite is still the batch of peach ale he specially made for my wedding rehearsal dinner.

home brewer personalized beer bottle caps gift ideaLast year, my husband Kevin started brewing beer with his father. It gave them a fun way to spend father-son quality time together. They have fun making it together. They have fun drinking it together.

They also enjoy brewing different types of beer and sharing the fruits of their labor with friends and family. Each batch yields about 50 bottles so there is plenty to share!

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Cute Way to Give Earrings

It’s boring to give someone jewelry in those cardboard gift boxes they come in. Plus, it’s super obvious what the gift is when you use wrapping paper.

cute way to give earrings gift ideaSometimes the jewelry doesn’t even come in a box. So what do you do?

You find a cutesy wutesy teddy bear or stuffed animal. Put the earrings through the teddy bear’s ears and BA-DING!

You present a popular gift in a unique way!

Presentation is everything.

 

Just What He Needed – A Plastic Flask

My husband Kevin loves his whiskey and Coke.

So sometimes when he goes out with his buddies he takes a flask of whiskey with him.

gifts for him plastic flask Valentine's Day Gift IdeaHe uses a flask I bought him as a present in college. It’s black leather and stainless steel and has his Delta Upsilon fraternity’s Greek letters engraved in the top and the words “To the Best Ever…” engraved on the front. Obviously, it has sentimental written all over it, and we (okay, probably just me) would be terribly upset if he ever lost it.

Well, Kevin told me that a security guard at an Oklahoma City Thunder basketball game almost confiscated it. He had the flask in the inside front pocket of his blazer when he got wanded!

But thankfully, the security guard’s wanding skills were about as good as Dwight Howard’s freethrows and the wand never beeped. Whew!

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