Category "$20 or Less"

Love Letters for Valentine’s Day

Queen Darlene - February 5, 2015 - $20 or Less, Anniversary, Valentine's Day

Listen up guys – Love letters for Valentine’s Day trump cards, candy and flowers! Especially, if you haven’t written one in a very long time.

I wrote a post for Valentine’s Day last year on this very subject. I heard from women about how thrilled they were to get their love letters. Some letters were mailed to the office like I suggested, and others were placed strategically on kitchen counters or on bathroom sinks.

I’m telling you this is a no-fail gift for Valentine’s Day!

Now, I have a confession to make… There’s a back story to that “Mail a Handwritten Love Letter” article.

Last year, I told my husband he needed to write me a love letter so I could use it in my post. Continue Reading

A Solution to a Problem | Always a Thoughtful Gift

Princess Diana - February 3, 2015 - $20 or Less, Birthday, Catch All, Christmas, Housewarming

One of the best ways to come up with a thoughtful gift is to find a solution to someone’s problem.

All you have to do is listen closely. Do they complain that something is difficult? Takes too long? Too expensive? Doesn’t work right?

All of these statements are clues to a problem, annoyance or hassle in their life. If you can come up with a solution, you’ve found yourself a thoughtful gift!

Let me give you a simple example.

Personalized M&M’s |Valentine’s Day

Queen Darlene - January 29, 2015 - $20 or Less, Anniversary, Birthday, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day

Chocolates are a girl’s best friend. Some would say diamonds but oh… how chocolate satisfies that indescribable craving!

Randy surprised me last year for Valentine’s Day by giving me my favorite candy – M&M’s! And they were personalized. I had no idea he even knew you could purchase them that way. I’ve seen personalized M&M’s at baby showers and birthdays and thought they were waaay cute!

My M&M’s had messages of Love Randy, Happy Valentine’s Day and the American Sign Language sign for I Love You (that one was my favorite!). The ASL “I love you” sign is a tradition used in my family by my grandparents, parents, brothers, sons and us. Continue Reading

A Single Rose | One Year Old Birthday Gift Tradition

Queen Darlene - January 15, 2015 - $20 or Less, Birthday, Kids

First birthdays are a big deal, not for the child as much as it is for the parents or maybe I should say–mothers.

I was more than thrilled to celebrate my child’s first birthday! They are walking, chattering and making the cutest expressions. I watched him open (with some help) his gifts. I snapped pictures of him eating his cake and making a huge mess.

I was one proud mother! I wanted my son to have a “Happy 1st Birthday” so I could have pictures to cherish and share with him when he got older.

All of us moms understand the significance of birthdays. My son, Dustin, who is single and 33 years old doesn’t have a clue.

When Dustin’s best friend Jayson called to remind him that his daughter was having her one year old birthday party in an hour and asked if he was coming, Dustin said, “Yes, I’m on my way.”

He had forgotten all about it and hadn’t purchased a gift!

Because I’m Happy | Happiness Jar Project

Princess Diana - December 30, 2014 - $20 or Less, Gifts for Me

I’m a true believer that happiness is finding joy in the little things in life.

That’s because you’ll have hundreds of small happy moments in one year, but only a handful of large happy moments.

Capture and collect your happy moments by writing them down and dropping them in your Happiness Jar.

When my husband cuddles with me before we go to bed, I’m happy. When I read to my son, I’m happy. When my co-workers make me laugh, I’m happy. When I eat a delicious meal, I’m happy. When I spend time outdoors in warm weather, I’m happy.

Sometimes we miss these happy moments because we’re focused on the negative things. The stress of work or family drama can overshadow the blessings in our lives.

A great way to start recognizing all of the happy moments in your life is to start a Happiness Jar. All you need is a jar or container, some scraps of paper, and a pen. Set the jar in a place that you will see it everyday.

Any time something makes you happy, write it down on a piece of paper with the date and drop it into the jar.

Each time you do it, good feelings will emerge. Be present in that moment and take time to savor those feelings. As you continue filling your Happiness Jar, you’ll find you become better at recognizing the happiness that sprinkles itself in the different areas of your life.

Kids Will Love “The Book With No Pictures”

Princess Diana - December 22, 2014 - $20 or Less, Kids

Kids love it when adults act silly. Silly faces and sounds will get them to laugh and giggle, and there is no more beautiful sounds than children’s laughter.

The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak is a hilarious children’s book. Children won’t care that there are zero, zilch, nada pictures or illustrations in the book because they will be laughing so hard at the person reading the book to them.

That’s because the reader has to say the silliest words and sentences like…

Blork.

Bluurf.

I am a monkey who taught myself to read.

The rule of “The Book With No Pictures” is the reader has to say all of the words in the book no matter what. That’s the rule!

33 Awesome & Thoughtful Stocking Stuffers

Princess Diana - December 19, 2014 - $20 or Less, Christmas

Not all stocking stuffers are created equal. Just because something is small enough to fit inside a stocking doesn’t mean it should find itself there Christmas morning.

Don’t bother with trinkets. Instead, fill your loved ones’ Christmas stockings with some of these thoughtful treasures!

By using our Amazon affiliate links to shop, you will be supporting SunburstGifts.org, making it possible for us to provide you with more thoughtful, heartful gift ideas in the future!

favorite chocolates, candy or snacks (include their childhood favorites!)
digital tire pressure gauge with the correct pressure written on it (the one my husband gave me has the tire pressure written on a small piece of tape)
gas gift card
car wash/detailing service gift card
favorite restaurant gift card
personalized stationery
candle of their favorite scent
framed photo of the gift recipient as a child at Christmas time
thank you cards
Forever Stamps Continue Reading

Breaking the Turkey Wishbones | Thanksgiving Tradition

Queen Darlene - November 13, 2014 - $20 or Less, Experiences

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If I close my eyes, I can still remember Grandma’s house and the delicious aroma of Thanksgiving dinner filtering from her tiny kitchen. Like so many other families, every year there was discussion of who would be the lucky two people to break the turkey wishbone.

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Queen Darlene & Jody making a wish!

It was a big event at the end of the meal to watch who would win the biggest part of the bone and declare a wish!

I had no idea of why we did this ritual of breaking the wishbone, so for this post I researched it. Did you know that the Thanksgiving tradition of breaking a wishbone dates back over 2,400 years?

The Etruscan people believed that fowl could predict the future and the chicken’s collarbone was thought to be sacred. Seriously?!?! Wishes were made by rubbing on the bones in hopes of bringing good luck. (Maybe I should try this on my next lotto ticket purchase). Thus, the “wishbone tradition” began. Continue Reading

Coach Barry Switzer | A True Story

Queen Darlene - November 12, 2014 - $20 or Less, Birthday, Experiences

My step-father Paul’s birthday falls in November, and he will turn 90 years old. He loved two things his entire life, my mother and University of Oklahoma football.

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Step-father Paul, Coach Switzer & Queen Darlene

Since Mother passed away, there’s just not a lot of moments he gets real excited about except OU touchdowns and a WIN, of course. I wanted to do something really over the top for his birthday and Coach Barry Switzer would fit the bill.

I wrote Barry a letter and here are some excerpts. For a thoughtful twist, I wrote the letter in a thank you card.

I’m thanking you in advance for a favor. Our step-father Paul will be 90 on November 10. He was born in Norman and feels lucky because that is the home of OU. Every positive adjective I could come up with is not enough to describe his love of OU football. He never misses a game on TV. Continue Reading

Glow-in-the-Dark Stick Man Halloween Costume

Queen Darlene - October 30, 2014 - $20 or Less, Catch All

httpvh://youtu.be/Z2pLPtO_Gms

Ever wait to the last minute to figure out what costume you’re going to wear to your friend’s Halloween party? How about dressing up for work on Halloween but need to wear something office appropriate? Well, I’m here to save the day!

I give you the Stick Man! An easy-to-create-in-15-minutes Halloween costume!

Being comfortable in a Halloween costume is always #1 in my book and this certainly will be. Here are the items you will need. Continue Reading