Category "Birthday"

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

The Promise of New Experiences

Princess Diana - January 27, 2015 - Anniversary, Birthday, Christmas, Experiences, Valentine's Day

I received a most thoughtful gift from my husband for Christmas, but it’s perfect to use for Valentine’s Day, birthdays and anniversaries. In it, he promised new experiences for us to enjoy together throughout the whole year.

Spend quality time with someone you care about by giving them new experiences you can share together.

The romantic way he promised it brought tears to my eyes. This was no empty promise.

In a letter, my husband wrote to me:

I spent some time thinking about what to buy you, but I couldn’t come up with any ideas for a new gadget or item that would make your life better or increase your happiness. I also thought about our life together, and how much I love you and how much we love sharing in new adventures. I want every year to be our best year together, so here are a few things I’d like to either do or start doing next year for us.

Archer City, Texas | Road Trip to Yesterday

Queen Darlene - January 22, 2015 - Birthday, Experiences

For years, I’ve wanted a D-H-R weekend – Darlene, Harvey, Rodney. My wish came true on my birthday for my two brothers and me to spend time together.

My brothers and I stand on our front porch in 1961.

We took a road trip to Archer City, Texas where we grew up.

It had been exactly 50 years ago on my birthday that we moved away. I was 12, Harvey was eight and Rodney was six.

ROAD TRIP TO ARCHER CITY

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Click to enlarge

It was a 2 1/2 hour trip from Oklahoma City and the time spent in the car was priceless. I brought along over 100 pictures of us as children during the time we lived in Archer City.

As we looked at each picture, we reminisced about our parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, the water tower, the fields we rode our bikes and the friends we played with everyday. 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!

Gift of Warmth | Towel Warmer

Queen Darlene - January 8, 2015 - Birthday, Christmas, Housewarming, Mother's Day

The gift of warmth comes in all kinds of presents. Coats, hats, scarves, gloves, boots, insulated underwear, wool socks, electric blankets and on and on.

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Gift of Warmth a towel warmer.

How about a unique kind of warmth? A towel warmer.

I instantly thought of my niece when I saw the towel warmer from Brookstone. She is 23 years old and is 100% disabled. Whitney is unable to walk without the help of her mother, Nancy. My niece is also legally blind, has diminished hearing, and communicates only through her actions and touch.

Nancy has taught me that instead of focusing on what she cannot do to find things that she can enjoy.

She definitely possesses her sense of touch and what better way when you get out of the shower but to have a warm towel wrapped around you. Ahhhh… the immediate gift of warmth! Continue Reading

Automatic Snack & Treat Dispenser

Queen Darlene - December 18, 2014 - Birthday, Business, Christmas, Father's Day, Food & Drinks, Gifts for Him, Host, Housewarming

httpvh://youtu.be/ovOZhEJTW0s

I love magic! Who doesn’t? With a wave of the hand – out pops a snack!

When I saw the SnackMan Motion-Activated Dispenser that makes healthy munching easy-peasy, I knew it would be the right gift for my husband’s sister and her spouse for Christmas.

They always try to eat healthy and this fun gadget creates a smart way to have portion control. The SnackMan Motion-Activated Dispenser features three settings: Small Handful, Large Handful or Bowlful. Once set, the same perfect portion is dispensed every time.

It looks like magic because with a simple wave of the hand, out pours your tasty snack treat. Continue Reading

A Letter to Your Child | Christmas Tradition

Princess Diana - December 17, 2014 - Birthday, Christmas

I started a new Christmas tradition in my family by writing a letter to my child.

Life moves at lightning speed, and each year I want to take the time to stop, reflect and remember all of my child’s happy moments full of fun, love and laughter by writing about them in a letter.

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This Christmas gift idea will be cherished far more than any wrapped present under the tree.

I must admit, the whole process intimidated me at first.

How am I supposed to cram a whole year’s worth of stuff into a single letter? I don’t have time to write pages and pages! What should I focus on if I can’t write about everything?

I stopped freaking out when I thought – KISS. Keep It Super Simple.

Focus on the cake and worry about the frosting and sprinkles later. If all I end up with is cake, it will still be awesome and better than nothing. (That just popped into my head. I’ve never thought of comparing a letter to a cake before… It must be because I haven’t eaten dinner yet… even though it’s almost 8:30 p.m.!)

So I came up with the basic ingredients for a letter to a child:

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

Drive a Lamborghini | Experience Gift

Queen Darlene - December 4, 2014 - Birthday, Business, Christmas, Experiences, Gifts for Him

Dennis, our boss, always enjoys experience gifts so for a Christmas present, his staff gave him a gift certificate to drive a Lamborghini. Varoom! Varoom!

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Dennis drove three laps in a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder worth $214,000

We got the idea from Gotham Dream Cars which had a Groupon to drive premier exotic cars such as a Ferrari or a Lamborghini. They were going to be in Oklahoma City during the early part of December. This would work perfectly as it would not interfere with his holiday travel plans.

For that “thoughtful twist” we gave him a gift box to open which contained a remote control race car replica of a Lamborghini. It was charged up, ready to go, and as soon as he took it out of the box and set it on the floor, he quickly learned to “drive” it.

We told him he did such a marvelous job driving the toy race car that we thought he would like to drive a real Lamborghini.

Record Your Own Read-Along Story Book for Children

Princess Diana - December 2, 2014 - Baby Shower, Birthday, Christmas, Kids

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asUW89v7eRo&feature=youtu.be

One of my favorite books as a child was The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. After reading it, I hugged my favorite stuffed animal even harder so that it too would become Real.

The Velveteen Rabbit book and a stuffed bunny

Pick your favorite childhood story, record yourself reading it, and give the book and the recording as a gift to a child. Pair it with a matching toy or stuffed animal if you can.

When threads on it started to come loose, I grew excited because I knew I was getting it even closer to the day the nursery magic Fairy would turn it into Real.

The Velveteen Rabbit is a timeless story about the power of love and the bond that forms between a child and his favorite toy. Now that I’m an adult, I’ve realized that it’s also a story about loving someone for who they are and not how they look and about being real to yourself and to others.

I bought a copy of The Velveteen Rabbit for each my sister’s three daughters, J’menii, Jeah and Jozlyn, so I could share this amazing story with them. On the inside page of each of their books, I wrote:

Always be real to yourself and to others because God made you one-of-a-kind. Continue Reading