Category "Christmas"

Honor Someone With a Charitable Gift of Purpose

Princess Diana - December 20, 2016 - $20 or Less, Birthday, Christmas, Money

A local charity I support, Sunbeam Family Services, offers meaningful holiday gifts with purpose. They’re perfect if someone you know has everything and doesn’t need any material things.

By purchasing one of their gifts, a person honors the gift recipient while donating to a worthy cause. It’s a gift you can both feel good about!

The charity offers a wide variety of gifts at a range of prices that support different programs for the needy. Other charities sell similar “gifts” that fund their own cause.

For $15 you can buy school lunches. For $75 you can purchase a backpack filled with school supplies. For $30 you can purchase meals for homeless seniors. For $50 you can provide shelter for one homeless senior. For $500 you can provide shelter for 10 seniors.

By giving friends and family gifts that have a positive social impact, you’ll be making a difference in people’s lives. Continue Reading

Hands-Free Headlamp Beanie Cap

Queen Darlene - December 15, 2016 - $20 or Less, Christmas, Father's Day, Gifts for Him

Guys love cool technology. At least the guys in my family do!

My dog, Cricket, gives out Christmas presents too. This year, she’s giving my husband a black Hands-Free Headlamp Beanie Cap with LED lights. Cricket thinks he can use it to light the way when he takes her on walks at night.

This kind features two bright piercing spotlights for distance viewing and two soft floodlights for close range tasks. Although it’s a flashlight and a hat combined, it’s washable and made of comfortable lightweight fleece.

My husband is always working on some project in the garage year round so a Hands-Free Headlamp Beanie Cap will definitely come in handy during the cold winter months. They are also a useful accessory for camping, fishing, hunting, emergencies, reading, auto repair, or home improvement.

Homemade Peppermint Sugar Scrub

Princess Diana - December 13, 2016 - $20 or Less, Birthday, Christmas, Family, Gifts for Me, Mother's Day, Party Favors, Teacher Gifts

Do you know what I love about homemade things? You know exactly what goes into it.

The ingredients don’t have weird scientific names like maltodextrin and sodium nitrate because you’re making it in your kitchen and not in some laboratory.

My Homemade Peppermint Sugar Scrub recipe contains only four natural ingredients:

white granulated sugar
almond oil
peppermint essential oil
raspberry juice (for red food coloring)

It’s a homemade natural beauty product that makes a great holiday gift because it smells amazing and it looks so pretty when layered in red and white candy cane stripes inside a clear jar.

Framed Sentimental Keepsakes

Queen Darlene - December 8, 2016 - Birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, Mother's Day

Ever wonder what to do with keepsakes?

My mother was extremely creative. She was also very sentimental and rarely threw anything away. One of my favorite keepsakes she framed were my grandfather’s personal items like his old straight blade razor, shaving brush, hair clippers and coin purse.

Yes, coin purse. He didn’t like having loose change in the pockets of his overalls.

I have fond memories hearing the “ding ding” of the ice cream truck coming down the street. When I asked him for money, he would pull out his coin purse while my brothers chased the ice cream man to stop. We were a great team to pull that feat off no matter where we were in the neighborhood.

My grandfather always had the biggest smile after seeing the three of us walk up to his front porch with our favorite ice cream in hand.

When loved ones pass away, it’s nice to have something of theirs to help keep the memories alive.

T-Shirt of the Month Subscription

Princess Diana - December 6, 2016 - Birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, Gifts for Him, Gifts for Me, Kids

If your son, dad, brother, boyfriend or husband practically lives in t-shirts, this gift is perfect!

He’ll receive a new t-shirt with a cool design directly in the mail each month. It just appears. No shopping necessary by him or you, and he’ll love getting to open a new gift each month!

I bought my husband a t-shirt of the month subscription from www.OklahomaShirtCompany.com because they focus specifically on Oklahoma themed designs and they use soft, quality t-shirts. You can see the past designs from each month on their website, and they all look so fun and fresh!

Lots of Choices

Many sports teams have started t-shirt subscription clubs. You can even find dive bar t-shirt of the month clubs. Not your thing? What about geek and gamer t-shirts?

Projection Clocks Make Telling Time Fun

Queen Darlene - December 1, 2016 - Birthday, Christmas, Kids

Projection clocks make telling time fun! There’s no need to turn over to look at the clock when a projection clock displays the time on the ceiling or wall.

Kids can be given projection clocks that display all sorts of images such as dinosaurs and rocket ships. As a bonus, they also serve as night lights!

I gave an Oregon Scientific projection clock to my son when he was a teenager years ago. It was unlike any clock I had ever seen. Even the design was a unique shape.

Braden thought it was cool to take a quick glance at the ceiling to see the time during the night.

A couple of years ago, I purchased the same brand for my brother who had a serious illness and did not sleep well. He tossed and turned and watched the clock all night long.

When Harvey began using the projection clock, he couldn’t believe how quickly he returned to sleep after looking at the ceiling to see the time. The light projects the time clearly on the ceiling but is not so bright it keeps someone awake.

Atomic Clock

He absolutely loved his projection clock not only for the easy-to-see time but also because it automatically updates for time-day-date with the U.S. Atomic Clock. You don’t even have to change it for Daylight Savings time. Continue Reading

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