Posts Tagged: "friends"

Recreate the Pose of a Famous Photo

My boss, Dennis, loves the Beatles. And yes, he’s a baby boomer! His favorite album is Abbey Road with John, Paul, Ringo and George walking across a striped crosswalk on the cover.

recreate-the-pose-of-a-famous-photo-Abbey-Road-thoughtful-gift-ideaThe Beatles had many famous photo albums but this may be their fans’ most favorite.

For one of his retirement gifts, I recreated the famous Beatles photo with Dennis and his three Team Leaders who have worked with him for 20 years.

I scoped out the many streets in our city and found the white stripes in an intersection that would allow us to recreate the photo.

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Finding New Homes for Old Photos, Post Cards, Letters & Mementos

- - $20 or Less, Family

When people pass away, they leave behind their possessions which include old photos, post cards, letters and mementos. When it’s you who has to sort through it all after a parent, grandparent or siblings dies, it can be overwhelming.

finding-new-homes-old-photos-treasured-memories-thoughtful-gift-ideaMy mother-in-law broke her hip and we had to move her to a memory care nursing center. I am going through her keepsake photos and some of them she has kept for 70+ years.

I’ve done this before with my grandmother’s, mother’s and brother’s things after they passed away. It’s definitely hard and emotional.

I felt if they held on to it for so many years, then it must have been a sweet memory or a special place in their heart. I just couldn’t throw them in the trash! Continue Reading

Houseguest Welcome Basket

I remember being someone’s houseguest and getting a late night snack attack. I’m dying for something to eat but I’m too embarrassed to look through their kitchen cabinets and refrigerator. Not good.

houseguest-welcome-gift-basket

You may have been in a similar situation yourself.

Although someone tells you, “Make yourself at home!” you still feel hesitant to rummage through their food cabinets.

There’s a way to stop the embarrassment of hungry houseguests.

Provide visitors to your home with a Houseguest Welcome Basket containing drinks, snacks and treats!

Even if you tell your houseguests to help themselves to anything in your kitchen, they’ll still appreciate receiving a basket of goodies specifically for them. If you know their favorite snacks and drinks, try to to include them in the gift basket.

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Hop In The Car One Day Road Trips

Our lifelong friends, Curtis and Susan, my husband, and I have come up with a fun experience to spend time together – Hop in the Car One Day Road Trips.

hop-in-the-car-one-day-travels-with-friends-thoughtful-gift-ideaIn the early years, we spent a lot of time together. We doubled dated and later were in each other’s wedding parties. We even shared holidays.

Our lives got much busier when we were raising our children, and we spent less and less time together. But now that our kids are grown, you would think we would have more time on our hands but our lives are as busy as ever.

We may have dinner together for a few short hours in a noise-filled chain restaurant once a year. This was pitiful and had to change!

I came across the best restaurants for home cooked meals across the state of Oklahoma on TravelOK.com. We decided to plan Saturday trips every four to six weeks to visit Mom and Pop type places to eat and our travels included siteseeing along the way. Continue Reading

Card & Gift From Child’s Favorite Disney Character

One of the biggest joys of parenting is the opportunity to inject a sense of wonder and excitement into your kids’ childhood. It’s why we get up in the middle of the night to set out presents from Santa and to tuck money under the pillow in exchange for a tooth.

card-gift-child-favorite-disney-character-mickeyThis thoughtful gift idea is a creative way to add a sense of magic and mystery to a young child’s birthday or Christmas gift experience!

Almost every child has a favorite Disney character or animated character they just adore. My son is obsessed with Mickey Mouse and his clubhouse friends.

Queen Darlene remembered this and for my son’s birthday she gave him a card and a gift from Mickey Mouse and Friends. She made the birthday card herself and signed it “Mickey.”

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High School Reunions Create New-Old Friendships

- - Gifts for Me

Recently, I attended my 45th high school reunion and I’m still relishing in my new-old friendships.

high-school-reunion-thoughtful-gift-ideaI have several cherished high school friends who we’ve kept in touch all these years but with each 5-10-15-20 years and more, I’ve also created new friendships with old classmates.

I was a band nerd.

My whole high school experience was in the marching band, concert band and jazz band. We played victorious music at every football and home basketball games!

So my world mostly revolved around my band mates. Continue Reading

The Giving Plate | A Heartwarming Tradition

No one likes to show up to a social gathering empty handed. After all, the more food the merrier!

Make a lasting impression by giving the host or hostess a gift called “The Giving Plate.”

The heartwarming tradition of The Giving Plate is that you bake a treat and present it to someone on the plate. The recipient could be a friend, family member, church member, neighbor, teacher or co-worker. Once the treat is gone, it’s time for the gift recipient to pay it forward by passing The Giving Plate to someone new.

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The Giving Plate makes for an especially touching gift during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

You can find a variety of styles of The Giving Plate on Amazon.com or you can find other designs on Etsy.com. If you’re artsy, you can make your own using food-safe porcelain markers or paint pens on a blank plate or platter.

The Giving Plate I like contains this special message that explains the tradition in a beautiful poem.

The Giving Plate

This plate belongs to everyone
wherever it may go… with each new sharing
of its gift, the love and blessings grow,
So fill it up and pass it on to
family and to friends… to start
the circle one more time,
love’s journey never ends.

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Hallmark itty bittys® | Friends for Little Ones

Little ones attending day care, Mother’s Day Out or preschool are usually not excited about going unless… they can bring some friends.

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Gift of Warmth | Towel Warmer

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

Make Gift Shopping Simple With Free Gift Giving Apps

- - Catch All

People love it when you give them EXACTLY what they want. You’re being thoughtful.

giftsterThe gift item they wish for could be a specific brand, model, color or size and if you give them something different, they might be disappointed.

But how are you supposed to know EXACTLY what your friend or family member wants? You’re not a mind reader after all.

The answer? There’s an app for that.

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