There was a snow-covered package waiting on my doorstep for me this morning…my latest Hallmark Press Pause shipment! Inside I found all sorts of great Valentine’s goodies, like… “Cupig”: He shuffles and shakes his belly while singing a parody of the “Cupid Shuffle” ($15.95 with the purchase of 3 cards) “Something For You Pup”: Place […] Read more…
Immunizations as Gifts – And My Kids Were Excited!
Little children do not fully get the concept of “a donation has been made in your name”. Nor would I really expect them to. But when they actually know what has been donated, it’s a bit different. When they get to choose their donation…well, that’s an authentic introduction to philanthropy. Every Christmas my parents give our family a gift from the […] Read more…
Christmas 2012 – Gift Highlights
I thought I’d share with you some of the most original ideas under our tree this year: First, the drawstring bags that mom decorated for the girls with their photos, and images of all of the things that they love (their names are on them too, but I covered them to maintain the illusion of […] Read more…
Christmas Idea # 6: DIY Decorative Pots
Again inspired by Pinterest, I decided to do some jazzy pots for my walkway this year. The pots are actually leftovers from Spring 2011 when I picked up ready-made arrangements at Costco. Almost still full of dirt, there was a perfect base to start with. I used dollar store red ‘stuff’ (what’s the real word?), […] Read more…
Christmas Idea # 5: Printables
Thanks to Pinterest, I am so into printables these days. I jumped on the bandwagon around Easter, and have been loving them right through summer and fall. I know lots of bloggers who keep one beautiful frame in a prominent position in their home, and then rotate the contents to coordinate with the season. I […] Read more…
Christmas Goodies From Hallmark
As part of the Hallmark Press Pause Panel, I receive a few boxes throughout the year of hot-ticket Hallmark items to review, and the Christmas selections are always my favourite! Here are the items I’m recommending this holiday season: Unicef Cards: At $13 for a box of 12, it’s not much more costly than the dollar […] Read more…
Christmas Idea # 4: The Throw Pillow
Okay, I know pillows aren’t exactly the most original idea in the world, but I love this one because it’s unique. Mom is into making pillows and transferring pictures onto them, and when I first saw one I oohed and ahhhed enough to prompt her to ask “Would you like me to make you one?” (If it had […] Read more…
Christmas Idea # 3: The Holiday Book Basket
As my regular readers may remember, one of my organizational strategies involves keeping all holiday-themed stuff in bins, which are brought out well in advance of each occasion. This includes not only decorations, but also toys, books, games, etc. When I pulled out the Christmas bins a couple of weeks ago and let the girls dig in, you […] Read more…
Books For Teaching Christian Kids About Hanukkah
While my students are Christian (most Catholic, as are my daughters) I see a great value in reading stories about Judaism (as well as other religions). I mean, we share a whole Old Testament of history and beliefs with the Jewish people, and it creates a great opportunity to teach about differences. The simple bottom line that […] Read more…
Christmas Idea # 2: Displaying Christmas Memories
This idea came from my friend C, after I saw her hall table adorned with years of framed photos of her children with Santa, as well as some Santa shots from when she and her husband were kids. While I don’t have a lot of official Santa shots (there is one gem of my brother and […] Read more…