Christmas All Year Long

Clearance Sales = Bargains Galore

2012-01-07T00:08:00.003-05:00

Welcome to 2012! It's a bright New Year filled with promise and—so far—mild weather. Here in the sunny South, we've normally had a winter storm by now (freezing rain more often than snow, but snow fell THREE magical times last year), but other than a few days of low temps, this winter has felt more like early spring. But you didn't come for a weather report, did you! So let's talk about Christmas clearance sales.

I went out last week to take stock of the after-Christmas bargains and found that most items were being offered at half off the normal retail price. I prefer to get my Christmas clearance at 75% off unless I really love an item and fear that the store will sell out before they can reduce the price to more than half off. This is the week that I typically start checking for those 75% off sales. A few stores are anxious to get rid of their holiday items. (Walmart is clearing things out quickly at 75% off. Michaels Crafts has stuff for 70% off. Walgreens holiday candy is 75% off, but non-edible holiday items are still just half off. Big Lots and Dollar General are still at 50% off. I assume Target and Kmart have big clearance sales as well, but I haven't made my way there yet.)

NOTE ADDED 1/9/12: Hobby Lobby is also clearing their holiday items out for 90% off! Not a lot left, but I got a $50 tree skirt for $5!

At Walmart I picked up an iridescent bow tree topper and a couple of gift boxes for CDs, sure I'll continue my tradition of gifting music to my daughter. At Walgreens I got a few holiday candies for us to enjoy this month. (What I didn't think about at the time was that I could get a bag of red and green candies and separate the reds from the greens and be all set for Valentine's and St. Patrick's Day!)

Brenda's Picks for Best Buys:

Artificial Christmas Trees: I bought my last one at an after-Christmas sale, knowing that I needed to replace a battered old tree. You won't get the most popular model this way, but you'll still get a good tree at a decent price.

Christmas Cards: there is no reason to ever pay full price for cards. You can always find a good selection left after Christmas, and your chances of picking up several boxes at 75% off are excellent if you wait. This is how I am able to get embossed, foiled, glittered cards for dirt cheap!

Party supplies: disposable holiday plates and napkins don't take up much storage space and are a great deal at 75% off. Plus, this forces you to start planning to host a gathering in advance, making it more likely that you do it! ;-)

Gift Wrap, Bows, Ribbons, Gift Tags: if you come across a great sale, you can stock up. I haven't bought wrapping paper for at least three years, and I still have plenty. I re-use bows and have more than enough ribbon for future gifts and craft projects.

Nice to Haves:

Fancy tree skirts: honestly, I would never pay $20 for a skirt that goes under a tree and gets covered with gift boxes, but for $5, you bet I'll snatch one up and admire it under my tree! And, I've discovered that the $20 skirts are well-made and outlast the cheap ones, making them a really good value.

Fancy garland: I love to wrap my trees with expensive-looking, shiny, thick garland! And it holds up well over the years. I've also been known to drape it around doorways and mantlepieces. But I would never pay full price for it.

Good ornaments: for many years I shopped the clearance sales at Hallmark for special ornaments for myself and my children. We have the complete series of a number of ornaments, making them very special. Now I shop in discount stores for boxes of ornaments that coordinate with the special ornaments I already have.

Fancy stockings: Cheap Christmas stockings don't last long; they can lose their shape, get fuzzy and picked, and the loops can also tear. You are better off, if you choose to use stockings in your holiday traditions, to get the more expensive, sturdier kind on clearance. They are so pretty and will last year after year.

Santa hats: again, not a necessity, but fun to have for pictures, and the pricier ones stay nice longer than the cheap felt ones. Just think, a good $10 hat at 75% off is only $2.50, and many are less than that. Think about getting one for each member of your family and stage your holiday photo well before December wearing them-- you'll be able to include the photo in your Christmas cards!

Don't forget to shop your thrift stores. They are trying to get rid of Christmas items too! It's exciting to find what you want at a fraction of the cost. I found the items pictured below while browsing in my local thrift store. I have a special fondness for old-fashioned Christmas items. And the metal trays tickle my fancy in a way colorful plastic ones can't and will come in handy for that party I plan to throw next December. I got these for fifty cents each. Then I found two complete sets of greeting cards! I love winter cardinal scenes, and that card has some gold foil around the birdhouse entrance. I love Christmas trees too, and those cards are embossed and also feature gold foil and iridescent glitter! I paid a bit above 12% for the bird cards and 10% of the original cost for the tree cards. Both boxes smelled of moth balls, but after sitting out for a few days, the aroma has lightened up considerably. Actually, the aroma made them more appealing. Who had them? How many years were they stored away? Why weren't they used? The mystery is as enticing to me as the artwork!

Before I go, I just want to remind you that a bargain is not a bargain if you don't have the cash for it. Sometimes you just have to stay home and ignore the sales.

So, what's the best deal you've found in holiday clearance?

I MUST Host a Party Next Year!

2011-12-30T16:12:00.000-05:00

Your Holiday Spirit Comes From Decorating the House

You are a very visual and creative person. You have a clear idea in your mind of what the holidays should look like.

You enjoy using this time of year to express your artistry and impress your friends and family a bit.

You are a comforting influence on those around you. You are the perfect person to host a holiday gathering.

You are grateful for everything you have. More than grateful, you're downright delighted.

Where Does Your Holiday Spirit Come From?

Blogthings: Cheaper Than a Therapist

This is all very true. I'm now motivated to throw a party next year -- maybe two! I want to do a cookie exchange party as well as a holiday fun and games party.

What Part of Christmas Am I? (Results are so true!)

2011-12-30T16:08:00.001-05:00

You Are Sending Christmas Cards

You are a nostalgic and caring person during the holidays.

It's important for you to feel connected to other people this time of the year.

You do your best to stay in touch with everyone who is important to you. Even a little note shows you care.

Nothing delights you more than getting a card from someone you haven't heard from in a while. That's the true spirit of Christmas for you.

What Part of Christmas Are You?

Work is Hard. Time for Blogthings!

So True!

2011-12-30T16:07:00.001-05:00

You Are Sending Christmas Cards

What Part of Christmas Are You?

Work is Hard. Time for Blogthings!

I'm Gold Lights, but Multi-colored would be a good fit too!

2011-12-30T16:00:00.002-05:00

You Are Gold Lights

Your holidays are a time of abundance and riches.

Even if you don't have a lot during the rest of the year, this is the time that you splurge a little.

Your holidays traditions tend to be a bit old fashioned and dignified.

You like old holiday movies, properly wrapped presents, and family recipes passed down over the years.

What Color Christmas Lights Are You?

The First Rule of Blogthings Is: You Don't Talk About Blogthings

A Brenda Christmas Slide Show

2011-12-28T23:35:00.000-05:00

Photobucket allows you to create slideshows of your holiday activities! Here is mine for the month of December!

Starburst Photos - Before You Pack Up Your Holiday Lights

2011-12-25T23:10:00.001-05:00

Photos taken with a Kodak Easyshare digital camera

Before

After

Years ago, when I had a Canon EOS film camera with changeable lenses and filters, I learned a trick for getting the starburst effect on lights without purchasing an expensive filter. I used to use that trick all the time, but over the years, I got new cameras, moved on to digital, and forgot about the wonderful things filters can do...until I was talking with the designer of a book cover for a book I recently edited. I told him how much I loved his artwork, especially the nightscape with the starburst street lights. When he said that people have gotten away from filters, the light bulb went on in my head.

I remembered that old trick, and I wondered whether it would work with a digital camera. You can see that it did in the above photos. Here's the trick:

Stretch a section of sheer hose or a sheer scarf across the lens! It's as simple as that! You'll get a slightly foggy effect with the lights transformed into stars. The closer the shot, the better. I tried photographing my tall Christmas trees full-length, and while the lights were bigger, the star effect didn't quite happen.

Try this with your camera and amaze your family and friends with photos of your holiday lights. They'll wonder how you did that! But it can be our little secret. ;-)

Gift Tags, and Telling on Myself

2011-12-24T19:08:00.003-05:00

It's less than a day until Christmas, and for the second year in a row, I finished wrapping gifts early! I will NOT be up late Christmas Eve and early into Christmas morning wrapping gifts and crying from exhaustion! (Even with gift bags, it seems to take forever to get the job done.) I have to tell on myself. Do you know what I did this week? I lost a gift. It was a good one too! A CD by an artist my daughter enjoys. Inexplicably, it wasn't in the gift cabinet (a black office storage cabinet) with the other gifts I collected throughout the year. It arrived in the mail just two weeks ago and should have been front and center. I tore the cabinet apart looking for that gift. Then I started searching my office, sure I had set it down and piled papers or books on top of it. No luck. I was close to making myself sick over that CD. I wrapped all the other gifts, wondering if I accidentally threw that gift out with the trash one day!

Then I noticed a small gift bag under the tree. Hmmm. Was that a gift for my daughter or for myself? (Single moms sometimes wrap presents for themselves just to make Christmas morning more fun ... ) I knew I had put something in that bag, but I didn't remember what it was. A candle? So I looked inside, and I'm sure you know what I found. I had wrapped that CD a WEEK AGO! lol Christmas Brain! So anyway, all the gifts are waiting beside the fireplace. Whew!

I wanted to share some gift tag ideas with you that are handy if you run out or don't want to spend the money on one-use gift tags (the sticker kind are one-use only).

1. Reusable tags: As a newlywed with a limited budget, I made gift tags from card stock, and I also used the free gift tags found in holiday issues of women’s magazines. Sturdy tags can be re-used for family year after year if you remove them carefully from the torn gift wrap at the end of the gift exchange. I used the box my bank checks came in to store our tags, and it was fun to read the silly names we gave each other that first Christmas together—“To Huggy Bear from Snuggle Bunny” or “To Lady Sweetheart from Sir Dearheart” (kinda makes you want to gag, huh)—as we re-used the tags. Anyway, when kids came along, we made and re-used tags for them as well. Then I had another idea ...

2. Since I print addresses on mailing labels for sending cards and letters, I always have a supply of labels on hand. One year when the kids were little, I had the idea of using mailing labels as gift tags. I typed the to and from names on them, but then I also added a small headshot of the recipient on each tag. That way, the child who was not yet able to read the names could still play Santa on Christmas morning, passing out the gifts by looking at the face on the tag! That was lots of fun!

3. Taking that idea one step further, you can make prints of family photos and fashion them into gift tags.

4. Recycle old Christmas cards by cutting them into small tags. (Don't use the part that has been written on...) you can add the recipient's name on the back of the tag and have the artwork-side face up on the gift.

4. Free printable gift tags. There are free designs online that you can print off on card stock or copy paper! I found these elegant ones at Ash and Anchor. You can find others by putting "free gift tags" in your search engine.

It’s time for me to clock out; when my daughter and son get back from dinner with their dad, we are going out for dessert with friends! I found out today that my son has decided to come and bring a friend to have Christmas dinner with us tomorrow, so I have some work to do! There’s nothing like last-minute changes during the holidays, but believe me—I’m not complaining!

May you have a merry and very blessed Christmas.

Ever Feel Like You Can't Win for Losing?

2011-12-21T23:44:00.001-05:00

If you've been with me since the beginning, you know this blog is as much for myself as it is for you. I want to be better prepared for Christmas! I want to eke out as much warm holiday enjoyment as possible while shedding the unwanted stress that the hustle and bustle of the season can bring! I want to revel in the lights, music, sugary confections, sappy holiday movies, and warm family and friend gatherings that this season promises. I imagine also spending time gazing solemnly at the sky to reflect on the event that revealed God's love for us, the gift of a Savior. It's the stuff Christmas cards are made of!

Achieving that has been an uphill battle with elements beyond my control. Did I say I achieved it? No, I'm sorry to report I have not. I've been thwarted yet again from achieving my goal! Here's what happened this time:

1. Leaky roof - Rain poured in one day in early fall, staining my ceiling in two places. It took the roofers till a week before Christmas to come and replace part of my roof. The big black roof-trash bin sat in front of my house all weekend. I'm still waiting for the ceiling to be painted.

2. Broken kitchen pipe - an old pipe that ran between the kitchen floor and ceiling of the basement had to be replaced after it cracked and allow water from the kitchen sink to flow through a vent in the basement ceiling and onto the carpeted floor! The 6-ft-long hole in the ceiling is still there—near the fireplace where we always decorate and celebrate Christmas. I finally gave up on expecting the repairs to be done before Christmas. A friend helped me return my furniture to its original spot so that my daughter and I could set up our fireplace trees and hang our stockings, but at less than a week till Christmas, the trees remain bare as my attention is called elsewhere. Which leads me to #3...

3. Crazy work schedule - As a freelancer, I'm never sure what I'm going to be doing, but I count on flexibility. I can work any time of day or night—weekends too, if necessary. My next writing assignment, while lengthy, isn't due until April, so it's not the problem. Deadlines for my editing projects are closer, but by themselves would not have hampered my holiday fun, either. My third flexible job is as a virtual assistant to a voice studio; I've been asked to handle more small projects this month than expected. That has thrown my plans off a little, but when you add in a fourth job, the flexibility vanishes! This fourth job is temporary, taken to help out an old friend as much as to help pay bills. I subbed as his office manager several times last summer and fall, and now I'm in the office again—the week before Christmas (!!!)—while the new hire is away for a Christmas break! This was not the way I planned to spend the week before Christmas, and it has put a major crunch on the time meant for completing other work projects as well as holiday baking and outings. I'm working days, nights, AND weekends!

4. Sick child - My incredibly healthy daughter got sick—and stayed sick! Nothing puts a crimp in your plans faster than a sick family member. She came down with the flu more than a week ago. It knocked her for a loop and made her miss a fun Christmas program. After several days of sleeping, she perked up well enough in the mornings but still wilted early in the day and put herself to bed while other families were still watching Christmas movies and eating popcorn. She has a lingering cough and ear trouble and when given the option of going to see Christmas light displays or staying home, has opted to stay home. I feel so sorry for her—and for me!

5. No big family gathering - I miss those, but I'm not from here and not likely to experience one in this state! My family is 500 miles away, and it's shrinking each year. With our current jobs and financial situation, my daughter and I can't afford to travel to see our remaining relatives, and no one feels able to come see us. On top of that, my son, who has missed two of the last three Christmases with us, has decided to spend this Christmas with his friends—again. So with only my daughter and myself here, there will be no big feast that dreams are made of. It will be a quiet celebration made up of a favorite breakfast, opening of gifts, watching the Disney parade on TV, and perhaps playing some games or doing crafts while Christmas music plays in the background. To my further sorrow, my former husband has decided—for the first time since 1999—to have our daughter spend part of Christmas Day at his house. Not only will I not have that longed-for big family gathering, but I will be alone for part of the day. And car-less too, as he has requested that she drive herself (in my car) to his house 40 minutes away, so I can't even drive to a friend's house! Do you hear those sad violins playing in the background???

Where's that fun Christmas I worked towards all year? Christmas is just a few days away, and if I dwell on it too much, I get emotional. I had high hopes for entertaining friends and making it a Christmas to remember.

While I can't control outside events, I can control my attitude. But, sometimes I don't feel like it. Don't we all get that way? Like a child who has been denied a treat before dinner, I pout. I don't want to shrug, let go, and focus on something else. I want to worry over what I can't have! And what I can't have this year (again) is the fairytale, twinkling Christmas sung about in so many carols. Rather than mope and wish Christmas was over (my first inclination), I will work on adjusting my attitude. I can't change my circumstances, so I need to change my thought pattern. I choose to count my Christmas blessings:

Jesus loves me, even when I have a bad attitude.
Lovely weather allowed my daughter and me to enjoy "A Journey Through Bethlehem" this year.
We got to attend a local Christmas parade.
Four Christmas parties/events welcomed my presence this month! That may be a personal record! lol (This lifts my spirits. While I tend to be introverted, I do enjoy being included in such things.)
My newsletter and cards were finished and mailed on time.
Cards have been coming in the mail each day.
My daughter got to sing at two events. When she doesn't have the flu, she's a wonderful spreader of glad tidings and Christmas cheer, and I enjoy watching her perform.
The living room trees were put up and decorated right after Thanksgiving, so I've had them to enjoy.
Since the delayed roof work prevented me from hanging outside lights, my electric bill won't be very high.
I mailed my gifts on time. I feel bad when they arrive late to their destination.
I got the stamps I wanted this year! (Usually by the time I visit the post office, they've run out.)
I got my shopping done early. (I am a year-round shopper, stashing fabulous finds in a "gift cabinet" until needed. I also earned gift cards through Swagbucks and used those to shop online.)
My name was pulled in a drawing for a book I wanted this month!
I developed a recipe for double decker cherry chocolate fudge this month! I plan to enter it in a contest—that's how happy I am with it.
I still have a house in which to celebrate Christmas, New Year's, and hopefully many more holidays.
My daughter, when she isn't sick, is generally happy to help me with housework. Of course, she has her moments, as we all do, but on the whole she is a sweet blessing.
My best friend is a blessing too! She is like a sister to me. I never had a sister, but she's my sister from another mister!
The cash gifts I've received this month equal my mortgage payment! Now that is a God thing! The last unexpected check caused tears of joy to streak down my face as I realized how they all added up. God loves me and wants me to stop worrying about the future!
I have such a huge supply of Christmas wrap that I will probably never need to buy more. And gift bags are reusable. *smiles*
Mom sent me a Christmas stocking with surprises inside so that I don't have to fill my own stocking this year. (There may be nothing more sad than a single parent filling her own stocking on Christmas Eve.) Mom made me promise not to feel around in it! Teehee!

I could keep going, but my mood has lifted considerably, so that won't be necessary. Now it's your turn! If you're feeling blue, try listing your blessings and see what happens. Share some of your blessings in the comments below!

Christmas Memory Tree

2011-12-07T19:30:00.000-05:00

As a special holiday treat, my daughter and I recorded ourselves decorating our memory tree and explaining the tree and the ornaments. This is something I started last year because I suddenly had an extra tree (small), and I just hate to throw anything away. I realized I could get more use out of it, damaged as it was. So going with the memory theme, I pulled together some of my handmade ornaments and photo ornaments so that we could hang our memories on this little white tree. Watch!

Here's a link, just in case ... Brenda's Christmas Memory Tree

By the way, it's less than three weeks till Christmas! Are you ready?

Don’t throw out your damaged decorations just yet!

2011-11-29T02:57:00.002-05:00

So, have you started decorating your home for Christmas yet? I love digging into my many boxes of decorations – collected over the span of 27 years! Because I shop the after-Christmas clearance sales, I always find surprises that I don’t remember—they’re like early Christmas gifts for me and my family! Those are fun, but I cherish the old ornaments—those that have been handed down from my family, those I bought new, and those “antique” ones I bid on at an auction long ago. So many memories are held in those old ornaments—even the whimsical plastic and Styrofoam ones of the 50s and 60s!

As you unpack your ornaments and decorations, you may come across some damaged ones—broken, dented, chipped, or just loose. You may be tempted to toss them in the garbage. Don't be so hasty! Damaged decorations still may have life in them. Look at them with a creative eye. Can pieces be glued back together? Can they be touched up with permanent markers or even nail polish? That cheap nail polish at the dollar store isn’t just for nails, you know! The metallic shades are great for covering tiny blemishes on ornaments. Maybe a damaged decoration can be taken apart and re-purposed. Could parts of a damaged decoration or ornament be used in handmade Christmas cards or to decorate your gifts to make them look extra-special under the tree? Can pieces be attached to a Christmas wreath?

Hmmm, that reminds me … I have an old, brown plastic candle ring that was in a box lot that I got 27 years ago. I’ve held onto it because it’s old and isn’t taking up too much space in my box of retro stuff. Every year I glance at it and wonder what the manufacturer was thinking, making a brown Christmas candle ring! I think I’ll spray paint it silver and put a red candle in the center—or a glass globe filled with candy. I already have those things, so it won’t cost me anything to create a new end table centerpiece!

If the effort just seems too great, maybe you could give the project to someone artistic in your family. If that person simply doesn't exist, then please donate your old decorations to the local thrift store where I might find them. *grin* Crafty people will be on the lookout for them! Better there than in the landfill!

Happy Creative Christmas!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ... in the stores and Up North!

2011-11-08T19:56:00.001-05:00

Some of my Canadian friends are currently enjoying snow up to their tushies! Well, enjoying may be a bit too strong of a word choice ... and tushies is an exaggeration ... but you know what I mean. Winter wonderlands are magically appearing! Christmas must be just around the corner! It's definitely arrived (along with Santa) in the mall!

If you are going to send Christmas cards, NOW is the time to print out your labels, or hand-label your envelopes—if you are one of those personal-touch people. (I'm not. I'm a quick and easy and typed-is-easy-to-read kinda gal.) Finish (or start) your fun and informative, one-page Christmas newsletter. Get your cards ready to mail out on November 30! That's right, set that bar high and let everyone turn green with envy at how organized you are! Plus, if your cards are ready to go that early in the season, you are guaranteed to have your pick of the holiday stamps available at the post office!

NOW is also the time to start gathering the special ingredients for your holiday goodies. Look over your recipes (did you remember to choose a few new ones to try this year?) and make a list of what you'll need. Do you remember the sick feeling you got last year when you ran to the store a few days before Christmas for those peanut butter chips you needed for your famous double decker fudge, and you discovered that the entire inventory had been wiped out already? (Or was that just me?) Don't let that happen to you again. Or, if you are not at home in the kitchen, then now is still a good time to stock the freezer with store-bought holiday goodies. You want to get them while they are available—not stand in front of an empty store freezer with a tear in your despairing eye later in December!

Have you been stocking your Christmas closet/cabinet/hiding place with gifts throughout the year? Now is a good time to take stock of what you have and what you still want to make or buy for gifts. Now is also a good time to wrap the gifts you have. No more Christmas Eve all-nighters, wrestling with rolls of wrapping paper and Scotch tape till that inevitable moment when you lose it and begin carelessly cramming gifts into gift bags— whether they fit or not and even if you ran out of tissue paper to tuck in there! That activity does not a good Christmas Day, or Christmas photos, make!

Finally, consider the possibilities of charitable giving. Gift Tag Trees are going up throughout our communities. My church already put up the missionary Christmas tree. My daughter has already claimed an envelope from the tree and returned it! A local restaurant has a sign out letting us know the date for their annual toy drive. Other stores have Christmas trees featuring tags that list a child's age and the toys on that child's wish list. Many organizations collect donations for children, for the elderly, and for other needy people in general.

When money is tight, you can give of your time instead. Volunteers are needed to sort, package, and deliver Christmas collections. Go caroling in a nursing home. The Salvation Army needs bell ringers! Use your talents to bless others this holiday season. There are so many possibilities. Christmas is the season of giving.

Leave me a comment and tell me what you have finished, what you have left to do, or what you love most about Christmas! I would love to hear from you!

It's the end of October, and you know what THAT means ...

2011-10-28T19:45:00.001-04:00

Court Jester and his Renaissance Sister

There will be Halloween clearance sales, of course! What did you think I was going to say—that Christmas is just around the corner? Pshaw, you already know that!

Anyway, if you have any children on your gift list who love to play make-believe, you can find some fun items for a costume/dress-up kit! When I was a child, I would have loved to have sparkly tutus and tiaras, gloves, and wands, any princess-y thing there was to be had! Hats and capes and other fun things will spark children's imagination—and maybe they'll put on a skit for you!

It's October 1! And in case you haven't checked, there are just 84 days till Christmas!

2011-10-01T15:14:00.002-04:00

Ready or not, here it comes–the holiday season is fast approaching! Thanksgiving will arrive in 53 days, and many of us start celebrating the Christmas season the next day! (Some of us start even earlier; I know of a few people who start putting up their Christmas trees and other home decorations two or three weeks before Thanksgiving!)

Even though December 25 is still 84 days away (as of Oct. 1), you don't really have 84 days to prepare. To have time to relax and enjoy the season of joy, you should have your plans and preparations wrapped up (pun intended – tee hee) earlier than that. The sooner the better!

Since money is tighter than usual this year, I've been earning gift money by using Swagbucks.com. I plan to finish shopping with my "free" money by Dec. 1. I'm so excited that I can do that! (That money also paid for my daughter's graduation gifts and birthday gifts this year.) My daughter and I discovered some new recipes for yummy treats that we're going to enjoy and give as gifts. Our Christmas cards are sitting in the craft closet where we'll easily find them when it comes time to send them out. Things are progressing pretty well for us.

How about you? Tell me what you've planned and/or accomplished so far this year that will make this the best Christmas ever! (To my friends and family with new bundles of joy: having a baby or grandbaby counts as an accomplishment! Babies always make the holidays extra special!)

Christmas Countdown!

2011-09-06T11:51:00.001-04:00

Hey, y’all! (Even though I’m from the Midwest, I sometimes say “y’all” for fun because I’ve lived in the South for more than half my life.) As of today, September 6, it is 109 days till Christmas, and 84 days till December 1! I placed a handy-dandy countdown generator at the top of my page so that you can keep track. It snows in the generator more than it snows down South, so I may spend a lot of time here, just staring at the snow. *giggles*

The purpose of “Christmas All Year Long” is to encourage you to prepare in advance for the biggest and busiest holiday season of the year so that when December arrives, your busy work will be done, and you can enjoy the celebration and spend time relaxing or playing or whatever you want to do with your family and friends. No more frantic shopping trips! No more late night baking, wrapping, decorating, and crying! No more regrets and sighs of “maybe next year ...” Now is the time! This is the year! So what are you waiting for? Pull out your Christmas to-do list (or make one) and choose something to work on this week!

How Do You Take Advantage of the Back-to-School Month, Christmas-wise?

2011-08-21T17:08:00.001-04:00

High school and college students return to school this month – or at least prepare to do so. Bargains are easy to find as stores create sales to lure shoppers inside. If you have a plan, you can shop without going overboard. You should have a list of people with whom you will exchange gifts as well as your ideas for what those gifts should be. This is one way to take advantage of back-to-school month. With all the penny specials at office supply stores, you can stock up on some interesting stocking stuffers - what kid doesn't love pencils, markers, or fun erasers? If there are any artists in your family, you can create the same kind of activity kit that my mom used to make for nieces and nephews. Items like crayons, colored pencils, markers, stencils, paper, scissors, glitter glue, and construction paper can make a young artist's eyes light up on Christmas morning. Much of it is on sale now!

So, shopping the sales is one way to take advantage of August in preparation for the winter holiday season. What is the other way? It's to take advantage of your newly-free time – if you have kids and are a SAHM or a parent with a part-time job. (This is possible only if your kids go off to school. Homeschooling families won't benefit from this idea, as it is rare to get a break from the kids.) Anyway, I know some moms who heaved a big sigh of relief as the kids left for school and then wondered what they would do with their free time – beyond the usual cooking, cleaning, and errand-running, of course. Before you fall into a routine, pull out your Christmas plans and get organized! Take stock of your gift closet/cabinet/hiding place. What do you have? What do you need?

Me and My Mom having
some Christmas Fun

Kids or not, use the remainder of the month to think through your holiday plans. Where are you going to spend Christmas? Will you host a party? Are you sending Christmas greetings? Are you making a newsletter?

Remember, your goal is to be "ready" for Christmas before December arrives. That way, you can spend the season doing what you love with the people you love instead of scurrying around in a panic trying to pull it all together only to collapse in a heap on the couch at the end of each day. No more New Year's Day regrets about what didn't get done. No more sighs of "oh well, maybe next year ..." This is the year to be prepared!

August Means Back-to-School Bargains ... and Christmas shopping!

2011-08-05T21:26:00.001-04:00

In my state, and maybe yours, it’s a tax-free weekend for school-related merchandise. You can find a list of items online that are included and excluded from this special money-saving holiday. Such items include your usual pencils, paper, crayons, and other educational materials and also things such as clothing, clothing accessories, shoes, school supplies, computers, printers, blankets, bedspreads and linens, bath cloths, bath towels, bath rugs and mats, shower curtains, pillows and pillow cases are included (for college-bound students). See any possible Christmas gifts in that list?

Exclusions include jewelry, cosmetics, eyewear, wallets, watches,
furniture, items for use in a business, and items placed on layaway, so
you're out of luck if visions of these items danced tax-free in your head. However, sometimes stores vying for your dollars will offer similar discounts on non-education-related items in
order to make sales, so you may be in luck after all!

Anyway, if you haven't already stocked your gift closet with items for December giving, you might consider shopping this weekend. Not only will you save sales tax (if you shop in a state
that participates), but as the third largest shopping weekend of the year, you may discover
stores competing for sales with some additional sales! (The other two big-deal shopping times are the weekend after Thanksgiving and the time before Christmas.)

Christmas (Newsletter) in July

2011-07-17T22:45:00.002-04:00

Christmas in July? You bet!

Here in the Sunny South, I enjoyed a day in July (the15th, to be exact) when the temperature OUTSIDE never made it out of the 60s! What a delightfully chilly departure from those high 90s where just taking a breath was enough to make one break into a sweat! The next day started out chilly as well before the mercury inched its way up to 79. It was like a memory of early spring and an advance taste of late fall, all rolled into one day! As I shivered and slid into a jacket, I thought, “It’s a perfect Christmas in July day!”

Now we’re back to the normal sweltering days of summer, but at least we can escape indoors and set our minds on Christmas! Turn on the A/C, sip something cold and refreshing, and dig out a Christmas CD for the appropriate holiday mood. :) (Right now I’m listening to Santa Baby. It always makes me grin. Marilyn Monroe didn’t sing it, but it would have fit her sultry style.)

A few weeks ago, a blog friend announced that she had begun working on her Christmas newsletter. Way to go, Linda! This is where I generally fall short. Like most who write them, I wait until the end of the year to put my newsletter together, and then I have trouble recalling the highlights of the year. Plus, I get busy and distracted, and before I know it, my cards are going out late because it took me a while to get my newsletter “wrapped up.”

Take a break from the heat and think about your own newsletter. What have been the highlights and low points of the first half of the year? Devote one to three sentences to each idea. If you are one of those who like themes, brainstorm for something fresh for this year. Store your notes for later. When you are ready to finish your letter and make copies, you'll be glad that you got half the job done early this time.

TIP #1: Restrain from typing joyously in all caps and using multiple exclamation points, especially when bragging about the talented so-and-so’s who are your children. A simple “So-and-so continues to earn high marks in school” gets the same message across as “WE ARE SO PROUD OF OUR LITTLE ANGEL’S STRAIGHT A’s AND ALL THE TALENT THAT DRIPS FROM EACH FINGER AND TOE!!!! WE’RE SO VERY BLESSED!!!! GOD OBVIOUSLY LOVES US MORE THAN YOU AND YOUR LITTLE DISASTERS!!!!” without taking up as much space or being quite so obnoxious.

TIP #2: Don’t shy away from being real. We all have our struggles. Honesty goes a long way in strengthening bonds. Briefly share a disappointment, knowing that your recipients will likely be able to relate.

TIP #3: Include a few photos. Make sure that YOU are in at least one photo. You say you feel self-conscious about how you have aged? Well, make it a small picture! Anything is better than photos of just the kids or the pets. We can assume that the recipients of your newsletter are people who love you and see your inner beauty shining through. You may not see it, but we do. I promise!

ALTERNATIVE IDEA: You say you aren’t a writer? Holiday newsletters make you shudder? Okay, fine. Don’t start a newsletter. But you aren’t off the hook this month. Instead, you can focus on a photo to include in your Christmas cards, or maybe a photo that you will use AS a Christmas card! Consider dressing up in Christmas hats or sweatshirts or just Christmas colors. Consider creating a backdrop by hanging a solid piece of fabric up or digging out the garland and quickly decorating something with it. If you have a Christmas tablecloth, it might make an interesting backdrop. It won’t take a lot of time to make the effort. Honest! Get a friend or a timer to snap a family shot for you so that you will be in the picture. Put on a Christmas CD. You'll be doing more than creating a holiday photo; you’ll be making a memory. :)

Summer Boredom a Problem?

2011-06-13T23:30:00.003-04:00

Bored Kids with Nothing to Do

School has only been out a short time, but I know kids have already started complaining that they are bored – some were moaning on their first day at home! Because I’m connected to a number of teenagers (that I know in real life) on Facebook, I’ve seen their pitiful wails. “I’m BOREDDDDDD!!!!! Somebody text me!!!!!!!!”

This month’s tip involves giving Christmas projects to those poor kids who have nothing to do. (You say you have no kids at home? Is it too hot for you to enjoy the outdoors? Then these projects are for you!)

Summer is a great time to decorate your own Christmas wrapping paper with white butcher paper and paint. You can work with stencils or sponge shapes or even go freestyle. One year my kids took star-shaped sponges and dabbed red, green, and gold paint on sheets of white butcher paper. I used the paper to wrap gifts and finished the packages off with red and green bows. That was a festive and fun change from the normal store-bought wrap, and the kids enjoyed both the activity AND getting to brag about it at Christmastime!

Christmas Cards Made by Kids

Another summertime art project is to create original artwork on card stock. If you have a child who is a budding artist, whether it’s with paints, colored pencils, or ink, you might set him or her loose with an assignment for a certain number of holiday-appropriate cards. Of course, if you love crafting cards, you will love this project yourself!

Working with photos to create cards, gift tags, photo ornaments, or photo calendars for 2012 is another creative option for those hot days when the A/C inside beckons, if you didn’t tackle that a few months ago or if you have children who love working with digital photos on the computer.

Kids who enjoy crafts may enjoy making Christmas tree ornaments. By making them during the summer, you can plan for lots of them - enough to share with others early in December so that they can enjoy hand-crafted decorations too! In fact, you could take the time to think about having a theme tree this year! I have two trees that are a mishmash of ornaments collected over the years from vacations, school projects, received as gifts, and so forth. But I love the themed trees I see in Christmas festivals and in magazines. I now have a snowflake and snowman theme tree. Many of the snowmen on the tree were made from kits bought from the Oriental Trading Company. I love that place – their crafts are so affordable! Right now they have some cute Christmas ornament crafts selling at half price. You should check it out!

This is a great time to make progress toward your holiday goals. Chances are good that it’s hot and humid outside, so stay where you can enjoy some air-conditioning, choose a project, and get creative!

Christmas Cards All Year 'Round -- you've gotta see that!

2011-05-20T13:24:00.002-04:00

I just found a blog about making Christmas cards -- the “all year 'round” theme drew me in. :-) Christmas Cards All Year 'Round has some really gorgeous handmade cards! The design team puts up monthly challenges, and guest designers are often featured. Anyone who loves to make cards will adore this blog! (The red name is the link -- click on it, and you'll be there!)

(If I could make cards like that, I would hate to part with them and would likely decorate my office with them instead...)

Tip for Gifts When Times Are Tight

2011-05-15T21:46:00.003-04:00

I have a couple of friends who have raved about Swagbucks for months. They talked about trading swagbucks for Amazon.com giftcards and using their swagbucks to get birthday and Christmas gifts for their families. I didn't pay much attention.

Then times got tight for me. I gave in and joined a week ago. You might want to think about it too. It's primarily for people living in the USA, I think, but I understand that Canadians have swagbuck opportunities as well.

SwagBucks.com is a GPT (get-paid-to) site. By joining, you have the chance to earn rewards online. Many websites ask you to fill out surveys and sign-up for spam, and you can do that on SwagBucks too, but you can totally avoid that and still earn swagbucks! How, you ask? You can use the SwagBucks Search Engine as you normally would in Google or Yahoo. A popup announces a win. Winning from searching happens randomly. The trick is to search regularly every hour or so. You can win as much as 5 to 50 SBs (swagbucks) per random win! You can also earn swagbucks by answering a daily poll, watching commercial videos, and more. Then there are secret codes that are hidden now and then for you to find. When you join, the website keeps an ongoing tally of your bucks in the upper righthand corner. It's very nice to see that number go up. They have a blog and tip pages as well. Joining the SwagBucks page on Facebook can help you figure some of this stuff out.

Each swagbuck is worth about 2 cents. In the span of a week, I've earned almost enough for a $5 Amazon e-giftcard. Some people are a lot more active on SwagBucks than I am. Still, every little bit helps in the current economy. Suppose I do the minimal amount each week. There are 52 weeks in a year. That means I could end up with an extra $260 to spend online each year, and if I really want to dive into Swagbucks, I can earn more! Watch out, though, as going after swagbucks can be addicting!

You can also earn swagbucks from referrals, so if you want to help me out as you check it out,

my referral link is: http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/RadiantSunset

Do you already Swag? Post and share your tips or your favorite gift!

May: Mother's Day Christmas Ideas

2011-05-09T00:42:00.000-04:00

May is for Mother’s Day

May has two big holidays: Mother’s Day and Memorial Day. I don’t think Memorial Day will offer much in the way of gift ideas, so let’s focus on Mother’s Day. Do you have a mom? Are there moms in your family or in your close circle of friends? Do you know any moms-to-be? Gift items for the Mother’s Day holiday are going to be on clearance this month. You may be able to snap up some Christmas gifts among the candles, bath supplies, t-shirts, candy, and books that will be on sale. You may even find some mommy gardening supplies!

Do you have a gift cabinet or closet or storage space of some sort where you can stash gifts bought year round? If not, now is as good a time as any to create a space or buy a container. An opaque plastic tub with lid might be good if you don't have an allotted space in your home. Decide where you would like to stash your gift supply before buying the container. If you have snooping kids, you'll have to be sneaky. You might get the under-the-bed box. If you get a larger box, consider faking kids out with a top layer of boring things like sweatpants, an old folded sheet, or newspapers. Then if they find the box while snooping in your closet, they will think it’s nothing and move on. Label it “Tax Stuff” to ensure that everyone avoids it!

A tip I received last year is to buy one gift card each month. By December, you’ll have a nice stash that you can give as gifts without the anxiety of spending all that money at once! OR, you might use the gift cards yourself for Christmas shopping. This will work if you prefer to do your Christmas shopping closer to the holiday instead of early in the year. Turning your cash into gift cards each month is almost like having a personal Christmas savings account! When you're ready to shop, you’ll know how much you’ve got on each card and be able to create a budget for gifts.

Photo Ornament Ideas

2011-04-16T20:41:00.002-04:00

Hi there! Have you gotten started organizing your photos yet?

Photo ornaments can be such fun gifts to receive, not to mention make! If you have a Hobby Lobby or other craft store in your area that posts coupons, now would be a good time to start collecting the supplies to make your photo ornament crafts. If you wait until the holiday season, you're less likely to find a coupon or to be able to use what you find -- not to mention finding the time to make the craft when the whole world is doing the holiday hustle-bustle! It just makes sense to work in advance.

I found the instructions for making a shaker ornament (with fake snow inside) here . The example uses a graphic of a snowman, but I think this would be awesome with family photos in place!

I love snow and snowmen and have a whole tree's worth of snow-themed ornaments. This pattern for a snowman photo ornament is something your children could make. If you're anything like me, you'll want to make some too. :)

This Christmas photo ball ornament involves cutting a photo into strips, which seems so wrong, but makes an awesome, lightweight ornament!

Excuse me while I go work some digital photo magic on my laptop. I've got some photos saved there that I want to use in my Christmas project!

April Album Antics

2011-04-07T12:07:00.000-04:00

Happy Spring Fever, everyone!

Oh my, the pollen has left a fine, yellow-green coating on everything, including my dear daughter's allergic nasal passages. We want to be outside enjoying the sunshine, but perhaps a better idea is to stay indoors and work on Christmas ideas.

This month, the burning question is this: where are those holiday pictures that you or your relatives took during your December festivities? If you don't have a collection of photographs placed in an album, scrapbook, or otherwise saved (online in a slideshow? Saved to a CD?), this is the month to tackle the task!

Years ago a friend of mine lost five years' worth of digital family photos when her computer crashed. She had never gotten around to printing or saving them. The pictures are gone for good. It's so easy to put off printing or otherwise saving your photos once you've uploaded them to your computer, but your computer isn't a good storage device for precious memories! You need a backup plan! Currently, I upload my photos both to a laptop and to a desktop computer. I then create albums online. I try but don't always succeed in printing my favorite photos several times a year. I think doing this monthly is ideal, but that's not something I've been able to do. I need to follow my own advice!

Having my mom here at Christmastime helps me be more diligent with my photos. When she spends Christmas with us, I always upload and edit my photos and make her a special photo album to take home. If I ever lost my photos to a flood, fire, or crash, I know I could call my mom and get those albums and make copies of those photos! Online I use Photobucket to upload photos and create slideshows. I also make albums in the photo section of Walmart.com when I use them to order prints. They save the albums as well. I'm sure there are many other online options; these are just the two I have the most experience with.

So tell us where your Christmas 2010 photos are right now! Still on a camera? On your hard drive? Sitting in an email sent by a friend or family member who took the photos? Or have you already taken steps to protect them or place them in albums?

Bonus April Photo Tip: Use those photos in fun Christmas crafts! Choose photos to use in photo ornaments or other Christmas craft projects. (I have some ornaments found in a consignment store that need photos added, and I have a banner with spaces for Christmas photos as well. You might make gift tags featuring photos of the recipients' faces -- then little children can help pass out the gifts by connecting the face on the tag to the face of the person in the room!

March Mayhem

2011-03-21T23:36:00.001-04:00

Jaw dropped from shock.
Don't let this be you!

Dear Readers,
It's been a month that reinforces my message for the need to be prepared. My lovely writing and editing job that pays my mortgage is coming to an end. Rather than work on Christmas concerns, I've been updating my resume, joining LinkedIn, and spreading the word that I need a job!

Because I believe in being prepared, I do have a small savings account. I also have an IRA that I can draw from. Best of all, I have some good leads on jobs. Hopefully I'll have more work lined up before I run out of savings.

For me, this situation reinforces the idea of being prepared for the holidays. You never know when disaster is going to strike. If you don't plan in advance for Christmas, what happens if disaster strikes in November or December? You may not have the finances or interest for normal festivities. There may be no happy memories made. Your kids may remember the holiday as the worst in the history of holidays.

As for me, I had already started adding little gifts to my gift cabinet as I came across sale items that would make good gifts. My cards were bought and stashed away in January. I have a supply of Christmas wrapping paper and bows that may last until the Lord returns! Ready or not, Christmas is coming; it won't catch me by surprise because I do plan ahead. It may be a toned-down holiday this year, but it will still be fun. We'll make the new desserts we experimented with last month. We'll enjoy the free local activities. There will be gifts, even if most are of the homemade variety.

Some of you will be grandparents by the time Christmas rolls around. Some of you may become parents for the first or second time. Some will lose jobs, while others will find new jobs. Some will move to a new home or even a new region. This year may bring the biggest changes of your life . . . or it may be the same ol' same ol' that it always is. Either way, you can make Christmas special. It doesn't take a lot of money, but it does take thought, and it takes time. Don't leave it to chance.

Get motivated to start planning now for the best Christmas ever. You can bet I am!

February: Valentine Surprises can become Christmas Goodies!

2011-02-08T13:19:00.001-05:00

Hello, Christmas Lovers!

It's the month of love, and Valentine's Day is almost upon us!

Did you find a special recipe during the Christmas season that you didn't have time to try? Maybe you could pull it out and make it for Valentine's Day. If it's a hit, then you'll have a new dish/dessert in your portfolio for December!

February is a good time for trying new recipes, at least in the northern hemisphere. It's winter and cold outside, keeping us indoors. The Super Bowl is over now, so there's not much left to do this month. You might as well experiment in the kitchen. :-) My daughter learned how to make cake balls last month, and she's making new flavors this month. This is something that we know will be a big hit come Christmas. Everyone who has tried them has raved about them! The more she makes, the easier it becomes. That right there is a great reason for trying new holiday recipes now rather than waiting until the bustling month of December!

My daughter's red candy coated peanut brittle

For those of you without a passion for cooking or candy-making, find something else creative to do with your time this month. Perhaps art is your passion. You might experiment with designs for homemade Christmas cards or gift wrap. Why sit on the couch facing the TV in your Snuggie, when you could be getting a head start on Christmas 2011?

Bright Idea: On Valentine's Day or the day after, check the clearance sales for bargains on items that would work as Christmas gifts. Love isn't just for Valentine's Day, you know! I'll be looking for red candy sprinkles that can be used on cakes, cookies, and candies!

Have You Had Snow Recently? Will You See Snow Again Soon?

2011-01-22T01:09:00.000-05:00

Ornaments on the Snow

I love snow -- just can't get enough of the sparkling white stuff! Since I work from home and my daughter is enrolled in an online school at home, snow doesn't throw off our schedule. It just enhances it. :)

A week ago we spent the week snowed in. It was a wonderful experience, and it gave us time to do more cooking and to try a new recipe. We made red velvet cake balls, and I'm gleeful to report that they were awesome! They will be great for Valentine's Day, and they will be perfect for Christmas.

Red Velvet Cake Balls - like candy!

Snow is in the forecast again. I didn't think to tell you earlier, but I'm telling you now. If you get snowed in with the power still on, you will have the perfect opportunity to try new recipes that you might enjoy during your Christmas festivities. As it so often happens, we can't find the time to experiment with new dishes and desserts in December. We may have found some promising recipes, but time ran out, and we stuck to our old faithfuls and tucked those promising recipes away for next year. Well, untuck them! Get to the store while the roads are still clear and collect your ingredients. Then when it snows and you're stuck at home, you can make the most of it and whip up some new foods.

By the way, if you get snowed in and your Christmas decorations are still up, you might want to go ahead and pack those away. February is fast approaching. I know snow makes you want to lie on the couch, eating and watching movies and sporadically gazing out the window, but please do yourself a favor and accomplish a chore or two while you have the chance. You'll be glad you did.

January Head Start!

2011-01-10T00:30:00.003-05:00

Leo the Cat at the Front Door

The Christmas decorations are mostly put away. For me, this is quite an accomplishment. In the past it's been closer to the end of the month, and occasionally into the first or second week of February before I've handled that time-consuming chore! Now I'm sitting up in anticipation of seeing the promised snowfall. I almost want to run get my Christmas lights and put them back up so I can take "Christmas" pictures in the snow! Have you ever done that? A few times in my life I've staged a Christmas photo in January. One was when we brought our first baby home from the hospital one January 3rd. He was born early in December with some health issues, and the agency didn't let us know that we had a foster baby waiting until after the holidays were over! Well, in my mind no child should miss his first Christmas, so I put a little elf cap on his head and sat his carseat in front of a fake fireplace decorated with poinsettias, and I took his picture as if it were still Christmas.

Anyway, you know why I'm writing, don't you? Christmas clearance sales began the day after December 25 and have continued into January. Have you taken advantage of any? You can snag some sweet deals on cards, gift wrap, party supplies, decorations, and other Christmas items! Buy these things now and put them in your designated "Christmas corner." When the holidays roll around again, your money can go toward gifts and groceries rather than these other "essentials" that every Christmas-lover simply has to have!

I got two boxes of Christmas cards at 50% off -- the store was almost out of these, and I knew they wouldn't last until the 75% markdown. I went back to the store when the holiday clearance was reduced to 75% off, and I got two different boxes of cards -- cards that I had liked but had seen that they had plenty left during the 50% off sale. I'm all set on cards!

I went to another store's sale and got a set of ornaments for my daughter, whose tree was sparsely decorated this year. She had graduated to a full-size tree and just didn't have enough ornaments to cover it, so next year she'll be all set. I also bought a good-quality snowflake stocking to replace my cheap one that started falling apart. The 75% off sales are the best time to buy stockings for the mantle! The expensive ones often don't sell out at full price, so you can get a quality product for little money.

I bought holiday paper plates and napkins. I used some for a New Year's Day gathering with friends, and the rest I saved. They don't take up much space.

The last purchase I made was two books written with a Christmas setting. My mother loves to read, and I know she will enjoy receiving those books to read during her Christmas break.

Not only am I now prepared with cards that I could send right after Thanksgiving (if I do things right), but I've also started shopping for gifts. I wouldn't buy perishable items this early, but there are some standard gifts that keep well. Books, candles, ornaments, mugs, photo albums, snow globes, etc. When you can find these at 75% off, and you haven't already spent yourself into the red, it's smart to get started on your gift stash.

Just remember, it's not a bargain if you already spent your money. I wouldn't want you to get into debt with your holiday shopping if you don't have the spare cash for it. It's worth keeping in mind next time around, though. It's a great idea to save some money for the January sales, andit gives you that much less to shop for come next November and December!

What have you done so far this month to get a head start on Christmas 2011?

My Carolina Christmas!

2011-01-06T00:01:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T20:08:00.001-05:00

Has your Christmas been picture perfect? I didn't always take my own advice, and I paid the price. However, I DID get all the presents wrapped before Christmas Eve this year. So what if it was the night of Dec. 23? At least I got to bed at a decent hour on Dec. 24 and didn't sleep half of Christmas Day away! LOL One of these years, I'm going to wrap them as I acquire them. I'm always surprised how many hours it takes to wrap what looks like a small pile of gifts!

News Flash: Upstate South Carolina had the first Christmas Day snowfall in 47 years! Woooooooooooooo!!! It was a peaceful addition to the day. But it hasn't stuck yet. (My company, who traveled from out-of-state, is worried about the trip home in a few days.)

I'm already making plans to "do" Christmas better next year. How about you? Do you want to take another trip around the sun, preparing for Christmas All Year Long?

#15 - November still: If You Enjoy Driving Around Looking at Christmas Lights...

2010-11-16T00:05:00.001-05:00

In this month's copy of "Thriving Family," I found a de"light"ful idea that I have to share with you. It suggested making Christmas thank-you cards to drop off at homes displaying a manger in their yard. It's done like a game: your family goes driving to look at neighborhood light displays. Someone spots a nativity among the decorations. You stop the car so that one of you can run up and leave a thank you card at the door of the house. If you have children or grandchildren, they can be in charge of making the thank you cards. All you have to do is drive! Think of the pleasure the homeowner will have upon discovering the note. Think of the fun of hearing the kids exclaim, "I see Baby Jesus! Stop the car!" What a fun way to spread a little Christmas cheer, and all it costs is pennies for a few art supplies, since you were going to drive around looking at Christmas decorations anyway.

How do you spread Christmas cheer during the holidays?

#13 - November: Preparations Continue

2010-11-08T00:07:00.002-05:00

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! The temps in the sunny South have dipped to the 30s at night. Frost and snow sightings have occurred to the north of us. Yes, Christmas is fast approaching! Does that knowledge fill you with dread or anticipation? How prepared are you? For me, gifts are nearly done, but I should go ahead and wrap them. My always accidental, annual “tradition” of wrapping in the wee hours of Christmas morning steals some of my natural joy! This year will be different! I mean it!

Now is the time to prepare your family’s Christmas newsletter – if you plan to send one out. Now is a good time to address the envelopes for your Christmas cards as well. You can do that while watching TV or waiting for appointments; any time when you will be away from home with nothing to occupy your hands is an opportunity to get ahead with holiday preparations. Last year I carried my address labels, return address labels, stamps, and card envelopes with me so that when I had a free moment, I could apply everything to the envelopes.

Now is also the time to start working on your December calendar. What annual traditions do you need to include so that you don’t forget? Are there live nativities, cantatas, parades, holiday light displays, etc. that you want to see? Is there an office Christmas party or two? Do friends invite you to a drop-in one certain weekend every December? If you or someone in your family loves to get out and celebrate with others, you may have a lot on your calendar. If your family prefers relaxing at home more than joining the hustle and bustle of Christmas, then your calendar may be fairly clear. The reason we've been working all year long on Christmas plans is to free up our time for the month of December so that we can enjoy the season our way, whether that’s throwing parties or attending them, driving around town looking at the Christmas decorations, making and baking, getting involved in community service, or just kicking back and watching Christmas specials while stringing popcorn and sipping hot cocoa in front of a glowing fireplace!

“Be prepared” is the Scout motto. Let’s claim it as our motto too! I hope this month you will finalize what you can, be it gifts, cards, decorations, or the activity calendar. Be sure to devote a fair share of your attention to Thanksgiving (if you are an American) as well and make the most of that day and enjoy your family, your blessings, and your memories. It’s a holiday that deserves more time and attention than it gets. Imagine what the world would be like if we all devoted more time to remembering our blessings and the One from whom all blessings flow.

Happy Thanksgiving, my fellow Americans! Happy November, everyone! I wish you happy thoughts and clear heads, focus and motivation, and above all, peace.

#12 - still October: Are You Prepared Yet? and Brenda's Top Ten Frugal Gift Ideas

2010-10-17T01:08:00.004-04:00

October 17: it’s now 44 days till December 1, our goal date for having our Christmas preparations completed! It’s 68 days from today until Christmas Day, but in the event that you are reading this at a later date, I added a Christmas countdown widget to the sidebar so that you can see for yourself how much time is left. Have you spent some time this month getting your thoughts and plans organized?

A friend asked for tips for frugal gifts, and so I compiled a list to share with you in case you have more family than funds but still enjoy giving gifts. Because my love language is gifts, I can’t stand not having something to offer; it’s how I express my love for friends and family. From the years of being a poor newlywed to the years of being a struggling single parent, I’ve found thrifty ways to satisfy my desire to provide presents for my loved ones without going into debt. One way is to shop throughout the year, starting with the January clearance sales! When I see a good deal on something I know someone on my list would enjoy, I buy it and stash it in my gift cabinet. Spreading out the spending like that helps a lot. My friend Ann does something similar; she buys gift cards throughout the year, stockpiling them as gifts to give when December rolls around! That’s a smart move that is gentler on the budget than buying them all at once.

However, it’s a bit late in the year for that advice to be helpful for now. If a moth flew out of your wallet the last time you opened it, maybe you’ll like a few gift ideas on the following list, or maybe they will help spark an idea of your own!

Brenda’s Top Ten Ideas for Thrifty Gift-giving

1. Photo collage in a thrift store frame – Walmart.com can take 20 or so photos and automatically arrange them in an 8 x 10 collage for cheap. You may be able to do the same on your computer. Either way, it makes a cool gift (don’t tell my mom, but I made her one for Christmas!). You can usually find cheap photo frames that are new, but you might find a unique one in a thrift store that is good as is or that you could paint or decorate to suit the recipient’s tastes. It all depends on how crafty you are and how much time you have.

2. Homemade cookbook – if you enjoy cooking and others enjoy the pleasure of eating the dishes you’ve made, you might put together a cookbook. This is an especially thoughtful gift for your young adult kids who are out on their own and might be missing your home cooking. I once gathered family recipes and compiled them in a family cookbook to share with my relatives.

3. Since we’re on the subject of food, consider gifts of jar mixes for homemade soup, cookies, or muffins. You don't even have to know how to cook to put this type of gift together. You can find recipes online and at the library. You’ll have to create a tag to go with this gift so that the recipient knows what ingredients to add as well as how to turn the mix into a delicious treat!

4. We’re not done with the subject of food yet. Do you can foods or otherwise enjoy cooking? Canned preserves, jams, and jellies are a sweet treat, and nothing tastes better than my mom’s home grown, canned green beans! Yes, that’s right; I’m saying that my eyes would light up if I found some of those green beans under my tree! I’ve given my own homemade peach butter as gifts. Other ideas are gifts of homemade cookies and candies, bread, muffins, or croutons. Yes, croutons! My daughter and I discovered the joy of homemade croutons this past summer and have plans to bless others with that joy this Christmas. Last of all are jar cakes – cakes baked directly in a canning jar in the oven. The batter from my favorite recipe makes 6-1/2 jar cakes! (We eat the half cake ourselves – a bonus!) When properly sealed, these can be saved and eaten a month or two later. I’ve seen them sell in stores for $12; making them yourself saves big bucks.

5. Made of food items but not edible are cinnamon-applesauce dough ornaments. My son made some in kindergarten. Fourteen years later, they still smell of cinnamon! You can easily find the recipe for these ornaments online. Use cookie cutters for the ornament shape and a drinking straw to cut out a hole for hanging. You can add a touch of gold or silver paint for added interest.

6. Homemade candles – When I was little, my mom used to make candles to give as gifts. She made round snowball ones (I don’t know how) and tall pillar candles using empty Pringles cans as molds and broken crayon pieces for coloring the wax. If you buy supplies with half-off coupons in the Sunday paper, this would be a frugal but pretty gift and not time-consuming, either.

7. Especially for kids: an arts/crafts kit you put together. Any time Mom wasn’t sure what toy a child would like, she’d put together one of these kits. Construction paper, glue sticks, glitter or glitter glue, pipe cleaners, crayons, kid scissors, stickers, and stencils. Well, the list could go on, but you get the idea. You can put the supplies in a shoe box or maybe a tote bag found in a thrift shop.

8. Repurposed items are becoming popular as a way of recycling. Jean legs cut from worn out jeans can easily be made into neck roll pillows. Any favorite-but-outgrown item of clothing could become part of a pillow! In addition, I’ve seen old, men’s shirts and ties turned into funky skirts. Be sure your intended recipient has the personality and taste for such a gift.

9. Most teens and young adults enjoy money as a gift, and it’s easier than shopping. If you’re on a limited budget, you can still dress up a smaller amount and make it a fun gift. Origami animals made from dollar bills would be fun – if you know origami. (I don’t.) If it were me, I’d roll up a few dollars into tight rolls, and push them into balloons. Then I’d blow up the balloons and tie them together with pretty, curled ribbons. Warning: this is a terrible gift idea for a child who hates the sound of popping balloons. Otherwise, it’s a fun package to pop!

10. My teenage daughter loves bath baskets, but those can be pricey and not have much in them. If you know someone who enjoys that kind of pampering gift, buy (or re-use) a basket or decorative box and fill it with bath items found at a dollar store. If you have time to make bath salts to add to a small jar, do that as well. Coloring and scenting Epsom salts is a simple thing to do, and you could use the recipient’s favorite perfume for the scent!

I hope you are getting excited about Christmas this year. So often it’s an overwhelming ordeal to get through, but it doesn’t have to be. With advance planning, it can be as simple or as elaborate as you’ve always wanted, and you can finally have time to savor each moment.

#11 - October: Gearing up for Christmas!

2010-10-02T17:40:00.006-04:00

Guess what! As of October 2, it's only SIXTY days till December 1! If you don't want to be rushing around at the last moment trying to make your family's Christmas dreams come true while your dream of having time to enjoy the sights, the sounds, and the flavors of the holiday turns into a nightmare of never-ending chores, pull yourself together and start preparing now.

I hope your gift shopping and stashing are done or nearly done. If you're planning to give handmade items and homemade edibles that aren't made yet, you need to pull out a calendar and devise a plan. When do your gifts need to be finished? What dates will you be home and able to work on them? If you don't make a plan and plan for time to complete your projects, time will fly by and leave you gift-less. You know it's happened before; don't let it happen this year!

Next on your to-do list is your decorations. While you're getting out your fall harvest home decór, take time to check on your strings of Christmas lights. Plug them in and see first whether the strings work and second, whether each bulb works. Throwing out damaged strings and replacing burned out bulbs now will save time and stress later. Plus, you'll know how many strings need to be replaced and can buy replacements before "decorating day" comes.

Take time this month to think about a theme, if such things delight you. (They delight me!) Some of us enjoy wrapping gifts in coordinating gift wrap and decorative bows, making an impressive tableau around the Christmas tree. Some even select a theme for the tree decorations and the family's matching pajamas! I enjoy seeing all the different theme trees at the Festival of Trees, but I tend to just use the collection of ornaments I've already amassed rather than making or purchasing ornaments to go with a new theme. If your idea of a special Christmas is one where the tree, the gifts, the cards, and the kids all match, then make it happen while you have time to plan! One year I embraced the red plaid theme. My gifts had red plaid ribbon around them, and the whole family had red plaid pj's (gowns for the girls, pajama pants and tops for the boys). One year I went crazy with snowflakes: I bought some flocked snowflake ornaments to add to the upstairs tree, found pajamas featuring snowflakes for me and my teenage kids, and wrapped gifts in snowman gift wrap. If that sort of thing brings you joy, then go for it! However, if the very idea of that much planning makes you panic, then forget about it. If someone else in your family is willing and anxious to plan and carry out a theme, then let them handle it while you put your feet up and relax! (NOTE: other themes can involve a favorite color, angels, Santas, stars, polka dots, candles, candy, or country!) Don't feel guilty about not having a theme. This blog is not about guilt, it's about celebrating Christmas the way you want to without the usual hustle and bustle and last-minute rush to get ready!

Plan your volunteer activities. Will you sing in the Christmas choir, help collect or deliver gifts or food to needy families, go caroling at a nursing home, or adopt a needy child or missionary for Christmas giving? Planning in advance will save you from taking on too much on the spur of the moment -- or from missing an opportunity.

Have you planned where you are going to spend Christmas? (I haven't. I need to discuss this with my mother tonight. Either she is coming here, or we are going there!) Knowing whether you will be at home or visiting family or friends will make a difference in your holiday planning. It's not too early to plan your feast! Lack of planning keeps us relying on the same old recipes every year. That's fine if a certain meal is a tradition everyone enjoys and looks forward to. However, if you've been bored with the same ol' same ol' and want this year to be different, plan now! You'll make it happen.

[UPDATE: Mom has decided to drive the 500 miles to spend Christmas with me and any grandkids who are here, and she will bring her best friend, widowed this year, with her so that the friend (who is like a second Grandma to my kids) doesn't have to spend her first Christmas as a widow alone. I am excited to play hostess for an extra person this year!]

I'll check back in a couple of weeks to see how you're doing. Time is of essence! I really want all of us to be able to enjoy the celebration of our Savior's birth without regrets, without guilt, and without wishing that we'd been more organized. The more you do in advance, the more time you'll have to enjoy your family, your friends, and the message of God's love.

#10 - September: Time to Take Stock

2010-09-20T23:56:00.008-04:00

As of Sept 22, the first day of autumn, it is 93 days till Christmas, and 74 days till Dec. 1. If you've been following the monthly suggestions in this blog, this information won’t cause you to gasp and drop your coffee mug! You’ll be ready for the holidays before they officially arrive!

This month, it's time to take stock of all that you have planned or prepared for Christmas. Did you start a Christmas notebook? Remember, that’s where you were to jot down not only ideas for gifts but also the list of gifts you’ve made or bought and tucked away, as well as the place to list the sizes, favorite colors, styles, and motifs, etc. of those to whom you plan to give gifts. If you made such a notebook, that’s a good place to write down the rest of your Christmas plans. If not, what are you waiting for? Time’s a-wasting!

Other plans you may or may not have finalized are 1) the family newsletter or photo collage that will go into the Christmas cards that you may have handmade or purchased on clearance in January, 2) your choice of gift wrap – handmade or purchased on clearance in January, 3) ideas for meals and desserts you intend to make this year, and 4) your plan for putting more of Christ into your Christmas.

If you had intended to make gifts, design gift wrap, or make greetings cards and haven’t gotten started yet, start now or scrap your plans for now and save them for next year. (Except, of course, if your gifts will be of the edible variety. Naturally those can’t be made too far in advance.) Our goal is to have a stress-free holiday this year. In October and November our focus will be on preparing to decorate, entertain, and enjoy holiday activities, as well as to finish collecting and stashing gifts. When December 1 arrives, I want you to look forward to the merriest of Christmases, not panic about the stuff you have left on your list of to-do’s!

So tell me, how ready for Christmas are you?

#9 - August: Great Shopping Month!

2010-08-06T02:05:00.005-04:00

Listen, I know Christmas is technically a long way off, but you know how fast time flies these days. It will be here before you know it! Now is a good time to start making those gift lists and seeking out bargains. I bring this up now because of the Back-to-School sales. This weekend in a number of states it's "tax-free weekend" on a lot of items that could be saved as gifts - art supplies, computer stuff, clothes, etc. Your state's website will provide more details about what you can buy tax-free. Other stores will offer good sale prices on the not-tax-free merchandise in order to be competitive. There's no telling what you'll find!

I may be back later this month with another Christmas-related topic, but I just wanted to give you this idea while it was still timely! Happy hunting!

#8 - July: Putting More Christ into Your Christmas

2010-07-21T00:19:00.007-04:00

Several months ago, a friend of mine asked that I devote a column to putting more Christ into Christmas. What a great topic! Over the years I've added a number of traditions to our family Christmas to remind myself and my children what we are really celebrating at Christmas. In fact, as I listed them, I came up with eleven to share with you this month! They are listed for you below.

If your way of keeping Christ in Christmas is not listed, please share it in the comments section. I would love to read about it!

1. Observe Advent. One year my church observed the Advent with the lighting of the candles and a special reading. I was intrigued! It took me a few years to find the kind of Advent wreath I wanted. Here it is; it's ceramic. The traditional greenery wreaths are also beautiful. An Advent wreath will have five candles. A candle will be lit each of the four Sundays before Christmas and also on Christmas Eve. Advent is about preparing our hearts for the Christ in Christmas. For more information, follow this link from the Rev. Mark D. Roberts' website: http://www.markdroberts.com/htmfiles/resources/adventguide.htm

2. Hang a stocking for Jesus. I have a small blue and gold stocking to hang with our individual stockings. This stocking collects the change from our pockets and any other money that any family member would like to give to Jesus. On the Sunday before Christmas, we take the stocking to church and quietly empty it into the offering plate as our gift to Jesus. (It's small enough to fit into my purse.) If you want to have a stocking for Jesus, be sure to have a sturdy nail and a sturdy stocking. The first year we observed this tradition, the stocking's loop broke under the weight of our coins, sending the stocking crashing to the hearth! Warning: those cute stocking hangers that sit on a mantle or shelf will tip and fall under the weight of a coin-filled stocking.

3. Donate gifts to someone in need. Just as the wise men brought gifts to Jesus, we can give gifts to needy children. You can find "Giving Trees" in stores and restaurants in your community. You just choose a tag that lists things the recipient would like, buy as many of those items as possible, and return them with the tag attached. You might choose to bless a missionary from your church with a monetary gift or gift box. You might participate in Operation Christmas Child by filling a shoebox with small gift items. If your budget is lean, you might chip in with another family or

with a Sunday school class to put together a bundle of gifts to bless the recipient. This is an important way to teach your children that Christmas is not all about receiving.

4. Find picture books that tell the Christmas story from different viewpoints. Authors have gotten very creative with the Christmas story. It's been told from everyone's perspective, including the innkeeper and the angels! These tellings make the story fresh and give us new thoughts to ponder. My daughter especially loved the story about the cranky innkeeper who was changed when he saw the baby Jesus.

5. Display a nativity/creche in your home. As a child, I watched Mom set up this nativity scene

with awe. As an adult, setting up this scene (passed down to me by Mom a few years ago) still fills me with awe. I know some people hide the Christ child until Christmas morning. Some have the wise men "travel" through the house and arrive at the scene later on. I have a fear of losing these breakable figures, so I haven't done that, but if the idea appeals to you, go for it! I also have a glass nativity, a wooden nativity that little hands can't break, and a few miniature ones that are tree ornaments.

6. Visit a live nativity and/or a walk through Bethlehem. This more than anything brings the reality of God's sacrifice home to me. We are fortunate to live in an area where a number of churches set up live nativities, and at least one re-creates the village of Bethlehem. We sign the census, visit the "vendors" who tell us about their wares and whisper about the Christ child, and avoid the stern and suspicious centurion guards tofinally slip into the stable and see Mary, Joseph, and the baby.

7. Hang meaningful ornaments. I'm fond of candy, snowflake, and snowman ornaments as well as ornaments that feature animals. They are cute and make me smile. However, to keep Christ in Christmas, I also hang some ornaments based on the Christmas story: wisemen, shepherds, angels, and one special baby Jesus ornament. To remind us why Jesus was born, I also have some beaded cross ornaments that we made ourselves.

8. Watch Charlie Brown Christmas. I've seen this little cartoon Christmas show more than 40 times, but it always gets to me. How often in a children's program does a character recite scripture? It's very touching and end with "Hark the Herald Angels Sing."

9. Send Christmas cards with a spiritual theme, or with a special verse written inside. Share your joy in Christ with your family and friends.

10. Attend a Christmas Eve church service. If there isn't one, hold family devotions by candlelight before going to bed.

11. Make a birthday cake for Jesus. You're planning to have desserts on Christmas anyway, right? Make one a birthday cake for Jesus. Light a candle and sing a song. If you don't know the "Happy Birthday, Jesus" song, the traditional Happy Birthday song will do. Children love a birthday, and this will remind them on Christmas Day that Christmas is about Christ!

Those are my traditions. What are yours?

#7 - June: Planning the Christmas Newsletter

2010-06-21T00:46:00.003-04:00

How do you feel about Christmas newsletters? It probably depends on your experience of receiving and reading them. I enjoy them. I love it when my loved ones share their lives with me! I learned how to write my own by reading Uncle Jimmie and Aunt Susan’s newsletters. Their newsletters are nearly always just one page in length. Each includes a few photos. Each shares a few brief milestones and accomplishments of each member of the family. Each is organized in a newspaper format with a headline that hints at the theme. Each sticks to the theme. Each is fun to read!

Contrast that kind of newsletter with the one you hate to read: that’s the overly long one written in a hard-too-read font filled with exclamation-point-bragging about the writer’s perfect life and over-the-top beautiful, creative, talented, genius children. I really think it’s that kind of newsletter that makes so many people disparage Christmas newsletters.

To create a Christmas newsletter that folks can’t wait to receive, follow these pointers:

Keep track of your milestones. We can lead such busy lives that looking back is a blur! If you’ve marked a calendar or kept notes in a notebook, you can look back and be reminded of events that others would enjoy reading about.

Keep it short. Try your best to keep it to one page. It’s common knowledge in the business world that people look at multiple pages and set them aside to read later when they have more time. Sometimes, later never comes. It’s better to keep your readers’ attention with brief milestones and memorable events than lose them with long explanations of every activity and award that made up your year.

Keep it real. Your life isn’t perfect. Feel free to share the lows along with the highs. Additionally, you are the one writing the newsletter, not your pets, not your new baby, not some nameless reporter. The cutesy stuff has already been done. Keep things real by writing as yourself. And remember that most of your friends are more interested in you than in your kids. Make sure you don’t leave your own news out of the newsletter.

Make ’em laugh. Keep track of the funny quotes by your kids or even your significant other: write them in your daily planner or wall calendar, or on a 3 x 5 card that you save with your Christmas card supply. Then when you get ready to write your newsletter, you can go through the quotes and choose one or two to highlight. Looking back through my old newsletters, I found that I included two in my 2000 newsletter. 1) When my 8-year-old daughter was asked what she wants to be when she grows up, she answered, “A lady!” 2) After watching me butter the turkey and search inside for the giblets, my son asked, “What’s turkey made out of? Chicken?”

Avoid preaching. A Christmas newsletter should be casual and friendly, not self-righteous and preachy. Please understand that I'm not talking about sharing a few thoughts about the meaning of Christmas or a spiritual lesson you learned. That sort of thing is fine and expected. Just remember that the bulk of a newsletter should news about you and your family. That's what inquiring minds want to know!

Choose an interesting format. Many programs have newsletter templates that you can use, or you can be extra creative and design your own. (If you go with a simple letter format, please break it down into paragraphs. It's daunting to be faced with a Christmas letter that is an entire page long with no breaks!) Choose a font that won’t make readers reach for reading glasses. You may also use special, holiday-themed newsletter paper, or you may use plain white paper and dress it up with your color photos or graphics.

Consider your options. Maybe writing isn’t your thing. A picture is worth a thousand words! Instead of writing a newsletter, you might enjoy creating a collage of photos that tell the story of your year. A few captions, and your project will be complete. Your relatives will love it!

There’s a fringe benefit to writing yearly Christmas newsletters that you may not know about. Your newsletters will act much like a diary but in a more succinct fashion. I’ve saved a copy of almost all of mine since 1987! Re-reading them is like a walk down memory lane. If you have never written one before, I encourage you to give it a shot this year. When you can plan for it, you can make it happen!

My apologies for a late-month blog. If all goes as planned, I'll have the next blog posted on the first Sunday of the month. Coming in July: Ideas for emphasizing Christ during Christmastime

#6 - May: Gift Wrap, and Thwarting Snoopers

2010-05-08T17:07:00.005-04:00

Is it too early to think about gift wrap? Not if 1) you already have gifts hidden, and 2) you want to do theme gift wrap or at least have something special under the tree this time around!

If you already have some gifts stashed away for Christmas, wrapping them now can save time in December when you might otherwise be up in the wee hours of Christmas morning, tears of exhaustion trailing down your cheeks as you continue to wrap, wrap, wrap, or stuff, stuff, stuff (into gift bags because you ran out of wrapping time and/or patience). Trust me, it’s hard to re-claim your Christmas joy after a night like that.

Even if you haven't started making or purchasing Christmas gifts yet (What are you waiting for? Christmas???), you can plan your gift wrap. What strikes your fancy for this year? Metallic wrap? White wrap with colorful ribbons? Newspaper wrap adorned with stamps/stencils/stickers? Homemade painted paper? Do you want all your gifts to look different, do you want them all wrapped in one kind of paper, or do you choose a paper for each family member and wrap all gifts to that person in that paper? (Btw, if you do this, please don't choose the ugliest paper for your least favorite relative. That's not in the spirit of the season. And if you can't imagine anyone doing that, trust me. I had an in-law who wrapped all gifts to me in paper with a black background - every year. I don't know how she did it, but she found the ugliest Christmas wrap on the face of this planet and saved it just for me! Every year!) I may have a lifetime supply of clearance Christmas wrap in my closet, but I don’t always feel like using it. One year our gift wrap was giant sheets of butcher paper that I let my kids cover with sponge-painted red, green, and gold stars. One year I wrapped everything in white tissue paper and plaid ribbons. Another year I went for silver and red shiny paper. Since my trees look much the same from year to year, I enjoy creating different looks for the gifts placed beneath them.

If you begin wrapping now, you will want a master sheet of all gifts acquired and who they are for. You will need to tag the gifts so that you don’t accidentally gift the deluxe strawberry bath set to big, hairy Uncle Hank. Rather than putting names on the gifts (tempting any snoopers to sneak a peak in gifts bearing their names), you might assign each person a number and tag the gifts with the correct number. You must keep a master list of the names and numbers, maybe in a secret place in your wallet. On Christmas Eve, you can replace the numbered tags with name tags so that there is no confusion on the big day.

Be sneaky when it comes to your master sheets. My mom kept hers in her jewelry box, but she had a darling daughter who liked to admire the rings and things it held. This daughter found a folded piece of paper in the jewelry box and opened it. She read a list of every gift she was going to get! (Have I mentioned that I am my mother’s only daughter?) She discovered that a lot of the fun of Christmas involved anticipating surprises. Knowing what’s coming just sucks the fun of opening presents right out of the day!

As you wrap your gifts, keep those snoopers in mind. You don’t want them to spoil their surprises! You can foil snoopers who find their gifts (or those who like to squeeze and shake the boxes under the tree) with a few tricks. My mom got me really good one year. I was about 16, and she was tired of my ability to guess what was in wrapped gifts. That year she put all my gifts inside puzzle boxes! I was outraged when I shook those boxes. One thing I didn’t want for Christmas was puzzles! Then as I opened my gifts and saw that the puzzle boxes were old ones we’d already put together, I was confused. My mom told me to look inside, and that’s when I found the real gifts of Avon jewelry. Mom sure tricked me with those puzzles!

As an adult, I still had the ability to accurately guess the contents of wrapped packages. “That’s a dress, that’s a sweater, that’s a bathrobe, that’s chocolate-covered cherries, that’s a box of Andes mints!” I thought I was funny, but the gift-giver’s joy had been spoiled. Therefore, he went out and bought one last gift and had it “canned.” That’s right, I found a gift in a sealed tin can under the tree, and it was for me. It sounded like it had a rock in it. I couldn’t snoop! I was thwarted! (Not really.) The rest of the story: I thought it was a joke gift, and I didn’t want to be laughed at on Christmas. Therefore, when no one was around, I got a can opener and went to work on that can. Imagine my horror when I discovered a necklace wrapped in paper inside the can, along with a marble! It was a real gift, not a joke, and I had just spoiled the surprise! You know what? You can’t hide the evidence of an opened can, even if you put it back under the tree upside down. I learned my lesson that year. No more snooping for me! (Hopefully most snoopers won’t go as far as I did.)

Let’s wrap this up. (Pun intended. Hehehe!) You can thwart snoopers by putting the real gift inside a puzzle box with puzzle pieces still inside. You can put the gift in unexpected containers, like a small gift in a large box. You can include sound-makers – marbles, rocks, jingle bells – to mask the sound the real gift makes when shaken. You can wrap the gift in bubble wrap and make it seem like an item of clothing when squeezed, when it’s really a book or CD. And of course, you can keep the gifts hidden and/or locked up where the snoops in your family will never think to look.

A note about gift bags: Gift bags are pretty and easy. They have cute little handles too! But they are an invitation to snoop. Only use them if the recipient won't be tempted to sneak an early peak, which may be because you are going to deliver the gift and expect the recipient to open it right away.

Use these tips if you’re going to start wrapping gifts now. Remember these tips if you’re going to wrap your gifts later.

Do you have any creative ideas for gift wrap or thwarting snoopers? Post them in the comments section!

#5 - April: Your Christmas Stash and Items to Stock Up On

2010-04-10T10:22:00.007-04:00

This month I want to focus on your Christmas "hiding place" and the things you can start filling it with. Do you have a place where you stash the gifts you make or buy throughout the year? Do you need a place to store materials for gift ideas? Without such a place, you probably hide things and then forget where you put them. One year it was two months AFTER Christmas when I found a big gift I'd gotten for my son. I'd hidden it behind a chair that sat behind my bedroom closet door that always remained open. He never looked there -- but neither did I after I chose that as my hiding place!

Now I have an old, black metal, two-door supply cabinet with three shelves inside. It sits in my home office, where I spend most of my day. That's where I stash gifts. My kids are old enough not to care what's in there (or maybe they've never figured out what I keep in there besides old coloring books and boxes that once held office software), so I don't lock it. If you have junior detectives in your house, you may want something that you can lock. Do you have a closet, cabinet, or shelf that you can use (and even disguise) as your Christmas storage? A solid color (not clear) plastic storage bin with lid is better than playing hide and seek for your gift stash. Having everything in the same place will save time later.

Now let's turn our attention to items we can stock in our storage place. Gifts already bought or made are a given; any sewing supplies related to your gifts could be placed there, as well as any recipes that you've gathered for making a family cookbook. Maybe you are gathering supplies for making pretty soaps or candles. What else? This month we enjoyed the Easter holiday. What does that have to do with Christmas? Baskets are for sale now at clearance prices! If you want to make gift baskets for Christmas, stock up now. Easter grass is also on clearance and would make nifty packaging material in gift bags or boxes in place of tissue paper. You can also use the grass in clear plastic ornaments - hiding a small gift in the middle. What a pretty and unexpected surprise!

Some items may be readily available now but hard to find in the fall. Canning jars are such an item. One year I wanted to bake jar cakes as Christmas gifts, but I couldn't find wide-mouth jars for sale anywhere in November! If you want to can homemade food items as gifts or make mix-in-a-jar gifts, now is a good time to pick up a supply of jars and stash them where you can find them. Don't forget small jars to fill with bath salts or other homemade bath supplies as well!

Do you have a special place where you store your Christmas gifts and craft items? Share it here! This blog is set to post all comments, so feel free to comment, offer advice, or ask questions of your own.

#4 - March: Work on Handmade Gifts or Start a Gift Notebook

2010-03-16T21:22:00.004-04:00

I am two weeks later than planned, but better late than never, right? I’m sorry; life has been dribbling me like a basketball in a championship game.

The goal for the month of March is simple. For us, March is Make Gifts Month. The weather is still kind of chilly and damp, keeping us indoors most of the time. For those who are able to knit, crochet, embroider, or sew, this month offers time for those kinds of projects. If you are crafty, put your hobby to good use this month.

If you are like me, you intend to make some of your Christmas gifts either because you love the personal touch or you’re frugal, but time slips away before you know it. Suddenly you are facing the holiday whirlwind with no time left for quiet projects! Then you have to wander the store aisles trying to find gifts within your budget. That's why we need a plan for starting early.

If making gifts doesn’t appeal to you, you can still use this month to create a gift notebook, a place to jot down not only ideas for gifts or gifts that have been made or bought and tucked away, but also sizes, favorite colors, styles, and motifs, etc. After all, you can ask questions without anyone suspecting that you are preparing for Christmas! You can casually mention possible gift items and gauge your loved one’s reaction. Come Christmas, your questions and conversations will have been forgotten, and your gifts will truly be a welcome surprise!

Please participate in the February Poll! (NOTE: Now closed)

2010-02-28T21:23:00.005-05:00

[NOTE: the poll - now closed - has been removed.] Hello, friends! February is at its end. Did you try any new recipes this month? Have you found new treats for Christmas? I did! I discovered a better sausage ball recipe, and my daughter and I created red hot peanut brittle that we think rocks! What about you? What new recipes are you excited about? Tell us about them, and don't forget to take the poll!

#3 - February: Experiment with New Recipes

2010-02-13T20:02:00.000-05:00

The worst time for attempting new holiday recipes is during Christmas when we're already strapped for time. If you're like me, you found some recipes that made your mouth water, but you never found the time to make them. Whether you needed to make treats for a party, your family, or gift-giving, you didn't have time to experiment with new recipes. You fell back on the old reliables that you've been making for years.

Let's pull out a few of those untried recipes and make them now. I'm a bit late with this suggestion, which I intended to make well before Valentine's Day (another holiday when sweets and treats are expected), but there are still a couple of weeks left to surprise someone you love.

Today I tried a new recipe for sausage balls, and I'm pleased to report that they are the best I've ever made! I have a recipe for spiced pecans that I didn't get to make in December but plan to make this month. My daughter loves to experiment with peanut brittle recipes; she's got an idea for making red hot peanut brittle that we'll try this month as well. If it's a success, it will go on her list of Christmas treats to make and give as gifts!

I'll post a poll near the end of the month to find out how you did with your holiday recipes this month, so please visit again!

P.S. The above photo is of our traditional Christmas morning monkey bread. I don't think I'll ever replace it as our family holiday breakfast!

Please participate in the Poll! (Note: Now closed)

2010-01-24T16:23:00.001-05:00

[NOTE: the poll - now closed - has been removed .] I'm hoping that my readers who aren't members of Blogger and can't post comments can still vote in a poll. Those of you who can post a comment, feel free to tell me what you've done so far to prepare for Christmas. In 10 months we'll be pulling out our decorations and supplies and gearing up for a wonderful holiday season!

#2 - More on Cards

2010-01-10T11:04:00.000-05:00

One question has come up about buying cards early. How does one remember where she has stashed those boxes of January-bought Christmas cards when the Christmas season arrives?

Over the years I've stashed many things away in clever places only to forget where those places were. What a nuisance! However, I haven't misplaced my cards in a long time. You know those holiday popcorn tins? We've given and received many as gifts over the years. I chose one of the larger ones we had received (after it had been emptied, of course) and rinsed it out. In it I stashed my Christmas cards as well as a copy of past Christmas newsletters.

Because it's a Christmas-themed tin, I recognize it each time I see it. I don't keep the tin in my Christmas storage closet/room; I might forget it or lose it under boxes of decorations. I keep it in my office closet. Before moving to this house and gaining an office, I kept my card tin in my living room coat closet.

Since you may want to get to your cards before you start decorating for the holidays, keeping them with the decorations won't suit your purposes. You should keep your cards stored in a more visible place where they won't become lost and forgotten. Using a decorative container like the holiday popcorn tins for storing your card supplies will increase your chances of finding them quickly when you want them. Keeping the container in a place you visit often makes it even more likely that you won't lose them.

If you haven't made a habit of sending Christmas cards in the past, maybe this will be the year. Finding a colorful Christmas card in the mailbox always brightens my mood. Think of how delighted your friends or family members will be to find an envelope full of holiday cheer from you! Better yet, they may return the favor!

#1 - January 2010!

2010-01-03T14:08:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Christmas All Year Long - where getting ready for your favorite holiday is a year-long project!

What happens to you each December? Are you caught off guard by the many activities available? Do you participate in a mad scramble to make Christmas happen at your house -- by baking and decorating and shopping and wrapping and caroling and partying and spinning in circles till you pass out? Do some of your plans turn to dust and blow away due to neglect? Then this is the place for you, my dear. We're going to surprise everyone come December 1 by being prepared for the holiday season and having the time to enjoy it!

The idea is to focus on a holiday project each month. It won't be time-consuming, and I'm pretty sure it will be fun. We will take one topic a month and see if we can't make a better Christmas for ourselves, our families, and our friends.

Let's kick off January with a two-part project. The first part is simple. Make a list of all the Christmas activities/projects you completed, and then list the things you wanted to do but ran out of time and energy for.

For example, this year I wrote a Christmas newsletter (at the last minute) and mailed out cards (at the last minute) and shopping for gifts (at the last minute). That's not the way I like to do things, but that's how it went. I also decorated the inside of my house, and I put up a few things outside, but I ran out of time and energy for putting out strings of lights. I made my traditional double-decker peanut butter fudge and the edible holly candy, but I ran out of time for cookies! I listened to lots of Christmas music, and I sang in my church's Christmas choir. I went to one Christmas party thrown by the local Writers Guild at a restaurant, but I did not get to have friends over to my house like I'd hoped to do. I missed going to a live nativity, but I did take my family to the Festival of Trees for our yearly photo safari. We drove through one professional lights display, but we didn't have time for the other, bigger one. I wanted to take my neighbors plates of Christmas goodies, but I didn't get them made! I wanted to make some Christmas ornaments, but I haven't had time to do that in several years, and the kits are getting quite dusty!

I didn't accomplish nearly as much as I wanted to. But I also have to work at my job, get my allergy shots, and do my regular chores and errands as a single parent, plus help my teenager daughter with her school schedule and homework.

The only way I'm going to get all those things accomplished is to create a plan and follow it. So that's what we're going to do together! We'll plan and work our way through the year so that our next Christmas will be the one we've always dreamed of!

Part two: If you haven't already, take advantage of the after-Christmas clearance sales. You can get fabulous bargains at this time of year. Plus, it helps you plan in advance for next Christmas. As you stand in front of the wrapping paper, you must decide on a color scheme or theme for next year. Do you want to go with all metallic paper? Papers with penguins? Stripes, plaids, polka dots? All white paper with colored ribbon to accent the packages? Buy now, and you'll have that chore out of the way. Get Christmas cards at 50-75 percent off the retail price. Plastic storage boxes are on sale at this time as well, so if you don't have a place to store and protect your Christmas supplies, you can pick something up at a discount. I've already got my cards for next year, as well as some ribbons and small gift boxes, and I'm watching the sales for some outdoor decorations at bargain prices.

Future topics will include party planning, Christmas newsletters and photos, choosing and testing new recipes for Christmas goodies, music for the Big Day, decorating both indoors and out, shopping and/or making gifts, family fun activities, and more. Feel free to leave a comment with ideas for future topics.

Let's keep the Spirit of Christmas alive all year long!