Search Results for: blog gift cards with a twist

What To Do with All Those Holiday Cards

Over in the PARENTS blog we’ve been having a lively discussion about the accumulation of holiday photo cards. If you are popular enough, then you likely struggle with how to display the mountains of greeting cards in an attractive manner. Some people choose to tape them to doorways, while others opt for traditional wire cardholders. However, if you have cards arriving by the truckload from friends, family and some from people you’ve never heard of before, then you’re probably dealing with space issues right about now. It’s not a bad dilemma to be faced with, yet the matter still needs … Continue reading →

LDS Christmas Gift Ideas for Kids

If you are looking for a great Christmas gift for your child or grandchild, but would love to stick to an LDS theme, there are several great gifts available. These gifts may be great as a secondary gift to another more traditional Christmas gift. These also make great contributions to a Sunday toy box or a quiet time activity during Sacrament meeting. One great gift is the Brick of Mormon book to your children. This is a fun book that includes photographs of the different stories made out of Legos. Each of the pictures has a synopsis of the scripture … Continue reading →

Give the Gift of Cards

Gift card use has increased dramatically the last couple of holiday seasons and this year looks to be the same. These cards can be great for both consumer and retailer, as they provide a more decorative way to give cash as a gift at the same time ensuring a selected retailer gets your commerce. But, are they all really as great as they seem? Not according to Consumer Reports, who ran a full page ad in the New York Times warning shoppers of the potential waste of unused, lost or expired gift cards. Even so, these cards still seem to … Continue reading →

The Gift Card Graveyard

For the past few years, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and others who have wanted to give gifts to my kids and not known exactly what to get, have sent gift cards. This is a fabulous way to give a gift to an adolescent or teenager, of course, but now, I’m wondering what to do with all these dozens and dozens of partially-used plastic cards. With three teens, you might imagine how quickly the gift card slush pile can accumulate. We have got identical-sized cards laying around the house for everything from department stores and shopping malls, to restaurants and movie theatres. … Continue reading →

Trick Yourself into Saving

“Trick Yourself into Saving.” That was the title of a recent magazine article that appeared in one of those popular magazines that are geared toward women. The subhead promised to show readers how they could use mind games against themselves to make saving money painless and fun. Seriously? I’m all for tips about saving money, but I really think that trying to fool yourself into doing it isn’t the way to go. You want to establish good lifelong money habits, not quick tricky fixes that will save you money in spite of yourself. Badly played national magazine for women; badly … Continue reading →

Sharing Holiday Laughs

Christmas is no fun when the laugh’s on you. Whether guests are giggling because your seasonal souffle took a nosedive on the kitchen floor or the dog dove into the Christmas Prime Rib before you got the chance to carve it, you never want the highlight of your holiday get-together to be a mishap. Instead of the laughs centering on an accident, let your guests make merry playing the following fun games with a seasonal twist: Gift Swap: This is not your traditional gift exchange with family members. Rather, the game features a candy bar (or other small item that … Continue reading →

Homemade Independence Day Scrapbook Embellishments

You might be surprised by how much money you can save on scrapbooking materials by simply looking around your home. With the Fourth of July rapidly approaching, many avid scrappers are prepping to snap super shots of their holiday festivities. The pictures will be used to create Independence Day-themed layouts filled with patriotic tributes and memorable moments with family and friends. Creating these holiday-inspired page designs can be costly, which is why I highly recommend making your own paper and embellishments. Take a moment to channel your inner Martha Stewart and turn every day items into works of art. For … Continue reading →

Inspiring Young Shutterbugs

My 6-year-old has more cameras than I do; real, digital cameras that take superior shots. In addition to the Fisher-Price Kid-Tough Digital Camera Santa brought her a couple of years ago, grandma and grandpa recently gifted my young shutterbug with a VTech KidiZoom Plus Digital Camera. The latter comes equipped with built-in video games and a plethora of other special effects. Needless to say, my daughter has been putting her photo equipment to good use. She took the VTech camera on our recent trip to Hawaii and captured some incredible images. Seriously, the kid has an amazing eye. Her photo … Continue reading →

Fun and Affordable Christmas Ornaments

Besides construction paper and crayons, some of the most inexpensive materials for crafting homemade holiday decor are traditional candy canes. You can purchase a big box of candy canes for a dollar or less at discount stores during the Christmas season and use them to make a variety of holiday-themed decorations from wreaths to tree ornaments. Given that the candy is so cheap, it’s a good idea to pick up a few extra boxes just in case a few break during the construction process. Here is a kid-friendly candy cane project to get you started on your sweet Christmas ornaments: … Continue reading →

Last-Minute Holiday Crafts

These simple, yet festive craft ideas are so easy to make you could put them together the night before your holiday guests arrive. Even better, have the kids join in and you can get the crafts done and your house decorated in half the time. PIPE CLEANER CANDY CANES Materials: Green pipe cleaners Red pipe cleaners White pipe cleaners Directions: Take two different colored pipe cleaners and match up the ends. Next, twist each pipe cleaner around each other all the way to the other end. Then, curve one end of the twisted pipe cleaners and presto—-instant decorative candy cane. … Continue reading →