Simplify the Holidays

The holidays are right around the corner. If you are organized, you've already started the planning. Don't let the holidays get to you this year. For once, enjoy them. Below are some articles found on the net to help you do just this. Enjoy!

Here are a seven tips from See Jane Work that anyone can use on how to handle the holidays. Click the link to read the helpful details.
# 1 Make rules and follow them
# 2 Simplify gift giving
# 3 Party only some of the time
# 4 Create traditions all your own
# 5 Master of none
# 6 Prepare for the unexpected
# 7 Look fabulous or the pictures will come back to haunt you

About.com has a whole section titled Holiday Survival Guide: Manage Stress and Simplify Your Holiday Season.

If you are a person who likes to purchase a book on every topic, so you have something to reference or use, you will find Simplify Your Holidays: A Christmas Planner to Use Year after Year on Amazon.com.

For the list lover in you, you will be delighted to have found these two online articles: How to Simplify the Holidays With a Holiday Checklist and Christmas Planner

And for general organization, check out Organized Christmas (though it doesn't have to be all about Christmas, you can use these tips for other holidays).

And I think it's important to remember these handy tips from How to Simplify the Holidays With a Holiday Checklist.
Keep each section of your checklist as short and as simple as possible.

Remember, simple is best. Do not take on more than what you can handle.

Set specific deadlines for each category. Give yourself a few more days.

Work on everything a little at a time, every day until you are complete.

Do not compare your holiday plans to those from holidays past, or the plans of your neighbors, friends, relatives etc. The focus is on your holiday and what will make you and those closest to you happy this season, all within reason of course.

Try not to add more tasks to your checklist unless it is something that you have absolutely forgotten to include.

Here's To You

The holidays are around the corner and so are plenty of holiday parties and entertaining. That means it's time to start thinking about menus. Courtesy of Fine Living: Food and Drink, here are quite a few holiday spirits from which you can choose to use during your festivities!

10 Toasty, Cold-Weather Cocktails
Hot "Rasapple-Rum" Cider
My Mama's Marvelous Mulled Wine
Chai Yai Yai
Cocoa Raspberry Heaven
and six more

10 Holiday Cocktails
Creme Brulee Martini
Gingerbread Martini
White Christmas
Pumpkin Martini
and six more

9 Hot Winter Cocktails
Nutty Irishman
Cranberry Hot Toddies
Vanilla Hot Chocolate Seduction
and six more

I'm all about the drinks with Bailey's Irish Creme. Hmmm... I can taste it now!

If for some reason you can't find a toddy in those 29 suggestions, try Bar.com. You are sure to find a recipe at a site with that name!

Elf on the Shelf

Immediately after Thanksgiving everyone moves into holiday mode. If you celebrate Christmas, don't forget to bring out your Elf on the Shelf (see my review from last year). If you don't have one, you need to buy one! The little elf enables you to manipulate your children into thinking you can communicate with Santa every night... so they had better be good. Genius.

20 Days and Counting

Just a little reminder, Halloween is only 20 days away. And if you are going to order anything online, that doesn't give you much time. Plus, all the costumes are doing their annual disappearing act from the stores these days - especially in the size you need. It's time to get prepared because it's getting to be slim pickings out there.

Pottery Barn Kids always has some fun decorations.
I think the above Haunted House personalized sign is somewhat classy. OK, so classy and Halloween don't exactly go together, but I'm also not one to decorate with gaudy things.
These haunted house wood signs are also "gaudy-less" and on sale. Choose from Haunted House arrow, Beware, or Turn Back Now!
There is a melamine Halloween dish set (dishwasher safe = key). Four plates in the set each show a jack-o-lantern decorated as either a scarecrow, bat, devil, or witch.

And if you are one of many who couldn't find a quality costume in the stores, PBK still has some in stock. You can't go wrong with the Skeleton Costume or the Sorcerer Costume.

So, get crackin' people!

In a Baby Carriage

Are you looking for a creative Holiday card this year? Something your friends have never seen? Or are you not even thinking holiday cards yet? OK, I admit I wasn't. But it's time and I have a secret for you. I absolutely love the cards from In a Baby Carriage. The are fabulous to say the least.

And for that super-creative card - to set your card above all others? Right here, the personalized tri-fold card. This is not your run-of-the-mill tri-fold card. There are designs and layouts you will fall in love with.

The best part, the process is a piece-of-cake. Really, all you have to do is email photos to them and then approve the proof. Yes, there is a proof to make sure you are satisfied. The hard part - choosing one design. But hey, there's always next year!

Parties Galore

Do you love throwing birthday parties but like to have fresh, new creative ideas on hand? Here are some places to check out.

I just finished planning and executing a birthday party for the "4-footer" in my household. My husband and I swore we wouldn't do another home party again. We swore we'd go off the premises no matter the cost! But when giving the almost 7 year old ideas for where we could go, he said, "I want one here again, like last year. That was so fun." I couldn't exactly say no. The chosen theme? Star Wars.

I pulled together my nifty resources from last year to start the research process. One source I have skimmed through for my kids' birthday parties is Birthday Party Ideas (appropriately named). They have tons of ideas for every traditional party you can think of from a Princess party to a Dinosaur party to a Fire truck party to a Spa party to a Space party to a Tea party... and about a hundred more in between. One great feature about this site is it shows the age the party was thrown for, for example under Curious George party it would say Curious George Party for 3 year old. They even show party ideas for Tweens and Adults.

Another source for your child's birthday party is Amazing Moms. They too have well over a hundred themes to choose from and each theme is also discussed in detail. They give ideas for decorations, games, arts & crafts, and food. Last year we did a pirate party and this year it's a Star Wars party. I have used both of these sites to get basically all of our ideas.

For last years Pirate Party and this years Star Wars party, I have used both of these sites to get basically all of our ideas.

Who Knew?

You have to love Williams-Sonoma. There's always something you could buy when you shop there. But who knew Williams-Sonoma now sold party invitations for kids? And they are super cute!

For boys, they have adorable Pirate Hat Invites. It's a wearable paper pirate hat. The invite is tucked into the hat. Now, being practical, the hat will last about 2 minutes before a child wears it. But who wants to be practical when planning their child's party?!? It's a nice change from the typical Star Wars folded invite!

For girls, check out the Purse With Chain Invitations. It's a flowered purse with an actual metal chain. The invite is tucked into the purse. Again, I'm not sure the quality is top-notch, but the point is to make a point, right? You are doing something different! So long to the days when sending out a Dora invite was good enough.

Being Williams-Sonoma, they have many other invitations as well - like a Pizza box, a bear, and a cupcake. They also sell personalized wrapping paper, personalized birthday cake cookies, and much more.

Like I said, who knew Williams-Sonoma had all these ideas tucked into their website?

Does Every Party Tell a Story?

These do!

Once Upon a Box makes partying easier with their uber party kits. With everything from invitations, thank you notes, plates, forks, napkins, cups, candles, cookie cutter, sprinkles, photo album, keepsake box, and even a party tip sheet with ideas relating to the theme you choose. Speaking of the themes, they are adorable:

Carnivals and Cotton Candy

PJs and Polka Dots

Astronauts and Aliens

Girls and Glitter

Surf and Sand

Sweets and Sprinkles

It's so refreshing to see fun, adorable themes beyond Star Wars and Dora. And think of all the possibilities you can do with these kits! The boxes are generously stocked. You shouldn't need more than 16 invitations, for example. I mean unless you want to give yourself a run for your money and be so exhausted with so many kids in your house that you didn't even get to enjoy the party. Sixteen is plenty!

Salam, the owner, is hoping to help you make your kid's birthday a fairytale event they are sure to remember... always.

"Love" Emily Allyn

I have been working hard on a new design in time for Valentine's Day. The caption will be one of these three: Love, Little Love, or My Love
I'm waiting to see what looks best with our final design. So far it is very cute!
The Love shirts should be available to order online beginning January 23rd - plenty of time before the big day. I also made sure it will be a design your "Little Love" can wear year-around, not just in February - big plus!
I can't wait for everyone to see it! Keep your eyes peeled, Emily Allyn will display the design once it is complete. (Hint: soon!)

Emily Allyn

Last Minute Cookie Ideas

Presents? Check. Christmas dinner menu? Check. Relatives know what time to come for Christmas? Check. Cleaning? Well, it's getting there, I still have time. All my cookies are baked? Yikes, no, I still need more cookies. We have the in-laws coming on Saturday. We are going to relatives on Sunday. And we are having relatives over on Monday. Plus we have a holiday dinner party tonight. (Actually, it's more the Packers vs. the Vikings dinner, but I since I turned 30, I don't feel like I need to pretend that I actually like watching the sport. So, the girls will be drinking wine and asking for the occasional score.) I will need cookies for all the occasions. Plus, I will want to horde some for myself. I mean it is the holidays and all!

Cookies. Lucky for you I have a couple of awesome recipes for last minute cookies you are sure to love.

White Chocolate Raspberry Cookies (everyone loves these):
8 oz white baking bar
1/2 cup butter (no substitutes, though I use unsalted, just my preference)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 oz. white baking bar
1/2 tsp. shortening

Melt 4 oz. of the white baking bar over low heat (or follow package instructions for melting in microwave). Set aside to cool.

Beat butter in a large mixing bowl with for about 30 seconds or till softened. Add the sugar, baking soda, and salt. Beat till combined. Beat in the eggs and melted white baking bar till combined. Beat in as much of the flour till combined. Chop remaining 4 oz. of white baking bar and stir/mix into batter.

Drop batter by rounded spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. Cool for a minute. Move cookies to wire rack and cool.

You can do the following step when cookies have cooled or right before serving. Heat and stir the jam in small saucepan over low heat till melted. Spoon about 1/2 tsp. of jam onto top of each cookie. Heat remaining 3 oz. of white baking bar and shortening (I do not use the shortening). Drizzle each cookie with some of the melted white baking bar. Refrigerate about 15 minutes to firm chocolate, if necessary.

Makes about 48 delicious cookies.


Christmas Wreaths (good one for the kids and adults)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 bag large marshmallows
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. green food coloring
4-5 cups Corn Flakes (I use Special K)
Red Hots

In a large saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Add marshmallows, stirring until melted and blended with butter. Add almond, vanilla, and food coloring (might need more food coloring, I remember using more). Stir until mixture is a uniform green color. Add Corn Flakes, mix well but gently.

On sheet of wax paper, form heaping tablespoons of mixture into wreaths. (I do not try to form these into wreaths with holes in the middle, I just drop a heaping chunk down on wax paper.) Decorate with red hots (to make them look like red berries, I group 3 together). Cool completely.

Makes 2-1/2 to 3 dozen.

Blast from the Past!

This post is two-fold. It's a message to remember those this holiday season who are less fortunate and it's a little PR for an amazing organization.

This isn't a new find, but none-the-less it is still amazing... even after 22 years! Remember Band Aid? The music group that is. Remember their song, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" I bet you are humming it to yourself now. Just in case you forgot the words, here are the lyrics. When you read them (as opposed to listening to the song), you realize how dismal the words and therefore the situation was... is. For example, "And it's a world of dread and fear where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears," "And the Christmas bells that ring there are the clanging chimes of doom," and "Where nothing ever grows, no rain or rivers flow." However, the words I would like to focus on is an important line, "The greatest gift they'll get this year is life." It reminds me how precious life really is. When you are down on your luck, it's hard to remember this. But it is worth remembering.

This brings me to another amazing organization that Emily Allyn has given to in the past, save.org. SAVE (Suicide Awareness Voices of Education) believes that by recognizing and treating depression in children we can improve the chances a young person with depression can live a longer, healthier, more quality life. If you have experienced depression yourself or know someone who has, I urge you to check out this website. The information is plentiful and there are opportunities to help.

The Band Aid song ends with an upbeat repeat of "Feed the world. Let them know it's Christmastime." A pretty important message this time of year. Remember those who are hungry and/or less fortunate. Teach your kids empathy and show them at a young age how to give.

I can't end this post without reminding you of the other group/song that was similar to the Band Aid project. If you are like me, you are thinking, "I know there is another song just like that one. What is it? How did it go?" I won't leave you hanging. It was "We are the World" sung at Live Aid. The concerts were actually a spin off from the success of Band Aid. You know us American's we always have to get our hands on something that is successful world-wide! But hey, I'm not going to knock it when the money is going to an amazing cause.

If you would like more inforamtion about donating to Band Aid and Live Aid, check out Bob Geldorf's website. He is one of the creators who started it all!

Elf on the Shelf

Every family has traditions. But you can never have enough traditions. Well, if you are the daughter- or son-in-law coming into the family, you might think differently!
The Elf on the Shelf is a tradition Carol began with her family when her kids were little. The children were very curious how Santa could possibly be watching them along with all the other children of the world. Carol found an elf from her childhood and the story of how Santa watches all the little boys and girls easily unfolded.

At our home the elf would arrive around the holidays, usually at Thanksgiving. His sole responsibility was to watch my children's behavior and report it to "Santa" each night. The next morning after the children awoke, they discovered the elf had returned from the "North Pole" and was hiding in a different place. My children would race each other out of bed to try and be the first to spy him in his new position.

Carol pulls out the elf at Thanksgiving to kick off the holidays. Personally, I'll be keeping the elf out all year long. I've noticed as soon as I use the old line, "Remember Santa is watching you. If you continue to act like this at Target, he might not bring you presents," the kids are whipped into shape. While I understand this is a bit cruel and some parents are not as mean as I am, I do find out of desperation it works like a charm!

The website provides some advice and smart tips on how to use the elf. Plus there's even a few fun things to do for the kiddos. Check out your state to see which stores carry The Elf on the Shelf. It is only $24.95 for the Elf, the book, and a certificate adopting the Elf into your family. However this is also a clever idea for a school teacher. Every teacher could use an extra "hand" keeping the kids in line!

Please note: image above is copyrighted and is used with permission.

Surviving Turkey Day

Happy Thanksgiving!
I want to share an e-card I received last year. I thought it was a complete riot. I found it again at American Greetings.

Click here to see the card and you can send it to a friend... long live Gloria Gaynor!

If you need some last minute Thanksgiving advice, like how long to cook the Turkey or how to make the perfect gravy, All Recipes is your tool.

Have a wonderful day and a relaxing weekend!

Unbelieve-a-ball

I love creative ideas. And the people behind those creative ideas never cease to amaze me. It's simple, yet very imaginative!

Bounce Greetings will deliver a ball with your message on it. The best part though, the ball is delivered as is - blown up with no packaging. How cool is that?!? And it's not just for kids.
If you'd like to send a unique holiday greeting, the "Have a kickin' holiday" will do the trick!
If you need a super fun way to invite kids to a birthday party, the "Bounce on over, you're invited" ball will be a hit with a kid at any age!
No need for boring birthday cards anymore, send the "Have a kickin' birthday" or "I get a kick out of you" ball. It will for sure put a smile on the birthday kid's face!

Do you see a theme here?

Toss the idea around, but be sure to bookmark the site so you don't lose it.

The Snowflakes are Here!

The Snowflake shirts and onesies have arrived and they are now available to order online! I have to get the picture on the website of my two boys in their shirts from last year. It became our Christmas card and we recieved many compliments!

The sizes range from 3-6 months up to 6T. Don't forget to check out the size chart to ensure a good fit.

Carve the Pumpkin

This one is for the kiddos. The above images are just examples of what you could do!

Carve the pumpkin by "drawing" with the tool shown.

1. Left click and hold down while dragging your mouse.


2. When finished with shape, let go of left click.


3. Keep going until you are finished.


4. Click the done button to see your very own Jack-o-lantern!

The Snowflakes are Coming

I'm sorry to say but it is true. The snow is coming. I don't mind the snow. It' s the cold that gets me. But there is a bright side to every situation, right? So, the silver lining here is... the Emily Allyn Snowflake "one-of-a-kind" clothes are coming! WOO HOO.

Your kids are truly all "one-of-a-kind" so mark your calendars for November 6th because that is when our little snowflakes will be available to order in all long sleeve styles. If you're simply not good with calendars, feel free to sign up on the Emily Allyn email list to stay ahead of the game. By signing up, you will be notified before all others about promotions, new designs, and any special news.

It's Spooky Fun

It's time to get serious about Halloween. (I say that now, but I probably won't think about it again until 2 weeks from now when I'm running around like a mad-woman trying to find costumes and candy... all for the kids, of course!) Pottery Barn Kids always has the cutest Halloween collections. Their spooky melamine dish set is perfect for any household as you know kids love to use these throughout the year, not just at Halloween! And their bloodcurdling fabric placemats match the dishes. OK, they aren't bloodcurdling by any means. I just think that word is so dang funny.