I have to be honest here.  I think Valentine's Day is a farce created by Hallmark and FTD.  Isn't my husband lucky?

He's actually even luckier than that.  I don't like roses.  I'd much rather have carnations, tulips, or lilies.  I'm so easy.  And cheap.  (Okay...that didn't sound quite how I intended it to.)

There will be some women who expect flowers on Valentine's Day.  They don't just want flowers, though, they want the coveted red rose.  Except their husband forgot to order ahead.  Save for a lone, sad rose or two in the gas station, there aren't any available in the entire city.  What's a guy to do?

He can pick one of the other flowers that means love.  You can find complete lists at About.com and from Tara Florist in St. Joseph, Michigan.  I'll make it easy for you, though.  Here are several that stand out:

• White Chrysanthemum:  Truth, Loyal love
• Calla Lilly:  Magnificent beauty
• Orchid:  Rare beauty, love, refinement, beautiful lady
• Red Tulip:  Declaration of love
• Yellow Tulip:  Hopeless love, There's sunshine in your smile

If all else fails and you can't find any flowers, get her a cactus.  No.  Seriously.  It stands for "endurance".

(Disclaimer:  I cannot be held responsible for your wife's actions should you actually bring her a cactus for Valentine's Day.  I wouldn't actually advise doing this unless she has requested that you do so.  This is not official medical advice and I'm not the attorney general, but bringing your wife a cactus for Valentine's Day may be hazardous to your health.)

I have to admit I'm a little jealous that they didn't have this when my kids were little.  I cannot tell you the number of packages with hard plastic that I have suffered through opening with scissors and/or knives.

Well suffer no more!  (Geez...I sound like an infomercial, don't I?)  They have a nifty new product out called the ZipIt Opener. 


This product is designed specifically to open those hard-to-open plastic packages.  It's kind of a can-opener for plastic.

I want one.


(Disclaimer:  The link above is a referral link.  If you click on that link and buy one of these nifty devices through that link then I will get a percentage of the sale (2%-4%) back as a referral credit.  You are not required to buy the item or to buy it through the link should you buy it.  The link is only there for your convenience.)

You realize it's Christmas Eve and not only do you not yet have a gift for your wife, but all of the stores are closed.  For the record, we wives know what you're doing when you suddenly need to fill the tank up at 11pm at night to ready us for the 15 minute drive to Grandma's the next day. 

Regardless, I like to think myself a helpful person.  In that vain, I'd like to offer a few tips to men who might be doing a bit of last-minute gas station shopping.

These are things you shouldn't (that means should NOT) get your wife from the gas station:

• A can of SlimFast because she's always talking about how fat she feels.
• An energy drink with a note that you noticed she didn't have the energy to do the dishes last night after dinner.
• A container of Clorox wipes since it's obvious from the house that she must be out of cleaning supplies.
• Breath mints to help with that "morning breath" problem she has.

 On the other hand, here are some things you might consider getting her:

• A package of Hostess cupcakes with a note, "Sweets for my sweet."  That looks like you put thought into her gift and didn't actually go out to the gas station at the last minute to get her something.
• A gift card to her favorite restaurant (many gas stations sell these) for a night out with you or her friends.  Bonus points:  Arrange for a babysitter too!
• The makings for breakfast which you then cook yourself the next morning...and serve to her in bed.

You get the idea.  Think..."Will she want to make me sleep with the dog if I get her this gift."  If the answer is anything other than an unequivocal "no", then you should probably keep searching.

We're on our way Tulsa to visit family right now.  Let me tell you...that picture...is pure traveling bliss in a box!  It's full of ear bud headphones & headphone splitters. 

They bring quiet. 

And peace. 

And cure boredom. 

They're like magic.

Pure traveling bliss in a box.

For some reason, we (apparently) like to plan vacations and trips to Tulsa at the last minute.  True to form, we've decided fairly last-minute to go back to Tulsa.  We didn't really want to make the 20+ hour  drive in the winter due to hazardous road conditions.  However, serious grandparent-sickness has struck.  (That's similar to home-sickness, but specifically involves grandkids and great-grandkids who just MUST see their grandparents.)   We need to go back.  The kids need to go back.  And so we are; during our already scheduled vacation.

Again, I'm thankful for advance preparation.  Has anyone ever NOT been thankful that they prepared in advance?  Last October, the same advance preparation allowed us to get packed in an hour to go home when my mom passed away.

Every time after we get home from a trip, I unpack our stuff and put it away.  Then, I REPACK our toiletries bag and our bin of travel food.  I started doing this some time ago to make sure that we didn't forget things like allergy medicines that we don't normally use, but always need when traveling because of changes in climate.  It also helps spread the cost of food for our trip out over several months...instead of in the month OF the trip...when we're already strapped for cash.  Food is typically a fairly big expense for us when traveling because of food allergies.  We either take it with us or have to buy it when we get there. 

There are some basics that we all use that can be packed for a future trip:

• Toothpaste
• Toothbrushes (we put new ones in a baggie)
• Shampoo
• Conditioner
• Soap
• Lotion (coconut oil for us)
• Sunscreen
• Hair stuff (ponytails, headbands, bobby-pins, etc)
• Small brush
• Hair gel
• Razor
• Medicines for the trip (For us, that means allergy meds, 1 month of maintenance meds, and extra nebulizer mask for our son.)
• Socks (For some reason, this flip-flop family nearly always forgot socks...so we pre-pack them.  We barely wear them so we've got extra to keep packed.)

We also keep a bin ready with foods that we use for a trip.  I figure out what we're missing and fill it back up in the month or 2 following a trip.  We keep the following items in there:

• Cereal
• Granola bars
• Fruit leathers
• Dried fruits
• Canned fruits
• A small can opener
• Oatmeal
• Bags for trash
• Travel bowls and silverware (we keep a cheap set for travel)
• Extra blender (smoothies are a regular part of our diet and family members don't have a blender so this is a necessity)
• Shelf-stable milk like rice milk (I was missing this for this trip, we took cold milk instead.)

Because of our daughter's allergies, it's vital that we be prepared food-wise.

The extra that add for a winter trip is winter stuff "just in case" we get stuck somewhere.  Here in Vegas, we just keep all of our winter stuff in a bin year-round anyway because...well, we never need it.  (Please don't hate me, Michigan friends.)

I cannot tell you how valuable it is to have our toiletries bag almost completely packed and our food and food supplies already gathered in one place. I pull them out, added clothes for the trip and we are ready to go.

What things do you do to make travel easier on your family?

"Xmas"  Need I write or say more? 

I didn't think so. Most of us do one of two things when we see or hear “X-Mas” (or “Happy Holidays” for that matter). We either roll our eyes as we know the comments that will inevitably come from the person who is “deeply offended” by the fact that someone “took Christ out of Christmas”.

For the record, I'm the one rolling my eyes. I think the offense people take to this is lunacy. There are bigger things with which to be concerned. Besides, I think their offense is due to a misunderstanding.

Still, let's not even go there. For a minute, let's examine if anyone is REALLY taking Christ out of anything when they say or write “Xmas” or “Happy Holidays”.

I'll cut straight to the point. Christ wasn't born at Christmas. Christmas didn't start as a “Christian” holiday. It started as a PAGAN (i.e.: secular, or not related to Christ) holiday. Somewhere back in the glorious middle ages, the Catholic Church recognized the depth of this holiday & wanted to find a way to claim it as their own in hopes of drawing more people into the church. To do so, they decided that they would celebrate the birth of Christ during this pagan winter celebration.

Back in the day, the Catholic church had a way of taking over things if/when they wanted to. And thus, Christmas as we know it today was born. Well, not exactly as we know it today because today people spend unGodly amounts of money on presents and completely forget about the created reason for the season in the process.

Side note: Yes, I do believe it is UNGodly amounts of money. Seriously? How much did you give to feeding the hungry? Helping those less fortunate? Yet you're going to max out your credit cards for gifts? Why? Any rate...that's a horse for another blog.

When WAS Christ born? It has been theorized that he was born in the fall, around September or October. Although some say it was likely closer to spring or summer. Regardless, ALL are certain that according to the Biblical account of his birth and the events surrounding it, there is NO WAY he was born in the dead of winter. Christianity.com does an excellent job of breaking down the details of when Christ was likely born.

For a minute lets put aside that you cannot take a person out of something of which they were never a part in the beginning. Let's say that because the Catholic church brought Christ into the holiday He is now a bonafide part of the holiday and as such shouldn't be removed from said holiday by crass use of “Xmas” or “Holiday” instead of the full “Christmas”. (By the way, celebrating Christmas was made ILLEGAL by the colonists because they felt it was an unholy, pagan celebration. But I digress.)

Still with me? If not, here's a review. We're now ignoring the FACT that Christ was NOT born at Christmas and are instead pretending that He was. Based on this premise, we have reason to be mean and unChrist-like in our response to people should they use the “unGodly” “Xmas” or “Holiday” instead of the MORE Godly “Christmas”.

We've already established that it is, in fact, NOT wrong to use “Holiday” instead of “Christmas” because that's exactly what the day started as...a “Holiday” that had nothing to do with Christ. Even if we say Christ is now a part of Christmas, most of us can concede that those who aren't Christians would prefer using “Holiday” over “Christmas”. Still, what CHRISTIAN wouldn't WANT to use the full “Christmas” instead of “X'ing” Christ out of Christmas by saying or writing “Xmas”?

But wait. Is it really unGodly to say or write “Xmas” instead of “Christmas”? Is it really “X'ing” Christ out of Christmas as so many proclaim?

The word for “Christ” in Greek is “Xristos”. During the 16^th Century, “X” was used in place of the full “Xristos” as a form of short-hand. It was understood that the “X” stood for “Xristos” or “Christ”. It was a commonly referred to abbreviation.

A quick online search will reveal to you how that abbreviation continued on through the years.

I would really encourage you to do a little research the next time you're tempted to attack another follower of Christ out of offense. I would encourage you to stop ANYTIME you're attempted to attack another and behave in a rude or unChrist-like manner even if you KNOW you're right. Even if you ARE right, there is NO justification for treating another human (Christian or not) in a rude or unChrist-like manner. As Christians, we are to be held to a higher standard. I am a FIRM believer for standing for what's right. I am ALSO a firm believer of doing so in a Christ-like manner.

On that note, Merry Christmas, Merry X-Mas, Happy Holidays, and Happy Festivus.

Why Christmas in July?  So you can enter the holiday season debt-free and with little (if any) stress.  How awesome would THAT be?

If you haven't yet, make a list of who you need to purchase gifts for.  If you made a list earlier in the year, update it.  Make sure you any new family members are added and gifts already purchased are recorded (including their storage location if need be!).

Update your Christmas card list (or make one if you don't have one yet).  Add new friends or family members, delete those who made you mad (just kidding), ensure addresses you have are current, and gather needed addresses.

If you already have your Christmas cards, start addressing them now.  Make a goal to do a couple a day.  Before you know it, they'll be done.  You can even put stamps on them now so that come the first of December, they'll be ready for you to mail.  Wouldn't you love that?


If you do picture cards for Christmas, you can take them and have them printed now (or within the next couple of months) so you can have them addressed, stamped, and ready to mail come December.  Why wait until the last minute when everyone else is trying to schedule pics and get them printed in time for Christmas?


If you do a Christmas letter, you can start that now too.  Get the stationary, address and stamp the envelopes just like you would "regular" cards.  Write updates through now and add a little each month until it's time to print and mail them.  You might even buy an extra ink cartridge to ensure effortless printing when the time comes.

Next Tuesday, we'll have part 3. 

Be sure to check out previous posts in this series:

Christmas in July, Part 1

Well, Christmas clearance...but that's almost like a second Christmas to me!

Now is the time to think about Christmas NEXT year.  Do you need more ornaments?  Garland?  Lights?  A new tree?  Look NOW for what you'll need next year!  You can save at least 50% in most cases and sometimes as much as 75% or 90% off the regular sale price of an item!

Don't just think about Christmas, though.  Think about gifting throughout the year.  Need wrapping paper?  A spiderman lover isn't going to question snowflake-shaped webs on his wrapping paper (I speak from experience).  Look for character paper with as little "holiday" flare as possible for birthday gifts in the coming year.  Don't forget to also stock up for wrapping for next Christmas as well!  You'll also find gift boxes, gift bags, tissue paper, & tape on clearance.  Yes...even tape!

Not only that, you'll find holiday-themed anything on clearance.  From dishes to baggies to clothes and non-holiday food items that simply have a holiday-themed package.  And don't forget the toys!  You'll only see lower clearance prices on toys (from 15%-30% off) until the major Christmas clearance is done.  After that, stores hit the toys hard!  They very quickly go from that 15% mark to 50% off & from there to 75%-80%; depending on the store...and at some stores, they'll hit their biggest percentage off as soon as the middle of January!  This clearance happens MUCH more quickly than most of their toy clearances.

Above all, though, remember that it's not a savings if you don't have the money...so plan appropriately, but don't go into debt just to "save" in the future.  If you don't have the money in cash...it's not a deal!

At first, today's Mom Saver was going to be quite simple.  What can you do with those extra scraps of wrapping paper?  Simple.  Easy Peasy.  You use them as gift tags.  Ingenious, right?  You don't have to buy gift tags (which if you do buy them are only $1 for 100 of them at the Dollar Tree), AND you are a wise steward of the money you spent on the wrapping paper by using up every last bit of it.

Of course, you can avoid wrapping paper altogether and utilize one of my creative gift wrapping ideas.

Those times when you do decide to utilize "real" wrapping paper, however, you want to use it to it's fullest.

But here's what happened.  I had an epiphany.  I'm The Mom Saver!!!  (Picture a "Super-Mom" with a cape made of receipts.)  Or not.  You know.   Whatever.

Anyway, I'm The Mom Saver.  I can come up with something BETTER than utilizing your wrapping paper scraps for gift tags.  I can find ways to re-use your OLD wrapping paper!  Yes!  By golly!  I'll DO IT!

Except that when I started searching for ideas, I came up with...well...some...interesting finds...

Of course there's the practical "You can make a bow" instructions which I'm sure would be incredibly helpful for someone who wants to take the time to do that.  But those instructions looked incredibly time-consuming and intense.  And I'm all about simplicity right now.

No fear, though.  There were some...ahem...other...ideas...

My favorite?  Utilizing foil wrapping paper as home-made solar panels.  No.  Really.  I actually saw that.  I'll give some chocolate to the person who actually tries that idea...and gets it to work.  Heck...I'll even take you coupon-shopping with me.  Trust me.  It's funner (is that a word?) than it sounds.  Much more funner.  There.  That's better.

Still, that idea takes work.  And climbing a roof.  Neither of which really appeals to me right now.  (At least not like sitting around eating chocolate appeals to me.)

My favorite idea, by far, is utilizing wrapping paper as snow.  I know some of you actually have snow on the ground in your house.  Still, you can use this idea.  Because really, who wants to go outside in the snow & get all cold just to have a snowball fight?  And bringing the snow inside just isn't the same because then you have to clean up the mess.  (There's that work thing again...and if it doesn't involve sitting & chocolate right now...Just sayin'...)  

So what do you do?  Wrapping paper snowballs!  Viola!  Genius!  You ball up the wrapping paper & throw it at each other.  I know.  I'm a veritable genius.

Disclaimer the legal department (husband) forced me to put up:  Before throwing wrapping-paper snowballs, please make sure to remove all breakable items from the home. (Bah humbug! Where's the fun if you're not trying to dodge a family heirloom?) Also, it is not recommended that you throw any wrapping paper snowballs at any faces.  And also...we're not responsible for any injuries or broken items as a result of your fun.  So basically...play at your own risk.  (Look...I know the guy's no fun.  What can I say?  He wanted to shoot SANTA tomorrow!  And what can you say to a guy like that?)

I must first apologize.  I was wrong.  I didn't lose any subscribers this year because of my X-mas post.  Not one.  Perhaps you guys are just used to me now? 

I did want to clarify, though, for a couple of people who sent me e-mails.  I was NOT saying by my X-mas post that we shouldn't celebrate Christ or His birth at Christmas.  Not at all!  I was only saying that we, as Christians, shouldn't beat each other up over this.

There WAS a valid reason that "X" was used instead of Christ "back in the day".  Christmas WASN'T the actual birth day of Christ.  That doesn't mean that we can't choose to celebrate His birth then, though...or any other day for that matter.  Just know, that when people say that wasn't when Christ was actually born, that they're right...but you can still choose to celebrate then should you so desire (we do).

But please, pretty please, please with a cherry on top...eh.  Forget that!  Please with chocolate on top.  Just don't call another Christian unChristlike or say that they're taking Christ out of Christmas just because they used "X-mas". 

I mean really!  Use that time to go feed the homeless or buy a gift for a child on the Angel Tree.  Or something.  Anything.  Seriously.  Nearly anything would be a better use of your time than attacking another Christian over something. 

This close to Christmas, it's easy to go a little crazy trying to finish last-minute shopping...or to look at the tree and think, "That's not enough!  My child MUST have more!"

Even if you carefully budgeted for Christmas, it's easy to go over your budget at the last minute if you're not careful.  And for far too many, going over their budget doesn't just mean spending money they already have on more gifts.  It means going in to debt by using a credit card.  DON'T!!!!  You WILL regret it if you go into debt for Christmas!

If you DO go into debt, only do so after first figuring the REAL cost of what you're buying.  An easy way to do that is to automatically add 25% on to whatever it is you're buying.  Buying something for $100?  Add $25...the total cost of that item is at LEAST $125...NOT $100.  Even if you have a lower-interest or interest-free credit card, you can't count on that staying the same.  Most credit card companies reserve the right to raise your interest rate at any time for any reason...even if you've never been late.

To help us keep our spending under control & our focus in the right place at Christmas, we put 2 safeguards into place:

• First, our children have always only gotten 3 presents, their stocking (which usually includes a CD, a favorite movie, or a book they've wanted), and a family game (one game...to everyone in the family).  Why 3?  Each gift represents a gift Jesus got.
• Our "credit card" is our check-card/debit which is tied to our bank.  If we don't have the money, we can't get it.  To further protect ourselves, we only have available in that checking account what we have budgeted to spend for that pay period.  Everything else goes into our savings so there are no "accidental" buys.  Plus, doing this provides extra protection for us should someone get ahold of our debit card numbers.  Someone can't steal what isn't there!

Above all, enjoy your Christmas...and remember...the season isn't about how many gifts you get or give.  We have chosen this time to celebrate the birth of our Lord & Savior.  Stop and focus on Him.  MAKE Him the reason for this season.

Merry Christmas!

A couple of years ago, Sara Groves so perfectly captured the hearts of parents everywhere with her timeless Christmas classic, Toy Packaging. 

I'm convinced the extreme packaging on toys has nothing to do with security.  There are toy execs sitting in a board room on Christmas morning laughing at us as we all attempt to open the maze of screws, twist-ties, tape, rubber bands, random spare pieces of cloth, extra plastic pieces that serve no purpose other than to confuse you and make you wonder why they are there, cellophane,  random pieces of string, and cardboard.  To top it off, they give us 5 pages of instructions on how to open the package alone...in every language BUT English.  No fear, though, they also provide a diagram of the random toy of the day.  You might or might not get a diagram of what you ACTUALLY bought.  There are Chinese children in a sweatshop in Brazil randomly inserting diagrams into toys.  For our convenience.

In order to open said packages and assemble the toys, you will need scissors, a screwdriver, a hammer, a gallon of vodka, a wrench, pliers, a blow torch, welding equipment, a magic lamp with a genie that will give you 3 wishes (I'd recommend making the first one all-encompassing...like 'de-package and assemble all toys' or 'enough money to pay people who are too crazy to know better to open and assemble the toys'...or something similar), and...yeah...I'm pretty much at a loss now.  I'm thinking the magic lamp with a genie and vodka is your best bet.

So how do you prevent the insanity on Christmas morning?  You instead engage in the insanity on another day...as in before you wrap the presents.  If YOU bought the presents, then you know that your kids want the presents, right?  So if you KNOW your kids want the presents and you will keep them...then open them before you wrap them and avoid the insanity that is known as toy packaging on Christmas morning!

I know everyone still has Christmas on the mind being that's still 2 weeks away.  However, now is the PERFECT time to start planning for next month.  (What can I say?  I'm a planner.)

As soon as you've finished your Christmas prep (or if you have a minute to spare) (I know...I'm hilarious!  Free time!  That's funny!  But I digress...)  When you can (how's that?), make a list of all of the birthdays you have coming up this year.  Include not only your kids, but any family members or friends who you know you'll be buying presents for in the coming year.  Write down ideas of what you want to get them as well as a price limit for the gift. 

Then hit the stores in January!  All stores start a massive toy clearance in January.  Some stores go more quickly than others.  Wal-mart tends to clearance their toys out the slowest.  Target is usually the fastest with some stores hitting 75% off by mid-January and others hitting it by the 3rd week in January. 

A word of advice:  If you KNOW that you want something at Target, then buy it when it's 50% off; especially if it's a hot item.

I also start planning and buying for my Christmas NEXT  year (in 2011) in January. Like I said...I'm a planner!

"Xmas"  Need I write or say more?

I didn't think so. Most of us do one of two things when we see or hear “X-Mas” (or “Happy Holidays” for that matter). We either roll our eyes as we know the comments that will inevitably come from the person who is “deeply offended” by the fact that someone “took Christ out of Christmas”.

For the record, I'm the one rolling my eyes. I think the offense people take to this is lunacy. There are bigger things with which to be concerned. Besides, I think their offense is due to a misunderstanding.

Still, let's not even go there. For a minute, let's examine if anyone is REALLY taking Christ out of anything when they say or write “Xmas” or “Happy Holidays”.

I'll cut straight to the point. Christ wasn't born at Christmas. Christmas didn't start as a “Christian” holiday. It started as a PAGAN (i.e.: secular, or not related to Christ) holiday. Somewhere back in the glorious middle ages, the Catholic Church recognized the depth of this holiday & wanted to find a way to claim it as their own in hopes of drawing more people into the church. To do so, they decided that they would celebrate the birth of Christ during this pagan winter celebration.

Back in the day, the Catholic church had a way of taking over things if/when they wanted to. And thus, Christmas as we know it today was born. Well, not exactly as we know it today because today people spend unGodly amounts of money on presents and completely forget about the created reason for the season in the process.

Side note: Yes, I do believe it is UNGodly amounts of money. Seriously? How much did you give to feeding the hungry? Helping those less fortunate? Yet you're going to max out your credit cards for gifts? Why? Any rate...that's a horse for another blog.

When WAS Christ born? It has been theorized that he was born in the fall, around September or October. Although some say it was likely closer to spring or summer. Regardless, ALL are certain that according to the Biblical account of his birth and the events surrounding it, there is NO WAY he was born in the dead of winter. I'm not Presbyterian, but they do an excellent job of breaking down the details of when Christ was likely born.

For a minute lets put aside that you cannot take a person out of something of which they were never a part in the beginning. Let's say that because the Catholic church brought Christ into the holiday He is now a bonafide part of the holiday and as such shouldn't be removed from said holiday by crass use of “Xmas” or “Holiday” instead of the full “Christmas”. (By the way, celebrating Christmas was made ILLEGAL by the colonists because they felt it was an unholy, pagan celebration. But I digress.)

Still with me? If not, here's a review. We're now ignoring the FACT that Christ was NOT born at Christmas and are instead pretending that He was. Based on this premise, we have reason to be mean and unChrist-like in our response to people should they use the “unGodly” “Xmas” or “Holiday” instead of the MORE Godly “Christmas”.

We've already established that it is, in fact, NOT wrong to use “Holiday” instead of “Christmas” because that's exactly what the day started as...a “Holiday” that had nothing to do with Christ. Even if we say Christ is now a part of Christmas, most of us can concede that those who aren't Christians would prefer using “Holiday” over “Christmas”. Still, what CHRISTIAN wouldn't WANT to use the full “Christmas” instead of “X'ing” Christ out of Christmas by saying or writing “Xmas”?

But wait. Is it really unGodly to say or write “Xmas” instead of “Christmas”? Is it really “X'ing” Christ out of Christmas as so many proclaim?

The word for “Christ” in Greek is “Xristos”. During the 16^th Century, “X” was used in place of the full “Xristos” as a form of short-hand. It was understood that the “X” stood for “Xristos” or “Christ”. People even referred to Christians as “Xians”. It was a commonly referred to abbreviation.

A quick online search will reveal to you how that abbreviation continued on through the years.

I would really encourage you to do a little research the next time you're tempted to attack another follower of Christ out of offense. I would encourage you to stop ANYTIME you're attempted to attack another and behave in a rude or unChrist-like manner even if you KNOW you're right. Even if you ARE right, there is NO justification for treating another human (Christian or not) in a rude or unChrist-like manner. As Christians, we are to be held to a higher standard. I am a FIRM believer for standing for what's right. I am ALSO a firm believer of doing so in a Christ-like manner.

On that note, Merry Christmas, Merry X-Mas, Happy Holidays, and Happy Festivus.

We've planned for and/or bought our gifts and have our cards ready for mailing.  What's next?

Where do we put the gifts we've bought?  It's no problem to hid Grandma's gift, but where do you put the gifts you got for your kids...ahem...or gift-loving husbands.  (Not that I have one of those...)

To remember where you stashed the gifts while keeping prying eyes away, get a bin to keep high in the garage or attic with the gifts.  WRAP the gifts NOW and write the recipients name and a number in pencil in the bottom corner of the gift.  Keep a list of what you've purchased (listing the number, who the gift is for, and what is in the gift) on an e-mail that the kids don't have access to or with your bills or in another secure place where you know you'll find it.  Include any hiding places on this list so there's not a last minute scramble to find gifts you KNOW you got at the last minute!

(I always have wrapping on hand because I buy it at 90% off after Christmas.  If you don't, just wait a month or two.  It will start popping up at the Dollar stores and Wal-Mart before you see it anywhere else.)

When I wrap the gift, I also go ahead and make the label....but don't attach it now. (I use wrapping paper scraps to do mine, but this works with regular labels as well.) The child will be able to easily see that they have a gift, but they won't know what that gift is...or which gift is for them!

The reason you write what the gift is on a separate sheet of paper is because labels CAN come off...then you don't know what's in a gift or who it's for without unwrapping it...which kind of defeats the purpose of having wrapped it in the first place.  (Not that I speak from experience or anything.  Ahem. Let's just say that *I* try things out so YOU don't have to!  Yeah.  THAT'S it.)

There are several bonuses to wrapping the gifts now.  Should a child (or gift-loving husband) stumble upon the bin, they can't easily see which gifts are theirs or what the gift is.  You also don't have to worry about that task later!  It's already done.  Imagine NOT staying up all night wrapping gifts on Christmas Eve.  (Not that I've ever done THAT either...)

When it's time to put the gifts under the tree, pull out your list and the bin.  Attach the labels that you made to the gift with a bow or ribbon if you so desire.  And that's IT!  MAYBE 10 minutes.  If you have a LOT of gifts or REALLY like bows.

We began our Christmas in July celebration yesterday.  Shall we continue?

You've made your gift list, but most of us have a MUCH longer Christmas card list.  If you haven't made that yet and updated addresses, I'd do that now!  It seems like one of the most time-consuming tasks we have at Christmas is addressing card after card after card.

Some people have gotten smart and make a database on their computer from which they then print out labels.  There are those of us fuddy-duddys, though, who still address our cards the old-fashioned way...by hand.  Lest someone think I'm calling someone names, I'M the old fuddy-duddy!  Still, I don't want to do this all in one month, and neither do the kids.

Again, we purchase our Christmas cards on clearance the year before.  If we want to include a picture, we have one taken in the summer & include them in the cards when they come in.  If you prefer one of the speciality picture-cards, you can have those done in the summer too.  (No one has to know WHEN that family "Christmas" picture was taken!)

This month, I'll update my card list and the addresses, get my cards together, buy my stamps, and have any pictures taken that we'll want to include.

Next month, we'll start addressing cards every week.  The kids and I will take 15 minutes once a week and address cards.  With 3 of us who write well addressing this goes pretty quickly.  I save the grandparent's cards for my son since they typically enjoy his "messy, still-learning-to-write neatly" handwriting.

We'll also add any personal notes and sign the cards at this time.  If we have a picture to add, we'll add it now & then seal the card shut.  We finish the card by adding the stamp & putting into our completed box.

This is an absolutely painless way to get your Christmas cards done.  Just imagine how good you'll feel when December comes and you pull out all of your ready-to-mail cards!  This leaves time for more of the fun things at Christmas like baking!  (A personal favorite of mine!)

I'll apologize now for those who heard me singing on the radio.  I promise not to do that again.  This week.

I'm sure you've heard of Christmas in July before, but did you really stop and think about the REAL Christmas in JULY?  Well you should!

Now is the BEST time to start planning for Christmas.  Why?  Many stores start clearancing out their toys in August in preparation for the Christmas season.  If there are toys out there now that your child wants, then August is the time to shop!

Target generally has the best clearance.  You'll be able to find their toys at 50%-75% off by mid-August.  I'd grab something I KNOW we'll be buying as soon as it hits 50%.   If there's a HUGE quantity, I might try to make it to 75%, but I wouldn't count on it if it was a "must buy" item.

Wal-Mart will also clearance their toys out, but I've found that they take a LOT longer to do so than Target does.  When Target is ready to clearance something, it will be out of the store within a month.  On the other hand, Wal-Mart clearance will sit on the shelf at the SAME price for a couple of months...and then one day it will just be gone without having ever gone up to a higher percentage off.

You'll also find toy clearances at Kohls and some at Toys R' Us.  I'd take a look around at the first of August and see what stores are starting to clearance out.  What they have at 15% or 30% at the first of August will be 50% by mid-August at some stores.

Regardless of whether you jump on the toy clearance or not, I would highly recommend that you start your Christmas planning now.  Make a list of who you need to give gifts to and what you intend on giving them.  It's helpful for me to know what the regular price of these items is so I know when I should jump on a good deal.  I usually make this list in January so I can take advantage of Christmas clearance items.  I didn't do that this year so I'm a little late to the game by starting in July.

Another advantage to starting in July is that if you realize your child (or another family member) just HAS to have a higher-priced gift, you can start saving now and reduce or completely eliminate debt this coming Christmas!  Won't it be nice to NOT have a credit card bill come January!  I wouldn't do Christmas any other way!

Every day this week, I'll be talking about what you can do this month to make this Christmas one of the least stressful you've ever had!  (And to make your January less financially painful!)

Tomorrow:  Christmas Cards

Merry Christmas (in July)!

8 years ago today, God brought you into our lives.  We are so thankful beyond words that He blessed us with you.

You're my precious monkey.  I know someone you love told you that it was an insult for me to call you my monkey.  Far from it!  You're my monkey because you're so full of energy.  You love to climb.  You love to go.  That's just who you are.  And we love you that way.  You're our monkey.  You're my monkey.

You used to be my blondie too, but your hair started turning brown this year.  We knew it would happen.  I'm not quite sure I was ready for it yet!  It's amazing to me how much you continue to grow.

You have a such a sweet spirit, and such a pure heart for God.  I love to see the young man you're becoming.  You always want to do what's right.  I'm so proud of you!

Happy birthday, sweet boy.  I love you.

Mommy

I cannot believe that my baby girl is a pre-teen! 11 years ago today, I became a mom for the first time. That moment changed my life forever. Definitely for the better!

I thought it only fitting that I try to get an updated picture of my dear, precious daughter. After all, she's now a pre-teen! She's coming into her own.