Are you searching for a gift for the tea lover in your life? Take a look at my Amazon gift guide for tea lovers.
This post contains affiliate links. Should you make a purchase through one of the links I provide, I may receive a small percentage at no cost to you.
I absolutely love tea. Years ago, when I was in my twenties, I used to live in England. One thing, I learned when I was there was how to make a proper cup of tea. I am from the south and so when I came there with my version of tea which was essential iced sweet tea, they gave me looks that could kill. You would have thought that I had eaten roadkill. We all had a good laugh.
Although it has been twenty years since I lived there, I still find myself enjoying tea time just about every day. As a homeschooling mom and stay-at-home wife, I am busy all day long. But sitting down to tea is one of my treats during the day. It is quiet time. Sometimes I’ll write letters to friends. Other times, I may read scripture or do my bible study. Either way, it is quiet time for me.
It is also a good time to invite a neighbor or friend over before getting back into the kitchen to start dinner preparations. Friends of mine also know I love tea gifts. So I thought I would put together an Amazon gift guide for tea lovers like me.
Beehive Honey Jar
Friends, if you have a sore throat, I highly recommend some cinnamon tea with honey. You can even add a little echinacea to it if you like. Elderberry tea is also a really great choice for flu season. One of my favorites is an elderberry tea with echinacea.
I hate serving tea with a squeeze bottle of honey. I have found that this sweet little beehive jar that is meant for serving honey. I think this is perfect for entertaining as well as everyday use.
Tea Caddy
This is my own personal tea caddy. I purchased this 12″ bamboo tea caddy a couple of years ago and I love it. It has quite a bit of storage and it has an acrylic window so you can view the tea without opening. It is nice enough to display for entertaining so that guests can make their own selections. It has become one of my favorite, most well-loved pieces in my kitchen. I personally love that instead of having all these boxes of tea in my pantry it is all contained to a pretty chest.
A Blooming Tea Pot
I really love blooming tea pots. Tea is already a relaxing, calming exercise and blooming tea pots make it all the more fun. If you aren’t familiar with blooming tea pots, allow me to explain. Blooming tea pots are glass see-through tea pots. Most all can be put directly onto the stove. You can of course use it for any tea, but there is also flowering tea that you can purchase. This flowering tea contains whole edible flowers and plants that rehydrate, steep, and “bloom” in hot water. It is really pretty and makes for a fun entertaining experience as well.
This particular tea pot can go in the microwave or on the stove top making it very versatile. It also has an infuser for loose teas. It holds about 40oz which is enough for about four cups. If you have a tea lover, I know they will enjoy this!
Honey Spoons and Honey Sticks
A great stocking stuffer for tea lovers are honey spoons and honey sticks. The honey sticks below are really great. They even come in different flavors like pina colada, raspberry, peach and wildflower. What a great way to flavor up your tea. This also makes for a great hostess gifts as well, either way, these are some of my favorite things. Its a sweet way to sweeten up your cup of tea.
Downton Abbey Afternoon Tea Cookbook
If you haven’t watched Downton Abbey you don’t know what you’re missing. The period drama begins during the Edwardian Era (1912) and continues through the 20’s. It centers around an English aristocrat family and their servants at the precipice of changing times. The series, certainly inspires the beauty of old tradition which includes afternoon tea.
This adorable cookbook is filled with afternoon tea recipes which includes, classic British sweets, puddings, cakes, scones, and savory tea sandwiches. There are beautiful pictures from the series as well as etiquette to include how to make a cup of proper tea, how to prepare for tea service, and even how to properly dress for tea. So quaint and sweet and a charming keepsake for us tea lovers out there.
What good is tea without a traditional porcelain tea set. As a tea fanatic, I have several tea sets. I thought I would put my five favorite sets that you can find on Amazon. I’ve even bought a few of these as gifts.
Tea Sampler
Tea samplers are always a great gift for tea lovers. Vahdam is one of the most respected tea growers. In fact, iI’ve heard t’s Oprah’s favorite tea brand. I concur. Vahdam has delicious tea varieties. All the tea is loose, so you will need an infuser. My favorite is this 24 sampler pack which contains Chai teas, Green teas, Herbal teas, Oolong teas, Turmeric teas, and Black teas. Its perfect for Christmas because it is almost like a tea advent calendar!
Tea For One
Cup Warmer
I admit, I love my Yeti, but I certainly enjoy drinking out my cups. If you want to keep your drink warm at your desk, cup warmers are awesome. Obviously you can use it to keep any hot drink warm including a cup of soup. Today I’m sharing the cup warmer I keep at my desk. I think you’ll love it. If you are concerned about using a cup warmer, I’ll also include a link to my favorite Yeti for coffee and tea.
Allow me to introduce you to the Rolls Royce of Tea Kettles. Smeg is
Iced Tea Brewer
Ice Tea is practically its own food group here in the south. I absolutely love sweet tea. I’d prefer it over soda any day of the week. If you love freshly brewed ice tea, but hate making it in small batches, an iced tea brewer needs to be at the top of your wish list. This iced tea brewer makes 12 cups of iced tea. You can also do iced coffees with this wizard.
Join me as I share 12 beautiful Easter books for children, perfect for filling Easter baskets or just sharing the story of the Resurrection with kids.
Becoming a parent was very interesting. I never considered how I might share the Easter story with my children. My boys, ages five and three are interested in Jesus, but are barely starting to understand the concept of sin, much less theology like the hypostatic union and substitutionary atonement. That understanding will come in later years, but right now is really just about them being introduced the the passion of Christ, the crucifixion and the resurrection as it happened.
Today, I’m going the share 12 beautiful Easter books for children. Each book is different and I will try to illustrate some of those differences. You can give the book as a gift to your child or even tuck it in their Easter basket like I do. If I see any differences in denomination, I’ll try to mention that.
12 Beautiful Easter Books for Children
God Gave Us Easter
God Gave Us Easter is a favorite book. We actually have the companion book, God Gave Us You, which is a beautiful book about how God created us. In God Gave Us Easter, the book includes the same characters and similar beautiful language. I will say that this book doesn’t get into the nitty-gritty of Jesus dying on the cross. It keeps it very light hearted. So if you are looking for something with more of a high-level overtone, this one is a beautiful book. This book is probably better for very young children that you understand death or the idea of crucifixion. See below for my more biblical choices.
The Easter Storybook: 40 Bible Stories Showing Us Who Jesus Is
This is a beautiful storybook with a biblical foundation showing us the character of Jesus. The storybook has lovely illustrations for each story and a bible passage. The stories selected are designed to give children a look at the character of Jesus. We see Jesus as a teacher, redeemer, rescuer, friend, King, savior, Each story is one page long and includes a scripture passage. At the end of each story, there are questions for children to think about or answer. This one is a favorite of ours! I think this book is great for preschool age through about nine.
Notes From Jesus
This is a lovely book! Although it isn’t specifically Easter themed, I think it is really lovely because it lays the foundation for establishing a meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ. It provides answers to common thoughts and questions like, “how does Jesus feel when I mess up?” “Is it okay to pray with my eyes open?” “Does Jesus care about my day?” The answers are simple in a narrative that is easy for young children to grasp and thoroughly explains God’s love for us.
This book is recommended for ages six and up, but honestly, I find it perfect for my four-year-old who is just starting to build a relationship with the Lord.
We Believe: An Alphabet Primer
I’ve included this book, for those looking for a Catholic perspective. We Believe: an Alphabet Primer is a lovely book with simple, colorful beautiful illustrations. The artwork is vibrant and has a lovely color palette. In the book the alphabet is used by theological terms. If you are a Catholic, you will probably enjoy that this book discusses things like the Eucharist, the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed. I was raised as a Catholic and this would have been a lovely book when I was young. If you are a Protestant, like I am now, you may want to skip this book as it does have Catholic theology. This book is best for children four and under.
This sweet book, Lift the Flap Easter Stories for Young Children, is great for little ones who have a hard time sitting still for stories. When my boys were between the ages of two and three it was so hard to get them to sit for stories. This is where I think lift the flap books are very helpful. It gives them something to do while we are reading and keeps those little hands busy. This short book is about sixteen pages and is perfect for ages two through five. There are multiple flaps per page with colorful explanations. This covers the major events surround the resurrection story but omits the gruesomeness of the crucifixion because it’s designed for toddlers.
The Donkey Who Carried a King
This book by reformed pastor R.C. Sproul is a beautiful, endearing story and certainly one of my favorites. Now this book is going to be very different from other books in this list. First, this book is not really centered around the events around the resurrection, ( I mean it IS and it ISNT) rather it is centered around Christ coming in humility not to be served but to serve. In essence it is more of a moralistic tale than a play by play of the Easter story. I think it is a really good book especially when paired with other Easter stories.
If you like Twas the Night Before Christmas, you may really enjoy this Twas the Easter Morning as well. This book uses the same ionic pentameter of Twas the Night Before Christmas except it tells the story of Easter instead of Christmas. That makes if for a special telling of the Easter story. The illustrations in this book are really breathtaking. I have a feeling this one is going to be a classic story in years to come.
The Easter Story
The Easter Story book is great for kids around the kindergarten – first grade age. The book is biblically based with lovely illustrations and isn’t too long ( it is 32 pages). There is also a board book version available if you want tear resistant pages. It is not graphic for children who may not be ready for the crucifixion. However there is just one small thing I would change and it is probably a minor detail to most parents. It says that Jesus died so that we “will” all go to heaven. We don’t want to imply universalism to our children. It should read so that we “can” all go to heaven. This is probably such a minor detail that most parents won’t care. After all, that kind of theology is something that can be discussed when children are older anyway. Still, this is a great biblical story.
100 Little Bible Words
So I’ve included this book, 100 Little Bible Words, in the list because I don’t want to leave out infants or children under the age of two. This board book contains 100 words to build the vocabulary of your little man or lady. Throughout the pages it goes through major biblical themes like the creation story, Noah’s ark, etc. It provides a scripture, then provides words related to that part of the Bible. For example, Noah’s ark lists many animals. The creation story teaches words like Adam, Eve, apple, tree, sun, light, sky, etc. Although this isn’t specific to Easter, I still think it is a great book to start introducing biblical vocabulary. This little book is perfect for an Easter basket.
The Very First Easter
The Very First Easter by Paul L Maier is a beautifully illustrated book of the Easter story. The book is biblically accurate and Christ focused. The illustrations are really lovely and contains accurate scripture. However, I thought I would mention two things for the discerning reader. The first is that the book infers early on that the Easter bunny is not real. If your children believe in the Easter bunny, this might catch you off guard. Additionally, after stating the scripture verbatim at the Lord’s supper, the book says then explains that it is a sacrament which offers grace and forgiveness of sins. It is fairly subtle but obviously, your views on transubstantiation may find this verse troubling. I think it is subtle enough, but I still thought I would mention.
The Story of Passover
I thought I would include The Story of Passover by David A Alder in the list. While this book isn’t about the death and resurrection, I think it’s appropriate for children to understand what passover is referring to in scripture. After all, I don’t think it was any coincidence that Jesus died on the anniversary of God setting the Jewish people free from slavery. For we were slaves to sin and now we have freedom in Christ. This book centers around Moses leading the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt. The book is full of bold illustrations and is good for preschool and young elementary school children. My only critique is that although it explains the events leading up to passover it doesn’t not fully explain the passover seder.
The Donkey No One Could Ride
This sweet book, The Donkey No One Could Ride, by author Anthony DeStefano is a sweet tale of a donkey who felt unworthy until he meets his master, Christ. This adorable rhyming tale is best for kids under the age of seven. I will add that this book doesn’t really tell the Easter story like other books. Rather, this is more about our relationship with our master. It also centers around Palm Sunday. Still I think it’s a really lovely, innocent tale that will encourage children to see the love of Christ.
Love is in the air! Today, I’m sharing some cute printable school valentines to share with schoolmates.
We are getting close to February and you know what that means, our little ones will start coming home with some cute Valentines school crafts and lots of sweet treats. Valentine’s Day is always a fun time for kids and I always make sure to do something really special with the kids. This year, I think we will be making some super cute Valentine’s cupcakes. We’ve made some cookies in the past and that was fun, but I recently found this great list of Valentine’s cupcakes, so we have to try some of them!
As you know if you are a reader, we homeschool, but in years prior I had my boys in a mom’s day out program for a few hours a week. It was just a nice way for me to get a break and the boys to get out with some friends. Because of COVID, we are home full time now which is one reason why my writing on the blog has slowed down a tad. (Thanks for bearing with me while I find my sea legs!)
How to Make Valentine’s Day Special At Home
Bake Some Goodies
If you are doing virtual schooling, there are still plenty of ways to make Valentine’s Day special for your little ones. After all, I just shared a few baking ideas. Kids always love to get busy in the kitchen. And of course, you can always do Valentine’s cut out sugar cookies! One of these days I have to share my recipe for no spread cut out sugar cookies!
Printable Valentine’s Bingo Game
Last year I made a super cute printable Valentine’s Bingo game that you can play with the kids. Just print it out on your home computer. We love to use those cute conversation hearts as our bingo markers. If you want, you can also laminate them so that they are more durable, Just make sure to print them out on white cardstock regardless.
Valentine’s Crafts
We love to do Valentine’s Day crafts. I found some really cute crafts that are great for young children. Most are pretty simple to do.
That leads me to today’s free printable. I’ve created some really cute printable Valentine’s for your little ones. I’ve used an adorable color scheme of pinks, grey, and mint. You can print them out and attach a candy or treat to them. You can put them in a treat bag or staple them to a bag. Whatever you like. But the great thing is that you can use these without having to purchase some from the store or you can save these in case you need them for last-minute treats. You’ll want to print them on white cardstock and it’s in pdf format so you will need a pdf viewing software like Adobe Reader.
There are four sheets of printable school valentines. Each page has 4 cards on it and there are four designs in total. Obviously, because it is printable, you print off as many as you need. Be sure to PIN this post for later, it to your Facebook page, or share it with a friend who can use them.
Hot cranberry orange cider is a delicious hot punch that is perfect for holiday parties in the Fall and Winter.
I love cranberries. I get so excited when I see them finally appear in our grocery store. Once Fall hits, I make a wide variety of cranberry foods. From cranberry-orange muffins to white chocolate and cranberry cookies, I love making things with cranberry. I’ve had this recipe for a few years and I’ve grown to love it. This recipe actually calls for cranberry juice which you can get year-round. However, I love to add a few whole cranberries to the punch when I serve it. We’ll get into all that later, but for now, let me tell you about this easy punch recipe.
We love entertaining around Christmas time. In fact, for the last seven years, I’ve been hosting Christmas for our family. I always set up an awesome hot chocolate bar that family and friends rave about! You can see my post on how to set up your own hot chocolate bar. I even have the best slow cooker hot chocolate recipe that you’ll ever try! Be sure to check those out before you leave.
How to Make Hot Cranberry Orange Cider
When I found this recipe years ago, it came with specific instructions to make over the stove. That is how I am going to share the recipe today, However, you can make the entire recipe in the slow cooker (e.g. crockpot) if you like. This recipe calls for several things, frozen concentrate and cinnamon imperials. Don’t know what those are? Cinnamon hard candy. Kind of like starlight mints except they are cinnamon flavored. You can find them at your local grocery store in the candy section.
This recipe calls for no actual sugar or cinnamon. Instead, it uses the sugar in the candies to sweeten the tart drink. The recipe instructions direct you to melt down the cinnamon candy by boiling it with the cranberry fruit cocktail which essentially turns the candies into a cinnamon syrup. Yes, the candies will still melt if done in the crockpot, but it will take a while. Until they are fully melted they can be a choking hazard, if someone doesn’t realize they are in there and they go for a cup before they are dissolved. Trust me, this can happen, even with adults. So I’d still recommend that you dissolve them on the stove. Then if desired you can transfer over to a crockpot afterward. I normally do just that, so the punch can stay warm as guests serve themselves. The recipe also calls for whole cloves, so you want to make sure you strain those out before serving. The stovetop method ensures your punch is ready in 30 minutes.
Serving Hot Cranberry Cider
When you serve it, you can serve it directly in your crockpot. I recommend providing a ladle and spoon rest so avoid your countertop or surface from getting sticky from the ladle. If you don’t want to serve it in a crockpot and want a more classy look, they sell chafing punch bowls on Amazon. They are way more sophisticated than crockpots for your holiday parties.
By the way, if you are using a crockpot, allow me to introduce you to my best friend. A couple of years ago I discovered the slow cooker liners and they are awesome. I don’t typically buy disposable stuff, but these are awesome especially around the holidays. During the holidays my crockpots are used almost on a daily basis. The only thing I hate about using them is all the soaking and scrubbing in between uses. This totally eliminates the need for both. Just take and toss when you are done and then wash your crockpot without the elbow grease.
When I serve it, I often serve it in my old depression glass punch bowl or in cute Santa mugs. These Santa mugs (below) are from Pottery Barn. They are exactly like my mother’s vintage ones in her kitchen. You can also put it in Mason jar mugs. Another favorite of mine. I serve the punch with whole cranberries which I put in the punch while being warmed and I garnish with a cinnamon stick.
Combine cranberry juice, water, cloves, and cinnamon candy into a large stockpot.
Boil mixture until candies are fully dissolved. Reduce heat to low.
Add lemonade and orange concentrates. Remove cloves.
Transfer to a crockpot or heatproof serving bowl. Keep heat on low. Serve with heatproof mugs or punch cups. Garnish with cinnamon and whole cranberries if desired.
Trying to keep the kids busy at home? Here is a printable Christmas I Spy to keep those little ones from feeling bored on those cold days.
It is just the beginning of December but we are already busy without Christmas activities. Every year, we set up an Advent calendar and fill it with Christmas related activities or experiences. We have so much fun doing it as a family and it really gets us in the mood for Christmas. You can get all kinds of ideas for holiday-themed activities in my posts, The Ultimate Christmas Bucket List, 10 Beautiful Christmas Traditions to Start, and 50 Acts of Kindness for the Holidays.
We have a had a great homeschool year. My kindergartener is reading very well and he is obsessed with spelling at the moment. I’m so glad that we have managed to keep their interest in school even though we aren’t getting out much. I am so grateful that we had a wonderful and productive Fall. That said, I am so glad that we are taking some time off in December. We will be taking a whole two weeks off and just focusing on fun activities and play, so I’ll be sharing some of our fun activities here on the blog.
Printable Christmas I Spy
To Christmas off, I’m sharing a printable Christmas I Spy that I’ve made for my kindergartener. I think that children under five might struggle with it. I purposely made it a little challenging by using similar objects. Therefore, it is better suited for ages five and up. You can download it here and print it out at home. Feel free to share this post with others.
You can download some of my other FREE games and activities for other holidays
And coming soon this month, I’ll be doing a printable Christmas Memory Game! Stay tuned or subscribe to the blog to be notified.
As with all my printables on the blog, you can print them without an email sign up, although I”d love it if you subscribed.
Directions
You can use the following for your I spy game:
Crayons
Colored pencils
Markers
Highlighters
There is an answer key at the bottom of the page that states the objects to find as well as how many of the items there are in the maze. I suggest having your child count and color them as they find them. I’ve included lots of objects that are similar and objects that are not in the key to make it more challenging.
Snowy Village Christmas Game Bundle
Whether you are taking your Christmas Party to the next level or just want some fun holiday-themed activities with your family, this bundle of ten printable Christmas games are sure to delight everyone!
Download your free Thanksgiving Word Search for kids. This is a fun word recognition activity for elementary school aged children.
Hey friends, Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Thanksgiving has always been a special time. First, my mom’s birthday almost always falls on the week of Thanksgiving, so it’s always super special. Secondly, as a child, I used to love to hear my grandfather’s stories about our own Apache heritage. We are prepping for Thanksgiving this week. I imagine this year, Thanksgiving will look different for many families. I’ve heard some cities are locking down again. If you are in one of those cities, I’m sorry. It’s very tough to be apart from families especially this time of year, especially after all we’ve done already this year. We are staying home and cooking for a few immediate family members.
Today, I’ve created something fun for your older elementary school kids. I’ve created a free Thanksgiving word search for kids. Who knows, maybe it will keep them busy long enough to butter rolls! I personally used to love word search games particularly as a kid. Who am I kidding? I still really love them. I always felt like it helped me with my dyslexia because it forced me to concentrate.
Benefits of Word Searches
Sometimes word searches can get a bad rap. They seem like they are just busywork, but the truth is, they have lots of benefits. Here are some of the perks to incorporating word searches into your child’s playtime or school time.
Word recognition – Word recognition is very easy for adults that have been reading for years and are familiar with recognizing words by just a glance. While such things are obvious to adults, it’s not to you our little ones. For the emergent reader, word searches require them to truly hone in on the letters that make up the word.
We visualize words as a picture – Word searches have a unique effect on our brain. When we search for a word in a word search, we continually picture the word in our mind, thus reinforcing the spelling and structure of the word. This, of course, improves memory.
Focus on letter combinations. It’s in our nature to look for parts of the word that are unique like ie, uo, ea, tr, etc. We tend to hunt for letter combinations in word searches. For example, in the word Thanksgiving we tend to look for the letter combination ‘TH’ and ‘NG.’
Spelling – This might seem obvious and that’s because it is. Word searches encourage spelling. When you word search, you will have to examine the maze of letters to find the letters that make up the word and you have to spell it in order to know if you have found the word correctly.
Improves Vocabulary – I like using word searches to help reinforce vocabulary words. You can make the word search for just about any subject. Science, Social Studies, Language Arts, etc.
My Word Search
I’ve created this word search with 25 different Thanksgiving-themed words. Have your child search for the words horizontally, vertically, and diagonally. To add an extra level of difficulty, the words can also appear forwards or backward. I’ve created the word search in a .pdf document. You will need Adobe Acrobat or some other pdf viewing software to view it. You can download Adobe Acrobat Reader for free.
I love coming up with some of these fun games. I created a Halloween I Spy as well and I plan on making a fun Christmas version as well in the next coming weeks. Also, be sure to check out Snowy Village Christmas Game Bundle available in my shop here on the blog or in my ETSY shop.
Snowy Village Christmas Game Bundle
Whether you are taking your Christmas Party to the next level or just want some fun holiday-themed activities with your family, this bundle of ten printable Christmas games are sure to delight everyone!
Are you bored with traditional white elephant gift exchanges? Here is a new take an old favorite. Today I’m sharing a new way to spice up holidays gift exchanges with how to play Dirty Santa.
This post contains affiliate links. Should you make a purchase through one of the links I provide, I may receive a small percentageno cost to you. See my full privacy policy for details.
All of us are familiar with white elephant gift exchanges. If you have ever been part of an office gift exchange chances are you have done white elephant. As much as we all love gift-giving, most of us haven’t won the lottery recently. A white elephant type of exchange is a great way to involve lots of people in gift exchanging with everyone making a modest contribution and therefore not breaking the bank.
In fact, that’s part of why I decided to share this in a blog post this year. COVID-19 has hit lots of people financially this year. In years past, some of my extended family drew names for a gift exchange instead of buying everyone a gift. But I found that it ended up being lack-luster. For example, lots of people just bought $25 gift cards and that’s exactly what it felt like. A group of people passing the same $25 around. Boring!!
Why not turn it into a fun game instead. Today, I’m going to share with you a fun way to turn humdrum white elephant gift exchanges into something more fun. Dirty Santa, White Elephant and Yankee Swap are all very similar in nature. First, I’m going to give you the basic rules. Then I am going to give you some fun variations to mix it up.
How to Play Dirty Santa
Rule 1: Decide on a Dollar Amount
This is totally up to the people involved, but you will need to decide on a dollar amount. It’s hard to find decent presents under $10 or $15, but if you are giving to office co-workers, that might be the perfect amount. If you are giving to close family members, you might consider a higher dollar amount like $50 or even $100. Just make sure there is no pressure and everyone is in agreement. You also want to discuss whether or not gag gifts will be allowed. This should be absolutely clear to everyone. I’ve heard heartbreaking stories of people who were upset when they bought a thoughtful gift and got a ridiculous gag gift like a bar of soap! So just make sure everyone agrees on whether to include comical gifts or not.
Rule 2: Make Wrapping a Big Deal
To add a little extra flavor to the experience, go all out on wrapping. Go festive with big bows or festive elements. If you have a very small item, perhaps you wrap it in a large box or an unusual container. I’ve heard of some people that get silly and wrap the gift multiple times so the recipient has to unwrap it again and again. There are lots of ways to make the wrapping entertaining to onlookers.
Rule 3: Place Gifts
You will need to place gifts in full view of all the guests so they can select from the pile. Any surface will do so long as it’s clean and everyone can access it when it is their turn to pick a gift.
Rule 3: Draw Numbers
Count the number of participants and write the numbers on little slips of paper. For example, for fifteen participants you’d write numbers one through fifteen. Fold the papers to obscure the number, then place the papers in a container. Then every person will draw a number from the container.
Rule 4: Gift Picking and Stealing
Starting with whoever drew number one, that person will pick any gift from the pile. They will open it in front of everyone. Then the gift picking will move to the number two person. That person can either pick a new gift to unwrap from the table or they can steal the unwrapped gift. If they select a new gift to unwrap, they cannot steal. The playing moves down the line chronologically and every player can steal any one of the previously unwrapped gifts or pick a new gift from the pile.
Some people like to make a rule that a particular gift cannot be stolen more than two or three times. This rule is totally optional, but it totally stops coveted gifts from making too many rounds. If a player’s gift is stolen, they then get to pick another gift to unwrap or they too can steal one of the opened gifts. They just can’t steal their own back. This continues until all players have gifts. At the end of the gift picking, the person who was number one can choose to steal any of the gifts!
Variations of Dirty Santa
Scavenger Hunt
This particularly fun in an office setting. Everyone must start at the entrance of the building or home you are in. Instead of drawing names, hide all the presents, and have people search for them. Participants can swap once with each other once all the gifts are found, but that’s it.
Musical Chairs
Have all guests sit or stand in a circle. Have some holiday tunes ready. A gift is entered into the circle as music plays and continues being passed around until the music stops. Whoever is holding the gift when the music stops, gets the gift and leaves the circle. This process continues until everyone has received a gift. The last person in the circle can either steal any of the opened gifts or take the remaining unopened gift.
A Themed Gift
You can play this using the same rules as classic Dirty Santa or White Elephant, but the gifts purchased have a theme. Maybe its a DVD, a holiday ornament, homemade gifts, or regifts. Use your imagination!
Karaoke Edition
Have everyone include a tag on their gift that has a Christmas Carol title on it. You can do this with or without a karaoke machine. Guests get in line and take turns selecting gifts from the gift table. However, they must sing the carol written on the gift they select before they can open it.
Christmas Break Out Games
Make sure everyone is okay with this before purchasing gifts. But you can turn the gifts into prizes and instead allow guests to win them in simple Christmas games or minute-to-win-it games. In fact, I’ve created some printable Christmas party games that you can purchase below. You can also set aside a few gifts for consolation prizes and set a rule that guests can play the games all they want, but can only win one gift.
Snowy Village Christmas Game Bundle
Whether you are taking your Christmas Party to the next level or just want some fun holiday-themed activities with your family, this bundle of ten printable Christmas games are sure to delight everyone!
For a full list of gift ideas, you can check out my blog post
However, here is a small list of ideas. If you are playing with both men and women, you’ll want to aim for unisex gifts. These are gifts that can be used or appeal to both. Here are some quick ideas all under $25.
Bar Tools – mixing cocktails is fun for everyone. While most bar tools run about $35-40 you can find inexpensive ones out there.
Electric wine opener – lots of people hate opening wine bottles. You can make it easy with an electric wine opener. Just $20
Cozy throw blanket – Who doesn’t love to cuddle up with a blanket? These are easy and a gift they’ll actually use!
Spice Set Gift Set – Whether its for cooking or grilling, spice sets are universal for every chef
Marble coasters – because we don’t want people to ruin our table
So now you know how to play Dirty Santa also known as White elephant and hopefully I’ve given you some additional ideas on how to switch things up. Full confession – I normally dislike gag gifts. If you’ve received and loved a gag gift, let me know in the comments. Happy Holidays!
Don’t forget to subscribe for future posts, free printables and fun giveaways! Let’s be friends!
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Coronavirus has changed the way holidays look. So today I’m sharing a fun Halloween activity that you can do and still socially distance. Download your free printable family Halloween scavenger hunt.
Happy Halloween friends! We have had our first serious cold front here in Texas where I live and it is awesome! I love sweater weather so much. Most of the time our Halloween in Texas is pretty warm still so I’m excited about this cold weather. Lots of people are altering how they do holidays this year. COVID has just totally turned our world upside down. Since we live one of the largest cities in the U.S. , we are seeing some escalation again.
If you want to do something fun that doesn’t require you to be exposed to a bunch of strangers, I think scavenger hunts are really fun. If you have a neighborhood that goes out all for Halloween, then take things outside for more fun. Otherwise, you can do this in your own yard or house. I’ve created a fun family Halloween scavenger hunt that you can print out and do at home. But first, let’s talk about some fun things you can do this Halloween (or should we call it Corona-ween) and still maintain distance from others.
Social Distancing Halloween Activities
Close But Apart Trick-or-Treating
Originally, I heard some people talking on social media about just leaving a bowl of candy on the porch for people to help themselves. This sounds like a great idea, but I know lots of people who have done this before pre-Corona for one reason or another and had horrible experiences. Some people, when left to their own devices, pour the whole bowl into their Halloween sacks. You see this kind of footage taped by RING cameras all the time. I’ve even seen parents doing it! Ugh! It’s sad that people do this, but people do!
So instead, set up a small table, bench or some other surface on your driveway or lawn. Then you can stand on your porch or near your door and monitor and great people like you normally would but at a safe distance. You can even put the candy in Ziplocks or treat baggies so everyone gets their fair share.
Also before you leave, don’t forget to download my fun Halloween I Spy game. You can do this cute activity inside while they eat their candy. Happy Halloween friends! Be safe. Before you leave, don’t forget to subscribe for future posts and subscriber-only goodies.
Candy Egg Hunt
If you’ve got some extra Easter eggs kicking around a closet, pull them out and fill them with candy just like you would do at Easter. Scatter them in your yard and let your kids find them. You could also have a glow in the dark version by covering the eggs in glow-in-the-dark paint. Additionally, you could also just put lots of glowsticks near the hidden egg areas.
Halloween Photo Backdrop
You can create a Halloween photo backdrop on your garage or the side of your house and allow others to come and take pictures against it. This way you can join in with all the Halloween fun, but you aren’t having to hand out anything. No contact! Of course, you can always leave a bowl of treats out next to it if you want.
Halloween Car Parade
You can organize it with your neighborhood, but everyone can give their cars a spooky makeover. Then a designated driver from each family can join in the caravan while the rest of the family gathers on the driveway or lawn to watch the haunted motorcade go by.
Skeleton Scavenger Hunt
This is a slightly different take on the printable scavenger hunt idea. This would probably be more fun with older kids or adults. Buy several of the full skeleton decorations found in stores. Disassemble the bones if needed. Scatter them over your house and or yard. Either individually or in teams, have participants find all the bones to complete their skeleton.
Halloween Watercolor Wall Art – Set of 4
It’s time to start decorating for Halloween and My Beautiful Mess Blog has a fun Halloween Watercolor Wall Art set to help get you started. This fun digital download set contains four individual 8×10 printable prints you can print and frame.
That brings us to my fun family Halloween scavenger hunt. Now, if you have a fun neighborhood that goes all out for Halloween, I say, take the scavenger outside and see what you can find. Additionally, you could always do a car version of the scavenger where you drive around neighborhood streets and try to spot these things.
But I think the easiest thing is to do the scavenger hunt in your house or at least around your property. One fun way to do it is to print out a scavenger hunt and give a copy to every participant. Select a place to be the finish line. To make it fun, have the participants start in different areas. First one to the finish line with all the items found, wins.
I hope you have a safe and happy Halloween. I’d love it if we became friends and you subscribed to my blog. I promise I don’t email too often and I send fun free stuff once a month. Thanks for reading!
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Are your kids bored this week? Download my free Halloween I Spy Printable for a for spooky Halloween activity that’s fun for all ages.
Hey Friends! We are in October and here in my house we are wondering how things will be different in 2020. This year, lots of things have looked differently. This year, we did all of our birthday parties on Zoom and we even had drive by parties. My husband and I have had to get pretty creative on how we can keep the kids entertained.
Personally, I’ve been creating lots of printables to keep my kids busy. Things that are low cost and certainly things that kill their boredom while social distancing. You see, I know many people have returned to relatively normal lives, but since we help my elderly parents, we are still strictly quarantining. I keep telling myself one day this will be all over!
So, I decided to create a fun Halloween I spy printable to add to our homeschooling activities. My kids love I spy games and they are so fun to do. But they are more than just fun, they are actually educational. So why are I spy games good for kids, you ask.
The Benefits of I Spy Games
It Builds Memory Skills
Memory games and I Spy games help your child fine-tune their photographic memory. When children search for the image in the maze of other pictures, they must use their visual memory to find the picture. Using I Spy activities really strengthens your child’s memory. This is essential for growing children. It can be really frustrating when children disobey us. But as a mom of two, I’ve learned that many times my kids don’t mean to disobey, they simply forget. Little ones still have budding brains and it has become really apparent to me as I’ve homeschooled that children really need memory training.
It Improves Focus
Children have to focus when they do an I spy game. Nearly all young children struggle with concentration and focus. That’s why training their minds to focus through games is so helpful. To them it is just play or a fun activity, but ultimately you are trying to get them used to focusing so it can carry over into school work and other life skills.
They Can Improve Counting Skills
Some I spy games, like the Halloween I Spy printable I’ve created for you, asks children to find the picture multiple times. This forces children to keep count. When you complete the I spy printable, have your child make tally marks as they find the picture.
Halloween Watercolor Wall Art – Set of 4
It’s time to start decorating for Halloween and My Beautiful Mess Blog has a fun Halloween Watercolor Wall Art set to help get you started. This fun digital download set contains four individual 8×10 printable prints you can print and frame.
I can recall when I started to teach my children colors. We did lots of color sorts. I’d give my child math counters of different colors and they would have to sort it into the coordinating colored bowl. Why? Because sorting helps your child not only decide what color it is, it helps them figure out what color it is not. The same is true for I spy. As your child sorts through the jumbled pictures, your child will have to hone in on the discrepancies, differences, and similarities between the pictures and ultimately decide if the picture is the same they are searching for or not. Your child will have to use visual discrimination to determine the differences.
How to Use The Halloween I Spy Printable
The printable is a US letter-sized document. I’ve made it into a PDF document you can download. You’ll need Adobe Acrobat or some other PDF viewing software. You can download Adobe Acrobat Reader for free here.
I’ve purposely made the pictures black and white. First, so that the images are harder to find. Secondly, so that your child can color them in when they find them. He or she can also put an “x” over the image if they’d rather not color. If it’s easier for your child they can also put little tally marks in the answer key if they want.
Thanks for reading today. I hope that you and your family have a safe and Halloween. Be sure to subscribe to the blog before you leave for giveaways, free printables and subscriber-only goodies!
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The Holidays don’t have to be chaotic. Do yourself a favor. Here are 12 things you can do right now to make Christmas less stressful.
The holidays can immediately bring to mind cozy thoughts of flickering candles, the glow of Christmas trees and time with family. But for many the thought of the holidays can also bring thoughts of stress, anxiety, and busyness. It can be very stressful for lots of reasons. For some, seeing family is stressful because of family conflicts. For others, money woes and the pressure of gift-giving is overwhelming when you are struggling to make ends meet. Lots of people struggle with the feeling that there is so much to do in such a little time. Whatever the reason, here are 12 things you can do right now to make Christmas less stressful.
Make a Budget
Money is always tight around the holidays. Once I started working as a teenager, I started to buy my own Christmas gifts for family and friends. To this very day, I make a budget and I can’t tell you how much it helps. Deciding upfront how much I am willing to spend sets the tone for how and where I will shop. On my Etsy shop and in my blog shop here, I have a printable Christmas Planner that contains a budget worksheet and covers all holiday expenses – travel, decorations, food, entertainment, gift-giving, Christmas portraits, postage, etc. Sometimes we only think about the gift-giving expenses and we fail to account for other expenses. Doing that means that our overspending creeps up and puts a lot of unnecessary financial pressure on us.
Seeing the numbers on paper, helps you to visualize where your money is going and where you can cut. For example, in tough years, I cut back on extra gifts to neighbors, teachers, and hostess gifts. I began to also see that money was trickling out of our pockets for food and entertainment. So we came up with cheaper alternatives to still enjoy festive events.
The other purpose for creating a budget is so that you will see how much money you will need. Very few of us have the cash flow to drop thousands of dollars all at once at Christmas time. It is far less stressful if you begin saving now a little out of every paycheck now. Even if it is only a small amount, it will add up over the next three months. There are lots of things you can buy now, so you have less expenses in December. As a special gift for you today, I’ve created this gift-giving budget printable. Just list out all the people you are giving gifts to and budget an amount. Then update it with your actual expenditures.
I have a confession. I love gift wrap. Like actual gift wrap. I hate using gift bags. I love wrapping presents in beautiful wrapping paper with big bows and gifts tags and tie-on-ornaments. That said, it means I have quite a big collection of wrapping paper, boxes, ribbon, and other things. I also have a closet where I keep it all organized. I know most people aren’t as neurotic as me. Normal people have three or four rolls of scotch tape kicking around various drawers, a few half-used rolls of wrapping paper laying in closets, and several sheets of gift labels with only three stickers left. I get it. However, I think lots of people underestimate how expensive wrapping materials are. I’m always shocked that wrapping paper can be around $5-7. A three-pack of Scotch tape is $4-5. Gift bags can be $3-6 each. It all adds up. Because many of us have these things tucked away in closets or scattered around the house, it’s easy to forget what we already have. We may also get ready to wrap at Christmastime and realize that the wrapping paper roll we had is crumpled and mostly unusable. That’s why one of the first things I do, is pull out all my gift wrap supplies and do an inventory. This way I use what I have and don’t overbuy. How many times have you bought something because you were unsure if you had it at home and didn’t want to make a trip back for it? Yup! I’ve done it too. In our uncertainty, we buy it out of convenience, but overspending is never convenient!
By the way, I made some FREE fun printable gift tags last year. You can print them out on your printer, hole punch and run some ribbon through them. You can use them year after year. I also have some FREE printable gift tags for teachers that you can attach to soaps and lotions. If you don’t have a gift wrap organizer, consider investing in one. They keep your wrapping supplies in good condition and make sure everything is in one place.
Create Your Christmas Card List
One thing you can do right now is update your address book for Christmas cards. Start reaching out to friends and family to see if addresses are still correct. Personally, I send handmade Christmas cards. In fact, this year marks twenty years of sending out homemade cards. It is a labor of love when you consider I send out about a hundred, plus I make some to sell in my Etsy shop. I start making them in September!
Perhaps you are lucky to just get ones from the store addressed and mailed. That’s okay! No matter what you send in the mail, it is special. That said, gathering addresses now makes things easier later. That way your ready to pop them in the mail as soon as you have them. If you want until December, you will find you will be waiting to hear back from people because they are busy too! Now is a great time to start gathering those things to make card-sending seamless later. You can also buy your postage now too. You don’t even have to run to the post office. USPS allows you to purchase your stamps online and they will send them to you in your mail. Sam’s Club also offers bulk USA forever stamps.
If you really want to get a head start on Christmas cards and you don’t plan on sending out a family photo card, you can even purchase digital Christmas cards. You download them, print them out either at home on your printer or send them to a print shop like FedEx, Staples, Office Max, etc and have them printed. I have several of them in my Etsy shop and they are completely editable. You can buy some envelopes and address them now so they are ready to go!
My printable planner has a helpful Christmas card list to help get your organized
Gather Shipping Supplies
If you will be mailing packages out, now is a great time to get set up for easy shipping. If you have the space, consider saving boxes over the next few months so you don’t have to purchase them. I start saving small Amazon boxes in September for Christmas packages. This is also a good time to get tape, save paper or bubble wrap and other shipping supplies you may need.
Also, just so you know, you can also print out your own shipping labels from USPS. I invested in a small scale years ago. I plug in my package measurements and weight and print out shipping labels online without ever having to go to the post office. You can even schedule a porch pick-up so you aren’t running packages to the post office. Easy peasy!
Set Up a Christmas Planner
If you have followed this blog for any amount of time, you know how much I love planners! Sorry, not sorry, friends. I used to be a very unorganized person, but during my twenties, I had an appointment based job. This really forced me to use a planner and organize my time better. Now, I couldn’t live without one! I created a Christmas Planner to help me stay organized during the holidays. I offer it here on the blog and on my Etsy shop. It comes with 34 printables to track gifts, inventory supplies and decorations, and menu planning. It also contains a party planning worksheet, budget worksheet, expense tracker, online order tracker, Black Friday wishlist, undated calendars, travel itinerary, and more!
Best of all, I’ve included a seven-week Christmas countdown that tells you exactly what you need to do that week to stay on task and keep things running smoothly. I know you’ll love it. I personally use it to plan everything for the holidays. All the printables are undated so you can buy once and use it year after year.
I also recommend creating an envelope, pocket or folder to save all your receipts for both expense tracking and for returns. I do this every year and it makes it so much easier to have everything in one place.
Buffalo Plaid Christmas Planner
Holiday stress got you down? Get organized this holiday with this beautiful buffalo plaid Christmas planner. This printable planner has thirty-four pages to help you manage your expenses, keep track of gifts, plan your parties and holiday menus and so much more. Inventory your decorations and create a Black Friday wish list. Use the undated monthly calendars to schedule activities and events. Best of all, use the countdown sheets to have a task list on everything you need to get done, week by week!
In Christmas of 2015, I was totally stressed out, One thing I had overlooked in preparing for Christmas was the space we would need. That year my oldest son was born and his birth brought in mountains of baby toys, books, clothes, and other things. It was his first Christmas so friends and family showered us with presents. Something I was very grateful for, but was overwhelmed by. It stressed me out to put things away only to find cramped closets and toy bins. Now I make decluttering part of my Christmas preparation. In September, I declutter closets and bedrooms. In October, I clean out the freezer and pantry to make room for all the holiday foods. Doing this ahead of time allows me to keep the house cleaner during the holidays because I have a place for everything. It also ensures I’m not overwhelmed after Christmas with all the new gifts.
Freezer Meals
The holidays always usher in busy evenings. There are school holiday programs, events and activities, get-togethers, and potlucks. That’s why one thing I do is prepare some freezer meals. Freezer meals are meals that you make ahead of time and pop in the oven when you are ready for it. It’s a much cheaper alternative to eating out when you are pressed for time. Casseroles are a great thing that typically warm up really well.
These are so easy to warm up even a husband can do it!
Take a look at some of these great posts for ideas:
If you don’t want to prep full meals another alternative it to chop and prep veggies and pre-marinate meats for cooking later.
Freeze Cookie Dough
Speaking of freezing, if you want you can also make various cookie doughs to freeze ahead of time. Sugar cookies, peanut butter cookies and chocolate chip cookies are just a few cookie doughs that can be frozen for months ahead of time. I normally make a few batches of cookie dough in October or early November and freeze it to make holiday baking easier in December. It is a big time-saver at Christmastime. Here is one of my favorite lists of make-ahead, freezable cookie doughs.
Shop for Holiday Outfits
Once, we near October, most stores begin to bring out holiday and stylish semi-formal attire. It doesn’t hurt to begin planning out the outfits you will need. Consider if you will be needing new clothes for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Will you be buying the kids or family matching pajamas? Consider if you will need outfits for holiday parties or for a holiday family photo shoot. Start browsing online for ideas, set a budget and if possible, go ahead and purchase the clothes to scratch this big time burglar ahead of time.
Book a Photographer
Now is also the time to start searching for a family photographer if you are doing family portraits this years. You may not be ready to book yet, and that’s okay, but it doesn’t hurt to start viewing portfolios and getting quotes. Some photographers get booked quickly, so it’s best to start looking into it early if you want to have the opportunity to pick a specific date. At the very least, even if you aren’t ready to firm up a date, you can get a quote so you can budget accordingly, but getting the leg work done early is a big help when the holidays hit.
Get a Head Start on Homemade Gifts
Homemade gifts are really nice to way a personal touch to the holidays. Even simple inexpensive items can become special when they become part of a fun gift basket. There are all kinds of things you can make and give for Christmas. In the past, I’ve made soaps, bath bombs, lemon and vanilla extract, coasters, and all kinds of other things. Homemade isn’t always cheaper. So make sure you you figure out how much gifts will cost before you commit to doing them. Here are a few fabulous lists of homemade gifts.
It may surprise some people to learn that I start shopping as soon as October starts. It is so much easier on both your pocket book and stress levels if you spread out your Christmas buying over a few months. That’s why I start shopping for things now. As soon as October hits I take my Christmas list and divide into fifths, then I get started buying for everyone.
The holidays don’t have to be stressful. I think the most important thing is to pace yourself and start early so you give yourself plenty of time to complete all the necessary things.
Thanks so much for reading. In the comments below, I’d love to hear what you do to get organized for the holidays. I give away lots of things around the holidays and so before you leave, be sure to subscribe below.
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