I've been thinking about my Compacting Christmas and what all I can stuff in my gift boxes in a big way.
In that vein I've spent a fair amount of time trolling for handmade craft/gift ideas to stuff into them. And let me tell you I've found the holiday craft site of my dreams (thank you Marie!!). If you are remotely crafty (and I mean that as in funky cool crafts sort of way) you NEED to check out this fantastic craft blog. Scroll through the November archives for endless holiday craft ideas and tutorials. I've basically been living here. I've found so many amazing holiday craft ideas... if only I had time (and two free hands) to make some of them.
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Baby is out of her mind and getting a chance to sit down and type is very difficult. But I will try. I might have to leave off in the midst and return later.... just a little fyi.
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You may recall that instead of spending 50ish bucks per person on my list (not counting Mr F or the kids) I've decided to send out gift boxes (using the USPS flat rate boxes... which are free and they will drop at your door and cost about $9 to ship out) filled with homemade treats, ornaments painted by the kiddos, and pictures. My plan is to divide my list into 3 groups and start sending out the first group the first week in December, followed by the 2nd group the 2nd week...and so on. This breaks up the stress of getting things out and makes the baking and crafting more enjoyable. There are a couple of side benefits of this shipping schedule... we'll be making our Christmas cookies all through the season instead of in a rush the week before Christmas.... some we'll send and some we'll eat ourselves. And we're allowing the recipients to start enjoying the season earlier too. I'm also thinking that this will put a much bigger emphasis on giving rather than getting for the kids. We'll be giving for 3 solid weeks before they get to open anything. In the past I've done all the shopping and wrapping and the *giving* part of Christmas was probably not even noticed by the kids.
So right now I'm still brainstorming what we can fit into the box to ramp up it's enjoyment value without upping the cost much.
Here are my plans:
2 kinds of cookies
caramel popcorn
painted ornaments
pictures of kids (some framed)
small toys for little kids on the list (under $5)
Christmas music CD (copied or a mix... new idea!)
I might try and make something like THIS for some people
I'm still working on ideas... send yours along!
Also my Compacting Christmas idea for Mr F and I is to make wish lists ($200-300 each). Then the week after Christmas we will buy the things on the list (when they are on sale) and whatever is saved... will be saved. We'll exchange stocking on Christmas.
History buff alert (hello Katieo) Black Blizzard was fascinating and I'm headed off to the library to get THIS.
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26 comments:
Yeah, I'm still having the Love-Hate with JK+8. She just makes me grind my teeth...and is it just me, or has Jon gone from a sleepy, mildmannered, relatively harmless guy to a burgeoning douchebag?
Totally into the Duggers, though. I'm fascinated by the non-kissing engaged kids -- could they find more karma sutra-ish ways to hold hands??? Maybe it's a "when you lose one sense the others become heightened" kind of thing? It's straight on hand porn, yo. And I love that the parents admit to getting frisky before they got married -- refreshing.
Wishing a long nap for you today!
Sorry, "kama" sutra...I'm still a little drugged up today.
I have been meaning to ask if you watch the Duggers...I am totally enthralled with them. Despite some pretty fundamental differences, I find them so charming (not in a condescending way), and their life kind of appealing. My husband thinks I'm nuts.
Haley, I agree about how refreshing it was to see Michelle and Jim-Bob admit to their sordid past! Loved it!
Haley,
Oh it's not just you re: douchebag
I loved that whole engagement episode. You just knew if they were left alone they'd be gettin' it on! I especially enjoyed when one of the daughters was like "they'll be having babies right away". And I have to say cousin Amy is a fantastic feature of the show in general... she cracks me up.
Jen,
I just started watching it. I'm fascinated by all their stuff... crazy actual school cafeteria style food serving room, pantry, indoor play structure, freaking laundromat.
They do come across fairly normal for being kinda kooky.
I'm partial to Jinger who seems to roll her eyes the most ;)
Plus last night I found out Jim Bob only has ONE brother ... and that both his parents and her parents were not into their lifestyle choices for awhile.
probably your funniest video yet between the "Hoe Balls" and kids love life oh and the life Ins. lapse comments (btw we each have 500, so I can take the vacation of a lifetime when Mr. kicks the bucket)also that Duggar family=fascinating, I have to say your right on with the whole purity ball crazy wacko thing these parents are setting their kids up for major rebellion, this is coming from experience in my own life of the 9 kids in my family there are 5 who are of age to actually know what sex is and 4 of us have had premartial sex the stats arent looking to good.
I guess I should have said my parents push abstinence like crazy.
Andrea,
Interesting about your family!
Kind of what I liked about the Duggars was the acknowledgment that you would want to have premarital sex and that you need to help them avoid it (if that's the goal). Whereas the purity girls seemed to be taught that you are *bad* if you give in... and of course they have no sex education... so... pregnancy seems pretty likely.
Plus I have serious issues with crazy early marriage as a way to get around the whole premarital sex issue.
You're not even getting into the whole fucking creepy/shallow "princess" aspect of those purity freaks...
Shorter Purity Dad: "The only thing that matters for girls is beauty and chastity."
Awesome!
your Christmas Compacting plan sounds great!
Do you and Mr. F spend $200-300 on each other? Holy shit, we don't even exchange gifts.
Julie,
probably. Sometimes Mr F gets things that are MUCH more money (like his cameras). But I think if you add up all the little stuff it is probably 2-300.
Sitting in my hotel room in Dallas and getting caught up on tons of missed video Mrs F!
I've been watching JK+8 and I'm not really sure why. Ever since you told us to go "here" and "here" for the other blogs about them....I've found Kate to be a big BI-ACH instead of just super annoying. And Jon is a total douchebag! If I were married to Kate (assuming I was Jon, of course)...I'd lay that bitch out cold for talking to me the way she does. On camera no less!
Now the Duggars - I didn't like them when it was just a special and she was on # 14 or something but I'm loving the show. How can you not love a man named Jim-Bob?
And that Jinger rocks! I loved when they had that other family over that had 17 kids and they were talking about the Tahoe with the pimped out rims - the oldest kid from the other family said he believed the vehicle might have been used for the illegal sale of pharmacuticals (sp???). Too funny!
Chrissy
Chrissy,
The fact that his name is actually Jim-Bob does give me a little chuckle every time they say it.
And I concur the pimped out ride was hilarious.
Why are they so rich? I haven't quite figured that out yet...
They own several pieces of commercial property/buildings that they lease out. A cell phone company also leased a piece of their land to put their cell phone tower on. They only shop second hand and pay for everything in cash. Even the pimped out SUV and tour bus was paid for in cash. And...they're making $$ from the show.
I'm sure they'll be writing a book before long...
I saw the JK+8 at the airport this morning - it's all about them getting married and having all those kids - up to age 2. It was in the Inspiration section (I was walking thru the bookstore as I left Starbucks - I didn't actually stop at the Inspiration section on purpose.). I read that they're all upset that they can't be more "Christian-centric" on the show. Did they move to NC?
I meant the JK+8 book. I saw it in the book store this morning.
Chrissy,
"I didn't actually stop at the Inspiration section on purpose"
Yeah yeah yeah ... that's what they all say ;)
I'm obsessively reading the Duggar's website RIGHT now! He was a State Rep and ran for Congress. Crazy.
I didn't watch the video yet, but I loved the scarf...you knew I would!!! You can do it!!!
I love the Duggars, but could they rub it in any more...we get it, you're fertile...
re: Purity Balls...useless...I could have been having sex the whole time without fear of getting pregnant, its like a cruel joke.
haha! There is a family in my neighborhood with 17 kids.
I'll check out Black Blizzard.
(and p.s. your last comment on my blog about Mr F. ripping up the carpet made me laugh out loud.)
hoe balls!! That is really funny. And the talk about Kid not being a lesbian. So funny.
Katieo,
Black Blizzard was fascinating. You'll be into it.
And the carpet is a sad sad reality. Even after it got ripped up I could still smell the smell... and we never got around to re-capeting until we sold the house.
Kiki,
"I could have been having sex the whole time without fear of getting pregnant, its like a cruel joke."
poor Kiki :(
but we don't know if that's true do we?...
Julie,
I guess proms kind of already are hoe balls...
Hey Mrs F - Just saw this on another blog and thought it might be something for you and your compacting Christmas! http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2008/11/fabric-fridge-frame.html
Claudia,
Thank you! I'll go check it out!
I love your compacting Christmas ideas--and that link is great (I skimmed the first page, but will be going back tonight!).
My dh and I always fill each other's stockings at Christmas and it is so much fun! (We don't exchange Christmas gifts because we pretty much get what we want throughout the year, LOL!).
Kid might have fun with this craft - I'll try to take a photo of ours and post it over on my sadly neglected little blog. It's called a "Grumpy Grownup". It's basically Christmas in a salt shaker, and the idea is apparently that kids 'shake' it on the heads of grumpy grownups to get them in the holiday spirit. Mine think it's hysterical. Not quite sure where it came from, but it's really cute.
Basically, it's a clear glass salt shaker (this one looks like a standard diner style one), with a small piece of cardboard set under the holes (on the inside) to keep anything from really coming out. Inside are lots of tiny Christmas-y things. This one has:
1) cotton ball snowman face, with construction paper nose and inked on eyes and mouth
2) bits of fake evergreen sprigs
3) glitter
4) christmas confetti
5) a small pipe cleaner candy cane
6) a tiny bell
7) a little wooden snowman
8) a little wooden house
9) a mitten foam cutout
etc.
Anyway, you get the idea. It would probably be cheapest to buy the shakers online somewhere, like a restaurant supply place. The stuff inside could be almost anything small and Christmas-themed.
My kids love it, and I have to admit it makes me smile every time I see it, so I'd bet almost anyone would enjoy having one around for the holiday season to help them get back in the mood when things get stressful. :)
Plus, it would be fun and easy for kids to make. I think I've just talked myself into it for teacher/daycare gifts!
Gotta say...watched that Purity Ball thing and it was freaky. If you wnant to wait until marriage, i think thats great. But the whole dad thing, with him picking the man out, and the girls being his beautiful pure princesses...creepy. And the lack of any sex ed...its just trouble (imo).
And what about the fact that the FIRST intimite thing you EVER do is in front of EVERYONE at your wedding??? And never mind that you will go from your first kiss to losing your virginity in one night...now thats a lot of emotions/physicalness to go through in one day.
Oh, and JK+8..i watch in fast forward now. ever since those links it just bugs me...but i can't stop watching totally either!
Mrs. F, if you liked Jinger in the episode you watched, you'll love her in the one where she learns to drive.
Wootini - the shaker idea is so cute! I might need to keep one on my desk at work and use it on myself :)
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