Did you notice I was missing the last few days?! We just switched over to a new phone system and because of the old phone company error turning off our phone early, we haven’t had internet or phone access since last Thursday! Let me tell you–I don’t know what people did without internet access. I found that I missed even small things–looking up an ingredient in a recipe, how to do this and that–let alone missing all the sweet deals listed. I missed a lot of good ones last week because of it.

But now I’m back and getting back on track. Don’t forget to sign up to win a beautiful locket necklace from Meredith Fenwick Designs–ends this Friday, Jan. 22.

 

Get a free lip item (C.O. Bigelow and Liplicious, up to $8.00 value) with any purchase at Bath & Body Works. The printable coupon doesn’t specify a minimum purchase so you can find some small item or sale item and get a great deal. These make terrific stocking stuffers or extras for year-round gifts.

Bath & Body Works printable coupon for free lip item

Disney now offers interactive online books of their classic and newer stories. You and your children can look and listen or create your own story with the Story Builder. You can try 8 Disney Digital Books for free when you register.

Register at Disney Digital Books for your free books

Thanks to Delightful Chaos!

Here are some great resources for creating homemade gifts and Christmas gifts on a budget:

• Last Minute Homemade Christmas Gifts

• 39 Low Cost Kitchen Crafts

• Angel Crafts

• Quick & Easy Christmas Craft Projects

‚Ä¢ Santa’s Guide to Easy Christmas Crafts for Kids

• 34 Holiday Ideas for Gifts in a Jar

• 50 Christmas Cookie Recipes

• Quick and Easy Knitting Patterns

• Quick and Thrifty Crochet

Photo from www.favecrafts.com

MarthaStewart.com has instructions on how to build these no-bake gingerbread houses. So cute! They’d be so much fun to make with the kids and give to their teachers, etc.

Instructions on No-Bake Gingerbread Houses

Photo from www.marthastewart.com

Mercury Magazines offers free magazines for those that qualify and right now they are offering 1-yr subscriptions to Weight Watchers Magazine. I’m not sure how often they change their offers so act quickly.

Get your free Weight Watchers Magazine Subscription

Thanks to Macomb Money Savers!

 

Author: Aaron Hu

If you have a young family one thing that you want to do is create your own special traditions. This may not seem much but the Christmas traditions that your family keep are part of its history and identity as much as other families have Kwanza or Hanukah. The traditions that your family create is a way of making and preserving memories and strengthening the bond between each other. Here are some great suggestions that your family can take advantage of in creating your own holiday customs and traditions.

Look to your family history. If you and your husband both have families that celebrate Christmas you definitely have some holiday traditions that each family always did as the holiday season came around. Try to see how you can adapt these customs for your own family. It may be that by merging to things that both your families did you can come up with something completely unique and special. For example you can combine singing Christmas Carols with karaoke to have a family holiday Karaoke. It can be even using dishes that both of your families had as part of their holiday dinners.

Your tradition does not have to be grand and complicated. It can be as simple as singing a special Christmas song or hanging a specific type of tree ornament. The point is that the act has meaning for everyone. Sometimes a holiday traditions has a story. It can be that the family had to do without a common holiday item and the substitute that was used became the new favorite so you use it every Christmas. It can also be that something special happened when your family watched a certain holiday program. Even the simplest act can be a meaningful tradition because of the cherished memories behind it.

You can make whole new traditions based on your own experiences. For example my mother always loves the melody of the Christmas tree song but not the lyrics. So from then on we always sang it as a unique hymn with the words she wrote. She even did a version in my grandmother’s native language. Putting your own unique spin on an idea can often create surprising and pleasing results.

You can also look to friends for inspiration. You may not have done much for Christmas, but think of things that your friends did with their family that you liked. You might even have some special traditions that you did and still do as friends. No source of inspiration is too small or ordinary to help inspire you to create your own special Christmas custom.

You can make your holiday custom to be making a difference in your custom. If you want to do something meaningful for your family tradition you can do something like volunteering every Christmas at your favorite charity. It can be visiting sick kids on Christmas Day or working at the local soup kitchen for the homeless. Each of these ideas is great ways to add meaning and make great memories during the holidays

Something special you can do this holiday season as a new Christmas tradition is to have your kids receive a special letter from Santa Claus. It does not cost much and you can get the letters personalized. It is just another way to make your kids feel extra special this holiday season. (Print-your-own FREE Letters from Santa)

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I’m not a big gum chewer and I’m less of a fruity gum chewer than mint. But when Trident contacted me to see if I would be interested in trying their new Layers gum, I jumped at the chance. They sent me both the Wild Strawberry + Tangy Citrus and the Green Apple + Golden Pineapple. I was pleasantly surprised!

The gum is actually built in layers of flavor. The mixture of fruits is delicious and doesn’t fade for quite sometime. Then when it does fade, it doesn’t taste nasty like a lot of fruity gums I’ve tried. It does have a bit of a “sweetener” flavor, but I don’t think it’s any more than other sugar-free gums. I liked the Green Apple + Golden Pineapple better but my 2 gum-loving children preferred the Wild Strawberry + Tangy Citrus.

Trident Layers is sugar free and comes in packs of¬†14 1.25″¬†sticks and you can find it in most grocery and mass merchandisers (ie. Walmart, Target).

Visit the Trident Gum website for a $.75 off printable coupon

Disclosure: Thanks to Trident who provided me with 2 packs of Trident Layers gum for review. The opinions expressed in this review are mine and are not influenced by anyone else.

Please don’t forget to vote for my Cadeau (Gift) de Brie at the Ile de France Gourmet Cheese Bash for Cash, if you haven’t already. Read the details in my post about it. Thank you!!

* Click on the name of each recipe to view it, and rate it by selecting the star rating – from one to five – you think it deserves. Each voter is allowed one vote per recipe. Your rating is recorded in the system once you have selected a rating for the first time, so choose wisely!

Vote for my brie

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