Christmas Rapping

Christmas Binders-- Inspiration and Downloads for Your Own!

2014-10-13T08:00:00.000-04:00

Last year we took our first family trip to Disney World, and we had a ball. While I was doing research and planning our trip, I discovered an amazing website called WDW Prep School. If you're planning a trip to Walt Disney World, I would HIGHLY recommend you visit her site. One of my favorite things on her site is a post about her Disney World Binder, which also has links to tons of downloads that you can use to make your own Disney Binder. So being a binder fan, I started my own Disney Binder and revisited that post many times to help find what I needed to plan our trip. I loved the post so much that it started me thinking that I would love to be able to offer a resource like that for Christmas Binders. Which brings us here!

I have long been a fan of Christmas Binders. Whether your Christmas preparations are on a grand scale or a simple one, a Christmas Binder can help you keep track of everything. The beauty of the Christmas Binder is that they are totally customizable to every situation. Maybe you just need a place to keep track of your gift giving, Christmas card lists, and recipes. Or maybe you want a place to keep all those magazine clippings and printed out photos from the Internet to help inspire your decorating. Whatever it is that you want to keep track of, a Christmas binder is a great way to do it.

I started my own Christmas Binder several years ago, and I use it every year. My binder has up until recently been divided into the following sections:

Gifts (While the last couple years I have used an app to keep track of my gifts, this is still a great place to keep receipts)
Recipes
Decorations
Traditions
Christmas Card Lists

I've decided that it is high time I replaced my sad old plain Christmas binder with a new fancy one. I've spent a lot of time looking at the binders on Zazzle-- there are thousands-- and so far, these are the ones I like the most.

Shabby chic kitchen Christmas holiday recipe binde Binder by CulinaryNoteCards
Look at Shabby chic Binders online at Zazzle.com

Vintage santa Christmas holiday recipe binder by CulinaryNoteCards
Browse Shabby chic Binders online at Zazzle.com

TWO binders, you say? Have you gone off the deep end?

Maybe.

But I can tell you that I would love having a binder dedicated to holiday recipes. I plan to use it for both Thanksgiving and Christmas (which is why it's called Holiday Recipes, and not Christmas Recipes). I am dividing the recipes into sections like a cookbook-- appetizers, breakfast, main course, sides, desserts, etc. And I have made an agreement with myself only to include the recipes that are tried and true family favorites. This is not the place to keep those clipped, untried recipes out of a magazine. Just the favorites.

Now I can expand the information in my other binder to include more planning and decorating information. This is important, especially because I tend to forget from one year to the next what I did that worked and what I did that didn't work. Having a place to keep photos and notes from year to year saves lots of trouble.

If you want to start your own Christmas binder, or even if you already have one started, then I hope you'll find something useful in this list of downloads. My main criteria for choosing which links to include was that they be free, and that they be useful. Most of them are variations on a theme, but hopefully you can find one in each section with a design you like. Be sure to check out the links in the Planning Page Collections section, because they each have multiple downloads. Happy planning!

Planning Page Collections:

(These are links to sites that have created sets of planning pages for you to download. Most of these include recipe/meal planning pages, gift lists, Christmas card lists, and calendars.)

Printable Cover Pages and Dividers:

Calendars:

Food/ Menu Planning:

Decorations and Decorating:

Gifts:

Budget:

Christmas Cards/Newsletters:

Other helpful planning pages:

Advent:

Thanksgiving:

See more Christmas themed binders at Zazzle.com

Browse other gifts from Zazzle.
(Note: If you use my referral link Zazzle will pay me a referral fee.)

Freezer Meals for Small Freezers

2014-09-08T08:00:00.000-04:00

I live in the South (the American South, for those of you who are tuning in from around the world) and in the South it is somewhat commonplace to have a deep freezer. It might be in the garage or on the back terrace, or maybe in the utility room-- but it's rarely in the house. If you are getting ready to Google "deep freezer" because you don't know what I'm talking about, it's a separate freezer unit that gets much colder than the freezer in a typical refrigerator/freezer combo does. This allows frozen foods to keep much longer.

However, I didn't have my own deep freezer until a couple years ago. Up until then, all I had was the rather small freezer attached to my refrigerator. The problem that I ran into a lot was that many of the "freezer cooking" guides that I saw online required a lot more freezer space than I had. Once a month cooking? Not gonna happen.

So I had to get a little creative in order to utilize the space more effectively. If you're in the same situation, you may find it difficult to follow along if your Christmas Planning Guide requires doing a lot of cooking ahead and freezing. Here are a few tips on maximizing your freezer space that I've gathered and learned throughout the years.

Freeze Prepped Ingredients

Keep an eye on the sales at the grocery store, especially on meat. I like to buy bone-in chicken, poach it, shred it, and freeze it in two-cup amounts (two cups is usually what my recipes call for-- you may want to do more or less). When you need it, you can thaw out the amount you need and assemble a recipe much quicker. The same goes for ground beef-- you can brown it before you freeze it and use it later for tacos, casseroles, soup, or whatever. And the good news is that they won't take up much space, because you can freeze them in bags and lay them flat.

I've seen a ton of recipes on Pinterest for putting meat and vegetables together in a gallon bag that you can freeze and later throw together in the crockpot. I can't personally vouch for any of those because I've never tried them. I would probably try the recipe once first to see if it was something my family liked, rather than invest a lot of time and money into untried recipes. But you're welcome to do whatever makes you happy.

Freeze Fillings, Sauces and Soups

If you have a favorite recipe for a casserole, enchiladas, or quesadillas (to name a few), the next time you cook it, make twice the filling amount and freeze half for later. For instance, I might make enough chicken pot pie filling to make two pies, but it doesn't really freeze well with the crust on. Plus a casserole takes up a lot of space in a small freezer. So instead, freeze the extra filling in a quart or gallon bag. Then you can thaw the filling, put it in a casserole dish, make the crust, and voila-- super easy and fast dinner.

Quesadillas are even easier, because you can thaw the filling, slap it in between a couple tortillas, toast it in a frying pan and call it dinner. Enchiladas take a little more work to assemble, but having the filling prepped and ready is still a huge time saver.

My husband hails from an Italian family and he makes a fantastic marinara sauce. Whenever he makes it, he makes a ton so that we can freeze several containers of it. We used to use glass jars, but we had a few accidents with not leaving enough "breathing room" in the jar for the sauce to expand as it froze. And nobody wants shards of glass in their spaghetti. Then I found some plastic containers by Ball that are specifically for freezing. They even have the measurements printed on the outside of the container so you know exactly how much is in each one. Now whenever we want a quick and easy dinner, we just thaw a jar, boil some pasta, and dinner is done. Make a green salad to go with it if you're feeling extra industrious.

Most soups freeze well, as long as they don't contain pasta. If they do contain pasta, make the soup base and freeze it without the pasta, then add it later when reheating. I usually do this even if I'm not freezing it, because if you want it for leftovers the next day, the pasta will suck up the moisture in the soup overnight. That's no fun.

Freeze in Foil

If you do want to freeze a whole casserole, instead of freezing in disposable aluminum pans, line a casserole dish with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Make sure you leave enough extra on the sides to wrap up around the top of the casserole. Assemble your casserole on top of the aluminum foil, then put the whole thing in the freezer for a couple of hours. You can then pull the casserole out of the dish by the aluminum foil and wrap the foil around it to protect it from freezer burn. You may even want to add a layer of Saran Wrap around the outside. When you're ready to cook it, take the frozen casserole (remove the plastic wrap first) and put it back in the dish you froze it in. Then you can thaw it and cook it right in the aluminum foil. (Easier clean up, too!)

I like this method because a.) aluminum foil is less expensive than individual aluminum pans, and b.) the individually frozen casseroles stack more neatly in a small freezer, whereas casseroles in aluminum pans might collapse on top of each other.

Lastly, here are a few common-sense tips for freezer cooking:

Label everything with the contents, date frozen, amounts (if you're freezing ingredients), and any cooking instructions. You'll thank yourself later.
Organize your freezer shelf-by-shelf so that you can find things more easily later. Put vegetables on one shelf, meats on another, breakfast items together, etc. Do it however it makes the most sense to you.
If you're freezing ingredients, keep everything you need for each recipe together.
Cheese freezes well as long as it's already shredded. Whole blocks of cheese will crumble when they thaw.

What are your favorite freezer cooking tips?

In Search of the Best Christmas List iOS App

2013-11-18T11:41:00.000-05:00

This year I joined the masses and got an iPhone and an iPad. That's right folks, up until this year my cell phone only made calls and sent texts. Can you imagine? How did I survive?

Well actually, I've had an iPod Touch for the last few years which accomplished the things that my basic cell phone didn't. But it is a lot more convenient to not have to carry two devices around.

The last couple of years I've used an app called Santa's Bag to keep track of my Christmas gift lists. And I was pleased with it, although they did a big update last year that changed the way the interface looked and I didn't love it as much. It was more cluttered looking to me.

So this year I decided to try out several different Christmas list apps and see which one I liked best. I tried six new apps, that range in price from free to $1.99. Since I have an iPad, I was also interested in seeing which ones work on both platforms. Here's how they shake out!

Gift It- A Christmas Shopping List

Cost: Free

Compatible with: iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch

My rating: 1 out of 5

Features:

Create a list for each recipient
List the name of each gift you plan to buy and the price.
Cross off the items as they're bought.

Features Unique to this App:

None

Drawbacks:

Very little functionality
Lots of annoying ads
No password option

Summary:

This is basically a list making app with a Christmas tree on it. The description on iTunes promises that there's a big update coming with a lot of new features. I may update this review once that's released, but as of now I don't recommend downloading this app, even for free.

***************************************

My Christmas List

Cost: $0.99

Compatible with: iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch

My rating: 2 out of 5

Features:

Enter gift information along with the recipient's name and their relationship to you.
Set individual budgets for each person on your list.
Keep information on each gift including a description, price, and store.
Mark each gift with a checkmark as it is bought.
Sort gifts by store.
Create an account and manually sync information across devices.
Password protected

Features Unique to this App:

Also includes a calendar function so that you can enter events, dates, times, locations and description.

Drawbacks:

Does not have the ability to upload pictures of your recipients or of gifts.
There is no group function as is common with other gift apps. This means every recipient on your list is grouped together alphabetically, which makes it more difficult to navigate.
No archive function
Can't assign gifts to multiple recipients
No way to edit recipients' names, and the app comes loaded with several "example" names that you can only get rid of if you mass delete everything.

Summary:

This is such a basic app that I really believe it should be free. It would make more sense to offer this level of functionality in a free app, with the option to upgrade to a pro version for more features. However, I do like the inclusion of a calendar function.

***************************************

Better Christmas List
Cost: $1.99

Compatible with: iPhone and iPod Touch

My rating: 3 out of 5

Features:

Countdown at the top of the screen tells you how many days left until Christmas
Enter a photo for each recipient, and assign them to custom groups
You can set budgets either by group or by individual recipient
Enter a photo for each gift, the price, and the store where you plan to (or already have) purchased it
A progress bar on each gift allows you to select an empty shopping cart to signify "need to buy," a full shopping cart for "bought," a gift for "wrapped," and a package for "shipped."
Password protected
Archive and export data

Features Unique to this App:

A stocking next to each recipient "fills up" as you purchase gifts, which is cute.

Drawbacks:

You can't assign the same gift to multiple people
Views are very basic compared to other paid apps

Summary:

This app is basically good, but lacks the kind of features you would expect for a paid app. The other $1.99 app that I reviewed (see below) is a much better bang for the buck.

***************************************

mGifts- Gift List Manager

Cost: $0.99

Compatible with: iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch

My rating: 4 out of 5

Features:

Personalize everyone on your list with their picture and their birthday.
Set individual budgets for each person on your list.
Keep information on each gift including a description, price, store, notes, and a picture.
Keep track of the status of each gift under the recipient's profile- you can file them under "need," "purchased," "wrapped," and "shipped."
You can also keep an idea file for each recipient and archive gifts once the year is over.
Sync data to iCloud and it will transfer your information across your devices instantly.
Password protected

Features Unique to this App:

You can create events to keep track of gift giving year-round-- birthdays, anniversaries, and other holidays.

Drawbacks:

Interface is clean and functional, but not very festive.
You can't assign the same gift to multiple people. So basically, if you are buying the same item for several teachers on your list, you will have to enter that information multiple times.

Summary:

While this app is functional, it didn't really wow me. The interface is so plain that it makes it less fun to enter all my gift information. However, I do like that you can sync your information across devices so that you can access it from both your phone and iPad.

***************************************

* Best Free App *

No More Socks: The Christmas List Genius
Cost: Free, or $2.99 to upgrade to add-free

Compatible with: iPhone and iPod Touch

My rating: 4 out of 5

Features:

Personalize everyone on your list with their picture and their birthday.
Set individual budgets for each person on your list.
Keep information on each gift including a description, price, store, notes, and a picture.
Keep track of the status of each gift under the recipient's profile-- put a checkmark next to "purchased."
You can also keep an idea file for each recipient and a general idea file.
Password protected

Features Unique to this App:

You can actually search stores from inside the app to find the best prices and bookmark each site. This is an incredibly helpful feature!

Drawbacks:

You can't assign recipients to groups, although you can accomplish the same thing by creating different "events" for each group of recipients.
This is an app that is meant to be used year-round, so it's not really Christmas-y looking.

Summary:

For a free app, this has a great deal of functionality. I love the search-within-the-app feature. I wish it had a Christmas-y color scheme, but it's free so I can't complain.

***************************************

* Best Paid App *

The Christmas List
Cost: $1.99

Compatible with: iPhone and iPod Touch

My rating: 5 out of 5

Features:

Enter a photo and budget for each recipient, and assign them to custom groups
See each group's total budget and number of gifts bought/to buy
Enter gifts one at a time or quick add many gifts at once
Enter a photo and the cost of each gift, along with the store where you plan to buy it-- the app comes already loaded with many popular stores to choose from, or you can enter your own
Email your lists directly from the app
Keep track of the status of each gift by marking it "to do," "purchased," "wrapped," "shipped," or "received."
Assign a gift to multiple recipients (great for teacher gifts or when you buy the same thing for multiple people!)
Archive data after Christmas is over
Password protected

Features Unique to this App:

Quick add feature lets you enter many gifts at once
Assign an importance to each gift by selecting "maybe," "definitely wants," or "must have"
View gifts to be purchased by store for easier shopping
See your progress at a glance (with a pie chart!)
You can select the background from a variety of options

Drawbacks:

The iTunes store says it is compatible with iPad, but it would not download on mine. I would love to have this on my iPad!

Summary:

This app has pretty much everything I could ask for in a Christmas gift app. It has amazing functionality, especially for budgeting. The app itself is visually appealing and easy to navigate. When I started trying out all the apps, I entered the same information into each app so that I could get a feel for each one. It was so easy to use this app that almost before I even realized what was happening I started using it almost exclusively. I highly recommend this app if you're looking for an easy and effective way to keep track of your gift-giving this Christmas season!

***************************************

Gearing Up For the Holidays

2013-10-21T11:56:00.000-04:00

Can you believe it's almost the end of October? Many of you have already begun your Christmas planning and preparation, and are chugging ahead toward a fun and enjoyable holiday season. But I'll be honest, I have not. For one thing, we just took our first family trip to Walt Disney World at the end of September, and it absorbed my every waking thought for months. And then I experienced the post-trip let down, which is to be expected. But I've been so caught up in Disney magic that I haven't even thought about Christmas. Which is weird, my friends. I'm always thinking about Christmas!

This weekend I got bit by the Christmas bug, so I've started thinking more about Christmas planning. As it happens, the FlyLady's Cruise Through the Holidays starts today, so she's been posting several of her essays about holiday planning on her Facebook page. If you've never read any of FlyLady's essays, I encourage you to go do it. Especially if you're skeptical about planning ahead. She just might make you change your mind!

This morning I read her essay "A Stress Free Gift For You" and it made me start thinking-- what would make my holiday season more stress-free? I'm talking about both Thanksgiving and Christmas. And the first thing that popped into my head was "clear the clutter." Now, if your house is perfect all the time, or if you were born organized, this will probably not apply to you. But I have two daughters who bring home school papers, have toys, art supplies, and what-have-you that get strewn all over the house. And then there's the clutter that my husband and I add to it, albeit unintentionally. Add that up and you've got a clutter monster that I am constantly fighting. FlyLady calls it "Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome," or "CHAOS."

In a short month, it will be time for Thanksgiving, and my family has Thanksgiving at our house. My house can't be in CHAOS for that. So I am committing today to tackle a little bit of clutter at a time for the next few weeks, so that my house will be clutter free by the time Thanksgiving rolls around, and stay that way for the Christmas season. It's hard to decorate around clutter!

I'll try to post updates on my Facebook page if anyone is interested in following along. Please feel free to join me. And let me know what would make your holidays more stress-free. Let's de-stress together!

New Address, Same Blog!

2013-08-10T13:13:00.001-04:00

First of all, I have a new web address-- www.christmasrapping.com. I've had my eye on it for a couple years, but someone else already owned it (with a placeholder website on it) so I had to wait for it to expire and then hope that it would become available for purchase. And it did, so yay!

Summer has started to wind down, which means it's time to start thinking about Christmas! I've updated my guide to the most popular Christmas planning sites. Many of the plans have changed in the last couple years, so you might want to take a look at them again and see which one might be right for you.

Also, make sure you're following me on Facebook and Pinterest! I've got some fun pictures from this summer that I hope to put up on Facebook soon (hint: there are several from my latest trip to St. Nick Nack's!) Also, I'd love suggestions on what you'd like to see on my blog. Do you need a tutorial? Ideas for decorating? Directions to Target? Just let me know, and I'll do my best to help you out!

Merry Christmas!

2012-12-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

Wishing you all a Joyous Christmas! Enjoy this special day!

Capturing December: Photo-A-Day Challenge

2012-12-01T15:33:00.001-05:00

Happy December 1st! If you're like me, this is the point where the snowball effect starts to happen-- it's December 1st, and then all of a sudden it's Christmas Eve and you have NO idea where the last three weeks just went.

Well, here's a great idea to help you stop and celebrate every day this month. It's the Capturing December: Photo-A-Day Challenge, hosted by A Content Housewife.

I'm accepting the challenge, and I'll be posting my photos either here or on my Facebook page. (Which you should go like, by the way.)

Today's theme is "Your View Today." I would like to subtitle it "Honesty," because my house is a big mess and I'm about to give you photographic proof. And also, in the next couple weeks when I post pictures of everything finished and beautiful and clean, you will know that it is an illusion and that my house only looked like that for the .5 seconds it took to take that picture, and then my children probably came along and dumped building blocks all over the floor or I got several boxes from UPS or something else happened to make it not perfect. And that's okay, because this is our house, not a museum. We live in it. You know what I mean?

Exhibit A: The Dining Room

For those of you who don't know, I am a consultant for Biltmore Inspirations and the company is going out of business on December 15th. These boxes represent business supplies that I have to figure out what to do with. And just so you know, everything is 40%-75% off right now, and if you'd like to check out the sale you can do so on my website.

Exhibit B: The Front Room aka Parlor aka Living Room

This room is all turned around. The love seat that usually goes in here has been relocated to the den in order to make room for the Dickens Village table and the Christmas Tree.

Exhibit C: The Foyer

The boxes with the red tops are my ornament storage. They need to go back in the attic. The blue box has the garland that needs to go around my front doors. And the other boxes are Christmas gifts.

Exhibit D: The Den

This is the room that we use the most, therefore it is the room that has the most stuff in it. I had to move some stuff in order to make room for the tree, and I have not yet figured out where to put the displaced stuff. Also I need to vacuum. And hang the stockings. And finish the mantel. I'm tired, y'all.

Tomorrow is an easy one-- my favorite Christmas movie!

Granny's Sideboard Sweets

2012-11-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

My Granny was the epitome of a Southern lady, and she loved Christmas. Growing up, I always looked forward to visiting her and my Pop in Alabama at Christmastime.

Granny always kept an array of Christmas goodies on the sideboard in her dining room. Coconut cake, red velvet cake, Japanese fruit cake, along with pecan, pumpkin, and chocolate pies covered the whole surface. In addition to the cakes and pies, there was also divinity and fudge. As a child, though, what I looked forward to the most were her homemade buckeyes.

When Granny became ill and could no longer make her goodies from scratch, she still made sure there were sweets on the sideboard-- even if it was only decorative bowl full of Reese's cups. Her sideboard was never bare.

I still make Granny's buckeyes at Christmas. I've made a few adjustments to the recipe over the years, but it essentially remains the same. I've also cut the recipe in half, because I discovered that the full recipe makes 12 dozen buckeyes!

Here is my Granny's recipe as it was given to me. I've made notes at the bottom to explain what changes I've made to it.

Granny's Buckeyes

1 lb margarine

2 lbs peanut butter

3 lbs confectioner’s sugar

2 packages chocolate bark coating

Melt margarine over boiling water. Add to the peanut butter and stir until smooth. Sift the confectioner’s sugar and add this to the peanut butter; mix well (batter will be very stiff). Roll into small balls and lay on waxed paper.

Melt the chocolate bark over a double boiler or in the microwave (do not overcook). Using a spoon and a toothpick, dip the balls into this mixture when it is melted and place on waxed paper until cool. Makes about 250 small pieces. Use ¼ recipe for family.

**Granny's original recipe called for chocolate chips and paraffin to create the coating. I've substituted chocolate bark coating because I find it much easier to do. My Granny used to make her buckeyes fairly large-- the size of a half-dollar in diameter, but I prefer making them more the size of a nickel. Which is probably why I ended up with SO many. I once watched two whole movies while I was rolling and dipping buckeyes-- Little Women and You've Got Mail, as I recall.

-->

P.S. The picture above is not my Granny's sideboard, in case you were wondering. It's from Christmas with Southern Living. And even though the sideboard in the picture is styled much fancier than Granny would have done, it still reminds me of her sideboard and makes me smile.

Winner! Cinnamon Scentsations Ornaments

2012-11-14T13:34:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Mandy B, the winner of these adorable gingerbread ornaments! Thanks to everyone who entered!

Giveaway: Cinnamon Scentsations!

2012-11-05T09:14:00.002-05:00

There are so many fragrances that embody the Christmas season-- fresh pine, the smell of a crackling fire, gingerbread baking in the oven, peppermint, orange and clove-- but for me, the one that tops the list is cinnamon. I love the smell of cinnamon, especially at Christmastime. It reminds me of my parent's house-- my Mom always had special cinnamon-scented potpourri that she bought every year around the holidays. It reminds me of apple pies baking in my own oven. It's so warm and comforting.

That's why I was so excited when I discovered Cinnamon Scentsations by Pam. Pam hand makes ornaments and gifts using a special cinnamon and applesauce recipe, and the smell is heavenly! Here are a few of her creations.

I love this Cinnamon Scented Gingerbread Man. His little heart buttons and candy cane are adorable! I think he would look fun hanging on a wreath or in a kitchen window. My girls would love him!

Look at this Gingerbread Couple-- aren't they sweet? They would make a cute gift for newlyweds (or not-so-newlyweds). I love their matching hearts.

Take a look around Pam's website and you will see a great variety of cinnamon scented decorative items, like this Cinnamon Scented Garland with Gingerbread and Rolling Pins. Wouldn't this be cute hanging over a kitchen doorframe?

I'm so happy to be able to give away a Gingerbread Boy and Girl like the ones above to one lucky blog reader! You will love this whimsical pair! They smell wonderful and their cinnamon scent will last indefinitely!

To enter, head over to Cinnamon Scentsations' website and take a look around. Then, leave a comment right here telling me which of her creations is your favorite!

The last day to enter will be Monday, November 12th, and the winner will be announced Tuesday the 13th. Good luck everyone!

Rules: Contest is only open to individuals in the US.

Christmas with Southern Living-- Winner!

2012-10-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

The winner of the copy of Christmas with Southern Living 2012 is Susan Rousey! Congratulations Susan!

Stay tuned for a new giveaway tomorrow!

Friday Top Five: Reasons Why You Should Shop Early

2012-10-26T08:00:00.000-04:00

I spent some time at Toys R Us this week; I needed to buy a birthday gift for my nephews and also do some Christmas shopping reconnaissance. As I perused the aisles, I started thinking about all the reasons why it's so much better to start your Christmas shopping early. So I made a list! I love lists. Please enjoy!

Reason #5:
It's kinder to your budget

Christmas is expensive. And if you wait until December to do all your shopping, you will either end up with a whopping credit card bill or a depleted bank account. Or both. Don't do this to yourself. Set a budget, make your shopping lists, and tackle them a little bit at a time. Buy one or two things a week. You'll thank yourself later.

Reason #4:
You can take advantage of early sales

A lot of people wait to start their Christmas shopping on Black Friday, because that's when they think they can get the best deals. And while it's true that there are always some great sales on that day, items are usually in limited quantity and you have to fight major crowds to get to them.

The truth is, if you keep your eye on the sales now, you could end up saving yourself more money and lose the stress of Black Friday shopping. A couple of weeks ago, Toys R Us had all their Barbie dolls and accessories on sale for 50% off, but the sale only ran for two days. I would have missed it, if it were not for Southern Savers. She posted about the sale on their Facebook page and I was able to take advantage of it. I recommend following money saving blogs like Southern Savers so that you won't miss these sales when they pop up for a day or two!

Reason #3:
You can get it before it sells out (and gets more expensive)

Have you noticed how prices fluctuate on Amazon.com? They can change not only from day to day, but from hour to hour! Last year there was a particular toy that I wanted to buy for my youngest. It was around $40. I waited too long to order it, and one day I pulled it up and it was $200! The reason was that it was in demand and it was close to Christmas. And when it's close to Christmas, people will get desperate and pay ridiculous prices. (And no, I didn't buy it.) Don't be like me. Get them now before they sell out.

But what if you can't afford it just yet? Toys R Us offers a Hot Toy Reservation which allows you to put a deposit on certain toys so that you are guaranteed to get it later. I just reserved a couple toys yesterday. But you have to act quickly, because this ends on Halloween. Toys R Us is also offering free layaway through Halloween. Lots of other stores offer layaway as well-- just be careful about what fees they charge.

Reason #2:
If you buy it early, you can wrap it early

A few Christmases ago, I was pregnant with my youngest child. I was tired and scatterbrained. For some reason, I waited until Christmas Eve to wrap all the presents. It was the worst Christmas Eve ever.

Do not wait until the week before Christmas to do all your wrapping. You don't have to wrap them as soon as you buy them, either. But make a point to do some wrapping here and there. (Just make sure you label who it's for!) You won't regret it. Especially when you realize how much stress you have saved yourself by doing it ahead of time. Which brings me to my final point...

Reason #1:
LESS STRESS for the holidays

Whenever I hear someone say, "I dread the holidays" or worse yet, "I hate the holidays," it makes me sad. Christmas should be a joyful time for you and your family. When you plan ahead, you are giving yourself the gift of a less stressful holiday season. Remember that.

Review and Giveaway! Christmas with Southern Living 2012

2012-10-23T08:00:00.000-04:00

Every summer, I anticipate getting a package in my mailbox. The package that contains the new Christmas with Southern Living book. When it comes, I carve out time that I can sit and go through it, page by page, enjoying the photographs of food and Christmas decorations, the recipes, and the ideas. And I'll be honest, some issues are better than others. There was one a few years ago where they decorated a mantel with what looked like chicken wire. I just can't love that. But I gotta tell you, this year's issue? Seriously, one of my favorite issues in recent years.

The book begins with menus for different kinds of holiday gatherings-- a breakfast, a luncheon, Thanksgiving dinner, a Christmas tea, and Lowcountry Gullah feast. The pictures are beautiful and the recipes all look very good. One of the things I like about these menus is that they can also serve as a springboard for you to plan your own gathering-- their ideas are very customizable.

Next comes the decorating section, which is chock full of ideas for both inside and outside your home. There are trees, wreaths, stairways, mantels, and table settings. Some are easy to duplicate, others not as easy-- but they are all sure to inspire you in your own decorating.

One of my favorite sections in any Christmas with Southern Living annual is the recipe section. I have gotten some great recipes out of these over the years, and I go back to them over and over again whenever I need new recipe ideas. This year's issue starts out with a section on breakfast casseroles, which are one of my favorite things in the whole world. One of the recipes is a Ham and Cheese Croissant Strata, which is going to be dinner at my house some day soon. (Breakfast casseroles are good all day long, you know!) There's also a Bacon and Cheddar Frittata that you cook in a cast iron skillet that looks so easy and delicious. And if you're looking for ways to use up leftover turkey, there's a Turkey Club Breakfast Casserole that looks divine.

There's also a section on pies and tarts, pizzas, and appetizers. The Barbequed Pork Tartlets with Slaw look especially good to me, probably because I always crave barbeque in the Fall. After the appetizer section comes Main Dishes and Sides. The Main Dishes are a little on the fancy side, which you would expect for a holiday. The Sides range from simple and comforting, like Sour Cream and Chive Potato Bake, to more exotic, such as Fruited Basmati Rice Pilaf. Then come the desserts! Make room for Baklava Cheesecake and Turtle Brownie Torte (featured on the cover).

Finally, the book ends with lots of great ideas for homemade decorations and gifts. There are recipes for salt dough and spicy scented dough that you can use to create your own ornaments. There are also recipes for preserves, which are a lovely thing to make and give as gifts.

Overall, I think this issue delivered exactly what I love best about Christmas with Southern Living: a twist on the traditional, brimming with ideas that I can really use for my own home. Well done, Southern Living!

The Giveaway:

I am so excited to be able to give away a copy of this book to one of you! To enter, please leave a comment below and tell me about what you are most looking forward to this Holiday season! Enter from now until next Monday, October 29th. One entry per person, please. I will announce the winner on Tuesday the 30th.

Good Luck!

Because Y'all Love You Some Pumpkin Carving...

2012-10-22T08:00:00.000-04:00

You know what my #1 most popular post has ever been on this blog? This CHRISTMAS blog? The one I did a couple years ago with links to pumpkin carving templates.

The internet makes me laugh.

So I figured I probably owe the internet some more pumpkin carving assistance, since clearly this is a topic that is of great interest to many. Here are some links I found:

Templates on Spoonful (a Disney website)
You can find a bunch of printable templates here, ranging from this classic Jack O Lantern (above), to a pirate-y face, to a big pumpkin that looks like it's eating a bunch of little pumpkins. If you're into that sort of thing. Bonus: how to make a big squash look like Frankenstein!

Template links on Squidoo
There are links here to templates on external sites. There are several licensed characters represented, such as Yoda, Angry Birds, and Jack Skellington. There are also links to more generic templates like cats and dragons and spiders and... a pug.

Templates on eHow
This site has lots of cute templates. I liked this haunted house, above, and there are also lots of cute (not scary) faces, puppies, kitties, little girls with pigtails, that sort of thing. There are a few scary faces, too, but most of the templates are just fun and whimsical.

Disney Characters on Family Fun
Family Fun has a bunch of Disney character pumpkin templates that look fairly simple. Mickey, Minnie, Pooh, and Tinkerbell, just to name a few. But I gotta tell you, I would probably use their Phineas and Ferb templates myself. Because I do love Phineas and Ferb.

Please do be careful carving your pumpkins. And have fun!

Review: Santa's Bag App

2012-10-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

Is everyone having a lovely Fall? It's been flying by for me. I've been quite busy, which is why I haven't been able to keep up with the blog. I've had the wonderful experience of being a part of my sister's wedding last week. The last few months have been a whirlwind of last minute preparations, planning a shower, and all the other fun joyful stuff that accompanies a wedding. It's been great, but now I'm ready to dive back in and start talking about Christmas! I can assure you that I've been thinking about it quite a bit!

On our way home from the wedding last Saturday I started making Christmas gift lists. Now, you all know that I dearly love my Christmas binder. It is the best way to stay organized and keep track of everything you need to do for the holidays. But what happens if, say, you're out shopping, you don't have your binder with you, and you can't remember if you've bought a certain gift yet? Or perhaps you're traveling back from your sister's wedding in Charleston, you don't have your binder handy, and you want to start making Christmas gift lists? (Hypothetically.)

That's where Santa's Bag comes in. I downloaded the Santa's Bag app last year and while I didn't use it to its full potential then, I think this year it is going to be a very important tool for me. Let me show you how it works. (I grabbed this image off the Santa's Bag website. Dear Santa's Bag people, I hope that's okay. I really like your app. Are we cool?)

When you open the app, the first thing you see is this screen. It tells you how many days are left until Christmas and an overview of your budget. I feel sorry for this person who has $700 worth of gifts to buy and only eight days left until Christmas. That's why it's important to plan ahead, folks! Procrastination is the enemy of Christmas joy.

This is the recipients screen. You can view it several different ways-- by name alphabetically, by group, or by status. I really like to view by group. You can create your own custom groups. I have groups for the different branches of my family and a group for teachers.

Then, you can view each recipient in their own profile screen. Here is where you keep lists of what you plan to buy, sizes, budgets, and notes. When you enter a gift, you can also enter what store you plan to buy it from and how much it costs. Then you can sort gifts by store to see what all you need to buy from each place. Once you finish buying for each recipient, you can mark them as complete. Handy!

You can password protect the app to keep prying eyes away from your lists. That's one thing that's hard to do with a binder! If any of you can figure out how to password protect your binder, I'd like to hear about it.

When I bought the app last year I went ahead and created recipient profiles and groups for all of our family members. So this year, all I had to do was archive the gifts I entered last year (again, handy) and start new lists.

The only drawback to this app is that it appears to be only available to Apple users (iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch). But if you're an Apple user, I think you'll find this app indispensable to your Christmas gift planning!

This is an unsolicited review-- I bought this app with my very own money and ClayPot Software has no idea who I am. I just liked it and wanted to share!

Pinterest Favorites: Joy Edition

2012-08-01T08:00:00.000-04:00

Source: farm8.staticflickr.com via Christmas on Pinterest

One of my newest Pinterest boards is one I've called "Christmas Joy." I use it to pin beautiful, peaceful images that remind me of the joy and anticipation of Christmas. Here are a few of my favorites.

Source: Uploaded by user via Christmas on Pinterest

so much depends
upon

a wooden wheel
barrow

filled with holly
branches

beside the white
snow.

(With apologies to William Carlos Williams. English was my minor, thankyouverymuch.)

Source: conspicuousstyle.com via Christmas on Pinterest

Isn't this a magical image? So beautiful.

Don't forget to follow me on Pinterest!

Winner! Forever Filigree

2012-07-31T08:35:00.001-04:00

Congratulations Adonna! You are the winner of this beautiful ornament from Forever Filigree!

I have more giveaways coming up soon, so stay tuned!

Guest Post: Celebrating Santa's Birthday

2012-07-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

When I started thinking about Christmas in July, I remembered that my friend Eileen from Countdown to Christmas had celebrated in a unique way last year, so I invited her to tell you about what she did. It's such a fun idea! I hope you love it as much as I do!

By Eileen at Countdown to Christmas

Yes. Santa has a birthday. At least in our house he does. He didn’t until last summer, but now I fear he will be a regular on our family birthday rotation until the end of time. This is entirely my fault and I’m not afraid to admit it!

I love Christmas! But, this is no ordinary love. Christmas knows no bounds in my world. It is something that I will gladly think about and plan for year round. I love anything remotely related to Christmas, which is why a holiday cookbook I picked up in a discount store last April launched a new, favored celebration in our house.

Several years ago, when my first child was just an infant, I was introduced to the fact that QVC hosts Christmas In July around July 25^th. My mother, a Christmas enthusiast in her own right, and I decided to make the most of it. We made our favorite Christmas appetizer, lit a scrumptious holiday scented candle, and watched all day long. The following Christmas, we set aside several cookies and froze them for our special Christmas in July extravaganza. This became our routine and a highly anticipated event!

Unfortunately, however, as more kids came along and they started to grow (and by grow, I mean become increasingly aware of how much fun we were having without them) it became more and more difficult to celebrate Christmas in July without including them. And, since my kids are not big QVC shoppers, I knew some changes would have to be made.

One day, last spring, as my mother and I were out shopping, I stumbled across a Pillsbury holiday cookbook on a random shelf in a Tuesday Morning store. As I thumbed through it, a few things caught my eye. One of which was a cake shaped and decorated to look like Santa. I knew right away that my kids would love it, but realized I had a very big problem. With the vast array of holiday goodies tradition demands we make each year, how could I possibly justify baking another entire cake during the holiday season? Neither my schedule nor my waistline would stand for it!

I decided over the course of the next few days that, if I wanted this cake to be a part of our holiday celebration, I would have to create a holiday celebration around this cake. With July 25^th earmarked as Christmas in July already, I decided to declare it Santa’s birthday (complete with cake and all!). I’m eternally grateful that QVC got on board and changed their Christmas in July programming to the weekend prior. It’s like it was written in the stars!

We started the day with snowman pancakes set to Christmas music. Then we proceeded to make some fun ornaments for our tree, watch our favorite Christmas movie, eat sandwiches shaped like Christmas trees, play some Christmas card games I had fortunately forgotten to pack up with our holiday things, and the kids even got a new present (a Rudolph game for our Wii that I never knew existed) which came with a sweet note from Ralphie, our Elf on the Shelf. My oldest also took time to pen his Christmas list and a letter to Santa, which helps his over-achieving mother who actually starts her Christmas shopping in August. It was a blast and such a great way to break up the monotony of our oven dry, triple digit, Arizona summer. It also gave me, the ever- Christmas- planning mom, a chance to go a little nuts and plan some things we just don’t have time for during the busy holiday season.

Even now, my kids are reminding me that as soon as all of their summer birthdays pass, Santa’s will be right behind!

What will this year’s celebration include? We are attempting some slightly more labor intensive ornaments out of cinnamon dough, the results of which could be comical. A game of pin the nose on Rudolph is on the schedule and a new Wii game, entitled “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”, is on its way from Amazon.com as we speak. We’ve even gone outside the home and invited my son’s best buddy to join in our holiday madness. One thing I can guarantee, there will be Santa cake! Although, he may be a bit smaller and accompanied by several reindeer cupcakes.

***QVC's Christmas in July is this Saturday, July 21st, starting at Midnight EST! Mark your calendars!!

Giveaway: Forever Filigree!

2012-07-17T09:24:00.000-04:00

I am so excited to share the work of another talented artist with you! I discovered Forever Filigree on Etsy and I was both amazed and intrigued by her designs! Shannon uses a technique called quilling, which is the art of taking 1/8” strips of paper and rolling them around the end of a pin or quilling tool to form filigree inspired shapes. She then arranges and glues these shapes together to form unique, one-of-a-kind snowflakes. As she has an eye for detail and perfection, each snowflake can take 2-3 hours for her to complete. It is finished off with an attached hanger and silver thread positioned just right so the snowflake always hangs perfectly.

Take a look at some of her beautiful designs:

Aren't they amazing? As with real snowflakes, each one is unique and no two are exactly alike!

Shannon has graciously provided me with a snowflake to give away, and it is perfect for Christmas in July! Here are the details:

Ocean’s Majesty Sand Dollar Ornament

A 5” elegant, white quilled snowflake ornament with an authentic Maine sand dollar in the middle for decorating your beach cottage, beach-themed home, or giving to any ocean lover....have a wonderful Beach Christmas. My sand dollars were found by me on the beaches of Maine (Popham Beach and Old Orchard Beach). This snowflake comes beautifully gift packaged in a two-piece metal tin lined with cardstock and finished off with a matching gift label on the lid of the tin. The tin is perfect for protecting and storing the snowflake for many years of enjoyment.

How to Enter:

1. Leave a comment telling me where you would display this beautiful ornament.

2. Go like the Christmas Rapping Facebook page and then leave a separate comment here letting me know that you have done so. (If you already "like" my page just leave me a comment to let me know).

3. Follow the Christmas Rapping Pinterest page and then leave a separate comment here letting me know that you have done so. (If you already follow me on Pinterest, leave me a comment to let me know).

4. Mention this giveaway in a blog post and then leave me a separate comment with the link!

***Make sure you leave a SEPARATE comment HERE ON THIS BLOG in order to be entered. I must keep track of all the entries here to make sure the giveaway is fair. Thanks so much for your cooperation!

Last day to enter is Friday, July 20th at midnight EST. Winner will be announced on Monday, July 23rd. Good luck!

Winner! RoseGirl Creations Jewelry

2012-07-17T08:26:00.001-04:00

Congratulations to The Orona Family! You have won these beautiful earrings from RoseGirl Creations!

If you didn't win-- stay tuned! I'm working on getting my next giveaway up soon! You're going to love it!

Hallmark's Ornament Premiere Weekend!

2012-07-12T08:00:00.000-04:00

It's that time of year again! Hallmark is rolling out their 2012 Keepsake Ornaments this weekend, July 14-15th!

Last year I blogged about our LEM Christmas ornament that we bought from Hallmark when we first got married. Well, I got a super nice e-mail from a gentleman who said he inherited the same ornament from his mom and never could figure out exactly what the ornament said. He Googled what bit of the phrase he could discern and found my entry about it, and was glad to have the mystery solved! So there you go-- it's a public service I provide here, folks.

Here are some of my favorites from this year's collection:

I seriously love this one! It's called Onstage Antics, and features the Peanuts gang at the Christmas Pageant. Schroeder and Snoopy are bopping along to "Linus and Lucy" while Charlie Brown looks on in resignation. The price is a little steep at $34.95, but I can tell you right now I won't be able to resist buying it.

The Year Without a Santa Claus is one of Rankin and Bass' most beloved stop-motion animation specials, but it's always been woefully underrepresented when it comes to merchandising. But now, fans of the Heat Miser and Cold Miser can rejoice! Now if they'd just issue some ornaments from Santa Claus is Comin' to Town...

This one is so cute and is a great way to start a new tradition-- or "tree-dition." It's called Letters to Santa, and kids can leave little notes in there for the Big Guy, and get little treats in return! So cute!

You can see the 2012 Hallmark Ornament Collection on their website and in stores this weekend! Hooray!

And don't forget to enter my giveaway for a pair of earrings by RoseGirl Creations! Entries must be received by Friday, July 13th at midnight EST.

Giveaway: RoseGirl Creations Jewelry!

2012-07-06T08:00:00.000-04:00

To kick off our Christmas in July, how about a giveaway? I am so excited to share the work of this very talented jewelry designer with you!

I just love RoseGirl Creations' jewelry! Amy takes obvious care with every design, putting in painstaking detail. She has pieces for any occasion and taste. I recently bought a couple pairs of earrings from her myself and they are stunning! I immediately put one pair on and wore it out on a date night with my husband. They have quickly become one of my favorites!

Here are just a few of her lovely pieces!

These beautiful Antique Copper Medallion earrings are perfect for everyday wear. The Swarovski crystals add a great sparkle!

This fun and funky bracelet strikes a great balance between the large glass beads and the smaller crystals and silver beads. This piece would complement any outfit, whether you're heading to work, to hang with friends, or for an evening out!

These pink firepolished crystal and pearl chandelier earrings are dramatic but so feminine! They would certainly make any outfit feel special!

RoseGirl Creations has graciously provided me with this beautiful pair of earrings to give away!

Here is the description:

Burgundy and Pink Crystal Pearl and Antique Brass Victorian Dangle Earrings

These vintage-inspired earrings are measure approx 1 3/4" from top of earwire.
Each handmade earring includes:
Antiqued-brass Lever-back Earring Wires and antiqued-brass findings that are all nickel-free and hypo allergenic, 12mm Glass Pearls in Burgundy, 8mm Swarovski Crystal Pearls in Powder Rose and 4mm Swarovski Crystal Bi-cones in Silk.

How to Enter:

You can earn up to four entries to this giveaway.

1. Go to RoseGirl Creations Etsy page and take a look around. Then, leave a comment here letting me know which of her designs is your favorite!

2. Go like the Christmas Rapping Facebook page and then leave a separate comment here letting me know that you have done so. (If you already "like" my page just leave me a comment to let me know).

3. Follow the Christmas Rapping Pinterest page and then leave a separate comment here letting me know that you have done so. (If you already follow me on Pinterest, leave me a comment to let me know).

4. Mention this giveaway in a blog post and then leave me a separate comment with the link!

Last day to enter is Friday, July 13th at midnight EST. Winner will be announced on Monday, July 16th.

Good luck!

Rules: Contest is open only to individuals in the US.

Happy Fourth of July

2012-07-04T08:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Fourth of July!

Christmas in July-- The Playlist

2012-07-03T08:00:00.000-04:00

What is Christmas without a little music? I've put together a playlist of some Christmas songs that I think work for a warmer time of year. Look up at the top of the page and you should see a gray bar with a play button on the left. Just click play and you're in business! Let me know if you have any more suggestions-- I might add them to the mix!

Here's what I have so far:

Mele Kalikimaka - Bing Crosby
Christmas Island - Leon Redbone
Feliz Navidad - Bank Soundtech Steel Orchestra
Mary's Boy Child - Boney M
Christmas in De Tropics - Calypso Christmas
Joy To The World - Vince Charles
Big Rock Candy Mountain - Burl Ives
Christmas in the Caribbean - Jimmy Buffett
African Noel - St. Olaf Choir
Jamaican Noel (unknown choral group)

If you know of any more songs I'm missing, please leave them in the comments! If you can post a link to YouTube, even better!

P.S. I do have some other fun stuff planned for this month (hint hint, giveaways!) but they're not quite ready yet. Stay tuned!

ETA: I added a couple more songs to the list. They're choral pieces, and I do love me some choral music.

Christmas In July!

2012-07-01T08:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Christmas Rapping's First Ever Christmas in July! The sun is blazing, the grass is withering, there are flies buzzing all around, but we're going to keep cool by spreading a little Holiday cheer!

I've got some fun things coming for you this month, starting tomorrow! Stay tuned!