Day 6: What I Want for Christmas

Just a few of my favorite things!

Day 5:: Favorite Holiday Movies

Day 4: Tips/Tricks to a Budget Friendly Holiday

Day Four: Tips/Tricks for a Budget Saving Christmas

1. Bake for gifts. There is nothing more delicious or sweet than baking homemade goods from your home to give to someone else for the holidays. You can also include the recipe has a gift as well.

2. Crafty Gifts. There are so MANY cute blogs out there that have fabulous ideas on easy craft ideas to give as gifts for Christmas. This way, you put work into and you can add your own personality to it.

3. Find the sales. I NEVER buy anything over $30 without checking ebay or amazon.com first. You have to start earlier to ensure your items are here in time for Christmas, but it’s well worth it.

4. Make a budget and stick to it. At the end of October, Stephen and I sat down and came up with a list of everyone we wanted to buy for and everyone in the family. Along with that list we created a budget for every family and we stick to it. We even have a column for money that we saved. This way, you’re not going into Christmas with the mind set of well, I have to buy that for that person- if you cannot afford it, too bad. It really does save money.

5. Christmas is not about gifts. My co-workers at school all decided to draw names this year. I drew my friend Kaycee and could not be happier when she just wanted my company at our favorite restaurant for a gift. So, that’s what we did and decided to do for our assistants as well. Who doesn’t want to get out and go to dinner (no cooking!) and hang out with friends? It was a fabulous idea and cost merely nothing.

Day 3: Most Meaningful Gift

Day Three: Most Meaningful Gift

Since Stephen and I were engaged around Christmas, I would have to say that the most meaningful gift was when Stephen purposed to me on December 22^nd 2006. It’s the gift that keeps on giving!

Day 2: Black Friday Shopping Tips

Day Two: Black Friday Shopping Tips/Tricks

This is something I do not generally do, but since this year Stephen and I surviving Christmas credit card free I really did not have any other choice. I can’t say that I hated it, because I didn’t go anywhere! I did all my shopping via online and got AWESOME deals! One of the best tools that I use is mypoints. Every time I buy something online I make sure that I go through this service to get credit for the things that I buy. Some stores allow you to get up to 10 points to the dollar! Once you have so many points that can be redeemed for gift certificates! IT’S FREE! Isn’t that fabulous? How could you not want to join? All you have to do is register, and you can start earning points just by reading the emails. Each email you read gets you 5 points. Those add up when they send like 15 a day! Good luck my friends!

Click here to sign up

Day 1: Traditions

Day 1: Christmas Holiday Traditions

Christmas is a very busy time of year for everyone I’m sure! Before we were married I (Jennifer) never did much of anything on Christmas Eve. I did the usual dinner, then Mom and Dad would let us open up one gift (which is ALWAYS pajamas) then Dad would read Twas the Night before Christmas to me. Then I would go upstairs to my bedroom and watch Twas the Night before Christmas on DVD.

Well, as many of you know- when you get married things change and I no longer get to visit Mom and Dad on Christmas Eve. Stephen’s family celebrates Christmas on Christmas Eve, so I started going with him shortly after we started dating. Now that we married, we go to church for the candle light service and then we go to his family for great food, fun, and fellowship! After returning home we have one gift we let each other open (which is always PJs)! Stephen has taken over the role of reading Twas the Night before Christmas to me then we go to bed and watch TTNBC on DVD.

Christmas morning we wake up un-usually early because we are both like two little kids. Then we get ready and go to my grandmothers for breakfast. After breakfast we join Stephen’s family for brunch. Shortly after brunch we go to my Mom and Dad’s to celebrate Christmas with my brother and new sister-in-law. Shortly after finishing up there, my mom’s family comes for dinner. It’s definitely a NON STOP day, but we love it!

We’ll see how that works out with kids J

12 Days of Christmas Blog Challenge!

Since I didn’t really succeed in the last blog challenge (sorry guys- I’ve been a little behind on both of my blogs) I will try my best to do this one for Christmas. It may be a little easier seeing that we may be having a few snow days here and there making it easier for me to get things done (wonder why?!?) Anyway- here we go!