Naptime Blog

Are you crafty? Me? Eh, not so much. I do love saving money though and I adore the adorable crafts that my friends manage to whip up.

I have a lot of teachers, therapists and bus drivers that I am eternally grateful for. They are such blessings to our family and to my children. I want to thank them properly but the gifts really put a hit on a tight budget if you aren’t careful. I have been searching online for ideas and have found some fun ideas that I like on other blogs. Several bloggers suggest making something homemade like cookies or candies and putting them in little cellophane bags (or zip bags) and then making a “label” with card stock with a greeting. You then fold that over and staple it to the top of the package. Cute and pretty easy, right? We are going to try to make candies with pretzels, Hersheys’ Hugs and M&M’s. You just put a Hug on top of a small pretzel twist, bake til soft then put an M&M on top. We actually tried this the other day at home and they were tasty but I overcooked the candy.

Another inexpensive idea is hand sanitizer. At the mall, at a famous brand store that sells a lot of lotions and body washes, I bought small bottles of hand sanitizer and they sell these neat little cases for them that you can hang from your purse or wherever. I thought these would be neat for teachers and bus drivers as they come into contact with lots of germs.

What are your ideas?

Are you invited to a holiday potluck dinner and don’t have a clue what to bring? This recipe was passed down to me from my late aunt many years ago. I am not sure where she originally got it, but it is easy to make and really tasty and is different than the sugar cookies and fruit cake and other popular holiday desserts you see over and over this time of year.

Four Layer Cake
This recipe is from my late Aunt Thelma Williams

First Layer:
1 cup Flour
1 stick margarine
3/4 cup pecans, chopped

Cream together and put into bottom of 9×11 inch pan. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

Second Layer:
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1 cup Cool Whip
1 cup powdered sugar

Mix together and spread over crust. Sprinkle with coconut.

Third Layer: Spread 1 can Comstock coconut pie filling over second layer.

Fourth Layer: Spread enough Cool Whip to cover. Sprinkle with pecans and coconut.

I love the cooler weather, the music, the beautiful Christmas lights and ornately decorated homes. I love how creativity comes out in the form of yard decorations and rooftoop blow-up snowmen. I am also immensely enjoying my two little boys blossoming awareness of the season. They are paying more attention to things like Santa Claus and Christmas traditions. They enjoy decorating cookies, making crafts and, of course, eating cookies.

I can’t wait to watch them unwrap gifts this year. I know they will “get” it more than last year. We have already taken them to see Christmas lights in the neighborhood and the huge lit up tree in the middle of the local mall. It goes several stories high and is centered at the ice skating rink so families can skate around it. The boys were completely impressed. There is also a wonderful yard display that a gentleman in the neigborhood built with a real working train that loops throughout his yard. My boys LOVE it.

So, back to my original question… what is your favorite thing about the holidays?

Have you noticed more free shipping offers and big sales even after Black Friday this year? I sure have. I am not a big Black Friday shopper. It’s not my idea of a good time to get up before some people go to bed just to get a cheap TV. I am more of a Cyber Monday fan. When I place an online order, I always search first for coupon codes and free shipping offers. Some sites even offer incentives or rebates if you shop through them. I never pay full price if I can help it.

When buying food for holiday parties and Christmas dinner, I always compare the price per ounce on all of the products. Many stores have this on the shelf price tag. Did you know that many times the larger size isn’t the better deal? I have found that buying two of the smaller size sometimes nets you more product at a lower cost. I think stores realize that the traditional thinking is that buying in bulk gets you the better deal so they sometimes cash in on this mindset. I also use coupons and take advantage of meal deals where you buy one item and get several free. And, of course, I shop store brands whenever possible. If there isn’t a store brand available for a particular item, I always try to find a coupon to make that item more affordable.

I think I may have mentioned this before, but I also like to stock up on toys and clothing items for my kids and other children in the family throughout the year. If I find a nice winter shirt on clearance for $1 in June, I buy it and store it away until the holidays. Buying off season clothing on clearance racks can really save you money. I have also found like new toys, clothing and furniture at Goodwill and resale shops. Many still have store price tags on them. I actually saw a table with four chairs that looked brand new once and the set was about $35!

What are you tips for stretching your holiday budget?

This is my favorite roll of all time. They are sooo delicious! My late grandmother, Minnie, got the recipe from a friend of hers that actually cooked at a jail. We requested these every year at Thanksgiving and Christmas. They are a bit of work, but so worth it and I think they would go wonderfully with Christmas dinner.

Jailhouse Rolls

1 cup mashed potatoes
2 sticks oleo
3 whole eggs
7 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1 package dry yeast

Mix yeast in water and blend. Set aside. Mix potatoes, melted oleo, eggs, salt and sugar. Add to yeast water. Blend in flour. Place in greased bowl. Cover with damp cloth, then place in refrigerator, until ready to use. Rpll out like pie crust then cut it to size. Butter tops and let stand for several hours, until they have risen. Bake at 350 or 400 degrees for 10 minutes, until brown.

I just realized that it might finally get a little cold here and it’s time for winterizing, like checking the pipes, making sure the car has all of the proper fluids, etc. Yeah, who am I kidding? Hubby does all of that. I am talking about MY kind of winterizing.

The kind of winterizing I do personally is in my closet. My favorite piece of clothing is a snuggly sweater, but living in Texas, I don’t get a lot of opportunities to wear a sweater. As I write this, we are finally having a cool front and the high is still almost 80 (yes a cool front in Texas can include an 80 degree temp, believe it or not). Growing up, I wore shorts on more than one Christmas and it wasn’t because I lost all of my marbles… it was because it was that warm!

One winter, before kids (I was pregnant), hubby and I went to New York for Christmas. It was COLD, much colder than I’ve ever been. I was in heaven! I got to wear a huge, snuggly sweater and a big, warm coat and I was still cold, not hot! If you live in a cold climate, this probably doesn’t sound like heaven to you, but if you spend most of the year sweating in the heat and humidity, it’s a rare joy indeed.

So, how do you winterize? What is your favorite piece of cold weather gear? Maybe it’s a pretty scarf you inherited from your grandmother or the leather jacket your husband gave you for your first anniversary? I’d love to know!

To be a domestic diva, you need to keep a couple of gift bags and a few emergency gifts on hand for those “just in case” or “oops did I forget to tell you my son’s birthday party is today” kind of events that inevitably occur at the most “inconvenient to run to the store” times.

What I like to do is pick up a few toys when they are on clearance and keep them in the closet. I try to have at least two boy toys and two girl toys as well as a gift that would be good for a man or woman. I stock up on baskets when they clearance them out (usually after Christmas). Keeping a few dollar store items like kitchen towels, ladles, potholders, magnets, etc. around to fill those baskets with is always a good idea. I also will pick up cute little onesies that I often find on the clearance rack for a couple of dollars. These are great for last minute baby showers.

I am not a big planner and I am also not as organized as I’d like to be, but I find that doing this not only saves me lots of money (ever try to find a cool AND cheap toy for a birthday party when you only have 5 minutes to run in and out of the store?). If you are a black Friday shopper, why not grab two or three of that super cheap toy and store it up for birthday parties later in the year?

That’s a good idea, right?

You’re welcome. Now give me some tips on keeping my house “Martha Stewart ready” for company and we’ll be even.

Deal?

I just looked at the calendar and my 3 1/2 year old is off of school for almost 2 1/2 weeks for Christmas. I am looking forward to it. I really am! 

 I am trying to think of things now to do to entertain him so he doesn’t get off of his schedule too much. He actually thrives on a routine and LOVES school. The two highlights of his days are when the big yellow bus arrives at our house in the mornings and when Daddy pulls into the driveway in the evenings. He is a sweetie and a pretty happy boy. I am wondering what types of things to do to give him fun holiday experiences while allowing him to relax a bit too.

 He also has a pretty full schedule of physical, occupational and speech therapy throughout the year, but some of those will not be in session during this break. He looks forward to those things so I just want to make sure he is stimulated like he wants to be and still has a great time.

 So, what types of things do you do with your kids during winter break? We live in a very warm climate so activities like sledding or playing in the snow are out. 

I would love your ideas!

 This doesn’t have to be holiday specific, but that is what got me thinking about this topic. I am just wondering if your family has a tradition that has been passed down for generations or if you have started one with your children. I know families that take their children to the same farm every year to get that perfect tree. I have friends who make a family cookie recipe every Christmas to give to neighbors and friends. I haven’t really started a big tradition like that, but I have started having special ornaments made for the boys each year. I use the same artist and each year’s ornament reflects their personality at that point in their life. 

 Growing up, our church had a tradition of taking a hayride around town and singing Christmas carols to the indigent. It was a joyful time of fellowship as we arrived at each home. Many times, they would thank us with a treat. 

 So, back to my original question. What are your traditions?

Are you big into Halloween? As I type this, Halloween is this weekend. My youngest will be a hamburger and my oldest will be Thomas the Train. By the time you read this, Halloween will be a and the holidays will be in full swing (or close to it), but I was wondering how into holidays your little ones are? 

My boys are just at the age where they are understanding holidays a bit more. I dressed up my 2 1/2 year old this morning while his brother was at preschool and took him to the local nursing home along with moms from my Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) group. The residents sit around in the lobby and hand out candy to the little ghosts, goblins, princesses and, um, hamburgers. It’s a safe place where the kids aren’t in the streets or dodging traffic in the dark and it brings huge smiles to the faces of these sweet elderly people. On Sunday (Halloween day), we will take them to our fall festival at the church. It’s a similar, safer atmosphere. 

I am looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas. My little ones aren’t to the point where they ask for a particular present yet, but I wonder how old they will be when that tradition strikes them?