Tag Archives: Holiday

Intel Tablet Holiday Shopping

Easy Holiday Shopping With My Intel Tablet

I love shopping for holiday gifts now that I don’t have to sit in traffic, find a parking space, and wait in long lines at the store.  I’ve been shopping for my kids Christmas gifts for at least four years and wouldn’t go back to traditional holiday gift shopping for anything.  I support local shops the rest of the year , when traffic and lines aren’t a nightmare, so I don’t feel bad about shopping online for Christmas gifts.

Not only am I not going to sit in traffic and wait in long lines to shop for holiday gifts this year, I am not going to shop from my computer which stay in my home office. I am going to shop from the comfort of my favorite sitting chair in the kitchen, using my Asus MeMO Pad™ 7, an Intel Tablet.

Here is the screen I created on my Intel Tablet for my holiday shopping apps

Intel Tablet Holiday Shopping

Not only do I have big store apps on my tablet, but I also got wise and installed the RetailMeNot and Ebates app so I can save money and get money back on my holiday shopping this year!   I buy everything I can on Amazon and being able to search Amazon on the go and buy things with one-click from my tablet is such a time saver.  With the Ebates app, I can see what stores I will get the largest rebate from and click through Ebate’s link to shop and get a 4%+ cash back rebate in turn.

Intel Tablet recipe apps

Another way I can use my table to make life a little easier this holiday season is by using it in the kitchen.  I’m not much of a cook and I don’t have a plethora of cookbooks in my kitchen.  I have a few favorite recipes that I count on but I’ve been trying to break out of my comfort zone lately and cook dishes that require a few more than 3 or 4 ingredients.  My go to ingredients are, please don’t laugh, Quinoa, pepper, olive oil, and meat.   It doesn’t seem like there’s much you can do with those ingredients but a few minutes on the Cookpad, Allrecipes, or Food Network recipe apps and you’ll see tons of recipes that use quinoa for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  The problem is that most of them require the use of vegetables, most of which I despise.

I also have a few smoothie apps on my tablet.  I don’t use quinoa in my smoothies but I have been eating (drinking, really) a lot more vegetables since making smoothies.  If you’re thinking about having a try at smoothies, download a smoothie app or two onto your device so you have quick access to lots of smoothie recipes.

My Intel Tablet as well as most, if not all of these tablets, have a camera, making them a fun gift for a tween or teen who loves to snap photos and share them or for the budding photographer who enjoys playing with photo editing apps.

Read my other posts about my Asus MeMO Pad™ 7.

#spon: I’m required to disclose a relationship between our site and Intel. This could include the Intel Corporation providing us w/content, product, access or other forms of payment.

Frasier Fir – A Fresh, Clean, Winter Scent for your Home

disclosure

Imagine walking into a home and immediately noticing the unmistakable, invigorating, uniquely Christmasy smell of Frasier fir. But then you may realize that Christmas has come and gone or there’s nothing like a beautiful and majestic Frasier fir in the house. What’s happened is you’ve just entered a home where Thymes’ Frasier Fir candles are merrily alight or the hostess could have added a spritz of Thymes’ home fragrance into the air just before you arrived.

Thymes.com Frasier Fir

There’s more than one type of Frasier Fir candle on offer from Thymes, so a homemaker can group one type together or mix them for variety. The three wick candle has a lovely, deep pine green wax and is far more than just a Yuletide holiday tradition. At 17 ounces, it fills a space with delectable notes of Siberian fir, cedarwood sandalwood and musk and costs $50.00 per candle. The one wick candle has those same fragrance notes but sells for $28.00. There’s also a set of two candles. These are 3.75 ounce, white wax candles which sell for $34.00 a set.

Along with these candles is the Frasier Fir Pine Needle Candle, which is one candle that comes in a clear glass holde rwith a pattern of evocative pine needles. It’s 6.5 ounces, sells for $28.00 and lasts up to 50 hours. Other candles are the Frasier Fir Pine Cone Candle. This candle actually comes in a holder fashioned into a ceramic pine cone. Take the top off and light the wick for that irresistible smell. This candle sells for $30.00 and can come in a gift-wrapped box topped by a grosgrain bow. The Frasier Fir Votive Candles come in a set of three for $18.00. Another 6.5 ounce candle comes in its own reusable tin for $18.50.

Along with candles, Thymes.com also offers Frasier Fir Home Fragrance mist. This three ounce bottle has the look of brushed copper and gives a room the same unforgettable fragrance as the candles. It sells for $18.00.

For Christmas or those other winter holidays, Thymes Frasier Fir candles and mist are a must have!

Personalized Holiday Gifts For Everyone On Your List

Personal Creations

We put our Christmas tree up over the weekend and despite the rocky start because we couldn’t get the lights to work and a couple of ornaments had broken during transit from the attic, the experience ended up being the best Christmas tree decorating time I’ve ever had.  There were a few things at play that made that the case.  The first was the Christmas music in the background.  When Jingle Bells started playing on Pandora, we all sang along.  Then there were the sausage balls I made.  We finally had to bring them into the living room to munch on or I wasn’t going to see my husband or kids while I decorated the tree alone.  Then the kids started going through the ornaments and found their favorites and ones that are special to them.  My daughter lined her ornaments up on the couch and asked my husband and I where each ornament came from, how old she was when we got it, and why we got it for her.  It was really nice to see her face light up as we talked about each ornament and the story behind it and remember those special times surrounding each ornament.

Once the tree was decorated, I headed to the den to finalize Christmas gift shopping.   I love getting my kids and husband personalized items.

One thing I’ve learned since having kids is that kids LOVE to see their name on things.   They like feeling like something was made for them.. it exists because of them.  I remember the first time my son saw his name on a billboard for a store. It was a coincidence, yes, but he acted like that was his store which brought a huge smile to his face! He was 6 years old at the time. Now he’s 14. He still loves to see his name on things which is why I love getting him personalized gifts.

This year, I chose a few items that are very fitting to his personality, to personalize. He’s getting older and keeps change and trinkets in his pockets. What happens to those things when he gets home from school? They end up strewn all over his desk. Personal Creations has a really nice large wooden catchall that will be monogrammed with his initials which I hope he will keep his loose change and trinkets.

Large Wood Catchall-Monogram

My daughter recently started playing soccer and gymnastics and will be thrilled to see a new ornament on the Christmas tree that looks just like her, playing soccer and my son will have a Lacrosse playing ornament.  Maybe there is hope that they will play together after-all, even if it is just the ornament versions of themselves.  🙂

I am excited about the Sock Monkey ornaments the kids will be getting for the tree soon.  Both of my kids love monkeys.  I’m not sure why but when I saw these adorable sock monkey ornaments at Personal Creations, I knew they’d be a perfect fit on our Christmas tree.

sock monkey personalized ornament

My daughter is really into playing with makeup now and what better way to get her to not use my makeup brushes than for her to have her own?  I am going to give her mine when I get this new set personalized with my name on it.  🙂  The makeup roll includes a 6 piece brush set with 2 large, full-coverage cheek and face brushes, 2 eye blending and smudge brushes, 1 angled liner brush, and 1 eyebrow groomer brush.

personalized makeup brush set

Ready to personalize your own Christmas creations?
Personal Creations is offering my readers 20% off of all of your purchases through the end of December.
Click here to start shopping and the 20% will be applied in your shopping cart.

If you need inspiration on coming up with great personalized gift ideas, this Pinterest board is a great place to start!


Create Your Top Of The Mantel Holiday Card On Cardstore.com.. And See Mine!

cardstore holiday cards

I told my husband that I wanted to get a photo of the kids in front of our Christmas tree, which is gorgeous.. once it is actually up, for a Christmas card.  I’ve been sick for a couple of weeks and things just haven’t gone as planned so I didn’t get my dream photo.  I probably wouldn’t have anyway.  If I recall correctly, when I tried to get the ‘perfect’ photo of the kids last holiday season, I ended up almost crying I was so frustrated.

I was so happy with the first holiday card I made on Cardstore.com that I didn’t think I could possibly create a card I liked better.  Well, I did.  It took a little digging through photos on dropbox, facebok, and my computer, which cardstore.com makes easy, but I found several photos of the kids that sum up their year fabulously.

So here it is..

Our Cardstore.com Personalized Holiday Cards

The entire time I was designing this card, I had the song “My Favorite Things” playing over and over in my head.   I finally decided to include in this post since it was such a party of the design experience.

You should go here (a YouTube page in a new window) and start the orchestral music for “My Favorite Things” before reading my lyrics.  Hearing the music puts you in the right place. 🙂

Rainbows And Smiles On Warm Summer Days
Sebastian Playing Lacrosse And Madelyn Balancing On Beams
Soccer Balls Zooming Around In The Spring
These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

Trips To The Beach With My Husband And Kids
Watching Madelyn Read Books At A Fast Pace
Looking Forward To What The Future May Bring
These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

Decorating For Christmas With Music In The Background
Knowing Sebastian Will Be An Eagle Scout One Day
Getting Warm Hugs After School Everyday
These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

When The Guinea Pigs Squeal
Because They’re Hungry
Or When I Trip On Lacrosse Balls
I Simply Remember My Favorite Things
And Then I Don’t Feel So Bad

Feel free to share your version of “My Favorite Things” in the comments below.  So often we focus on the bad and annoying things in life.  I think it’s important to focus on the good and writing your own version of this song is a great way to do that!

Keep in mind that you need to order your customized holiday cards by December 16th in order for them to arrive at their destination by Christmas Eve. 

Like I mentioned in previous post about Cardstore.com, the process of creating a customized holiday card is quick and easy.   You can add photos from lots of photo sharing sites including Facebook, Instagram, Dropbox, Picasa, Flickr, and more.  There are dozens of holiday card designs to choose from which most being a postcard but several are folding cards.

Here is a Cardstore.com giveaway you can enter!

Mom Central and Cardstore are currently running a giveaway on the Mom Central Facebook page, with chances to win ten (10) $50 Amex Gift Cards and one (1) grand prize of a $300 Amex Gift Card! Here is the link: http://bit.ly/1gaAy4M

Create your own personalized holiday cards at http://po.st/PersonalizeYourCard today!

I LOVE the Personalized Christmas Card I Created On Cardstore.com!

Mom Central Consulting

My to do listWhat’s on your to-do list today?  Here is mine ->

If you’re wondering what my to-do list writing strategy is, I don’t have one. 🙂

As you can see at the bottom of my to-do list, I want to take photos of the kids for Christmas cards.  I was left inspired and motivated after creating a customized Christmas card on Cardstore.com yesterday.

In 2011 and 2013 I mailed Christmas cards to family.  Great job, I think to myself – better than the other 12 years since I’ve had kids when I didn’t mail Christmas cards out.. but they weren’t the cards I wanted or visioned.  I visioned a Christmas card with a gorgeous photo of the kids ON the front of the card with an inspiring holiday message of love and well wishes for our friends and family overlaying or above or below the message.  Instead I sent out standard stock holiday cards with a photos of the kids inside it.  Boring.

I am so grateful that I have Cardstore.com to turn to this year.   Cardstore.com allows users to choose from hundreds of gorgeous holiday card designs and customize the card with a photograph and text of their choice.

The great thing about creating a customized card where you embed a photograph ON it through a website like Cardstore.com is that their designs make any photograph look good.  Yes, that awkward photograph of your three kids, one with a clump of flyaway hair, one with cross-eyes, and one who isn’t smiling at all, will look good ON a Christmas card.

Here is the 1st Christmas card I created on Cardstore.com

Cardstore.com customized Christmas cards

It is very easy to create a personalized card on Cardstore.com.

To create a customized holiday card on Cardstore.com simply follow these steps:

  1. Go to cardstore.com
  2. Click on ‘Christmas’ in the top left
  3. Cardstore.com photo upload optionsClick on photo cards in the drop down menu that appears
  4. Choose to refine your search (select how many photos you’d like on your card, background color, etc)
  5. Click the ‘make your card’ button to the right of the card you’d like to customize
  6. When your card design opens, click on Your Photo Here with the + symbol
  7. Choose how you’d like to upload your photo
    (Initial options are: your device, Facebook, Dropbox, Instagram, and Flickr but if you click “see all options” you’ll see these options: Picasa, Google Drive, SkyDrive, Box, and Evernote!)
  8. Browse your selected choice and click on the photo you’d like to upload
  9. Once you click the photo, you will need to double-click it to add it to your card
  10. Click the pink ‘done’ button
  11. To change the default text on your card design, click directly on the text.  A text box will appear allowing you to change the text verbiage, font, color, and size.
  12. Click Save at the top of the page when you are finished customizing your card and follow the steps as prompted.

The process of finding and customizing my Christmas card on Cardstore.com took about 10 minutes.

I had so much fun playing around with designs on Cardstore.com and already have card ideas in mind for other holidays!

I am going to create another custom card on Cardstore.com once I get a good photograph of the kids.  Wish me luck!  I’ll be searching Google for “how to take holiday photographs of kids” later today. 🙂

Cardstore.com stands out because of its clean, beautiful site and its ease of use and who doesn’t love pretty cards?

Cardstore.com can be a busy parent’s best friend year round!   Imagine the cards you can create for:

  • birthdays
  • Mother’s Day
  • Father’s Day
  • anniversaries
  • and for your child’s teachers!

Create your own personalized holiday cards at http://po.st/PersonalizeYourCard today!  From November 21st – 26th Cardstore is offering 30% off holiday cards!

Here’s a tip from one parent to another:
Don’t worry about having the perfect photo for your Christmas cards!  

Your friends and family are going to love your Christmas card no matter what!  Enjoy a few minutes on Cardstore.com and you’ll see that even the most imperfect photos make for a great Christmas card!

 

Alicia, The Mommy Insider blog author