Christmas Galore Link Party

Thanksgiving is over and it's time to start pulling out the Christmas decor and getting serious about the upcoming holiday. I thought it would be fun to host a Christmas link party so that we could all share ideas about decor, holiday goodies, gifts, and everything else that comes with this wonderful holiday.

*Cue Holiday music*

There are 2 categories to add your links to: Christmas Gift Ideas (for gift ideas - handmade or otherwise) and Christmas Galore (for everything else - decor, yumminess, parties, etc). Please be sure to link up to the appropriate category.

Just a few suggestions before joining the party...

1. We'd love it if you would be a LITM follower. You can join us through GFC, Facebook, Feedburner, or Pinterest!
2. We'd also really appreciate it if you would link back to us so that others can join the fun too. If you really loved us, you'd grab one of the awesome buttons from the sidebar :)
3. Remember to link to your specific post and not just to your blog. And please, no etsy shops or giveaways. However, Pinterest boards are permitted :)

Now, it's party time. Go on and get down with your bad self. (Could I be any whiter??)


Christmas Gift Ideas

Christmas Galore

A Handmade Christmas: Gift Ideas for Neighbors & Friends

Alrighty folks. Here it is. The last installment of our Handmade Gift series. Today we're looking at gifts for friends, neighbors, coworkers, teachers, etc. Be sure to check out the rest of the series - Gifts for Infants, Gifts for Toddlers & Preschoolers, Gifts for Big Kids thru Teenagers, Gifts for the Husband or Significant Other, and Gifts for Grandparents.

First up is something that comes from our very own Heather here on this little blog - Homemade Facial Scrubs. Mix it up, put it in a small glass jar, and give it to all the women on your list. All of the ingredients are simple and natural - which is awesome!

I'm drooling over this Cookie Cutter Fudge, which comes straight from the Betty Crocker Website. Fudge is a fairly simple to make and so yummy. I love how they decorated it with other candies and goodies. It really ups the wow factor for this simple little gift.

This next idea is especially useful for teachers, but I'm honestly thinking about making this for myself. I use sticky notes all the time! Go check out Paper Wings to see how she made these adorable Post-It Stands.

Who doesn't love Hostess Ding-Dongs and Ho-Hos? I know I do! I would be thrilled to get this adorable little package of goodies from One of a Kind. Such a fun idea!

As a family (when I was little), we used to make up goodies and take to our neighbors for Christmas. And that's fun an all, but after you're on the receiving end of a couple of those plates, you find yourself swamped with treats. That's exactly why I'm thrilled with the idea of giving mixes or doughs so that the receiver can make and eat the treats whenever they're ready. Then the goodies stay fresh and can be eaten warm...instead of old and stale. :) Check out Blue Cricket Designs to see how she added a personal touch to store bought cookie dough! You could also mix and wrap your own cookie dough instead.

These Grinch Pills would be great to pass out to co-workers! Custom Creations by Tamara Bennet is offering the cut file for the box. However, even if you don't have a cutting machine, you could just cut the front of the box and either tape or tie it onto some tic tacs.

How about a gift that won't make your neighbor think about the calories? Today's Fabulous Finds has a plethora of gift ideas (under $2 - sahweet!), but I really got a kick out of this Dishtowel and Dishcloth gift!

This next gift is a little more labor intensive as it requires a little more work, but it is sure to be enjoyed by the whole family! Check out Family Bites to see how to put together this Ice Cream Sundae Kit!

Here are a couple of ideas that are more useful than yummy! Crafts re-Designed is offering a free printable to personalize hand soap and wrapping paper. Adorable!

I can't stay away from the yummy treats. How about Chocolate Covered Pretzels? Mmmmm :) Check out How Does She for a link to a tutorial and printable tag!

Thanks for joining us this week to take a look at some fun handmade Christmas ideas. As we get past Thanksgiving, I'll be putting up some tutorials for handmade gifts that I've made. But I'm a big believer in keeping Thanksgiving and Christmas separate. Be sure to come back next week for some Thanksgiving inspiration! 

A Homemade Christmas: Gift Idea for Grandparents

This is the 5th post in our Homemade Christmas series. Be sure to check out the previous posts in this series: Gift Ideas for Infants, Gift Ideas for Toddlers and Preschoolers, Gift Ideas for Big Kids, Tweens & Teenagers, and Gift Ideas for a Husband or Significant Other.

In my opinion, Grandparents are the funnest to give gifts to. It seems to me that grandparents and great-grandparents, at least in our family, are always so excited to get gifts that revolve around their grandchildren. Makes gift giving super easy!

So, first up are a few ideas of projects that I've done in the past.

I actually made these photo blocks as Mother's Day gifts for my Mother-in-Law and myself last year. This is a picture of my own blocks. Obviously the blocks for my Mother-in-Law revolved around her family, rather than just our family. But the idea is still the same. Choose your photos and either print then crop or crop then print. Make sure to print on photo paper so that the ink doesn't run or smear. Cut to the size of the block, then use mod podge to put the photos on the blocks. Really, quite easy. I also painted my blocks black. The blocks were just cut down from a piece of lumber from Home Depot for around $4 or $5.

Another easy and simple idea is Photo Glass Magnets. I made these 2 years ago for Christmas for all the grandparents and great grandparents. Unfortunately I didn't get any good pictures of the ones I made. So instead I found a tutorial from The Creative Place that has great pictures to show you what I'm talking about. I would recommend heavy duty magnets and heavy duty glue - something like E6000. I tried hot glue and the first time one fell off the fridge the magnet popped off. All the grandmas loved them - and in fact they're still on all of their fridges!

Here's another cute block idea from I {Heart} Nap Time  - Grandma Blocks! As she says at the bottom of her post, these can also be altered for a mom, dad, grandpa, etc.

Here's another super cute photo idea - Photo Key Chains! My Crazy Life as a Farmer's Wife has a fun little tutorial to make these. Pretty stinking easy and I know grandparents would just adore these!

I'm starting to send a trend here. For now, I'll stick with the trend and show you these Photo Coasters from Oopsey Daisy. Tiles, photos, and resin will make these cute and useful gifts!

I know this is a pretty short post, but most of the grandparent gifts that I'm coming up with or can find revolve around photos - and most are just variations of the above ideas. I would feel repetitive if I posted them all.

I'd love to hear any ideas that don't center around photos. Please feel free to share any other ideas. And come back tomorrow for the last installment of A Homemade Christmas. Tomorrow we'll be featuring ideas for neighbors and friends.

A Handmade Christmas: Gift Ideas for your Husband or Significant Other

Here's the fourth installation of our Homemade Gifts series! Today we'll be focusing on our spouse/significant other. And, since most of the people who read this blog are women, these gifts will be focused mainly on the menfolk. Looking for other ideas? Take a look at our gift ideas for Infants, Toddlers & Preschoolers, and Big Kids through Teenagers.

Does anyone else find it incredibly hard to make homemade gifts for the men? They definitely don't appreciate it as much as the ladies. Hopefully at least one of the ideas here will be something that would make him happy!

I don't know about you, but we don't go on dates nearly often enough. Despite the fact that Grandma lives about 5 blocks away and we have awesome friends who would babysit, we still don't go out on dates. Our "dates" are usually taking Andyroo with us to do something fun (for a 3-year-old). Bowling, kids movie, etc. To eliminate part of the reason for not going out, why not come up with 12 dates (or however many you want), get them all planned, and give that as a gift! My Mix of Six gave her hubby a Date Package complete with 12 dates planned and paid for. So easy! It reminds me of once a month cooking!

Are you always losing remotes like we are in our house? The most common place that we find them is tucked in the cushions of the couch. End the madness with this Remote Caddy from Sew 4 Home!

This picture for this next idea might say "Father's Day" but I think this would also work for Christmas! What a cute Father's Photo Collage from the kiddos that would let their daddy know that he's loved. Positively Splendid even has a printable to make it easier!

Is your significant other a coffee (or hot chocolate) lover? How about a cute little Reusable Coffee Cup Sleeve? The Cottage Home has a great tutorial on how to make your own.

Here's a twist on the remote caddy - a Remote Control Pocket Pillow! Check out how Blessings Overflowing created this handy dandy caddy. I think the hubs is definitely getting some kind of remote caddy this year (shhh, don't tell him that)!

Are you more of a gift card giver? How about sprucing up that gift card with a fun card? Holiday Crafts and Creations has a couple different versions for these Shirt Pocket Cards - a Shirt and Tie version (for an Office Max gift card) and a flannel work shirt (for a Home Depot gift card).

Looking for a way to show your hubby how much you appreciate him? How about an All About You Basket? The Dating Divas have some great ideas for making your own!

Does anyone else have any superb gift ideas for the men in their life? I'm always looking for ideas (besides video games) for the hubby! Please share!

Tomorrow we will be focusing on Grandparents, so make sure to check back for some fabulous ideas!

A Homemade Christmas: Gift Ideas for Big Kids & Teenagers

So I've decided to change things up a bit and combine days for Big Kids and Teenagers and open a spot for Grandparents. I hope everyone's okay with that! :) Don't forget to check out the posts about Handmade Gifts for Infants and Handmade Gifts for Toddlers and Preschoolers!

Here's one that appeals to each of these age groups - personalized shirts. How about using Bleach to Create a Personalized Shirt? The Next Bird will show you how. Not sure what the picky teen would want? Give them a bleach pen, some shirts, and the directions and let them create their own!

How about a Marshmallow Gun? Create Studio shows us how to use PVC Pipe and joints to create some marshmallow fun. She made one for her little boy, but these would appeal to any age! Heck, even my husband would love one of these!

A fun one, probably more for girls, is a magnet board! This one is pretty girls, but you could definitely make it for a boy. A Girl and a Glue Gun used some leftover metal pieces, but you can buy metal sheets to do this with.

Another fun one that any girl is sure to love? Personalized Notebooks! Take a notebook, add some paper and embellishments, and it will be instant love! So much better than those plain spiral or composition books. This particular notebook comes from Sew Woodsy. Want to make it a gift set? Add some fun colored pens and you'll be set!

Are you more comfortable with fabric than paper? Then you can still create a customized notebook! Essentially, you're creating a fabric cover for a notebook - which can be reused on a different notebook. Stay Calm and Sew Something has a great tutorial - and I love the zebra print and polka dots together!

This next idea would be great for girls of all ages, but Washer Necklaces are easy (and cheap) enough to make for all the girls on your gift-giving list. Seriously. I'm thinking that every girl on my list will be getting two or three of these this year!

Here's another idea that would work for more than just tweens and teens. A Laptop (also iPad/iPod/Kindle/Netbook) Sleeve! The Cottage Home has a great tutorial for making this fun little sleeve - just use the dimensions of whatever electronic device you need to cover!

 Know someone who likes to skateboard? Why not make it easier for them to pack it around with this Skateboard Sling? This great tutorial was posted by The Boy Trifecta over on Kojo Designs.

Any other brilliant ideas for those hard-to-make-for kids and teens? Please feel free to share with us! Also, be sure to check back tomorrow for more gift giving ideas for the spouse/significant other!

A Homemade Christmas: Gifts for Toddlers & Preschoolers

Thanks for checking in for day two of the Homemade Christmas series. In case you missed it, you can check out yesterday's post focused on homemade gifts for Infants. Today is all about toddlers and preschoolers!

One of my personal favorite toddler gifts are quiet books. Whether you make it, buy it, or buy a kit to make it yourself, kiddos really do love them - especially if you can tailor them to your child! I made a quiet book for Andyroo about a year ago. I made it for our drive out to Iowa, but it would definitely make a good Christmas gift. Mine took me a long time to make, but only because I took a pretty long hiatus while I didn't have a sewing machine. If you're looking for more quiet book ideas, then you should check out How to Make a Quiet Book - which is a blog dedicated to making quiet books!

How about an I-Spy Bag? This is another project that I made for Andyroo for our loooooong drive to Iowa. Andyroo has had so much fun with this one! However, I think I would have made it smaller. Mine ended up being about 8"x8" which is pretty big for those little hands. I'm contemplating making it into a smaller bag that will be easier for him to us. Also, this can be a pretty expensive project - even with coupons and sales (which I, of course, took advantage of)! I spent probably around $30 to make Andyroo's I-Spy Bag. But it is fun - even for adults!

I'm also in love with the whole Dry Erase Quiet Book idea. I made one for my niece last year for Christmas - and it was so fun. I wish Andyroo had been older so I could have made his at the same time. However, this is totally on my gift list for Andyroo this year. Somewhat Simple has a great tutorial and even shares the pages in her book. What's so great about this kind of book is that you can customize this book to be exactly what your child needs - it can totally grow with them! What I love even more is that you don't have to worry about dry erase markers anymore because Crayola has dry erase crayons - that of course are washable. No caps to lose and no mess to worry about. And they're less than $5 at Walmart. So worth it!

Want a fun and simple idea that can be used so many different ways? How about bean bags!? Chez Beeper Bebe has a tutorial for some adorable Counting Bean Bags with appliqued numbers. Younger kids can use them for counting and older kids can use them to practice simple math. I also love how she used colorful fabric on the backs. You could easily do solid colors and use the other side for learning colors!

Here's another twist on the I-Spy bag. This one is easier for toddler to figure out alone. Check out Disney Family Fun for an easy tutorial to make a Discovery Bottle. If you wanted to make it more of a challenge, you can make a picture list of the objects and have your toddler try to find them.

How about some fun DIY Lacing Cards? All you need is some craft foam and a hole punch to make these cute little cards. Check out Tot School for a great tutorial!

Another fun idea? How about a tutorial for a Chalk Mat with a Storage Pocket. Check out Craftaholics Anonymous for this great tutorial from Maggie Muggins Designs. I know Andyroo would LOVE this!

Little ones love stickers, but if yours are anything like my Andyroo, he wants to peel them off and use them again. That's why The Creative Homemaker's Magnetic Tin with Magnet Stickers is perfect. Turn stickers into magnets and then they can be reusable on any magnetic surface!

And, if you're feeling a little adventurous, you could always go for something like a Felt Playhouse. I made Andyroo's when he was about 18 months old and he loved it. He still plays with it now! What's great is that as we have more kids, they'll be able to enjoy it too! I also love that I can keep adding to it by making other things like felt food.

Do you have any other fabulous ideas for the Toddler and Preschooler set? Feel free to share them with all of us! Also, be sure to check back tomorrow for more ideas for Homemade Gifts for the bigger kids!