Free Tie

Tiecoon is offering a free tie for it's customers to help celebrate Christmas. Use the coupon code Christmas (for five dollars off and the same cost of most of their ties) and you will just have to pay for shipping.

Spreading Christmas Joy

Holidays can be a time where we get wrapped up in getting people presents, holiday parties, and are to do lists. To make the season more meaningful, try sharing some Christmas love this season. Here are some ideas on how to do that:

• Christmas Cards: Let someone know you care and are thinking about them.
• Visit a Nursing Home: Call a local nursing home to see if you can stop by with a group of friends and/or your family members to visit with the nursing home residents and/or sing Christmas Carols. Most nursing homes are eager for people to drop by.
• Visit Facilities for the Mentally Disabled: Sometimes people with MRDD can be forgotten over the holidays. Call ahead and see if you can arrange a visit to carol or read a Christmas Story (children's book) to residents.
• Donate to the Local Food Bank
• Help feed the homeless through a homeless shelter
• Deliver Christmas Cookies to Friends, Neighbors and Co-workers
• Donate to Toys to a Children's Hospital: The local children's hospital may be accepting toys to hand out to their patients. Check out their website for rules and how to help contribute.
• Surprise Christmas: If you have extra money for the holidays, purchase Christmas dinner items and presents for a family in need and drop it anonymously on their doorstep or have it delivered to them. I usually ask my church's leaders, but there are also non-profit family organizations that are trying to provide for members in the community (and local school principals might have an idea too).
• 12 Days of Christmas: Provide a treat or Christmas gift anonymously on a neighbor's/friend's doorstep for the twelve days of Christmas.
• Christmas Carolling: Gather friends and neighbors to go Christmas Caroling to spread holiday and Christmas joy.
• Donate items to a local women's shelter.

Here's a couple of you tube clips/videos to help inspire you:

More Shabby Apple Giveaways

Here are some Shabby Apple Giveaways for you to try and enter and win!

• The Hills are Alive
• Shabby Apple A Few of our Favorite Things Sweepstakes
• The Loudmouth Lifestyle
• Inspirations and Celebrations
• Army Wife Style

Christmas Wish List

Several companies are offering "Christmas Wish List" Sweepstakes of their brand including:

• Express: Five lucky particpants will win a $500 gift card.
• Christopher & Banks: Winner will win a $175 gift card.
• Finishline: Winner receives finishline product.
• Magnum: Win a holiday wish.

Enter the sweepstakes and maybe you can have some of your holiday wishes come true.

Old Navy Sample and Share

Some options...

CrowdTap, a social marketing platform, allows brands to ask questions about their brands and products. Old Navy recently had a sample and share for their sweaters - a friend and I got a free sweater for sharing our experience. I ended up sending one of the coupons for the free sweater to my friend in Ohio. She picked a cute sweater that looked great on her.

My experience was a little on the rough side. Old Navy didn't have as many sweater options in the store as they did online. I had to scour the store in order to find a few sweaters to try on. There wasn't any one to greet me and besides a few cashiers there wasn't an employee on the floor to respond to any questions. There also was no one back by the fitting room when I initially went to try a few things on. I ended up choosing a black boyfriend cardigan. The sweater was soft and comfortable. I am not sure it was the best choice for someone that's short, but I figured I could make it work.

After I made my decision, I headed toward the line. A woman two spots in front of me offered a woman with two small children to go in front of her, which was nice. We waited in line for about fifteen minutes and the two small children were getting anxious so they started pulling product down from the display. The woman who let the other woman cut was getting frustrated that the line was taking two long and we weren't moving. The line also started to fill up behind me. After another ten minutes, the people behind me also started complaining. A manager finally came out and opened another line, which started the line moving, but the damage was already done since several customers were very unhappy about their experience.  I couldn't complain much since I was getting a free sweater, but if I wasn't I wouldn't have stayed in that line.

It might have just been that particular store since I have been to other Old Navy's and had a better experience. I also tend to like buying things online through them since you can use coupon codes and get a percentage back via ebates on your purchase. If you're interested in doing a sample and share, sign up for crowdtap (you can also earn points for amazon gift certificates).

Free Bible and Free Christmas Music

If you go to mormon.org/christmas, you can request a free bible and download free Christmas music from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. There are also free ecards that you can send to your family and friends.

Holiday Outfit Options

I've noticed that it's struggle for some to find a holiday outfit. Here are a few ideas:

Holiday Option 1:
Top - Dorothy Perkins: $14
Pants - The Limited: $70
Earrings - Nordstrom: $38
Necklace - Pier 1: $6.40
Total for Outfit: $128.40 (not including sales from limited, coupon codes or ebates)
 Click here to view on Polyvore.


Holiday Option 2:

Dress - Downeast Basics: $36.99 (use code HOLLYJOLLY for 30%)
Necklace - Etsy: $20
Shoes - American Eagle: $30
Tights - Walgreens: $2.99
Total for Outfit:  $89.98 (not including tax, ebates or coupon codes)
Click here to view on Polyvore.



Holiday Option 3:
Dress - Shabby Apple: $88 (check retail me not for discount codes)
Tights - Gap: $15 (check retail me not for discount codes)
Shoes - Target: $25
Bracelet - Charlotte Russe: $6
Total for Outfit:  $134 (not including tax, ebates or coupon codes)
Click here to view on Polyvore.




Holiday Option4:

Top - Dorothy Perkins: $19
Skirt - Dorothy Perkins: $21
Shoes - Dorothy Perkins: $39
Earrings - Dorothy Perkins: $14
Total for Outfit: $93 (not including tax, ebates or coupon codes)
Click here to view on Polyvore.

Looking for a Great Gift?

If you're a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and looking for a meaningful Christmas, anniversary or wedding gift, check out My Temple Art. You can personalize names and dates, scripture or sayings on a picture of the temple and you can choose from temple pictures from around the world. My husband and I got a blanket with the temple we got married in with the date and that was one of the most precious gifts that we received - a remembrance of the day we got sealed together. This can be a meaningful and thoughtful gift for friends and family members. Check it out here.

Top Christmas Children Books

Here are some ideas for Children's Books to pick up at your local library and read for Christmas:

• Olivia Helps with Christmas by Ian Falconer: The Olivia books are always fun to read out loud and clever.
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss: Christmas Classic
• Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore: Christmas Classic
• Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg: Christmas Classic
• Bear Stays up for Christmas by Karma Wilson
• Snowmen at Christmas by Mark Buehner
• Eloise at Christmastime by Kay Thompson: Humorous Classic
• Christmas Oranges by Linda Bethers: Heartfelt Tale
• The Christmas Train by Thomas Monson: Heartfelt Tale
• Who's that Knocking on Christmas Eve? by Jan Brett: Great Illustrations
• Christmas Trolls by Jan Brett
• The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado
• A Wish to Be a Christmas Tree by Colleen Monroe

Top Christmas Movies

We all like to cozy up in the winter on the couch with warm popcorn and hot chocolate to watch Christmas movies.

Here are some of my top picks:

• Miracle on 34th Street: Miracle on 34th Street is one of ultimate favorite Christmas movies about believing in something or someone even if reason says otherwise. 
• It's a Wonderful Life: This movie shows that our lives can have meaning and hope even if it seems like we are doomed.
• White Christmas: I am not a huge fan of miracles and I often fast forward through the fast songs, but this one is a classic filled with a few Christmas songs and shows that helping an old friend is better than publicity (also love can happen quickly).
• While You Were Sleeping: This isn't entirely a Christmas movie, but the guy does go into a coma on Christmas day, but it shows the spirit of family and helps you to appreciate your loved ones for the holiday.
• A Charlie Brown Christmas: It's usually on TV once a year and you can even view it on Hulu. Charlie Brown and the gang find the true meaning of Christmas and help remind us the true meaning as well.
• Home Alone: Home Alone is probably the most dangerous to show kids - the first time my brothers and I saw it, we wanted to try and slide down the stairs in a sled and out the front door. It's funny and shows that no matter how much you think you want to be alone, you will still want your family around during the holidays.
• Santa Clause: I enjoy watching this film in the holidays and watching how becoming Santa Claus and learning more about the feeling of Christmas can change a man into becoming a better person and dad.
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas: A Dr. Seuss classic about a green hermit that learns the true meaning of Christmas.
• A Christmas Story: The Christmas story is a classic childhood story. The house where this movie is filmed at is available for tour in Cleveland. Check it out here.
• A Muppet Christmas Carol: The muppets tell the story of the Christmas Carol with upbeat and fun music.
• Arthur Christmas: My husband and I saw this last year during our honeymoon, it was super hilarious.

Additional Movies: Christmas in Connecticut, Holiday Inn, Home Alone II, Elf, Muppet Family Christmas, A Christmas Carol, Jingle All the Way

$1 Skinny Ties

Tiecoon is offering two different styles of Skinny Ties for $1. There's a blue and yellow style. I like the blue the best. My generation always thought the thicker the better, but within the past couple years skinnier ties are in.

Here are a couple articles on it:

Thin vs. Wide
Enough with the Skinny Ties
Style Tips for Skinny Tie
The Skinny on Skinny Ties

Shabby Apple Giveaways

Here are some Shabby Apple Giveaways to enter! Good Luck! Shabby Apple creates modest and fashionable dresses. They can be on the pricey side and their sizing can be odd (don't ever order the Calooh Callay!), but if you get the right size they look really cute on. Every time I wear one of their dresses I get a compliment. Also if you decide to forgo the contests and get a dress, be sure to go to Retail Me Not to get codes for percentages off of a dress. One of my favorites that I own is Tinsel Town's L.A.

• Lauren and Lauren
• Life is a Sand Castle
• The Weekend File
• Momma Told Me
• My Billie

Favorite You Tube Videos

I am not a die hard You Tube video watcher at all. I would much rather see something on hulu, that's not someone filming their cat sliding down a slide or someone playing a practical joke. I also don't laugh out loud a lot. Somethings just don't warrant a laugh. There is one set of videos on You Tube that will crack a smile and get a laugh out - Kid History Videos. Kid History Videos is a story told from a kids perspective, but acted out by adults. It sounds like it's something that could be considered quite dumb, but they are actually pretty clever. Check it out here:

Bowties - $1

You may have heard about Tiecoon from me in previous posts, Tiecoon offers inexpensive and classy looking ties. To celebrate the holidays, Tiecoon is doing a twelve days of Christmas deals. Today's deal is two choices of a $1 bow tie - a purple bow tie and a blue geometric style. It seems like a great deal especially if you're into bow ties.