Search Results for: blog a home for the holidays

Upcycle Your Holidays

If your home is already crammed to the gills with “stuff,” the prospect of adding even more items during the holiday season can make your skin crawl. One way to alleviate this uncomfortable feeling and save money at the same time is to learn the fine art of upcycling.  Pinterest has made a fortune from the fad, so there’s no reason you can’t benefit as well. Before heading to the mall to drain your wallet on expensive Christmas-themed paraphernalia, gather your kids and take a tour of your home.  Look for items that can transformed into amazing holiday presents and … Continue reading →

Overcoming Fitness Challenges during the Holidays

Life is busy.  There is a lot to be done to prepare for the holidays.  It might make sense to put exercise on the backburner.  After all, there is always the New Year, right?  Wrong. Let’s face it.  We can always come up with an excuse to not exercise and to indulge ourselves in unhealthy food choices.  The holidays are just a convenient time in which to do this. It can be hard to stay motivated during this time of year.  But there are ways to overcome the challenges. First, you just might have to accept the fact that exercise … Continue reading →

Balancing the Holidays: Simplify, Blend and Schedule

I don’t know about you, but December tends to be the busiest month of the year.  There is so much to do, so many preparations to make, gifts to buy and a house to clean. Yet this is also the time of year for being with family.  So how can you balance it all?  I think it comes down to three things:  simplifying, blending and scheduling. Let me explain.  First, simplify.  What are some things you can skip doing?  Are there areas of the home that really don’t need to be cleaned? Could you cut down on the amount of … Continue reading →

How to Start a Home Baking Business

The holidays are an ideal time to start a home baking business. The high demand for treats combined with the hectic chaos of the season means that many people will be looking for short cuts that save time, while still being able to serve and to enjoy high quality cookies, pies, cakes, candies and more. Do Some Research Talk to neighbors, family, friends and co-workers to find out exactly what type of baked goods they would be most likely to buy. This may give you a good idea of what you should offer and if you already have a likely … Continue reading →

Homemade Trick-or-Treat Bags

Do your kids have their trick-or-treat bags ready yet? Logan’s been running around with his for over a week anxiously awaiting the time when he can finally go trick-or-treating! He can hardly stand the excitement. With all the candy floating around I can’t say I blame him! This is a fun time for both parents and children. As a single parent there’s never much money hanging around for fancy little buckets to carry their candy in, but it’s much more fun to make them anyway. This year let the kids get creative. There are so many different things that can … Continue reading →

Get Organized Before the Holidays Hit

My scrapbooking area looks like an F-5 tornado ripped through it. Sadly, it looks that way after completing just one back-to-school memory book. Imagine what will happen if I leave it this way until the holidays. With Halloween just about a week away, and Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner, now is the time to get your scrapbooking materials organized. The holidays are chaotic enough without having to search high and low for specific embellishments, paper and tools. What’s more, if you are planning to design scrapbooks as gifts to give for Christmas or Hanukkah, then you have added … Continue reading →

What Feelings Does Your Home Bring?

What feelings do people experience when they walk into your home? Does it feel cold and stiff, as if they have walked into a museum and they can’t touch a thing? Or does it feel warm and welcoming? I don’t think we give much thought to the feelings evoked in others when they step through the door of our home. But it’s something you might want to consider, especially with the holidays just around the corner. Colors can speak a lot about you. Bold, vibrant colors or patterns may be your thing but keep in mind that for others, it … Continue reading →

Thinking Of A Seasonal Home Based Business?

As I was out shopping today, I saw workers in one of the stores putting up Christmas trees in their home decorating department. My first reaction was to feel disgusted that Christmas merchandising seems to happen earlier every year. Seriously people, it is not even officially fall yet. My second reaction was that if I were someone who wanted to operate a seasonal business around the holidays, now would be the right time to start planning and preparing for it. The holidays can take up a lot of time and energy for many people. If you have the time, energy, … Continue reading →

March and Food Holidays

I love food holidays. If you have stuck around awhile you know that I often write about national food holidays. I think its fun and a great excuse to try a new food or recipe. As a homeschooling mom, I have a tendency to make lesson out of everything and enjoy themes. So, I guess monthly food holidays appeal to me on a few different levels. As I searched the food holidays for March, I came up with eight national food month long “holidays”. Eight is quite a bit. I often wonder who came up with all of this. Can … Continue reading →

The Holidays Are Over

Well the holidays are officially over and the in law story has not changed. My husband called his parents on Christmas morning and they were doing Christmas morning things. He told them when we should be home and for them to call later when they were free. Much to our surprise not they did not call. OK I am not a grandparent but I hope to be one someday and I cannot even imagine not calling my grandkids on Christmas. We figure maybe they got busy so the next day my husband called and they heard the kids in the … Continue reading →