Getting Ready for Christmas

Three more Sundays until Christmas!  [laughs] Put that way, it makes it seem like there's not much time to get things done.  Okay, don't panic.  How does 21 days until Christmas sound?  Much better?  Alright, you can relax now.  I, myself, have been trying not to worry about the list of handmade projects I've given myself to do before Christmas.  Aside from hoping I'll get what I have planned done on time, I've been REALLY excited this Christmas season about all the ideas I have for giving people stuff, from the gift ideas I have for my girls to all the Christmas cards I hope to send out ('cause I know how happy I get when I get a card in the mail).  And then there's the free stuff I get to share with you all including some of the songs that are on my iTunes Christmas playlist and links to tutorials for handmade gifts and Christmas cards, contests, and a couple places in town to see Christmas light displays.  I hope what I have to share makes your holiday a little more merry and bright.  =D


Jolly Jingles
If you're already tired of hearing Taylor Swift mournfully sing for the thousandth time about her heart being given away last Christmas, then here are a few tunes you may be less familiar with or renditions you can rock out to (maybe around the Christmas tree).  Enjoy!

 

Handmade Gift Ideas for Leala

As I had mentioned in my post Privation is the Mother of Creation, there was a list of gift ideas I had for Leala that I could make for free with the fabric scraps and materials I have in my sewing stash.  Due to a limited amount of time though, I narrowed the handmade projects to these bracelets, this necklace, and maybe these too.  Then, after watching Leala have fun playing with her Ikea puppets yesterday, I remembered a post I had seen on a mom's blog about a puppet theatre she made for her kids.  Oh my goodness, was this link hard to find!  NEVER again will I neglect to bookmark something I like!  So I hope to make a similar little puppet theatre for Leala for Christmas... and even more so because back in June, my husband was having fun making Leala laugh by making her hand puppet eat her finger puppets and spit them back out in her face, and now she thinks that's how you're supposed to play with them.  A little puppet theatre may help teach her a more constructive way to play with her puppets [laughs].

Munchie Puppy Puppet from Yolanda Fields on Vimeo.

Handmade Gift Idea for Adella

If I have the time, I would like to make some flower headbands for Adella because one, I think they'd be cute, and two, maybe then people wouldn't ask us if she's a boy.  I liked this tutorial.

Crafty Christmas Cards

I signed up for Parent Magazine's 100 Days of Holidays email newsletter and this update caught my attention.  My favorite handmade Christmas card designs were the ones with the stitched border and sheet music background.  I came up with a design that combines the two.  I'll post pictures when I complete one.

Giving-It-Away-For-Free Business
You know where I got that title from if you've seen Veggie Tales:  St. Nicholas:  A Story of Joyful Giving.  You'll often hear me quote movies.  Well, speaking of giving away stuff, here are a couple Christmas contests I know of where you can win free stuff:

Anthropology: 20 Days A'Gifting
Sorry I didn't get this link up in time for you to enter the contest when it started on the 2nd.  BUT, better later than never and you still have 18 chances to enter to win 18 different prizes (1 entry per day).

Parents Magazine Weekly Toy Giveaway
I just found out about this contest yesterday, BUT there are still 3 weeks left to enter to win 3 different prizes (1 entry per week).  Here are the weeks that are left and their corresponding prizes:

Week 3: 12/4/11-12/10/11
One (1) winner will receive a Stow & Go Activity Cart, retail value $85.

Week 4: 12/11/11-12/17/11
One (1) winner will receive a Grow & Play toy package, including one (1) Start Me Up! Car Keys, retail value $15; one (1) Fun with Food! ABC Blocks, retail value $30; and one (1) Busy Hands Bear, retail value $27; total retail value of Grow & Play package $72.

Week 5: 12/18/11-12/24/11
One (1) winner will receive a Rhythm Music toy package, including one (1) Colorful Notes Xylophone, retail value $28; one (1) Beat Bop Drum, retail value $30; and one (1) Clickity Clack Bugs, retail value $12; total retail value of Grow & Play package $70.


Local Lights

Christmas on Knob Hill, San Marcos

through December 31

Christmas Card Lane, Rancho Peñasquitos

through January 1

Deck the Halls
I still have some decorating left to do in our house.  I've only managed to get my interchangeable bulletin board decorated with some of my favorite greeting cards from Christmas past and a few ornaments and a pine cone garland that I strung with colored lights and hung red balls and a few of my mom's handmade felt ornaments on.  I LOVED the white Christmas light decor in Dave Barne's Christmas Tonight music video.  Maybe it'll spark some creative ideas I can implement in our home.