Monday, December 13, 2010
Santa's Sleigh
Jeff at the Merry Network (of which Magical Holiday Home is a part) sponsors this annual event. He selects the family that the proceeds benefit and therefore you can be assured that your dollars are truly reaching the hearts of those is need.
Please consider giving just a small amount. Those small amounts add up and can make Christmas bright!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Let There Be Peace Card
Wow look how beautiful this card is. Check it out over at Amazing Paper Grace. There are plenty of wonderful ideas!!! So pretty I'd almost hate to send it!!
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Reindeer Craft
Monday, August 30, 2010
Snowmen Clay Pots
When I was cruising the resale shops I found several little clay pots that I picked up for a quarter each...didn't know exactly what I was going to use them for but now I know...witches, elves, and snowmen!! It's sure to be a super fun fall and winter!! On the SAME trip I also picked up two bags of wooden heads (3 in each bag) for a quarter each....so a dollar for 4 pots and 50 cents for six wooden heads....SCORE!!
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Bottle Caps Countdown
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Happy August Rudolph Day!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
JOY Garage Sale Frames
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Happy July Rudolph Day

July is Finish Stocking Stuffer's Month and it's also the time to work on your cards. You will be glad you finished these two tasks early once the busy holiday season is here! You have from today until Rudolph Day in August to finish these two items!
I have an exciting announcement for you....RudolphDay.com
Rudolph Day.com is brought to you by several members of the Merry network. We will be blogging about holiday prep, recipes, traditions, and crafts. I hope you will take a moment to check out the site. We are just getting started but we'd love to hear your comments!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
French Vanilla Cocoa Mix in a Jar

French Vanilla Cocoa Mix in a Jar
Yield: About 8 pint-size jars.
10 1/2 cups non-fat dry milk
4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 (8 ounce) jars French vanilla flavored non-dairy powdered creamer
3 1/2 cups chocolate mix for milk (Nestle's Quick)
2 3/4 cup non-dairy powdered creamer
1/2 teaspoon salt
Combine all ingredients and ladle into jars. Cover tightly. Attach the following directions on a gift tag:
French Vanilla Cocoa:
Stir 3 heaping tablespoons of cocoa mix into hot water or milk.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Amaretto Cocoa Mix

Amaretto Cocoa Mix in a Jar
Have ready 8 (1-pint) jars.
10 1/2 cups non-fat dry milk
4 cups confectioners sugar
2 (8 ounce) jars Amaretto flavored non-dairy powdered creamer
3 1/2 cups Nestle's Quik
2 3/4 cups non-dairy powdered creamer
1/2 teaspoon salt
Combine all ingredients and divide among the jars. Yields approximately 8 pint size gift jars.
Attach the following directions on a card:
Amaretto Cocoa:
Combine 3 heaping tablespoons of cocoa mix into 1 cup hot water or milk.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Peppermint Sugar Scrub

Ingredients
An empty jar with a lid
1 cup granulated white sugar
6 candy canes/peppermint candy (approx ¼ cup), finely crushed into a powder
1/2 cup olive oil (or any of the oils in the basic recipe)
6 drops peppermint essential oil (optional)
Label (if desired)
Directions:
1. Pour the granulated white sugar and crushed peppermint into the jar.
2. Put the lid on the jar and shake it to mix thoroughly until the ingredients are well blended.
3. Pour the liquid ingredients into sugar mix.
4. Put the lid on the jar and shake it to mix thoroughly until the ingredients are well blended.
5. Label the jar as desired.
Notes: I haven't made this yet. I am going to try experimenting without the essential oil and see how the fragarance is using just the candy. I have some peppermint essential oil around here somewhere but can't seem to locate it. Also looking for crushed peppermint (like for cookies etc) since that might be easier to get crushed into powder. Also they have those peppermint puffs (rather than the hard round ones). They always remind me of little pillows...but I know they are softer so might be easier to crush. We like to use them in our ice tea and they melt.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Kahlua Brown Sugar Scrub

Ingredients
An empty jar with a lid
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup granulated brown sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
6 drops of vanilla
Label (if desired)
Make it
1. Pour the granulated white sugar and brown sugar into a bowl and mix thoroughly until the ingredients are well blended.
2. Pour the sugar mixture into a jar.
3. Pour the liquid ingredients into sugar mix.
4. Put the lid on the jar and shake it to mix thoroughly until the ingredients are well blended.
5. Label the jar as desired.
Notes: Two things to keep in mind. Try to find dark colored jars for the sugar scrub and also if you want to help increase shelf life you might try adding a small amount of Vitamin E oil. I believe you can buy them as gel pills....snip the end and add the oil to the scrub. Try 1/2 teaspoon as a natural preservative.
Christmas Planning: Gifts in a Jar
I have four items I'm looking at using...
Two are Sugar Scrubs
- Peppermint Sugar Scrub
- Kahlua Brown Sugar Scrub
Two are Cocoa Mixes:
- Amaretto Cocoa
- French Vanilla Cocoa
I have five people who will get both kinds of the sugar scrubs in a little gift bag! And three people who will get one of the sugar scrubs and one of the hot chocolate mixes. I also have two people who will get two of the hot cocoa mixes. So with these projects I will knock out basically ten gifts plus have a few random ones left over for hostess gifts or unexpected needs!
September is Gifts in a Jar and Baskets Month so I will make sure I have all jars, baskets, labels made and ingredients bought that month. I will be looking for jars between now and then...recycling jars is fine just sterilize them with boiling water and dry before using! The Cocoa Mixes I will actually make in September because they have a long shelf life. The Sugar Scrubs I will make in December to extend their shelf life once they are given as gifts! As long as I have everything bought and gathered it should be a snap to get them ready one December afternoon or evening!
Just a note: I also read that if you use dark colored jars it helps make the scrubs last longer so like brown glass or that colbalt blue would be good to be looking for. You can use clear glass to but they keep better in the dark.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
July Rudolph Day
Finish Stocking Stuffers Month: Don't forget July is the month to finish up stocking stuffers. Don't get sucked into all that cute trinket-y stuff that comes out right before Christmas. Looked at once and tossed aside quickly....so go ahead and pick out some fun stocking stuffers NOW and be done with it!
Christmas Cards: This is the month I start thinking/looking/working on my cards. I always say I am going to make cards but I seldom do...usually buy some on clearance after Christmas...so I get them out in July...admire them, sign them and maybe even address some of them.
On July 25th.....I'll have a special surprise announcement....so be sure and check back here!!!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Merry Christmas in July
I have a special surprise for readers.....come July 25th.....so stay tuned for some interesting updates and something new!
This is FINISH STOCKING STUFFERS MONTH...and I plan to work a bit on that tomorrow! So I'll update any progress I make!
Christmas in July is the perfect time to work on Christmas cards. For those that make them...it's time to decide on a design and get your materials ready. Then set up your assembly line and get started. I always say I am going to make my cards but usually end up using ones I have bought on clearance the day after Christmas. There are sooo many lovely designs. This year I have some cute ones. Two boxes...each box has 13 snowman ones and 13 Santa ones for a total of 52 cards. These are for family and friends. I have other cards for the card exchange at MHH. The Snowman cards say Warm Wishes and on the inside have..."for a bright and happy holiday." the Santa ones say Jolly Holidays on the front and..." Hope Santa brings all your favorite things." on the inside of the card.
Sometime this month I will open the boxes and start signing the cards. It's just a little thing but a real time saver come the busy days of December. This year in an effort to "simplify" Christmas I am considering doing away with the news letter. Haven't made a final decision on that yet but it is the way I am leaning.
I'll pop back in soon....with more Christmas in July updates. Until then have a MERRY CHRISTMAS in JULY!!!
Friday, June 25, 2010
Happy June Rudolph Day
Rudolph Day is a wonderful way to have a bit of Christmas fun and get ready for Christmas at the same time. I have learned to plan some small managable things each month. It's always easy for me to over plan and then feel discouraged. So this year I've planned small things that can be fun but also move me toward being ready for Christmas. In addition, I have set some time lines for certain things.
For example: July is Finish Stocking Stuffer month and August is the Month of the Elf....so by getting those two things out of the way early I can continue to move toward a more organized Christmas. In addition, I will use August to at least assess where I am on the St. Nick gifts. I have some things to use but I need to get a better idea of how this is going to unfold. (1st year of doing it)
These are small things that can have a big impact. I tend to over buy little gifts for stockings, elf gifts, and such so this will limit that because I will be done with those aspects of the plan. There are tons of little things that come out during the Christmas season but realistically they are "cute" and that's about it. How many Christmas notepads does a person need...lol.
I already feel a bit behind (lol) as I meant to have a lot more done by this time of the year but I will just continue to work my plan step by step.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Treasured Find #1
I found a set of dishes at the flea market. It's the four piece place setting you see above x4. So it is for four people! I already have a green snowman set which I love but figured with this little set I could mix and match the dishes...And with snowmen they are good through February where i live! What a find for four bucks.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Rudolph Day May 2010

Some things to be pondering and how they relate to life.
1. Rudolph was a misfit....remember the Island of Misfit Toys? But really what makes someone a misfit...because they do not fit the "social norm"? Wow, look at society today. Is there a norm and if there is...is it really something we want to fit?
2. Rudolph tried to run away and in the end that didn't work out too well. Luckily he had some friends to come bail him out. Running away from problems rarely solves them. Just like in Christmas prep. Worried about how you will afford Christmas? Waiting till the last minute isn't going to make it any better. Make some decisions now about how to simplify and then start doing some small things now to afford a wonderful Christmas. Not elaborate....just WONDERFUL.
3. Even wise people make mistakes. Santa went along with the group and didn't quite see how special Rudolph was. He was old and wise and kind hearted but he still made a mistake. Remember that just because some one is "suppose" to be wise doesn't make them an expert. Even experts make mistakes.
Happy Rudolph Day....and I'll see you again next month with some teachings from Rudolph and some notes on how things are progressing at my house!
Saturday, May 22, 2010
May Rudolph Day
The movie this month is Miracle on 34th Street. It's actually been awhile since I watched it and I'm hoping Evan who's three will be interested enough in it to watch it with me. It's a classic but I'm not sure there's enough action to hold his interest. We will see.
My focus for this month is gifts.....and I'm not sure it's in the budget for a shopping trip but I might be able to pick up one or two things. Or there is something that I'd at least like to price and see. However I can get my gift list updated and look through the gift closet. This year I actially have a gift closet but so far I am just sort of putting stuff in there....Really need to organize a bit and update what I have manged to stuff in there.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Simplify Christmas
Evan loved Ben the Elf and it was the highlight of a lot of our holiday season...simple things though....some gifts but some experiences also. I did do the 24 days gifts but told everyone that 09 would be the last year for that. Instead in 2010 I will create a St. Nick's Day basket for each and they will get it on St. Nick's Day. I'm not sure if the cost will really be any less but it will certainly be easier than finding and wrapping 24 gifts times 5.
I did miss out on baking like I wanted to so I think I will do just a little more of that in 2010. The Christmas party and the Christmas Eve dinner went very well. This year I will be planning simpler fare for Christmas Eve. One year I will do more of a meal and the next fingerfoods and appetizers, So 2010...is the finger foods year!!
I cut down on stocking stuffers and no one seemed to mind at all...there were still several things but not near as many as in the past. I know for sure that wrapping will have to happen early in 2010....it was almost the death of me...lol. As well as forgetting where I hid gifts. I've already cleaned out a closet and have stuff accumulating in there...so at least it will all be in the same place...Plus wrapped gifts and Santa gifts will need to be kept under wraps better becuase Evan will be four and watching a lot closer.
It came to me when I sat down to write this ....that less is more...when we slow down and take time to relish the activities (like Ben the Elf)...it's so much more than rushing to do this, this, and this. When we limit our parties and gifts we take more time to relish the occassions and the presents. So Simplify Christmas is my motto for 2010...and I've even simplified Rudolph Day!!! I mean after all it's suppose to be FUN not frantic...!!