Starting tomorrow, I’ll be trying to deck the halls. I’m late at doing this, honestly I usually start on November 1st. I guess this whole “I’m pregnant” thing throws me out of whack. But today it was a seasonal 40 degrees outside, instead of the record breaking 80 degrees we had a few days ago, so my zest for getting into all things holiday got revived… Read the rest of this entry »

Ah, the age old question, the one I continue to look up every single year. So how big of a turkey do you really need?

It all depends on the amount of leftovers you want! In our household we have a tradition. On Thanksgiving evening we eat turkey sandwiches and some fixings at midnight, usually while we watch a Christmas movie (It’s a Wonderful Life is usually my first choice). From that point on, we eat leftover turkey, and love every minute of it. But we also send some home with our family members. So here’s the rough guidelines on what size of turkey you will need:

- Allow 1 lb of turkey per person (this leaves little leftovers).

- Allow 1.5 lb of turkey per person for a little more leftovers.

This is just a rough guideline. We bought a massive turkey this year and we are only having six adults (where we usually have 20 or so). The two main reasons for that was the price (.35 a lb, I couldn’t pass it up) and leftovers (this will give us enough turkey to freeze and use for tons of meals to come). I’m even planning on getting more turkeys, as they taste great and the price right now cannot be beat!

Hopefully everyone has Christmas plans coming up, and in our household those always include the annual Christmas party. We used to have mine and my husbands, but of course being a SAHM now, his Christmas party is our only Christmas party. It’s our one night we can dress up in our finest and deck the halls. Here’s some quick and cheap hints to dress up the evening: Read the rest of this entry »

My mother had that best idea a ways back. She decided to make my father a Santa suit. It was complete with the big belly insert, spectacles and the white hair. All of this was for the grandchildren, who at that time were small enough to fool. What a great idea though, and here’s why…

Thanksgiving wasn’t always one of my favorite holidays. I hated the smell of raw turkey in the morning when I woke up and I remember the excruciating pain of waiting ALL DAY LONG just to eat that dinner that I was dying for by days end. But through the years I definitely have come to love the turkey, the all day in the oven and hate the prepackaged “make my life easier” sides which now seem to accompany most Thanksgiving meals. That being said, how do you get your kids involved in the big Turkey day so it’s something they will treasure for years to come?

We are inching closer and closer to the big day, the big day of Christmas. Make sure and get your lists of things to do for the big day in order, which include all the presents, wrapping, decorations, and cooking. And yes, you can get the Christmas cards out of the way now!

This year is a first in our household. It looks like all of my husbands family will be busy this Thanksgiving, and most of the kids have previous plans, so instead of having around 20 people, we will have a nice cozy 6. People are going to Vegas and to other families homes within the state. Makes me think of getting Outer Banks rentals for us!

But I am looking forward to the small get together (and the leftovers that come with it!)
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So this week I just wanted to reiterate some of the items that seem to suck your holiday money away. These are some of the extras we pay for in order for convienice. Keep reading to see how to avoid the holiday pitfalls…

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This week we’ll go over some of the best ways to save some money during the holidays, and that is giving homemade baked goodies for gifts. So let’s go over how this is not only a money saver but it is more with the feeling and spirit of Christmas…

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Well, this week we’ll talk about one very important way to cut costs this holiday season.  I understand that little Susie wants a Cabbage Patch Doll, but do you buy to first doll you find or do you comparison shop?  This is a good example of everyone faces during the holiday season, so let’s cover how to get through it without spending a fortune!