Holiday Tip: Creative Ways to Give Thanks

I love the holidays. This time of year is my favorite. Everyone getting together and sharing what they're most thankful for!

This year we're having Thanksgiving at my apartment. I'm hoping next year I'll get to move into a house and have a nice big dinner, but for now it'll be chilling in the living room watching the Macy's Day Parade as all the fixings are prepared!!!

This week I want to share creative ways to give thanks this holiday season!!! Better Homes and Garden nailed it this year!!

1. Thankful Centerpiece: Make decorating the table a group effort. For the centerpiece, fill a serving platter with unshelled nuts, arrange colorful fruit on top and insert artificial berry sprigs. Then ask guests to add to the arrangement by writing what they're thankful for on paper leaves and tucking them into the centerpiece.

2. Drink Tags: Print out their free leaf-shape patter onto fall-color papers, cut out, and punch a hole at the base of each leaf. Ask guests to pick a leaf and write a word or short phrase describing something they're thankful for, such as "family" or "good health". Attach leaves to the wineglass stems using lengths of gold cord or raffia.

3. Simple Notes: Express your gratitude for individual guests with a quick note of thanks. Use adorable thank you cards for those sweet words on the inside.

For more amazing ideas check out the rest of their creativness this holiday season!

Holiday Tip: Halloween Movies

During the week of Halloween I enjoy watching ABC Family's 13 Days of Halloween. It really gets me into the spirit of the holiday!

I also adore going to the haunted houses near our house and having our regular Halloween Party! We scope out the newest Haunted Houses because they're discounted and it help gets the word out. For the Halloween Party we add something new every year!

That being said instead of playing the traditional 'party' music we switch between Halloween Movies and eerie music!!!!

Below are some of my favorite ways to spruce up the Halloween Party and give it at the extra scary edge for this time of year!

Hocus Pocus I watch for the nostalgia. Every year since I was a kid we watched it. That's yet to change!

The Strangers scares the pants off me!!! This is one that the party plays after I'm gone! I don't like to be left with nightmares and this one gives me the heebie jeebies!!

Halloween is an old time favorite. Michael Meyers has given me nightmares since I first saw him as a young girl. This is the only costume off limits for the Halloween Party.

Last but not least is a new one added to our pile of goodies. INSIDIOUS. This one freaked the crap out of me so it'll now be added to the continuation of films on Old Hallows Eve.

What are the movies that make you jump? Any plans for the upcoming Holiday!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN WEEKEND!!

Holiday Tip: Costume Complications

Never give up on costumes for Halloween. I don't know who all plans on going to a Halloween party this year, but the hubster and I throw our own party and LOVE dressing up. In fact, at our parties, costumes are required!

This year was ROUGH. We never have a whole lot of luck finding costumes. It takes us forever, and last weekend was no exception. After an hour of searching we each found what we wanted. Next year we'll shop early and order online. It'll definitely be worth it. Since we've only done this three years in a row we're still learning.

What we ended with:

Queen of Hearts and Zombie (obvs the hubsters the zombie). I found a picture of mine... it seems the Zombie one is much harder to find than I thought!

What are you dressing up as? Remember to never give up! Go for what you want. There are too many stores NOT to get what you want!

Traveling: For the Holidays

If you're one to travel during the holidays much like my husband and I do every other year for family, you'll want to have a little fun.

I've decided to share the recipe for a safe and happy travel! Whether you're traveling by car or plane, mishaps can always happen. It's what you do with them to make them fun. Here are some tips on ensuring your entire holiday is a success.

1. Embrace the complicated.

My husband and I have had issues where we were stranded in a unknown city or ran out below freezing window washer fluid. Rather than panicking we laughed our way through it.

In the new city we embraced the opportunity to learn something about the town. Visiting their information center we learned they were all about their wood carvings, which were beautiful! It allowed us time to have our flat tired changed & bond a little before heading off for the rest of our journey. Think of it as an adventure.

With the window washer fluid, we drove down the freeway with a bottle of fluid throwing it aimlessly on the car before the windshield froze over again. Not a pleasant experience but we laughed during it -- and learned a lesson!

2. Be Unique.

My husband and are quirky but on a road trip we plan surprises. On mile marker 622 I'll have a special mug of hot apple cider waiting for him. Half way through the road trip he'll stop by a local supermarket and we'll pick up a tiara for me and a comedy CD to listen to on the next phase of the trip. The more surprises that come the less it feels like travel and the more it feels like adventure.

3. Play those games.

You played Eye Spy or the Alphabet game when you were a kid, what's stopping you now? It's a lot more fun when you're both actively seeking for the next letter of the alphabet, or searching for the fifty states on licenes plates. Traveling isn't meant to be all stress. Make it fun!

4. Waiting Time is Fun Time.

When waiting to board the plane check out the little shops. They are there for you. You don't need to buy everything in sight but it's fun to pretend you can afford that expensive piece of jewelery or just get comfy in your seat and people watch.

My husband and I decide if someone is traveling for business or pleasure. In choosing one we must, from there, set up a story for why that person is going and what kind of experience they'll have.

Most of all just have a little fun! If you're not having fun you'll find yourself subjected to longer flights, terrible layovers, flat tires, and the baby that won't stop screaming next to you.

How do you travel? Have any tips for me?

Monday: Hot Apple Cider in Apples!

Holiday Tip - Dressing up your pumpkin

With Halloween around the corner it's always great to start thinking of ideas early!

How are you going to play it this year?

Chic and stylish?
Scary and Gory?
Fun and festive?

When you're able to decide what theme you'd like around the house it makes it so much easier! You'll want to decide if you want real or fake pumpkins. I love real, but sometimes neighborhood teens have a tendency to play the pumpkin throwing game and that gets messy! Regardless of the pumpkin you choose the same rules still apply!

Chic and stylish:

1. Ribbon love. Grab those remnants of holiday ribbon and add double sided tape, and voila - a cute centerpiece!
2. Spray Paint or Craft Paint. Polka-dots, stripes, swirly designs. Get funky, these cute little pumpkins are easy as painting on a coat of your favorite color and dressing it up in style!
3. Tag Line Cutie. Leave cute little trick or treat quotes on scrapbook paper, use some halloweenish ribbon and leave these little gems all around the house! They're the cutest little addition for the holiday!
4. Crepe Paper Votives. These are one of my favorites! Crepe paper, glue, and baby food jars and you'll have the cutest pumpkins and ghosts in town! Check out the instructions!

Scary and Gory:

1. Pattern love. The online world is a fabulous one, find the perfect SCARY pattern to carve OR paint on your pumpkin!
2. Throw them up. So this one I always enjoy seeing, I personally wouldn't want to deal with the clean-up, but when you're going with gross this one's the real deal!
3. The more the merrier. If you're going for a wicked look I suggest several lit up pumpkins. The neighbors will think you've gone crazy, but you've just nailed the perfect look.
4. Angling for the best outcome. I find that placing the pumpkin in different positions often gives the pumpkin a new edge, character. Utilize all the space.

Fun and Festive:

1. Decortive. Utilize every day house items to spruce up the pieces out on your front porch, dining room table, etc. Shovels, rakes, silver - black - white or orange bowls to liven up the halloween spirit.
2. Team Spirit. Often times you'll see sports initials and mascots on pumpkins and that's the way people celebrate! If your little one loves princess or a wizard, find a pattern and use it as a way to make Halloween less scary in your household.
3. Pumpkin Decorating. Buy paints and let the kids go wild with their own versions of pumpkins. With pinks, blues, greens galore, everyone is sure to have a good time and want to show of their finished pieces.
4. Every color pumpkin. I love nothing more than visiting the pumpkin patch and picking out the odd colored ones, from green to white they add just a little more flare to your decorative feel.

Question: What theme are you thinking about this year?

Monday: Keeping the spice in your marriage!