Love Having the Scent of Our Fresh Christmas Forest Wreath Welcoming Us Home Everyday During the Holidays

Thank you to Christmas Forest for providing a complimentary fresh wreath sample for us to base this review upon and for providing an additional wreath for our contest prize.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Last year, when we were taking down our Christmas decorations, our faux berry Holiday wreath got damaged.  I was quite attached to it since we had purchased it well-over a decade ago.  I knew it would be difficult to replace and, nearly a whole year later, I still had not found a decorative wreath that I liked as much.  So, when I had the opportunity to hang a fresh wreath on our door this year, it seemed like the perfect solution.

I chose the Christmas Classic Wreath for our door because it's decorative without being too ornate.  We have not been able to put up a fresh Christmas tree for a long time due to young children and pets, so my husband and I are delighted about how fragrant this fresh evergreen wreath is.  Each time we come home and open the the storm door, we are greeted with the wonderful welcoming scent, which just instantly puts me in a cheery mood.

Our wreath from Christmas Forest has been hanging up for two weeks now and it looks just as beautiful and lush today as it did the day we unboxed it.  I just love the prominent festive bow.  It comes packaged separately, so you can shape and position it to suit your preferences.

I never realized what we were missing by not hanging a fresh wreath on our door during the Holidays and would definitely do it again in the years to come.  This 20" wreath sells for $42.00 and comes with free UPS Ground Shipping.  To learn more about this and the many other fresh wreaths by Christmas Forest, visit www.ChristmasForest.com.

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This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. A random drawing will be held shortly after the contest closing. The winner will be announced here and will be contacted via email. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be drawn.

Santa's Sleigh Freestanding Stocking Holder

Christmas is my favorite time of the year.  I spend a lot of time trying to create fond memories for our children, whether it be keeping the magic of Santa alive for as long as possible or making sure our home feels cozy and festive.  That last endeavor includes hanging up stockings every Christmas for the whole family.  Not having a fireplace mantle, we have had to seek out alternatives.  What we have used the past 7 years or so was a black metal stocking tree, which was functional, but not very attractive.  It looked like a primitive oversized ornament tree.  Thankfully, this year we will be using this far more attractive espresso-finished Santa Stocking Holder from Kirkland's.

This stocking holder measures about 3 feet long and over 3 feet tall.  It was extremely easy to assemble.  I only needed to line up the holes on the crossbar and the legs, insert the winged screws, and then tighten them.

(Click any photo to enlarge)

The dark finished metal on this stocking holder would fit in well with traditional, country, and mission style furniture.  With the proper lighting, the sculpted silhouette will cast a dramatic shadow on the wall.

Although our stockings are rather large, we were still able to fit all five of them on the stocking holder.  This stocking holder actually comes with an extra sixth hook, so I might try to sneak on one more since the cats have a stocking that they all share too.  The hooks are not attached to the holder, so I can space them out as I see fit.

Left alone, this stocking holder is quite sturdy.  I would not use it in a house with an infant or toddler who might pull on the stand or on the stockings because it could tip over.

To view their full selection of holiday and everyday home furnishings, visit Kirklands.com or find a Kirkland's store near you.


Thank you to Kirkland's for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon and for providing a second product for our contest prize.

Good luck in the drawing!

4 Creative Ideas for Something Different on the Table This Christmas Day

Christmas is that festive time of the year when we gather with our loved ones and friends. And if everyone is gathering at your home for the holiday festivities, you want to make sure your table reflects a warm and fun holiday spirit. You can help commemorate the occasion by introducing some unique items to your table that will engage and impress your guests. It's that special touch that will spread the cheer of the season.

1)  Place a Christmas cracker on the top of your guests' dinner plates. These delightful novelties, developed by a British confectioner in 1847, are a British tradition that has quickly swept around the world. They are decorative cardboard cylinders filled with treats and small gifts. When pulled at both ends, Christmas crackers open with a snap. English crackers can easily be found online, and will feature a decorative wrap in a holiday pattern to suit the decor of your table. And if you're feeling creative and ambitious, you can make your own Christmas crackers . Most local craft stores carry the materials needed during holiday season. If you make your own, you can really personalize the gift for that special person. Just think of how surprised your special someone will be when their gift pops out of the cracker.

2)  There are so many ways to adorn your Xmas table with Christmas chocolates and treats for your guests. Using your favourite chocolatier, gift wrap the chocolate in a box and top it with some curly ribbon. Place the wrapped box next to each person's water glass on the table. For children, you can purchase cello-wrapped chocolate pops in fun shapes, and place them on their plates.

3)  Adorning your Christmas table with flowers is another decorating idea that will add a festive atmosphere. Paper whites give an elegant look to any table with their 12 inch stems. Their delicate white flowers give a sweet fragrance and will fill the air with its aroma. Place the bulbs on white rocks in a clear glass vase, and tie a festive ribbon around the vase.

4)  Placement cards are a wonderful way to welcome guests to your table. You can write your own personal message to each guest. Choose a holiday pattern on the cards to coordinate with your table decor. Placement cards can be purchased at local stationery stores, or you can make your own at home with software. Add a gift to the placement card by punching hole and tying an ornament to it.

Ruby Tuesday: Holiday Decorations Galore

In case you have not gotten your home decorated for the holidays, here is a little reminder. I love to decorate for the holidays inside my home. I try not to go overboard, but I'm sure I have in past years. I cannot wait until we move out of our townhouse so that we can decorate on the outside as well.

If you'd like to see more Ruby Tuesday photos, go visit Mary at Work of the Poet!

How To Make a Rice Krispies Treats Holiday Centerpiece

If you are planning on hosting a holiday brunch or any get-together where both adults and children will be attending, I have a fun idea for a holiday centerpiece for you. This idea uses classic Rice Krispies Treats and Rice Krispies cereal. You may have everything you need around the house to create this centerpiece already. It is pretty simple to make.

First of all you will need to make at least one batch of treats. You can follow this link to find the Classic Rice Krispies Treats Recipe, but you can always find it on one of the panels on a box of Kellogg's Rice Krispies Cereal. The treats will need to be cut into cubes, so the size of your pan and the number of guests you are expecting will determine how many batches of treats you will need to make. I decided to go with the classic treats because the colors suited my centerpiece design. I did consider crushing candy canes and mixing them into the cereal, but was worried my centerpiece would look less elegant. You can experiment as much as you like. In the past, I have made Rice Krispies Treats with chocolate-covered pretzels and some with chocolate-covered peanuts, both of which seemed to have been a hit.

Other supplies you will need:

• A shallow glass vase
• 2 large glass votive cups
• 2 unscented tealights
• Artificial holiday flowers
• Coordinating wired holiday ribbon
• Wooden skewers 12" or longer
• Rice Krispies Cereal
• A table runner or 2 place mats

Step #1. Place your vase and two votive cup holders on top of your table runner, with the vase centered and one votive cup on each side. I could not find a runner that I liked well enough, so I bought these two placemats at Target and just placed them together side-by-side.

Step #2. Cut the stems of your flowers so that most of the arrangement is about 3 or 4 inches shorter than the skewers you purchased. Then arrange the flowers to your liking in the vase. Barbecue-length skewers would have allowed me to use a taller vase and to create an even grander centerpiece, but they are out-of-season where I live.

(Click any image to enlarge)

Step #3. Next fill the vase about 2/3 of the way with Rice Krispies Cereal, making sure the cereal fills in around the stems and leaves.

Step #4. Fill the two votive cups about halfway with Rice Krispies Cereal. Then place one unscented tealight in each of the cups, making sure they are centered and nestled into the cereal.

Step #5. If you have not already, cut your Rice Krispies Treats into cubes. Then skewer 2 or more treats with the wooden skewers, making sure that the treats stay near the top end. How many treats you can put on each skewer depends on how tall your arrangement is.

Step #6. Push the bottom ends of the skewers into the rice cereal within the vase, making sure not to overshadow the flowers.

Step #7. Tie the wired holiday ribbon around the vase and form a large bow on the front. If you would like to, you can dovetail the ends of your ribbon.

Our Final Results . . .

Your centerpiece may come out drastically different from mine, depending on the components you choose to use. That is the wonderful thing about this project. You can create it to suit your own taste and decor.

After the guests have enjoyed all the skewers of Rice Krispies Treats, you will still have an attractive centerpiece leftover. When the event has concluded, you can empty out the cereal and either keep the bow or remove it and swirl the ribbon inside the vase around the stems and leaves.

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If you would like to add a little color and spice to your Rice Krispies Treats, here is a quick and easy recipe . . .

Recipe: Cinnamon Holiday Rice Krispies Treats

INGREDIENTS:

3 Tbsp butter or margarine

10oz package of white mini marshmallows

5-1/2 cups of Kellogg's Rice Krispies cereal

1/2 cup Brach's Cinnamon Hard Candy, crushed

Step 1. In a large saucepan or skillet, melt the butter or margarine over low heat.

Step 2. Add mini marshmallows and stir continuously until completely melted and blended with butter.

Step 3. Add Rice Krispies cereal and then the crushed cinnamon candy.

Step 4. Remove the pan from heat. Then stir until the cereal and candy mixture are completely coated with the melted marshmallow.

Step 6. Transfer entire mixture into a 13" x 9" baking pan, casserole dish, or plastic storage container coated with nonstick cooking or baking spray.

Step 7. Using a folded piece of wax paper, press the mixture into the pan, packing it as evenly and tightly as possible.

Step 8. Allow the pan of Rice Krispies Treats to cool completely before cutting into 2" squares.

Store your treats in an airtight container. It is best if they are consumed within 2 days or so.

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This project was inspired by a challenge put before me by TheMotherhood.com . You can see what other participants have come up with by visiting TheMotherhood's Rice Krispies Recipe Box Circle, Kellogg's Rice Krispies on Facebook and following Rice Krispies on Twitter along with the hashtag #RiceKrispies.

I received payment for my participation in this campaign sponsored by TheMotherhood, who also provided the funds for supplies, the cereal, and a contest prize on behalf of Kellogg's Rice Krispies Brand Cereal.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive a $100 Visa Gift Card.

Limitations:

This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing. Winner must not have won the same prize for this campaign on a different website.

Abbreviated Rules: No Purchase Necessary. Begins no earlier than 12:00:00 AM (ET) on 11/29/10 and ends no later than 11:59:59 PM (ET) on 12/21/10. For complete Official Rules, go to http://web.mediacdt.com/docs/motherhoodholiday

Open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older at time of entry. Subject to complete Official Rules. Void where prohibited. Sponsor: TheMotherhood; www.TheMotherhood.com

How to Gain Entries:

Leave a comment telling me what special ingredient you would add to the Classic Rice Krispies Treats recipe to make them more fun for the holidays. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

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1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.

2)

For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

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Random Drawing:

This contest will be closed on Monday, December 20th, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!

BJ's Wholesale Club For Holiday Entertaining, Gifts, and Decor

My husband and I have been shopping at BJ's Wholesale Club weekly for over a decade. I was extremely happy to accept an invitation to an in-store event at one of our state's newest club stores in Waltham, Massachusetts. The goal of the event was to show local bloggers how, in addition to fresh and frozen food, baked goods, paper towels, diapers, shampoo, pet food, etc . . ., BJ's also offers everything their customers need for decorating their home for the holidays and for hosting holiday events. There is also a vast assortment of gift ideas for every single person on your list. You can really take care of most, if not all, of your holiday shopping in one visit to your local club store.

I recently wrote an article about off-price retailers. Although some of the non-grocery items BJ's offers their customers are opportunity buys, such as luxury bedding, brand name clothing, and luxury handbags, much of what they offer for gifts are specially packaged and priced for their clubs. When a vendor wants BJ's to carry their product, the buyers often ask for special gift packaging plus an additional item or items to be bundled with the product to give their customers extra value. On top of all this, they often negotiate for a better price than what their competitors are selling the same item for. For example, if you are in the market for Paper Jamz, one of the hottest toys for Holiday 2010, then you know that you can find a guitar for approximately $25 and the amp for about $15. Well, there is a special bundle available at BJ's Wholesale Club with both these items packaged together for $34.99 .

What I saw during my visit to the store . . .

Holiday Decor: LED Christmas trees, wreaths, scented pine cones, inflatable lawn ornaments, poinsettias, centerpieces, stockings, shatterproof glass and handcrafted tree ornaments, and more.

Gourmet Food, Favors, and Hostess Gifts: Fine chocolates, cookies, gift baskets, hot cocoa, coffee, and gingerbread houses. Brands include Lindt, Lyndon Reede, Harry London, Godiva, and more. After sampling them, I had to purchase a box of the Harry London Chocolate-Covered Caramels with Sea Salt so that my family could try them as well. It was $9.99 for a $15.24oz box, was beautifully packaged, and comes in both milk or dark chocolate.

(Click any image to enlarge)

Hor d'oeurves & Desserts: Shrimp platters, vegetable platters, cookie platters, a vast assortment of frozen finger foods and appetizers, cakes, cheeses, and much more.

BJ's also carries the Keurig B60 with 60 Bonus K-Cups, the Soda Stream Automatic Soda Maker Value Pack, the Rival Crockpot Trio Deluxe, cheese boards, bar sets, glassware, Mikasa Flatware and Dinnerware, and more items that will surely help you with hosting holiday events.

Electronics: Top brands in LCD, LED, and Plasma televisions, digital cameras and camcorders, mobile phones, laptops, tablets, blu-ray players, expandable phone systems, computer accessories, printers, and much much more.

Fine Jewelry: Men's and women's watches, silver and gold necklaces, rings, bracelets, earrings, and gemstone jewelry. The featured item this year is 6 versions of a Sterling Silver Key Pendant with genuine diamonds and gemstones priced at $49.99 each in-store only.

Toys and Video Games: Some of the hottest toys for infants up to adults, such as Fisher-Price Imaginext BIGFOOT, Paper Jamz, Leapster Explorer, Kung Zhu and Zhu Zhu Pets Play Sets, Nintendo DSi Bundles, Wii Console Bundles, PlayStation Move for PS3, Kinect for Xbox 360, games and accessories for most video game platforms, Barbie My Size Doll, and so much more. There are two full aisles, including endcaps, dedicated to toys.

Name Brand Clothing: Calvin Klein sweaters and jeans for men, Perry Ellis, Lizwear, Nautica, Reebok, Levis, Dollie & Me, Laura Ashley, and Polo Jeans are brands I have seen. You must keep in mind that the merchandise for these opportunity buys will vary from club to club.

One of the items that impressed me the most was this Living Home Reversible Gift Wrap. It is 400 square feet of double-sided wrapping paper for just $9.99 . Usually, one roll of paper is 40 to 75 square feet. This wrapping paper is an excellent value.

I should also mention that BJ's has gifts for the home (small appliances, furniture, cookware, etc . . . ), for dogs (beds and toys), and sports fans (licensed apparel and throws). I am certain I am leaving some things out, but as I had previously stated, I do believe you will find a gift for almost everyone on your list in this one store.

You can also shop BJ's Wholesale Club online at BJs.com . The selection of merchandise available online is limited and is often different than what is offered in the stores. I have also found that many items sold on the website have the shipping included in the price. To learn more about the products or a BJ's membership, visit BJs.com, BJ's Wholesale Club on Facebook,and @BJsWholesale on Twitter.

Although I participated in an event in which I received food and product samples to possibly review in the future along with a gift card to shop from BJ's Wholesale Club, I was not compensated for sharing this information with my readers. All thoughts expressed in this article are my own.

Ruby Tuesday: Holiday Centerpiece

As I had previously mentioned, I attended a holiday blogger event for T.J.Maxx and Marshalls at the TJX Corporation home office last week. This was the centerpiece at the table where I sat in the conference room. I knew I had to capture this sparkling red to share for Ruby Tuesday. Again, I am kicking myself for not bringing along my digital SLR. Luckily my little point and shoot does a decent job for closeup shots.

(Click on image to enlarge)

If you'd like to see more Ruby Tuesday photos, go visit Mary at Work of the Poet!

Ruby Tuesday: Christmas in August

These photos were taken at the Hallmark Christmas in August Party in New York City. There was red everywhere. I especially loved the outdoor furnishings on the terrace of this penthouse. There were strings of white lights up and candles lit, so when the sun set in the evening, it truly was a lovely sight.

If you'd like to see more Ruby Tuesday photos, go visit Mary at Work of the Poet!