Here is another last minute… Did you just hear about Christmas Adam and want to join in on the fun tomorrow but are feeling a bit of anguish over the idea of trying to come up with a gift?  

Here is another last minute homemade idea and it’s a great one for both guys and gals, young and old.  Paperseed has a tutorial (buy oreos, melt chocolate, dip) but she also has a free downloadable label (pictured on this post) which helps the whole gift get past the “I threw it together in a couple minutes” look.

She recently had a guest post by Angie ( from SchneiderPeeps) focusing on teaching… Money Saving Mom has been one of my favorite blogs for years.  Our family has benefited from her penny pinching, dollar stretching, coupon cutting ideas.

She recently had a guest post by Angie ( from SchneiderPeeps) focusing on teaching children to be gracious gift recipients. I thought this was a great topic.  We hear a lot about trying to build character in our children and helping them learn to be generous givers but what about gracious “getters”?  Take a few minutes to journey over to this thoughtful post. 

With 12 of my own children, I can assure you that almost every Christmas I have to coach at least one child through the process of being truly thankful for a gift.  OK, let’s be honest.  I have to coach myself sometimes.  I find it interesting that often those simple practical gifts mean so much more to me as time goes by.  My kids have learned this as well.

Because Christmas Adam focuses on homemade gifts, and not the latest and greatest electronic gadgets, it can be disappointing to a child that has certain expectations or hopes.  If our children can learn early in life to be truly thankful for what they receive they are so far ahead of the game. It’s a great life lesson to learn.

I drive school bus and am honestly surprised by the amount of kids that take their lunches to school.  Quite a few say they just don’t… Dear Sister V, don’t read any farther.  Seriously.  Come on, I trust you.

I drive school bus and am honestly surprised by the amount of kids that take their lunches to school.  Quite a few say they just don’t like the lunch line options and prefer their mom’s homemade menus. Shocking but true.  

I saw these LUNCH SACKS over at SewMamaSew and instantly fell in love.  If you haven’t checked out her blog before it is definitely worth the time.  Grab a cup of tea and coffee and a snack because you might be there a while.  The tutorial is actually from Ellen at the Long Thread.  I don’t mean to stalk her site but I just can’t help it.  She has a lot of great ideas~ so plan to spend some time at her website as well.

Obviously these can be tweaked for any age or gender by the fabric you choose.

Sister V.. .are you still reading!!!  Slap your hand. 

So, my sister (the one that isn’t supposed to be reading this) is a school teacher with a super busy schedule.  With that in mind, last year I gave her freezer meals for Christmas and made her a lunch sack and sandwich wrap.  I focused the menu on homemade soups and simple pasta dishes that freeze and reheat well.  Google freezer meals and you will get the idea.  

Because our meals are mega sized it is easy for me to take out one or two servings to set aside in a freezer friendly container.  Actually, that isn’t a true statement.  It is not easy because most of the time everything is gulped down with no leftovers in no time flat.  So with Christmas only a month a way I am going to have to specifically purpose to either set some aside before it hits the table or plan on doing a bit of cooking on the side just for my sister.  

This year I was at the Corning Store Outlet and found a Soup Cup with lid that is the PERFECT size.  It’s the same size and shape as the freezer containers that I use.  So she can easily slip the frozen meal right into the Soup Cup and head to work.   Last year I used deli containers with lids which I found at a great price at our local bulk food store.  But I was told that I filled some of them too full and a couple cracked as they expanded in the freezer and transported back with her to New Jersey.  So I will have to rethink that.

Here’s the back story: I love books.  SERIOUSLY! It borders on ridiculous. We have our own library in the house created by rescuing discarded books from library sales.  About 15 years ago my… Fabric Magnetic Book Marks!  from I’m Feeling Crafty.

Here’s the back story: I love books.  SERIOUSLY! It borders on ridiculous. We have our own library in the house created by rescuing discarded books from library sales.  About 15 years ago my mom and I traveled to library sales within a two hour radius which resulted in a collection of about 5,000 books, mostly out of print treasures with a focus on biographies and historical fiction/non fiction.   We try to utilize “real books” in our schooling to make the education process a bit more interesting than the typically boring textbook.  

Here is the front story:  these are a great gift for those of us who still love the feel of paper and a good binding in our hands!  I’m not against technology.  IPads, Nooks, Kindles have their places… like on a commuter train.  But they can’t compare to a hard cover book coupled with a cup of tea or hot chocolate and a snuggly blanket.  Cue: snowfall and Christmas music in the background.

Hopefully my teen daughter isn’t reading this because I am pretty sure this is going to make it to her Christmas Adam gift list.