Telling It Like It Is» last minute christmas gifts

Free Christmas Printables – Christmas Craft Ideas – Printable Christmas Crafts

Lin — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 11:00:04 +0000

Printable Christmas cupcake toppers

The economy has been rough lately, which could have the potential to put a damper on the holidays. But that’s only if you let it. There are actually plenty of low- and no-cost ways you can bring your family together during the holidays, using free Christmas printables and a little creativity.

In the past, homemade Christmas crafts usually consisted of pencil holders made with orange juice cans, crepe paper snowflakes or anything with macaroni glued all over it. But for Internet savvy parents, those days are gone. There are now a wide array of printable holiday craft projects you can download from the Web. Just print and follow the instructions. And many of the printables are so versatile, so you can even use them in ways beyond that which their original designer intended.

Here are some ideas for using Christmas printables in family projects that will make your home a little merrier this holiday season:

A handmade printable 3D cupcake topper and matching Christmas gift bag

Make food gifts together

You can help keep kids busy and take care of some of your holiday gift-giving by creating gifts from your kitchen. For easy presents, make simple nut brittle from recipes you can find online or cookies using store-bought slice-and-bake dough. Just place your creations in Christmas gift bags you can make using a free downloadable template and tie them with ribbons, and you’ll have sweet gifts with a very special presentation. Make sure to line the bags with wax paper, plastic bags or foil first, though, or you’ll have a greasy mess on your hands!

You can also turn simple cupcakes into distinctive gifts by the addition of paper Christmas cupcake toppers you can make yourself. Some require cutting with scissors and some require a circle cutter, but other than that, all you need are toothpicks and glue or a glue stick. If you want the cupcake toppers to have a shinier, more polished look and you want them to last long after the recipients receive them, you can laminate the cupcake toppers template first, before you do any cutting. And if you want to stretch your holiday budget, make mini cupcakes. They’ll be just as impressive but won’t cost as much.

To present your cupcakes, use a shirt-sized gift box (most dollar stores have these during the holidays in fun prints for little money). Just cut holes in the top large enough to hold the cupcakes and glue the top in place over the box bottom.

Make giftable crafts

There are also a lot of printable craft projects available online, many of which make perfect gifts. There are Christmas wreaths made of paper, fabric, feathers and old book pages; snowmen made from light bulbs or socks; baskets woven from recycled or new Christmas wrapping paper; and even reindeers made from beer bottles. And these are just a small sampling of the projects you can do; there are innumerable Christmas crafts available online. Just do a search for “Christmas crafts” or “Christmas printables” and you’ll find a wide variety.

As you can see, there are lots of opportunities for you to have holiday fun with your family without having to spend a fortune. You’ll end up with some very distinctive gifts that your friends and family will love, and as a huge bonus, you’ll have created memories for your children that will last a lifetime.

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Carla Chadwick designs and blogs about party printables for all occasions. You can see her latest creations on her Facebook page.

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Last Minute Christmas Gifts Sale: Top Magazines for $5.00 or $10.00

Lin — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:49:43 +0000

Looking for the perfect last minute Christmas gift for someone this holiday season, but running out of time? Magazine subscriptions make great xmas gifts for men, women, teens and children, especially when they’re on SALE. Plus, you can buy a subscription as a gift today, and instantly print out a gift card to let them know about their gift. Magazine subscriptions make great stocking stuffer gifts too!

This week only, the magazines listed below are all on sale for either $5.00 or $10.00.

PLUS! Take and extra $5.00 Off at Checkout and get an instant $5.00 off of 130 of your favorite magazine subscriptions –just add the eligible magazines to your cart, and you’ll see the discounts automatically applied at checkout. Shop for magazines with a $3.00 or $10.00 discount, too–offer expires December 31.

Magazines for $5.00 and $10.00 for one year subscription:

Entertainment Weekly – $10.00 for a 1-Year Subscription. That’s a discount of 95% since the regular list price is $192.50!

InStyle – $10.00 for a 1-Year Subscription. Discount of 81% off of regular list price of $51.87. Expires on Dec 26, 2009

This Old House – 1-Year for $5.00! For one week only, Amazon has lowered the price on This Old House to only $5.00 for a 1-year subscription. That’s an instant savings of $7.00 off the standard price. Expires on Dec 26, 2009

Southern Living- 1-Year for $5.00! For one week only, the price on Southern Living is reduced to only $5.00 for a 1-year subscription. That’s a savings of $11.00 off the standard price. Expires on Dec 26, 2009

Health – 1-year for $5.00! For one week only, the price on Health Magazine was lowered to only $5.00 for a 1-year subscription. Expires on Dec 26, 2009

Golf Magazine – 1-Year for $5.00! For one week only, Amazon.com lowered the price on Golf Magazine to only $5.00 for a 1-year subscription. Expires on Dec 26, 2009

Coastal Living – 1-Year for $5.00! For one week only, the price on Coastal Living is only $5.00 for a 1-year subscription. Expires on Dec 26, 2009

Essence- 1-Year for $5.00! For one week only, Amazon lowered the price on Essence to only $5.00 for a one year subscription. That’s an instant savings of $13.00 off the regular price. Expires on Dec 26, 2009

Sunset – 1-Year for $5.00! For one week only, Amazon dropped the price on Sunset Magazine to only $5.00 for a one year subscription. That’s an instant savings of $54.88 off the regular price. Expires on Dec 26, 2009.

Be sure to check out Amazon’s list of Bestseller Magazines and Newspapers for more CHEAP magazines and deep discounts! Wired magazine is also on sale for just $10.00 for a one year subscription, so check those out before the deals expire.

How to Give a Magazine Subscription as a Gift

Amazon makes it easy to send magazines as gifts, and to give those gifts a personal touch. Once you add Magazines to your Shopping Cart, you can send those items in your Shopping Cart to different shipping addresses at Checkout. Since Magazines always ship FREE, there is no cost for sending magazines in the same order to different addresses.

Magazines are shipped by the publishers themselves, so gift-wrapping isn’t available at this time. However, you can either print out your own gift notification card or send an e-mail notification, both options are great ways to send a gift quickly or give a last-minute gift. It’s that easy!

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Last Minute Christmas Gift Ideas for Xmas 2008

Lin — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 13:00:44 +0000

Last Minute Christmas Gift Ideas

Christmas 2008 is fast approaching and if you wait until the last minute to buy Christmas gifts, like on Xmas Eve, you may be out of luck. I have a tendency to forget about buying Christmas music or downloading Christmas music until the last minute, but fortunately Amazon is offering 25 days of FREE Christmas mp3 downloads that even I can’t pass up.

In the true spirit of Christmas giving and to help you find Christmas gifts for those on your list (or gifts for the person “who has everything”), I’d like to offer up a few gift ideas for your consideration.

Candles make a great Christmas gift for candle lovers, and I can personally vouch for Mia Bella Candles as being the best candles I’ve ever had the pleasure to burn.
Gayla is running a Christmas Holiday Shopping Extravaganza that includes gift ideas for her and gifts for him, and gifts for the most difficult person to find gifts for.
Cath Lawson has some unique Christmas gift ideas for business owners to seriously consider this holiday season.
Mrs. Micah sure isn’t stumped about the best Christmas presents for the blogger in your life. That Thesis Theme is sure looking good right about now.
Christine from Weary Parent offers up some holiday gifts for tweens and teens that is sure to please the teens and tweens in your life.
The Art of Manliness gifts for men holiday gift guide is a must read if you are buying gifts for men such as a husband, father, boyfriend, etc.
If you are having a difficult time this Christmas and feeling stressed due to the economy or other reasons, Lynnae has some great low cost ideas for you.
Frugal living is living within your means, or better yet, living below your means even at Christmastime. 50 frugal Christmas gift ideas will definitely help keep your xmas spending reasonable and responsible.

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