Merry Little Christmas Archives - Page 5 of 7 - Cha-Ching on a Shoestring™

The Merry Little Christmas Project: Christmas Shopping Challenge

November 7th, 2013 By Kaley
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I’m bringing it back.

Are you ready for the November Christmas Shopping Challenge?

I want December to be a month of celebrating…NOT stressing.

So I’m declaring the month of November to be my Christmas shopping month. And I invite you to join me.

Here are three simple ways to prepare to Christmas shop this month:

1. Make a list of every single person that you will purchase presents for this year. You can use my free printable Christmas planners to help get organized.

2. Ask yourself if there are any ways to cut back on shopping this year. Just because you did things a certain way in the past does NOT mean that you are locked into doing them the same way this year.

3. Sign up for my Christmas Deals newsletter to receive all of my best Christmas deals in your inbox by early afternoon. You can also follow my Christmas deals right here on the blog. You can find them right on my navigation bar:

Ok…so that was last year’s image, but you get the idea.

I’ve calculated and if I buy 1 gift per day (give or take), I will be all set by the time November is over.

Maybe you’d rather just set a goal to finish shopping by the week before Christmas. Whatever it may be, let’s work together to make our Christmas season a little bit less chaotic this year.

Learn more about The Merry Little Christmas Project and simplify Christmas with me.

Merry Little Christmas: Too, Too Fun Wrapping Idea #3

November 5th, 2013 By Kaley
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will make a small commission if you click and make a purchase.

I love the simplicity of this package.

The gift is wrapped in shiny red dollar store paper. I found this exquisite black and white tag here, printed it at 70% to fit my package, and matted it with black paper.

Then I wrapped some of my favorite yarn around the package and hung the tag from the yarn.

And there you have it: too, too fun wrapping idea #3.

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For those of you who haven’t met her, the Dollar Store Diva happens to be my Mom who has a special power. She can transform Dollar Store and other inexpensive finds into super fun gifts that would brighten anyone’s day!

Merry Little Christmas: Too, Too Fun Wrapping Idea #2

November 2nd, 2013 By Kaley
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will make a small commission if you click and make a purchase.

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Ready to wrap with too, too fun idea #2?

Then let’s go!

This cereal box gift bag is the extra large size–just right for those extra large gifts.

I wrapped the box with some snowy paper from the dollar store the same way I did with Idea #1. I found the idea and tree template here and adapted it for my project.

For an added touch, I wrapped a piece of colorful ribbon around the bottom of the quiet wintery scene.

And there you have it: too, too fun wrapping idea #2.

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November Merry Little Christmas Plan: Gift Wrap Fun, 20 Minute Missions and More!

November 1st, 2013 By Kaley
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will make a small commission if you click and make a purchase.

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Thanks for joining our 4 Weeks to an Organized Christmas series!

Here’s a peek at some of the gift wrap ideas I finished this week:

I found this lovely graphic from The Graphics Fairy.

Buttons make everything fun. OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Won’t these look cute filled with M&M’s?

I found this fun label over at Lil’ Luna.

Here’s what we’ll be doing at The Merry Little Christmas Project during the month of November:

1. 20 Minute Missions: They’re back! This year I made a handy little calendar you can print out. The calendar gives you an idea each day on something to attack for 20 minutes to help prepare for Christmas. I’ll be posting daily reminders over at The Merry Little Christmas Project Facebook page.

~~2. $50 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway: Yep – another giveaway! Enter daily here~~. (Giveaway has ended – thanks to all who entered!)

3. Christmas Deals Newsletter: Want to be alerted to the best Christmas deals I post daily at Cha-Ching on a Shoestring? Sign up for my Christmas deals newsletter. You’ll receive a daily email with my top Christmas deals before my regular newsletter goes out so you don’t miss a deal!

Learn more about The Merry Little Christmas Project and simplify Christmas with me.

Merry Little Christmas: Too, Too Fun Wrapping Idea #1

November 1st, 2013 By Kaley
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will make a small commission if you click and make a purchase.

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Too, Too Fun #1

Are you ready to wrap? OK then–here we go!

One of the goals of the Merry Little Christmas Project is to get organized before the calendar turns to December. But how can not-yet-purchased gifts be wrapped? Aha! The secret behind pre-wrapped gift Idea #1 is: a cereal box! And if you can wrap a present, you can wrap a cereal box.

Too, too fun wrapping idea #1 supply list:

one cereal box

scissors

adhesive

Christmas wrapping paper

construction paper or scrapbooking paper for mittens

twine

clothespins (Optional)

Easy Steps:

1) Cut the top flaps off the top of the empty cereal box.

2) Insert a book or two inside the box to make it firm so that it will be easier to wrap tightly.

3) Wrap the box just like you would a gift. I buy my wrapping paper only at the dollar store, and I happened to have this snowflake paper in my stash.

4) At the top of the box where you have removed the flaps, fold the excess paper down the inside of the box and adhere with tape.

And now the fun begins!

5) Cut the mittens in an appropriate color using the Too Fun Mitten Pattern.

6) Tie a length of twine around the box and hang the two mittens. I had some little clothespins that I had found at Michaels for almost nothing, but tape or paperclips would also work.

7) Remove the books from the box, then insert a sheet of tissue paper.

And there you have it–just waiting for a gift for your loved one.

Too, too fun!

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4 Weeks to an Organized Christmas: Chatting with my Mom (a.k.a. The Dollar Store Diva!)

October 30th, 2013 By Kaley
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It’s Week 4 of our 4 Weeks to an Organized Christmas series!

This week we are tackling creative gift wrapping.

Of course, when I considered who might want to join me in my creative gift wrapping endeavor this week – my Mom was the very first person who came to mind (also known as the Dollar Store Diva).

So she and I had a little chat about our ideas today over at Google Plus (don’t you just love the internet?) and we decided to share it with you. She’s got something FUN cooking up. Watch the video to see what’s in store.

Click here if you are reading this in email and can’t see the video.

4 Weeks to an Organized Christmas: 12 Creative Gift Wrap Ideas

October 28th, 2013 By Kaley
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will make a small commission if you click and make a purchase.

LIKE The Merry Little Christmas Project on Facebook and enter to win a $50 Michaels gift card!

It’s the final week in our 4 Weeks to an Organized Christmas series.

This week we are all about Gift Wrap.

Can you remember the last creatively wrapped gift that you received?

I do. When we moved to our current home a few years ago, my aunt arrived on the scene to help with a paint bucket in hand. Except that the bucket didn’t have any paint in it – it was full of little tools and a Lowe’s gift card to help with our many upcoming home improvement projects.

I LOVED it.

You can give someone just about anything in a creative package, am I right?

So here are 12 Creative Gift Wrap ideas to inspire that creativity. Click through the picture to find the original post:

Click here to see more.

4 Weeks to an Organized Christmas: Today’s Project – DIY Elf on the Shelf with Alphabet Blocks

October 25th, 2013 By Kaley
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It’s Week 3 of our 4 Weeks to an Organized Christmas series!

This week I am embracing my inner crafty diva.

I still have a few other projects in the works, but first I wanted to introduce you to my new little friend:

I learned how to make these cuties years ago from a friend’s Mom. Since then, I have created another each time a new member was added to my family. And now we have a little family of Elves:

This is such a simple project that anyone can do. But to simplify it even more, I put together a little tutorial for you.

Here’s what you’ll need:

an alphabet block (we like to use the letter of our first initial around here)
a wooden ball bead (ours is 20 mm)
three pom poms
red and green felt
a glue gun

All of these should be cheap and easy to find at Michaels!

Tutorial:

1) Print out this handy little Elf Template I made for you. Go ahead. I’ll wait.

2) Cut those cute little shapes out – don’t you like how fancy they are? I made them myself thankyouverymuch.

3) It will be easiest if you trace them onto cardstock or a thin cardboard, but it not, the paper should work.

4) Once you have the shapes, you can trace them onto the red and green felt like so:

It doesn’t really matter which color you use for each. I just like to mix it up a bit.

6) Next, glue the arms on top of the block. (Important: You need to glue the arms on before the neck and the head. Ask me how I know…)

7) Then you’ll glue the neck first and then the head. You’ll see I cut out little triangles to make the neck look all fancy and stuff.

8) Then you’ll add the hat. It always takes me a minute to remember how to do this part. So I took pictures to make it simpler for you (and for me the next time):

The flat edge of the hat is the part that you will glue together. Wrap it around your finger like so:

9) And then glue it on your little elf friend’s head like so:

10) And then of course we add the legs:

11) Add a few pom pom’s, and suddenly you have a new cute little buddy:

We’ve enjoyed our little guys with no face, but if you’d like to give him some added personality, go for it!

This might also make a simple homemade way to start the Elf on the Shelf tradition this year!

I have an idea! If you decide to make these, I would be tickled if you shared pictures with me on The Merry Little Christmas Project Facebook page. I want to meet your little guys!

Want to transform your Christmas with us? My Book The Merry Little Christmas Project – Five Words that will Transform your Christmas has helped thousands of women do just that. If you have ever wished that Christmas didn’t have to be so stressful, I wrote this book for you. Click here to learn more and begin simplifying and organizing your Christmas with me!