November 2019 – christyleepixx

One of my favorite things about Christmas is creating a “homey”, and special feeling in the home. I love to decorate for Christmas, and I am always looking for new ideas that can help our home feel extra special for Christmas.

I have had my eye on the many different ways that people wrap their Christmas presents.

wrapped presents — Photo by Lucie Liz on Pexels.com

Below I have a variety of different images spotlighting different gift-wrapping ideas. I found all of these ideas on Pinterest. How did we get creative before pinterest?

Some of the gift wrapping examples are simple, and some are a bit more complicated.

I have put together a list of what is trending right now in gift-wrapping:

1-A theme, whether it be colors, or tags, or ribbons, or words. Each present seems to have some sort of theme.

2-It is quite popular right now to add actual greenery to the presents, whether it be real or faux.

3. Many people are going for a more basic gift wrapping paper whether it be brown, white etc.

4. Ribbon and tags or ornaments are the main focal point, keeping the rest of the gift simple.

*Some of my personal favorites:

-The M&M’s bow

-The bright colored lights

-The hand written lettering

-Candy canes mixed with greenery

-The simple colored gift wraps with bells.

(*Hint if you are looking for some cute and unique gift tags, I have enjoyed everything I have seen at pebblesinc.blog)

What are YOUR favorite gift wrapping ideas?

After seeing all of these adorable gift wrapping ideas is there one idea that you are going to use this year?

Or, is there another idea you have that hasn’t been featured?

Let me know!

I am constantly amazed by people’s creative ways to make something simple such as gift-wrapping, more festive and fun.

Enjoy your Black Friday Weekend!

Until next time,

xoxo,

Christy Lee

Uncategorized

Stocking Stuffer ideas that cost $10 or less…for the children in your lives.

November 25, 2019December 11, 2019 christyaustin1680

Day 3:

Hopefully you have benefitted from some of the stocking stuffer ideas I have posted. Since I now have three children, my mind goes to thinking of what to get for my cute little ones that won’t break the bank.

Here are some ideas that I hope can help you…for kids of all ages.

(Please remember to use my affiliate link. I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you and it will help with my Christmas list)

girl in red and black dress standing in front of christmas tree inside room — Photo by Josh Willink on Pexels.com

#1- Dollar Store, Dollar Store, Dollar Store

It’s amazing what you can find at the dollar store! The best part, most the time, your kids won’t know the difference in prices and it can save you sooo much money. Some ideas or moreso, categories to look for at the dollar store:

-Toys

-Paper products (coloring books, markers etc)

-Hair products for girls

-Seasonal trinkets (Christmas toys)

And the list goes on….

#2 Snowman Pencils

During a time where kids get plenty of toys, sometime getting kids something that is useful or school-related is nice.

These snowman pencils will fit perfectly in a stocking, and will be fun for kids to take back to school.

You can find a 12-pack of them at Wal-Mart for $7.95

And who knows, it may just make the kids that much more excited to go back to school after the holidays:)

Click here to purchase.

#3 A 4-Pack of Classic Card Games

Target sells a fun kids classic card game for only $4.49!

Games can be a fun Christmas gift so that the entire family can play games together.

To purchase this, click here.

*I have to add if you live by a Target, check out the Target dollar spot to find some great stocking stuffer ideas as well.

#4 Personalized Kids Water Bottle

These cute water bottles are fun because they are personalized! These bottles are also helpful and handy for kids to tote around.

Plus, at just $9.99 for a 10 oz water bottle, you can’t beat that price!

To purchase this click here.

But hurry quick before the sale passes by!

#5 Squishy Pens

These cute squishy pens come in a variety of looks and are currently only $7.99 on Jane.com

Any stocking could use a cute pen in there.

To purchase, click here.

You will notice I didn’t put any treats on the list. For our little family, I am trying to avoid treats this year as my kids get sooo many. But many stores have a variety of cute treats for stocking stuffers at a decent price.

Hopefully you enjoy the process of finding goodies for stockings. Even more, I hope you enjoy the fun of “giving” and it doesn’t because a stressful event. I think of the quote from the Grinch:

“Maybe Christmas he thought, doesn’t come from a store….Maybe Christmas perhaps, means a little bit more.”

Until next time,

xoxo,

Christy Lee

Lifestyle, Miscellaneous

Stocking stuffers for the men in your life for under $10…Day 2

November 22, 2019November 22, 2019 christyaustin1680

Here are some stocking stuffer ideas for the men in your life.

Some of these items are more practical and some are just a great necessity for men.

Hopefully a few of these items can help you!

*(Please remember to use my affiliate link. I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you and it will help with my Christmas list).

1-Screwdriver Multitool 7 in 1 bit

This is a very handy tool to have around the house. And currently you can order it on Amazon for $8.99

To purchase this mini tool, click here.

2- Phone Cable

If you are like me, you are in need of charging your phone everywhere you go. This phone cable can be a useful gift for anyone.

Right now you can buy this phone cable at Target for $9.99

Click here, to purchase.

3-Blender Bottle

A blender bottle can be another great gift to receive for men of all ages. Right now Target has this black blender bottle for $9.99 which is a good deal!

Click here, to purchase

4- Finger Flashlight

I love this stocking stuffer idea—think how handy a finger flashlight could be! And even better, the price for the finger flashlight is only $4.99,

To purchase this item click here.

If you have any other ideas that the men in your life would like to see in their stocking let me know I’d love to hear them!

More stocking stuffer ideas coming soon!

xoxo,

Christy Lee

Clothing & Accessories, Lifestyle

Stocking stuffers for under $10.00… Day 1

November 19, 2019 christyaustin1680

For the next 5 days I will be posting stocking stuffer ideas that are under $10.00.

Stocking gifts are normally small and shouldn’t cost a fortune, however I think sometimes it’s easy to get carried away and BAM… the stocking gifts blew the Christmas budget!

I’m here to help you avoid breaking the bank on stocking gifts, so I hope some of these ideas can help you out>

For Day 1 I am focusing on gifts for women. Age ranging from teenage girls on up:

(Please remember to use my affiliate link. I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you and it will support my own Christmas budget:)

#1- Chapstick

Get 5 chapsticks for $4.99

I purchased these at Target

Great for any age and they have fun holiday flavor varieties!

Click here to purchase.

#2 Gap Thermal long sleeve crew neck shirt

As you can see these shirts are on a great sale for $9.99 from Gapfactory.com

You could easily roll this shirt up to stick in the stocking.

Great for winter time.

Wonderful gift for female teenagers — women of all ages.

It comes in a variety of colors.

Click here to purchase.

#3 Pretty Pen Set

I found this adorable pen sets on Jane.com for only $8.99

These pens are stylish and cute, and they would fit perfectly in a stocking.

If you are like me, you can never have too many pens.

To purchase, click here.

#4 Spa Shower Steamers

If you like the idea of bath bombs but showers are more your thing, these shower steamers are perfect!

These steamers would fit perfectly in a stocking, and they are only $3.49 each!

Click here to purchase

#5 Text Friendly Sweater-knit Gloves for Women

These gloves make a great stocking stuffer for women of all ages!

Its nice that you don’t need to take these gloves off to text.

When it’s cold outside having some new gloves are always nice!

I found these gloves at Old Navy for $10.00

They come in a variety of colors

Click here to purchase

More to come..keep following!

xoxo,

Christy Lee

Beauty & Skincare, Clothing & Accessories, Lifestyle

Stay tuned for next weeks stocking stuffer ideas for under $10.00 …

November 16, 2019 christyaustin1680

With the holidays approaching in full force, I wanted to help give you ideas for stocking gifts that won’t break the bank.

Next week I will have multiple ideas for Christmas gifts or stocking stuffer ideas ALL for under $10.00!

There’s no need to lose your savings around the holidays when there are plenty of ways to get a good deal on some fun items.

And as always… if you have any great ideas. Please share them with me:)

I’ll be back next week so until next time,

Xoxo,

Christy Lee

Clothing & Accessories, Lifestyle

Groupon Deals, Save some money and check out these great deals!

November 15, 2019November 15, 2019 christyaustin1680

If you don’t have the Groupon app I highly recommend that you get it!

Why?

It’s simple…great deals at great prices.

$$$$$

I had a friend recommend the Groupon app a few years ago and it has saved me a lot of money!

With Christmas approaching saving some money is always nice.

Here are a few Groupon deals you may want to snatch up before they are gone:

This beautiful kimono cardigan! Buy it for under $10. It comes in a variety of colors.

This juicy couture perfume. One of my favorite perfumes out there and only $12.99

I love this beautiful head band that’s perfect for winter. It comes in a 2-pack with a variety of colors. Even better.. it’s only $12.99

If you’ve bought eyelash serum before you know it can be expensive. This eyelash growth serum has been $58.00 and is currently on the Groupon for $10.99… what a great deal!

This Clinique Happy perfume is a classic that ladies of all ages love. You can get a decent size of this perfume for $29.99

Hopefully you act quick and enjoy one of these great Groupons!

If I’m missing a good Groupon comment below and let me know!

Until next time,

Xoxo

Christy Lee

Good Reads, Lifestyle

A Fun Reading Challenge That You and Your Family Will Love and Enjoy…

November 14, 2019 christyaustin1680

I have mentioned before in the past that I taught school for seven years before I had my children.

I taught middle school history and I loved my experience teaching.

Something that surprised me when I started teaching school was how many children struggled with reading. Even by seventh grade, there were still many students that did not enjoy reading, because it was hard for them.

woman and girl lying in bed while holding book — Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

My heart when out to these students that struggled with reading. Of course there were many factors involved with why many students struggled. Some kids dealt with learning disabilities which affected their ability to be a success in reading.

However, I did observe that there were many students that just never “practiced” their reading skills.

Everyday at our school we had something called “DEAR” time which meant

Drop

Everything

And

Read

DEAR time was a great way for students to get some reading time in.

Sooo–I have decided to adopt DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) time into my families everyday life.

The plan:

-Choose a time everyday, set a timer and drop what everyone in the family is doing and READ for 15-20 minutes.

-Parents will read, children will read…the entire household will be reading!

-My goal is to get the entire family excited about reading more in their life.

Reading is the key to success not only in school, but life in general.

I will try DEAR time for a week and let you know how my family does.

I am excited to have an excuse to curl up with a book everyday for at least 15 minutes.

Hopefully I can get some more books read!

I hope you join me in this challenge.

Let me know your tips and tricks for getting your family to read more….

Until next time,

xoxo,

Christy Lee

Uncategorized

A Favorite Baby App

November 9, 2019 christyaustin1680

My friend introduced me to the baby app called “Baby Story” and I have loved it.

This app came with a free trial, and then it becomes $4.99 a month.

I have felt that the price is totally worth it for all that you get! All through pregnancy it has filters and cute lettering of how far along you are. As the baby comes, this app has adorable lettering and milestone stickers to use as the baby grows.

This app has been so fun to use and I feel like it helped me document my pregnancy and baby milestones better than with my other kids because it is so fun to use!

Here are some pictures of me using the app to give you an idea what it features: