Family Finances
Life Simplified: No Grocery Shopping (Week 5)
Our family finished week 5 of our no grocery shopping goal. Every new year we set goals, challenge ourselves to reach new heights, and to focus on what’s really important in life. I have made it a goal to simplify my life more by enjoying the blessings and not wasting what God has given me. One of the ways I did this was by going through several No Grocery Shopping weeks, picking up only necessities while trying to use the items we already had in our fridge, freezer, and pantry.
When I did it this 2011 it was my intention to go 1 month, but I made it 8 weeks (with only a few hiccups). It is my plan to do this again with the hope of making it at least through the month of January. I will be sharing with you the successes and challenges on those specific areas in my life as I go through them.
Life Simplified Goal:
- No Grocery Shopping (except for necessities) in the month of January.
Explanation of the Goal: My goal during the month of January is to not shop for groceries other than necessities (milk, eggs, bread). Our freezer is full of meat, produce from our garden this summer, fruit, and other great items. Our pantry is also overflowing with all the great deals that we have picked up over the past few months. One of the reason for the goal is that I want to use the items I have and not waste them. Stockpiling is wonderful but there may come a point when we need to eat through that stockpile before it expires, save the extra money to work on a financial goal, and be creative with what we have at home. I have been thinking about this challenge for several weeks over the Holidays. Over the past few months (including our experience traveling to India) it has really hit me that we have been really blessed yet there are children and families that content with a lot less. Menu planning may take a little extra creative thinking on my part but I think I can do it. If I do purchase something it needs to meet one of the following criteria:
- FREE – I don’t want to waste free grocery coupons that my family will use while doing this goal
- Necessity – Milk, Eggs, Bread, etc…
- For Someone Else outside of my household. For example I make meals for new Moms in our church and if I need to pick up an item for them on the way to deliver a meal that will be an exception.
What Happened this week?
I finished the fifth week of this goal! I have to admit this was the easiest week so far! 🙂 It was a great week for us and I didn’t have to purchase anything for groceries this week mainly because our family was away on vacation with extended family. The best part is I didn’t have to cook or clean for a whole week while cruising with my family……it was AWESOME! So thankful for an opportunity to spend some extra time creating memories with family. The freezer and pantry are starting to show dents in them, but I am planning on continuing this goal at least for the next couple weeks of February.
It takes a little more time and focus to come up with a menu but everyone seems to be doing pretty well. The real challenge will come at the end of the month when we are getting low in the pantry and when we host guests!
I will share with you the challenges, successes and what I had to purchase so you can keep me accountable or even go through the journey with me by participating and sharing your story. I would love to extend this goal into February if I can make our pantry stretch!
Life Simplified is a series on getting rid of the extras in our life while learning how to enjoy what God has given us so we can continue to be a blessing to others. Our homes can quickly start are bursting with “stuff” and if you are like us we just have too much. I am doing a series on ways we are learning to simplifying our food, homes, and lives. When our hearts, lives, and homes get too cluttered we may start missing out on opportunities to serve and bless the people around us.
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
Our family had a BLAST last week with extended family! We went on a cruise with Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas. We started at Fort Lauderdale, Florida and went to Grand Cayman, Jamaica, and Haiti. It was an amazing week full of awesome memories. The kids were really wanting to keep on cruising…..somehow the appeal of chores and schools didn’t sound like as much fun!
Last week’s goals
Family Goals
- Read On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder to the girls – still reading it to the girls
- Read the first book of the Imagination Station set Voyage with the Vikings by Marianne Hering and Paul McCusker to the girls – decided to read a Flat Stanley book first
Spend quality time with my family and extended family– spent a lot of time with family and extended family on the cruise! YAY!
Take extra pictures so we can remember our time togetherPlan a special activityPlay at least one game
Personal Goals
Exercise at least 5 days this week- Drink 8 glasses of water each day – didn’t keep track of how much I was drinking with all the activities
- Continue reading my YouVersion plan(s) – I did not have phone access while on the boat so catching up this week
- Finish reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp – got some reading done on the plane, but still not completed (stayed pretty busy with the family and kids)
- Finish reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan – got through more of the book
Home Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day – was on a cruise so there was more laundry (swimsuits, formals, summer clothes, etc…) so it took more than one day since I was not able to start until the weekend
- Pay all upcoming bills – a weeks worth of mail was delivered on Saturday so have everything ready to be paid this week
Business Goals
Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
Ministry Goals
Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
For my January Grocery Budget I am replacing my typical Groceries $40 for 4 with my Life Simplified: No Grocery Shopping in order to use up some extra items in my fridge, freezer, and pantry.– this week was easy since we weren’t home- Payoff the Van – working on it
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses – was on hold this past week
My goals for the upcoming week
Family Goals
- Read On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder to the girls
- Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
- Daily School Activities & Homework Completed
- Attend After School Activities
- Plan one special Activity with the Family
- Unpack & put everything away from the Cruise Vacation
Personal Goals
- Exercise at least 5 days this week
- Drink 8 glasses of water each day
- Start with my new YouVersion plan(s)
- Finish reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
- Finish reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan- going through this book with a group of friends
Home Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
- Pay all upcoming bills
Business Goals
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
Ministry Goals
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
- For my January Grocery Budget I am replacing my typical Groceries $40 for 4 with my Life Simplified: No Grocery Shopping in order to use up some extra items in my fridge, freezer, and pantry.
- Payoff the Van
- Pay medical bills in full
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
Why Share My Goals?
- To keep me accountable
- To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
- To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
- Create healthy habits in my life
- To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn
How did you do this week on your goals? Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.
The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results.
Life Simplified: No Grocery Shopping (Week 4)
Our family finished week 4 of our no grocery shopping goal. Every new year we set goals, challenge ourselves to reach new heights, and to focus on what’s really important in life. I have made it a goal to simplify my life more by enjoying the blessings and not wasting what God has given me. One of the ways I did this was by going through several No Grocery Shopping weeks, picking up only necessities while trying to use the items we already had in our fridge, freezer, and pantry.
When I did it this 2011 it was my intention to go 1 month, but I made it 8 weeks (with only a few hiccups). It is my plan to do this again with the hope of making it at least through the month of January. I will be sharing with you the successes and challenges on those specific areas in my life as I go through them.
Life Simplified Goal:
- No Grocery Shopping (except for necessities) in the month of January.
Explanation of the Goal: My goal during the month of January is to not shop for groceries other than necessities (milk, eggs, bread). Our freezer is full of meat, produce from our garden this summer, fruit, and other great items. Our pantry is also overflowing with all the great deals that we have picked up over the past few months. One of the reason for the goal is that I want to use the items I have and not waste them. Stockpiling is wonderful but there may come a point when we need to eat through that stockpile before it expires, save the extra money to work on a financial goal, and be creative with what we have at home. I have been thinking about this challenge for several weeks over the Holidays. Over the past few months (including our experience traveling to India) it has really hit me that we have been really blessed yet there are children and families that content with a lot less. Menu planning may take a little extra creative thinking on my part but I think I can do it. If I do purchase something it needs to meet one of the following criteria:
- FREE – I don’t want to waste free grocery coupons that my family will use while doing this goal
- Necessity – Milk, Eggs, Bread, etc…
- For Someone Else outside of my household. For example I make meals for new Moms in our church and if I need to pick up an item for them on the way to deliver a meal that will be an exception.
What Happened this week?
I finished the fourth week of this goal. The only thing I purchased this week were a few small items for an upcoming trip. I wanted to clean out the fridge so we ate up some of the leftovers from the past weeks meals.
It takes a little more time and focus to come up with a menu but everyone seems to be doing pretty well. The real challenge will come at the end of the month when we are getting low in the pantry and when we host guests!
I will share with you the challenges, successes and what I had to purchase so you can keep me accountable or even go through the journey with me by participating and sharing your story. I would love to extend this goal into February if I can make our pantry stretch!
Life Simplified is a series on getting rid of the extras in our life while learning how to enjoy what God has given us so we can continue to be a blessing to others. Our homes can quickly start are bursting with “stuff” and if you are like us we just have too much. I am doing a series on ways we are learning to simplifying our food, homes, and lives. When our hearts, lives, and homes get too cluttered we may start missing out on opportunities to serve and bless the people around us.
Life Simplified: No Grocery Shopping (Week 3)
Our family finished week 3 of our no grocery shopping goal. Every new year we set goals, challenge ourselves to reach new heights, and to focus on what’s really important in life. I have made it a goal to simplify my life more by enjoying the blessings and not wasting what God has given me. One of the ways I did this was by going through several No Grocery Shopping weeks, picking up only necessities while trying to use the items we already had in our fridge, freezer, and pantry.
When I did it this 2011 it was my intention to go 1 month, but I made it 8 weeks (with only a few hiccups). It is my plan to do this again with the hope of making it at least through the month of January. I will be sharing with you the successes and challenges on those specific areas in my life as I go through them.
Life Simplified Goal:
- No Grocery Shopping (except for necessities) in the month of January.
Explanation of the Goal: My goal during the month of January is to not shop for groceries other than necessities (milk, eggs, bread). Our freezer is full of meat, produce from our garden this summer, fruit, and other great items. Our pantry is also overflowing with all the great deals that we have picked up over the past few months. One of the reason for the goal is that I want to use the items I have and not waste them. Stockpiling is wonderful but there may come a point when we need to eat through that stockpile before it expires, save the extra money to work on a financial goal, and be creative with what we have at home. I have been thinking about this challenge for several weeks over the Holidays. Over the past few months (including our experience traveling to India) it has really hit me that we have been really blessed yet there are children and families that content with a lot less. Menu planning may take a little extra creative thinking on my part but I think I can do it. If I do purchase something it needs to meet one of the following criteria:
- FREE – I don’t want to waste free grocery coupons that my family will use while doing this goal
- Necessity – Milk, Eggs, Bread, etc…
- For Someone Else outside of my household. For example I make meals for new Moms in our church and if I need to pick up an item for them on the way to deliver a meal that will be an exception.
What Happened this week?
I finished the third week of this goal. The only thing I purchased this week was a 1 gallon, 1 loaf of bread, and a handful of fresh produce. Our menu was pretty basic this week, but mostly because it was a busy schedule this week.
It takes a little more time and focus to come up with a menu but everyone seems to be doing pretty well. The real challenge will come at the end of the month when we are getting low in the pantry and when we host guests!
I will share with you the challenges, successes and what I had to purchase so you can keep me accountable or even go through the journey with me by participating and sharing your story. I would love to extend this goal into February if I can make our pantry stretch!
Life Simplified is a series on getting rid of the extras in our life while learning how to enjoy what God has given us so we can continue to be a blessing to others. Our homes can quickly start are bursting with “stuff” and if you are like us we just have too much. I am doing a series on ways we are learning to simplifying our food, homes, and lives. When our hearts, lives, and homes get too cluttered we may start missing out on opportunities to serve and bless the people around us.
Life Simplified: No Grocery Shopping (Week 2)
Our family finished week 2 of our no grocery shopping goal. Every new year we set goals, challenge ourselves to reach new heights, and to focus on what’s really important in life. I have made it a goal to simplify my life more by enjoying the blessings and not wasting what God has given me. One of the ways I did this was by going through several No Grocery Shopping weeks, picking up only necessities while trying to use the items we already had in our fridge, freezer, and pantry.
When I did it this 2011 it was my intention to go 1 month, but I made it 8 weeks (with only a few hiccups). It is my plan to do this again with the hope of making it at least through the month of January. I will be sharing with you the successes and challenges on those specific areas in my life as I go through them.
Life Simplified Goal:
- No Grocery Shopping (except for necessities) in the month of January.
Explanation of the Goal: My goal during the month of January is to not shop for groceries other than necessities (milk, eggs, bread). Our freezer is full of meat, produce from our garden this summer, fruit, and other great items. Our pantry is also overflowing with all the great deals that we have picked up over the past few months. One of the reason for the goal is that I want to use the items I have and not waste them. Stockpiling is wonderful but there may come a point when we need to eat through that stockpile before it expires, save the extra money to work on a financial goal, and be creative with what we have at home. I have been thinking about this challenge for several weeks over the Holidays. Over the past few months (including our experience traveling to India) it has really hit me that we have been really blessed yet there are children and families that content with a lot less. Menu planning may take a little extra creative thinking on my part but I think I can do it. If I do purchase something it needs to meet one of the following criteria:
- FREE – I don’t want to waste free grocery coupons that my family will use while doing this goal
- Necessity – Milk, Eggs, Bread, etc…
- For Someone Else outside of my household. For example I make meals for new Moms in our church and if I need to pick up an item for them on the way to deliver a meal that will be an exception.
What Happened this week?
I finished the second week of this goal. The only things I purchased this week were a 1 gallon of Milk, a jar of Mayonnaise, and soft foods for my daughter who was recovering from tonsil surgery (bananas, popsicles, drinks, yogurt, etc…). I was able to plan our menu around the foods we had on hand, plus Jake was traveling for a couple days this week so we tried to keep it a little simpler.
It takes a little more time and focus to come up with a menu but everyone seems to be doing pretty well. The real challenge will come at the end of the month when we are getting low in the pantry and when we host guests!
I will share with you the challenges, successes and what I had to purchase so you can keep me accountable or even go through the journey with me by participating and sharing your story. I would love to extend this goal into February if I can make our pantry stretch!
Life Simplified is a series on getting rid of the extras in our life while learning how to enjoy what God has given us so we can continue to be a blessing to others. Our homes can quickly start are bursting with “stuff” and if you are like us we just have too much. I am doing a series on ways we are learning to simplifying our food, homes, and lives. When our hearts, lives, and homes get too cluttered we may start missing out on opportunities to serve and bless the people around us.
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
I am getting back in the swing of things now that schedule is returning to the somewhat normal. One kid is in school and the other one is home recovering from surgery. Last week my goals were pretty basic. I did get a lot of items done and I am hoping to make some big headway this week (fingers-crossed).
Last week’s goals
Bring in the 2013 New Year – Celebrating with Family and FriendsSpend some one-on-one time with my manSpend Quality time with the girlsDaughter’s Surgery- Go over our goals for 2013 – started, but with a little one recovering from surgery and Jake having to work extra this weekend we were not able to get it completely done
There were a few more noteworthy ones on the list that I didn’t write out that I was able to do as well:
Finish reading Significant Work by Paul Rude– AWESOME book, you can see my review and enter to win a copy of it (you won’t be disappointed)!Spent time reading, playing games, crafts, riding bikes, and fun activities with my girls (and hubby)!
My goals for the upcoming week
Family Goals
- Read Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder to the girls
- Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
- Daily School Activities & Homework Completed
- Attend After School Activities
- Plan one special Activity with the Family
- Take care of the little one recovering from surgery
- Write Thank You Notes
- Finish going over our 2013 goals
Personal Goals
- Exercise at least 5 days this week
- Drink 8 glasses of water each day
- Start with my new YouVersion plan(s)
- Finish reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
Home Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
- Finish Wrapping & Prepping for the Christmas Events
- Pay all upcoming bills
Business Goals
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
- Complete a current client work project
Ministry Goals
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
- Write and Send Out Community Group Email
- Email a meeting reminder to the Alms & Legs Ministry Team
Financial Goals
- For my January Grocery Budget I am replacing my typical Groceries $40 for 4 with my Life Simplified: No Grocery Shopping in order to use up some extra items in my fridge, freezer, and pantry.
- Payoff the Van
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
Why Share My Goals?
- To keep me accountable
- To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
- To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
- Create healthy habits in my life
- To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn
How did you do this week on your goals? Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.
The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results.
Love It – Village Naturals Foaming Bath
Jake and the girls gave me Village Naturals Therapy Foaming Bath Oil & Body Wash, Aches & Pains Relief with Eucalyptus, Rosehips, and Chamomile earlier this year for Mother’s Day. I love it! 🙂 I never thought I would get so excited over bath items, ha! It wasn’t long before the girls were begging to try it out.
Village Naturals Therapy Foaming Bath Oil & Body Wash gives you a lot of great long lasting bubbles. The girls are always asking to use this whenever they have a “long” bath because they love all the bubbles. One time they stayed in the bathtub for over an hour splashing around.
Our family has had a round or two of sickness since I received it. The Village Naturals Therapy Foaming Bath Oil & Body Wash works really well for when you have a cold and are congested. You can find it in a lot of stores, including Walmart, or online. The best part it is only a few dollars and it lasts a long time. You only need a couple drops to get a bath full of bubbles.
Even though the girls and I have used this many times we are still on our original bottle. If your looking for a great bubble bath or body wash that will be a big hit with the lady (or kids) in your life you should check this out. It is a great way to relax after a busy day!
“Love It” is a series of posts on items that I use regularly in my household that I love! There are some items in our daily lives that make life more enjoyable, efficient, or just plain fun. I will be sharing with you some of the products that have been given to us (or to me) that have made it to the top of my list. It’s my way of giving a huge thumbs up!
Gift Giving: 12 Days of Christmas
It’s that time of year again…..excitement is building and the countdown to the final days of Christmas draws nearer. This year we decided to spread the Holiday Cheer out at our house this year by doing the 12 Days of Christmas again. I did this last year and the year before; both years it was a huge hit!
Christmas morning can be so busy and this allows an opportunity to spread the fun over 12 days instead of packing everything into one day. Starting December 13th the girls will be able to open one a day with the last one being opened on Christmas Eve. The cost in the previous years was less than $20 total, including boxes and wrapping paper, however, we decided to add their “big” gift to this stack. Most of the gifts were bought on clearance over the past year and their big gift really wasn’t that much because we got a great deal on it. We did a joint stack for both of our girls, although you can choose to do a stack for each person.
12 Days of Christmas
- Day 1: Reindeer Christmas Socks (purchase last year after Christmas on clearance with rewards)
- Day 2: White Christmas Teddy Bear Shaped Soap (purchased last year after Christmas on clearance and with rewards)
- Day 3: “B” and “K” Candy Cane Striped Christmas Ornament for each girl (purchased last year after Christmas on clearance with rewards)
- Day 4: Christmas Stocking Sticker Craft (purchased on clearance with rewards)
- Day 5: Two Colgate Kids Christmas Toothpastes (purchased on clearance with rewards)
- Day 6: Two Christmas Games – Pin the Star on the Tree & Christmas Checkers (purchased on clearance with rewards)
- Day 7: Christmas Bear Pez Dispensers and Pez Candy Packs (purchased with rewards on clearance)
- Day 8: Disney Cars Christmas Spiral Notebooks (purchased on clearance with rewards)
- Day 9: Gingerbread House Kit (purchased on clearance)
- Day 10: Princess and Frosty Hot Chocolate Tins Sets (found on clearance at Kmart and used gift card)
- Day 11: New Winter PJ’s for each to wear (picked up on sale)
- Day 12: New Digital Camera’s (purchased when it was on sale with Swagbucks gift cards)
Their cameras are their “big” items for Christmas this year. Jake and I decided to give them to the girls for the last day of their 12 Days of Christmas so they would have the cameras to use on Christmas Day. The girls are taking more and more pictures these days. The inexpensive, non-English digital cameras that we bought for them several years ago have held up remarkably well. Whenever their cameras are not working over the past several months they were asking to borrow mine to use so we decided to do a little research, save up (including earning Swagbucks) and get them a little better quality cameras this year since they both are showing a big interest in photography and creative writing. The cameras made my typical $20 or less 12 Days of Christmas gifts a little higher this year but since it included their big gift for the Holidays I am okay with that because they will be so excited to start using them. This time around we got the same camera, but in different colors to help keep track whose is whose without putting names on each camera.
Other Ideas for 12 Days of Christmas:
- Hair Accessories
- Facial Cleansers or Make Up – if you have a teenager just starting to wear makeup or want to update your collection my Mary Kay contact is doing a 12 Day of Christmas set! If your husband is looking for something awesome to get you he may want to contact Ann too.
- Socks or Tights
- Chapstick
- Socks
- Gloves or Scarf
- Card Game
- Construction Paper
- Markers or Crayons
- Matchbox cars
- Small Toys
- Baby Doll Clothes
- Christmas Underwear
- The ideas are endless!
I wrapped them in the original boxes or found ones around the house to put the items into. The Christmas paper was purchased on clearance and I used a coupon. Many of the items we purchased on clearance throughout the year and / or used CVS – ECBs and Walgreens – Register Rewards, Swagbucks Gift Cards or Coupons. I cannot remember the price for all the items but with the rewards it very reasonable price for 12 gifts and some days had multiple items in them.
We did a joint stack for our girls to save money, however, the items we picked match their individual interests (for example, the pj’s were themed to match each girls tastes). When the girls walked into the room and saw the stack of gifts they were super excited. Love seeing their faces and hearing their comments when they first see the stack.
Easy Snowflake Marshmallows
The girls loved having these marshmallows in their hot chocolate!
Yes, I know you can make fabulous homemade marshmallows, but if you are limited on time and resources this is a quick, easy, and fun food craft you can do with your kids. You only need 2 items to do these cute snowflake marshmallows (and you probably have these items in your kitchen already). The kids will LOVE these marshmallows in their next cup of hot chocolate!
Easy Snowflake Marshmallows
- 1 bag Large White Marshmallows
- 1 pair clean Kitchen Scissors
- Optional – Small Cookie Cutters
Take one large marshmallow and flatten it with a rolling pin (it doesn’t need to be completely flat just enough so you can cut it easily). Use your scissors to cut snowflake or other shape for your marshmallow. If you have small cookie cutters you can use those to cut out the shapes. You can do as many or few marshmallows as you like. Place the marshmallows on a serving platter and enjoy with your next cup of hot chocolate.
I did a mix of scissor and cookie cutter snowflakes. You can do snowflakes, stars, trees, or whatever shapes you want. The girls wanted to help, they did more of the cookie cutter ones but enjoyed experimenting with cutting the snowflakes with scissors. These are cute for a fun evening with the family or a get together with a larger group.
One of the super easy cookie cutter marshmallow treats the girls made! They ended up eating some of the snowflake outlines and the rest they used in their hot chocolates.
Snowflake melting in a mug of hot chocolate
Another cool “experiment” the kids can do with their snowflakes…..have them check out how much the snowflakes grow (expand) while in the hot chocolate! Take a tooth pick and carefully pull the marshmallow out of the hot chocolate after it has been in only 30 seconds or so (depending on temperature of your hot chocolate) and see how plump your snowflake looks now. The kids will LOVE it! 🙂
Gift Giving: Moisturizing Citrus Hand Scrub
Moisturizing Citrus Hand Scrub
Our family enjoys taking Christmas goodies to our neighbors every year around Christmas time. Since several of our neighbors are watching their sugar intake (due to diabetes) I wanted to find a gift that would be both practical and fun for them without all the sugar. Yes, the gift I eventually settled on last year did contain sugar but they didn’t eat it. The gift kits were a big hit and the best part….it’s super easy (you even may have all the ingredients in your kitchen). Several people have asked me for the recipe since last Christmas so I wanted to share it with you too in case you are looking for a homemade, inexpensive, and practical gift to share this year.
Putting together gifts for neighbors and friends
You could give away just the jars of Moisturizing Citrus Hand Scrub. I decided to do a Moisturizing Citrus Scrub Kits for our neighbors and friends. Each kit contained:
- Moisturizing Citrus Hand Scrub
- Hand Soap
- Lotion
- Note from our family with instructions on how to use the items in the kit
Ingredients in the Moisturizing Citrus Hand Scrub
The olive oil helps moisturize your hands while the lemons and oranges add a clean citrus scent. The sugar and salt help exfoliate any dry skin and freshens the appearance of your hands.
Moisturizing Citrus Hand Scrub
- 3 cups Sugar
- 2/3 cups Kosher Salt
- Zest from 1 large Lemon
- Zest from 1 large Orange
- 2 cups Olive Oil
- 1/4 teaspoon Pure Lemon Extract
- 1/4 teaspoon Pure Orange Extract
Gently wash and dry the fruit. To zest the orange and lemon use your cheese grater and turn it to the side with the small openings/blades. Grate the orange, turning it frequently. You just want to take off the colored part of the peel (so try not to get too much of the white portion).Now that you have your citrus zest put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Scoop into a mason jar. Put lid on and decorate as you wish. The recipe makes enough for 2 pints (fills two – 1 pint mason jars).Optional: If you would like a milder scent you can remove or reduce the amount of extract from the recipe. Also, if you would prefer only doing Lemon or Orange instead of both just double the amount it calls for in the recipe and eliminate the other citrus ingredients. You can add extra zest into your mix if you like too (see the first picture on this post, the one of the left has extra zest in it).
Moisturizing Citrus Scrub ready to be put into the jars
Filling up the mason jars
Our note included in the the gift to our neighbors and friends!
The red ones all ready to be delivered! You can see our “blue” note in the back of the kit. The note also contained directions on it. I taped on the note on the inside of the package.
The white ones are ready now too! All we have to do now is load them up and deliver them.
It was a lot of fun putting these together for friends and neighbors. Our family did a large batch and made 10 mason jars full. Several people have asked for the recipe so I decided to share it here for others as well. If you are looking for a practical and unique gift this is a great one that worked well for us.
