Holiday Gift Giving: 12 Days of Christmas
As the song says “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” It took me a little more time to get in gear for the Christmas Holidays this year, but the girls Holiday spirit along with the countless Christmas songs is quite contagious! Once again the excitement is building in our house and we are counting down the final days. One of the ways we try to spread out the Holiday Cheer in our house is by doing the 12 Days of Christmas. I used bigger boxes this year so it is actually pretty tall (it’s taller than me….not that I am a giant, ha), but it made it more difficult to get a great picture.
The 12 Days of Christmas allows the girls can open one gift a day for 12 days prior to Christmas. By doing it this way they have the time to enjoy each gift because they get one gift every day versus everything packed into one day! Starting December 13th the girls will be able to open one gift a day with the last one being opened on Christmas Eve. Plus, doing the 12 Days of Christmas motivates me to wrap some gifts early so I am not up late the day before Christmas trying to get all the wrapping completed, instead I can relax and go to bed at a decent time!
Some years I keep the cost to under $20 total, including boxes and wrapping paper, while other years we add their main gifts to this stack. Most of the gifts were bought on clearance, using coupons, or at discount over the past year. We did a joint stack for both of our girls again this year, although you can choose to do a stack for each person. You can chose to do whatever works best for your family.
In the past I have shared the items that I put into their 12 Days of Christmas packages, however, it is not possible to do that this year. Mainly because the girls are fluent readers AND they are frequent readers of my blog (wink…wink)! So in order to keep their gifts a secret I will not be able to spill-the-beans on the contents of the packages. I would be happy to share the list of the items I put into their boxes if you send me a message and promise not to tell my kids (shhhh….it’ll be our secret). I just cannot post publicly what is in each box. I have compiled a list of ideas on items that work well in the 12 Days of Christmas packages to get you started!
Ideas for 12 Days of Christmas:
- CDs
- Hair Accessories
- Make Up
- Socks or Tights
- Chapstick
- Socks
- Gloves or Scarf
- Card Game
- Construction Paper
- Markers or Crayons
- Matchbox cars
- Small Toys
- Baby Doll Clothes
- Christmas Underwear
- Shoes
- Slippers
- Books
- Clothes
- Pajamas
- Popcorn Tin
- Mix Nuts
- Sweet Treats
- Christmas Ornaments
- Crafts
- Games
- Gift Cards
- The ideas are endless! 🙂
I wrapped the items in the original boxes or found boxes 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. The kids recently discovered the 12 Days of Christmas presents wrapped and ready by our tree! I love seeing their faces and hearing their comments when they first see the stack.
If you need some more ideas you can check out our previous 12 Days of Christmas posts for our family over the past few years:
Gift Giving: 12 Days of Christmas Appreciation
12 Days of Christmas Appreciation for my Husband
Last year I did the 12 days of Christmas Appreciation for my husband so this year as I was putting together the 12 Days for the girls I decided to do one with Christmas gifts I had gotten for him. The one I did last year for him had to be small because he was traveling for work several days prior to Christmas, this year he finished most of his traveling in time to start the 12 days of Christmas. I debated back and forth about posting it this year because I know he reads my blog and didn’t want him to know in advance all the goodies I had picked up for him so instead I decided to post it a few days into the 12 days a Christmas and list the items that he has already opened. If you want more details on what I got him or ideas on what to do for your spouse shoot me an email and I can give that to you personally without him seeing it! 🙂
Here is what Jake’s 12 Days of Christmas includes (at least the first few days):
Day 1: Berry Blast & Vanilla Energy Strips (purchased using rewards from CVS & Walgreens)
Day 2: Table Topics – Road Trip To Go Card Game for Upcoming 2013 Family Trips (free after a coupon) 🙂
Day 3: Spinach & Artichoke Dip Mix (free after coupon)
The 12 Days of Christmas started on December 13th (the day he came back from one of his work trips). Every night after dinner he opens his gift for the day. I used a variety of boxes that the items came in or that I had already at the house. Once the boxes were wrapped I put a bow on top and waited for him to come home. He was surprised to see a stack waiting for him to open too.
If you don’t have time to put this together for Christmas consider doing it for Valentine’s Day (for your “sweetheart”), the month of your anniversary, your spouse’s birthday, or another special occasion. The point is to express your love and appreciation for your spouse.
Here’s a picture of the wrapped stacks:
12 Days of Christmas
I am grateful for a loving, caring and hard working man that loves me despite all my craziness. This is just one way to share my love with him during the Christmas Holiday. It was a lot of fun picking out the gifts, wrapping, and giving them to my man. It is my intention to show appreciation to my husband at least once a day. Thankful for an extra opportunity to say “I love you” to my best friend and life partner!
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.
Colortime Crafts and Markers – Promo Code for 15% Off All Orders
Are you looking for a great gift for a budding artist? Do you have a little one who loves to color? Colortime offers a large assortment of items to color from shirts, pillowcases, tote bags, backpacks, bandanas, headwraps, and more!
If you are looking for a neat gift for a kid or want to do a fun craft for a group of kids (Girl Scouts, Birthday Parties, Sunday School, VBS, etc…) Colortime has the perfect product for you. The kids can use their markers to color a variety of fun items.
Get 15% off all orders using Promo Code: 15USFG
Since 1990, over 5 million children and adults have loved creating t-shirts, pillowcases, backpacks, tote bags, bandannas, and more for parties, slumber parties, and scout meetings with our permanent fabric markers. We have provided our customers the opportunity to entertain their guests with a creative activity that becomes a permanent keepsake. Also, we are a licensed vendor of the Girl Scouts of America. Check out our wholesale program, great for your organizations.
More fun stuff from Colortime
- FREE Downloadable Coloring Pages from Colortime
- Join Colortime’s Birthday Club to get special incentives
Below is a great Christmas craft you can do with the kids!
Make sure you get 15% off your order by using Promo Code: 15USFG when you check out at Colortime!
A special thanks to U.S. Family Guide and Colortime for sponsoring this post. Any specific product information was provided by Colortime and U.S. Family Guide, however, the opinions expressed in this post are our own. Blessings Multiplied will be receiving a free craft for this post.
New Upromise eCoupons for September 2012
Upromise has posted their new eCoupons for the month of September 2012. Remember to activate your eCoupons to get additional savings. If you have not yet signed up for Upromise you can get more information regarding on our experience or directly at the Upromise website.
This month they have 26 coupons you can activate for bonus savings. Once you activate your eCoupons all you have to do is scan your rewards card or purchase the items at the store and the cash will be added to your account. You don’t even have to carry any coupons to get the rewards!
You can go to their website for more information on the Upromise program, it’s free to join.
Save A Lot: Deals for the week of January 25 – 31, 2012
The Save A Lot weekly ad deals are listed below for your convenience. It is a great time to stock up on some Save A Lot deals. Sign up for the Smart Shopper Club, by doing so you will get a $5.00 off of $25.00 coupon!
Meats and Seafood
Port Side Polluck Fillets (16 oz) – $2.99
Port Side Salmon Fillets (16 oz) – $4.99
Curly’s, BBQ Beef or Pork (18 oz) – $3.99
Pick 5 for $19.99 promo on going: Pick any 5 specially marked packages of your favorite cuts of fresh, frozen or smoked meats and pay just $19.99 (about $2 per pound).
Fridge and Freezer
Mr. P’s Pizza, Pepperoni or Supreme (6.5 oz) – $0.79
Dannon Light & Fit Yogurt (4 pack, 24 oz) – $1.79
Take ‘n Bake Pizza, Supreme or Pepperoni (33 to 36 oz) – $5.99
Take ‘n Bake Cheese Pizza (33 oz) – $5.49
Save A Lot Today Pizza Rolls (7.5 oz) – $0.99
Mantia’s French Bread Pizza (11 oz) – $1.99
Morning Delight Buttermilk Waffles (12.3 oz) – $1.69
Snack-A-Tizers Cream Cheese Jalapenos (8 oz) – $2.39
Household
Wrightware Foam Plates (100 count) – $2.49
Grocery
Chex Mix Snack Mix (5.5 oz) – $0.99
Use $0.60/1 printable coupon from Eat Better America
Use $0.50/2 coupon from insert 1/8 General Mills (Expires 3/3/12)
Use $1.00/2 coupon from insert 1/8 General Mills (Expires 3/3/12)
As low as $0.39 each after couponBetty Crocker Fruit Snacks and Fruit Roll Ups (4 to 5 oz) – $1.99
Use $0.50/2 coupon from insert 1/8 General Mills (Expires 3/3/12)
Use $1.00/3 coupon from insert 1/8 General Mills (Expires 3/3/12)
As low as $1.49 each after couponKeebler Town House or Club Crackers (11 to 16 oz) – $2.49
JJ’s Pies, Cherry, Apple or Chocolate (4 oz) – $0.50
Del Monte Spaghetti Sauce, Assorted Variety (26.5 oz) – $0.99
Budget Gourmet, Fettuccine Alfredo or Mac n Cheese (7.5 oz) – $0.69
V8 Vegetable Juice, Regular or Low Sodium (64 oz) – $2.99
Use $2.00/3 printable coupon from V8 Juice
Use $1.00/2 printable coupon from Campbell’s Kitchen
Use $0.75/2 coupon from insert 1/1 Smart Source (2/12/12)
Use $0.50/2 coupon from insert 1/1 Smart Source (2/12/12)
As low as $2.33 each after couponSweet Bunz Big Honey Bun (7.5 oz) – $0.88
Sun-Maid Raisin English Muffin (15 oz) – $1.49
J Higgs Potato Chips, Assorted Varieties (8 oz) – $1.29
J Higgs Pretzels (12 oz) – $1.19
J Higgs Tortilla Chips (11 oz) $1.49
Senora Verde Salsa (16 oz) – $1.49
J Higgs Cheese Bit Crackers (9 oz) – $1.69
Ginger Evans Pudding Cups (14 oz) – $0.89
Mantia Spaghetti (16 oz) – $0.99
Mantia’s Pizza Crust Mix (6.5 oz) – $0.49
Mantia’s Pizza Sauce (16 oz) – $0.99
Wylwood Stems and Pieces (4 oz) – $0.69
Kaskey’s Chicken Noodle Soup (10.5 oz) – $0.59
Morning Delight Complete Buttermilk Pancake Mix (32 oz) – $1.89
Morning Delight Syrup (24 oz) – $1.79
Bramley’s Honey Bear (12 oz) – $2.89
Ginger Evans Muffin Mix (4.5 oz) – $0.69
Maruchan Ramen Noodles, Chicken or Beef (6 pack) – $0.99
Port Side Sardines – $0.99
Save A Lot Today Cereal, Assorted Varieties (7 oz) – $1.00
Chef’s Finest Croutons (5 oz) – $1.19
McCormick Bacon Bits (4.4 oz) – $1.49
Remember you can use the $5/$25 printable coupon to sweeten these deals! Plus you can earn up to 5 additional $5 off $25 coupons for sharing the coupon with your friends.
For more information about Save A Lot’s coupon policies go here. If you find additional deals or savings please let me know and I will add them to the list.
Gift Giving: 12 Days of Christmas
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 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 until Christmas. The cost was less than $20 total, including boxes and wrapping paper. Most of the gifts were bought on clearance over the past year. We did a joint stack for both of our girls, however, you can choose to do a stack for each person.
Here is what our 12 Days of Christmas includes:
- Day 1: Christmas Ornament for each girl (purchased last year after Christmas on clearance with rewards).
- Day 2: Two Music CD’s by Suzi Shelton (received CD’s from doing a review and giveaway)
- Day 3: DVD Veggie Tales (DVD was free, but paid a small fee for shipping)
- Day 4: Two Giant Candy Canes, one Princess and 1 Cars (purchased with rewards)
- Day 5: Two Christmas Coloring Books (purchased on clearance with rewards)
- Day 6: Christmas Craft, painting ornaments (purchased with rewards on clearance)
- Day 7: Christmas Flower and Snowman (purchased with rewards on clearance)
- Day 8: Christmas Book God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Tawn Bergren (purchased when it was on sale with Swagbucks gift card)
- Day 9: Two Christmas Headbands (purchased with rewards on clearance)
- Day 10: Game (found on clearance at Kmart and used gift card)
- Day 11: Two Hooded Bath Towels (used a coupon and picked them up on Black Friday)
- Day 12: PJs for each to wear Christmas Eve (picked up on sale and used a coupon)
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!
Karlie & Brina excited about their 12 Days of Christmas
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 may have been under $10 out of pocket for the entire set of 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 craft with one being princess and the other being cars). When the girls walked into the room and saw the stack of gifts they were super excited.
New Upromise eCoupons for May 2011
Upromise has posted their new eCoupons for the month of May 2011. Remember to activate your eCoupons to get additional savings. If you have not yet signed up for Upromise you can get more information regarding on our experience or directly at the Upromise website.
This month they have 41 coupons you can activate for bonus savings. Once you activate your eCoupons all you have to do is scan your rewards card or purchase the items at the store and the cash will be added to your account. You don’t even have to carry any coupons to get the rewards!
You can go to their website for more information on the Upromise program, it’s free to join.
Baskin-Robbins Coupon: Buy 1 Cone, Get 1 Free
Baskin-Robbins Coupon for Buy 1 Cone, Get 1 FREE Cone!
How?
- Go to Baskin-Robbins Facebook
- Scroll to their wall post on April 17th
- Click the Play Button to instantly win a B1G1F Coupon to print out!
The coupon Expires on May 15, 2011!
Save A Lot: Deals for the week of April 19 – 26, 2011
The Save A Lot deals are similar to the ones from last week so if you haven’t had a chance to stock up on these deals you can do it this week. The weekly ad deals are listed below for your convenience. Sign up for the Smart Shopper Club, by doing so you will get a $5.00 off of $25.00 coupon!
Meats and Seafood
Bone-In Shank Potion Ham – $0.99 per lb
Sugardale Sliced Bacon (12 oz) – $1.99
Fresh Chicken Wings – $0.99 per lb
Gwaltney Pork Sausage (12 oz) – $0.99
Pick 5 for $19.99 promo on going: Pick any 5 specially marked packages of your favorite cuts of fresh, frozen or smoked meats and pay just $19.99 (about $2 per pound).
Fridge and Freezer
Coburn Farms Cream Cheese – $0.79
Creamy Whipped Whip Topping – $0.79
Buyers Best Crinkle Cut French Fried Potatoes – $0.99
Imperial Spread Quarters (16 oz) – $0.50
Fairgrounds Jumbo Hotdogs – $1.00
Oscar Mayer Bologna – $1.00
Banquet Family Size Entrees (26 to 28 oz) – $2.00
Port Side Battered or Breaded Fish Fillets or Fish Sticks – $2.99
Wylwood Frozen Vegetables – $0.99
Banquet Brown & Serve Sausage Links – $0.99
Oscar Mayer Microwave Bacon – $2.99
Oscar Mayer Lunchables – $2.49
Home Churned Spread – $1.89
Morning Delight Crescent Rolls – $1.55
Mr. P’s Pepperoni Pizza – $0.99
Household
Ginger Evans Baking Cups – $1.19
Star Ware Food Storage – $1.49
Produce
Large Fresh Pineapple – $1.50
Fresh Romaine Hearts – $0.99
Baby Carrots (1 lb) – $0.79
Grocery
Grissom’s Brown & Serve Dinner Rolls – $0.79
Potatoes on the Side Au Gratin or Scalloped – $0.79
Ritz Crackers – $1.79
Shelby’s Grove Sliced Peaches (29 oz) – $1.00
Libby’s Pineapple – $0.99
Portmann’s Tartar Sauce – $1.29
Mantia Mostaccioli Penne Pasta – $0.99
Morning Delight Complete Buttermilk Pancake Mix – $1.49
Morning Delight Syrup – $1.49
Hargis House Regular or Chicken Vienna Sausage – $0.39
J. Higgs Potato Chips – $0.99
Palmer Peanut or Caramel Candy – $0.99
Portmann’s Salad Dressing – $1.89
Portmann’s Real Mayonnaise – $1.99
Ginger Evans Cake Mix – $0.99
Ginger Evans Frosting – $1.99
Ginger Evans Muffin Mix – $0.79
Ginger Evans Graham Cracker Crust – $1.29
Ginger Evans Instant Pudding – $0.50
Shelby’s Grove Mandarin Oranges – $0.49
Toast Em PopUps Poptarts – $0.99
Malt O Meal Cereal – $0.99
Vista Sandwich Creme Cookies – $0.99
Remember you can use the $5/$25 printable coupon to sweeten these deals! Plus you can earn up to 5 additional $5 off $25 coupons for sharing the coupon with your friends.
For more information about Save A Lot’s coupon policies go here. If you find additional deals or savings please let me know and I will add them to the list.
