Hey guys – you may remember we did this back in early October. One lucky Mom won a year’s supply of paper towels from Scott Common Sense. We had such fantastic participation that the folks at Scott want to do it again for us.
Here is the info from Scott, with details on how to enter:
Scott Common Sense wants to make sure you stress less this holiday season! In addition to featuring daily tips to get you through the holidays, Scott Common Sense is giving away a year’s supply of Scott Bath and Towel products to one lucky reader! To enter, submit your favorite holiday tip in the comments section below. Be sure to check out Scott Common Sense for more tips on a variety of other topics, or to share some of your own!
This contest will close at the end of the day, Monday, December 1st. One winner will be selected at random from the responses after that time.
For more info on Scott Common Sense, check out their website which is full of tips, articles and tools for money and time saving household solutions.
24
Nov 2008
A second chance: Win a year’s supply of paper towels from Scott Common Sense
By 43 Comments
My tip is to make as many gifts as you can. Be careful to find a balance (if you’re up late every night, then you’re probably taking on too much), but try it. You’ll find tons of ideas on line. Last year, I scoured the web and found more ideas than I could use. Some projects took a few evenings to do. Others took 20 minutes. I really enjoyed giving gifts I made more than the store-bought stuff and it saved a ton of money.
I would suggest buying gifts early (even throughout the year) and wrapping them as soon as you purchase them.
My tip is to treat holiday meals just like every other day as far as not feeling like you have to completely overindulge. Take a little bit of everything you like most and then you don’t feel like you are depriving yourself but also don’t wake up the next morning beating yourself up:)
Remember that “less is more”. Instead of trying to get your kids everything they want, give them a couple of things that they will enjoy and stress that the best part of the season is just being with those you love. Help them find joy in the PRESENT…not just the presents 🙂
Shop early and make lists to keep yourself organized.
Having fun with family and friends during the holiday season can take the edge off the stress….plan early so as not to feel overwhelmed.
Love this contest!
I don’t have the time or energy for gift wrapping so I take all my gifts to the gift wrap booth at the mall. Ours just costs a donation, and all of the proceeds go to the organization that’s working the booth. I can then go get my hair and nails done while they wrap.
we are large italian family and my papa has tee’s made every year with the angeletti “logo” he designed. he has 75 shirts made for this year which he’ll give out thanksgiving and we’ll wear them christmas. they’re a different color every yr. this time camo with orange wording. he’s done this for 25 yrs so my sisters and i are surprising him with a quilt made out of each shirt quilted on back with Italian flag color. can not wait to present it to him to show our appreciation for all his work through the years. even friends look forward to the family tees!
Make a gift list before you go shopping, after checking sale papers, and stick to the list. If you don’t know what you are buying someone, you can be attracted to more expensive presents, with all the lights and glitter of Xmas.
For gifts w/in the family use fabric bags instead of gift wrap, they will last for years and save time, energy, expense and clean-up. You can make your own in various sizes or buy them at a dollar store.
I have a gift tip for children to give to grandparents, aunts etc. I was able to get plain white spoon rests and then the paint markers for dishes. My son made a design leaving the area for the spoon plain (you don’t want food to come into contact with the paint). He signed his name and dated it on the back and Grandma uses it every day and loves it. Very easy!
Remember to enjoy. The house can be cleaned later, go sledding with the kids. Frosting gets on the counter when you are making gingerbread houses. Just enjoy it.
Use coupons! In the grocery store wait to use your coupon for when the item is also on sale as it saves you extra. Also browse for coupons on-line before heading to a retail store and look for coupon codes when shopping the web, as Mommies With Style shares with us.
my tip is to do a gift exchange with your family or friends. draw names and everyone has only 1 gift to buy – this way it can be a little more expensive but then also eases your holiday gift buying stress.
My tip is to do ‘the Secret Santa’ system for adults (especially when there are a lot of adults spending the holidays together); that is each one gets a gift from one other person (determined randomly so nobody knows who the gift it from & can play the guessing game later). Kids of course gets lots of gifts from everyone 😉
If your hosting a holiday party, try and make as many things the night before as possible that way the day of you can relax a bit and prepare for your guests arrival.
My tip is to sit back and remember that the holidays is a time to make memories. The kids will not remember the house being dirty or the food you ate, but they will remember the time spent around the Christmas tree singing carols.
Give a picture calendar as gifts to the grandparents. They would love it all year long. Also, buy and wrap gifts early, so you don’t have to do it last minute.
My tip is to sit down for a minute and think about what is important for your family this Christmas. What do you want your family to see, hear, feel? Then plan around that. Someone taught me this and I was surprised at how much time/money I was spending on things that weren’t that important to me–or to my family. It takes away a lot of stress when I can judge things by criteria I have set for myself, rather than trying to meet every holiday expectation in the world.
I agree with so many of the tips posted already! My tip is to be prepared. Start early especially when you find deals on things you think people will like.
Last year, we purchased most of our gifts online. Shop for gifts you know won’t be returned. Online shopping is a time saver. Most online retailers offer free ship during the holidays. Shop early and don’t forget to check for online coupon codes.
Hold onto Christmas cards for two reasons: 1) you’ll know who to add (or remove) from your list for next year, and 2) glue the fronts of received cards to colorful foldover cardstock to use as Christmas cards for the following year.
Love the comments about making memories! One of our favorites is to get ice cream cones and drive around looking at all the holiday lights. Also, on one side of our family, only the kids (cousins) do a secret santa gift exchange so the kids give each other presents. This limits the number of gifts to buy.
Really take time to enjoy the holidays with your family. It isn’t important if you choose the perfect gift for someone, but rather that yo made wonderful memories. So take an evening each week to slow down time, make a nice dinner and sit down and watch a movie or play a game with your family. Even taking silly pictures with a digital camera is a fun way to enjoy the evening.
My tip is to make sure you have plenty of TP in the bathroom for all your holiday parites. This is my son’s favorite project. He makes a pyramid with the tp rolls so there is plenty when we have parties.
No fun going to someone’s house and having to try to find some tp in their cabinets. Esp when there is none is their cabinets.
My tip is to sit back and enjoy the sights, sounds and tastes of the holidays. Don’t fret over what wasn’t done. Don’t waste time on buying disposable gifts. Enjoying the gift of family & friends is by far the best present of all!
My tip – just say no to the parties and events you would rather not go to. After you’ve done it a few times, you’ll feel liberated!
Don’t wait until the holidays to start shopping for those on your list. Pick things up as you see them throughout the year and by December, you will have almost everything you need!
Don’t wait until the holidays to start shopping for those on your list. Pick things up as you see them throughout the year and by December, you will have almost everything you need!
Don’t wait until the holidays to start shopping for those on your list. Pick things up as you see them throughout the year and by December, you will have almost everything you need!
My tip since I have 2 little boys under the age of 5 is to decorate the Christmas tree with their little toys – this way I don’t stress about anything on the tree breaking. We will have transformers, power rangers and dinosaurs!
Remember to water the tree!
Have a special dish you only make on Christmas. My mom always made crescent rolls filled with a delicious mixture of marzipan and chocolate, and I still expect them every Christmas morning!
If you are worried about the kids getting into the ornamentss – put the tree into the playpen
My tip is to jot gift ideas down for everyone (including yourself!) throughout the year in your agenda/blackberry/etc so when it gets close to the holidays, you have ideas for everyone on your list – and an answer when people ask you what you’d like!
My tip is to stay local. I plan to support local boutiques, looking for handmade, one of a kind items.
get left over branches from christmas tree lots and make wreathes and other decorations
My tip is make a list and stay green this holiday season! Buy local and buy green! Get things that will last beyond the season and that are eco-friendly and enjoy the holiday season to the fullest!
Stop and enjoy everything..from shopping to wrapping presents.
My holiday tip: Take advantage of the web this season. There are so many informative product review blogs and great childrens stores online. Many stay at home moms take their time to help us working moms find great buys and exciting products. Christmas shopping is just a mouse click away! We should be supporting these wonderful sites!!!
What a fabulous contest Mommies with Style!
babies, although you may want to get them everything, will find the empty boxes, torn wrapping paper, and bows more exciting than what you spent hours agonizing what to buy.
Just what I was looking to see today! This is important. I’m thrilled someone took the time to write about it. Any chance I could contribute to this? I really hope so. I’ve bookmarked your page here and will be back. Also visited some of your sponsors, good stuff. I hope you visit my site about Santa sometime soon and return the favor. Have a sunshine and roses day.
have been reading ur site around 3 days. really love what you posted. btw i am doing a report about this subject. do you know any other good blogs or maybe forums that I can get more info? thanks a lot.