Thanksgiving is only a week away.  I know, I can hardly believe it.  To save you some time, I’ve been searching around for great resources for you.  There’s a wide variety to choose from.  Enjoy!

For the kids:

Thankful tree
Thanksgiving coloring pages
Thanksgiving place mat
Planning Thanksgiving for the Kids
Thanksgiving turkey banner craft
Thanksgiving Children’s Activities
Thanksgiving Party Games and Activities for Kids
Thanksgiving word scramble
Fall and Thanksgiving songs
Thanksgiving place mat Craft for Kids
Thankful pumpkins
Rustic vests
Pumpkin song
Thanksgiving baby bibs

Decorating and Entertaining:

Thanksgiving scripture place cards
Pumpkin Serving Dishes
Tips for Hosting Thanksgiving Dinner
5 Ways to Save Money on Entertaining
Easy Gourd and Candle Fall Centerpieces
Fall Party Centerpiece Ideas with Gourds
Apple …read more

Sanity is a good thing to keep intact, and one November strategy is to skip the overcrowded, stressful, irrational day we call Black Friday. Black Friday in my opinion is not THAT big a deal. I normally skip it because of the consumer issues; seriously, most of us get that day off so why not spend it on time with your loved ones vs. standing in lines at store. But even if you don’t frown on the over-consumption issues related to Black Friday, there are still good reasons to let it go. Skipping it can also save you time and …read more

Honestly, we all know that the number one reason to be diligent about toy safety is to protect the health of our little ones. However, playing it safe also can save you money. Why? Shoddy toys break easier and if there’s a recall that costs you time as well.  Badly made toys aren’t worth the same in terms of life expectancy and quality.
Most of all being safe can save you medical costs. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) notes that in 2007 there were a whopping 232,900 toy related injuries treated in the ER and 73% of those injuries …read more

Holiday tips are fairly common in the U.S. People tip their babysitter, doorman, the cleaning folks and more a little extra during the holidays or give gifts instead of tips. However, who you tip or gift and how much depends on the person and the service they provide.  For example, a favorite teacher may do a great job, but you’re not going to tip him. It’s more likely you’ll get him a little gift. On the other hand you’d love your cleaning person to keep on doing an amazing job, so yes tip more because while a teacher won’t expect …read more

During the holidays gifts to charity in others names is becoming more and more popular. It’s a nice gift too, especially if you pick something your friend or family member is passionate about. However, while there are indeed many good charities out there to donate too, there are also plenty you can trust OR charities who have to spend so much on administration or advertising, that their actual charity gets the short end of the stick.

To find a real honest to goodness charity and to find out how much money goes to the cause you can visit Charity Navigator.
Charity Navigator …read more

Many of you will be hosting Thanksgiving dinner at your house this year. It doesn’t take long to figure out that this feast can break your food budget.  Here are some tips to help you to spend less and hang on to that money for upcoming Christmas expenses.

Prepare the foods yourself.  Don’t go out to the ham store and order a precooked ham or turkey.  I’ve heard of some people paying $30-40 for a precooked ham.  Yikes!
Shop the pre-Thanksgiving sales.  Some stores offer tremendous weekly specials to lure you in.  Look for buy 1 get 1 free specials on vegetables, …read more

Christmas is not only overly expensive but can be totally stressful too. In fact the issues usually go hand in hand. Really it’s time to end this stressful holiday nonsense and get back to holiday celebrations that actually matter and that are actually fun, don’t you think? Here are some ideas to cut your budget and your stress level this Christmas…

Stay put: Holiday travel is more expensive than traveling at other times of the year and bonus, it’s hyper stressful with long lines, crowds, and layovers due to nasty winter weather. Stay put. Call your family on the holidays to …read more

There are more than 200 known diseases that are transmitted through food. The CDC reports that in the U.S. alone that “Foodborne diseases have been estimated to cause 6 million to 81 million illnesses and up to 9,000 deaths each year.” Many illnesses caused by food are the result of poor food handling which is likely to happen around the holidays when people are cooking new dishes they’re unfamiliar with and especially because they’re cooking large turkeys.

Not only are foodborne illnesses serious from a medical standpoint, but they take time away from your family, and can create costly medical bills. …read more

No matter how you slice it, re-gifting is always a tricky topic. Some folks are super gung-ho to re-gift when necessary, others find it terribly tacky, and some people think it’s downright evil.
I however, do not think re-gifting is evil or even slightly bad. WHY hold onto something you’ll never, ever use? Why not give it to someone else who may like it. What’s evil is having all sorts of junk around your house just because you think you’ll hurt someone’s feelings or because you feel obligated to hold onto stuff. That said, one fun activity you can plan …read more

There’s no time like the present to start saving money on shipping costs for holiday gifts. I know it’s early, but planning and getting started ahead of time is one way to save.

As we all know shipping costs can be substantial if you wait until the last minute. Choose gifts now, plan on shipping before the holiday rush and save.
Look for free shipping. It’s lame to pay for shipping when so many online shops offer free shipping. Plenty of places regularly ship for free and many hold special holiday shipping deals.
Ship to one place when possible. If most of your …read more