Category Archives: Holiday

Create Your Top Of The Mantel Holiday Card On Cardstore.com.. And See Mine!

2013 Holiday Gift Guide, Gifts, Holiday, , ,

cardstore holiday cards

I told my husband that I wanted to get a photo of the kids in front of our Christmas tree, which is gorgeous.. once it is actually up, for a Christmas card.  I’ve been sick for a couple of weeks and things just haven’t gone as planned so I didn’t get my dream photo.  I probably wouldn’t have anyway.  If I recall correctly, when I tried to get the ‘perfect’ photo of the kids last holiday season, I ended up almost crying I was so frustrated.

I was so happy with the first holiday card I made on Cardstore.com that I didn’t think I could possibly create a card I liked better.  Well, I did.  It took a little digging through photos on dropbox, facebok, and my computer, which cardstore.com makes easy, but I found several photos of the kids that sum up their year fabulously.

So here it is..

Our Cardstore.com Personalized Holiday Cards

The entire time I was designing this card, I had the song “My Favorite Things” playing over and over in my head.   I finally decided to include in this post since it was such a party of the design experience.

You should go here (a YouTube page in a new window) and start the orchestral music for “My Favorite Things” before reading my lyrics.  Hearing the music puts you in the right place. 🙂

Rainbows And Smiles On Warm Summer Days
Sebastian Playing Lacrosse And Madelyn Balancing On Beams
Soccer Balls Zooming Around In The Spring
These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

Trips To The Beach With My Husband And Kids
Watching Madelyn Read Books At A Fast Pace
Looking Forward To What The Future May Bring
These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

Decorating For Christmas With Music In The Background
Knowing Sebastian Will Be An Eagle Scout One Day
Getting Warm Hugs After School Everyday
These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

When The Guinea Pigs Squeal
Because They’re Hungry
Or When I Trip On Lacrosse Balls
I Simply Remember My Favorite Things
And Then I Don’t Feel So Bad

Feel free to share your version of “My Favorite Things” in the comments below.  So often we focus on the bad and annoying things in life.  I think it’s important to focus on the good and writing your own version of this song is a great way to do that!

Keep in mind that you need to order your customized holiday cards by December 16th in order for them to arrive at their destination by Christmas Eve. 

Like I mentioned in previous post about Cardstore.com, the process of creating a customized holiday card is quick and easy.   You can add photos from lots of photo sharing sites including Facebook, Instagram, Dropbox, Picasa, Flickr, and more.  There are dozens of holiday card designs to choose from which most being a postcard but several are folding cards.

Here is a Cardstore.com giveaway you can enter!

Mom Central and Cardstore are currently running a giveaway on the Mom Central Facebook page, with chances to win ten (10) $50 Amex Gift Cards and one (1) grand prize of a $300 Amex Gift Card! Here is the link: http://bit.ly/1gaAy4M

Create your own personalized holiday cards at http://po.st/PersonalizeYourCard today!

I LOVE the Personalized Christmas Card I Created On Cardstore.com!

Gifts, Holiday, , ,

Mom Central Consulting

My to do listWhat’s on your to-do list today?  Here is mine ->

If you’re wondering what my to-do list writing strategy is, I don’t have one. 🙂

As you can see at the bottom of my to-do list, I want to take photos of the kids for Christmas cards.  I was left inspired and motivated after creating a customized Christmas card on Cardstore.com yesterday.

In 2011 and 2013 I mailed Christmas cards to family.  Great job, I think to myself – better than the other 12 years since I’ve had kids when I didn’t mail Christmas cards out.. but they weren’t the cards I wanted or visioned.  I visioned a Christmas card with a gorgeous photo of the kids ON the front of the card with an inspiring holiday message of love and well wishes for our friends and family overlaying or above or below the message.  Instead I sent out standard stock holiday cards with a photos of the kids inside it.  Boring.

I am so grateful that I have Cardstore.com to turn to this year.   Cardstore.com allows users to choose from hundreds of gorgeous holiday card designs and customize the card with a photograph and text of their choice.

The great thing about creating a customized card where you embed a photograph ON it through a website like Cardstore.com is that their designs make any photograph look good.  Yes, that awkward photograph of your three kids, one with a clump of flyaway hair, one with cross-eyes, and one who isn’t smiling at all, will look good ON a Christmas card.

Here is the 1st Christmas card I created on Cardstore.com

Cardstore.com customized Christmas cards

It is very easy to create a personalized card on Cardstore.com.

To create a customized holiday card on Cardstore.com simply follow these steps:

  1. Go to cardstore.com
  2. Click on ‘Christmas’ in the top left
  3. Cardstore.com photo upload optionsClick on photo cards in the drop down menu that appears
  4. Choose to refine your search (select how many photos you’d like on your card, background color, etc)
  5. Click the ‘make your card’ button to the right of the card you’d like to customize
  6. When your card design opens, click on Your Photo Here with the + symbol
  7. Choose how you’d like to upload your photo
    (Initial options are: your device, Facebook, Dropbox, Instagram, and Flickr but if you click “see all options” you’ll see these options: Picasa, Google Drive, SkyDrive, Box, and Evernote!)
  8. Browse your selected choice and click on the photo you’d like to upload
  9. Once you click the photo, you will need to double-click it to add it to your card
  10. Click the pink ‘done’ button
  11. To change the default text on your card design, click directly on the text.  A text box will appear allowing you to change the text verbiage, font, color, and size.
  12. Click Save at the top of the page when you are finished customizing your card and follow the steps as prompted.

The process of finding and customizing my Christmas card on Cardstore.com took about 10 minutes.

I had so much fun playing around with designs on Cardstore.com and already have card ideas in mind for other holidays!

I am going to create another custom card on Cardstore.com once I get a good photograph of the kids.  Wish me luck!  I’ll be searching Google for “how to take holiday photographs of kids” later today. 🙂

Cardstore.com stands out because of its clean, beautiful site and its ease of use and who doesn’t love pretty cards?

Cardstore.com can be a busy parent’s best friend year round!   Imagine the cards you can create for:

  • birthdays
  • Mother’s Day
  • Father’s Day
  • anniversaries
  • and for your child’s teachers!

Create your own personalized holiday cards at http://po.st/PersonalizeYourCard today!  From November 21st – 26th Cardstore is offering 30% off holiday cards!

Here’s a tip from one parent to another:
Don’t worry about having the perfect photo for your Christmas cards!  
Your friends and family are going to love your Christmas card no matter what!  Enjoy a few minutes on Cardstore.com and you’ll see that even the most imperfect photos make for a great Christmas card!

 

Alicia, The Mommy Insider blog author

3 Reasons To Use Layaway And When To Start

Holiday, , , ,

Kmart holiday layaway

 

It’s hard to believe but the countdown is on to the holiday season!   Although many of us don’t start shopping, decorating and celebrating until after Thanksgiving, there are a few holiday ‘must-do’s’ that you need to start sooner rather than later.   Planning your holiday menu ahead of time is a must.   Also, why not get a head start on your holiday shopping by starting before the busy Thanksgiving holiday?

First, put the big (or small) items on your kid’s wish lists on Layaway.   Most Layaway contracts are eight weeks long, so this is the ideal time to shop and pay over time.   You don’t want your wallet to go into shock on November 29th, do you? Didn’t think so.

Still need convincing? Here are a few ‘Layaway Lessons’ to keep in mind:

1.) Last year’s Christmas tree was on its last limb and this year you could probably use a new one  
Pick up a pre-lit tree (because that’s the way to go), LED lights, wreaths and village houses now and pay them off in time for decking those halls!

2.) Your gift list has grown
Your kids are getting older and want more gifts or maybe what they just want one or two expensive gifts like a new laptop or game console.  Long gift lists or those including expensive items call for Layaway. Fill your cart to the brim and roll it over to the Layaway counter. Your kids don’t need to know you paid their gifts off over time.

3.) Money is tight this year
It’s not just you; many of us are watching our spending. If you’re having trouble staying afloat while keeping your bills paid, Layaway is a must. Not only will you avoid ‘wallet shock,’ you’ll keep your pre-holiday peace of mind.

Kmart Layaway LogoWhether you have one or 100 items, you can Layaway almost everything on your list without paying a service fee through 11/23. Plus, you can pay in store, online or using a mobile phone. Eight or 12 weeks later (depending on your contract) pick up your items and you’re good to go!

 

Bonus: After you figure out how easy it is, you can Layaway all year round at Kmart.

 

A 7-Year-Old Girl’s Dream Shopping Trip at OshKosh B’gosh + 25% Off Coupon!

Age 3-5, Age 5-7, Age 7-10, Fashion & Style, Holiday, Shopping, Style Guide, ,

*I participated in an Influencer Program on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for OshKosh B’gosh. I received a gift card to facilitate my shopping trip and to thank me for participating.

As strange as it may sound, I rarely take Madelyn with me when I buy her clothes.  I’d rather buy a bunch of clothes and bring them home for her to say yay or nay to and try on at home, than deal with the potential whining about trying clothes on and me taking too long.  On that note, last week I was brave and took Madelyn to the OshKosh B’gosh store.  I expected whining.  I expected chaos.  And I got it.   Not because she didn’t want to try clothes on.  It was the opposite this time.  She wanted to try on everything!  We were at the store for 2 hours.

When we arrived at OshKosh B’gosh, two employees greeted us. One asked what we were shopping for and one told us about the amazing doorbuster items.   My jaw dropped when she told me that the fleece pullovers were just $9!  If I wasn’t there to buy outfits for school, I would have grabbed a dozen pairs of fleece pants and pullovers and been done with our shopping trip.

OshKosh B'gosh doorbuster sale

After perusing the doorbuster items we made it to the racks of clothes.  Madelyn put three outfits together in a matter of minutes.. then five.. and more and more.   Oh my gosh they were cute outfits too!  I quickly got down on my knees and explained to her that while I would love for her to have a velvet dress with an adorable turtleneck to pair with it and tights, my goal with this shopping trip was to buy her a couple of outfits she could wear to school.  While I was talking to her, I saw her eyes focus on something behind me.  Boots.. “the most super-adorabalist boots EVER” she said…sort of like that new word she came up with earlier this week; fancasual.  She’s on a roll with the interesting new words. That was the end of that conversation.

While she tried on the boots, I found jeggings.   I have bought Madelyn several pairs of jeggings in the last year and she’s worn holes in all of them.  When I picked up a pair of OshKosh’s jeggings, I realized that the jeggings I had bought were not nearly as good quality as OshKosh B’gosh’s.  Their jeggings are thick and seem very durable.

Madelyn paired a knit cardigan from OshKosh B’gosh that she had with one of the outfits we bought, creating this adorable outfit.  This is my favorite of the outfits she picked.  It is practical for school and it will also make a cute holiday outfit.

OshKosh B'gosh little girl outfit

Oh, and aren’t the boots adorable? The boots are regularly $50. I initially told Madelyn she couldn’t get the boots but when she put the effort into putting them on with every outfit she tried on and I saw just how freakin’ cute they are with everything.. I caved.  I was sure the boots were going to put us well over our $100 limit.. but seeing as how our entire purchase was just $96, they didn’t!

I could not believe how many items we were able to get with our $100 gift card at OshKosh B’gosh!  Seriously.  I took a photo to show you just what we bought with $96!

OshKosh B'gosh shopping spree

This is what we got for $96!

Pretty great, right?

OshKosh B’gosh Coupon!

Because I want you to get the same amount of stuff that Madelyn did for just about $100, here is a coupon for 25% off your purchase of $30 or more!

OshKosh B’gosh has offered a special coupon for 25% off a $30 purchase for The Mommy Insider readers! This coupon can also be redeemed online or in your local OshKosh B’gosh store.

OshKosh B’gosh coupon

It was tempting to use my gift card to buy holiday clothes for Madelyn but she can make any outfit look festive with accessories…she’s better at that than I am.. so we refrained on buying ‘holiday specific’ items and went with fun, functional, and comfortable everyday clothes. We’ll be back soon (we got a coupon with our purchase) so maybe we’ll stock up on holiday clothes next time! Here are a few cute pieces that would be great for holiday outfits.

OshKosh B'gosh holiday clothes

Connect with OshKosh B’gosh on Twitter and Facebook!

Alicia, The Mommy Insider blog author

Spooky Tunes: A Disney Halloween, an Exclusive Playlist on Rdio

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Disney Halloween Songs Playlist on Rdio

We’re heading to the pumpkin patch when the kids get home from school today and what better way to get them in the mood.. the Halloween mood, than by listening to spooky music?

Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Tigger are among your favorite characters who make A Disney Halloween come alive.  Inside this exclusive playlist on Rdio, you’ll find nearly an hour of highlights from classic spooky collections such as Disney Villains: Simply Sinister Songs and composer Danny Elfman from The Nightmare Before Christmas (which celebrates its 20th anniversary this month), plus archival scary sounds and more.

Make way for the Heffalumps and Woozles, too!

Press play and enjoy one of Disney’s favorite holidays of the year: Halloween!