Stuff Parents Need

Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

Last Minute Ideas for Technophiles!

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This post brought to you by Sharper Image. All opinions are 100% mine.

Ok, folks if you are still doing Christmas shopping, things are officially down to the wire. And if I had to guess, you are probably shopping for folks who are really tough to shop for (at least those are the folks I procrastinate shopping for!). 

Tim, my husband, is one of those people that everyone has a hard time finding something for. It's not that he is difficult to please, per se. He just doesn't want much! And if he does want something, it is almost certainly some type of electronic gadget. 

So, if you are still shopping for a technophile, may I make a few suggestions? Get yourself over to Sharper Image and take a look at these 3 great gifts:

1. Bluetooth Speaker. Photobucket

This wireless speaker ensures that you don't have to sacrifice excellent sound for portability. I can tell you that my husband listens to music at work every single day, so something like this would be a great holiday gift for the music fan on your list. 

2. Back Massager. Photobucket Do you ever have those days where you would promise your entire kingdom for a decent back massage? This massagers has four independent rollers travel up and down your back for instant relief. Here's what I love the most: you can customize the massage for your height! Since Tim is 6 feet tall and I'm just over 5 feet, this is really key. 

3. Sound Soother. Photobucket Ok, so I'm NOT hard to shop for, by any stretch (hello Pinterest wish list that never ends!) but I have to say, I REALLY want one of these! You see, my littlest love, Layah, sleeps with white noise. And lately Tim and I have been taking turns sleeping in the same room as her to get her to go to sleep. Well, I've become quite fond of those beach waves, myself. I'd love to have something like this in my room. And I'm really impressed that you can customize the length of time you want the white noise to play while you drift off to sleep (15, 30, 45 or 60 minutes). The Sound Soother also serves as an alarm clock. And can I just say, how awesome is Sharper Image to have created a device that will reset itself after a power outage or Daylight Saving Time??!! For me, this is a must have gift for anyone in your life who could use a little extra help getting some zzzz's. So basically, anyone with children. 🙂 

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Conducting a Trial Run for Santa’s Cookies: We Have a Winner! #HolidayGuide

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When I was growing up, it was an annual tradition to leave out a plate of cookies and milk for Santa on Christmas Eve. My older brother and I were convinced that the quality of the cookie would have a direct influence on the quality of presents Santa would leave.

So we always insisted that we had something from Pepperidge Farm to leave him. Those cookies were considered EXTREMELY indulgent and were saved for the most special occasions in our home. I’m not quite sure why, since they are readily available at grocery stores! But they were super duper special treats. And that’s exactly why we wanted them for Santa every year. We would beg and plead, but looking back on it now, I can’t imagine that my parents felt disappointed in our request. After all, they were the ones who got to sample the goodies after we went to bed on Christmas Eve!

The tradition continues in my house. Darah knows that Santa has a lot of work to do on Christmas Eve, and that it is polite to leave him a little snack. I didn’t give a second thought to the brand of holiday cookie I, er, I mean, Santa would be enjoying that evening. Naturally it would be the super special Pepperidge Farm brand.

But which cookie to select? Well, the Party Blu Prints Holiday E-Guide gave me my answer! Target has an exclusive Pepperidge Farm cookie for the holidays!

We headed straight to Target after seeing this scrumptiousness featured above. I knew I needed to try these out for myself and see if they would make the cut as the perfect cookies for Santa.

After a bit of searching, we found the cookies in the holiday snack section (NOT in the regular cookie section).

We then headed back to the house and really got into the holiday spirit. Earlier that morning I created a Christmas Countdown paper chain for Darah. Each link had a fun, Christmas-y activity to complete. We opened the first one to see what we were going to to that day.

Hooray! We were going to buy a tree and decorate it!

After a quick trip over to Ace Hardware for a tree, we got down our ornaments, put on the Christmas music, and got to work. And I supplied the refreshments with ease by putting those delicious cookies on the Santa plate. All part of the trial run, of course. Choosing Santa’s cookie is VERY serious business and we had to make sure every element made sense.

They passed the test for looking nice on the official Santa cookie plate. Now for the taste test. I’ll let you decide what we must have thought about the cookies, because here’s what I found when I reached into the Milano Minis bag just 15 minutes after first opening it:

Saddest part of my day, folks. But then I remembered that Target will be carrying these throughout the holidays. Next time, I’ll buy 3 or 4 bags (seriously) and will probably have to write “Hands off!” on one bag so that poor Santa will get his fill Christmas Eve!

The Milano Mini Candy Cane cookies from Pepperidge Farm were a most excellent suggestion from the Party Blu Prints #HolidayGuide. Have you gotten a chance to look at it, yet? It gave me several good ideas for my holiday shopping. Suggestions are practical, affordable and fun!

Do you leave special holiday gifts for Santa, be it cookies, or a note, or anything else? Any other fun Christmas Eve traditions? I’d love to hear!

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias®  and Pepperidge Farm #CBias #SocialFabric. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Finding the Perfect Gift (and the Perfect Cookies for Santa!): #HolidayGuide Made Easy

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I’ve mentioned before that I have 25 people to buy for on my guest list. TWENTY FIVE!!! Just when I start to get a little grouchy about having to do this much shopping I step back and remember two important things:

1. Giving gifts is my love language. It is a joy to be able to give.

2. What amazing gifts I have been given simply by having each and every one of these people in my life. I am overwhelmed by how awesome they each are.

It’s good to take a moment to remember those things, because then it keeps me from being a Grinch and turns me into more of a Santa, feeling downright jolly about the task ahead of me.

Yesterday morning we had our fourth intensive wrapping session. We wrapped and labeled gifts for about 2 hours. And I spent a good deal of time pouring over the list for everyone and determining who I was finished shopping for, and who was left. I then wrote down each person’s name and a budget for each person on a separate list, along with some initial gift ideas I have. This list will live in my purse and go with me everywhere until every last name is crossed off! My hope is to be done by Thanksgiving, but I predict a serious shopping session on Cyber Monday to finish things off.

Now that I know exactly WHO I’m shopping for, I can more easily search for ideas about WHAT to get these fine folks. Party Blu Prints has JUST (as in maybe an hour ago!) released a fantastic holiday gift guide and I want to share with you some ideas it has generated for me!

First up, the gents. Guys are the hardest to shop for, in my experience. I was really excited to see the OtterBox case featured in this #HolidayGuide. Just last week Tim and I broke down and replaced our ancient iPhone 3s with the iPhone 4S. What a difference that upgrade made! And since we have young kids, protecting the phone is a must. My own independent research indicated that the OtterBox was the very best case, and that research is validated by this gift guide. I’ll take one in black, please. Oh yes, this is going under the tree!

Next, I’m looking for a small gift for my mother-in-law. When I saw Nivea lotion in the gift guide, I was reminded of the test I recently conducted where I compared bargain-priced Nivea lotion to my favorite moisturizer. I was genuinely surprised to see that Nivea had much better lasting power. My mother-in-law lives in a desert climate, so a moisturizer that REALLY works is a necessity. This will fit the bill just perfectly.

I’m also looking for a hostess gift for a holiday party we’ll be attending. The holiday e-guide reminded me that a gift doesn’t have to be store-bought to be fabulous. There’s a great recipe for homemade sangria. That happens to be one of my very favorite adult beverages, so giving it as a gift will make it extra special. And it will be extra EXTRA special if my gift gets served at the party! 😉

Finally, I’m looking for some ideas for fun ways to entertain guests in my own home for the holidays. During the first two weeks of December, we will have several family members coming at various times to stay and visit with us. I want our home to be very inviting and festive, but I also have to be realistic about what I can do on my own and what might require some outside help. When I saw the Pepperidge Farm Candy Cane cookies in the guide, I knew that they were going straight on my shopping list.

Pepperidge Farm is something I very much associate with the holidays. Santa Claus always expected this brand to be on the plate we left out for him on Christmas Eve. We made sure to grant his wish every year, in the hopes that he would grant ours! I love that the Milano line has a mini cookie which will be perfect to keep on the kitchen counter for snacking on-the-go. And the fact that it has a candy cane flavor is just too perfect.

I noticed in the guide that these cookies are exclusive to Target. My closest Target is 25 minutes away, so I don’t go all that often. But I’m making a special trip this afternoon to go get those holiday cookies! In addition to having them on hand for guests, I also need a few weeks to taste-test them and make sure they are the right choice for Santa. Mothers have so many tough jobs, and this is just another one of them. But I’ll do it out of love and dedication to my family. 😉

Are you working on your holiday gifts list and figuring out exactly  how much shopping remains? Definitely flip through the Party Blu Prints holiday e-guide. You’ll get some great ideas for gifts to buy, gifts to make, and tips to remember to keep the next few weeks festive, fun and light on the stress.

After I’m back home with my Pepperidge Farm cookies this afternoon, I may just whip up the mocktail recipe in the guide. Anyone case to join me? 🙂

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias®  and Pepperidge Farm  #CBias #SocialFabric. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.