A Secret 12 Days of Christmas Surprise

We were having kind of a rough time a few Christmases ago when something amazing and very unexpected happened to us during the days leading up to Christmas and I think it's worth re-sharing this year.  Here's the post that was originally posted 2 years ago:

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Near the end of last year, I was struggling with feelings of frustration with the uncertainty that came with Ken's PhD. He had been in school far longer than we planned or expected and there was no end date in sight. Those last few years of Ken's degree were difficult for both of us. As I was dealing with some of those feelings and trying to focus on the positive and on all of our blessings and all of the good in our lives, something pretty awesome happened to us!

I wanted to share this experience with you because I've been thinking a lot about how we can serve others this month and I thought sharing this might inspire some of you with some ideas of how to show love and support to the people in your life. Whether you feel you can set aside the time, effort, and money to do something as involved as this, or there's a cute idea in the mix that sparks an idea for you, I hope it inspires you to do something kind for someone else.

On the first day of Christmas...

2019 Holiday Gift Guide Giveaways

I'm giving away EVERY. SINGLE. ITEM. in this year's gift guide!!

All gift guide ideas are right here in this post, from Kids to Parents and even Stocking Stuffers.

Here are all of the items from this year's guide along with links to the Instagram posts where you can enter to win them!!

We'll go in order by the categories, starting with kids, moving on to parents, and then stocking stuffers:

100 Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Kids

It can be tricky to come up with some stocking stuffer ideas for kids that are new and exciting! We like for our stocking stuffers to have good reason to stick around past the new year whenever possible, and to actually bring some fun and joy to the receiver.

This year I did some brainstorming with my kids and we came up with the ultimate list of 100 kid-approved stocking stuffer ideas... let's get to the list!

Homemade Candy Cane Marshmallows

I first published this post about how to make candy cane marshmallows almost 3 years ago, but I wanted to share it this month because it's SUCH a delicious recipe! It makes some mess and takes some effort because making marshmallows is kind of an unusual thing for most of us, but you can totally do it and they are SO soft and delicious and your kids will never forget making these with you! :)  So, if you've got the time to devote to the making & the clean-up, this just might be the perfect thing to put on your Christmastime bucket list!

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This post was sponsored by Wayfair

Whether they've been working hard outside shoveling the driveway, building a snow fort, making snow angels or just hiking home from the school bus stop, my kids love to come inside and warm up with a nice cup of hot chocolate. We decided to make it more fun during their winter holidays last week and make our own marshmallows! I have always loved adding candy cane to hot chocolate (there's just something so good about that hint of mint mixed in!),  so we tried coating our freshly made marshmallows in a mix of icing sugar and crushed candy cane and the result was fabulous!

I'm going to share the recipe with you because I made some alterations to the original marshmallow recipe I shared on the blog 4 years ago. That recipe was great but it made a TON of marshmallows. Today's recipe makes a smaller batch so it's just right if you're making them just for your own family.

Instantly Print Photos from Your Phone | Polaroid Lab

Raise your hand if you take a lot of photos on your phone but rarely print them... I'm feeling pretty confident that I am not alone in this! So I'm totally on board with any product that helps to make it easy to print a photo from my phone.

I've been trying out the new Polaroid Lab from Best Buy and it is a game changer!

Here's how the Polaroid Lab takes your digital images and transforms them into a printed photo:

2019 Holiday Gift Guide Giveaway Days

It's Gift Guide Giveaway time!

It's time to get some great ideas for your holiday gift lists and wish lists AND a chance to win them!
I have a LOT of giveaways planned for you this month!

This year, all giveaways will take place over on Instagram but you can come back to this blog post each day to see what new giveaways have been added and click a link to take you to the post where you can enter!

I'm excited to share some of my favorite gift ideas with you, including some old favorites and some new discoveries. I hope you get great inspiration for your holiday shopping and your personal wish list!

Giveaway Days Details