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holiday

5 Reasons to Subscribe to Amazon Prime (That You Haven’t Heard)

November 18, 2018 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

If a Prime membership is something that you are considering, read these 5 reasons to subscribe to Amazon Prime. These are the 5 reasons that make it most worth it to our family and it may be worth it for your family.

5 Reasons to Subscribe to Amazon Prime that You Have not Heard. Save Money, Save Time and make your life easier by using Prime .

Amazon Prime. It is hard to talk about shopping without Amazon coming up in conversation. It seems that everyone loves Prime. People can’t live without it. It has simplified the lives of many.

But is it worth the price? Sure you get 2-Day shipping on more than 100 million items. Prime Video gives you access to a variety of free movies including Prime Originals that you can’t see anywhere else. Prime Reading gives you access to books and magazines that are included with the membership. Prime Music and Prime Photos are two more reasons that people love Prime.

But those are not the 5 reasons to subscribe to Amazon Prime that our family uses.

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

5 Reasons to Subscribe to Amazon Prime (That You Haven’t Heard)

My Prime membership was up for renewal recently and I did what I always do. I started evaluating the cost vs. benefit to decide is the membership was still worth it to me. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Prime. I feel like I use it all the time but I wanted to make sure that I was still getting a good deal.

Here are the 5 reasons to subscribe to Amazon Prime that are beneficial to our household.

Time is Money

You have probably heard that phrase a million times but what does it really mean? My time, like many of you busy mamas is extremely limited these days. Lots of my time goes to other people: my kids, my husband, my job. So if I can save a tiny bit of my precious me time by ordering essentials and gifts on Amazon, I am doing it.

I am able to make teacher gifts, purchase Halloween favors for class parties, create a dress up station for imaginative play, and organize LOL Surprise dolls all without leaving my house. Saving time is a huge benefit to me with Amazon Prime. Even if I procrastinate on a project, the 2 day shipping comes through.

Shipping Savings

Of course with Prime, you get free shipping. But here I am talking about money that I save by purchasing items for people on Amazon and shipping to them instead of going to the post office.

Just this week, my mother in law called needing her amazing hazelnut coffee replenished. I pushed a couple of buttons on my phone and had the coffee en route to her tiny little Louisiana town. If I didn’t have Prime, I would have had to go to the store, buy the coffee, find a box, pack it up, pay some postage and get it to the postbox. No thanks. The Prime method is so much easier.

I have also used this to ship stuff to my stepdaughter in college and gifts for friends that are out of town. Another fun thing that I like to do around the holidays is to find people to donate to using Amazon Prime. The Ronald McDonald House sometimes does Amazon wish lists as well many other charities.

This Christmas I am donating to a mother of 2 that fled her home due to domestic violence and lost everything and to a group that helps to provide Christmas gifts to more than 100 foster kids. It is a great way to donate to those in need without ever having to leave your home.

Better Than Retail Pricing

Sometimes you pay for convenience with Amazon. But you can find tons of items that are the same price or even better than retail pricing on Amazon. It is quick and easy to compare items on the internet to determine if you are getting a good price.

Compare the household items that you use frequently. I often find good deals on diapers, toiletries, toys and more.

Credits to Delay Shipping

If you don’t need your items right away, delay your shipping and earn a reward. The most common reward that i see is a $1 reward for select digital items.

I use this a lot if I don’t really need my items super fast. My husband loves buying movies so it is a nice way to offset the cost of those when I don’t have to use the 2 day shipping. If you order on Amazon often, this can really add up.

Hard to Find Items

This kind of goes back to the time is money statement. I use my Prime membership to buy things that I know are going to be hard to find. For example, we needed a specialty light bulb for our chandelier the other day. Instead of going to the home improvement store (which I do not go to often), I just hopped online and found exactly what I needed in less time than I could have loaded my kids in the car.

Here are some of the weird, hard to find items I have purchased recently: stovetop knobs, a specific princess backpack for my little one, a Halloween inflatable that had 7 pumpkins (one for each member of our family), Flavored coffee that I can’t find in stores, the best diaper rash cream that is hard to find in retail stores.

Holiday Shopping

From Thanksgiving until December 23rd, I get a year’s worth of Prime membership in just a month. Christmas shopping on Prime is so easy. Especially during this time of year, you will find great prices on toys and they make it just so easy.

Of course the Hot toys of the year may get sold out on Amazon too, but I find that it is sometimes still easier to find the hot toy on Amazon vs. the retail store. For example, the LOL dolls that my daughter is obsessed with have been sold out on Target’s website for what seems like months. But Amazon has a pretty good variety available at regular price right now.

I even found pumpkin spice everything and cute Thanksgiving shirts on Amazon. They really do have everything don’t they?

Amazon Prime Free Trial

If you are nodding your head in agreement with these 5 reasons to subscribe to Amazon Prime, you can try Prime free for 30 days by clicking this link. Here is to hoping you save some time, money and sanity by using Prime!

If you liked this post on 5 reasons to subscribe to Amazon to Prime, be sure to check out Shipt vs. Grocery Store- How much more will you spend? I show a real example of the convenience cost associated with the newest trends in grocery shopping. Protecting Your Pennies along the way.

Filed Under: Buy Smart, Featured Tagged With: 5 reasons, Amazon prime, free trial, holiday, money saver, subscribe, time saver

Thanksgiving Turkey Breakfast Bagel

November 8, 2018 by Stacy Craft 15 Comments

A light and healthy breakfast is just what your kids need leading up to Thanksgiving day. This Thanksgiving turkey breakfast bagel is a cute and tasty treat.

Thanksgiving Breakfast Bagel For Kids. Fun breakfast food ideas for kids to make holidays exciting!  Cute Turkey shaped breakfast food idea for young kids.

I have one kiddo that doesn’t like to eat. Like ever. My most popular phrase at home is “eat your food.” But if you make her food cute, she all of the sudden shows more interest. These Thanksgiving turkey breakfast bagel treats had her smiling at the breakfast table this week.

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

Thanksgiving Turkey Breakfast Bagel for Kids

Holiday inspired treats are one thing that I always planned in my head for my kids, before I had kids. I wanted to do fun food and paper plate painting crafts. Handprint keepsakes and cutout cookies with homemade icing and lots of sprinkles.

One thing that I didn’t anticipate pre-motherhood is just how busy and tired I would be in actual motherhood. So in reality my holiday treats usually consist of things that I typically have at home and that I can make super quick.

A Thanksgiving turkey breakfast bagel puts a healthy and fun treat on your table for the kids. You will be giving your kids a fruit, carb source, and dairy in this meal. It is light enough to eat on Thanksgiving morning during the parades on TV but will also keep them full until lunch at school if you make it earlier in the month.

What Do I Need:

Mini Bagels

Cream Cheese (I used a Honey Flavored)

Candy Eyeballs (If you don’t have these, try chocolate chips or raisins)

Candy Corn

Red & Green Apple

Assembling the Thanksgiving Turkey Breakfast Bagel

Fun food, fast. That is what we are after here! To make this cute Thanksgiving turkey breakfast bagel, start by slicing and toasting the bagel.

Let it cool slightly so that the cream cheese doesn’t slide off the turkey’s body. Once it has cooled a bit, spread the cream cheese on one of the bagels. I spread it on just thick enough to cover up the whole in the middle.

Slice the apples.

Now all you need to do is arrange. Place the apple slices around the edge of your turkey peel side up to show those pretty red and green colors off. Finally, add the eyeball, candy corn nose and trim just a teensy piece of a red apple to make the gobbler. Did you know the “gobbler” is actually called a snood? Weird but true according to this article with 10 things you didn’t (need to) know about turkeys.

Thanksgiving Breakfast bagel idea for kids

My daughter’s only complaint was that the Thanksgiving turkey breakfast bagel needed two eyes and not one. I was going for a profile look. And if I know her like I think I do, she was going for two candy eyeballs. I hope you have fun serving these turkey’s up to your kids.

 

Filed Under: Featured, Holiday Treats, Plan, Recipes Tagged With: bagel, breakfast, easy, fun food, healthy, holiday, kids, recipe, Thanksgiving, treats, turkey

No Bake Halloween Snack Cake Ghost

September 15, 2018 by Stacy Craft 10 Comments

Simple, no bake Halloween snack cake ghost treats for classroom parties or a simple after school snack.

No Bake Halloween Snack Cake Ghost

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

I love Halloween! I always pin these amazing looking desserts year after year but never end up finding the time to create them. So this year, I decided to find some things that we could definitely find the time for this holiday season and add some fun to our usual schedule.

My kids don’t seem to care if the dessert is super elaborate or super simple. It is amazing but if it has sugar, they like it. One of my goals this year is to just “do.” To stop worrying if the activity or recipe is perfect, and just do it. My kids love it and I am having some fun too!

No Bake Halloween Snack Cake Ghost

You know when your kid’s school sends home a note that you need to send a Halloween treat to school for the party, tomorrow? Yes, you knew that Halloween was 10/31 but it just has the tendency to sneak up on you. And now you need something cute to send to school that wont’ keep you up until 3 am making…

These white chocolate ding dong ghosts will delight the classroom and help you keep your sanity. Reading this blog post will literally take you more time than whipping up a box or two of these no bake Halloween snack cake ghosts.

And if you want a less spooky option, try these No Bake Pumpkin cupcakes, perfect for a Harvest or Fall Party.

Supplies:

–Box of Hostess white chocolate ding dongs

–Betty Crocker Black Icing

Halloween NO bake ghost supplies

Creating the Ghosts

It doesn’t get any easier than this! Just draw on two dots for eyes and a bigger dot for a mouth. I think they turned out too cute for a preschool/elementary school party.

This no bake Halloween snack cake ghost fit the bill for the perfect class party treat. Easy. Tasty. Cute. Now you are done with your Halloween duties and can move on to more important things like Witch Wine (see how I just made your wine festive? Go have a glass, you earned it).

Would your kids love these ding dong ghosts?

 

Filed Under: Featured, Holiday Treats, Recipes Tagged With: class, easy dessert, ghost, Halloween, holiday, simple, treat

Holiday Themed Baby Shower Gift for Boys or Girls

April 13, 2018 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

The news of a new baby brings all kinds of warm fuzzy feelings for me. Once your family member or friend announces a new baby, the first thing you want to do is buy something for the new bundle of joy. Making a holiday themed baby shower gift is not only easy but it is economical and gender neutral.

If you want to read about creating a holiday book gift set for your next baby shower gift, click here.

Holiday Themed Baby Shower GIft

Holiday Themed Baby Shower Gift

It is best to start looking for this gift as soon as you find out that the mom to be is expecting. The reason is that you can find some great deals on the items included in your gift if you are looking right after each holiday.

What’s in This Baby Gift?

Baby's First Year Holiday Themed Gift

Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.

Baby clothes! But not just regular baby clothes. You are going to include outfits, onesies, bibs, socks or even hats or bows that are holiday themed. It’s so fun to give a creative arsenal of “my first” holiday outfits to the new mom and baby!

You can really make this as elaborate or as simple and economical as you wish. If you shop early, you can get those after holiday clearance deals! In an effort to keep the gift affordable, I also like to do a mix of items. So if I want to put a cuter outfit or maybe even a smocked dress or Jon Jon for let’s say Christmas, then I might do just a bib and some themed socks for a smaller holiday like Valentine’s Day. It is really versatile and up to you as to how it is put together. You could even do all bibs or all “my first” onesies to keep it extra easy and inexpensive.

I’m Not a Planner and Need a Gift Saturday!

Lucky for you, the internet heard your cries. I love Pinterest so much but when I am looking for something now, the last thing I want to hear is that I should have started on this project 7 or 8 months ago (because hello, kids-job-house-life).

Even though you can get a better deal shopping the clearance racks on 12/26, 2/15, 3/18 and so on, you can still make a reasonably priced gift shopping online.

Here are some things that I found today that would work for this holiday themed baby shower gift:

Valentine’s Day

Boys Valentine’s Set with Hat

Airplane – Make My Heart Soar Gown

Girls Cupid Tutu Set

My First Valentine’s Day Bib

Valentine’s Bow

St. Patrick’s Day

My First St. Patrick’s Day Onesie

4 Leaf Clover Baby Headband

Boutique Style Kiss Me I’m Cute Girls Outfit 

Dad’s Lucky Charm Outfit for Boys

Easter

Mudpie Girls Bunny Bubble

Boys Boutique My First Easter Shorts Set

Infant Bunny Headband

Personalized Baby Bib

Happy 4th of July

Made in the USA Onesie

My First 4th Bib

Patriotic Bow 

Girls 3 Piece Skirt & Tops Set

Happy Halloween

My First Halloween Onesie Set

Pom Pom Pumpkin Boutique Style Romper

Gender Neutral Candy Bib

Ghost Sleep and Play with Hat

Happy Thanksgiving

Mudpie Turkey Football Romper

Girls Turkey Jumper

Unisex Onesie and Bib

Merry Christmas

Santa Bib by Mudpie

Unisex First Christmas Outfit

Reindeer Girl Romper

Boy Reindeer Romper

(Great Option for Boy/Girl Twins)

Packaging the Gift

When packaging your holiday themed baby shower gift, you can again make it simple or go all out. I like to do just a simple bag with a tag that lists out some of the holidays that are included.

Gender Neutral Baby Shower Gift Bag and Tag

If you want a FREE printable of the gift tag shown above, click  Here for that PDF.

What is your favorite baby shower gift to give to a new mom?

Filed Under: Featured, Play Tagged With: Baby, baby shower, gift, holiday, infant, themed

Easy St. Patrick’s Day Vignette

February 24, 2018 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

I have been wanting a tray vignette area in my kitchen that I could change up with every holiday or season. So I strapped the baby on to me, put the 4 year old in the cart and started walking the aisles of Hobby Lobby. (Why can’t they make their baskets big enough to hold an infant car seat?! Ahh) I wanted to find some items to go on a St. Patrick’s Day Vignette that I could use seasonally and also some staple items that I could use in a variety of vignettes through the year.

Pinning decorative things on Pinterest is a love of mine but it never fails I can’t find the same things at the store.  The list below should save you from having to circle the store 300 times like I did with two kids in tow! Hopefully this will take the guesswork out of it for you and save you from a toddler meltdown.

Money Spent

My total cost for everything pictured was $61.38. While this is not the most frugal decoration I have ever put together, I do plan to reuse several items throughout the year. The most expensive items were the tray and the books. I plan to use those in most of not all styled vignettes in this area. When you subtract those two items, the seasonal portion was just over $20. I also typically reuse my seasonal decorations (even if it is in a different place) for several years so this gets to be really reasonable when you consider that.

Finding the Decorations

Everything for this St. Patrick’s Day Vignette came from Hobby Lobby except for the gold coins.

St. Patrick's Day Leprechaun

St. Patrick’s Day Seasonal Items

The shelf sitter Leprechaun and the Wood block were located in the St. Patrick’s Day seasonal area of the store.

Leprechaun Shelf Sitter

Not Lucky Just Blessed Wood Block

The bottles were in the glass area. In my store it is in the middle of several aisles that have candles, mirrors etc. There is one full aisle of glass and colored glass vases and jars.

Green Tall Bottle

Carved Green Bottle

Green Preserves Jar

The decorative books were in the center of the store among the decor that is displayed in the middle.

Sheet Music Book Box

Fancy Green Lined Book Box

Yellow/Black Book Box

The Floral stems were just located among the white flowers in the floral Department.

3 White Flower Stems

Wood Box – I couldn’t find the wood box/tray online. I found it on the Farmhouse aisle on the bottom shelf. They have tons of fun trays that I found all over the store.

Everything but the Flower Stems were 50% off when I went shopping.

Gold Plastic Coins – The coins came from the Dollar Tree & were with the Seasonal St. Patrick’s Day decor.

Setting up the St. Patrick’s Day Vignette

Easy Vignette for St. Patrick's Day

Stack your books on the left of your tray, then stack the St. Pat’s Lucky Box Sign and the Shelf Sitter Leprechaun to the right of the box. Set up the 3 Glass jars as shown in the picture. Then trim about 1/2 of the stem from each of the flowers and place in the shortest jar. Sprinkle a few gold coins around and you have a cute, seasonal St. Pat’s set up that you can easily switch out for multiple seasons and holidays.

Do you decorate for St. Patrick’s Day?

 

Filed Under: Featured, Play Tagged With: decor, frugal, holiday, St. Patrick's Day

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