Gift Card Mall Makes Christmas Shopping Easy #Givebetter

There is always someone on the Christmas list who is hard to buy for.  For me, it's my husband.  I never have any ideas!  If I do buy him something, he ends up returning it because it's not something he could use.

Instead of buying a gift that will only get returned, GiftCardMall.com will help me #Givebetter by giving a gift card!

GiftCardMall.com offers a wide range of gift cards that can be used online or in-store at their respective retailers.  You can also customize many of the gift cards with photos and images!  How fun is that?

If you're sending a gift card long-distance, you can have it delivered directly to the recipient.

I love the fact that I can get a gift I know will be enjoyed, all without changing out of my pj's.

Who do you have the hardest time shopping for?

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of GiftCardMall.com for Sverve.  All opinions are 100% my own.

Healthy Christmas Treats

We all like to bake goodies at Christmas time, but actually making Healthy Christmas Treats can be a little more challenging.

I'll be honest and say I am not the recipe expert at all.  I can make them, but I'm not usually the one coming up with them.  When one of my readers asked for some ideas for healthy Christmas treats, I sent out a mayday to some of my fellow bloggers asking them for their recipes.

This is what came in.  I am so excited to try out some of these recipes!

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

No Bake Chocolate Coconut Macaroons

Almost Healthy Jam Cookies.

Raw Pecan Pie

Gluten Free Lemon Bars

Coconut Macaroons

Peppermint Carob Truffles

Healthy Chocolate Date Balls

Raw Caramel Slice

Crispy Nut Chocolate Brittle

Images used with permission from their respective owners.

What is your favorite healthy Christmas treat?  Please leave a comment and tell us!

Free Christmas Printable

I was over at my mom's house and I saw she had this print framed. I asked her where she got it, and she told me that she made it.

I asked her if she would be willing to offer it as a download on my blog, so here you go!

This is a two-page download – one picture with the tan background and one with a white background.

Click Here to Download

Be sure to leave a comment and tell my mom thanks for making this available!

25 DIY, Last-Minute Gifts

With Christmas less than a week away, I know some of you might still be scrambling for those last-minute gifts for neighbors, friends, teachers, grandparents, etc. I've rounded up some DIY ideas that you can make with minimal time. Most of these don't require very many materials, and depending on your current hobbies, you may already have all the supplies on hand. I've tried to include ideas for multiple ages and genders so you can hopefully find what you need.

I've collected all these ideas from Pinterest, so you can just click on the picture if you see something that interests you.

Source: designmom.com via MaryEllen on Pinterest

Source: thepeacefulhousewife.com via MaryEllen on Pinterest

Source: countryliving.com via MaryEllen on Pinterest

Source: craftinessisnotoptional.com via MaryEllen on Pinterest

Source: vanessachristenson.com via MaryEllen on Pinterest

Source: theribbonretreat.com via MaryEllen on Pinterest

Christmas J-O-Y

Have you ever heard the song that goes, Jesus and others and you – What a wonderful way to spell JOY! ?

That is the theme for our family this Christmas.  My oldest is five, so my kids are still learning what Christmas is all about.  I wanted to do something that would help impress on the minds of our kids that Christmas is not all about getting presents.  Christmas is focusing on the fact Christ came to give his life for us.

He “came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

I've seen a lot of activities posted around the internet that are designed to help families focus on Christ at Christmas and I appreciate the bloggers and website owners who make those ideas available.

The problem was that I could not find something that was simple.

Around here, if it's not simple, it's stressful.  Stressful is not the mood I'm going for during the Christmas season.

So, I ended up making up my own idea, and it's perfect for my young children.

We are making a paper chain out of Christmas scrapbook paper and adding two links to it every night before bed (one for each child who understands what is going on.)

We have talked about how Christ came to serve others, and we are thinking of ways that we can be like Christ and serve others.

I am letting them choose their own ideas by themselves so that their acts of service will come from their hearts.

So far our paper chain contains things like “sharing my toys with my brother/sister” and “helping Mommy clean with a happy heart.”  I'm sure there will be some bigger things that we decide to do like visiting someone in the nursing home or baking something for the neighbors, but it's really nice not to have the stress of trying to do something time-consuming every day for a month.

I am loving this!  It's just what our family needed.  It only takes about 5 minutes every evening, yet we are reminded all throughout the day to follow Christ's example by serving others.  I have been hearing the kids catch themselves and each other in the act of service.  “Oh, Mommy!  I just swept the floor for you without complaining!  That was serving others!”  It is such a blessing to me to hear them get excited about serving others.  They spend time planning out what they're going to put on their link of the paper chain each night, and they have been trying to practice those things throughout the day.

What is your family doing to keep your focus on Christ this Christmas season?  I'd love to hear your ideas!