Neighbor gift ideas

Nannygoat was featured on U create today. How LUCKY our we?!

U create is sharing tons of great neighbor gift ideas from guest bloggers.

Here is our post...

WHAT DO I GET MY NEIGHBORS FOR CHRISTMAS???!!!

Well, here are some of the guidelines I use for my neighbor gifts:

1. Inexpensive (since I need to make so many of them!!)

2. Meaningful- whether it is personalized for them or it is something that just makes life easier (see idea #3) it is great to give something that blesses their lives in some way.

3. Easy- I hate being "crazy busy" this time of year. It takes the joy out of the season for me so my neighbor gifts HAVE to be easy.

4. Finally, it has to be something that won't go directly into the garbage after I drop it off.

Let's be honest, we have all received some of those gifts before!

With that, here are a just a few ideas for you from nannygoat.

EASY

I love to give handmade ornaments for Christmas.

These are the washer ornaments we made last year. They are so easy and you can personalize it with their name etc. Also, I always put the year on the ornament so it can be a keepsake for them to look back on through the years.

EASIER

I had the idea to make the following ornament this year...

This ornament idea comes from my favorite banners (so easy to make).

I love to personalize ornaments, in this case by using the first letter in their last name.

For more details on how to make this ornament just check out my banner tutorial here.

A little note (make sure you put the year) for the back side of the ornament.

And there you have it. So easy and so cute!
EASIEST

And finally the easiest idea (and what I'm doing for some of my neighbors this year)...

Simply a roll of Christmas wrapping paper and a tag.

The tag says, "We hope you are getting wrapped up in the spirit of the season. Merry Christmas! with love, the _____ family"
I LOVE this idea because it is something they can USE and may make the holidays just a little easier for them (am I the only one who has run out of wrapping paper on Christmas Eve?!)
Just make sure you get it to them before Christmas so they can use it and don't have to store it for a year!
Good luck and Merry Christmas!!
Thanks Kari!

Thanksgiving ideas

Remember how my house was going to be full of 26 family members for Thanksgiving? Well, they are stuck in Utah because of road closures so while I wait and worry I thought I'd show you some of the Thanksgiving fun we've been having at our house...This is our "Thankful Tree". It is about 7-8ft tall and my girls cut out a ton of leafs and apples for us to write on and add to the tree.


I love how this helps my family remember how blessed we are!
Look how beautiful it is with all those blessings...

We're hoping our guests will be able to add to our tree.

If they get here safe and sound that will merit several grateful leafs.

We made these cute turkeys from family fun.

They'll act as a place card holder on our Thanksgiving table.

Well, that's it.

I'm off to worry and wait some more...

Wishing you a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving Holiday!!

Finally Dressed for Fall

So, I'm still trying to figure out my "Fall Look" in this house.

I've never had a mantle without a big screen TV in the middle of it!

Anyway, this is what I've got so far...

Downstairs I made some chubby pumpkins and stuck them on candlesticks...


I used this tutorial (posted by my Kentucky friend Danielle, Hi Danielle!) to make my pumpkins but then added a fabric stem instead.
Yep, that's what I got so far.
Recently found out that we will have 20+ people staying in our home for the Thanksgiving weekend.
I've got a lot to do... Can't wait!!