This post contains affiliate links and we will be compensated for any purchases you make. I told you I would be back with some more fall decor and here I am! Personally, I find decorating the outside of my house for each season and holiday to be more difficult than the inside. There's just a lot less space to work with and resources can be limited. You really need to be able to find ways to utilize vertical space. That's why wreaths are perfect! They take up virtually no space and just hang up right on your door, while still adding an adequate amount of festivity to your front porch. That's why today I am going to share two fun options for you to diy! For both of the wreaths, I used wreath bases I purchased at Dollar Tree. For one of the wreaths you will need some fall colored raffia, which can also be found at Dollar Tree, as well as some Halloween or fall colored ribbon. You will also need some pine cones. I just picked mine up right off the ground and painted them brown with acrylic paint. The first wreath is just a generally fall inspired wreath. I used the wooden wreath base and loosely wrapped orange raffia around the whole thing, adding a couple strands of pink and brown for variety and depth. The ends are just tucked up underneath pieces of wood. Once the raffia was arranged in a way I liked, I used hot glue to attach the pine cones. I placed them in a way to even out the heaviness of the raffia. Raffia can be a little messy to work wit, but it is well worth it for the beautifully natural and rustic appearance it gives. This wreath will be perfect to keep up all fall long! I made the second wreath very Halloween-centric, but if you'd like to keep it up the whole season it will look just as cute with general autumn colored ribbon. I began by wrapping black burlap ribbon around the foam wreath. For this project I decided to just use pins to hold the ribbon in place. This made it easier to adjust things to my liking as I went. So I pinned the black ribbon in place and then cut the orange ribbon into 9 strips. Spacing them out evenly, I wrapped the orange ribbon around the wreath in rings, pinning them in place. While the wreath is very cute just with the plain stripe look, I thought a nice bow would really complete the look. I made one out of the orange ribbon and used a pipe cleaner to attach it to the wreath. It's amazing what a difference a single bow can make! This wreath makes an excellent addition to any Halloween inspired porch. Making these fun little wreaths has definitely given me inspiration for some outdoor decorations, so keep your eyes peeled for some more diy fall fun! If you make any of our fall or Halloween crafts, be sure to post a picture and tag us on social media. Let us know in the comments which wreath is your favorite!
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Sending packages overseas can be a real dilemma. I told you about my son in this post. He is going to serve a two year mission for our church in Cote d’Ivoire, or in other words, the Ivory Coast.
I began to wonder what the best way is going to be for our family to send him gifts and packages for birthdays and Christmas or just to help give him a pick-me-up when he is feeling discouraged and in other words, how to send him a care package!
Issues Sending Gifts to the Ivory Coast:
When sending gifts to the Ivory Coast, or anywhere overseas, here are some of the issues we have to worry about:
Great Gift Delivery Option to the Ivory Coast:
Gift Baskets Overseas is a U.S. based company that specializes in sending beautiful gift baskets to people in 200 countries! I was so surprised and delighted to find out that they service the Ivory Coast! They are able to deliver the gift baskets, using their relationships with local businesses, right to the door of the recipient! They will do this for large corporations as well as for individuals. You can read more about them here, and here. Now, let’s work backwards up our list of concerns and see how Gift Baskets Overseas solves the problems of mailing things to the Ivory Coast or almost any other far away location!
Cost:
As I investigated Gift Baskets Overseas, I found that the price of sending their products is comparable to what I would end up paying by shipping myself through regular mail. GBO has a price comparison chart with other companies on their site that you can check out here. Here is what you do. You place your order and pay online. GBO prides themselves on their online security. There are shipping and handling charges, but they are the same flat rate for each individual country. It doesn’t matter what size basket you choose. For example, to ship to the Ivory Coast, the charge is $25. To ship to Botswana, it is $19. Here is a list of the charges for each country. There is also a card that you can fill out with a personal message to go with the basket!
Avoiding the Hassle:
First, when shipping with GBO, You don’t have to go out and shop around for quality gifts because there are a ton of choices for every need on their site. For example, what if I want to send my son some healthy snacks to make sure he is eating alright? Look at this choice:
It has smoked salmon, nuts, pumpkin seeds, crackers and a protein bar! I think he would be really happy to receive it. You don’t have to fill out any customs forms. You don’t have to find the right sized box to fit your gift. You don’t have to tape it all up. Gift Baskets Overseas has you covered when it comes to all of that.
Delivery:
This actually solves 2 of the listed problems, the length of time it takes to send a package and how and where the package will be delivered. To me, this is one of the best parts of GBO. The recipient can receive their gift within 3 business days! Not only that, it is delivered right to their door! He won’t need to find a way to get to the post office and to carry the package home. There will be no worry that he will be charged a tariff either.
Product Quality:
Gift Baskets Overseas prides themselves on using the finest quality products and ingredients in their baskets. Since the delivery is so quick and GBO deals with local vendors, you know that everything will be fresh. It won’t have been knocked around in the freight hold of an airplane or ship. GBO allows you to create custom baskets according to your specifications. They also have a 100% satisfaction guarantee!
Here is a big plus! A Coupon!
If you decide to order from GBO, right now, through September 20, there is a coupon you can use that will save you $6 on your order! Also, if you are a teacher, student or federal employee, you can contact the company for a 10% discount on your order. Sweet! And, if none of that works for you, click this link for a 5% discount!
Because I was writing this post as an affiliate with Gift Baskets Overseas, they were nice enough to send me a generous coupon so that I could try them out and see how I liked their service and products. I decided to use my coupon to send a gift to my granddaughter for her birthday. I found something that I knew she would love.
Here is my granddaughter’s reaction!
It makes me so happy to know that I will have a great option like Gift Baskets Overseas for sending my son some encouragement while he is far away in the Ivory Coast! I wish I had heard about them when my other sons were in South America and my daughter was in France! Gift Baskets Overseas is a great option for anyone with loved ones living far away.
This post contains affiliate links and we will be compensated for any purchases you make.
When you love to play games, but sometimes there isn't a large crowd to play with, what do you play! A while back I wrote about the big crowd games that our family loves on this post. But, we don't have a large crowd around everyday. Sometimes we only have two of us around, but we still want to play a game. Newlyweds and oldlyweds, like my husband and I, need things to play, too! Sometimes there are only 2 kids. Or just a parent and child.
Games make great gifts, so for a wedding gift it is nice to give a couple something that is just as fun for the 2 of them as it is to play with their friends. For kids, it is great to have games that they can play with each other with little supervision, or mom having to constantly give instruction. And for families it is fun to get games that are fun for both parent and child.
What games do you love that are fun even with just 2 of you playing!
Here are some of our Friday Faves!
Games for 2 Kids That Require Little Supervision:
2. Battleship, who doesn't love it? This game is also fun for parent and child! The original edition
great, but look at this awesome Star Wars version! You know that your Star Wars Buff of any age would love this game!
3. A great game that helps kids learn to think and observe is Connect 4.
an adult might not hate too much.
Parent and Child Games:
1. Jenga is a game that can be enjoyed by young and old. Most of the time, my young grandchildren are better at it than I am. Who doesn't love a good tumbling of the blocks!
2. Lindsey loves problem solving games, so she chose Mastermind! Lindsey grew up with the original (what they now call "retro" version), but I am surprised at how many versions there of this game that uses STEM principles and helps kids learn deductive reasoning. There is even one for younger players. Look at these! They are all clickable.
3. Another game my kids always had fun with when they played in pairs is Mancala. Madalynn always enjoyed this game. This game is played around the world and is also called "the sowing game", or "count and capture." It does take strategy and there are some tricks that kids can learn as they play.
Games for Couples:
2. Alicia and Adrian love to play games together, and they introduced me to Dominion, which is just as much fun with 2 players as it is with 4. It is a game all about building your kingdom and getting more money that your competitor. It is different each time you play and you can even set up your own scenarios. There are also many expansion packs! I love this game!
3. Carcassone is another kingdom building game that is fun with just 2, but also more players. There are a lot of versions and expansion packs to keep this game fresh!
4. Another game that I love so much that I also play it online is Ticket to Ride. This game changes with more players. Playing with 2 is a different kind of challenge and a lot of fun. There are many versions and expansions for this railway building game that cover the history
of the railroad from the beginning, in the US and throughout many countries. It is a ton of fun.
Most of the games on this list we received as gifts ourselves at one time or another, and we have enjoyed them all immensely. It is great to get together and play with our noses out of our phones or tablets and just enjoy each other's company! Let us know what games you enjoy playing with just two!
If you do want to give a game as a gift, we have created this free subscriber printable that would be a cute thing to hang in a game or rec room. It will remind your loved ones to take a break and have some fun every once and awhile. To get the printable without the watermark subscribe to our emails and you'll receive access to our subscriber printables all for free! Just enter your email below to gain access!
This post contains affiliate links and we will be compensated for any purchases you make.
Let me ask you a few questions:
If you answered "Yes" to any of these questions, then this recipe is for you!
One pot meals are so great. They are usually warm and comforting and delicious, plus the clean-up is so much easier and the prep is usually easier as well. My husband loves packing casseroles in his lunch for work, so I always make big casseroles so that we have leftovers. Potato casserole has long been a favorite around here, but I had some yellow squash that I wanted to use, so I decided to experiment with it since we are trying to add more veggies to our diet. I realize that this recipe has a lot of fat. I did cut back the original recipe to 1/4 c. of butter instead of 1/2 cup. Also, I didn't precook the squash, but you could if you wanted to. I kind of like the slight crunch along side of the soft potatoes. Here are a few other variations that you can use:
I use this 5 quart casserole dish for my casserole. I have had it for 38 years! I love it because it is big, deep and has a lid! You can bake with the lid on or off, but when you want to store it in the fridge, you can just pop on the lid and you don't have to worry about plastic wrap or anything. Covered casseroles are the best. Best of all, you can still purchase this one on Amazon! Just click the picture or link!
Just click on the button and get your printable recipe! This is a perfect recipe for Fall, too! I hope you enjoy it!
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Creators of Hot Cocoa Bombs! (copyrighted)
Author
Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to eleven! I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born. Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out! Read more about us here! Archives
April 2024
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