December 2016

Though you’re busy baking cookies and trimming the tree, you may find yourself in need of a little downtime this season with your family. Why not use that time to curl up on the couch with the kids and watch some festive films? So here are our family’s 13 favorite holiday movies. With titles ranging from childhood classics to new animated features, this selection of my family’s favorite Christmas movies is sure to have a few selections we’re sure your entire family will enjoy!

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965):
A perennial fave that addresses both conspicuous consumption and spiritual aspects of the holiday season. A Charlie Brown Christmas storyline follows the ups and downs of Charlie Brown, a young boy initially depressed by the commercialism of Christmas, but ultimately is persuaded to enjoy the season after directing the school pageant, received a  pep talk from his friend Linus, garners strength from “a sad little fir tree,” and your kids will enjoy the timeless Vince Guaraldi’s iconic musical score.

Run time: 30 minutes; recommended for ages 3 and up.

It’s a Wonderful Life (1947):
This beloved classic is still ever as popular more than 60 years after its release and is our family’s go-to Christmas Eve family movie. This classic, directed by Frank Capra, stars Jimmy Stewart as a frustrated businessman, George Bailey, who has been tethered to his hometown of Bedford Falls for years, instead of living a life of adventure he longs for. When events take a turn for the worse, George considers ending his life, but his guardian angel, Clarence, intervenes and steps in to show him what life would be life without him and all of his good deeds would look like for his family and town. This movie is a must-see!

Run time: 130 minutes; recommended for ages 9 and up.

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993):
This stop-motion animated classic, based on a poem by Tim Burton, features Jack Skellington, the pumpkin king of Halloweentown. Bored with life, Jack discovers Christmastown, and decides to try to bring a bit of the holiday season to Halloweentown, even kidnapping Santa Claus to make that happen. What happens next is a delightful combo of the two holidays.

Run time: 76 minutes; recommended for ages 7 and up. 

Original Christmas Classics (1967-1972):
This collection includes most of my favorite childhood holiday movie favorites in one awesome box! With titles including the classic stop-motion animated Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Special, Frosty the Snowman, Frosty Returns, Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town, The Little Drummer Boy, and Cricket on the Hearth. This collection is a must-see for your little ones!

Run time: 275 minutes; recommended for ages 3 and up.

The Polar Express (2004):
As fans of Chris Van Allsburg’s Caldecott award-winning The Polar Express book, we love this animated version. Tom Hanks voices multiple roles in this tale about a train trip to the North Pole and the wonder of Christmas, as seen through the eyes of a fearless young boy.

Run time: 100 minutes; recommended for ages 6 and up.

Miracle on 34th Street (1947):
This classic story about a six-year-old girl, Susan (Natalie Wood), who has doubts about the existence of Santa Claus and a department store Santa (Edmund Gwenn) who attempts to convince Susan and her mother (Maureen O’Hara) that he’s the real deal, Holyfield. 

Run time: 96 minutes; recommended for ages 6 and up.

Shrek the Halls (2008):
Fans of the Shrek movies will be delighted by this holiday-themed special. Starring the usual cast of characters, Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers) struggles to make his family’s first Christmas special, but doesn’t have any experience with the holiday. As he attempts to follow a Christmas for Village Idiots guidebook, the festivities go on around him and great lessons are learned.

Run time: 22 minutes; recommended for ages 6 and up.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966):
This animated version of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1957) is a line-by-line reading by Boris Karloff of the classic children’s tale, and each year we enjoy seeing the Grinch in motion as he attempts to stop Christmas from coming and learns to follow his heart all on the Eve if Christmas!

Run time: 26 minutes; recommended for ages 4 and up.

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992):
In this version of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, directed by Brian Henson (son of the late Jim Henson), Kermit plays the role of Bob Cratchit, with Miss Piggy as his wife and Michael Caine as his miserly employer, Ebenezer Scrooge. Gonzo appears as Charles Dickens, to help narrate the tale. This is one of our favorite versions of this classic tale!

Run time: 85 minutes; recommended for ages 5 and up.

The Santa Clause Collection (1994-2002):

When a single dad picks up the reins of Christmas Eve when he startles Santa off the roof—and accidentally kills him. With a lot of work, and weight, Tim Allen helps to again make the worldtakes a lot more jolly during the holiday season.

Run time: 85 minutes; recommended for ages 8 and up.

Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas (1977):

Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas tells the story of Emmet Otter and his Ma, a widow who scrapes by on the small amount of money she gets from doing laundry and that Emmet gets from doing odd jobs around their home in the town of Frogtown Hollow. This movie shows how compassion and the Christmas spirit can be worth more than gold! 

Run time: 85 minutes; recommended for ages 8 and up.

The Snowman (1982):

The Snowman, a children’s picture book without words by English author Raymond Briggs, first published in 1978, is one of our favorite winter stories and it’s animated video version made in 1982, is equally amazing. The story centers on a one-night meeting between a young boy and his friend, a snowman. This is an animated tale that should not be missed!

Run time: 85 minutes; recommended for ages 4 and up.

A Garfield Christmas SpecialGenres (1987): 

In this animated tale, Garfield, Jon, and Odie go to Jon’s grandmother’s house for Christmas, where Garfield finds a present for Grandma. This tale is so touching and heartwarming, and is one of my own favorite holiday specials each year!

So that’s it everyone, my family’s 13 favroite holiday family movies. I encourage you all to take some time this season to let loose, curl up, and enjoy watching a few of these favorite movies with your loved ones at home. So now I have to ask, do you have any family favorite movies at Christmas? If so, I’d love to hear about them below! 

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #WrapGiveRepeat #CollectiveBias

Okay, I have a confession to make. I’m a little ridiculous when it comes to the holiday season. Before this month even began I had all my holiday shopping completed for the season. Yes, I’m one of those folks who enjoys planning and gets all their gift shopping done the week of before Labor Day and to be honest, this savvy saver wouldn’t have it any other way.

Now despite my uber planning tendencies, there is one area that I generally wait to finish, my holiday gift wrapping. Now in years past, and before I began my journey into minimalism and zero-waste living, I would spend a good chunk of change on beautiful boutique wrapping paper so I could achieve that Pinterest-perfect holiday look for each present under my Pinterest-perfect Christmas tree! While each package looked lovely, it was a little bittersweet to see my family tear each package open, gingerly throwing my best efforts on the floor! Worse still, once Christmas morning came and went, my family was left with numerous bags of paper trimming that would rarely be reused or recycled.

This holiday season, however, I’ve made it my mission to become a more conscientious gift wrapper. So today, with a little ingenuity and a whole lot of zero-waste creativity I’ll be sharing with you five eco-friendly ways to wrap your holiday gifts this season. My secret to making this magic happen – Scotch® Brand wrapping products! I picked my supplies up several weeks ago at my local Walmart store and saved with in-store Rollback savings.

So what will you need? 

• Construction paper
• Butcher block paper
• Brown Kraft paper
• Black Scrapbook paper
• Three wooden skewers
• Scotch™ Multi-Purpose Scissor 8”
• Scotch® Magic™ Tape 3 Pack Caddie
• Scotch® Gift Wrap Tape 3 Pack Caddie
• Scotch® Moving and Storage Tape
• Markers (in various colors)
• Crayons
• Washi Tape
• Black permanent marker
• Pencil
• Chalk Marker
• Present Toppers (I used a $1.00 train set, wooden stars, crown ornament, and two play cars)
• Black floral wire

If you don’t have any of these things laying around your home, use can pick up your Scotch™ Multi-Purpose Scissor 8”, Scotch® Magic™ Tape 3 Pack Caddie, Scotch® Magic™ Tape 3 Pack Caddie, and Scotch® Moving and Packing Tape supplies at your local Walmart, right in-store on the Christmas 2016 Holiday Wrapping Paper Aisle! 

Also, if you are like me and prefer to do most of your shopping online, your orders may arrive pre-wrapped in brown kraft paper. So if your parcels contain this valued commodity, don’t throw that paper away, just grab a Scotch® Magic™ Tape 3 Pack Caddie of on your next trip to Walmart to go with what supplies you have on hand at home. 

For my first package, I’m making a classic teddy bear box. Wrap your box using brown kraft paper and secure it using Scotch® Magic tape. Now using a cup or mug, trace out a small circle onto your butcher block paper. Then turning your box to one side, attach your circle with Scotch® Gift Wrap Tape, centered, half-way down your box.

Next, cut out two additional circles of brown kraft paper using your Scotch™ Multi-Purpose Scissor 8”. Next, take your kraft circles and fold them into a cone shape, which should be turned on their sides, and attached to the top of your box, like ears, secured with Scotch® Gift Wrap Tape. Now, using a black permanent marker, draw on your teddy bear’s muzzle, nose, and eyes, and write your recipient’s name on top of your package behind on of your teddy’s ears. That’s it! Isn’t that adorable? 

Using butcher block paper, wrap your package securing it with Scotch® Magic™ Tape. Now using a cup or mug, trace out and then cut out two small circles out of your white butcher block paper and red construction paper, using your Scotch™ Multi-Purpose Scissor 8”. Then turning your box to one side (the side that has flap closures), attach your circles, first to come another and then to the box itself with Scotch® Magic™ Tape, first to each other, then pinched in half to create ears, and finally to the top third of your box (spaced evenly apart) to act as mouse ears. Next, secure your gold crown to the top of your package with three small strips of Scotch® Magic™ Tape.

Finally, using a black permanent marker draw on your mouse’s eyes and whiskers, and using a pink gel pen, add your mouse’s nose. For an added cute touch, cut a zig-zag strip of red construction paper using your Scotch™ Multi-Purpose Scissor 8” to create a tail for your mouse and attach to your package with Scotch® Gift Wrap Tape on the back of your box, making sure that half your tail is visible from the front of your box. That’s it! Again another awesome, quick, wrapping project!

Using butcher block paper, wrap your box securing it with several small pieces of tape from your Scotch® Gift Wrap Tape 3 Pack Caddie. Then you simply place five crayons on top of your package, first with a three-inch piece of Scotch® Gift Wrap Tape and then overlay with two small strips of washi tape, to adhere your crayons in place. Embellish your package using colored markers, writing color me on the box and your recipient’s name to your package as well.

Using brown kraft paper, wrap your package and secure your sides using Scotch® Gift Wrap Tape. Now taking a sheet of black scrapbook paper and your Scotch™ Multi-Purpose Scissor 8”, cut out two 2″ x 10″ strips. Attach your strips to your package using Scotch® Gift Wrap Tape. Now, take two 6″ pieces of black wire and attach both your toys cars to your package, placing your wire under your track and pulling upwards and twisting your cars in place above your lanes in opposite lanes and directions. You will then need to use a chalk marker to create road lane markers and to write your recipient’s name on the side of your box. And then you’re done! 

Using brown kraft paper, wrap your package and secure using Scotch® Magic tape. Next, lay out and center a 12″ square sheet of green construction paper to the top of your package and secure it with Scotch® Magic tape. Now, using a bowl as a guide, trace out a 6″ circle of blue construction paper and lay it on top of your green construction paper square, centered, and secure in place using your Scotch® Magic tape. Then cut out a 4″ circle of green construction paper using your Scotch™ Multi-Purpose Scissor 8” to create a lake. You will want your circle to be imperfect as you are looking to replicate the look of a small island in the middle of a lake, and not a perfect circle. Secure your island in the center of your blue construction paper lake using Scotch® Magic tape.

Now you’ll create your trio of holiday trees. Start by cutting out three triangles using your Scotch™ Multi-Purpose Scissor 8”, in descending size, from 3″-5,” from your green construction paper. Then you’ll need to fold your triangles towards yourself in an accordion pattern, making half an inch folds as you go. Repeat this for all three trees.

To assemble your trees, take a wooden skewer and pierce the center of each tree, working your way completely through your paper. Then unfurl your trees by pulling your accordion folds down starting from the bottom layer and working your way up.

Finally,  secure the top parts of each tree (the side that face away from you) with a half inch piece of Scotch® Magic tape behind each tree. Then using your Scotch™ Multi-Purpose Scissor 8”, trim the excess length of your skewers so that each tree is again 3″-5″ in length. You will attach your trees to the base of your center green construction paper island with small pieces Scotch® Magic tape. You can embellish your trees by adding a small wooden star to each tree, which is secured with Scotch® Magic tape on the back side of each tree’s star. 

Then using your Scotch™ Multi-Purpose Scissor 8”, trim the excess length of your skewers so that each tree is again 3″-5″ in length. You will attach your trees to the base of your center green construction paper island with several small pieces Scotch® Magic tape. You can camouflage your Scotch® Magic tape with additional shreds of green construction paper.

To finish up, embellish your trees by adding a small wooden star to each of the trees, which is again secured with Scotch® Magic tape on the back side of each tree’s star. 

Now for your train. Start by assembling your train set. Next, attach your train track to the center of your package, along with the outside rim of your blue construction paper lake. You will need to then cut four 6″ sections of black wire using your Scotch™ Multi-Purpose Scissor 8”. Then using your cut pieces of wire attach each side of your track and both your engine and boxcars to your package. Finish things up by writing your recipient’s name on the front of a larger wooden star with a pencil, and place your star into your open box car, securing it with Scotch® Magic tape. That’s it. How stinking cute is that?

So there you have it! Five Zero-Waste Gift Wrap Ideas for Kids! Now doesn’t it feel great to be eco-friendly and creative at the same time? I personally love the look of the finished packages, especially the train track package!

Moreover, the money that I saved this year on wrapping I’ll be donating to Fisher House, which is a charity that provides a network of comfort homes where military and veterans’ families can stay at no cost while a loved one is receiving medical treatment. This donation means a lot to me as my husband is a veteran of war himself. What’s really awesome is that Scotch® Brand is also donating $200,000 to Fisher House this holiday season too. Charity first, friends! 

So now friends, I encourage you all to reconsider how you all will wrap gifts for your kiddos this season, look for more zero-waste packaging methods and then be sure to pick up all your needed gift wrapping supplies, including Scotch® brand tape and scissors, at your local Walmart. 

Also, if you’re looking for additional gift wrapping ideas be sure to check out Scotch® Brand online on their Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest pages! 

Now, friends, I would love to know, what are your favorite gift wrapping ideas? Do you have any Zero-Waste Gift Wrap Ideas for Kids, I would love to hear about them below!

Please note, this post was made possible by iConnect and Old Spice. I was compensated for my participation in this campaign, but all opinions are 100% my own.

When it comes to the holidays I am always on the lookout for gift giving ideas to help to make my home feel more merry and bright during the hectic holiday season. Like many others, I grew up with the smell of Old Spice in the home. It was something my uncles wore often, and now as the maven of my own home, Old Spice is one of the staple items I make sure to pick up for quick and affordable stocking stuffer ideas for the men and boys in my family.

So this past week when we were sent a stocking filled with amazing stocking stuffers for the man in my life from Old Spice, I was excited to add them to my list of holiday stocking stuffer gift ideas and to share the selection with you, my readers, as well. 

Something else that is exciting this year is that aside from the classic Old Spice colognes and body washes, Old Spice is also offering the men in our lives an awesome new Styling products line. Products that can the guys in our lives, even the manliest of groomers, hair care items which can get them in and out of the bathroom in a snap this holiday season!

These hair styling products from the Old Spice line include the Old Spice Pomade, which gives you a moderate hold and a low shine finish, as well as the Old Spice Paste, which gives you a medium hold along with a textured finish, giving that natural look that can last all day. There is also the Old Spice Putty, a product that gives you a high hold, low shine finish, great for getting those textured, shapeable looks men and boys love as well as the Old Spice Fiber Wax, which gives you a flexible hold and shine, ideal for versatile naturally textured styles. Finally, there is the Old Spice Forming Creme, a product designed for natural hold and shine, great for more laid back styles!

What’s really awesome about this line is that all of the before mentioned products are all available in the hair care aisles of many mass retailers and drugstores nationwide as well as at OldSpice.com. They are also all affordably priced, between $6.99-$7.99, so you won’t have to break the budget to stuff your holiday stocking full of these awesome Old Spice products. These products make keeping your family’s Old Spice tradition fun and frugal!

Now for a little surprise: You can enter to win your own Old Spice gift pack! To enter, just leave me a comment below letting me know which product you would most like to try. Please note, this giveaway is open to US residents 18 and over, and current LadyPrefers2Save subscriber. This giveaway will end on 12/14/16 at 11:59pm CST. Good luck, everyone!

So, friends, I encourage you to check out this awesome new line of Old Spice Hair Care products this holiday season at a retailer near you, as well as on social media on Twitter and Facebook, so you can celebrate Happy Hairidays with the men and boys in your life, too!

So now I have to ask, what do you think of the new Old Spice Hair Styling products? Will you be picking some up this season, and what is your favorite Old Spice scent? I’d love to hear about it below! 

For as long as I can remember my family has always celebrated the advent season, the season that marks the beginning of the Christian year across the world, including many western churches in the United States. While the length of the advent season varies from church to church, ranging from 22-28 days, beginning the Sunday closest to Saint Andrew’s Day and ending on Christmas Day.

As a full-fledged maven in my own right, I’ve continued this tradition by creating an Advent Calendar full of activities each season for my own family, and this year is no exception. My new 2016 calendar is finished, and as today is the first day of December, the start of the advent season, I’m really looking forward to experiencing all of the memories this month’s calendar will entail. 

Now keep in mind that this year’s calendar looks a little different, as it reflects our family’s current transition to a more minimal, more zero-waste home. I modeled this year’s calendar on the less in more principal. Meaning there were fewer things to purchase to pull this calendar of events together for my family, but there will be far more memories to be made in the process, which is a total win in my book!

As well, in lieu of using resources to make physical calendars for family, or opting for either the pre-made wooden craft store versions of the vintage cardboard Advent Calendars with the less than stellar chocolate candies inside, I instead opted to create a digital Canva graphic calendar, which is set as our screen cover on all of our home’s electronic devices. This keeps our advent calendar fresh in everyone’s mind this season and saves our home a lot of unnecessary waste and clean-up. Simple, basic, and handy. 

So, without further ado here is our Fun & Frugal 2016 Advent Calendar:

So now I have to ask, what will you be doing this year for your own Advent Season? Do you have a special way of presenting your calendars to your families each year? I’d love to hear about it below!