Getting in the Christmas spirit

Hubby is out for the night, a pot of chili is simmering on the stove, Christmas jams are filling the air and the littles are working on making the tree pretty.

Over the years, I’ve released my death grip on decorating the tree to perfection. I must say that I’m not sure why I held on so tight. It’s much more relaxing to sit back and let the kids decorate the tree. And, the older they get, the better they get at decorating. The first year tested my OCD tendencies, but this year they are doing a bang up job! They enjoy doing it, they’re usually sweet to each other while doing it and I can relax and enjoy the night.

Between finally getting the tree up, buying a few presents and reading my Blogging for Books holiday book, I’m slooowly getting in the spirit of the season.

Hopefully I’ll get more of my shopping done this weekend and feel a little less overwhelmed with everything that needs to get done.

How’s everyone doing on their shopping? Are you an early bird or a procrastinator like me?

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Last Minute Shopping..only 1 day left!

Fitbit – the Fitbit is a tiny little device that you can attach to your belt/pants or for women, their bra band.  It calculates your daily steps, daily caloric expenditure, stairs climbed, sleep tracking and online food and activity logging!  It’s a handy little tool that is fairly inexpensive for all that it does.



iPod Nano $129 – this one is self explanatory.  Although, you might not know that in addition to being small & being able to listen to your music while working out, it’s also a step tracker!


Dip Station on sale right now for $79.95 – I’ve had my eye on this bad boy (ahem, the dip station ladies, NOT the actually boy.  :P) for a few months ever since I ran across the BodyRockTV website.  If you ever think you don’t have time to exercise, just head over to the BodyRock website.  It has a ton of great short workouts that really get your heart pumping!


Okay, okay…enough with the fitness inspired gifts…here are some just for fun gifts!

If you can give your gift after Christmas, this gorgeous necklace is a fantastic option!  Etsy – Hydrangea Necklace – $158


Have infants/toddlers?  Check out this nifty toy to keep your baby entertained, but also keep your iphone/ipod touch safe!  Fisher-Price Apptivity Case – $16.99


For the movie buff…Fight Club Soap – $15


Domestic goddess?  How about these flippin’ adorable measuring cups?!


If you’ve never been into Brookstone, you must go!  There are lots of fun gadgets!  Here are just a few that we ooooh’d & ahhh’d over the other day…

The Boogie Board – $39.99 — It’s a pen free notepad.  You can write on it with the included stylus or just use your fingernail!

Video Pen – $79.99

Bucky Cubes – $24.99

Pocket Projector for the iPhone 4 – $229.99

For the photo enthusiast…Instant Slide & Negative Scanner – $99.99


If all else fails…gift cards are awesome!  Here are some of my favorite GC’s — Sephora, lululemon, Williams-Sonoma, West Elm, Target or just a Visa GC.  😉

Not sure if they sell these in stores or not, but here is a cool way to give a gift card…


Christmas goodies….

One of my favorite online sites to visit is Pinterest.  For those of you who aren’t familiar, it’s a virtual cork board of sorts, where you “pin” things you like from all over the internet.  You find all kinds of things from crafts to make, to photos you like, to cool gadgets you must have.

With Christmas right around the corner, I found this recycled bow tutorial just in time!

And what’s a gift without gift tags?!  I didn’t find all of these on Pinterest, but check out these super cool printable tags.  Maybe I’ll take back all the sticker tags I just bought today and print these instead!

tags from MarthaStewart.com found via this blog along with lots of other cute tags!

 

these gorgeous babies are from Jones Design Company.  You have to sign up and they will send you the pdf.

 

I have to include these super cute owl gift tags from My Owl Barn!

 

I’m loving these sweet tags from Sass & Peril (found via The Bakery Spot)

 

I found these via Flourish

 

And, finally…How cute are these hand drawn designs from Raggedy Scrappin’?  The kids would love to color some tags to stick on presents!

Christmas list — Workout wear

So I’ve already mentioned that I LOVE lululemon and since it’s getting really close to Christmas, I thought I’d put together a little wish list of lululemon staples.  FYI, if you only get one thing lululemon, I think it should be either the groove pant or the groove crop (not pictured)…they are must-haves!

lululemon staples

Pssst…for any elves looking for ideas for me…I already own the jacket & the pants, but I would love to have the bags, the racerback tank (black, sz 6) or the deep V bra in Paris Pink (sz 8)! 😉

Cool Racerback Tank
$42 – lululemon.com

Define Jacket
$99 – lululemon.com

Yoga thong
lululemon.com

Triumphant Tote
$118 – lululemon.com



I’ll be posting more wish lists before Christmas so don’t forget to check back!