Did I Steal it All? No...But I Did Get it for Half-Price!

Hey friends... How are you all? I'm fine..recovering from record heat while trying to help a friend move this weekend.  (Did I mention that it finally rained for a whole hour here? Thank you Hurricane Irene!)  Here's a little update until my next post.

I just got home from grocery shopping and Skyping with our kids and grandkids in Seattle. (Lena, my granddaughter,  wanted to show me her new dress, new kitchen and especially her new big girl panties with hearts on them. Precious! How I miss her and Augy.)

How to Buy School Books, Textbooks, Homeschool Curriculum....any Books for Less!

I can't remember the last time I paid the full price for a book.  It pains me to even THINK of it!

It's that time of the year!--Time to buy school books if you are a homeschooler or textbooks if your kids are starting college.  It just so happens that my friends and family are all the 'thrifty' type and we've learned a thing or two about getting books cheap. (Thanks Angela F., queen of Ebayers, for getting me started.)

I always assume that everyone knows the cheapest way to buy a book, but then I get feedback from friends and learn that this isn't always the case. So today, I thought I'd share the fruits of my labor this week. Just be careful when buying college textbooks to get the right edition.  You can read more about buying cheap college books at this College Experience.net

Introducing The Grocery Game...

 

Hey everyone! I'm off to a totally forgotten 'girly visit'..the last one for a while, I'm afraid, with a friend in Houston. I will be altering the other daughter's prom dress before she heads off to college..and then we'll just have a good long chat. 

This evening we will drive together to our weekly square dancing lesson for the teenagers and I'll be bringing two racks of GORGEOUS square dance clothes for our 20 or more teen girls. They are all so excited!  

Peggy called this morning at 8:00 am..and was surprised I was still sleepy. Gee..this appointment definitely slipped my mind! (We were up late SKYPE-ing with the kids in Washington and the grandkids. ) :o)

So here I am, not doing the post I had planned..but instead am going to throw a quick intro to my favorite game--The Grocery Game. (I'm not sure if quick is something I'm actually capable of doing.Ha!)

If you have not heard of this, you are in for a lot of fun! If you get addicted..and this IS a possibility...it could also mean a lot of WORK. (Don't blame me--I warned you.) But what you will get most, is tons of savings.

For the last two years or more, I've just been buying all my groceries 'enmasse' at Sam's (similar to Costco) and buy picking 7-10 recipes for the month, I can buy bulk ingredients and make almost (though not quite) as much savings as The Grocery Game. We just were too busy to do the game.

This method works great for big families..but not so good for those of you who have small families or are retired. The Grocery Game is a MUCH better idea for you. :o)

But Rebekah and I are ready to jump in again...and it was just SOoo fun! We are very good at this so it didn't take much to get going. We clipped a few coupons since we only have one newspaper's flyers. But we still saved on average about 40% off of everything.  I always forget how much groceries you bring home for the same amount of money that you normally spend. And it shocks me!

I can't wait to show you more but for now, this will simply have to be an introduction. My frugal friend, Jaime of Life and Love in the Country, does this regularly and she wrote several posts on how fun it is and how much she saved.

 

The total bill was 22.35 at CVS...I saved 15.11..that's a huge savings!

The grocery game is simply buying only items that are ON SALE for which you also have a COUPON. The sale price automatically saves you money. If you only bought items from every store near you each week and stocked up, you would naturally save tons of money.

But if you could COMBINE those savings with COUPONs.  Well, you are going to save much more!  The more you play the game and keep stocking up, the lower your grocery bill gets.  It's that simple.

But matching up all of those circulars and your coupons is a lot of work. Instead, just go to either The Coupon Mom (which is free) or The Grocery Game (small monthly fee) and they will publish the lists of matches for you. They do a FABULOUS job and save you a ton of work.


I recommend that if you are new to this, that you pay the small fee and use the grocery game first. Then when it starts bugging you about paying the fee, you can cancel and start using the coupon mom. Unless you are really pretty savvy and have the time. It isn't rocket science to use the Coupon Mom. 

The advantage of the Grocery Game is she makes sure you get the best bargain from each store without overlapping. (In other words, you could use the same coupon at several stores who might also have sales on that product..but whose combined savings is the best?  She'll sort that out for you.)

 

 The lists include not only all the major grocery stores but also Wal-Mart, CVS, Walgreens, Target, and even dollar stores.

The Simple Way to Play the Grocery Game

1. First Go to Coupon Mom and find my state's drop down list. Select a grocery store..i.e. Kroger.
2. Click on all the items I want to buy.
3. Click on any printable coupon links and print those.
4. Now go through the properly dated coupon flyers (Smart Source, RedPlum, etc.) and find the coupons referenced.
5. Cut them out and staple them to the list.
6. Go shopping!

You will want to start buying your Sunday paper. We pull out the coupon flyers from each paper (we usually buy two) and file them in file folders with the week's date at the top. We put these files in an accordion file for easy reference.

Well..can you believe this is the short version? I've gotta go..but do 'weigh' in and share your expertise in the comments section. I know we'd all love to read your testimonials..good or bad.

BEST BARGAIN OF THE DAY~ I got two free gallons of milk at Krogers while buying four boxes of cereal ON SALE and I used a $1.00 off of two coupon for two of the boxes, plus .50cents off of on box of Cheerios.  Total savings on the cereal?  $7.50   Cost of the cereal on sale $8.00.   So for four boxes of cereal and two GALLONS of milk I paid $0.50.  Now that's a savings!

Have you tried something like this before?  Do you like using coupons or have you always thought, like I once did, that coupons were a waste of time because we didn't buy 'brand name'?  If you are experienced at this, can you share some of the pitfalls...yes--there are a few. :o)  Have fun shopping!

Another Woman’s Treasure… Smarter Ways to DeClutter

 

It’s funny..isn’t it? The things we decide to ‘declutter’ are just the things someone else really needs.  I think it’s wonderful that we have so many ways to pass on our trash…I mean treasure…to others.

There are several ways to de-clutter, as I'm sure you know.   You can, of course, just box it up and donate it to a thrift store. I have several favorites!  

Good bye…sweet rocking chair…

You can do what I did this weekend, and give away some of your treasures to new homes  like to friends or family. Or you can also sell your extra stuff at a garage sale or on Craig's list or Ebay.

This week, I managed to do several of these things, though I hadn't actually planned to tackle the 'Ebay' process.  My mom decided to drop by for a visit as I mentioned earlier and I was able to give her back several of the 'treasures' that I've been enjoying this year.

I didn't cry..but sniff..it was hard to let them go.  The cradle is just so beautiful..and so is the old rocker.  The antique gold chair has held an honored place in our home for well over a year.  But they are gone now…giving us much needed space.

Today was spent doing something very high on Dear Hubby's list...selling our excess stuff (some call it clutter) on Ebay and Craig's list.  It sounds so simple, but wow--it was a LOT of work. (And it’s very painful too when you have to part with an antique  like my dear sewing machine!)

First you have to clean everything..and some things are NOT easy to clean, I must say.

Then you have to research the prices on everything. I couldn't believe my Teddy Bear salt and pepper shakers were selling for $39.00!  (I’m starting the bidding at $15.00. )

 

And the high chair originally cost $200-300.00!  Of course, it's not worth that now, but still. That's pretty amazing! But I didn’t know what all the features is had until I researched it.

It can lower seven degrees of height, tilt back at an angle, and collapse with one hand.  I should have looked up the features years ago!

I couldn't put the bumper pool table on Craig's list yet, because I need Dear Hubby to help load it. I'd hate to have someone call only to have to tell them, "Wait till Monday."  But I did take lots of photos.

I managed to get several things posted but I have lots left to do to.  Still..the office is much more spacious now...as is the living room. Yeah!  Hubby will be so happy when he gets home!

My beloved ‘retro style’ vintage chair will be sold on Craig’s list..sigh…

Of course, Mom loves to shop at antique shops and thrift stores and we visited several this week.  So…I’m also having to make room for new treasures like new and stylish clothes from Macy’s (all my size), new glasses and silverware (I’m selling the old stuff). 

I also bought a darling sign (for .25 cents) to put in the spot where the dulcimer used to hang. (Mom bought it for Dad..so I gave it back to her.) :o)

At the thrift store, I found two lovely tea cups for a $1.00 each, and a small George Forman grill to put in my daughter’s hope chest. I also found a nicer butter dish to replace my old one which was too bulky and didn’t match my dishes.

Mom found these gorgeous plant stands at the giant garage sale only two miles from the house.  This is the same place I bought my new wardrobe and a booster seat for toddler sized grandchildren ($2.00--to replace the oversized high-chair.)

I was so pleased to discover that the woman doing the sale is a quilter. We’ve already made plans to visit soon and to do a little quilting together! :o)

Darling sign picked up at a Goodwill Store (and plums from our tree ripening in a safer place.) 

So a lot of things are being sold, or have been given away. But I’ve also added some ‘treasures’.  We have to get rid of the ‘old’ if we are ever going to make room for the ‘new’.

What is your favorite method for parting with your treasures? Do you sell your stuff on Ebay or Craig’s list?

Hope you had a fun weekend!

My NEW Favorite Household Appliances…

Earlier this year, I rambled on and on about appliances that I just can’t stand to have taking up space on my kitchen counters. It was called the Worst Dressed Appliances of 2010 and really I had a fun time with that post. :o)  I promised to share my FAVORITE appliances on a later day, and never got around to it.

So today I’m introducing my favorite finds of the year. We all know that we can’t live without our dishwasher, fridge, washer, dryer, microwave etc. Ok, I know..some of you can…but I don’t want to. :o) To live without these would be as crazy, at my house, as trying to live without a vacuum cleaner. Ewwww…Yuck!!  Thank you whoever you are for these wonderful inventions!

And since I HATE clutter (i.e. things that take up too much space) it is a very rare event if I actually put down my hard earned moola on a new appliance. This would be on order with other catastrophic world events like Y2K (Yes, I still have buckets of wheat from that one!)

I'm just saying all of that to assure you that if I recommend an appliance, it’s passed muster as being absolutely worth every penny..from my point of view that is. As I said last month..Each Gal to her own Appliance!

About the moola  part, I obviously don’t put down any more of my dear hubby’s  hard earned cash than absolutely necessary, so my favorite place to buy these special appliances is, of course, the local thrift store! Yes, they have it all…every appliance and household gadget that you ever wanted to buy…and plenty that you don’t!  Though there are some that you may only be able to buy new.

 

The Indoor Grill

Last year, I finally went over the edge… I guess I’d had just  about enough of the outdoor ‘you grill while everyone else sits in air-conditioned comfort and visits’ scenario…and of course it always seems like I'm grilling just about dusk. (Gee..is that pink, red, or…cooked?)  SoI lost it..completely!  No, Dear Hubby does not ‘grill’. One Christmas my mom gave Tim a beautiful set of grilling utensils. Without even thinking, I said, "Oh thanks Mom!"  He does do yard work, and he's a hard worker,  so you won’t find me complaining. But the best appliance I discovered this year, was the George Foreman Grill.  It cooks on both sides at the same time!  (Thanks  for the recommendation, Shona! ) I tried it out at her house when my kids were house sitting for her while she was in Ireland and I’ve been in love with it ever since.

I’ve discovered that I can actually grill enough hamburger patties for the whole family at one time.  No, you can’t do whole chicken pieces..but it works perfectly on chicken breasts.  And I’ve grilled fish fillets and pork chops on it too.  This is the perfect tool for those of us who are dieting and can’t have the ‘casserole’ or pizza everyone else is eating. You can cook up a small piece of meat in just a few minutes. And it cooks breakfast sausage to perfection!I paid $7.00 for mine at the local thrift store. ($40.00 retail).

 The Lightweight Floor Sweeper/Vacuum
Another new appliance that  I bought for $8.00 at the thrift store, is not that unique, but I do wonder why I didn’t think of it before!  It’s a smaller, lighter weight vacuum. We finally ditched the big giant one. Why? Welll, because no one would use it! The one we bought at the thrift store, we discovered, did not work, when we got it home. But I knew what the likely problem was. Sure enough the suction tube was clogged with stuff.

Ladies, do you know how many times I’ve come across a vacuum that someone thought was broken?  Just clean it out now and then and you may discover that there’s nothing wrong after all. :o) Pull  those bits of strings and things from the roller brush every now and then and it will work the way it’s supposed to.

Technically, this may be considered a floor sweeper.  But it has a nice long tube you can detach for sucking up spills like you would a Dust buster.(Never owned one of those yet.) And it has great suction! It’s bagless too which is a huge plus--no more vacuum bags to buy. :o) The handle folds down so that it’s out of the way. It’s so small that it fits into just about any corner. It works great on both hardwood floors and carpet.  A little vacuum cleaner sure goes a long way!  (If you want your kids to help with chores, then this is the right choice!)

The Electric Hot Pot
My most often used appliance in the house is a simple hot pot. Every day, I thank the Lord for the day I felt compelled to get one of these! I bought if for an extended trip on the road. Now we use ours several times a day for hot water for the coffee press, to steep tea in, to boil water fast for things like stuffing, instant soups, jello, hot chocolate etc.  Our family love sinstant hot water! It’s fantastic. We take it camping too! 

The Roller Wheel Garlic Press
Have you tried the garlic wheel? It’s such a tiny little gadget, but it really does work! Ebeth, my DIL, gave this to me one Christmas. I refrained from quipping, “Oh..a gadget!”  But I did think that, although it seemed like a cute little thing, I would probably not use it.Boy was I ever wrong! There’s nothing quite like fresh garlic…and nothing more unpleasant than having to chop garlic cloves in little pieces. Yeck!

This gadget looks like toy, but it’s got some pretty sharp blades in there! You just peel your cloves, put them in the little trap door and then start rolling back and forth. It minces the garlic very easily. Dump it out. Rinse the wheel and put it away. No more stinky mess on my hands! (Honey…come kiss me…  Hey! Where are you going?!!)

The Coffee Press
This coffee press was a Christmas present and how happy we have been since we started using it!  We are tight for space so what we really wanted to do was get rid of the bulky coffee pot.  Now that we have this press,  we grind a 1/2 cup full of coffee beans with our coffee grinder which I also ADORE! The ground beans smell soooo fresh! We dump the beans into the bottom of the press, pour in hot water from the hot pot to fill it, and let it steep just like you would tea.  The coffee tastes extra smooth. The pot is very small, so it takes up minimal space on our kitchen counter. Plus, it looks so pretty when you want to set a nice table for tea or dessert! It doesn’t keep the coffee warm, but we don’t drink coffee all day,  so it works for us.

The Famous Plastic Screwtop Starbucks Coffee Cup
Speaking of coffee, one sort of a ‘gadget’ that, at first,  I thought was not going to be worth the price (yipes!) is my daughter and I’s plastic Starbucks coffee/tea cups with straws. But I was wrong--gloriously so!  This cup is the perfect thermal cup. You can put hot or cold drinks in it. Just screw on the cap and it not only travels  well with almost no chance of spilling, but it looks nice too.  They even made the straw so that it has a ridge and can’t just fall out. It’s a VERY durable cup, but don’t put it on the bottom rack of the dishwasher. It could warp.

We often make our own ‘fake’ Starbucks and we can take these cups out in public without looking like we are drinking a homemade drink. Alright, I admit it’s a total appearance thing..but it fools everyone…even us. :o) We get the feel of Starbucks without paying for Starbucks’  coffees.  (They take $0.10 cents off per cup at your local Starbucks too!)  BTW, did you know they give $.53 cent refills at Starbucks. For that special girly date, you could plan to hang out all afternoon and not have to pay a fortune for cups Two and Three. I know that was the case on their iced Tazo tea and regular coffee but am not sure on the other drinks. However, Rebekah and I plan to find out soon! :o)

In Praise of Crock Pots
I don’t plan to go on and on about crock pots, because as far as I’m concerned, they are in the same category as microwaves and toasters.  Can anyone function without one? If you don’t have one…get one! What you may not know though is how easy it is to ‘bake potatoes’ in a crock pot or roast a chicken. Make sure the crock pot is big enough for lots of extra space. This way the chicken will ‘roast’ and not stew. You can also do baked macaroni and cheese and meatloaf in a crock pot.   They are much more versatile than you may have realized. And honestly…nothing beats crock pot stew or roast beef.

The Kitchen Aid
And last but not least is the Kitchen Aid!  I finally got mine..this last year. (I know..pretty amazing!) I really did think that I was not going to be able to make the transition to using one after years of going without, but I was mistaken. I fell head over heels in love with it! It was much easier to clean than I thought it would be. Cleaning a Bosch is a headache!  Having hands-free mixing turned out to be Heaven on earth!  I’m wondering, now,  how I ever lived so long without one!  Wow..some of us are really slow…and I’m right at the top of that list. I can’t believe I’m saying this but I’m considering retiring my Bosch after 23 years!

Well, that’s my list of must have appliances and household gadgets.   After all these years, I’m finally breaking out and trying some new things. They aren’t ALL a waste of space and money. :o)

So what about you, what’s the best appliance you discovered last year…or what’s your favorite one and why?

Junk Mail, Cheap Eye Glasses and Printer Ink

Meet the Junk Mail Bandit… (my son!…eek!)

My kids are not normally into social protesting…but the profusion of junk mail that has been flooding our mailbox since we started receiving my father’s mail as well as our own, has sent them over the edge. (My father passed away a year ago, and I handle the estate finances.) Somewhere, they read that they best way to protest this avalanche of unrequested, unwanted waste of paper, was to simply pack it all up in the postage paid return envelopes given us by the senders and mail it right back to them!

The idea is that it will weigh a lot and the senders will get charged a pretty penny for their own junk mail. Not to mention that THEIR mailbox will be FULL of their OWN junk mail. Is turnabout fair play? I don’t know..and I guess…it’s legal?! Well, I don’t know…maybe you can fill me in on that. I only let the kids do it once because I didn’t want to squelch their good intentions. I really felt squeamish…but the kids are all ready to ‘change the world’ which includes..the mess in our mailboxes. 

I told them that it would probably be better to just sign up for ‘Opt Out’. This is a way to get your mail on a list so that you won’t get any more junk mail. We were signed up for it in our former home but haven’t gotten around to it here. I'll  be doing it again soon. But you can greatly reduce your junk mail and phone solicitation with this option.  Here is a link from DMA Choice to get registered so you are on a Do Not Mail from the National Direct Mail list. It won’t stop everything..but it’s a start! And there are lots of other organizations for stopping junk mail too. A quick internet search can get you started. In the meanwhile…watch out! There may be a junk mail bandit lurking in your house too!

Cheap but Stylish Prescription Glasses 

Doesn’t it kill your budget to have to pay the outrageous prices  being charged for prescription glasses? We don’t have insurance for that but even if we did, I hate to think of all the money being spent on ‘designer frames’. Even the budget ones cost a fortune. I’ve been wearing glasses since I was eight, so you can understand that I dread it every time I have to pay $200-300 for frames, prescription, lenses, and special coatings.   I needed new glasses as my old ones from Eye Buy Direct were getting worn out and I was really wanting to try a new style.  Here you can see both pairs one from four years ago, and one on the right from this year.  Both were great…I was just wanting a ‘new look’, though I was very scared to try to update my style. Thank goodness, they let you try on different styles via their TRY ONLINE program.

 

My whole family (Mom, Son and His wife) and I buy our glasses ONLINE at Eye Buy Direct.  I paid a grand total of $50.00 including Bi-focal lenses, modern style light weight frames, and coating.  All you need to do this is a prescription . I get an eye exam for $50.00 at Wal-mart. (I know..it’s embarrassing! just how cheap I really am. ) It's lasted through two pair of glasses. My glasses work great and look great. I’ve been doing this for five years now. I also ordered a pair of computer glasses for only $20.00.   Yep, that’s it.

How do you try them on? Well, just upload a picture of your face and they will allow you to crop it  and rotate it on their website. I used an old wedding photo once (since I had my glasses off at the time) and I used my webcamera the last two times to do this. They offer a virtual ‘TRY ONLINE’ feature where you can ‘try on’ the different frames. It works fantastic!  (Did I add that it’s pretty fun too?Tee-hee!)

To make things even better, their customer service is great. At one point, they noticed that  I had ordered the wrong frames for the thickness of my lenses so they CALLED me on the phone..and emailed me until they finally got me to help me choose new ones. Amazing!  So save your pocketbook and check out these people. :o)  You can also have a 15% discount if you email me. You can use my ‘friends’ discount. I’ve never done it before, but I noticed when I logged in today that it was an option. 

Here are their lens’ prices.. and the frames are anywhere from $20-50. I buy the $20.00 ones. :o)

• Single Vision (1.5) – FREE
•  Light Adjusting – $35.95
•  Progressive – $39
•  Polycarbonate (1.59) – $29
•  Thin and Lite (1.57) – $25
•  Bifocal – $19

Our local shop..and a very friendly worker.

Cheap Printer Ink

And while you are out shopping, the next time you run out of ink…head to Cartridge World. I see one in just about every shopping center. When my kids were in debate, we made tons and tons of copies. The kids filled 3” binders with paper which they were constantly shuffling with new briefs on every topic imaginable.  The ink used was indescribable. But frugal me, you know I was going to go find a cheap place. Up until then, I had ordered ink online, but now we were in a crisis mode. We had to use Tim’s old laser printer and the ink for it was a fortune. Of course, one cartridge lasts us for a whole year of heavy use. 

Cartridge World takes your old cartridge and recycles it and sells you a recycled full one for half the going cost. I will NEVER buy new cartridges again! And their employees are very well-trained and super friendly! And they are located all over the world. See if there is a location near you!

Well, I hope you got a few good tidbits from my ‘in box’…before the Tiger got it all. Tee-hee!  I’ve been saving them up all month and thought this would be some fun reading   while snuggled up in your covers this evening sipping cocoa after a long day of shopping. Enjoy!

Soup Mixes in a Jar

Hi Friends!  I thought you would enjoy seeing photos of a great and inexpensive gift idea for Christmas over the weekend. My very crafty daughter-in-law, Elisabeth,  got the idea to make these soup mixes in a jar from a book she picked up at a garage sale.  She wanted to make something for our upcoming Christmas Craft sale at Grace Community Church to earn some extra spending money for Christmas.

I, on the other hand, was musing on what sort of gift I could make to give to friends and I’ve also been wanting to make some soups ‘ahead of time’ that I could just throw in the pot to simmer. I really have been wanting to improve my soup ‘repertoire’ and it always amazes me how things turn up just when I need them. This book, Gifts from a Jar, has the best recipes I’ve ever tried. It’s worth every penny!

 

You can imagine my excitement when Ebeth mentioned her idea. This is definitely a project for TWO people (plus I really enjoyed spending the day with her and the grandkids--Yippee!)  For one thing, you can go in together to buy the most critical ingredient for this project, dried vegetable flakes.  Ebeth found a good source online, and we split the cost. We ended up with quite a bit of extra, but this is a great additive to any soup you make, so I wasn’t complaining.

We spent a Saturday morning shopping with the kiddos. (Great excuse to hang out with the grandbabies—Yea!)  Ebeth had ordered the online ingredients the week before which was critical. Just coming up with a shopping list for the 5 recipes we chose was quite an accomplishment all by itself.  Even with pooling the spices and extra beans, rice, barley etc. that we both had on hand, we still had to buy some extra supplies and ingredients. We bought a few things at Sam’s like bulk dehydrated onions, chicken bullion cubes and cumin.  Diced and dehydrated garlic and the vegetable flakes both had to be purchased online.  We both had jars on hand that we had to wash and dry, but we also bought extras.

Between the two of us, we made 71 jars of soup mix!  We figured up our costs and on average we spent about $1.50 to $2.00 per soup mix (including the price of the jar). I think Ebeth could sell her jars for at least $5-6.00 a piece.  For my part, I’m just happy to have a well stocked pantry and now I also have a nice, inexpensive gift to give to friends at church and neighbors too. Plus I’ll tuck a few into the Christmas boxes I ship. What a great gift to have on hand for that surprise person that you left off of your list too! 

I packed a bag with the Chicken and Rice soup mix plus a can of chicken breast chunks, and tomato sauce for my secret sister as a ‘thank you’ for all the gifts she gave me. Plus I sent a Chili Mac & Beans casserole jar plus a can of tomatoes with green peppers to my own secret sister in a quilted tote bag for her Christmas gift. It’s so nice to have a little something on hand for gift giving during this busy season, don’t you think?  

We made the beef, lentil, and barley soup the other day and it was just heavenly! I loved the recipes so much, that I ordered the Gifts in a Jar~ Cookie Mixes too from Amazon. Of course, I bought it used. Why not? It looked brand new and even had fabric circles and raffia twine still in a bag inside the front cover. But Wal-mart also sells pre-cut circle scraps. They are in the canning section.  I gathered a bunch of scraps in colors that I thought Ebeth would like and loaned her my pinking shears so she can make fabric circles for her jars. 

Really, this is pretty easy, but if you are planning to do a bunch of jars or recipes, like we did, then we suggest that you shop on one day and do the work on the next day. It’s a BIG job! We ordered pizza for dinner. We sure didn’t feel like cooking! Ha!

There are so many resources on the internet for crockpot meals in a jar, soups, cookies, muffins, etc. Just do a quick search for “Gifts in a Jar” and you will find some great ideas for cooking ahead for your family as well as an inexpensive Christmas gift idea that’s a lot of fun to do and special to share as well.

What about you? What is your favorite gift to give for friends and neighbors?

Happy Homemaking!