Frugal Front Porch

#KmartBLS for 12/19 & 12/20

2009-12-14T15:30:00.003-06:00

Here are your teasers for this weekend December 19^th and 20th:

· Boys/Girls Licensed Hoodies $8 (reg. $18.99) Great stocking stuffer!

· Essential Home 10 pc Sets $29.99 (reg. $49.99)

· Rollercade $49.99 (reg. $79.99) This might make out Santa list!!!

Don’t forget to follow @KmartDealsnNews and use the #KmartBLS hashtag for a chance to win every day! For more info & rules: http://tr.im/KmartBLS. Good luck!

#HighTechDad Giving Away #HPTouchsmart in a #HTDHPGiveaway

2009-12-14T08:52:00.004-06:00

High Tech Dad is giving away a new HP Touchsmart 600 FREE. The rules for this giveaway are a bit different than your standard leave a comment entry. There's three parts to the entry process.

He wants to see you with your existing PC
You need to create a song with HP and High Tech Dad in it OR tell a story (sad, funny, beg, plead, whatever) about WHY you need a new computer
Promote, promote, promote his giveaway

It ends noon pacific time today. He'll cut off comments, pick the top ten and then throw it to public voting for a final winner. Since today's my birthday, I hope it's me! If you are fast, you can enter High Tech Dad's HP Touchsmart 600 contest.

Here's the pictures I'm sharing in the contest.

My Crashing Laptop

Buzz Driving is Drunk Driving - Twitter Event #BuzzedDriving

2009-12-13T22:27:00.004-06:00

Just a friendly reminder of the importance to designate a sober driver this holiday season. With all the parties and "Holiday Cheer" being passed around, it's easy to loose track of how many drinks we consume. Here are a couple of tips to help you enjoy the "cheer" and arrive home safely during party season.

Make a plan before you arrive at the party.

Catch a sober ride to and from the party. Avoid taking your own vehicle so you aren't tempted to get behind the wheel. Plan to use taxi service, catch a ride with a sober friend, or take advantage of the free ride program many cities and community programs offer this time of year.
If you plan to drive, leave your keys with your host or hostess as soon as you arrive at the party. If they feel you aren't sober enough to drive, they can call you a taxi or maybe even let you spend the night (if they are REALLY good friends).

To help spread the word about the hazards of buzzed driving, Resourceful Mom is holding a special Twitter Event. Follow @ResourcefulMom and @BuzzedDriving, tweet with the hashtag #BuzzedDriving on Tuesday, December 15 from 2pm - 3pm EST. Learn more about the event here.

Did you know:

Last year nearly 12,000 people were killed by alcohol-impaired drivers.
316 people alone were killed during this time last year.
DUI's issued to women rose 29% between 1998 and 2007.

Learn more about Buzzed Driving, sign a pledge to drive sober, and even play a virtual game to see the difference between sober driving and buzzed driving at http://buzzeddriving.adcouncil.org/. You can also find them on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/buzzeddrivingisdrunkdriving.

What are your strategies for a fun holiday party while finding a sober ride home?

Eat Drink & Be Merry BUT Be Responsible. Buzzed Driving IS Drunk Driving!!!!

*I have not received any compensation or free items for this post. It's simply a cause I feel strongly about!

Last Day for Jiffy Lube Gift Card Giveaway

2009-12-13T11:25:00.002-06:00

Today is the last day to enter the $35 Jiffy Lube Gift Card Giveaway.

Be sure you get your entries posted by midnight tonight for them to count!

Good Luck!

It's a Handmade Holiday PLUS a Giveaway

2009-12-11T23:13:00.006-06:00

Every year I toss in some handmade gifts to all our family and friends. It's cost effective plus it is fun for me. A creative outlet to rid myself of the nervous holiday energy that builds up this time of year is vital for my sanity! It is also fun to see the recipient's expression when they realize "I made THAT!!"

For those of you who don't consider yourselves very crafty, You Can Make This is at your rescue. They have a complete library of crafty tutorials ranging from easy and beginner basics to more complex. They cover the whole spectrum of Do-It-Yourself projects. Sewing. Embroidery. Quilting. Painting. Printables. Scrapbooking. Knitting. Crotcheting. Even polymer clay. They have ideas for the home, wearables, teen and boy projects and a great selection of homemade toy tutorials. I love it! Their patterns are easy to read and end up looking as if Courtney, the site's creator, made them herself!

With the holidays just around the corner, we thought it would be fun to showcase some quick and easy gift ideas you can give to friends, neighbors, co-workers, and oh yes…even your family! You can enter to win eBooks from www.YouCanMakeThis.com and learn some fun new techniques, tips, and ideas not only for the people on your list, but also creative ways to decorate your home!

To personalize your gift giving even more this year, You Can Make This has created a free download for some fun gift tags. Each of them coordinate with ideas found as part of the DIY Gift Giving Series videos that can be found at www.youcanmakethis.com/blog , as well as designs and patterns found at www.SWAKembroidery.com and www.YouCanMakeThis.com.

PSSST: You can also enter to win hundreds of dollars in gift certificates just for watching the videos that are part of the DIY Gift Giving Series and answering a question on the You Can Make This blog! I've been entering for my chance to win and so should you!

Handmade Holiday Giveaway!!!

You Can Make This has generously offered TWO Frugal Front Porch Readers a bundled package of downloadable instructions/patterns for the Kimberbell Kids 24" Doll and Gift Giver patterns.

Here's the entry details

Mandatory Entry: Visit You Can Make This and tell me your favorite toy pattern
Bonus Entries: (please include appropriate links to your entry for validation)

Share this on twitter and/or your other social media sites - 1 entry per site but please don't spam your followers
Blog about this contest - 5 entries
Comment on any other post - 1 entry
Follow or subscribe to Frugal Front Porch - 1 entry
Follow me on twitter or facebook - 1 entry
Comment on a blog post at www.youcanmakethis.com/blog - 1 entry
Purchase a pattern from You Can Make This - 5 entries

The giveaway is open globally but you will need a valid email address and have Adobe Reader installed on your computer in order to receive your prize. You can get the free Adobe download here. Giveaway closes Thursday, December 18th Midnight CST. Winner will be drawn courtesy of random.org and an email notification sent to the winner and the sponsor. The prize will be emailed directly to the winner from the sponsor ASAP to give you plenty of time to make it a last minute gift for the holidays!

*Disclosure time > I received a free pattern as a courtesy for offering this giveaway to you! I have not been compensated in any other way. All banner links to You Can Make this are my affiliate links but you text links are simple links.

Giving Back During the Holidays

2009-12-11T10:17:00.003-06:00

Each year we try do a little something to give back to the community. Usually we pick out a few toys for a toy drive, donate some of our toys to Goodwill, give coats to charity or help a local family who needs some assistance. We've even filled shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. That was an awesome experience! Last year we missed out on our tradition. It was a bit hectic with being in the new house, in a new city, in a new climate zone. You get the idea.

This year we're getting back on track!

We are baking cookies this weekend for our Cub Scouts to decorate Monday night. We'll also be making mini reindeer candy cane ornaments. Tutorial and pictures to come. We will only have an hour to get it all done so the simpler, the better! When everything is dry and the icing is set, the holiday goodies will be hand delivered to our local senior citizens center!

My only problem is figuring out what kind of cookie to make. I want a fabulously delicious cookie, something different than the standard sugar or gingerbread cookies I'm sure everyone else will bring. But I want one that can be easily and quickly decorated since the boys will have dozens of cookies to decorate. Is that too much to ask?

If you've got a favorite cookie for decorating, I'm all ears!

Looking for ideas on how your can give back this year? Here's a few you might be interested in.

You can donate money or pack a shoe box for Operation Christmas child. This is a children's charity focused on many war torn regions or communities across the globe who have suffered a natural disaster (like New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina). Find out more here.

General Mills has partnered with Care.org to match donations up to $500 per donor to help villages in Malawi. Funds go toward creating clean drinking water, mosquito nets to reduce Malaria outbreaks, as well as farming and other business initiatives to help these villages become self sufficient. You can find out about Join My Village here.

Robeez, part of the Stride Rite brand, is also donating a pair of soft sole shoes to K.I.D.S. (Kids In Distressed Situations) with every soft sole shoe purchase through December 23rd. Learn more about their program here. I would so buy these booties if my guy were still a wee little one!

This post was written as part of a TwitterMoms discussion about how we are giving back during the holiday season.

Send a Free Holiday E-card

2009-12-10T15:17:00.002-06:00

Click the image below to send your free Happy Holiday's e-card today! An e-card is perfect if you've forgotten to get your Christmas cards made on time this year...like I usually do!

From Balsam Hill

Christmas Trees

WW-My week in pictures

2009-12-08T22:44:00.004-06:00

Here are some photos of us around the house this past week.

J Man Wii'ing it up! Careful of the Wii Elbow son! It sneaks up on ya! ;)

What does a man do when he's got a full belly? SLEEP, of course!

Ruby in our first snow of the season...it's STILL here!

Sandy decked out in Santa fur and bells. She HATES it & the Santa hat that came with it! Can't you tell? She's giving me the "stink eye"!

Warning for Wii Users

2009-12-08T08:03:00.003-06:00

My birthday is 11 days before Christmas. My anniversary is 11 days AFTER Christmas. Poor hubster gets hit pretty hard this time of year. Sunday, we were in a store called Pamida looking for crafty type stuff. Googly eyes, softie stuffing, magnets, and other kinds of things for me to finish off a few projects. Well, he made an off hand comment a few days before about buying a Wii for the kids and me since it's been publicly (VERY publicly) on theirs list and secretly on mine. He must have seen my Amazon wish list or read comments I've made on other blogs!!!

I was completely blown away when he got the electronics gal take one to the cashier. I knew we had the money for it so it didn't blow out the Santa budget. It was a great price and even came with the Wii Sports. I also have a Wii Jumpstart preschool game I won through a giveaway which will be a great stocking stuffer. We're cooped up six months out of the year in a winter wonderland so the natives get a little restless after a bit.

It just being so close to Christmas, I don't like breaking out big purchases like this...

...but I've been wanting one of these for months now so I couldn't resist. We broke it out that night. Two hours later, we're turning the game off and getting ready for bed. After all, it IS a school night. I am not a gamer but this thing is so much more than a game system. I am totally into the Wii. The kids love it and everyone can play with just one controller. GENIUS!!!

The only drawback - I woke up the next morning with a sore shoulder and elbow. I think the Nintendo Wii should come with a warning like...

"Operate with extreme caution! Highly addictive game could result in Wii Elbow, especially for players over the age of 30 something! Play with care!"

Right, like that would have stopped me! ;)

#KmartBLS Teasers for 12/12 and 12/13

2009-12-07T19:32:00.003-06:00

Here are the teasers for this weekend December 12^th and 13th:

· Essential Home Snug Sack 50% off (reg. $19.99)

· Jaclyn Smith Today Cashmere Blend Throw $12.99 (reg. $29.99)

· Kodak 7” digital frame $49.99 (reg. $79.99)

All day offers:

Saturday:

· Mens Boxed Gifts $5 (reg. 16.99-19.99)

· Die Hard Battery Bank BOGO Free (reg. $9.99)

Sunday:

· Fisher Price Fashion Separates $4.99 (Infant/Toddler) reg. $10.99-$18.99

· Hershey Snack size jumbo bags $3.50 (reg. $5.99)

I may have to get some Hershey's and snuggle up with the cashmere throw this weekend. It's suppose to be a cold one here!!!

Don’t forget to follow @KmartDealsnNews and use the #KmartBLS hashtag for a chance to win every day! For more info & rules: http://tr.im/KmartBLS. Good luck!

Motor Oil Matters + Giveaway (Closed & Winner Announced)

2009-12-07T10:19:00.008-06:00

I am an avid DIY'er but there are simply some things I don't even attempt to do myself. If it involves my vehicle's fluids, other than filling the gas tank or windshield wiper fluid, then I'm DEFINITELY seeking assistance.

I either have my oil changed at Walmart while grocery shopping or at my local Jiffy Lube. The hubster has been known to change the oil too. If I do not have any grocery shopping to do, I didn't go to Walmart. Their wait is longer so having to wander around the store for an hour or so can be disastrous on my bank account. Now with the Minnesota winter in full force, I don't see the hubster laying on the freezing ground changing the oil so Jiffy Lube to the rescue!

My Blog Spark sent me a gift card for a free oil change at Jiffy Lube. I admit with the holiday buzz in full force, I haven't had a chance to use it but since I am a frequent customer, I feel confident telling you about the great job they've done by me and my vehicles. I have always been very pleased with their work. Their service technicians are very nice, courteous, and knowledgeable. I never feel pressured to purchase a pricier package than I intend. They always give me a complete statement including when my next oil change will be due. Their lines generally move pretty quickly which is THE reason I continue to go back to them.

Learn more about how motor oil matters here or watch this video from Hendrick Motor Sports on the importance of motor oil. Want a great stocking stuffer...get you the vehicle drivers of your family a Jiffy Lube gift card.

A Gift For YOU!!!!

One lucky reader will win a $35 Jiffy Lube gift card. Check for local stations here. Can't wait, then get your $5 coupon here.

How to enter:

Leave a comment on this post about what you would do with this gift card (gift it to a neighbor friend or relative, keep it, winterize your car, donate it, etc)
Leave a comment on any other of my blog posts and come back here telling me which post your commented on - UNLIMITED entries
Visit Make It From Scratch, where I contribute every Monday, comment on any post then come back here and tell me which post you commented on - UNLIMITED entries
Tweet or post on Facebook and get 2 entries...leave a comment for each entry with a link to your tweet (example: Twitter entry #1 your tweet link) 2 tweets or Facebook posts per day limit - I don't want you spamming your followers.
Blog about it to get 5 entries...again, leave a comment with a link to your entry's post NOT your blog's main site. (example: Blog entry #1 blog post link)

The giveaway will end Sunday, December 13th, midnight CST. The winner will be randomly drawn by random.org and will have 48 hours to respond to the winner's email I will send. The gift card will be distributed by a third party.

**Congratulations Hope, you're comment won! You will have 48 hours to respond to my email!**
Here's what she said:

Hope
I'd give it to my Dad for a gift!

I received a $35 gift card from My Blog Spark to tell you about Penzoil and Jiffy Lube's services. I have not received any other compensation for this post. I received the gift cards and information from Shell Lubricants and Motor Oil Matters through MyBlogSpark. All the opinions expressed are my honest views and have not been affected by the receipt of the gift card.

Make a "Green" Holiday Ornament in 1 Hour

2009-12-06T15:30:00.004-06:00

One of our many holiday traditions includes getting the kids a new holiday ornament. Every year I either make the ornaments or we buy them one that reflects their personality. Usually it's something like a Scooby or Baby's 1st Christmas ornament. The last few years, I've taken to making the ornaments but I suppose they reflect more of my crafting style at the time instead of their personality. Oh well, at least I try! I've made ornaments from gold wire, bells, mini glass balls, and other mediums. Some have endured the years. Others haven't faired so well. Anyway, they love them and I enjoy making them so it's a win-win situation.

Since I've been learning to sew over the last year, this year's ornaments are...

...Fabric ornaments.

Big surprise right!?!

I don't like formal patterns and tend to do better with general guidelines. It allows me to let my creative juices flow freely so, here's a quick and easy ornament that plays to those strengths. It uses scrap fabric, a cookie cutter, and scrap ribbon, rick rack or whatever else you have in your sewing stash.

Scrap Fabric Holiday Ornament in 1 Hour or Less.

Cut strips of fabric anywhere from 1" to 2" wide with the length depending on what you've got. The longer your length, the larger your ornament can be. You'll also need another coordinating fabric for the back side of the ornament unless you have enough of the patched fabric to make both sides.
Sew your fabric strips right sides together with 1/4" seams and press flat. Don't have fabric, use ribbon or a combination of both instead. Be cautious of your heat setting since your using multiple types of fabric. You don't want to burn up a section of fabric because the setting it too high. Learned this the hard way! ;) Add iron on interfacing to add stability since multiple fabric types are used.
Use a cookie cutter as a template or draw your own on paper. Trace it onto the wrong sides of your fabric. Think of how you want the stripes to look on your finished ornament when you set up your template. Cut out your template.
Add rick rack, sequins, jewels, applique, etc to either sides of the fabric. Again, keep in mind how your finished ornament will look.
Place right sides together with a ribbon loop inserted in between. Sew right sides together leaving about a 2" opening to turn inside out. Be careful not to stitch the top of your ribbon loop when sewing the fabric.
Turn right side out, stuff with sewing scraps including, thread, fabric, stuffing, etc. Close the opening with a whip stitch and enjoy your new holiday ornament.

Click here for a printer friendly version of this tutorial.

Cupcake Rescue Tips

2009-12-05T20:54:00.006-06:00

With the holiday baking season in full swing, there's bound to be a batch of cupcakes or a sheet cake or two that doesn't want to come out like it should. Here's a couple of cupcake rescue ideas that will prevent you from re-baking another batch.

If part of your cupcake doesn't release freely from the pan simply turn it over with the damaged side up. Place it on a wire rack over a baking sheet. Dollop icing (store bought or home made) over it. Don't worry about smoothing it out, just plop it on there. Make sure to get some icing on the damaged area. Pop the cupcake back in the oven for just a few minutes. The icing starts to melt and drizzles down into the porous cakey holes looking oh so delicious and tasting even better! Let the icing completely cool before you transfer to another dish for serving, transporting or storing.

Looks like yummy sweet lava!!!

Another tip is to make cake pops or truffles with it. Check out Bakerella's site for all the yummy details but basically you crumb your baked cake, mix in a can of frosting, form into balls, dip in melted candy coating and decorate. I've tried it with a red velvet cake/cream cheese frosting. It's good but wayyy to sweet for me! I actually prefer the cake parts better than the frosting so I will reduce the amount of frosting I use in the future. Mixing in the entire can of frosting makes it a little to sugary sweet for me but the kids L-O-V-E them!

$600 Holiday Dinnerware Giveaway

2009-12-03T16:30:00.004-06:00

I'm not hosting this one but I have entered for a shot at this fabulous prize including a case of new Libbey tall wine glasses, 12 piece Walco flat ware set, 12 Strawberry Street dinner plates plus 12 dessert plates. It's true, I'm lusting after this one folks!

Food Service Warehouse hosted a giveaway last year for some new restaurant quality cookware. I entered it and didn't get the first bit of spam. Have I told you how much I HATE spam!?! I didn't win last year's giveaway but then again, you can win if you don't play!

Click the image below to go to the entry page. The contest ends December 18!

Fabric Covered Bead Necklace - Sooo Very Fashionable!

2009-12-03T15:50:00.003-06:00

I'm still suffering from a migraine that simply won't let go but I did catch this nugget of craftiness when it eased up earlier so I had to share this with you.

Is this not the cutest girlfriend gift idea??? I love it and will be making many of these!

Be sure to check out You Can Make This Blog during the month of December for more great holiday gift ideas that are quick and easy on the budget!

Here's a quick video where Courtney show's us how to make it ourselves! I cannot wait to get rid of this headache so I can get started!

Another thing, Courtney's got a fabulous giveaway going on at YCMT. Click the image below to get all the details.

#KmartBLS for 12/5 thru 12/6

2009-12-02T08:20:00.002-06:00

I don't know when the next post will go up this week since I'm battling a migraine that seems to be brought on by a change in the barometer. I'm really guessing since it coincides with our first snow fall of the year. I can't shake it for the moment so I'm taking Excedrin (which isn't working like it normally does) while lying in a dark room! I am tired of the pain and lying around so hopefully it will pass soon.

In the meantime here is this weekend’s Kmart Bluelight Special teasers you don't want to miss out on:

Bluelight Special teasers for 12/5 to 12/6:

· All 14k gold Birthstone Baby Charms $29.99 (reg $69.99)

· Mushabellies $14.99 (reg. $24.99)

· 4 piece table tennis table $99.99 (reg. 149.99)

All day offers:

· Saturday: Small Wonder Blankets & Wonderkids Thermals – BOGO Free

· Sunday: Men’s 3pk Fashion Brief or 2pk Micro Knit Boxers or Musical Card Boxer $5 (reg. 9.99-12.99)

Don’t forget to follow @KmartDealsnNews and use the #KmartBLS hashtag for a chance to win every day! For more info & rules: http://tr.im/KmartBLS

Stride Rite Cyber Monday Giveaway + Twitter Party #srCyberMon

2009-11-27T21:03:00.004-06:00

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving and Black Friday. I had fun taking a break from cooking while one of my good friends hosted our family to a Thanksgiving feast with all the fixins. I am so very thankful to have such great friends and a wonderful family to share this holiday with. It was great fun to relax and socialize - something I haven't done in a while.

I have to admit, I skipped Black Friday altogether - too many people and they usually aren't in the holiday spirit - so I hope you all found some great deals. Me? I'll get some of my shopping done on Cyber Monday.

Which brings me to Stride Rite. They're having a special Facebook "Fans Celebration" on Cyber Monday including giveaways. Simply become a Facebook Fan of Stride Rite. Throughout the day they'll be awarding some great gift cards and bags. They will also give their Facebook fans an exclusive Cyber Monday coupon to be used at www.striderite.com. There's also a special mystery prize worth over $600 fans can enter to win on Cyber Monday.

In celebration, Global Influence is having a special Sunday night Twitter Party using the hashtag #srCyberMon from 9 - 10 pm EST. Seven Stride Rite gift cards will be randomly awarded during the twitter party so be sure to follow your host Shannon, StrideRite, and tweet with us on Sunday. Go here to learn more about the party and to RSVP.

You can click here for a special party Tweet Grid set up. Don't forget to enter your username and password at the top as well as your twitter name (then click search) in the first window. This will allow you to tweet and see your tweets.

*This information was brought to you courtesy of Global Influence. I have received no compensation for this post although it has entered me into a special member's only giveaway.

Last Minute Holiday Recipes

2009-11-25T11:09:00.001-06:00

We have been invited to a friend's home for Thanksgiving Dinner this year so it looks like my kitchen will get a break from tomorrow's cooking marathon! I can hear it screaming a big "THANK YOU" right now! Lol I'm sure all of you who are cooking already have your menus selected and your ingredients ready. If you're a smart cookie, you're in the kitchen now cooking a few dishes ahead of time.

Still, I'm willing to bet there are a couple of you out there finding it hard to get motivated or just wait till the last minute to get things going (like I often do). I have a few tips and easy last minute additions to your menu to add that WOW factor!

All about the Gravy.

Many folks wait to make gravy till after the turkey's done. The problem with that is, you have to wait till the turkey's done! Why not get it done ahead using drippings from some cooked crumbled sausage? What to do with the sausage? Add it to your stuffing mix to give it an extra gourmet flair. If you need a fast stuffing recipe, try my Apple Walnut Stuffing I used in these pork chops. So yummy and flavorful.

Easy Gravy Recipe

Over medium heat, mix 1 to 2 tablespoons of the sausage drippings with enough flour to absorb the drippings (approximately ¼ cup). Let it simmer for a few minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste. Then add about a cup of chicken or turkey stock (from a jar, can, cubes, carton, etc). Whisk or stir it all together really REALLY well. Let it simmer for a few minutes. If it's not thin enough, add a bit more stock-slowly. Hot gravy should be slightly thinner than what you prefer since it will thicken as it cools. Be careful. Thin gravy is very difficult to thicken. If in doubt, air on the side of caution, leave your gravy a little thick. Once it's cooled and you see it's too thick, whisk in a little more HOT stock.

Do the Mashed Potato!

Make your mashed potatoes today! Give it some zest! Mix in some herbs (fresh or dried) and/or some cheddar and parmesan cheeses. Place in a greased casserole dish, sprinkle with fine bread crumbs mixed with some more herbs and parmesan cheese, cover and pop in the fridge till tomorrow. Tomorrow, allow the dish to come to room temperature and rewarm it in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. The bread crumbs and parmesan cheese will form an ooey gooey crust and taste yummy! You can do the same with macaroni and cheese but I use cheddar cheese bread crumb mix for my topping. Mmmm!!!

Cranberries, anyone?

I'll be the first to admit, I'm not a big fan of cranberries. I have images of red gelatin stuff sitting in a bowl in the shape of a can. Ick! However, I made my own cranberry relish last year out of hubster's request for cranberries. (Didn't realize he was talking about the funky gelatin stuff!) It was fast easy and surprisingly tasty. Simply mix pureed cranberries with pureed pineapple (2 to 1 ratio). I dissolved about ¼ cup of sugar into some of the pineapple juice to kick up the sweetness but you may not need it depending on your taste. Refrigerate till ready to serve!

Here's a few other last minute recipes you can add to your menu: Mason Jar Cobbler
(great in ramekins if you don't have mason jars), Toffee
(mix in chopped almonds for extra umph) and Spiced Apple Pie Cocktail
(which I plan to take to our friend's house).

Need help with the bird? Butterball's got you covered. Get help here or 1-800-BUTTERBALL or find them on twitter, facebook or their mobile page. The only turkey tip I can offer you: Start thawing that sucker out NOW so he will be ready to cook tomorrow!

Happy Thanksgiving and hoping all your day's plans turn out as well as you hope.

Global Influence Annual Holiday Guide

2009-11-25T06:44:00.000-06:00

Holiday shopping season is here again and the Global Influence network has some great gift ideas for you, tried and tested by real moms. Click on the links to check out what our team of reviewers had to say about each of these gift ideas, and then take a moment to enter our fun giveaway and take a chance at winning some of these fabulous products.

Featured Reviews
Pouchees -

Busy moms need all the help they can get to stay organized and keep life as simple as possible. The Pouchee is the perfect solution to keeping all those little things together, putting everything you need, right at your fingertips.

Duck Hunter -

Duck Hunter turns the excitement of the hunt into an activity the whole family can enjoy. Launch the duck in the air and try to hunt it down with the toy shooter as it flies freely in the air. A fun choice for those who love outdoor sporting.

CardStore cards

-Personalized holiday cards are an important item on everyone's to-do list and often a hassle to create and print. Cardstore.com has everything from family photo cards to invitations for your big holiday party, simplifying your holiday season.

Great Holiday Gift Ideas

Fun Holiday Giveaway!

For this holiday guide, we want to share the love with the blogosphere! Some of our generous sponsors have donated prizes to be given away to lucky readers! To enter to win one of the following fabulous prizes, simply fill out the form here: http://tinyurl.com/y8t92rw

Prizes include: Things Remembered Custom Couture Jewelry, Pouchee, Elfing Around, Harumika, Onionhead Feelings Pack, Nerf Wall to Wall Basketball, Baby Alive Whoopsie Doo, MeTime T-shirt

Entries will close on December 6, 2009 at 11:59 PM EST. Winners will be contacted by email after the close of the contest.

Global Influence Member Guides Need more ideas for this holiday season? Check out the guides that some of our Global Influence members have put together on their own sites!

Thrifty Jinxy, Happy Healthy Hip , And Twins Make Five , Because Two People Fell In Love, Mommy Musings , Lipstick to Crayons , Bargain Briana , Mommy PR , Shop With Me Mama, Santa Picks, Rave and Review, Connected 2 Christ , 3 Boys and a Dog, The Classy Closet , Contest Corner, Lisa Reviews , A Giveaway Every Day, HulaHoopinMom, Spalibrations, High Impact Mom, From Cribs to Car Keys

All reviews listed in the Global Influence gift guide were product provided. Featured positions were purchased by sponsors. Member gift guides are not affiliated with Global Influence.

Twitter Party on TweetGrid Tute

2009-11-24T10:14:00.004-06:00

In time for #ShopCyberMonday twitter party, here is the beginner's tutorial I promised on joining a Twitter Party. I've tried several different twitter applications but I prefer TweetGrid. It's really very simple to use but customizable making it user friendly to both newbies and twitter party buffs. Simply click on "See the Story on Whrrl" to start the slide show. If you have any questions, leave a comment and I'll be sure to respond with the best answer I can find.

Don't forget to join in tonight's twitter party with @resourcefulmom and tweet with the hashtag #ShopCyberMonday all day today to win some great prizes.

Holiday Kmart Blue Light Specials via #KmartBLS

2009-11-23T21:47:00.004-06:00

Here are this weekend’s Bluelight Specials - running from Thursday to Sunday as opposed to the usual Saturday and Sunday:

Bluelight Specials for 11/26-11/29 THURSDAY to SUNDAY from 1PM-6PM!

· Kids Route 66 Graphic Tees $3.99 (Reg. $7.99)
· Essential Home 7.5' x 9.5' Rug in a Bag $34.99 (Reg. $69.99)
· All Multi-Roll Wrap 50% Off (Reg. $7.99)

Don’t forget to follow @KmartDealsnNews and use the #KmartBLS hashtag for a chance to win every day! For more info & rules: http://tr.im/KmartBLS.

#ShopCyberMonday Twitter Party & Giveaway

2009-11-23T09:48:00.004-06:00

Don't forget tomorrow from 8 - 9 pm EST is the #ShopCyberMonday twitter party. There will be over $2,000 in gift cards given away to random tweeters using the hashtag. Gift cards from places like Zales, Saks, and Office Depot.

How to enter the giveaway:

Follow the party's host @ResourcefulMom
Get great tips from AVG reps and the folks at CyberMonday.com
Tweet with the hashtag #ShopCyberMonday

I've got to run but later today I'll post a quick tute on how to join the party on TweetGrid for anyone who's never been to a twitter party before!

Hope to tweet you all tomorrow night!!!

Smart Spending During the Holidays – Part 2

2009-11-21T14:43:00.002-06:00

In part one of the Smart Spending During the Holiday series, we created our holiday spending budget. Now it is time to figure out what to do with it! Jean Chatzky is such an intelligent woman and a finance guru but many of her tips I've heard over and over during her Money 911 segments of The Today Show. Jean took many questions from her audience after telling us how to create our holiday budgets. Many were about holiday spending while others were general finance, mortgage, and credit questions.

Time for THE TALK - Kids, Teens, and the Budget!

If you are faced with a smaller holiday budget than past years then, Jean encourages you to have THE TALK with your older kids and teens. Talking about the holiday budget in advance will prepare their expectations for the big gift exchange day. With smaller kids, they might not be as aware of the scale back as older kids but no matter how you handle THE TALK, keep it age appropriate and make sure you emphasize your child's needs will be met but their wants may have to wait.

Layaway-good, bad, ugly?

According to Jean, Layaway was originally designed by retailers for consumers to "reserve" an item so the retailer didn't run out when the consumer had the money to purchase the item. I don't think this is how layaway is viewed by the average consumer now. Layaway works well for people who are not disciplined to spend – like me. She calls this forced savings: a trick to get you to save/spend for the holidays without actually putting any cash into a savings account. She prefers putting money into a savings account where it will draw some interest - even if it's a little bit - but whatever trick works best for you is great. So layaway, online or in store, gets an official thumbs up from Jean Chatzky.

Store credit cards with promotional discounts – Are they worth it?

Most store credit cards offer 10% discounts but you can usually find a coupon or online shopping code for at least 10% and many times more just by Googling the store's name plus the words "discount" or "coupon". Store credit cards have higher interest rates than normal credit cards which was the big reason Jean cautions us away from them. There is the occasion when using one is a smart choice. She used the example of when she bought a new living room set a few years ago. She did the research but found the store she was buying from was offering a 20% discount if you used their store credit card, much higher than coupons and other discount codes she had found online. She simply did the math. 20% off a large purchase, say $2,000, is $200 bucks. Since she could pay the creditor within their terms, she made a smart choice. Another thing to consider: applying for an additional credit card will ding your credit score and too much credit is not good either.

Pull your free credit score at quizzle.com and creditkarma.com. You can also pull your free credit report at annualcreditreport.com. Jean suggests pulling a free report every four months – Once from Equifax, four months later Experian, and another one four months later from Transunion. This will keep you well informed about your credit history.

Handling holiday expenses when the monthly living expenses are barely covered.

Jean's covered this in several steps but her philosophy is "You need to know where your money is going to know where you want to go".

You have to track every spent dollar down to the penny. Cash, credit, debit, all of it! I suggest you use a spending journal. List the amount, item, and store/location by day. Every time you buy something, whether is a $.50 pack of gum or $30 shirt, write it down in the journal. You can visually see your spending habits after a few weeks, maybe a few days. Perhaps you're stopping by the convenience store for a coffee every time you take your daughter to dance class. The point is, you can correct the behavior once you identify it!
Reduce your spending as much as possible. Call your cable and telephone providers to ask for a better deal. Consider carpooling to reduce your gas expense. Cut your cell phone plan back.
Once you have scaled back to the bare bones, the only other option is bringing in more income. Work part time or evenings. At home parties and person to person businesses have traditionally been recession-proof industries.

Giving on a budget

Instead of giving a thing, consider giving to a charity in the person's name. The charity will usually issue a special gift card with the recipient's name on it notifying them a donation has been made in their name. The great thing is the charity usually will not disclose the amount of the original donation. This works well for people with a low budget, as a gift for the person who has everything, or even as a great opportunity to teach a child about charity.

Hopefully this helped answer many of your holiday spending questions. The final installment of the Smart Spending During the Holidays series will wrap everything up, give Jean's other money saving tips plus I will give you my personal take on a few of the questions asked.

Disclaimer: These are suggestions and tips I gathered from an audio conference with Jean Chatzky. Not financial advice. The information in this article does not constitute legal or financial advice. You are encouraged to contact an attorney or financial advisor if you have any questions regarding any of the information on this site.

Welcome Back Kmart's Blue Light Specials

2009-11-20T19:22:00.001-06:00

Blue Light Specials are back, and to celebrate in style Kmart will be giving shoppers on Twitter a chance to win a $50 gift card everyday! In addition to the chance to win daily, everyone following @KmartDealsnNews on Twitter will be automatically entered for a chance to win a $500 Kmart shopping spree – how cool is that?!

The sweepstakes runs from November 12^th until December 23^rdand I wanted to make sure you had the chance to share this awesome opportunity to win with my readers!

Winning couldn’t get easier - all you have to do is follow @KmartDealsnNews on Twitter from your personal Twitter account and issue a Tweet everyday using the hashtag: #KmartBLS. Each day is a new opportunity to win, so the more you tweet - the better your chances are to win a Daily prize!

For more info on sweepstakes details, check out: http://tr.im/kmartBLS, and for Official Rules: http://tr.im/kmartBLSrules.

Of course, this is all in celebration of the return of Bluelight Specials at Kmart! There are over 40 great Bluelight Specials throughout the weekend in-store, and other great offers online at Kmart.com, too, only on Saturdays and Sundays. A little preview for this weekend’s Bluelight Specials:

11/21-11/22 Bluelight Specials!

Home/All Frames 50% off (reg range $1-$29.99)

Boys and Girls Basic Edition turtlenecks $2.99 (reg.$7.99)

Home/All Cookware 40% off (reg. $6.99-169.99)

Don’t forget to follow @KmartDealsnNews and use the #KmartBLS hashtag for a chance to win every day! For more info & rules: http://tr.im/KmartBLS. Good luck!

Smart Spending During the Holidays - Part 1

2009-11-19T19:23:00.002-06:00

Earlier today I had the pleasure of joining other ladies from the blogosphere in a chat with Jean Chatzky about responsible spending during this holiday season. The hour literally flew by and I felt as if we had just hit the tip of the iceberg when the audio conference was over but at the same time we covered so much information. I've looked over my notes a million times today. To make it easier for everyone to digest, I'll break this down into a three part series. Today we will go over how to establish your holiday budget along with the retailer's holiday tactics to get you to open your wallets in their stores!

The conference started with a few tips Jean wanted to share with the group.

Determine your holiday budget (Jean suggests 1.5% of your take home pay is an appropriate number)
1. Make a list of all the people you plan to buy gifts for and include a monetary budget for each person. During the course of your holiday shopping, if you need to borrow from Aunt Peggy's budget to cover Uncle Henry's gift, that it is perfectly fine. So long as your bottom line remains the same.
2. Include entertaining expenses and expenses for wrapping paper, cards, postage, family holiday pictures, EVERYTHING you do to prepare for the holidays.
3. Once you listed everything in your budget, cut it down. Just as construction budgets go over, so do holiday budgets. Cutting back the original budget will help keep you within your overall budget including any unexpected overages.
Determine your cash reserve-Know what cash you have available to spend on the holidays
Use unused gift cards to supplement your holiday shopping. Jean specifically mentioned stockpiling gift cards she and her kids acquire throughout the year to help offset the cost of the holidays. Most kids don't even notice or remember their gift cards OR you probably have many with partial balances. This is a clever way to handle part of the holiday expenses.

13 million people in the US are STILL in debt from 2008 holiday season (according to consumer reports). These steps can help keep you from being among this number next year!

Jean went a bit off topic at this point stating Roth IRA's will be FREE all year long in 2010. For the entire year, you can convert your Traditional IRA to a Roth for nothing! 2010 sounds like an excellent year to begin saving for retirement.

The conference soon shifted to the Q&A portion of the call.

One of the first questions was in regard to retailer's holiday tactics. Turns out there are two sets of tactics at work.

Luxury retailers (like Neiman Marcus and SAKS Fifth Avenue) have bought less inventory to drive up the demand. This has created an atmosphere get it before it is gone forever. The New York Times ran a very interesting story on it today. You can read it here.
Big box retailers (like Walmart, Kmart, and Target) are in the middle of Black Friday Wars. Their strategy hinges on deep DEEP discounts drawing you in. Black Friday circulars are being distributed early in the hopes of courting you to their store. The War has gone even further by extending many of the deep discounts into the weekend. This is meant to encourage consumers to shop all weekend also capturing the business of those who avoided the Black Friday traffic. While selling board games for pennies on the dollar, one might wonder how they can afford such deep cuts. These guys are also betting you'll buy other things you need like toilet paper, laundry detergent, socks, cards, etc.

Will it work? Perhaps. Trends show increased spending, even with unemployment near 10%. Jean suggested this is a reaction to the pop of the stock market giving consumers a confidence boost in the economy. One thing is for certain, we will know soon enough!

Jean Chatzky has some great tools on her site including a holiday spending calculator and the Oprah Show feature, Debt Diet Online.