More fun Christmas Websites

Here are a couple more fun Christmas websites that my kids got a huge kick out of!

Chin Carolers  (12 days of Christmas was my favorite!)

and Reindeer Orchestra

Merry Christmas!

The Magic of Santa

While we all know the real reason for celebrating Christmas...pondering the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ...I also love the magic and thrill of Santa Claus. I loved it as a kid but I love it even more as a mom. Here are some fun activities to add to the magic...

Last year we tracked Santa all during Christmas Eve to see where he was dropping off gifts. Once we saw him getting closer and closer we knew we better hurry and get to bed. The kids were very excited! You can track Santa's movements HERE.

This year, my husband also had a personalized message from Santa sent to each child. Aside from telling them they've been good and giving specific information unique to each child Santa also let them in on a fun (and magical) secret...like how his reindeer fly or what he does during his summer break. You can get Santa to email your child by going HERE.

And The Winner Is....

Jane!

Jane said...
My sister and I had these little accordian albums made for our parents with pictures of their grandkids inside so they can have them with them always.

Please email mommydiariesadmin@gmail.com by 2pm Saturday so that we can get it shipped to you in time for Christmas!

Thanks to everyone who entered this giveaway...it was so fun to see the special gifts you are giving this Christmas!

Final Christmas Giveaway: 4 Laura Numeroff Books!

Our final giveaway for 2009 has arrived and you won't want to miss out on having these books under the tree for your little ones! If you're like us...a new book is as much fun for the child as it is for the parent (and 4 new books is even better!) The "if you give....books" are for ages 3-7 years old and are fun to read over and over again! Kids also love the illustrations by Felicia Bond!

To enter this giveaway just leave a comment and answer this question:

What is the best gift you are giving this year? Is it what your kids (or husband) have been begging you for? Is it homemade? Is it a service?

This giveaway ends Friday, December 18th at 11:59pm (eastern time) and in order to get the 4 books to you in time for Christmas we need the winner to email mommydiariesadmin@gmail.com with an address by Saturday, December 19th at 2pm.

Looking for extra entries? Here are some things you can do:

• 1 extra entry for being or becoming a follower (over there on the left!).
  
• 1 extra entry for adding our button to your blog.
  
• 1 extra entry for blogging about the giveaway or putting it on your facebook status.
  
  If you do any of these things (or already have) please remind us in your comment and we'll be sure to give you your bonus entries!
  

Thanks for being a part of Mommy Diaries and Merry Christmas!

And the winner is...

CRYSTAL

Congrats Crystal! Email Sweet Jane at sweetjanebows@yahoo.com and let her know which 2 bows from her blog you would like her to send you, and also give her the address of where to send them!

Thanks to all who entered and a BIG thanks to Sweet Jane for letting us give away her cute bows!

And don't go too far because we'll be posting our 3rd and final Christmas giveaway very very SOON!

Christmas Giveaway #2 Sweet Jane's Hair Clips

Are you ready for our Christmas giveaway #2? Wouldn't these clips make the perfect stocking stuffer or gift for a sweet little girl?

These adorable clips (and many many more) are made by Sweet Jane and can be found and purchased on her blog here:

And she has agreed to give away 2 clips of your choice to one of our lucky readers! Here's what you have to do to enter!
First go over to her blog and check it out! Then come back and leave a comment here telling us what your favorite clip is!
Giveaway ends Sun, December 13th at 11:59pm (mountain time).
Winner will be chosen using random.org and posted Monday morning.
If you are a winner email sweetjanebows@yahoo.com within 24 hours with your clip choice (you get to pick 2 clips from the ones she currently has on sell on her site) and the address where you want them sent.

To get extra entries do any of the following:

• become a follower of Sweet Jane's blog
• add Sweet Jane's button to your blog
• become a follower of Mommy Diaries
• blog about this giveaway or post it on facebook
• make a purchase on Sweet Jane's blog during the giveaway (3 extra entries!)

Make sure you let us know which of the above you did! And if you are already a follower of Sweet Jane or Mommy Diaries or you already have a button just let us know!
** We prefer that you only leave one comment including all your extra entries, but if you do leave more than one because you're switching between blogs or forgot to mention something, that's ok. We figure it all out in the end! :)

Good luck and remember to check again next week for our last Christmas giveaway!

Buckeyes

I don't know why, but in my house growing up these were always a Christmas treat. They aren't particularly Christmassy when I think of it logically, but as far as nostalgia goes, they will always mean Christmas to me.

1 1/4 C peanut butter
3/4 C butter (softened)
3 3/4 C powdered sugar
12 oz. chocolate chips
1/4 stick paraffin

Combine peanut butter, butter, and powdered sugar.
Chill.
Roll into balls. I like to make mine small. Think one bite. My mom's were always three bite sized. The point is: make them however big or small you want.
Melt chocolate chips with paraffin. This is to help the chocolate coating set and not melt as easily.
Coat the peanut butter ba... spheres in the melted chocolate.
Cool on wax paper. I like them after they have chilled in the refrigerator for a while.

a few of my favorite things.....

Crafting at Christmas.... oh boy, that list will never end. Christmas time seems to the be the time for everything, crafting, yummy food, giving gifts, family parties, etc. So, it was really hard to think of one craft to share with you all. I also feel a little guilty because for the past few months my crafts have been "copied" from other crafters around the blog-o-sphere. My apologies, I have very high hopes for myself come january. In the meantime, I wanted to share just a couple of some of my favorite little crafties for this month. If you click on the picture, it should link you to the tutorial.

A Christmas planner.... what a great idea. I have lists and lists and hidden lists all over my house, and receipts floating everywhere, this would really help me get a handle on things!

Isn't this a great idea for little gifts? Good clean fun. Hand sanitizer, all she did was rub the labels off, and add stickers and ribbon. Brilliant. And adorable!

These are little goodie bags with treats and Christmas tree toppers in them! So fun, and simple, especially if you are the scrapbook type and can make cute labels like this....

This is SUCH a great idea, and wonderful way to use up scraps of material! It makes a super cute, easy, fun, economical gift for ANY time of year. I made some towels for my kitchen to match my chairs i recovered and it was so easy and really pulls my kitchen together. Love it. And the coasters are awesome!

MERRY CHRISTMAS and happy crafting!!!

And The Winner Is....

Chalece!

Chalece said:

I have never been so excited about Christmas as I am this year. I love being a parent! I am planning so many fun Christmas-themed activities for my family, and I am so excited to see Brielle's face on Christmas morning. So, my favorite thing about Christmas this year is Brielle. I am a follower. I have your button on my blog. I blogged about the giveaway!Thanks, you girls are great.

Email Mommydiariesadmin@gmail.com to claim your prize within 24 hours!

Thanks to all who entered...stay tuned for Christmas Giveaway #2 coming soon!!!

Christmas Giveaway #1: 4-Piece Cookie Cutter Set

It's Christmastime and we want to thank you for a year full of great mommy moments here on Mommy Diaries! Each week for the next 3 weeks we will be giving something fun away to use with your kids...or save to put under the tree from you know who.

This week we're giving away a 4-piece cookie cutter set so you and the kids can make some fun cookies to share (or eat all yourself.) The set was donated by Cheap Cookie Cutters...a great place to find any possible cookie cutter you need. Don't believe us? Need a cookie cutter for any possible breed of dog? Looking to teach your child a geography lesson? Get any state cookie cutter...or all 50! Or if you can't find that Little Mermaid cookie cutter your daughter is begging for anywhere...you haven't checked their Disney cookie cutter selection.

The Christmas set we're giving away this week includes a candy cane, a stocking, an angel, and a christmas tree. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment and answer the following question:

What is your favorite thing about Christmas?

Is it the music? the family time? the suspense? the giving? the cookies?

(for me it's our Christmas Eve traditions)

Here are the giveaway rules:
Only ONE comment per person, additional comments will be deleted.
Giveaway ends Sunday, December 6th at 11:59pm (eastern time).
Winner will be chosen using random.org and posted Monday morning.
If you are a winner email MommyDiariesAdmin@gmail.com within 24 hours with the address where you want it sent.

Looking for extra entries? Here are some things you can do:
1 extra entry for becoming a follower (over there on the left!). If you leave a comment and you already follow then you automatically have an extra entry!
1 extra entry for adding our button to your blog. If you already have one just remind us in your comment.
And 1 more extra entry for blogging about the giveaway or putting it on your facebook status.

***If you do any of these things DON'T leave an additional comment. Just make sure you let us know in your 1st comment and we'll figure in all the extra entries at the end. (If you forget to mention any of these things or you do them after your first comment has already been posted, don't worry! Go ahead and leave another comment and we'll record your extra entries and then delete your second comment.)

Christmas Music

I love the Christmas season! We have had our tree decorated for over 2 weeks but we've just started listening to Christmas music. I get one Christmas cd every year. I'd like to know what your favorite Christmas cd is. I'd also like to know if you have some great children's Christmas music as well. My daughter loves to listen but some of them get boring for her. I love the Josh Groban Christmas cd, we got that one last year.

So, what do you love listening to during the holidays?