Best Holiday Gifts for Kids Missions

Looking for a great Christmas giving opportunity? Operation Christmas Child is a charitable giving outreach ministry of Samaritan's Purse. Each year around Thanksgiving, thousands of boxes are shipped to domestic and foreign missions. Here's a list of items to put in your Operation Christmas Child holiday gift box. If you missed this giving opportunity, don't worry. Many churches and groups fill boxes for needy kids. These tips apply to local or overseas missions. Use this list to purchase gifts for any toy or gift donation. Gift suggestions are standard to most charity protocol. Christian families, consider using toy donations part of your offeratory. Catholics, remember, Advent is a penitential season; we're required to practice prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Childrens' missions make perfect holiday almsgiving opportunities. Many Jewish families participate in Hanukkah giving. Muslim families, if you participate with toy drives, be sure to check if gift donations are zakat-eligible. I can't speak for all Islamic centers but many in Detroit partner with area missions or have their own giving opportunities for Muslim holiday observances. Read more Best Gifts to Fill Your Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child Box

Black Friday Sales Alternative--Cyber Monday Online Shopping

Cyber Monday is the biggest online shopping event of the holiday season. It's probably the biggest online shopping event of the entire year. Save time, headaches and gas money. Skip the post-Thanksgiving Black Friday madness. You can enjoy the safer and more peaceful online shopping of Cyber Monday. Check out cellphone deal finder apps and browse in your jammies. Online shopping can be challenging, though. Every store and merchandiser is vying for your shopping dollar. They ply you with coupons, free shipping and "great deals." How do you navigate the ocean of internet commerce? Here's your shopper's guide to Cyber Monday deals.  read more

Cheap, parent-friendly kids' birthday party tips

As a mom to four kids, ages 24 to 14, I've planned a plethora of kids' parties. I'm also a teacher and I've hosted numerous classroom events. There are some misconceptions among parents, about what kids do and don't want for parties (and gifts). Bottom line is, they're not selfish and hard to please, IF, they aren't taught to be. Planning parties, I've had some great successes and colossal fails. From those experiences, I've compiled a list of tips for parents on planning kids' parties. Being a frugalista, these hints focus on cheap, homemade party ideas. My kids' friends still remember my parties as being tons of fun (it's my secret that most only cost me about $10 to put on!) Cheap, parent-friendly kids' birthday party tips

At-home preschool dramatic play learning center

 As a special needs and former Montessori teacher, my classrooms have always been organized on the learning center principle. Learning centers are rotational play areas were children perform tasks related to specific content areas: math, reading, science, art, practical life, dramatic play. When I had children, I imported the learning center philosophy into my home. The play room was set up like a modified preschool classroom. Got toddler or preschool age kids? I highly recommend setting up learning centers. If you're homeschooling, learning centers are a must. Here's how this Montessori mom designed an at-home dramatic play area. Easy at-home ideas, plus shopping tips for your budding thespian's play area. Montessori mom: At-home preschool dramatic play learning center 

Top 10 (plus a Few) Gift Ideas for Teenage Boys

Let me preface this article by saying that I have two sons, one husband and four brothers, so I have Christmas shopped for teen boys for about 25 years or so! The style of gift they ask for has changed over the years, for teen boys, as technology changes, but the content has stayed very much the same! Top presents for teen boys

How We Got Cheap Wedding Rings (Romantically) Under $200

 When we got married, my husband and I paid for our wedding and reception. To cut costs, we looked for cheap wedding rings. For less than $200 we bought an engagement ring, woman's wedding ring and man's wedding ring. Here's how.  read more

Best Grandparents Day Gifts

With Grandparents Day approaching, the buzz is on the best gifts. This article was written for Mother's Day and lists outside-the-box (and envelope) gift-giving ideas. The concepts apply to Grandparents Day gifts, too. There's a lot of competition for our gift-giving buck. Stores and vendors are ripe with advice about what mom supposedly wants. That's why families should think heart (as in gifts from the) and smart.

Speaking of smart, for Mother's Day shopping (and Grandparents Day, thinking inductively) the best tips I found come from Denver Post $MART columnist Amber Johnson. Johnson surveyed moms about what they wanted most. Essentially, the consensus was to dial down the spending and pay attention to the individual mom's preferences. I'd add skip the three Cs (cards, candy and cut flowers). If you want to send a card, don't buy one. Use free printable greeting cards from my blog. And for shopping, use this advice for grandparent gifts, too. Mother's Day Gifts