“Christmas in Apple Ridge” Review

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for this review from Blogging for Books. All opinions expressed are my own.

You all know by now that I am a fan of Amish fiction, and Cindy Woodsmall is one of my favorite authors for this genre. Christmas in Apple Ridge is a collection of three novellas: The Sound of Sleigh Bells, The Christmas Singing and (new!) The Dawn of Christmas. When my book arrived, I was a little overwhelmed at how thick this book is and thought I would get bored by the end.

Ornament Round Up

I am definitely not the type to have an elaborate, coordinated Christmas tree…I love having random ornaments that we have collected over the years. I especially love the ornaments we have made! Here’s a round up of some of those ornaments (hover over the picture for a description, and click the picture to be taken to the link):

Star Wars Finger Puppets

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Now, we’re making the transition to Christmas and it’s time to start planning presents for all of our loved ones…

If you have a Star Wars fan on your Christmas list, I highly recommend making them Star Wars finger puppets…how cute are these?!

   

I bought the pattern from The Idea Room for $4. My husband happened to be at the store and bought me a bunch of felt. Sheets of felt are so cheap that when all is said and done, this is a very affordable gift and will provide hours of entertainment.

I did make most of the bodies longer because I made these for my dad and the bodies are a bit short to stay on grown up’s fingers.

My favorites were R2-D2 and the Ewok!

"The First Christmas Night" review & giveaway (ends 12/2/13)

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in hopes of a review on my blog. All opinions expressed are my own.

 I love having special books to pull out during the holidays to help reinforce in my children the reason we celebrate. "The First Christmas Night" by Keith Christopher and illustrated by Christine Kornacki is a perfect book to add to your bookshelf this holiday season!

Simplify the Holidays with Cardstore

I participated in an Ambassador Program on behalf of Mom Central Consulting (#MC) for Cardstore. I received complimentary cards and a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

Honestly, I was seriously considering skipping sending out Christmas cards this year. We get very few cards from friends and family each year, and I think that is due to the frequent use of social media in this day and age. Christmas newsletters are hard to write when all of my friends have seen our regular updates throughout the year online. For me, in past years, the effort, time and cost of Christmas card seemed to outweigh any benefits associate with sending out those cards. Plus, I hate licking envelopes!