Hurry & sign in at P&G Everyday, then select Coupons & Samples.
Scroll down the page till you see By Mail, then click & select all the free samples & coupons you’d like to be mailed to you!
P&G does this ever quarter & it’s a fun easy way to try out their new products & get personalized coupons!
*If you aren’t seeing a submit button, press tab then enter at the end of the page.
The holidays are about giving & I came up with a few ways that couponers, specifically, might be able to give according to their cause, couponing, of course! What’s better than a Christmas with coupons?!
1. Go through your stockpile & donate extra goods to nearby shelters, food pantries, or needy families, etc. If this seems too big of a job for you, consider letting a few neighbors or friends swing by to look through your stock. Share your extras with them!
2. The end of the year is a great time to clean out your coupon collection. Play the ‘coupon fairy’ next time you go to the grocery store. Odds are are, you have a few (or more than a few) coupons you won’t need be using this month. Simply place unwanted coupons on the shelf by the product. As consumers pick up the product, they’ll find a nice surprise. You may some strangers a few extra bucks!
3. Unfortunately, coupons expire. Sometimes they expire before we get to use them. Instead of throwing these coupons away this December, I encourage you to send them to military overseas! You see, those military families bravely living overseas are allowed to use coupons up to 6 months past their expiration date. Why throw them away, when someone else could still be using them? The Krazy Coupon Lady provides information on how to go about this, here.
Still haven’t found a good fit for you & your coupons? Well, you could always wrap your gifts up in coupon inserts…that’s how my brother told me he was wrapping all my presents this year. Lucky me!
How do you & your family give back during the Holidays?
Although to most, the Twelve Days of Christmas is simply a December song, there are actually twelve days historically/religiously celebrated. This features festivities lasting twelve days long from Christmas Day, December 25, until Twelfth Night, January 6. They fall accordingly (some are major & more widely celebrated, while others are simply minor)-
December 25: The Feast of the Nativity (Major)
December 26: The Feast of St. Stephen (Major)
December 27: The Feast of St. John the Evangelist (Major)
December 28: The Feast of the Holy Innocents (Major)
Sunday after Christmas: The Feast of the Holy Family (Major)
December 29: The Feast of St. Thomas Becket (Minor)
December 31: The Feast of St. Sylvester I (Minor)
January 1: The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (Major)
January 2: The Feast of St. Basil the Great & St. Gregory Nazianzan (Minor)
January 3: The Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus (Major)
January 4: The Feast of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (Minor)
January 5: The Feast of St. John Neumann (Minor)
January 6: Epiphany (Major)
Wouldn’t it be fun to let the celebration linger a few days longer? Or maybe just one. I enjoyed learning all about these different traditions. I hope you do too. It’s always fun to learn about Christmas roots. Although we do not typically observe the days following Christmas as holidays, several others around the world do. I encourage to select the link & read up on one or two of these feasts. As my father always reminds me, no one’s too cultured. Enjoy! Happy Holydays!
** I have never celebrated the above feasts, etc. All information may not be 100% correct. If you do observe these holidays & see that I have made an obvious mistake, please please correct me. I would like to present this as truthfully as possible. Thank you!**
We all know there’s got to be some beginnings to the traditions we hold so dear during this season. Although, there may not be any unarguable cases, it’s very refreshing to get going in the right direction. Plus who doesn’t enjoy some Christmas history? It’ll bring much more meaning to your Holiday. Over the next couple weeks, I’ll be exploring some of these timeless customs. Today, specifically, I’ll share the truth about the infamous carol, the Twelve Days of Christmas.
Perhaps among the more popular Christmas carols, is the Twelve Days of Christmas. Ever wonder why anyone needed 11 pipers piping? I sure don’t expect to be receiving birds for Christmas either…
So what’s the deal with the excess number of geese you may ask? Well, truth be told, they aren’t really geese. Or pipers piping. Or any kinds of birds for that matter.
During the Reformation period, the Catholics saw a need for their children to be taught the doctrines of their faith. Since this was publicly prohibited (& resulted in gruesome death), a song with hidden meaning quickly became the supposed solution. My true love is actually referring to God & these are the twelve gifts He gave the world-
1. A Partridge in a Pear Tree: Jesus Christ Dying on the Cross
2. Two Turtledoves: The Old & New Testament
3. Three French Hens: The Three Vitrues, Faith, Hope, & Charity
4. Four Calling Birds: The Four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John
5. Five Golden Rings: The Pentateuch, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, & Deuteronomy
6. Six Geese-a-Laying: The Six Days of Creation
7. Seven Swans-a-Swimming: The Seven Sacraments, Seven Gifts of the Spirit
8. Eight Maids-a-Milking: The Beatitudes
9. Nine Ladies Dancing: The Fruits of the Spirit
10. Ten Lords-a-Leaping: The Ten Commandements
11. Eleven Pipers Piping: The Faithful Apostles/Disciples
12. Twelve Drummers Drumming: The Twelve Points of the Apostle’s Creed
This could be old news to you. Maybe you learned something; maybe I bored you half to death. Either way, it’s interesting & now you’ll know what your caroling was actually meant for! Happy Holidays y’all!
PS: Look out for Part II tomorrow! I’ll share what I’ve learned about the literal Twelve Days of Christmas. Wouldn’t that be nice? A 12 day long celebration rather than the 1 or 2 we now consider normal!
Need a cheap, easy, & quick way to spruce up your home for Christmas?
Or perhaps your mantle is a tad too drab this year?
Maybe you’re still looking for an adorable gift tag?
Well folks, I’ve got you covered! I’ve rounded up only the best from Pinterest. There’s even Elf on the Shelf varities! You’ll find some great Holiday printables below from some sweet sites who charge nothing! How great is that! Enjoy!
My favorites are the chalkboard printables. What are yours?
Not only is it already December, but Christmas is less than 2 weeks away!
I’m sure y’all must have assumed I was dead for the last month…if you happened to notice the blog was pretty much dead itself. Nothin’ goin on over here lately!
Sometimes, I just don’t want to do it. That was last month & that was okay. But now its halfway through December. So here I am!
Things have been crazy. You see my brother married this awesome lady, my amazing grandparents visited all the way from Missouri, then we had Thanksgiving. I learned to fry a turkey in the rain, I ventured out all night long Black Friday with my overly energetic Nana, & I spent the entire next week wrapping presents non-stop. Then it was finals week & now I am home, finally…despite running out of gas on the way home. I was a mile from Bucees. I could see it! Still, I ran out & Vera was vera unhappy (see what I did there?). The Progressive man brought me gas. He persistently reminded me, “E is for empty, honey, not enough.” Yes sir, I’ll remember that from now on. He was a nice old man till he tried to keep my debit card.
Via Cardstore – Free Shipping & all! This deal is going on today, 11/08/12, only. You may pick 10 of the same or mix & match from all Thanksgiving, Christmas, Holiday, Hanukkah & New Years cards. Code: CCN2433. That’s around $30.00 savings! Plus, if you have multiple email addresses, you may use them for to set up multiple accounts & apply this offer once per email address. This was too good to keep to myself! Tell me what pretty cards you picked out!
The first (busiest) shopping day of the Holiday Season, 16 days & counting! Woohoo!
Black Friday is just as traditional to my family as Turkey is on Thanksgiving. I’ve been tagging along with my Nana ever since I can remember. My mother doesn’t typically take part, but all the girls do & sometimes even the boys. I don’t ever buy huge electronics or fight with people for a pair of slippers; it’s just plain fun for me! Flipping through the Black Friday ads & planning our strategy is just as thrilling.
The day after Thanksgiving is christened ‘Black Friday,’ because it is typically the one day of the year that stores are in the black & out of the red. It is the one day where they exceed their average sales and finally profit. The occurrence is actually fairly recent, as this economic phenomena did happen until just 2003. Ever since, the sales have sky-rocketed on this day in comparison to regular shopping days. In fact, 2011 was actually the first year for several major retailers to open as early as midnight.
Originally, the term appeared around Philadelphia in the 60′s due to the insane traffic & was applied to both the Friday & Saturday after Thanksgiving. It carried a negative conjugation influenced by police men & drivers.
To see more history on Black Friday, see the article from Time Magazine.
In preparation, I’ve put together some of the top sites dedicated to Black Friday. They offer tips, post leaked ads, & announce special coupons. If you consider Black Friday a holiday, I strongly encourage you to take a look!
1. Brad’s Deals
2. Black Friday
3. BF Ads
5. Best Black Friday Deals 2012
If you have a good site, you usually consult prior to the festivities, please share in the comment & I’ll add it to the list! Anything in particular you’re shopping for this year?
I am thankful for Sonic today & my right to consume beverages that are 44 oz…not that I should be drinking that much Dr. Pepper, but some days I do. Join me in my creating a Thanksgiving Advent Calendar & tell me what you’re thankful for!?
(Yes, I did listen to Christmas music while writing this post.)
One day, far far in the future, when I have a beautiful house & a huge kitchen & a long wooden dining room table, I might cook a turkey. I might even cook it on Thanksgiving & feed lots of people in my home with it. However, that is not the way things work now. So I’m just dreaming. & in my dream, this is how I would do Thanksgiving…
Traditional Green Bean Casserole
Roasted Squash Cauliflower Soup
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Cinnamon Pecan Crunch
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. Maybe you picked up a new recipe or two for your table this year! Happy Turkey!
Today I am thankful for pinterest. Seriously, I get so much inspiration from browsing through Pinterest…I also waste lots of time. However, I gain countless new ideas (like all these recipes!) which makes up for it right?
Fall is here, really here now that we “fell back” an hour. What did you do with your extra hour?
After my post on all that wreath inspiration, I wanted to share my fall wreath. I made a mini one for my hideously ugly dorm room door. Anyhow, here are a few photos…
