A Simple Christmas

It's All in the Money

2007-03-01T10:44:00.000-06:00

If you're like me, you are always looking for ways
to save money in all areas of your life. One way
is to download FREE eBooks through Giveaways
that are going on almost constantly. Currently,
there is one that also includes books with Vegetarian
recipes and Natural Herbs. Learning how to cook
Vegetarian and using Natural Herbs can save you
money and help you be healthier (more on these
subjects later).

One thing that's nice about these books is that they
are PLR products which means you can rewrite
them, put your name on them, turn around and sell
or give them away. Giving away eBooks is a great
way to add customers to your list if you're trying
to develop an online business.

There are a lot of ebooks just for the taking. For the
current Giveaway, (including over 150 eBooks) go here:
http://giveaway.theplrvault.com/go/130 This one
only lasts for seven more days - so surf on over and
check it out!

Happy Surfing!

Save Money in Other Areas of Your Life

2007-01-25T10:57:00.000-06:00

Saving money in a favorite pasttime of mine. I will check sales and prices to get the best deal. Some of my favorite shopping places are Goodwill and Salvation Army. I've found many good deals there. If you know how to look through the clothes, you can pick up name brand items for next to nothing. There's a book called, Secondhand Chic that gives specific information on how to find these treasures. Click on the following link to see sample pages.

Also, check my Fashion Page and sign up for the FREE ebook "Wardrobe Capsule" to learn the basics of creating Wardrobe Capsules which will save you money on clothes and stretch your wardrobe so everything goes with everything else and each outfit you put together will look great on you.

Start Now to Have a Simple Christmas in 2007

2007-01-05T02:00:00.000-06:00

Have you ever waited until after Christmas to shop for gifts? Most stores put their Christmas items (gift boxes, decorations . . .) on sale starting the day after Christmas. Usually, they are 50% off. After about a week, a lot of stores will mark them down to 75% off. If you don't mind looking through items that are well picked over, now is the time to find some awesome bargains.

In order for this to be profitable, tho, you will need an area in your home to store the gifts you purchase now to save them for Christmas. You will also need some way of reminding yourself what you have purchased and who the gift is for. One idea is to purchase an inexpensive recipe or card holder and write the gift name and recipients name on a card and file it in the box. Just remember to keep the card file where you can find it and remember to check it once in a while.

Throughout the year, you can check sales and purchase items all year long to eliminate the money crunch that is usually associated with Christmas. Remember to write the item and recipients name on a card and put it in your little card file.

Many times, I have purchased my lights or decorations after Christmas for the following year. However, I am not one to wait, so will put them out in the current year to enjoy for a while before putting away all or most of the decorations. In our house, the lights stay up year round as they are too difficult to take down and put back up each year. One of our walls is sixteen feet high and I have

a string of large light bulbs going across it and arching up toward the center (approx 15' high) so I really don't want to have to take those down. They've been up for several years now.

Wrapping paper is one of the best things to buy after Christmas. It keeps well if you don't crunch it and I feel most of it is way too expensive anyway, but I don't mind buying it at 75% off. This year I did buy some paper at regular prices as I decided to wrap all the presents in red, white and blue to match the decorations. I'm including a picture for your enjoyment.

The only problem with taking so much time to wrap the presents just so, is right after I finished and got dinner started, we opened the presents. Usually, they are wrapped at least a day or two ahead so we can enjoy the colors . . . but this year was different. We were in a hurry to get to the ski slopes to do some downhill skiing on manmade snow.

Our Simple Christmas

2007-01-01T09:40:00.000-06:00

We had a simple Christmas in 2006. There was not a lot of extra money for presents, so I just purchased small items for my family. The most I spent on one gift was less than $20 except for the item I fogot to send in the rebates for.

Most of my money went for decorations. Our living room is usually decorated in blue and white with the greenery, but since my son was here during the holidays (he loves the patriotic colors - as I also do), I decided to add red to my blue and white and it turned out awesome. We used several clear or kind of clear decorations so the lights would show through. The top of the tree is a lighted star and smal flag.

Then I decided to wrap the presents in red, white and blue. They turned out really cool. Please check the website www.a-simple-christmas.com for more ideas for a simple Christmas in 2007.

Happy New Year 2007

2006-12-31T18:36:00.000-06:00

Hi,

All the previous posts have the same date as I copied
them from the old blog - changing to this site.
2006 has been a very busy year for me - working part
time out of the home and always workng on online
projects - nothing really producing much yet, tho.

I made several changes in hosting for my web sites and
blogs. Hope you find them interesting.

I've also been very busy with church projects. This year
I started playing piano for song service and church
services. It has been a very rewarding and positive
experience. December had me leading the song, so
I used just about every Christian Christmas song in
the hymnal and tried to keep a single theme for each
week.

I will keep working on the Simple Christmas site through-
out the year and maybe by next Christmas there will be
loads and loads of craft and gift ideas.

Have a great New Year!
www.a-simple-christmas.com
www.thecampersnook.com
www.galimited/fashionpage.html

This Year 2006

2006-12-31T18:33:00.000-06:00

Hi,

Wow, this year has gone by so fast. First, I started
working at a local drug store developing film and
haven't had much time to work on my online businesses.
However, I hope to change that. In the spring, we started
a Pathfinder club at our church and the next several
months just flew by with working and Pathfinder activities.
My family also went camping several times. I started a
Camping site to help others with their camping trips - just
didn't get very far on it yet. You can view it here
www.thecampersnook.com.

Today, I'm sitting at my computer looking out the window
at the snowfall. The wind is blowing, the trees are swaying
and the snow is coming down almost sideways - BIG flakes
that flutter in front of the window. It's so cool - literally - about
30 degrees outside. I'm trying to stay inside where it's sort
of warm - listening to Christmas music.

The Christmas site will be updated in the next few days and
as often as I can get to it - to share decorations, gifts, crafts
and any other ideas I come across. Be sure to check back
often to see the new items - here or on the site.
www.a-simple-christmas.com

Here's wishing each of you a special holiday this year.
Donna

Happy New Year 2006

2006-12-31T18:32:00.000-06:00

Hi,
Were your holidays special? We had fun with the
family together. All the boys were home for about a day.
We are well into a new year and I have a lot of projects
going. Right after Christmas my second site was published.
You can check it here: www.galimited.com/fashionpage.html.
There is a free mini ebook if you sign up on the web page.
The A Simple Christmas page has been updated some.
It will be updated more in the near future. Please check both
pages out. Maybe you'll find something of interest to you.
Thanks for listening and I hope this year is going good for
you so far.

Creating Cool Projects our of "Junk"

2006-12-31T18:30:00.000-06:00

I was watching HGTV several last year and on
Decorating Cents, Joan Steffend always has a
"Trash to Treasure" section. One of the items was
a curio cabinet made from an old cabinet that had
a missing door. A new door was made from a
window with small panels, a fancy handle and top
added to hang over the new door. It was a pretty cool
item and they said it cost less than $10 to make. Click
on the link to see a picture of the finished project - http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/dc_refurbish_other/article/0,,HGTV_3488_1390882,00.html
There are a lot of projects you can make for gifts using
items around your house or really inexpensive items
found at garage sales, flea markets or auctions. They
even mentioned digging through garbage bins. I don't
think I'd do that, but I have found several things at garage
sales that can be redesigned for a special item without
costing a lot.
Remember to check our site www.a-simple-christmas.com

Welcome to A Simple Christmas

2006-12-31T18:26:00.000-06:00

I don't know about you, but last year we had a
very slim Christmas in reference to spending money
or gifts. This was not our first year in this situation so
I thought it would be a nice to set up a website
that would give others in a similar situation ideas to
have a great Christmas without spending a lot of money.
There are many things you can do to make
Christmas special without lots of money. With the site
www.a-simple-christmas.com , I hope to share many
inexpensive ideas for crafts, gifts, food and recreation.
There will be lots of links to other sites that have good
information. One year I found about a 4' long birch log
and drilled holes in it. For 12 days we lit candles adding
one each day and read a little devotion. By Christmas
day, all the candles were lit and it was a spectacular
site. The boys were young and seemed to enjoy
this special time.

Do you have a story to tell or experience you’d like
to share? Email me at galimited@citlink.net and I’ll
add your tip to the blog.

You can visit the site at:
www.a-simple-christmas.com