A monthly online magazine chock-full of insightful articles for busy mothers.

by Denise Willms

Are you looking for the ideal gift for your grandparents this year – one that will tell them how much you appreciate everything they do for you, and that will bless them as much as they’ve blessed you this year?

Gift-giving for grandparents can be difficult. They usually have everything they need. Possibly, they live in a small home or condo and don’t have room for another knick-knack that announces them as the world’s greatest grandparent. Even though you know they’ll love anything you give them, you would like it to be something that touches them in a meaningful way.

Here are some gifts I’ve given my grandparents over the years, when time and cash are in short supply.

1. Compile a scrapbook of their lives, or of a special event in their lives. Ask other family members for photos you can include. Older people will enjoy poring over the photos and the memories, and will think of you every time they do.

2. Do a little research and write down their life story. I did this for my Grandma one year, and she still talks about that gift every time I see her. She has also shared it with all her friends and other family members.

3. Give a gift certificate to your grandparent’s favorite store, along with a promise of taking them on the shopping trip. If it’s hard for them to get out, they may not like to ask for help, but they will appreciate the offer.

4. Invite your grandparent to a special Christmas tea, where they’re the guest of honor. Have friends and family talk about their memories of times spent with your grandparent.

5. Just spend a day with them, doing things they enjoy. One day, my daughter and I visited my Grandma for a day of bread-baking. She still remembers that day fondly. Grandparents are often lonely and think their grandchildren are too busy to spend time with them. The gift of your time will be valued and remembered for a long time to come.

Would you like to enjoy a meaningful, peace-filled Christmas this year? Denise’s Christmas e-book, Saving Christmas, has 30 Christmas ideas, tips and stories that will help you do exactly that, and comes with bonuses to share with family and friends all year long. Visit http://SavingChristmasBook.com to download your copy and start planning a Christmas you and your family will want to remember for a lifetime.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

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by Shelly Hill

During the holiday season, we like to entertain friends and family members here at our home. Along with our traditional holiday spread of delicious food, I like to serve a cranberry holiday punch.

You will need to purchase a large punch bowl and punch cups to serve the following recipes. You can use traditional flavored ice as explained at the end of each recipe or you can make an ice ring mold to keep your punch cold.

How To Make An Ice Ring Mold:

Making a punch bowl ice ring is really easy. Buy an inexpensive gelatin ring mold, fill the mold with punch juice and freeze for several hours. Remove the ice mold from the ring and add it to your punch bowl before pouring in the punch juice. Making an ice ring mold from punch juice keeps your party punch from getting watered down, which is what would happen if you use traditional ice.

Cranberry Mixed Fruit Punch

1 quart bottle 7-Up soda
1 pint cranberry cocktail
12 ounce can frozen lemonade concentrate
12 ounce can frozen pineapple concentrate
1 quart raspberry sherbet

In a large punch bowl, combine all of the above ingredients together in the order that they are given. All ingredients should be chilled or cold before placing into the punch bowl.

Punch Bowl Ice: Take 4 ice cube trays and purchase an additional bottle of cranberry juice. Pour juice into the ice cube trays and freeze. Use cranberry ice in your punch bowl so that your punch doesn’t get watered down.

Cranberry Apple Punch

1 large bottle cranberry juice
1 large bottle apple juice
12 ounce can frozen lemonade concentrate
6 ounce can frozen pineapple juice concentrate
6 ounce can frozen grapefruit juice concentrate
2 liter bottle lemon-lime soda

Pour all ingredients together into a large punch bowl in the order that they are given in the recipe. All ingredients should be chilled or cold before placing into the punch bowl.

Punch Bowl Ice: Take 4 ice cube trays and purchase an additional bottle of apple juice. Pour juice into the ice cube trays and freeze. Use apple ice in your punch bowl so that your punch doesn’t get watered down.

Shelly Hill has been working from home in Direct Sales since 1989 and is a Manager with Tupperware. Shelly enjoys cooking and baking and entertaining her friends and family during the holidays. You can visit Shelly online at her Shakin ‘N Bakin blog at http://wahmshelly.blogspot.com for additional free recipes.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Thanksgiving Day Greeting Cards from Tiny Prints

by Tammy Paquin

We don’t leave the house on Christmas and the grandparents frequently come over to watch the boys open their presents. I don’t want to have to spend lots of time in the kitchen on Christmas morning, so I’ve been able to pull together some recipes which are prepped the night before and only require a few minutes the next morning. Obviously, these aren’t just for Christmas morning, but any morning that you’d like to have a nice, easy breakfast with minimum kitchen time!

Overnight Coffee Cake
1/3 cup softened butter
½ cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
1 beaten egg
1 cup flour
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
½ tsp cinnamon
½ cup buttermilk

Topping:
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup pecans (or use oatmeal)
¼ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Cream the butter and sugars together. Add the egg; mix well. Mix remaining dry ingredients and add to the creamed mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Beat well. Spread into a greased 8” pan.

Mix the topping ingredients together and sprinkle over the batter.

Cover and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, remove it from the refrigerator for about 15 minutes and in the meantime, preheat the oven to 350f. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Overnight Cinnamon Raisin French Toast

2 TBS butter
5 Golden Delicious Apples, sliced
¼ cup brown sugar
3 TBS apple juice (water is okay, too)
1 loaf of cinnamon/raisin bread
3 cups milk
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
10 large eggs
1 TBS additional butter
2 TBS sugar

Melt 2 TBS of butter in skillet and cook apples about 20 minutes until golden. Add apple juice (water) last minute.
Grease 3-4 qt or 13”X9” baking pan. Arrange ½ of the bread slices in pan, overlapping slightly. Mix the milk, salt, cinnamon and eggs really well. Pour half of egg mixture over bread. Reserve ¼ of the apple slices, and then spread the remaining apple mix over the bread in an even layer. Arrange remaining bread in another layer, and then pour the remaining egg mixture over that. Press the bread gently, if needed, to help it absorb the egg mixture. Dot the top with the 1 TBS of butter and sprinkle on sugar. Cover and chill overnight.

Bake the next day at 325f, uncovered for 50 to 55 minutes or until knife comes out clean. Reheat reserved apple mixture and spoon over the top of the French toast as it’s served.

Tammy Paquin is a work from home mom of 3 boys. She is the publisher of Frugal-Families, a site devoted to frugality, budgeting, simple and thrifty living, homesteading and helping everyone stretch their hard-earned dollars. For another overnight breakfast recipe check out,Frugal Families More Overnight Breakfasts:

Make Ahead Breakfast Recipes

Cooks Breakfast Overnight

More Overnight Breakfasts

By Tammy Paquin

Despite recent predictions that we’re coming out of the recession, I know many people are still struggling. Holidays like Christmas where there is financial pressure to spend money on stuff makes it hard for people to find the joy in giving so instead of looking at these situations as a burden on your wallet, look at them as an opportunity to give from your heart.

Think of your talents-Do you scrap book? Do wood working? Do you quilt, knit or do other crafts? Do you make jams, jellies or other preserves? Are you a car buff? Do you have an eye for details? Think of creating presents with your talents! Truthfully, anyone who puts down a homemade and thoughtful present isn’t worthy of receiving them.

• Scrapbookers- Giving grandparents a page of scrapbooked pictures set into an inexpensive frame is thoughtful and I can think of many grandparents who always complain of never having updated pictures. Down the road, you could give them an expandable storage book for their outdated pages. How about scrapbooking your cherished family recipes for your children?

• Quilters and/or sewers-Create gifts with those talents! I found a pattern for quilted checkbook covers. They were fast, easy and allowed me to personalize them for each recipient (cat fabric for my cat loving friend). I’m not much of a sewer but even I was able to make flannel pajama bottoms for my boys.

• Knitters/crocheters- My Great Gram always used to knit mittens for us. She would also make us hats and scarves. I still have a pair of double-yarn mittens she made me over 40 years ago. They’re now stashed safely in my closet but I still think fondly of how warm they were and how much I loved wearing them and loved my Gram for making them for me. Who can’t appreciate a homemade present like that?

• Car person-I know it’s not as easy as it used to be to work on cars but thankfully, oil changes are still generally a do-it-yourself deal. If you’re still into changing your own oil, considering giving coupons to your friends or family to change THEIR oil as a present (note that it’s for labor only and the recipient still has to buy the supplies). I know I would LOVE getting a practical present like that!

• Eye for detail? –My mother-in-law has pretty much everything she wants or needs. My husband has an eye for detail-detailing cars that is. He gave his mom the gift of a car detailing. He spent about 5 hours washing, waxing and detailing her car and she was thrilled. Keep in mind that a present like this would cost over $100 at a detailing shop. If you have an eye for detailing homes (you’re good at cleaning) how about offering coupons for housekeeping services? I know come spring time, I’d love an extra pair of hands for spring cleaning.

• Baker/cook- My sister-in-law was a really busy woman with three young boys, finishing her teaching certificate and working almost full time. I gave her a gift basket full of homemade frozen cookie dough logs, homemade dry baking mixes (similar to those layered jar mixes where you just add the wet ingredients) and two bags of store bought gourmet coffees. I told her that I was giving her the gift of time with her boys. She could take one of the frozen cookie dough logs out of the freezer in the morning and put it in the fridge and then that evening, she could make a cup of coffee, make cookies with her boys and enjoy spending time with them (without the hassle of trying to follow a recipe and mix dough with three youngsters trying to “help”). She loved the gift! Think about what you can make or bake along the same lines. You could make bread dough that could be frozen and used the same way. Be creative.

• Gardeners-How about sharing saved seeds with your favorite gift-recipient? How about offering up your time during planting season? Personally, I’d love coupons offering to tend my garden when I go camping for a week. A gift basket with coupons for garden tending saved heirloom seeds, homemade row markers and a fresh set of garden gloves would be loved by any gardener!

I’ve given you just a sampling of how you can put your talents to work creating thoughtful, relatively inexpensive and practical presents for the holidays. What talents do you have? What can you do? Before you go out and buying something and spend a bunch of money, think on how you can create those thoughtful gifts first. I think you’ll find that during these tough economic times, practical, thoughtful gifts from the heart are more appreciated than ever before.

Tammy Paquin is a work-from-home mom of 3 boys and the owner and publisher of Frugal-Families [1], an online resource for frugality, finances, budgeting and everything else related to stretching the dollar. For more ideas on practical, thoughtful and inexpensive gifts visit, Thoughtful, Practical and Inexpensive gifts [2]