It’s been a busy and fun past 12 months. Posts that I wrote last January seem like a lifetime ago so it’s been fun looking back over so many of these top posts of 2014.

The number 1 most popular post this year blew all the others out of water. Can you guess what it is?

I have a second post coming up highlighting the most popular recipes from 2014 – and there are some good ones.

13. How to Organize Owner’s Manuals

This genius idea come from my mom. Our manuals, receipts, instructions are no longer shoved into a file cabinet or random drawers. This makes it so much easier:

12. When Surviving is the Only Option

Encouragement for those times when our life circumstances are not going to change. Maybe there’s been illness or loss or suffering. When life isn’t going to change our heart and attitudes might have to.

11. 5 Minute Pick Up

It’s crazy how messy even 2 kids can make the house. 5 minutes (or 15 if it’s super messy) can make such a difference. Less clutter = less stress for this mom.

10. Meal Ideas for a Date Night at Home

Sometimes it isn’t feasible to leave the house for a date. Make a special meal for you and your spouse after the kids are in bed or make a restaurant quality meal for the entire family.

9. The Secret to Financial Success

Budgeting. It’s made a world of difference in our finances and our family. Having a plan for our money helps us not get into money arguments and enables us to meet goals a lot faster.

8. Reading List for 2014

I love finding new reading material and I guess you do too. I have to admit, I didn’t get near as much read last year as I wanted so many of these are still on my list.

7. Tips for Eating Wheat Free on a Budget

We did a wheat free period to try and help my son’s eczema (and determined the dry winter weather is what makes it flare up the worst). These are suggestions for how to eliminate wheat from your diet without your family protesting and without breaking the budget.

6. 20 Whole30 Breakfast Recipes

We complete our first Whole30 in 2014 and breakfasts for the hardest for me to plan for. Here is a great list of healthy breakfast recipes whether you are planning a Whole30 or not.

5. 16 Whole30 Soup Recipes

I think a lot of us are looking for healthier options to put on the table. I love soups because they make awesome leftovers.

3. Christmas Presents on a Budget

There is so much pressure to put the emphasis on presents at Christmas time. What do you do if you don’t have the money (or simply choose not to to spend a lot)? Here are some great ideas to keep your Christmas spending down as you plan for next year.

2. How to Go from Surviving to Thriving

This struck a cord with a lot of readers. Our lives are busy and things happen that we don’t plan and we find ourselves in survival mode and it’s not fun.

1. How to Drastically Reduce Your Grocery Budget

The most read, most commented on, most pinned post ever on this blog. Groceries are something we all have to buy yet we all want to save money on. These tips are how I keep our grocery budget low without using coupons and while buying real food.

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Peppermint hot fudge sauce. It’s no secret I love ice cream. I have no problems eating it year round but in case there are crazy people in your family who think you shouldn’t eat it this time of year, make this hot fudge sauce! Anything with peppermint is meant to be eaten in the winter, right?

Drizzle it over a bowl of vanilla ice cream or add a brownie and make a peppermint brownie fudge sundae. This would be the perfect, easy dessert to finish off your holiday meals. We are already spending so much time in the kitchen cooking up elaborate feasts, keep dessert simple and delicious.

I’ve tried making hot fudge sauce with sucanat. The first time it turned out great. I made it again and it was a complete flop. Thought it was a fluke and made it again a few months later. It bombed on me again. I gave up at that point. If you have an amazing (and fool proof) recipe using unrefined sweeteners pass it on! In the meantime, I’m using the not as good stuff. But I make it using no corn syrup, so I figure it’s a little better.

You could also drizzle this into your cup of coffee or hot chocolate for a yummy peppermint twist.

 

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My daughter is almost 4 this Christmas and I’m finding this age such a fun one to shop for. They have vivid imaginations, love to try new things, and do what grown ups do. They are getting more independent and will play the same thing for long periods of time. It’s wonderful!

Presents that encourage kids to play, use their imaginations, and stretch them to learn new things are my type of gift over more gimmicky or electronic ones. One of my other key points when it comes to gift shopping is quality over quantity!

Most of these my daughter has and a few more she’s getting for Christmas this year. I love that brother will be able to grow into them in the next year.

Gift Ideas for Preschoolers:

Play Tunnel

We’ve had one of these for over a year now, and in the last month my daughter has been playing with this constantly! It’s a “slide”, part of a fort, tornado, and whatever else she comes up with.

Play Tent

This is one thing our daughter is getting for Christmas this year. I think she’s going to love it! A little house, reading nook, fort, castle. I see it getting lots of use!

There are SO many cute options!

Floor Puzzles

Some kids don’t enjoy puzzles, but if yours do these giant floor puzzles are a lot of fun. We have several of them and they are frequently put together on the kitchen floor (and then are treated as a dance floor by little brother).

Dress Up Clothes

You can find themed dress up clothes on Amazon or check out the local thrift stores for fancy dresses, shawls, bow ties, top hats etc. But together a bin full of dress up clothes and it will be something they will use for years to come (especially if you buy real clothes from the thrift store)! We had dress up clothes growing up and they got used to shreds!

Sheets and Clothespins

Not for their beds, but rather for some epic fort building. We spent countless hours building forts inside and out growing up and at least once a week my daughter is building forts in our house. She makes little ones with the coffee table or asks me for help making ones that take up a good portion of the living room.

Flashlight

Kids are obsessed with flashlights and they are the perfect accessory to a fort or for exploring.

Building Blocks

Some kids do the block thing and other don’t, but they are a classic toy to have around. They can build cities and roads or towers to knock over.

Lego Duplo Blocks

These are more stable for little hands (but not as fun to topple over 🙂 ) We have a couple of sets of these that the kids cycle through playing.

Painting Supplies

Painting. Kids like anything kind-of messy in my experience. Having their own supplies is a lot of fun. They’ll sit and paint away. Having it be a present makes them ruining the paint and going through countless sheets of paper not quite so painful.

 

Workbooks

My daughter is obsessed with these things. She goes through them so quickly I’d be broke trying to keep up with her. She loves them, and views them as fun not school so they make a great present. I won’t have to limit how many pages she does a day when it’s a gift either.

Grocery Cart

Both of my kids push their little grocery cart around the house. They go grocery shopping, use it to move clothes from the dyer, or carry around toys and books.

Doll Stroller

Again, I think things with wheels are fun. Put a doll, stuffed animal, or other object in there and they have a blast. Getting to push it down the sidewalk is even better.

Baking Supplies

My daughter LOVES to help in the kitchen. When she turned three, one of her presents was a little silicone spatula, some recipes she could make, and the ingredients to make them. She loved it! Purchase real products they can actually use and the ingredients you don’t normally buy. They will feel pretty cool whipping up there own batch of mini muffins or cupcakes or decorating cookies they made with their stuff. My daughter still asks for “her spatula”.

 

Books

Reading. We love books in our house and spend lots of time on the couch reading a lot. Find good books to add to your stash. These are just a few of the many books we have, but my daughter seems to bring these out frequently to read.

Play-Doh

Something else my daughter loves to get out and spend long periods of time playing with. Colors get mixed, my rolling pin and cookie cutters get brought out along with plastic animals so they can make foot prints. Play-Doh dries out so they will always need new stuff! You can even make your own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are your favorite gift ideas for preschoolers?

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Finding the perfect gift for someone isn’t easy. Then you hit certain ages and it’s near impossible. Teenage years are tough and boys might just be harder to buy for than girls.

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My sisters already helped me out putting together a  great gift guide for teenage girls  and today we are tackling the guys. My brother and his friend gave their input as to what they would actually enjoy receiving and we put together a great list of gift ideas for teenage boys.

Gift giving all comes down to knowing the recipient, especially as they get older and have more specific likes and dislikes. Use this list as a guideline and if you want a little extra guidance ask a parent, friend, or sibling who would know their tastes! And don’t forget, make sure you stick to your budget!

Gift Cards to places like:

Target, Game Stop, i-tunes, or  Amazon

Gift Cards to Sporting Stores.

Zumiez for skateboarders, Academy, Sport’s Authority, and specialty stores for bowling, skating, hockey and other sports.

A Box Full of Edibles.

Put candy, snacks, and junk food into a box and wrap it up! They’ll love having a stash of goodies to dig into. Favorite beverages, chips, candy, energy or protein bars, nuts, chocolates. (Okay, even I would like this one. 🙂 )

Restaurant Gift Cards.

Continuing with the last theme of food, gift cards to the teens favorite restaurants, coffee shops, cafes. Sometimes it’s nice to hang out with your friends and get a bite to eat without spending your own money. The caveat to this idea is that if the teens parents take them out to eat all the time and give them money for eating out with friends, this gift would be a little lame.

Logo Items of Favorite Sports Teams.

Think of their favorite pro sports teams (baseball, football, basketball, soccer, hockey etc), college and even high schools teams.

Sporting Accessories.

A lot of teens have sports they love to participate in. Give them the gear that they might still need. Gloves for the skateboarder, new bearings, new glove or batting gloves for the baseball player. Ski goggles or gloves for the skier. Whatever sport they are into, they most likely need (or want) some new gear.

New Game for Their Gaming System

Once again, you’ll need to know their tastes (and even more importantly what gaming system they have). You can ask a parent or sibling what games they already have.

Pet Supplies.

If the guy is an animal lover, buy food, toys, habitat accessories etc for their animal. Or even give them money for a new pet.

Books.

If he’s a book lover, give him something  new to read. The consensus is to be sure you know if they like to read. I love reading and spent many hours growing up with my nose in a book. Neither my brother or his friend would like getting books though.

Music.

If he’s a music lover, you can buy cds, mp3 files or music accessories such as  speaker docks or  arm band. Are you seeing a common thread here? First you have to know if the teenager even likes music and then you have to know their taste in music. If you don’t know the guy well enough, once again enlist the parent’s help.

No Clothes (except Sport’s Gear).

As a rule, avoid clothes! Those aren’t things most teenage guys are going to be interested in, unless, of course, it’s a jersey from their favorite sports team.

Hopefully these ideas will help your shopping this year and at least give you a few gift ideas for the teenage boys in your life!

What gift ideas do you have for the teenage guys in your life?

Don’t forget to check out the  gift guide for teenage girls and gift ideas for a 2 year old!

And I have 11 Tips for Christmas Presents on a Budget and a post on De-Emphasizing Gifts this Christmas you might want to read!

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