Atomic Mama » Holiday Planning

Last Minute Holiday Gift Ideas

Christine — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 21:57:22 +0000

Are you still not finished with your holiday shopping? Do you need some quick – yet – thoughtful ideas for your family, friends and maybe even co-workers? Well you’ve come to the right place! First off you should really check out my Guide to Holiday Gift Guides where I list a few of the best gift guides I’ve found online (written by people I personally know and trust too)! Here are some other awesome ‘last minute’ holiday gifts:

Homemade gift baskets are a great way to give thoughtful yet economical gifts to family members and friends. The key to giving this type of gift is to know the recipient or have little basket-stuffers that almost everyone could use. Sample-sized or free items come to the rescue here. If you’re putting together a relaxation or pampering basket, you may want to grab this free gift, recipe, coupons, and guide from Veria.

Into crafting and scrapbooking? Check out these simple and easy holiday gifts by Tami Morrison! You can also create a beautiful Angel Christmas Tree decoration to give to those on your gift list! I’ve known plenty of people who give ornaments as gifts and believe me it comes in handy when your tree is lacking in them!

Don’t have time to create and just want to purchase? I’ve personally received (and given) fruit basket bouquets from Edible Arrangements. These tasty fruit bouquets are a treat for everyone on your gift list. They make sweet gifts or great treats for all holidays. With over 940 locations worldwide you are sure to find a store near you.

Real Holiday Helpings from Hellmann’s

Christine — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:29:59 +0000

To help parents prepare Real Food they can feel good about serving the whole family this holiday season (including those picky eaters of theirs), Hellmann’s® and Best Foods® Mayonnaise has teamed up with critically acclaimed chef, author and TV personality Bobby Flay to create the “Real Holiday Helpings” program on Hellmanns.com and BestFoods.com.

By visiting the site you can find recipes and tips for how to easily prepare Real Food that tastes great and is made from simple ingredients. You can also watch video demonstrations that showcase stand-out holiday dishes. You can even play the Real Food Matchup game each day for a chance to win a $50 gift card!

While you’re at it, don’t forget to enter the Real Holiday Helpings Giveaway for the chance to win a year’s supply of groceries!

You can become a Hellmann’s® Fan on Facebook and you will also find a $1.00 off 2 Hellmann’s® (22oz or larger) coupon!

I plan on making the Super-Moist Chocolate Mayo Cake this Christmas! It sounds so yummy! It calls for 1 box (18 oz.) chocolate cake mix 1 cup Hellmann’s® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise 1 cup water 3 eggs 1 tsp. ground cinnamon. Go read the rest of the recipe on the website! Don’t even get me started on how awesome the Turkey Cuban Sandwich sounds! The fact that a lot of these recipes you can use your leftovers for just makes them that much better!

Wanna hear something that will make your holiday even MORE BETTER (um, yeah my English just went out the window) – thanks to Hellmann’s® and MomSelect – Atomic-Mama.com will be giving away a $25 American Express gift card!! In order to be eligible to win you must be a US or Canada resident (sorry to my overseas readers)

In order to ENTER to WIN the $25 American Express gift card please visit the Hellmann’s® Real Holiday Helpings website and tell me which recipe sounds the BEST to you! (There are so many to choose from!) – leave a comment with your choice (this will earn you one (1) entry)!

Earning More Entries:

1. Twitter about this contest. Please leave me your username so I can verify. Or use something like this:

@starryskye81 is giving away an American Express $25 Gift Card thanks to Hellmann’s Real Holiday Helpings! http://bit.ly/8WKz7O

2. Stumble this post and add this post to other social media sites like Digg, Kirtsy, Blogging Zoom, Reddit, Propeller, Etc. (1 entry for each social network).

3. Comment on any other post on this blog. (1 entry for each post). Let me know which posts you commented on.

Each of these gives you 5 additional entries:

1. Blog about this on your blog. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.

2. Add this to any forums you belong too. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.

3. Add @blm03 to any of your Twitter Lists.

4. Subscribe to this blog using either my email or RSS feed

5. Add my badge to your sidebar (each blog gets you 5 additional entries):

The contest will end on Monday, December 15th at 6pm EST! Good luck!!

Disclosure: This post has been presented on behalf of Hellmann’s® and MomSelect – I’ve received a small monetary incentive to post.

Holiday Planning … Already?

Christine — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 02:51:21 +0000

There is a cool, crisp feeling in the air on this first official day of Autumn (at least – here in the USA!) The neighbors are beginning to decorate for Halloween and I see pumpkins are already for sale at some stores and the local farms. So what does that mean? It’s time to start planning for … Christmas? Hanukkah? Yule?

Holiday cards are usually sent out shortly after Thanksgiving – and seeing that Thanksgiving is 64 days away (as of this posting) that makes Christmas and Kwanzaa only 93 days away and Hanukkah only 79 days away (again, as of this posting).

That is less than 100 days people! Why not make the whole holiday cards thing easy on yourself and plan them early? That way – you can get the order in and receive them with plenty of time to mail them to everyone on your list. Less to worry about I think!

I’m personally thinking ‘snowmen’ this year. We ordered some photo cards last year and they came out beautiful though – very ‘non religious’ which I like. We’ve got both Jews and Christian’s that we send holiday greetings to. This year I am even adding a Pagan or two to the mix. So I need cards that are versatile.

How about you? What kind of holiday cards do you like to send?

Holiday Photo Cards Giveaway

Christine — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 01:48:03 +0000

Ninebird Publishing has just launched their first collection of holiday-themed photo cards, memory albums and recipe books – with more designs and layouts to come soon – at Sam’s Clubs across the country.

The winner will select the design of card they would like and will recieve 30 photo greeting cards!! Keep in mind you do not need to be a Sam’s Club member to enter the contest (although, if you have the opportunity it’s great savings!)

Visit the Ninebird Publishing website and then let me know in our comment section what is your favorite product from the site. (So, you have to leave a comment!!)
Three additional entries if you stumble this post with a review AND/OR
Three additional entries if you subscribe to Atomic-Mama.com AND/OR
Three additional entries if you twitter this post AND/OR
Three additional entries if you place the button on your blog!
If you qualify for additional entries, please comment separately and let us know which option you’ve used.

Giveaway closes on DECEMBER 5th 2008 (to allow for winner to recieve their cards with time to send them out for the holidays!). Winner will be drawn randomly – most likely by my 3 year old (who can’t read) out of a hat … er … bowl! This contest is open to both bloggers and non-bloggers alike!