How many of you are done with your Xmas shopping? Not me – no where close. Most years I’m pretty good about making a list, with everyone I need to buy for, and then inserting the purchased item next to the name. This way I have a chance at gifting the correct gift. I can’t keep it all straight without a list. Don’t tell my husband but I think I’m over spending!!!! I’m blaming someone other than myself. Not to mention, this year my kids have asked for some random things and it’s throwing me for a loop. For some odd reason the only Christmas magazine that made it into my mailbox was the Hammacher Schlemmer magazine. Now, nothing against this magazine as it has many, many “unexpected” items to choose from but none that I have ever heard of. The Bunyanesque Backpack for example. I was sure Regs had misspelled this item so you can imagine my confusion. And then I finally located this interesting backpack and can’t imagine why one would need such a thing, especially Regan? What in God’s name do you put in there?
What else did she put down? A “speaking Zoltan” toy, a marshmallow blaster and a $145 “Mickey through the Years” rotating watch. We need a Target magazine in our house stat. Then the other child wants every tacky piece of clothing that exists on the market. Short with sequins – she wants it. Any shirt with “You Got This Girl” – she wants it. And then of course make-up, a phone, fuzzy boots, and an Ipad. She is nine. So basically, neither of my girls are getting anything they have written to Santa for. I feel for both of them but there is no way my nine year old is wearing make-up and you couldn’t pay me to purchase that gold body bag pictured above. What are they getting you ask? Well, below are my suggested, appropriate and usable, items to gift a nine to ten year old girl or boy:
- Amazon Fire 10 – Kids Edition – I’m big on Amazon products. First of all, if this breaks it’s not the end of the world as it didn’t cost $800 – I got my two bundled for under $300!! Second, it comes pre-loaded with an endless array of APPROPRIATE books, magazines, games, TV shows and movies. Win win as I don’t need them asking me to purchase an app or game every two minutes.
- New boots – not Uggs but Fuggs (Fake Uggs). Until they stop growing I can’t quite bring myself to purchase shoes that cost over $50.
- Droid Inventor Kit from @littlebits – I stumbled upon this site this year and I’m in love. Regan is really into coding and building robots so this is perfect. And they have a ton for all age groups.
- Slippers – my girls love slippers and Target has the cutest Cat & Jack options online. I even went as far as to purchase Av’s the gold sparkly ones. Between the slippers and the glitter fire case, I hope her tween needs are satiated.
- Legos – they don’t always ask for Legos but as soon as they receive they spend hours putting them together. We purchased the Harry Potter set which should be really cool – and require hours of their focus!!!
- Floor Chair – This could fall into the “unexpected” category but Ava put this in all caps on her list. I could view this as a warning sign she’s watching too much TV but I’m going to pretend like I didn’t type that and move on….
- Fitbit – I struggled with this purchase as I don’t really think it’s necessary and Ava didn’t ask for it. She asked for a telephone watch but the reviews are awful and my current cell phone carrier doesn’t support any of the kids versions. So I’m kind of just hoping this will fly.
- Stocking Stuffers – socks, underwear, toothbrush, deodorant, a book…..things they need anyway.
That about does it! Hopefully by the time 12/25 rolls around R & A will have forgotten they asked Santa for the most random gifts of 2018!!
Tip of the Week – To say “thank you.” It’s hard to believe but this month will mark four months since I started down this blogging path. I had no clue what I was doing and quite honestly, still don’t really know what I am doing. I hope my weekly visit to your inbox has encouraged you to meal plan, and home shop, so you have more time to cook, eat and enjoy your “you” time for whatever purpose that may be. There is still much to be done. Over the next four months I hope to find time to organize the linked recipes, so you can search by food type, and not have to scroll down past all of my yackity yacking. I also hope to start sharing some of my own recipes – just need to figure out how to squeeze three more hours into a day. And who knows what else lies ahead. What started as three followers on Instagram has grown to close to 2000 and I am beyond thankful to all of you. You have allowed me to fulfill a passion I didn’t realize I was so in need of filling. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!
Ravioli with Tomatoes & Asparagus Sunday, December 9th – For those of you who are new to DwtD, Sundays are my cheat days – hence the pasta and cheese. If your kids won’t eat the veggies, pull theirs out before mixing. Perfect Sunday supper meal!!
Classic Tacos – Monday, December 10th – Today is Ava’s birthday!!! My baby is 9. Bananas. Avs is my foodie child. She will try anything I put in front of her and prefers salads to French fries. She LOVES tacos so tonight, it’s “Taco Tuesday”….except it’s Monday. When we do tacos in the Duffy dome, we go classic taco style all the way – hard shells only. Since I’m trying to be calorie conscience I will make my tacos more of a salad and crunch up some of the hard shell. You can also sub ground turkey for beef, add a can of black beans, use greek yogurt in place of sour cream and half the cheese!!
Filipino Adobo Chicken – Tuesday, December 11th – I’m stoked to make this dish. I love drumsticks and my kids do too. Oh, and I LOVE apple cider vinegar. I will serve this with basmati rice!!!
Roasted Herbed Beef Tips – Wednesday, December 12th – This recipe calls for sirloin which is super inexpensive. I like my beef rare – like rare rare – almost still mooing rare, so I will pull my tips out well before the 30 minute instruction. Thinking I will check at 10 minutes. Serve this with a side salad.
Easy Shredded Harissa Chicken – Thursday, December 13th – Yum, Yum, Yummy Yum. I’m throwing all kinds of flavors at you this week!!! You can cook this in the crocker or the instant pot. I will serve with basmati rice and cucumbers! You can purchase tzatziki if you aren’t in the mood to make your own!!
Grilled Chicken Salad with Strawberries – Friday, December 14th – I think I’ve shared this one with you before? Maybe? I could go back and check but I really want to incorporate this into my meal plan this week. Tonight the kids have a choral performance and a drama performance so zero time. I will cook the chicken on Thursday so it’s ready to go when we finally get home!
I’ve gone on too long this week – apologies!! Happy, healthy eating friends!!
XO ~ Kelly D.
Curl says
Gold body bag hahahahaha. Cracking up!