Spread the Love: Valentine’s Gift Ideas (that won’t break the bank)

We have officially entered the month of LOVE and we are very quickly approaching LOVE day (aka Valentine’s Day!!).  Have you started thinking of gift ideas for the special people in your life?? For those of you that may have a tendency to procrastinate, here are a few of my favorite Valentine’s Gift Ideas to get you started!

 Parents. A surprise family photo shoot.  Whose mom wouldn’t LOVE this?? And Dad will be happy because mom is happy.  You can choose a local photographer (I suggest scheduling this asap) or have a friend help you if you don’t have the cash for a professional.  If you’re in the Dallas area, I recommend calling one of these two talented photographers, Picturing Art, Team Howard.  
 

Sister.  Mary Kay Satin Lips set plus some Rockin Red Lipgloss to wear on her “hot Vday date.” Trust me she will thank you!! Call your consultant for delivery details.  Or if you don’t have a consultant, you can order on my website! I provide free shipping and gift wrapping.  Use Promo Code MKLOVE for 15% off all Vday gift orders!!

 

Grandparents.  Treat greeting card. My grandmother absolutely loves cards.  She reads them aloud before opening the accompanying gift at every celebration.  The longer the poem on the inside, the happier she is.  I have discovered the perfect complement to her gift this year, a personalized card from Treat. I seriously can’t get over how cute these are and your first card is FREE! This might win me the “Granddaughter of the Year” award.

 

BFF. Personalized Scripture Cards. I ran across these on a friend’s Instagram and immediately started googling to figure out where I could buy them.  This etsy shop is just one of many people that will create them.  They are bible verses with the person’s name inserted into the scripture.  Wow, talk about impactful!

 

Hubby. Sexy lingerie (ok, this is kinda for you too!) and a massage.  Check out these fantastic massage tips from the Dating Divas. If you really want to spice it up and thank him for sitting through all those episodes of the bachelor, create your own fantasy suite, described here. I imagine all this will lead to the gift he really wants (wink, wink)!!

 

Self (You didn’t think I would leave myself off the gift list did you??). Personalized Sharpie Mug. When it comes to love, self-love is extremely important, so don’t forget you! I’ve been looking for a reason to make one of these awesome sharpie mugs.  I’m thinking, now is the time! Of course mine will something clever about coffee, maybe "All I need is a little bit of coffee and lot of Jesus".  You can find step by step directions here.

 

 

So what do you think of these ideas? Did I leave anyone off the list??

A Few Sweet Gift Ideas

It’s Christmas Eve Eve, can you believe it??? I was very intentional about starting my shopping and wrapping early this year so that I wouldn’t end up frantic on Christmas Eve.  And yet, still, I have wrapping left to do! I am however, done with all my shopping, so I will celebrate that victory!

I am one of those people that enjoys buying gifts for EVERYONE I’ve ever met (ok, perhaps I’m exaggerating, slightly), which has been challenging for me this year since my hubby gave me a Christmas Budget (yuck!).  I especially wanted to do something nice for the lovely ladies in my church life group and a few of my friends at work.  There are 13 ladies in my lifegroup and about 5 coworkers that I wanted to bless with something special.  So trying to fit 18 extra people in to the Christmas Budget seemed nearly impossible, BUT thank the Lord for fellow bloggers and Pinterest.

For those of you that may still be searching for something small and sweet (pun intended) for your friends/family here’s what I chose!

For the ladies in my life group, I put together cute Facial Scrub bags.  What woman doesn’t love a great exfoliator?? And this one is edible! It was super easy and only cost about $12 to make 12 bags.

Supplies:
*Clear cellophane bags

*Ribbon
*Lemon
*a few tsp of sugar
*small Ziploc bag

I used the snack size Ziploc bags and rolled them to fit in the cellophane bags.  However, if you can find the tiny sealable jewelry bags that would be ideal.  It would also be a nice touch to add a cotton round to the bag. I think they turned out pretty cute.   

I found this facial scrub on one of my favorite blogs, Maskcara, which is where you can find the cute tag.

For my coworkers, I decided to find an edible gift. Although, I do not like fudge when I saw this White Chocolate Cranberry Fudge, I thought why not?? 

 This was my first time ever making fudge and I’ve heard it can be tricky.  Maybe white chocolate is different, because I thought it was pretty easy! The recipe and ingredients are listed here. Unfortunately, I still don’t like fudge, even the white chocolate kind, just too rich for my taste. Per my husband, it turned out delicious! I will say that I liked this fudge more than any I have ever tasted. And it looks so pretty and festive!  

 

Hope these ideas help you out in the final 48 hours before Christmas!!

Linking up with #fundaymonday.

 

#ClubSexy

Last month, I had the great pleasure of participating in a Cara Box exchange for the first time ever!  I am so glad that I did.  The theme for February was #ClubSexy, appropriate for the “red” month, don’t you think??   I was blessed to be matched up with Gayle from Grace for Gayle.  Not only am I thankful that I found her blog, it’s super awesome, but I’m thankful that I actually had the chance to meet Gayle for gelato last week! I will call her my first official blogger friend since she is the first lady I’ve met in blog world and in person.   I really had a great time chatting with her and getting to know about the woman behind the blog.

So, on to the juicy details about my Cara Box, Gayle’s #ClubSexy challenge was to create the perfect date night for me and she did a great job!! The “box of relaxation” included:

Dark Chocolate Covered Pomegranate

(delicious, one of my new favorite snacks)

Glade Candle and Candle Lighter

 (I LOVE all things smelly and this candle smells so yummy)

Aloe Infused Socks

(like walking on clouds)

Note Cards

Red Velvet Cake Body Wash

(certified #clubsexy win)

Massager

Vanilla Lotion

The items were beautifully packaged!

 

 

Super big smile, I was excited.

Thank you so much for the wonderful Carabox, the sweet note, and the fun girl time!

I prepared a special box for Jessica at Wonder What's Next. You can visit her blog for details on what I included in her #clubsexy package, here!