Category "Birthday"

A Check for One Million Kisses

Princess Diana - January 19, 2016 - $20 or Less, Anniversary, Birthday, Valentine's Day

When you’re young and don’t have much money, you come up with really creative ways to express your love. My-then-boyfriend-now-husband came up with this gift idea for my 23rd birthday.

When I opened my birthday card from him, I was surprised to find a check. That’s weird, I thought.

For a split second I was totally confused until I read the check. It was made out to me for the amount of One Million Kisses or $XOXO.

Now, that’s a surefire way to melt a girl’s heart! I loved him so much for telling me “I Love You” in such a romantic way.

Cold Hard Cash

Queen Darlene - January 14, 2016 - Birthday, Christmas, Gifts for Him, Graduation, Kids, Money

httpvh://youtu.be/WG4_QKYPCCc”Cold Hard Cash” is a one-of-a-kind money gift idea that will certainly be fun and amusing!

So how do you turn money into cold hard cash?

You will need:

A plastic container with a lid
Ziplock bag
Water
Money in the form of bills or coins or both

Passing Down Family Heirlooms

Queen Darlene - January 7, 2016 - Birthday, Christmas, Family, Gifts for Me, Housewarming, Mother's Day, Wedding

My husband’s job transferred him to Albuquerque in 1984. It was the first time either one of us had lived more than 10 miles from family. We were excited about our new adventure, and at the same time sad to leave our very close-knit family behind.

great-grandmother's-rose-bowl-thoughtful-gift-idea

Rose Bowl from Germany was given to my grandmother by her mother.

We moved into a new and larger home so I needed more wall decorations.

This was before we had the Internet so I visited several furniture stores, but had difficulty finding pictures I liked in my price range.

We lived several months without anything on the walls until one day I was making room to store old dishes passed down to me by my great-grandmother, grandmother and mother. Continue Reading

Silhouette Paper Portraits Make Classic Gift

Princess Diana - January 5, 2016 - Birthday, Christmas, Family, Father's Day, Kids, Mother's Day, Pet, Valentine's Day, Wedding

A custom silhouette paper portrait is a classic gift that will be cherished for years. The one I had made of my son melts my heart every time I glance at it.

Parents and grandparents especially love this type of gift!

It used to be you had to visit a silhouette artist in person, but these days you can simply email a photograph and receive your beautiful custom silhouette in the mail. Easy peasy!

You can have custom silhouette paper portraits made of children, adults and pets, either upper body or full body. They can also be done of siblings and couples. A silhouette of a couple makes for a lovely wedding or Valentine’s Day present.

A Stash of Beautiful Greeting Cards

Queen Darlene - December 31, 2015 - $20 or Less, Birthday, Christmas, Condolence, Get Well, Mother's Day

When my parents-in-law moved into an independent retirement community, it was bittersweet. They had lived in their home for more than 50 years, but now they no longer had to worry about maintaining it.

With neither of them able to drive, their “kids” frequently would take them to run errands but sometimes things came up, and we just couldn’t.

Seniors living in retirement communities don’t often relish needing to depend on others so it’s nice to think of ways to keep some things status quo to give them the sense of still being independent.

One of the things I discovered my mother-in-law wanted were greeting cards for birthdays and anniversaries or get-well cards for her new friends.

Grammy loved giving beautiful cards as she felt they were a gift in itself. I began collecting fancy, unusual, and 3D cards to give her every few months.

She soon had her own personal stash of greeting cards for all occasions!

LOTTO Fun for the Whole Family

Queen Darlene - December 24, 2015 - $20 or Less, Birthday, Christmas, Family, Party Favors, Retirement

Looking for a gift that is inexpensive but creates a “big bang for the buck?” Lottery tickets and scratch offs are fun and easy on the pocket book if you have lots of gifts to buy for Christmas.

A few years ago, my son just started his new job and was digging out of his school loan debts. He wanted to give everyone in the family a Christmas gift, and there are 15 of us.

Braden came up with the idea of purchasing $1 lottery tickets. He placed them inside money envelopes to completely keep the recipient off guard for a better surprise.

At the time, the lottery was sitting at $350 million – one of the largest jackpots in history. It was all over the news making quite a buzz.

The timing couldn’t have been better to give a lottery ticket of this magnitude. Everyone in my family talked about winning and what they would do with the money!

Money & Gloves Go Hand in Hand

Queen Darlene - December 16, 2015 - Birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, Gifts for Him, Graduation, Kids, Money, Mother's Day

httpvh://youtu.be/DKKmh8QoyAE

Looking for a clever way to surprise the gift recipient with money and a pair of gloves?

This idea is so easy peasy. I call it my “Money and Gloves Go Hand in Hand” gift idea.

I like to find a pair of gloves that are out-of-the-ordinary. They could be colorful, unusual, maybe with feathers on the cuff instead of fake fur, or with rhinestones.

You don’t have to limit the gift to just gloves or mittens designed to keep hands warm. Purchase gloves to match their hobbies or profession.

Think garden gloves, bike gloves, baseball gloves, golf gloves, weight lifting gloves, and work gloves.

All you need to create this money gift are:

A pair of gloves
Bills of money

50 Shades of Green Money Gift

Queen Darlene - December 10, 2015 - Birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, Graduation, Housewarming, Kids, Money

A paint can is a great way to gift wrap because kids and adults can never ever guess what’s inside it.

They’ll never guess what’s inside the paint can!

The “50 Shades of Green” money gift idea is perfect for the person who is difficult to buy for. Perfect because the color green (money) goes with everything!

Fill the paint can with crumpled 50 one dollar bills or one fifty dollar bill or any combination adding up to 50 dollars.

Create a label for birthdays, graduations, Father’s Day or add holiday decorations for Christmas.

Stocking Stuffer Money Gift

Queen Darlene - December 9, 2015 - Birthday, Christmas, Congratulations, Family, Gifts for Him, Going Away, Graduation, Kids, Money

httpvh://youtu.be/BzbPH6qEsF4

Grandma Cleaver used to stuff her money inside a sock and hide it. She lived during the Depression where banks failed and people lost their money. I was always fascinated with her stocking stuffer saving method.

Guess I’m being nostalgic about this Stocking Stuffer Money Gift.

Items you will need:

Socks
Cash
Ribbon
Scissors

HOW TO CREATE A STOCKING STUFFER MONEY GIFT:

First, turn one sock inside out. Lay the right side sock on top. Place the cash at the toe end of the sock. Start rolling the sock from the toe end with the inside out sock being on the outside.

The Gift of Happy Feet

Princess Diana - December 8, 2015 - Birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, Gifts for Him, Gifts for Me, Mother's Day

When I traveled for a work conference to Las Vegas, I knew I would do miles of walking, and I didn’t want my feet to blister and ache.

Since wearing tennis shoes wasn’t an option, I decided it was time to invest in some high quality shoes with built-in arch support.

Giving myself the gift of happy feet made the biggest difference in the world!

Not once did my feet hurt during my four-day trip even though I walked long distances each day traveling from my hotel to the convention center and back multiple times and walking to various hotels in the evenings to go to shows and restaurants.

I’ve been to Las Vegas several times before, but this is the first trip where I made the comfort of my feet a priority. At least I’m getting wiser as I get older! I still shudder at the memories of the excruciating pain I put my feet through during my 20s.

I’ve learned that when my feet are happy, I’m happy! And that it’s worth the extra money to pay for high quality shoes that provide remarkably better comfort, materials and design.