Christmas Gift Ideas - Girls 6-8 years

The idea of Christmas looming is a rather scary one , but I must admit , I am super organised this year. I kind of have to be , seeing as though we live away from most shops and really only have Kmart. 

Plus can never judge postage and freight so its best to get in sooner , rather than later to make online purchases. I also have Christmas spirit in abundance this year! It seems last year I had very little Christmas spirit and this year I seemed to get the urge to decorate and launch myself into crafting and baking mid November! And you know what? I did it! Who says you have to follow the rules anyway? Do what makes you happy I say , and Michael Buble's Christmas album makes me happy!

Anyway, after talking about gifts and shopping on my Facebook page, there were a few requests for ideas and the purchases I have made for our children. So here we are, this is an idea of the things we have bought Stella, our eldest who is 7 and a half. I actually find Stella harder and harder to buy for. She isn't quite a 'big kid' and isn't quite a little girl anymore either. But she is still a child and I want to keep her that way for as long as possible! Stella has a love for jewellery, and anything crafty. This means craft kits are always always a huge hit and after trialling her on a el' cheapo adjustable version, she is getting the real deal in the way of signet rings this year. Still only $30 but totally precious to her! I have also had the pleasure of shopping on behalf of my parents for most presents for the kids. It just seemed more practical for me to buy or order things than my Mum do it then pay for postage to us again. So not all presents I list are from us. We have tried to scale back Christmas this year, there is no need to spend obscene amounts of money and they just expect it year in, year out there after anyway! Anyway, here you go! I'll be doing similar posts for the other kids presents too! 

General Presents

Bead Sets - Kmart $3- $7

 Little Live pet Butterfly ( I bought Stella's from Woolworths for $10 but you can find them HERE)

 Beados Gem set - I paid $28 but they are in most stores or HERE

Blue Tooth Speaker - Kmart $15

Signet Ring - $30 Bought locally but found HERE

Seedling Bangle set - $24.95 Entropy

Learning Watch - $30 Entropy

Book/ Lockable journal and Diary  - Target

STOCKING FILLERS

Blink Time Watch - $5 Kmart

Gel Pens and highlighters - 2 for $6 Woolworths 

Kmart assorted small bits and pieces in their Toiletries section

Notebook and pen set - $5 ea Target 

Kmart really have some cute goodies to fill stockings and they are all so cheap too! Last year, the most popular present was a cheap one I added to a stocking so never under estimate the power of a touch watch or bath crayons!

Stella is also receiving a new bag for dancing (to carry her shoes and socks to lessons etc) , a small toilet bag/case for when we travel and a new outfit set.

I hope this has helped and given you some new ideas!

I promise , I have not forgotten about the wardrobe posts, how dare life get in the way of blogging!
Stay tuned for more Christmas gift ideas and a whole lot of spirit ! Lucky you!

Yummy Homemade gifts

Another thing that has quickly become important and part of our/my yearly Christmas tradition is the baking of yummy treats.

 Its not always easy, nor very budget savvy to be able to give gifts to all of your friends or family, however a small bag of treats can often mean more than an expensive present.

I like to be able to thank people for being a part of our lives. Thank them for their friendship, support and since we have moved, for making the transition so much easier than it could have been!

I tend to stick to the more traditional recipes and in the past few years I have made the same usual items ( See previous posts HERE and HERE) however this year I decided to make a few different items.

I have wanted to make a nice Tomato Chutney ever since getting our Thermomix,  and seeing as though my husband made a trip south, we were able to buy a heap of tomatoes quite cheaply (well at least not $5 a kilo like they are here !!) . A handful of other ingredients that I already had in the pantry and voila, yummy Tomato Chutney! 

I used THIS recipe , however the first batch was quite runny, so the second one I doubled the Corn Flour amount. 

The flavour is sweet and super yummy in a nice ham and salad sandwich! 

Other treats I have made this year are ; Apricot balls, Cherry Ripe Chocolate Fudge, Pistachio and Turkish delight chocolate treat and some mint flake chocolate. Ohhhh and some yummy ginger biscuits!

I used these cute bags from Kmart (only a few dollars for a pack of 10) and some pretty ribbon and tags and all bundled together, with some Chutney, it made a perfect little gift for teachers, and friends.

The gifts seemed to be a hit, everyone loves a bit of sweetness at Christmas! 

Festive Treats

After a slow and less than enthusiastic start to the festive season, I finally feel I have my Christmas Mojo back. As soon as I start the annual Christmas treat baking, it suddenly feels .... right.

Each year, I try to bake/cook a variety of treats that we can take along to functions, bring and share or just small catch ups and its nice to have it all on hand to create a mixed platter. But I also like to bake give them to friends as a small Christmas token.

You can read some posts from last year HERE and HERE and also a fantastic guest post and recipe HERE.

This year I wanted to try a few new recipes/ dishes and these cute Reindeer Biscuits were one of them!
I made them to take along to our Playgroup Christmas Party Bring and Share and they were an absolute hit!! Which is fantastic, especially when kids are surrounded by all sorts of food, and they are so easy to make!!

I got the idea off Pinterest of course, but they are simply a Milk Arrowroot biscuit, with chocolate icing spread all over it. A raspberry lolly for a nose, Pretzels for ears and I used a black icing pen that I already had on hand, for the eyes ( I think its just from Woolworths)

Stellas end of year school concert was a casual affair on the school oval. Take a rug or chair and cop a squat sort of thing, so I did up a mixed plate of nibbles to take along (more to keep the kids entertained!)

This included some Cherry Ripe and peanut Chocolate fudge ( I love THIS recipe from Clare at The Home She Made), Some ginger biscuits ( I also made some from the same batch into a Gingerbread shape) , the Reindeer biscuits and some bon bon lollies (Christmas isn't Christmas without Bon Bons in my family!)

This week, I have also managed to make some yummy Apricot and Coconut balls, Adults Rocky Road (dark chocolate, pistachio and Turkish delight), some choc chip cookies and some Candy Cane Bark.

And just today I brewed up 2 batches and countless jars of yummy Tomato Relish.

It sounds like a lot, but 2 easy afternoons in the kitchen an a whole lot of temptation later, and the food is on hand for when we need it. Teachers gifts, thank yous, small and inexpensive gifts etc. I will share the gift bags when everything is compiled and ready to be gifted.

Are you a make at home sort of person? Especially for gifts? Or rather a Store-Bought sorta gal?

I am definitely a home made lover, there is something to be said some home baked goodies, however the small the token may be!

Christmas Cheer - Guest Post by Kate

Hello to Liz’s lovely readers! My name is Kate Torrance & I’m very honoured to
be asked to contribute to Liz’s Bizzy Dayz Blog!

                                
I live in the Northern Coastal suburbs of Perth with my lovely husband Alex & 4 kids! Finn age 10, Noah age 7, Ayssa age 4 & Sibella age 3. So just like Liz, I have 4 wonderful kids with a very busy life!!!

I thought I’d share a little bit of Christmas from around our home! We are currently renting as we are about to start building our new home, can’t wait!

                             

                                                

                             

                             

Firstly, so I am a big Ikea fan! Who isn’t really? When I saw their Advent Bags for Christmas I knew I had to grab them! At $12.95 they were such a great price & I knew we could use them year after year!
I decided not to use the number stickers that came with them. I remembered I had some gorgeous Christmas printable numbers pinned on Pinterest. You can find them HERE

                               

So I printed them off, used my 3inch scalloped punch and was so happy with how they looked! Pulled out some wooden pegs from my craft cupboard & used some string I had also picked up Ikea to hang them up! Love those clear 3M removable hooks, come in handy for little jobs like this.

                                

We have had lots of different items in the bags, Christmas pens, pencils & ruler set, colouring in books, bracelets for the girls, ABC & Number flash cards, chocolate Santa’s, a few lollies. Christmas Hair Accessories, Rolls of Christmas sticky tape (huge hit) little notebooks, Stickers etc. Also different Christmas activities we have going on.
We really are enjoying the excitement each morning of our little bags!



When it came to teacher presents this year, I was a little unsure what to get. I normally pick something up throughout the year but nothing had jumped out at me.
I like to buy gifts that the teacher can keep and remember our child when they happen to use it again at a later date, also I like to get something useful if possible…
So whilst wondering around Target a couple of weeks ago, I came across these 2 Tier Cupcake Stands at 50% off!

                             
So normally a cute pretty buy at $15.00 but even better at $7.50 (such a great buy) As I needed to purchase 5 it was a great cost effective gift I thought.
Previous years I have bought Country Road Mugs (usually $9.95) Last year I picked up some Aprons at Typo for $5.00.
So they are all wrapped & ready to give to our teachers on the last day of school.

                            

I hope they like them!!

                           Lastly, I thought I’d share some our Christmas Decorations from around the house.

 

We’ve also started the “Elf on the Shelf” tradition this year in our family, so our little Elf “Toby” makes an appearance each morning & the kids just love him!

                                  

Thanks again to Liz for asking me to share a little bit of Christmas with you today, if you have any questions just pop them in the comments & I’d be happy to help if I can! Merry Christmas everyone!!!

                            

Preparing for Christmas

In the past few weeks , leading up to December and the start of the festive season, there are a few things that have kept us busy and organised.

First of them being this cool Christmas Notes book from Kikki K.

I bought it a while ago when they sent  me an email for a $10 voucher and thought it would be great to keep track of everything through this crazy time of the year.

It is available HERE

Inside , it is split into sections with gorgeous dividers and has spots for Gifts, Cards, Food and receipts etc.
Perfect, and everything is in the one spot!

I have been busy organising craft activities for our playgroup and the kids have had a ball doing them too!
These cute bells are just made from foam cups and some decorative things on the outside.

I started to corral all the Christmas bits and pieces I was purchasing so they were all kept in the one easy to access spot .

I can't wait to use this little beauty. I have just got it out of storage and it was just $4 after Christmas last year from Bed ,Bath and Table , normally $19.95. Bargain!!

At the end of Christmas last year I grabbed a few of these packs on super clearance from Kikki K aswell. They were super cheap and are perfect for wrapping that perfect gift. String, a stamp, inkpad, tags, stickers, it all comes in the box!!

So if there is one piece of advice I would offer, try and pick up bits and pieces in the sales after Christmas and store them, if you have the space of course! It makes the silly season that bit easier and more affordable too!

I managed to grab these goodies from Big W when I was in Perth in October.
The cute trays come in a double pack and carry 4 cupcakes, perfect for that little gift for a friend or family member.

The pegs are just $4 from Target and will look great displaying our Christmas cards this year on a piece of bakers twine.

All my baking cases are ready to be filled and cooked! Yummo! And cute too!
Left are from IKEA and Right from Big W.

Yippee, our Elf was waiting in the wings , ready to come and join the family!!
We  are having so much fun with him, tomorrow I will share how we introduced "Alfie" to our family.

I found this cool pack at our Crazy Clarkes store. It was so cheap and had everything we needed to create 6 super cute Father Christmas'.  Perfect for those busy days or the 'non crafting Mum'

Our finished product!!
Just love them!

The kids wrote their letters to Santa. Obviously Stella was the most keen at completing hers. Max and Lacey did a little scribble and lost interest! ha

We used it as an opportunity to practise writing for Stella and used flashcards to help with the lettering.

We used this gorgeous printable for the letters from Bianca at a little delightful.

There are 3 styles to choose from and all super cute!

You can find them HERE

 

So... seeing as though my husband was adamant that I could not decorate or set the tree up before December 1st, we have been busy elsewhere!

I love this time of year, its always good fun!

 

And I think Lacey agrees!

The Night Before Christmas....

For the first time EVER, this Christmas , I had Christmas Eve off. Infact I had every day off, if you don't count my hugely demanding and pretty stressful job of a Mum of 4 young kids, but it was the first year I did not have to work at the salon, as a hairdresser. Battle with staff, Eftpos machines that think its a great day to stop working, cranky and highly stressed customers that have too much left to do , and people that think 3pm on Christmas Eve is a good time to decide to get a spontaneous haircut.

Not this time, yippppeeee!

So... we spent the day , getting ready and into the festive spirit.

It was lovely.

It started with some crafting. Simple Christmas baubles that we coloured in, ran a few stamps over and glued some pretties to, finished with some laminating.

                                       Then some Christmas flowers for a few special people.

                                                     Ahhh a beautiful little vase with our flowers!

 

                                                  And we made a few bags of Reindeer food.

Set out Santas snacks

And the reindeers food and water bucket, all ready to be filled and put out after we returned home from a yummy dinner at my parents house!

On the way home from dinner (to try and settle a VERY VERY excited Stella) we went for a drive looking at some pretty lights, and sang some songs.

When we got home, the sleeping twins were put to bed, and Stella sprinkled the Reindeer food.

And made sure Santa could get in!!

And finally it was time for bed.

And we got to work, playing Father Christmas......

It was such a magical day with our beautiful family, its the stuff memories are made of!