25 Days of Christmas Books: Free Tag Download

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your loved ones.  I cooked all day and then ate all night ;)  It was a fun evening and I slept great that night :)

Now that Thanksgiving is over, The Christmas Season is in full force in the Sanders household.  The tree is up, the lights are hung, and Christmas music is on.  I LOVE the holiday season.  Such a joyful time of year.

One of my goals, is to pass on the anticipation of Christmas, to Preston.  This year will be so fun.  Last year was fun, but he didn't get it. This year he understands, and is in awe of everything is fun time of year brings. He even got his own little Christmas Tree to decorate this year. We set it up in his play room for him to admire.  I want to eventually put it in his bedroom, but this was not the year to start that. The poor tree would never survive even one night.  We had a fun morning of unpacking christmas decor, decorating his tree, and reading Christmas books.

One of the traditions that we started last year with Preston, was 25 Days of Books.  See my post, here.  

Since is starts tomorrow, I have been busy wrapping up all of the books. I decided to keep it simple this year and use kraft paper and washi tape.  

Since the kraft paper is very plain, I decided that I needed something to dress up the front of the package. So, I hopped on Photoshop and whipped up some tags. 

Do you share our same tradition? If you do, and you are looking for something to make it extra special, you can download and print the below. Merry (Early) Christmas :)

Hope you are all having a fun long weekend with your families!

Christmas Gift Tags {Freebie}

Now that our Christmas Tree is up, and presents have started to arrive, I've started wrapping gifts.  After I had wrapped my first gift, I realized that I didn't have any gift tags. So....i decided to have some fun with photoshop.   Why buy gift tags, when you can download them for free?!

Tada!!!!!!:

I got some inspiration, here, by lovevsdesign.com

Download them here.  You can either print them on cardstock, cut them out, and tape onto presents. Or, you can print them on sticker paper, cut them out, and attach to presents.

Stay tuned for more.... I will be posting different tags & free christmas printables leading up to Christmas :)

Happy Tuesday!

XOXO,

Christmas Family Tradition: 25 Days of Books

Yesterday was December 1st. What does that mean? The Christmas Season has finally commenced!!

 To kick off the start of Christmas in our house, we started one of first Christmas family traditions.  I know this will come as a surprise to all of you, but the other day I was browsing around on Pinterest, and found a gem! Another mom had wrapped up 25 books, and let her kids open one book a day.  You can find the original idea, here. What a wonderful idea!  This is perfect for us, because Preston LOVES books.  

So, I went to target, and got a combo of Christmas books and non christmas books. We already have quite a few Christmas books from my awesome sister, who sends me tons of hand me downs,  so I decided to mix it up. I also found a few in the dollar section...SCORE! Books can be expensive....especially when you are buying 25 at one time!! I then got busy wrapping them all up. 

 Last night he got to open the first book. 

Here is how it went down:

What am I supposed to do with this?

Hmmmm.....

Mama....can you help me?

Never mind, I figured it out!

What is it?

Is it a book?

Yes! {smile}

This is awesome! 

Kinda looks like a car, too?

It IS a car!!

Dada, please help me open it.

Cool!

My awesome Target-Dollar-Section find, that has brought lots of smiles to my sons face.

The first day was a success! He loved it. Everything, from the anticipation of getting the present open, to seeing the "cool" dump truck book that was underneath, made my heart smile. 

Can't wait to do it all again tonight! :)

XOXO,

Silly Christmas Gift Tags & A Free Reindeer Printable

I was browsing through my Pinterest Boards today, and stumbled upon these cute tags, by Mer Mag.  I've been wanting to make some tags for Christmas gifts, and fell in love with this idea.  She provides the link to the hat, reindeer antlers & nose, so all you need to do is find a cute picture, and photoshop them in. 

This is my final product:

Santa hat, reindeer nose & antlers found here.  Tag Clipping Mask found at jessicasprague.com

What do you guys think? 

Also, I am trying to find the perfect print out to put up on my Christmas Mantle. I created this little number today:

I hope you can enjoy this fun Christmas printable somewhere in your home this Christmas. 

Christmas Printables {Freebies}

Thursday is Thanksgiving, and I honor the holiday by not decorating for Christmas until Friday.  I think Thanksgiving is such a wonderful time to sit down and pinpoint all of the things we are thankful for.

BUT, I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!! The feeling it gives me, the yummy food, the fun music, the feel-good-movies, the season of giving, the crafts, decorating the house & tree, the look of excitement on all of the kiddos faces.  I love it all!!

So....because I know lots of people have either started decorating for Christmas or are looking for christmas decorating ideas, I created some fun & FREE Christmas Printables.

All materials used to create these printables are from jessicasprague.com

I hope your Thanksgiving is relaxing & special.  Hop you eat lots of turkey and pumpkin pie.  Have fun decorating!

XOXO,

Pumpkin Carving Party Invitation

For the past few years, a friend of mine and I, have thrown a Halloween Party.  I love Halloween. It is one of my favorite holidays.  We a lot going on this year right around Halloween, so we have opted to throw a more low key Pumpkin Carving Party instead. Here is the invite I created:

We can still have all of the Halloween fun, with out a ton of work, and still getting to enjoy all of the other events we have going on.  I can't wait to see Preston and all of his little friends running around in their costumes enjoying all of goodies the holiday has to offer. Stay tuned for pictures and stories from the party!

4th of July Sangria

I was browsing through Pinterest a few days ago and stumbled upon this yummy and festive 4th of July  cocktail: 4th of July Sangria.  Doesn't this looks so refreshing for a hot 4th of July day? I hope you can kick back by the pool and enjoy this fun cocktail, while celebrating America's Birthday!

4th of July Sangria

~Sliced strawberries

~Blueberries

~Apple slices cut into stars (using cookie cutter)

~2 bottles of dry Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio

~1 cup of Triple Sec

~1 cup berry flavored vodka

~1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

~ 1 Cup 7-Up

Recipe adapted from Punchbowl

Dirrections: Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher and stir. Let stand in the refrigerator for at least a few hours.  Pour into your favorite cocktail glass and sip by the pool or in your backyard! 

Happy Birthday America! Enjoy celebrating with your friends and family, and please be safe! 

XOXO

Spring Bucket List {Free Download}

Spring has sprung here in Vegas!! I compiled this list of things I want to accomplish before Spring is over. {Feel free to steal it from me ;)}What's on your Spring Bucket List? 

Happy Spring! Enjoy the warmth, sun & fun :)

St. Patrick's Day Mantel

Happy Saturday, Friends!

It's that time...when I switch up my mantel decor.  Here is my new St. Patrick's Day mantel display:

Where I got my loot:

I pretty much got everything from Target.

I made the scrabble Lucky in Love Sign. Feel Free to steal it :)

Hope you are all having a wonderful day.  We are off to Preston's good Buddy, Carter's Birthday Party. Blog post to follow later :)

My Top Pinterest Picks For Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is right around the corner, and I am looking for a few fun things to do to celebrate the ultimate day of love.  There are tons of ideas floating around on Pinterest. I have narrowed it down to my top picks:

1. 52 Things I Love About You

This is a great gift if you are looking for a fun and sentimental gift on a budget. Grab a deck of cards (new or old) and write one reason why you love that special person in your life on each card. It is fun to challenge yourself to come up with reason you love them ;)

2. A Day of Valentine's Day Meals

Breakfast

I love to cook. Cooking & baking for holidays is my ultimate favorite. What better way to start off Valentine's Day than with a yummy & festive breakfast! Heart bacon, cinnamon rolls and eggs & toast.

Lunch

 Pack your kids or even your hubby a sweet lunch.

A healthy snack or part of lunch...good for you and cute ;)

Dinner

Pepperoni Heart Pizza

Cant' go wrong with pizza....especially with pepperoni shaped hearts. You can either make your own pizza dough, buy a boboli, or frozen pizza and decorate with pepperoni. To get the heart shape...take a cookie cutter and cut out the pepperoni hearts. Fun, simple & yummy!

3. I Love You More Than Cookies

This is another thrifty craft idea, although, this one takes a little more time and effort.  Make one big main cookie that says, "I Love You More Than...", and then make smaller cookies with either things you really like or famous couples, etc.  

4. Valentine Cocktails

Conversation Heart Vodka Infused Martini. 

Source & recipe here

The French Kiss: 

1 oz chamboard, 1oz vodka, 1 oz dark creme de cocoa & half & half

Source & Recipe

If you like my husband and I, we will be celebrating Valentine's Day at home, with a sleeping baby upstairs.  I plan to cook up a yummy dinner, light some candles, and enjoy a delish cocktail.  Here are few to give you some inspiration.

5. 14 Days of Valentine's

I know this is a little late, but I thought it was too cute to share! Set up some sort of mailbox, and everyday leading up to Valentine's day put a sweet note or special small treat in it.  Probably the best time to do it is when they are sleeping, so that when they get up in the morning it is waiting for them.

6. Conversation Heart Flower Display

 Have left over conversation hearts from last year that you need to get rid of?  Use them as a vase filler for flowers.  You can use it as a display on your mantel, dining room table, or surprise your loved one with this thoughtful arrangement on their bedside table on Valentine's Day Morning.

7. Valentine's Day Printables

Decorate with some word art. Go here to get your free printables, frame them and put them up around your house. A great way to get into the spirit of Valentine's day!

8. Toilet Paper Roll Heart Stamp 

This craft is good for kids of all ages. Need a valentine for Grandma or Grandpa? No need to buy anything extra, just get a toilet paper roll and ben in the center to make a heart shape.  Grab some paint and have them go to town.  

9. "I Dig You" Valentine

Preston obviously isn't at the age where we have to make Valentine's yet, but if we had to, we would make this fun gift. A great creative & unique valentine for a boy or girl.  Easy to make & not just another card.  

10.  Heart Shaped Whoopie Pies

Who doesn't like a fun & festive sweet treat?  Classroom treat for the kids, after dinner dessert, a just because I love you treat.... Make these for all of those you love.  Click here to get the recipe.  You'll get brownie points for creativity & baking skills :)

I will be doing a few of these ideas.  I love to celebrate holidays.  Get the kids or hubby involved and have some family fun.  I know I will.

 Happy (early) Valentine's Day!

Xoxo-Jamee