Glade House Party

I am a member of House Party.  This is a really cool site to join if you love hosting parties and if you are into trying new products.  Here is a little about House Party:

About House Party

House Party makes it easy to have a party in your own home and get exclusive access to awesome products for you and your friends. We provide the fun, you provide food, your friends and feedback and promise to have an amazing time.

Our parties are sponsored by the brands you love. By hosting, you and your guests get to try their products and receive an incredible Party Pack chock full of goodies! You don’t pay anything or sell anything. It’s a no-pressure party. Just tell us what you and your guests think.     

But it’s more than just you and your friends who are having a blast. Thousands of other hosts and guests from across the US are also having an amazing time, on the same day. Your party just went from event to epic!     

I have hosted one of their parties before, and I am so excited to have the opportunity again!!  It really is a great experience and a great excuse to have friends over!!!  Below is what I should expect in the mail to help host my party:

Your exclusive Party Pack will contain:
For you, the host

• 1 Tote
• 1 Spiral notebook

For you and your guests

• 1 Glade^® Expressions™ Fragrance Mist in Pineapple & Mangosteen
• 1 Glade^® Expressions™ Fragrance Mist in Cotton & Italian Mandarin
• 1 Glade^® Expressions™ Fragrance Mist in Lavender & Juniper Berry
• 1 Glade^® Expressions™ Fragrance Mist in Fuji Apple & Cardamom Spice
• 1 Glade^® Expressions™ Oil Diffuser in Pineapple & Mangosteen
• 1 Glade^® Expressions™ Oil Diffuser in Lavender & Juniper Berry
• 15 Home design booklets
• 15 Coupons to save on Glade® Expressions™ products and 2 additional coupons per person to share with friends
• 15 Magnetic picture frames
• 15 Sticky notepads

I can't wait to share with you when I get my package in and all the goodies that are included!!!

Show Me Christmas-Traditions

Today I am linking up with Aly and Becky for their Show Me Christmas.  This week is Christmas Traditions.  Well, my family has many traditions.  Most of these traditions have been around since before I was born, but may have altered slightly as I have gotten older and had my own child to better fit our lifestyle.  Here are a few of my favorite traditions:

Tradition #1:

The weekend after Thanksgiving is when the Christmas tree goes up.  This tradition has been altered over the years.  My family is made up of German descendants with strong ties to their German heritage.  Well traditionally, Germans do not put their tree up until Christmas Eve.  This is what my family did for many years, but because my mother and I are allergic to real trees, we then started buying the reusable trees.  Once we switched trees (around the time I was 6 or so), we started the tradition of decorating the tree the weekend after Thanksgiving.  This is one tradition I have stuck to through my adult years!

Our Christmas Tree this year.

Tradition #2:

The Christmas Pickle!  Haha!!  I know what you are thinking...Christmas pickle?  I don't get it either!!  Haha!!  It's another one of those German traditions that I grew up with and kept because it was what we have always done.  My pickle ornament actually broke this year, and needless to say, here in NWA there isn't exactly the demand for pickle ornaments, so I am having to get my family to send me one from south Texas to replace mine.

A traditional glass pickle ornament.

The German Christmas Pickle Ornaments Story.
The German glass pickle ornaments are considered a special
"Christmas in Germany" decoration by many families where the Christmas
tree was decorated on Christmas eve.

The glass Christmas pickle ornament is always the last glass
ornament to be hung on the Christmas tree. The parents hide the glass
pickle ornament in the Christmas tree among the other German
glass ornaments. When the children were allowed to view the
Christmas tree they would begin gleefully searching for the
German glass pickle ornament. The children knew that whoever found
the glass pickle ornament first would receive an extra little gift and
would be the one to begin the unwrapping of the Christmas gifts.

Tradition #3:

Cookie decorating!  Every Christmas Eve we bake and decorate sugar cookies for Santa.  I have done this as long as I can remember!  It was always my favorite part of Christmas Eve, and now it is Truett's favorite part too!!  After they are all decorated, we plate them on our special dishes that are only for Santa to eat off of and leave a letter for Santa.  We also make sure the reindeer have a special treat as well!

Truett and his Oma (that's grandma in German) decorating cookies last Christmas Eve.

All of the decorated cookies.

These are our Santa cookie dishes.  The plates are for Santa's cookies, the cup is for his milk, and the bowl is where we put the reindeer food (oatmeal and glitter) that we sprinkle on the lawn Christmas Eve before we go to bed.

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas with their families and the traditions you share!



Naughty or Nice?

There is this amazing sight Portable North Pole where you can have a personalized video from Santa to your child!!  It allows you to upload pictures and everything!!  I made one for Truett, you can see it
here.  Unfortunately, Truett's name isn't common enough for the video to recognize, so it was left out.  Nonetheless, this is really neat for the kids!!!

DIY Inspiration!!

The other day on Pinterest I found this super cute DIY project that I will have to definitely try!!  It is soooo cute and looks fairly easy to pull off as well.

These are super cute wall hangings that are made out of material and insulation foam.  You can buy the pink insulation foam at Home Depot for fairly cheap.  They will even cut it for you if you ask.  Pick out any material that you like, and then simply staple it to the foam using a regular stapler.  On another project similar to this one that I have found in the past, instead of hanging these with nails, they used velcro.  It damages your paint, but it doesn't damage your walls with holes. 

Mail call...

So, I have been pretty busy this week, so I keep forgetting to post all the things that I got in the mail this week.  I didn't get to the store this week since my car has been in the shop all week, so I didn't get any store bargains, just the things that came in the mail.

The first set of mail awesomeness that I received in the mail was a sample and coupon for TREsemme shampoo and conditioner, Kotex Naturals samples, and my coupon for a FREE 12 pack of and Coca Cola product.  I got the coupon from cashing in some of my points over at www.mycokerewards.com.  If you drink Coca Cola products, I strongly suggest you sign up to be a part of  My Coke Rewards.  There are a lot of really neat rewards to choose from.  Not only do I get a lot of free soda coupons, but I can't even remember the last time I had to pay for my pictures to get developed!!  They have great deals through Snapfish!!

The second round of things that I got in the mail was a sample of  Sundown Naturals Fish Oil vitamins, coupon and sample of Revlon foundation, Gerber coupons, John Frieda shampoo and conditioner samples and coupon, and my $10 rewards check from Synovate.  Synovate is a company where you can do product trials and fill out surveys for rewards.  I cashed in some of my points and that is how I got the check.  It's a nice way to make a little extra money here and there!