Last Minute Christmas Gifts

Christmas is less than a week away and I’m still buying/making gifts.

I’ve found all sorts of tutorials and lists of ideas for you so you can hopefully fit in those last minute gifts before Christmas Eve.

Luckily for me, we don’t celebrate Christmas with my dad’s side of the family until New Year’s Eve, so I get a whole extra week for those guys.

Alright, let’s get started:

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1. First up, something pretty; diy rings

From Oh the Lovely Things

2. Next, remember these washi tape tea lights?

From The Benson Street

3. For the kids

From Little Crunchy Mama with super simple instructions and only 2 ingredients

(scroll down a bit once on her page)

4. For him

This huge list of fun diy gifts

From Everything Etsy

5. Not feeling Do-it-Yourself-y? Any of the gadgets from this list will thrill him:

From Imgur

(I got my husband this “grenade”)

6. How about your neighbor or mail person?

Here are 101 ideas from The Dating Divas

7. Everyone loves food

From Baker By Nature

From I Heart Naptime

(Planning on making some of these myself. And yes, they’re egg-free)

Sour Cream Cookies

From Java Cupcake via In Katrina’s Kitchen.

(My sister’s getting these; she’s obsessed)

Check out my Pin Board for more delicious recipes.

8. One more (or 75) for the kiddos:

From Lil’ Luna

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Hopefully that will get you started. Have any great tutorials or ideas to share?

Link us up in the comments. I’d love to hear from you or check out your blog.

Until then, happy gifting.

-Tara

P.S. Next week I’m sharing pretty gift wrap ideas and inspiration so stay tuned.

Last Minute Christmas Bucket List

Christmas is in 10 days. How did this happen?!

We’ve been talking a lot about Advent and making the most of this season. Today I’m going to share my Advent activity list. Hopefully you (and I!) can squeeze a few of these in and make the season a little more wonderful.

Wrap presents

Decorate the house

DIY Christmas pallet sign

Watch a Christmas special

Make hot cocoa and popcorn

Learn Christmas songs on guitar

Eat caramel corn and do a puzzle

Drive around and look at lights

Make Christmas card holder

Take a walk In the snow

Indoor s’mores

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As you can see I haven’t made much leeway with it yet. I made a prettier copy that maybe you want to save and print:

Advent List

There are lots of other activities that I left off that’d be especially great for kids (i.e., sledding!)

Never heard of Indoor S’mores? You are missing out. I love to make “gourmet” s’mores and add all kinds of different chocolate-y toppings, like replacing the chocolate bar with a Reese’s Cup or dunking the thing in melted chocolate (seriously making myself hungry right now).

It’s really simple, especially if you have a toaster oven.

Line your toaster oven rack or a baking sheet in foil

Lay down a graham cracker square for each person

Top with a marshmallow (you can also add chocolate now if you like it really melt-y)

Broil carefully for just a minute or so (keep an eye on those suckers!)

OR

Toast on high for a couple of minutes keeping an eye on the marshmallows

Quickly add the chocolate/peanut butter cup/Carmello bar/what-have-you

Allow to melt and add top graham cracker

That’s it. You’re five minutes away from delicious s’mores, no camp fire required.

If you’re having a holiday party or family gathering, have a s’mores bar with lots of toppings. Here are my suggestions (graham crackers and marshmallows go without saying):

* 

Sprinkles

Peanut butter

Chocolate Jimmies

Regular size Reese’s Cups

Andes Mints or mint chocolate chips

Thinly sliced strawberries, bananas or kiwis

Candy melts or baking chocolate (for drizzling/dipping)

Chocolate coins for a Christmas twist on the regular chocolate

Redi Wip

Mini Crunch Bars

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Here’s a fun menu I found to give you some ideas for mixing up your s’mores ingredients

You could have a competition for who can create the tastiest gourmet s’more!

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Have any more suggestions for me?

What other Advent activities do you and yours do every year?

Are you going to a Christmas Eve service?

Let me know in the comments.

Check back later this week for some last minute gift ideas!

Until then, Love always,

-Tara