Decorate Your Home With This 18" Santa Claus Figure by Uten ~ #Uten #Santa Decoration

18" Santa Claus by Uten

Disclosure: I received free product for review purposes and all opinions expressed here are my own.

It doesn't seem possible how fast the time is going. We didn't have much of a summer because it was cold in the Spring and then we had our first snowstorm last Monday and all the schools were closed. That was the end of the Fall season because the snow is still lying on the ground and the cold weather is settled in, it seems.

The holidays are coming soon and kids of all ages will be making out their list for Santa Claus. Some people I know already have their Christmas tree up and decorated, which is rather early for me. But with this cold weather and snow, it sure does looks like December already.

Recently I had the pleasure to receive a cute stuffed Santa to decorate my home with for the holidays. This Santa measures 18". He has a brown bag on his shoulder with presents in it and is holding a teddy bear under his other arm.

Santa stands up sturdy with his black boots and beautiful red velvet-like suit. He could be placed under the Christmas tree or just about any place you have a flat surface. His long Santa hat even has a bell on the end which is really cute!

Santa also has a long list of names in his hand for his gift list. I thought that was a nice touch added to the Santa figure. He will last for many years of enjoyment for your holiday decorating and bring a smile to your face!

If you are interested the 18" Santa Claus can be found on Amazon. They have a special promotion for the same 18" Santa which is shown below.

Original price: $27.99
Now Price:  $25.19
Start Date: 2019-11-18:01:00 PST
End Date:  2019-11-30 23:59 PST
Code: PSYCYGZR
Link：https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YJM1DHW

20 Piece DIY Ornament Balls Christmas Decorations Tree Balls #Review #Ornaments #DIYOrnamentBalls

Recently I had the pleasure to be able to review some neat DIY Ornament Balls from a company which is called Uten. These come in a sturdy box and include 20 pieces which are each 3.94"/100mm in measurement.

Disclosure: I receive free product for review purposes and all opinions are my own.

They come in two parts which snap together and are made with heavy duty gauge plastic. Since the balls are clear you can see everything you put into them for your decorating ideas.

Since the balls come in two halves you can decorate inside one of the halves and then you snap them together. There is an opening on the top of them for hanging, such as putting ribbon on them. You could also use Christmas wire hangers to hook on the opening.

Since I was thinking of Christmas I found a few items to see how they would look inside the balls. Yes, Christmas will be here before you can blink an eye!

 I have some old vintage Christmas decorations so decided to decorate some of the balls with a couple of angels, a snowman, candle and another trinket.

 In some of them I put some ribbon that I just cut off a roll and stuffed it in the ball to make it look more decorative.

I like how these balls can be used over and over for any holiday! You could even use them for parties, weddings and whatever you would like to display little momentos. In the picture below I put an old Christmas candle in that I got from my piano teacher when I was a little girl.

The picture below has a vintage snowman candle from the 1950's. 

If you are into decorating or crafting these DIY Ornament Balls from Uten would be the perfect item for your own ideas. Kids would also enjoy decorating their own balls for the holidays coming up.

To get them you can purchase on Amazon.

Is It Already Over?

Is It Already Over?

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! We were happy to have our daughter home the first time since she moved last July about 3 hours away. Thankfully the roads have been fine since there hasn't been any snow or icy roads....so far!

We went to church Christmas Eve and the church was packed to the rim. When we got to church there was hardly any room to park and we had to sit in the second row to the front of the church.  It was a candlelight service and everyone received a candle when they entered. At the end of the service  the ushers came to each pew and lit the person's candle. Then the person lit the candle who sat next to him, and so on. After everyone had their candle lit the church lights went out and was lit only by candlelight. The organist started to play only the first few words of Silent Night and then everyone sang a cappella. It was beautiful!

 Afterwards we went home and decorated cookies which I had baked in the afternoon. Since my son had to work Christmas Eve we didn't open our presents until Christmas morning. Then we went to my mother's to have Christmas dinner with my sister, brother and their families. Later my other sister and some of her family came over.

Today I took some gifts back that I bought for my daughter. I had bought some sweaters for her and they were a little loose since they weren't from the junior section in the clothes department.

Christmas is over and it seemed like it came so fast this year. But it always comes fast to me! How was your Christmas?

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One More Before Christmas?

 One More Before Christmas?

In case you didn't see one of my previous blog posts, my husband and I work for my sister and her husband doing estate sales for people. We started doing this a few years ago and usually the sales are in the summer. Since we live in Michigan, you know that means cold and snow from about October through May. Well, at least the cold part anyways. You never know when you're going to get snow, but it hasn't been bad at all... so far this year. Most of the time the estate sale season ends for us in November or even the end October. My sister Arlene is in charge and she doesn't really like having sales in the winter because of the snow and slippery road conditions. It depends if anybody calls and needs a sale done, or how quick they want it done. Sometimes the people have the house for sale or sold and then they want to get the stuff out of the house as soon as possible.

This year we've done four sales with Arlene and Roy, and they've done three by themselves. It's unusual to have many in our town because it's small with not a very big population, but it just so happened that the last four sales were in our town. The last sale wasn't that large so we had it a day and a half the weekend before Thanksgiving on Friday and Saturday. The second day of the sale it started snowing and some people bought a sofa sleeper and were trying to carry it out the front door of the house. They were having a hard time getting it through because it was so heavy and you had to have it in the right position. If you've even moved a sofa sleeper you'll know what I mean. Then the steps were starting to get snow-covered and I was shoveling them off so they wouldn't slip on the way out. So that gives you an idea of the things that come up while having a sale. When people buy something they have to bring help for hauling furniture, but we do help if somebody has a lot of bags or smaller stuff. My sister has done sales for 25 years so she could tell a lot of stories.

Anyways, we looked at a house that somebody wanted a sale at about a month ago and had to finish the one we were doing first before we thought about having this one. This past Monday we met with the person again and then agreed to have the sale. My sister decided that she thought we could probably have the sale before Christmas. So yesterday, we started working there and started in the bedrooms organizing and already pricing items. The guys started working in the basement. Today we're going to see how much we get done again before she decides to put it in the papers to advertise the sale.

I'm one to procrastinate on the Christmas shopping but do have a few gifts bought. Maybe I'll get hopping now that we're working on an estate sale. I think you really do get more done when you have a time schedule instead of putting things off till later. We'll see what happens.......!

Christmas Traditions or Not?

 Christmas Traditions or Not?

Do you have any Christmas traditions? Maybe you have a tradition that has been passed on from generation to generation. Do you bake the same Christmas cookies every year or decorate the Christmas tree as a family. Maybe you have started your own tradition since you got married. Maybe you don't have any traditions at all.

It's not really a tradition because I go to church regularly, but on Christmas Eve my family goes to our church service. Our church always has a candlelight service and everyone gets a candle for themselves. The last song at the end of the service is Silent Night. They turn off all the lights and everyone gets their candles lit. It takes awhile before the whole church has their's lit. The ushers go to each pew with a candle and lights the person's candle at the end of the pew. Then that person lights the one beside him or her and so on until the whole church is filled with the glow of candlelight. It is really beautiful!

With the candles all lit the congregation sings Silent Night. The organist plays the first few notes then everyone sings a cappela. It is touching and really makes you think what Christmas is all about....the first Christmas when baby Jesus was born.

Christmas has really been made into a lot of nothing but commercializing and money! When did this all start? I don't really know the answer to that. Christmas is going to come no matter what... whether we have our decorations up or presents bought. I used to get stressed about Christmas to try to get everything ready but not anymore.

I guess I've come to a point in my life where I don't fret about such things. Decorations are nice to look at, especially when you have small children. Don't get me wrong, I love to look at the lights and decorations but that's not what it's all about. The reason we celebrate CHRISTmas is because of the holy child's birth! Think about it when you are getting ready for the big day.

Personalized Christmas Tree Ornaments at Ornaments With Love ~ Review + GIVEAWAY

Disclosure: I received complimentary product in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

 Personalized Ornaments at Ornaments With Love  ~ Review + GIVEAWAY

It's hard to believe but I just heard today that it's only 13 weeks until Christmas! It seems like summer just started and now we have fall. I'm always a procrastinator when it comes to Christmas. I know it comes up quick but I always think I have more time for shopping and baking. Then it's a couple days before Christmas and I'm scrambling around trying to get everything done.

If you want to get ahead of the game this year I know a wonderful place you can get some unique and personalized ornaments for yourself or a gift. Ornaments With Love has a wide variety of ornaments that you get personalized with names and dates at no additional cost.

For my review I chose the Personalized House Family Christmas Ornament. I chose the ornament with 5 people since we have 5 in our family. You can also select  3, 4 or 6 people for this ornament. It is so adorable with all of our names on the cute little Santa hats. The house is so intricately decorated with lights and a wreath with a red bow. It also has our street address on the bottom of the ornament with the year 2014. This ornament is a nice size for a Christmas tree and measures 4.5" x 3.5". The colors are so bright and vivid and the solid ornament is made of resin.

Ornaments With Love has many other types of ornaments for your selection such as couples, babies, hobbies, pets, professions, military, music, angels and many others. You will be sure to find something you like! They offer free shipping for orders over $50 shipped to the USA and you get your ornament very quickly. You even get a free gift bag with your order.

Watch the short video below to see how Ornaments With Love personalization is done.

My new ornament will be a keepsake for many years to come and I'm sure it will become a family heirloom!

Thank you to Ornaments With Love for the opportunity to review their beautiful ornament!

GIVEAWAY: If you would like a chance to win a personalized ornament  from Ornaments With Love for yourself just enter the Rafflecopter below! Ages 18 or older. This giveaway is for U.S. and Canada only. Ends October 23, 2014.


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KitchenAid Mixer Giveaway! (Ends 12/9 - U.S. & Canada)

It’s Christmas Baker's Edition Giveaway Event

Organized by: Mom Powered Media. Co-hosted by: Shannon's View from Here, My Dairy-Free Gluten-Free Life, Joans 5 Star Reviews, Sweetphi, Mommy Kat and Kids and Naturally Frugalicious.

Something I've always dreamed of having is a KitchenAid Mixer! It would be so great to make those Christmas cookies and other treats for the holidays or any time, for that matter! There are so many neat kitchen gadgets  and products that are useful and would make great Christmas gifts. Some products that would be great gifts would be a Keurig Brewing System, and a Hamilton Beach Breakfast Sandwich Maker. For that Christmas morning breakfast, a Presto Cool Touch Griddle would also be great for the whole family. I like gadgets that makes it easier for cooking in the kitchen when you have a big crowd or family for Christmas holidays.

MPM Network Bloggers are gearing up for an amazing holiday season. Make sure you stop by and checkout all the tasty recipes below. Surely you will find something that makes your holiday even yummier!

One lucky reader will receive a KitchenAid Tilt-head Stand Mixer + accessories!

Giveaway ends December 9th at 11:59pm, open to US & Canada, ages 18+. To enter please use the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck.

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Disclosure: Gloria's Bits and Pieces is not responsible for sponsor prize shipment. Please contact teri@mompoweredmedia.com with questions or to see your business or blog featured on the next big event!

Decorating For Christmas

Decorating For Christmas

My  Little Christmas Tree 

Every year I love looking at all the decorations in the stores and that people start putting up outside of their houses.

My favorite restaurant (The Cracker Barrel) has had Christmas decorations up for quite some time already and it's so nice to look at all the shiny and glittery ornaments and the like. But when you think about it, what is all the decorating for? I know the stores all want to make money, but why do you decorate? It is nice when you have little children but when your kids are older it isn't quite as fun any more. When you have little children Christmas is more fun because of their excitement about everything. 

I still like looking at my vintage Christmas candles of carolers and also some other vintage hard plastic decorations from the 50's. I've also got a vintage wreath that I purchased last year on eBay that I just thought about. I do like looking at vintage Christmas decorations because of the nostalgia. Most importantly, I think the true meaning of Christmas is lost sometimes. Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem. This is what the true meaning of Christmas is.

It is nice to look at your Christmas tree for awhile, but then it's time to take it down. To me, it's always kind of a let down. Maybe you could call it the "after Christmas blues". Well, now that I've told my little story, what about you? How do you feel about decorating for Christmas? 

Memories of Christmas 2012

Two of My Nieces and Me

Cousins Playing A Game

My Mom and Me

Decorating Christmas Cookies!

Fresh From The Oven

My Daughter Karissa

Son Travis and Daughter Karissa Decorating

Busy Hands

Some Finished Products

A Decorated Mitten

A Plate of Decorated Christmas Cookies

 Some Of My Vintage Christmas Decorations

Angels, Snowmen, Elf, Christmas Trees, Boot

Santas, Reindeer, Sleighs,  Snowman,  Christmas Trees

Three Different Christmas Trees

My family has a kind of smaller house.  My sister JoAnn has a small house also, thus we have smaller Christmas trees!  The top one is JoAnn's Christmas tree, the middle is my niece Lisa's tree (in her bedroom) and the bottom is my tree (not fully decorated yet)!  I have a bigger tree but it's too hard to get around the back to decorate it, etc. so I got this smaller one a few years ago.   My daughter wanted to decorate it but is swamped with homework for college before her Christmas break.  One of my son's decorated this much but didn't put the garland and some other decorations on yet.   We didn't even have time to make Christmas cookies as of today.  Maybe tomorrow it will happen.

My Sister's Tree

My Niece's Tree With Justin  Bieber On Wall

My Christmas Tree Not Done Yet

Real or Artificial?

  Yes, it's all about Christmas trees! What do you have this year?   We have had an artificial tree for quite a few years now.  When the kids were younger we all went out and picked a tree at a tree farm.  When the kids got bigger we got an artificial tree because it was just plain too much work to have a real one.  Dragging it home and then cutting the trunk to fit the tree stand.  Then you have the needles falling and having to water it.  Real trees are nice but when you think of it, you're cutting a tree down just to throw it out in a few weeks or so.  Just think how long it takes to grow a tree and how many trees that get cut down during Christmas.

My vintage Gurley Candles

Artificial trees are made to look more like real ones these days.  When you decorate them and put the lights on sometimes you can't tell the difference.  I like to decorate but don't really get into decorating the tree anymore.  My daughter is going to college for art and she gets the job of decorating the tree.  She loves to arrange the balls and decorations just so and takes her time.  I'm kind of the opposite and am in kind of in a hurry to get it done.  My favorite decorations are some vintage Christmas Gurley Candles.  They are from the 50's and you used to be able to buy them at Kresge's stores.   They were kind of like the dollar stores of today.  The first time I bought some was at an estate sale a few years ago.  Recently I got some more at another estate sale and on Ebay.  I also have some old paper mache angels and snowmen that are from the 50's or maybe a little earlier.  Vintage Christmas decorations remind me of the older days and I just really like them.

How about you?  What's your favorite decorations and do you like to decorate the tree?  By the way, we didn't get our tree up yet.  It is still sitting in the box in the corner.

Think About It......................

Do you believe in the saying "what goes around comes around"?  Maybe you've heard the saying "you reap what you sow".   I believe in doing good to one another and it will return to you in some form.  It's so easy to be friendly or smile at the checkout lady when you're buying groceries or paying for your gas.  Okay, maybe we don't always feel like being cheerful when we're having a bad day.  I do get in a bad mood sometimes.  What can get me in a bad mood is rudeness and people who think they are better than others.  Maybe someone has more money and nicer material things and they like to flaunt it in front of others.  This really upsets me.  We are all mere humans and the only one who is above us is our Maker.  This Christmas season (and after) if everyone would be more kinder this world would be a better place to live in.  Wouldn't that be awesome!