Christmas Decoration Project and Gift Supplies from Dollar Tree

Holiday season is just around the corner and I'm sure many of us will be spending more than usual to prepare for it, be it decorating the house or gifting gifts to our loved ones.  

What better way to do it by doing yourself a.k.a D.I.Y. I'll be sharing 2 simple projects that I've done all using $1 items that can be easily found at Dollar Tree.   

This money saving mom approves!!!  

1) Christmas Tree using string lights.  

Since our family moves around a lot, getting a huge Christmas tree + deco is a NO NO for now!

So for this simple project, I only needed to use 1 string light to make this Christmas "Tree". 

If you need to make a bigger one, you can either get a longer string light or joined 2 string lights together!  

After sticking the string lights to the 

wall using tape, I then added a star sticker on the top ("borrowed" the sticker from my kids which they got from church) and a few ornaments ("borrowed" it from my kids which they got it from some kid's events)  

Total cost = $1.  

Total time = 15 minutes.   

(I put it up the night before Christmas to surprised the kiddos n placed all the Christmas presents under the finished "tree"... Boy were they surprised the next day!!!)  

2) Gift Basket for ALL occasions.  

A gift basket is the easiest gift to "wrap"! 

All you need to do is get a basket (from DollarTree) and dump everything in!!! 

Then you get one of the many fun n colorful designs of giant gift sack wrapper (from DollarTree), gather the top of the bag together, and tie with the cord ribbon that's included. And finish it off with a to/from gift tag that's also included!!! 

And voila, you have a beautiful gift basket ready in minutes...  

Tip: If you are making a small gift basket, you can half the giant gift sack wrapper and use it to make 2 gift baskets!!! Just have to tape the bottom of one of the cut halves. Even more value for the money... Lol!!!  

Total cost = $1 (basket~comes in many shapes n sizes) + $1 (giant gift sack wrapper~comes with 1 wrapper, 1 tie cord and 1 gift tag) = $2   

Total time = 5 minutes.   

Do share with me in the comments box down below if you have any dollar tree projects you have worked on! Would love to see your creations ;)   

Happy Holidays everyone...   

Here's a fun video of Princess Anna Clause (Sienna) and Superhero Bat Clause (Skyler) sharing how Dollar Tree can help you get all of your Christmas supplies!
https://youtu.be/idHvZFVya9o

***I was compensated for this post. This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.***    

$1 Holiday Deco

 

$1 Stocking Stuffers

Disney On Ice: Worlds of Enchantment

Written by Karthik Naga aka Mr. Hubby a.k.a daddy #SiennaSkyler (mommy's on "break")

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Disney On Ice: Worlds of Enchantment

Sienna and Skyler had the opportunity to enter the dazzling world of Disney magic, live on ice where Lightning McQueen, Mater and the crew of Disney Pixar’s Cars perform high-speed stunts and raced across the ice like you’ve never seen before!

They joined Ariel as she dove into the underwater kingdom of Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Jessie and other favorites from the Toy Story gang tried to escape from Sunnyside Daycare in one of their most daring adventure ever from Disney Pixar’s Toy Story 3 – proving that the toys are back in town! Plus, they entered the wintery world of Arendelle with sisters Anna and Elsa from the BAFTA and Academy Award® winning and number one animated feature film of all time, Disney’s Frozen. Anna embarked on an epic journey with the hilarious snowman Olaf and rugged mountain-man Kristoff to find her sister, the magical Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom of Arendelle in eternal winter.

From wheels to waves, icy wonderlands to infinity and beyond, we were able to see some of our family’s favorite Disney moments come to life at Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Enchantment.

Here's a short clip of SiennaSkyler enjoying the show especially Skyler who enjoyed the Disney Pixar’s Cars the most!

https://youtu.be/X8g8SWlx9OA

This was our third Disney On Ice experience, and we were able to giveaway FIVE free tickets to a family as their 3 children were able to enjoy the show as well.

You can enter for our future giveaways at the Spectrum Center by following us on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/jamiechaw/

https://www.instagram.com/karthik_naga/

But before you do that, please check out our Disney On Ice blog about SIX reasons to never take your kids to Disney On Ice:

http://karmie080808.blogspot.com/2017/10/6-reasons-to-never-take-your-kids-to.html

Disclaimer: This is a Media invite sponsored by Hornets Sports & Entertainment. All opinions are solely our own.

Checklist before school starts

This year, my daughter Sienna is in 1st grade and my son Skyler is in pre K. 

It's only been our 2nd year of formal schooling here in USA, so this momma is still quite new to this system n getting the hang of it. Since the routine seems to be the same every school year, I thought I'll jot down my to-do list for my future reference moving forward...

***mom brain***. 

Hope it's useful for your mom brain too ;)

Do comment in the comment box below if I have missed anything...

1 month before

Immunization ~ This is VERY important!!!

In order for your child to attend school, his/her immunization record needs to be up to date. 

Do schedule an appointment and complete their wellness check + immunization! 

School supplies ~ Start looking out for school supplies n compare prices using store flyers (Walmart, Walgreens, rite aid, CVS, target, Dollar General,etc). 

I particularly love shopping at Staples for school supplies as they do price match and they will email you store coupons ($5 off $10, etc...) too. Double win!!! 

Buy more if you think it's a good deal and stock up for next year(s)...

(To my readers outside of USA who might not be familiar with the USA school system...the public/magnet/charter schools here are free to attend, but new school supplies have to be provided to the school every year <- the supply list will be given every year)

School uniforms

Some schools do not require school uniforms and some schools do. My daughter transferred from a school that does not to one that requires. I personally love the idea and convenience of school uniforms as I grew up in Malaysia wearing school uniforms every single day!!! 

I found out that they only start selling school uniforms towards the end of summer. 

There's a good reason for it as kids have growth spurts so the later you buy them the better!!!

Target, old navy, Walmart, etc sells them. 

I bought my daughter's dresses online from Gymboree for a great deal! 

Tip: My daughter's school allows white, khaki and navy blue colors for tops. Navy blue and khaki for bottoms. Try to avoid buying white tops as you would end up with a black one by the end of the school year. Lol! 

Tip: Try to avoid buying shorts (okay maybe buy 1 or 2) as your kids can only wear it for a short period of time before the weather gets cold. 

My daughter's school allows leggings under dresses and skirts! 

Yayyy... that means she can wear throughout the year including winter!

Shoes!

Some schools only allow close toes shoes so sandals aren't allowed. I learnt it the hard way as my daughter was able to wear sandals in her previous school. So when she joined the new school, she had to only wear close toes shoes! And during summer break, my kids wear sandals EVERY single day!!!

So when it was time to go back to school, my daughter couldn't fit into her sports shoes... so we had to scramble to buy her new close toe shoes!!!

Tip: always try on their shoes a week before school starts. 

You never know when your kids might have a growth spurt!!! 

Including socks too...

1-3 days before

• Cut finger nails
• Hair cuts
• Label lunch bag, water bottle, lunch box

Night before

• Get ready uniforms/outfits
• Extra change of clothes to be kept at school (preschool age)
• Back pack
• Socks, shoes
• Transportation tags on lanyard 
• Snacks
• Water bottle
• Lunch bag
• A special 1st day encouragement post it note/letter in their lunch bag!
  "Enjoy ur 1st day of school"
  "Hope your day is going well, can't wait to see you soon!"

1-7 days after school starts.

Head to stores like Target, Walmart, etc to find school supplies on clearance. 

This is the time to stock up for next school year(s)!!!

School bags, lunch boxes, lunch bags n school uniforms will go on sale too...

All year round

I stocked up on snacks whenever I see a good deal. 

Since I coupon, I have a stockpile ready to feed an army!!! 

I try to buy the healthier kinds but it is a challenge. 

So I pack lots of fruits to balanced their diet and add more nutrients. 

Since Sienna is in school for many hours, snacks are essential. I packed their lunches too...

(Sienna gets to buy lunch at the school cafeteria once every few weeks)

Click here to see my stockpile and how I'm doing it for cheap!

If you decide to download the Ibotta app, don't forget to use my referral code "utndeyx" to get $10 right away in your account!

If you would like to try Little Nut, a snack that helps Reduce Risk of Peanut Allergy, click here for the link to it.

If your kids like Lance snacks as much as my kids, and would like to purchase it in bulk I've found a pretty good deal! Lance Fresh Sandwich Crackers Variety Pack - 36 packs

Hope your little ones are enjoying school. 

Sienna n Skyler are loving theirs!!!

Wishing all stay at home mommas, happy "ME" time...

Guess where this momma went on her 1st day of mommy's "freedom"???

Target + Starbucks it is!!! 

Continuing the American tradition...

Disclaimer: 

***This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links***