Last Minute Holiday Gift Guide for Him 2012

Hey everyone!

I'm so sorry for not getting this up sooner--I typed it out and completely forgot to post it!  So, I've changed it up a bit to make it last minute holiday shopping friendly!  I did a Holiday Gift Guide for Her last week, so here's my version for men!  I know boyfriends, dads and brothers can be hard to shop for, so hopefully this will help you all out!

For the Electronic Lover

 1. Video Games

These are perfect for boyfriends, brothers or nephews.  As much as I hate them, almost every guy plays video games these days, and if you know what kind of games they like they're a great gift!  If you're clueless on what game to get him, ask his friends or even the guy at the video game store!

2. AppleTV

This is something that I've just discovered this year, and there are non-Apple versions of this product, but it's perfect for my dad!  He loves renting shows, movies and documentaries on his iPad, and now he can connect them on his TV to watch on a bigger screen.  You can get these from the Apple store, Best Buy or off of Amazon.

3. iPad Accessories

Another gift inspired by my dad is a keyboard for an iPad, or any accessories associated with electronics they use frequently.  He's always complaining about trying to type on his iPad screen, so this makes it easier for him.  The best one I've ever seen or heard about is the Kensington Keyboard.

For the Goof

1. Fake Mustaches

I actually recently got these from a white elephant gift swap, but how fun are they?! Any goofball would love them

For the Sports Fanatic

1. Pillow Pet

You can get these either online or from sports stores in most malls, and they're a great small gift for a little brother or nephew, especially if they are a sports fanatic!

2. Tickets

Who wouldn't love to get tickets to watch their favorite teams play?  If you check out websites like Stubhub, you can usually get pretty good prices too (depending on the event, of course).

For Every Man

1. Cologne

If you know what your man likes to smell like--or what YOU like him to smell like-- go out and buy him his (or your) favorite cologne.  If you don't know what you like, you could try to get your hands on a Sephora Fragrance for Men Sampler, which allows him to try all different samples of colognes, then buy a full size of their favorite.

Like I said, I've edited this slightly to make sure it's all things that are easily accessible at the last minute, since I completely forgot to post this sooner!  Over the next few days I'm planning on putting up a post or two on how I bake my FAVORITE holiday cookies--because I LOVE to bake!  One of the recipes is even gluten free!  Let me know if you would like to see that!

What are you getting for the men in your life?

Comment and let me know!

xo Sarah

Bath and Body Works Candle Haul

Hey everyone!

I promise, as school winds down for the semester I will get better at blogging regularly!  I've been home for Thanksgiving, and am so ready for Christmas to be here!  As I'm sure you all know (if you're from the US at least) that the day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday starts.  If you don't know, Black Friday is a day when stores have lots of sales--it kicks off the holiday shopping season for many.  Now, I'll be the first to admit that I've never actually been Black Friday shopping (it scares me a little!), but I did go shopping the Saturday and Sunday after to see what deals were left.  I wasn't able to find much clothing wise, but I did score at one store in particular--Bath and Body Works.  They were having a 2 for $20 sale on their 3-wick candles, which are my favorite candles in the world!, so of course I had to stock up on some.  Here's what I bought!:

I purchased two of their Winter Candle, which is one of my favorites for the season!  I also bought two Twisted Peppermint candles.  I also bought Marshmallow Fireside, Cashmere,Merry Mistletoe,Fresh Balsamand Spiced Apple Toddycandles.  Then, I just got a cute snowflake candle holder and gold gift bags, because some of these candles are gifts for other people.  Finally, because they were 4 for $15, my mom, sister and I bought Twisted Peppermint soap to take home with us.  

That's all I purchased!  Now, of course, not all of these are for me.  The sale ends at midnight tonight, so you still have time to place orders online or run to your local B&BW store before they close!

What are your favorite candle scents from Bath and Body Works?

Did you get anything on Black Friday, from there or anywhere else?

Let me know in the comments below! <3 i="i">

Make sure to follow if you like it!

xo Sarah

Gifts That Give Back: Operation Christmas Child

Hey everyone!

So, this blog post is about something that is very close to my heart--giving back.  The holiday season is coming up (or, if you're me, in full swing!), and it's the perfect time to start giving back to those less fortunate.  I don't know how many of you have been with me since the beginning, but the first posts I ever did on this blog were Gifts That Give Back posts (which you can find here).  I love the feeling I get when I know I'm helping somebody else.  

This post is all about Operation Christmas Child, which is put on my the company Samaritan's Purse. This company does something amazing--they deliver Christmas presents to less fortunate children both in the United States and internationally.  All you have to do is shop for the gifts--which you can do very inexpensively, I went to the Dollar General and Target and only spent $35 on Christmas gifts for 5 kids.  Although I'm a "broke college student," this is the kind of thing I'm happy to spend money on.  You pack the boxes and take them to your closest drop off location (which you can find here), and they take care of the rest!  I wanted to get this post up, because the last day to drop the boxes off is November 19, 2012 this year! I know it's a little last minute, but it honestly took me 30 minutes to shop, pack and label the boxes!  

So, I'm going to give you all a little look at what I've packed in my boxes this year!

You can use either shoe boxes or small plastic bins to pack your boxes--I didn't have any shoe boxes so I bought these small bins from the Dollar General for $1 each!

Now, the fun part--PICKING OUT THE TOYS!

There are some restrictions on what you can and cannot put into a box--no weapons, chocolate, etc.  You can find a full list of ideas of what to and not to pack here.  

Here's what I bought for the kids--I bought some things for boys and girls, as well as some for younger kids and some for older!

For Boys:

For Girls:

I also threw in a coloring book for everybody!  Now, all you have to do is pack your boxes.  Wrapping isn't required, but I picked up some holiday themed tissue paper to put the gifts in inside the box, just to be a little more festive!

Now, download and print your shipping labels, cut them out, tape them to your box and mark the age/gender!

Now, they do ask that for each box, you make a $7 donation for shipping costs.  You can either do this by putting the money in an envelope and placing it in the top of the box, or you can make a donation online.  You can read more about this on their website (linked above!).

Now, you're done! And you've just given a child a wonderful Christmas!

I hope you all check out Operation Christmas Child!  Let me know in a comment if you have ever made a box for them, or if you plan to!

What's your favorite way to give back during the holidays?

Comment and let me know!

xo Sarah