Happy Holidays from the Mom blog

I want to wish everyone who visits the mom blog a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Kwanza. I'm getting this out early as we are about to embark on our holiday travels just like we do every year.

Remember to hold your dear ones close, take in every moment, and have fun creating memories with your families this Christmas.

I'll leave you with one of my favorite Christmas quotes...

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.

Dr. Seuss

Thanks for a great year...

We will resume after the 27th... but maybe..just maybe. I'll twitter before then. Let's just leave this little mircoblogging obsession between you and me. ;)

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Christmas Season In Photos

Want Christmas food crafts for your kids? Contest For Moms has great Christmas Ideas for Moms too!

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Signs Of The Christmas Season With Kids

I made boiled eggs this morning for Baby Picasso.

While I was cutting one up he said,

"Eeew, those eggs smell bad. They're not getting any presents for Christmas!"


I guess that song finally got to him... Well, that and his older brother.

Have you been good or bad this year?

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Stuck In Christmas 1994

A couple days ago the boys and I decided to put up the Christmas tree* before taking off to our holiday destination. As we were putting up the tree I asked the ever obliging husband to put on some festive music for us. He went through song after song and I just wasn't satisfied with what I was hearing until "All I Want For Christmas Is You" came on. It was then that I realized I'm still stuck in 1994 when in comes to Christmas music. Yes, all I want is Mariah Carey Christmas songs! And, I could go on about 1994 and how it was when I was young and in love for the first time with my then-boyfriend-now-husband but I won't bore you with the details.

Anyway, there are a few more songs that I can't do without during the holidays...

And, embarrassingly enough, here they are. These are the songs that get me into the holiday spirit. I've graciously included the youtube videos for you because I think it's necessary to watch them too!

Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You

Alvin & The Chipmunks Christmas Song

Baby It's Cold Outside from the movie Elf

N Sync's Happy Holidays

Adam Sandler's Hannukah Song

So, what Christmas (er, holiday) songs do it for you? Tell me if I missed some of the best ones.

*P.S. A teensy tiny electrical fire may have discouraged me from decorating the tree at that time. Once I bought some new extension cords and figured out how to wire things up without burning down the house we resumed decorating the tree. I'm happy to report that our tree is no longer naked and is actually very cute in a two-little-boys-decorated-it-sort of way!

Oh, and I've updated the Christmas TV Special list blog post from last year. It now goes to the link with this year's Christmas TV specials which have already begun! The definitive list include everyone's holiday favorites (dates & times included so you can mark your calendars) such as Rudolph, Frosty, The Grinch, It's A Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story, Home Alone, and many more.
Tonight's lineup include: A Christmas Story, Christmas With The Kranks, Elf, Santa Claus: The Movie and others.

And if that isn't enough to get you in the holiday spirit here is a link to CFM's Fun Santa Craft Ideas

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47 Days Till What?

Did you know that there are only 47 days left until Christmas?

Here at the mom blog household Santa was on our minds in August so we've taken care of a few things but the real holiday shopping frenzy doesn't start until after Thanksgiving.

This year I'm planning on buying a lot of things online and it looks like I'm definitely not alone. According to bizreport.com, over 33 billion dollars will be spent online during this year's holiday shopping season. That is 20% more than last year. Will you be joining in?

If you are an online holiday shopper then I've got the perfect guide for you. I've put together a Christmas Gifts Under $20 Shopping Guide. We've got some of the top gift ideas under $20 for moms, dads, toddlers, pre-k kids, and much more to come in the next week so don't forget to check it out to help you with your holiday shopping. And if you have some great ideas for gifts under $20 or you are or know a mom owned business who has a product they want to promote send me an email.

Don't forget to enter our current contests going on right here on the mom blog and over at amomsreview.com

You could win a Trendy Tadpole T-shirt for your little one here (deadline is Mon. 11/12/07).
You could win some Oopsie Dazie hair accessories here (deadline is tonight!)
You could win a stylish Dabib here (deadline is tonight!)

And if you are wanting to make some extra cash this holiday season, why not check out HomeJobForMoms.biz 's real list of work at home jobs or think about starting your own online business?

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Go Straight To Christmas!

Does anyone feel like they are thrown right into the Christmas Holiday season the day after Halloween? Don't pass Go, Don't collect $200 - Go straight to Christmas!!!

This Is Why I feel Like Christmas Has Already Begun And My Halloween Memories Have Been Shoved Into The Outer Limits Of My Long Term Memory.

Huh? What's Halloween?

1. I was in Wal-mart the night of trick-or-treat to pick up a few last minute items and they were stocking the shelves with tons of Christmas items. Wal-mart, couldn't you wait one more day?

2. I already have a nutcracker up on my fireplace. Yes, I'm aware this one is all my fault. I'm guilty of buying it early and having no place else to put it.

3. I got an email yesterday (on Halloween) saying

Hi Amanda,

Tomorrow is the official start of the holiday season!

And the rest could have very well been blah, blah, blah because I was stuck on the above text. What? Holy Heck, slow down...

So, we don't get a cooling off period after Halloween or anything?

** Oh yeah, I also wanted to let everyone know the winners of the Amy Grant book contest. BTW, I turned 31 on October 19th. Many of you guessed it correctly! :) The winners are Arika, Renee and Leslie. Ladies please contact me so I can mail your prize!

You still have time to enter our Toddler Comfy PC contest. The deadline to comment and enter is Saturday November 3rd, 2007. Later today I will be bringing you 2 new contests right here on the blog with more coming along so make sure you fit a visit to this blog everyday! We're gonna be busy this holiday season!

We also have 2 contests going on over at AMomsReview.com right now! Check them out! You could win some Adorable Oopsie Dazie hair clips and Dabib! These products would make great holiday gifts. Hey, if everyone else is already promoting the upcoming holiday season so can I! ;)

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Christmas Contest Winners

I'd like to announce the winners of our 2006 Christmas Giveaway Contest. Here they are...

Cortney P. from Plattsburgh, NY

Cheryl from Rio Rancho, NM

Linda from North Versailles, PA

Nadine from Lindsay, OK

Valerie M from Marion, OH

If you are one of the above winners please contact me from the email address that you submitted in your entry.

Winners receive Choose Your Own Adventure's Abominable Snowman DVD's by R.A. Montgomery. If you didn't win you can purchase a DVD here

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