Rage Against The Minivan

This post is sponsored by the fine folks at You Need A Budget I'm already dreading the holiday hangover. Every year, it seems like the number of days between Thanksgiving and Christmas get shorter and shorter. I love Christmas, but I'm almost never ready for it to arrive. Our traditional holiday letter seems to get finished and put in the mail later in December every year. The presents get wrapped closer and closer to Christmas Eve . . . the rush to plan travel, or plan meals, or plan ways to . . .

This post is sponsored by Samaritan’s Purse Gift Catalog I'm leading another "Occupy Christmas" movement in our house this year. By that I mean bringing the consumerism down a notch for the holidays and bringing the tangible giving up for those in need. Less plastic toys for privileged kids, more food on the table for those without... that kind of thing. In a season marked by giving, I love the idea of giving back to our community and our planet. I want my kids to have clear and consistent . . .

I would be remiss if I didn’t share photos of our annual “Jafta gets a pie in the face” tradition. It started when he was 5 years old. I’d made a cheesecake for Thanksgiving.  I'm not sure that the kids have ever witnessed me making a dessert that resembles a pie.  When Jafta saw what I was doing, he begged me . . . I mean BEGGED ME . . . to throw it in someone's face.  He was sure that this would be the funniest and coolest thing that could ever happened.  He even . . .

This post was sponsored by the Evangelical Christian Credit Union. The Evangelical Christian Credit Union (ECCU) has created a simple movement this holiday season, encouraging people to find the most creative ways to share love with others, $10 at a time. The #GiveTen Generosity campaign is designed to promote a core value of the ECCU: giving. ECCU is a member-owned financial cooperative that uses member deposits to fuel missions around the world, investing profits back into social causes. ECCU . . .

Today I'm highlighting Black Friday sales at some my favorite brands that give back, or that are good for the planet. Krochet Kids is an incredible organization that empowers and mentors at-risk women in Peru and Uganda, offering them sustainable work and business training. And their products (beanies, clothing, bags) are really cute. They are offering 20% off and free shipping. FashionABLE started working in Ethiopia five years ago, providing weaving jobs for women who coming out of the . . .

I’m trying to get my holiday cards out really early this year. We moved this spring and I haven’t been great about updating our address with family and friends, so I’m hoping that our holiday card can also serve as a “we’ve moved” reminder and give everyone our new address. I’m going with Minted again for our cards. I'm a big fan of Minted because their cards are sourced from a global community of independent graphic designers. Their cardstock is thick and includes a recycled option, and their . . .

I grew up with cranberry sauce out of a can. My grandmother, and then later my mother, would empty the gelatinous mold only a plate and then cut it into thick slices. This is all I knew cranberry sauce to be. When I was a young adult, I finally tried homemade cranberry sauce, and a lightbulb went on. Kind of like the lightbulb that went on when I realized that brussel sprouts could be roasted instead of boiled. This thing can be delicious. I thought I hated cranberry sauce, but no. I just hated . . .