Christmas is forever, not for just one day,
for loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away
like bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf.
The good you do for others is good you do yourself…

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Wishing You Peace, Love and Joy!

Got your lists ready? Are you checking them twice but having trouble coming up with some unique and thoughtful gift ideas that don’t break the bank? I had every intention of creating a master holiday gift guide for HGM this year, but alas the hectic schedule here at home got the best of me.

Thankfully, some great Bloggers have taken the time to create their own lists of holiday gift ideas.

Sommer from Green & Clean Mom has compiled a great variety of green and natural gift ideas for the whole family in her Holiday Gift Guide.

Tina at Think Simple Now has 38 Creative Gift Ideas to browse. They are not necessarily Eco, but certainly unique.

Tiffany at NatureMomsBlog has picked her favorite Green Toys for Christmas.

Gaiam Life has created a list for the Natural Beauty or Gadget Guy in your life.

Jenny Mannion has a very cool list of her Top 10 Thoughtful Gift Ideas For Under $20

The One Dollar Give is a brilliant way to get everyone involved. Each day in December, a popular blogger will highlight their favorite charity and encourage readers to donate only $1. Each day a different charity and a donation of only $1. The  potential is huge so share this with your friends or use this as a thoughtful way to give in someone’s memory.

In helping to establish a more mindful family Christmas, I also appreciated these two articles:

Jeff at My Supercharged Life has some ideas to Help Your Children Become Smart Shoppers

Raising Small Souls has some useful suggestions for introducing your children to Volunteering.

Best wishes to you and yours….

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Useful Links For Your Holiday Gift Ideas and More

I love decorating our home for Christmas. I am that mom who plays festive music each day for an entire month and the first few days of December are spend dancing to Christmas jazz while decorating. I personally love a simple modern style with some zen lines and splashes of color.  Is there a formal name for my decorating style? Decorating is one of my hobbies though, so even though the focus of HGM is not design, I wanted to include these decorating ideas because they will help you “green” your Christmas and save money.

This year, I’m incorporating more natural elements into our decorating to help green our Christmas. “Natural” however, doesn’t have to mean decorating that looks ragged or cheap. Try a couple of these ideas for a naturally chic Christmas:

1. Fresh Pomegranates. Arrange 3 or 5 on a decorative square or rectangular dish. They look gorgeous any time of year but especially at Christmas.
2. Tree Cuttings. Perfect for decorating banisters, mantles, and archways.  Nurseries have natural garlands for sale and so do farmer’s markets. Gather up boughs with cut ends together and tie with a beautiful satin ribbon or burlap. A perfect wreath over the hearth.
3. Twig Vases. Are there any cuttings available around your home? As long as they aren’t soaked, they make beautiful vase arrangements. I like to use glass vases and add a few small pine cones to the bottom.
4. Yarn Ball Wreaths. This kinda sounds lame, but I assure you, I saw this at Starbucks and loved what they did! Using your Christmas colors, create different sizes of yarn balls out of yarn. Some yarns have a little sparkle in them and look lovely at this time of year. Then arrange yarn balls with some conventional Christmas balls around a wreath form for a simple & chic look.
5. Display Gifts wrapped in scarves or simple brown paper with beautiful satin ribbon (that you can save each year) are beautiful arranged on an uncluttered shelf.

Each year, many families purchase new decorations for their home and tree. This year, why not choose to use some naturally chic decorations?

Share some of your holiday decorating ideas in the comments below!

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5 Ideas For Naturally Chic Christmas Decorating

Thanksgiving is fast approaching and I’m always on the hunt for terrific stuffing recipes to have on hand. Have a peek at this recipe, because it’s sure to be a winner with you and the whole family:

Holly’s Pilgrim Stuffing: Grab the recipe now!

Video courtesy of Cookus Interruptus – Cooking Despite Life’s Interruptions.

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In A Pinch: Holly’s Pilgrim Stuffing