Tie or attach this festive Merry Christmas card to hostess gifts, a bottle of wine, homemade goodies or use as a personalized note this holiday season.

Enjoy!

If you are in search of some new inspiration for your Christmas table this year, take a peak at these 5 DIY place card ideas (Source: Marthastewart.com); bows, peppermint candies, holly, paper leaves or a Christmas tree. Whether you choose a playful, traditional or modern design, these cute place card ideas will help pull your table design together.

Happy Holidays!

If you are stumped this year about what to get your child’s teachers as a holiday gift, consider these inexpensive options:

1. Handmade Candy Cane Tree

2. Monogrammed Canvas Napkin Rings- landsend.com

3. Christmas Ornament

4. Reindeer Noses Candy- Fill a jar or bag with red candies (bubble gum, red hots, M&Ms) and tie with a gift tag

5. Starbucks gift card personalized with a tag reading "Thanks a Latte"

6. Cookbook- Tie a wooden spoon or holiday cookie cutter on top for an added touch

7. Donate something to their classroom in your child's name- art supplies, books

8.  Redbox movie night- Fill a popcorn bucket full of your teacher's favorite goodies and add a coupon for a Redbox rental

9. Tea- Tie a simple tag to a bundle of individual tea packages reading "Thanks for Being a Tea-riffic Teacher"

10. Monogrammed Crayon Picture (see picture)

11. Poinsettia with a gift tag reading "Thanks for helping me grow this Fall"; you could attach the same tag to a bundle of seed packets or fresh herb plants

12. Fill a bag or jar full of Hershey's kisses and attach a tag that reads "Merry Kiss-Mas" From......

13. Beauty Gift- Nail polish and file with a tag reading "I File you under 'A' for Awesome"

14. Homemade cookies or bars stacked on top of a peppermint candy tray; wrap in cellophane and tie a gift tag with festive ribbon (See our Make it Monday Blog Post for instructions on how to make the tray)

15. Personalized "From the Kitchen Of" gift tag stickers

One of my favorite DIY Christmas ideas this year was inspired by a tray that one of my guests brought her cookies on to my annual Holiday Cookie Exchange.

Due to the hustle and bustle of the party, I didn't notice the tray until after the guests had departed. And as it was hard to remember which tray each guest brought, I proceeded to make a list of guests and cookies and attempt to play a game of match. After about an hour, I was able to figure out which one of my creative friends had made this adorable tray. And, I had to know how she made it.

And now, I want to share this super cute idea with all of you.

Peppermint Candy Tray How-To

Step 1- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Step 2- Line an oven safe pan with parchment paper

Step 3- Unwrap and fill the tray with traditional peppermint candies; work from the outside in, placing the candies in a circular pattern

Step 4- Bake the candies at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until slightly melted and 'set'

Step 5- Remove the tray from the oven, cool slightly then flip the candy disc onto a cooling rack

Use these peppermint candy trays as a base for gifts this year. Stack homemade cookies, bars or bread loaves on top, wrap in clear cellophane, add tie a gift tag on using festive ribbon.

Need a simple Christmas party favor idea this year?

Take a peak at what I made for my 2 year olds' class party....

Cherry M&Ms....aka Reindeer Noses in frosted to-go containers.

These were under $8 total for 12; the containers were $3.99, the candy was on sale at Walgreens and then I added the Reindeer Noses favor tags.

Printable gift tags offer more than meets the eye! With a little creativity, simple images can be repurposed for other uses.

One of my customers shared these three cute holiday card and gift tag ideas using one of the dog lovers gift tag collections offered by Crowning Details. The bulldog is wearing an actual jingle bell collar, she added a chenille hat to the second image and the third is wearing a holiday light around his collar.

Hopefully these creative ideas will inspire you to generate new ideas and uses for images or printables you have previously purchased! Or, have inspired you to create new tags and cards using these adorable dog images.

Happy Holidays!

Looking for a way to repurpose some of the holiday cards you receive each year?

Follow the steps outlined below to create an inexpensive, unique party snack container or party favor container using the free printable template, paper of your choice, scissors, glue and recycled holiday cards.

Step 1- Print and cut out cone template (see below)

Step 2- Trace and cut out cones from cardstock, scrapbooking paper, craft paper or colored construction paper

Step 3- Glue or tape ends together to form a cone

Step 4- Trace or punch circles or ovals from recycled Christmas cards and cut out; you can also use holiday cookie cutters as templates for cutting shapes

Step 5- Attach the punched or cut out card images to the front of the snack or favor cone using glue or double sided tape

Step 6- Fill the snack cones with your favorite party snack or candy and place on display

Optional- Punch two holes on opposite sides of the cone, thread ribbon through and tie to make a carrying favor or gift tote (see picture)

This year's Second Annual Holiday Cookie Exchange's theme was red, white and craft......

Upon arrival, guests were greeted with a 3-tiered display of breakfast items (muffins, croissants, breakfast breads), individual assorted fruit cups, fresh coffee and a hot cocoa bar, full of stir in options (peppermint sticks, toffee sticks, butterscotch pieces, chocolate and mint pieces and handmade marshmallows).

Everyone's cookies were neatly displayed in the dining room for the swap upon arrival. To-go containers were supplied, making it easy for everyone to take 1 or 2 of each cookie home to their families. For added silliness, Christmas photo booth props were out on display, which the hostess's two year old got a kick out of after guests departed. And as an added detail, cookie cutter favors adorned with cookie themed "Merry Christmas" tags were provided by the hostess for each guest.

Resource Credits:

Invitation, Favor Tags, Photo Booth Props and Favor Signage- Crowning Details

Hot Cocoa Bar- Williams Sonoma and Starbucks

To-Go Cookie Boxes- Container Store

Don't forget to leave milk and cookies out for Santa this year!

Make your plate extra cute with our FREE printable "For Santa" tag!

Be sure to check back and to "Like" us on Facebook for some yummy cookie recipes this week!

Are you ready to help your child create their wish list for Santa? As we all gear up for the holiday season ahead, it is so important to take time to build traditions with our children. This year, while our oldest may not be quite ready to grasp all of the components of the Christmas holiday, we are certainly hoping that he enjoys his visit with Santa more than last year's (he cried the entire time)! To prepare for his upcoming visit this weekend, we hope to sit down and explain to him what to expect....and possibly, to get some of his own ideas for wishes down for his scrapbook.

Use these cute letters to Santa this year to create not only wonderful memories with your child, but a keepsake for their scrapbook!