2nd Installment: Holiday Shopping Made Easy so You Have More Time for Wine

The Berrrrs are Back…

Last week, The Berrrrs and I shared the first installment of the 2014 Holiday Shopping Made Easy so You Have More Time for Wine Guide and as promised here is the second installment. To keep the intro short I’ll answer some rapid fire questions.

What is this? A butt load of gift ideas to help with your holiday shopping 
What could I expect to find here – I hate finding gift guides that have really expensive gifts? You’ll find gift ideas of all prices with links, ideas, pictures, and promo codes… the whoooole hook up. 

Why would I check this out? With more than enough time to make or order, ship and wrap your gift you can avoid the holiday stress that comes with parking at the mall, waiting on long lines, and shopping with human Grinches.
Anything else I need to know? The gift guide is organized into categories with a present suggestion for everyone in the fam and I’ve starred* the items that are my absolute faves. 
In this installment you’ll find:Fabulous DIY gift ideas that are beyond easy and inexpensiveGift ideas for the out-of-the-box BerrrrGifts for Berrrrs who hate gifts but LOVE experiences
Don’t forget to check out the first installment. 
So now grab a glass bottle of wine, and relax (since you no longer have to stress about what to buy), get your credit card ready, and browse through these fabulous gifts ideas.* * *

For Toddler Berrrr: DIY Games

Famous Landmarks

While the original concept I found on this blog for early education was famous landmarks, just think of all of the options you have when you open up this DIY project to famous works of art and maps and people. Check out the easy tutorial here.

Memory Game

DIY Memory Game from Burlap and Blue

I recycled  this game from last year because, well, it’s adorable and multi-useful: promotes memorization, entertains, and gives you another place to display pictures. What a great way to keep your kids thinking about grandpa than to have your child find the matching piece. Check out the DIY tutorial at Burlap & Blue.

Go Fish*

This Personalized Go Fish is also really adorable and cheap to make. Although this blog used Photoshop and the result was phenomenal, those of you intimidated by Photoshop, can use PicMonkey.

Here’s how:
– First, choose the family photos you will be using and edit them in Picmonkey; editing or cropping them as you’d like and save it to your desktop.
– Next, using the “design” option on the PicMonkey home screen, select the size you’d like your project to be (4×6 is a good start. For the cards below I resized the pixels to 300×450).
– Then, choose the canvas/background color.
– After, in the overlay section on the right sidebar, choose “your own” and upload the first picture; resizing it however big you’d like your picture to appear.
– Finally, add text or any other design features you’d like to use for the personalized names.

Here’s how mine turned out without much fuss. Imagine with a bit more time how memorable a gift this would be:

The last thing I’d have to do is print them out on thicker paper and laminate. Voíla! DIY Go Fish Game.

Source: Imperfect Homemaking

For Mommy Berrrr: DIY Finishing Touches

Mason Jar Freshener

Pinterest is a tremendous source in all DIY ideas which is where I found this good (and simple) idea. In this project, all you need is a mason (canning) jar, a hammer and nails.

Directions:
1. Poke holes in the lid with a nail and hammer (you could make a design or keep it simple)
2. Fill the jar 1/4 full of baking soda and 6-8 of essential oil.
3. Done. That’s it. So simple right???

You could gift just one or make a few as a gift set of different aromas! View the full tutorial here!

DIY Beautifully Creative Plate and Mug Sharpie ideas*

This has endless options for any special occasion: make a cookie plate for Santa or write your favorite quote about friendship for your bestie or let your kids’ masterpiece be a gift for the grandparents or create a set of plates for your college grad who is moving to a new apartment. There are just so many ways and so many decorative ideas you could use that to give you just one would be unfair so instead check out this Plate & Sharpies link, find the one you like best (or create your own obvi) and create away.

Here are the steps:
Buy a plate from the dollar store
Create design with a sharpie
Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Done. (*Use rubbing alcohol to fix any Sharpie mistakes.)

Check out this Sharpie decorated plate by Shabby Art Boutique to get you excited:

For Daddy Berrrr: 

Loooooove Soundtrack*

For the Berrrr that Loves Experiences:

Use the promo code NYC2FOR1 and get two tickets for the price of one thanks to the lovely people at NYC Tours!

Happy Thanksgiving and happy shopping!