Stuffin' the Stockings

Buying Christmas presents can be a fun yet daunting experience...will they like it, will they want to exchange it, is it something they can really use? So after you find just the right gift, you guessed it, time to start thinking about the stocking stuffers. What?? To help you out I've gone in search of a few of the most sought after tiny gifts that fit in that giant sock.
   
     1. CANDY! Who doesn't love all of that sugary goodness that can cause you to feel like you want to run a marathon until you get down the road and decide maybe a nap would be good too. Yes I know, sugar is horrible for you but surely having a treat once a year won't hurt, right? Well then there's Halloween, Valentine's Day, and Easter too but who's counting, it makes a geart stuffer!
     2. THE SELFIE STICK. With the world of social media, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the fifty others I didn't mention, we all want that perfect selfie. This portable wonder stick makes it super easy to get just that.
     3. SLIPPER SOCKS, HATS, SCARVES AND MITTENS. Christmas is at the end of December, I think this gift is self-explanatory.
    4. LOTTERY TICKETS. This little game of luck is so fun! I tend to only win a lottery ticket or a few bucks but you never know, there's always that chance of hitting the jackpot!
     5. $10 GIFT CARD TO FAVORITE RESTAURANT. This amount will probably not cover the entire cost of the meal but every little bit helps and it might allow them to splurge on something they don't normally buy...like dessert.
     6. PERSONALIZED ORNAMENTS. Yes, these keepsakes from Ornaments for Keeps make wonderful gifts and just so happen to fit perfectly in a stocking. Something that can be kept and treasured forever and brought out every year to remember this special holiday.

While these only scratch the surface of the endless possibilities, hopefully this will help take some of the pressure off and let you enjoy your holidays that much more. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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Will Your Elf Be On The Shelf?

Once upon a time, a long time ago, Santa Claus sat in his workshop at the North Pole thinking. He knew he needed to get presents to all the good little boys and girls across the world, but how would he really know if they had been good or bad all year? One day, he had a wonderful idea. He gathered his elves around him and delivered an important message. He was going to send each of them to a home with young children, where they would live from Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve. Each night, the elves were to travel back to the North Pole and tell Santa everything the children had done had been good. Each morning, the elves would arrive back at the house before the children awoke so they could hid in a different place. The children would excitedly seek them out so they could whisper their Christmas wishes to the elves.
       So goes the story of a delightful children's book, written by a woman named, Carol Aebersold and her daughter, Chanda Bell. Since it's publication in 2005, The Elf on the Shelf has won multiple awards and inspired many families around the world to begin their own Elf on the Shelf Christmas traditions.
     Elf on the Shelf has become a wonderful source of inspiration for all of us at Ornaments for Keeps. We fell in love with the story the first time we heard it, and we have loved getting to participate in this adorable family tradition through the creation of our personalized elf ornaments.
     This year, we invite you and your family to join in the fun! Our customized elf Christmas ornaments make the perfect elves for your children to search the house for every morning. Though we live in an increasingly digital world, we don't want the next generation to grow up without the same sense of imagination and wonder that filled our hearts when we were young. It's through fanciful traditions like these that we help keep our children's imaginations alive.
     We hope you'll start a new family tradition this year by inviting the elves into your home, and we would be honored to get to be part of it!

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Party Through the Holidays!

     The past several years, ever since the Ugly Sweater party was made popular, it seems like that's the theme of every holiday party I've attended. Don't get me wrong, this has made for some very fun nights but my creative mind started thinking there is so much about Christmas and everything to do with Christmas, surely there has to be something else...so here I go!
1. Pet Party
    Our pets have become part of the family. Why not have a party where they're invited too? Dress them up in their favorite Christmas outfit and have a parade with a contest at the end. Of course, you'll need pet friendly appetizers too:)
2. Charity Night
    Most of us are so blessed, why not give back a little at the holidays? With your invitation, send each guest a pick from the Angel tree. These can be found almost anywhere such as Church, stores and restaurants. Then, on the night of the party, have everyone bring their specially picked gifts for the family in need.

3. White Christmas
    I know this may be a little non-traditional considering most holiday wear revolves around red and green. But everyone dreams of a white Christmas so make it happen. Have all of your guests come dressed in white. Make it a chili night and do a white chicken chili and white cocktails like the White Lady. I could go on and on about all the ideas, this one would be really fun!
4. Ornament Making Party
    This one is right up our alley! Get a whole bunch of the clear ball ornaments found in any hobby store. Lay out paints, glitter, beads and glue and let your guests go to town! Not only will this be a blast but everyone can take home a memory of the night.
5. Elfin' Around
    Just like it sounds, this party will be all about the little guys that work at the North Pole. It would be great if you could get everyone to dress up, but if not, maybe just the host and hostess could be Santa's little helpers. Use elf themed décor and mini appetizers. I'd say mini cocktails but...nah:)

So I hope this helps give you some creative inspiration on getting out the rut of the same ole, same ole. Follow us for more great holiday ideas to come!

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Not the Traditional Pumpkin

So this year I opted out of the whole carving of the pumpkin. While I do love it and have done it for as long as I can remember, after trying to help the kids do theirs, I wanted something a little more simple for myself because I'm always exhausted from all the festivities. Of course I turned to Pinterest for my inspiration! I found everything from painting to drilling to bedazzling to melting crayons over the pumpkin, the possibilities are endless!

The style that caught my eye was using things found in a hardware store. Instead of going shopping I headed into the garage to rifle through my husband's territory full of things that I don't know what the heck they are. I took a couple of ideas from Pinterest and merged them together. I started out spraying the entire pumpkin except the stem with an off white, glossy color. The, with the wire I found, I just began to twist and wrap until I was happy with the design and then randomly placed each piece. The eyelets I used to fill in the extra space and to give it a bit of a pop. This was actually very easy and a lot less work than sawing through those big ole pumpkins...plus it looks super cute! I might be doing something new from now on.

Each year our family congregates at my parents' house for a fun night of chili and pumpkins. While this is such a busy time for our ornament company, we love having family traditions to look forward to!

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Lovin' From Our Wonderful Customers!

Here's a few of the nice notes that we've been receiving from our wonderful customers...LOVE hearing from you!
• Just wanted you to know I did receive my two ornaments today. Your writing is beautiful, they turned out even nicer than expected. Such a nice keepsake!
• My ornaments arrived today, I LOVE them! Thank you so much!
• I just wanted to thank you for the lovely ornaments and prompt shipping.
• All of my ornaments are so beautiful and my friends and family loved them!! Thank you! I will definitely be ordering more!
• My ornaments came in today! They are beautiful! Thank you so much!
• Amazing quality! Always brings more beauty and personalization to our Christmas tree. Treasures that will last a lifetime!
• Wonderful customer service and as a business owner myself, I hope to get what I myself give as customer service and I did!! And the products? BEYOND AWESOME! I asked for some custom stuff and they did a great job! I have found my ornament place from now on and couldn't be more thrilled!! Thank you! You have a customer for life!
• This will forever be our family ornament store! Everything is spot on and you can tell they take pride in their work. Can't wait to see our collection grow year by year!
• Just got my order, the ornaments are even better than they look online!

We LOVE our customers and strive to bring you the best products and customer service around! Happy Holidays!

"MAKING MEMORIES ONE ORNAMENT AT A TIME"

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The Tradition of a Christmas Ornament a Year

     Our family has A LOT of personalized ornaments on our tree, each with their own story and memory. It only took one to start the trend. There are the pine cones my sister and I found in the yard and drug inside to cover with glitter (making an absolute horrid mess), the Angels made from dry noodles that we made in Bible school and of course, the personalized ornaments we got each year to highlight the activities and interests like volleyball and ice skating all the way up to graduation. Ornaments will quickly become a treasured part of your holiday tradition.
     Once your children have left the nest and have their own first Christmas tree, give them their collection of ornaments accumulated through the years so that they can bring them out every Christmas to cherish their childhood memories. Once their life takes direction they'll be able to keep the tradition alive by adding new ornaments for each milestone throughout their life and maybe one day, they'll be starting a tradition for a little one of their own.
     The different types of ornaments are endless just make sure the meaning behind it can be adored forever!


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Happy Fall Y'all! Homemade Caramel Dip

Fall, the season of beautiful foliage, crispness in the air, pumpkins and hayrides! If you're like me, I feel like throwing on a sweatshirt and nestling up next to a bonfire with a cup of hot cocoa (maybe with a hint of Bailey's too;).

To celebrate the changing of the seasons, I like to give my family, friends and neighbors something yummy to fill their bellies and hopefully make everyone forget that summer flew by in the blink of an eye and is now a distant memory.

This caramel dip recipe I found years ago and has never let me down. It is soooo simple and 100 times better than anything you could ever find in the store, plus it's made from the heart! This dip can be used on everything from apples to ice cream to cinnamon rolls or just drink it straight from the jar...haha, just kidding (sort of).

I used clear cellophane to wrap up the jar of caramel dip and apples and tied them with some festive fall ribbons. I also printed out some "Happy Fall" tags and glued them onto a brown cardstock. Following the recipe, I've attached the free printable so you can print the tags too.

Something so simple can mean so much...try it, you won't be disappointed! Happy Fall Y'all!!!

Homemade Caramel Dip

• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 6 Tablespoons salted butter, cut into 6 pieces
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
       1. Heat sugar in medium saucepan over medium heat, stir constantly. Sugar
        will form clumps and begin to melt into a thick brown liquid, continue to
        stir being careful not to burn.
     2. Once sugar is completely melted, stir in butter immediately. Stir butter
         until completely melted, 1-2 minutes.
     3. Very slowly stir in the heavy cream. Be careful as the mixture will bubble
         rapidly and splatter when added.
     4. Allow the mixture to boil for 1 minute. It will rise as it boils.
     5. Remove from heat and add salt. Allow to cool before using.

         ** each batch makes two 8oz jars. I usually triple my recipe to get 6 jars,
             then repeat.

      Click here for Happy Fall printable

 

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Calling all Realtors!

   The client thank you gift...it's hard to find just the right one, isn't it? You want it to be unique, personal, and something that doesn't cost a fortune. While clients don't expect a gift, it is a nice touch.

    Ornaments for Keeps is a "momprenuer" home-based business that specializes in personalized ornaments. Give your client a customized closing gift to show how much you appreciate their business.

    This is something they will be excited to receive, will treasure forever, and will make a lasting impression for future sales and referrals.

• Ornaments will be beautifully hand-personalized with the clients' name, year, and/or address.
• Choose from the two Door ornaments pictured.
• Orders must be placed by October 1st. Quantities are limited.
• Individually priced at $10 plus shipping.
• It's easy to order! Call us at 573.893.3272 or email ornaments4keeps@aol.com

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Expanding our Ornament Family

As of August 1st we are excited to announce the newest member of the Ornaments for Keeps family, my sister, Kayla Case!

Kayla has been an in-home child care provider for the past 10 years and also dedicated her life to raising her four children since her first was born 13 years ago. Now that her children are going to be in school, Kayla is ready to get back out there and join the land of the living where the world doesn't revolve around Spaghetti-O's and dirty diapers:)

This is coming at the perfect time and my mom and I couldn't be happier! Ornaments for Keeps has been rapidly growing over the past few years since we started our on-line store. We do nothing but strive to bring the best products and the best customer service. Having more hands on deck is going to make it possible for us to continue to expand all while not missing a beat meeting the needs of our fabulous customers. Watch for great things to come from the three of us in the near future!

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Gone Beachin'

Having a seasonal business, such as a Christmas ornament company, has allowed for us to do something else we love in the off-season…go to the beach! Although, just because we are on vacation doesn’t mean that our creative minds have also completely checked out. 

One of our favorite things to do is scour the gift stores for inspiration.  Most of the time it’s the typical t-shirts, hats, and shot glasses (don’t get me wrong, those goodies are all wonderful to bring home) but occasionally we run across a gem like this, a driftwood Christmas tree! Who even thought of something so neat?!? 

Having a driftwood tree to decorate with an ornament that we get on vacation would be so great to bring out at Christmas time! New ornaments to decorate this tree would also be something else fun to search for on all of our beach excursions.  Sand dollars and starfish make super cute souvenir ornaments as well. 

There’s also the DIY ornament made from all the little treasures found on the beach. Take home a little sand and fill a glass ball ornament with all the shells and coral you collect. Use a paint pen, marker or a vinyl cutter to mark it with the beach and date.  We also embellished with twine and ribbon. Can’t wait to put this on the tree!

Ornamentsfor Keeps also has a huge selection of destination ornaments.  Each one can be personalized specially to commemorate the memories from your vacation.

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Gifting Outside the Box

     Weddings happen all year long but it seems as though June is the busiest. If you think about it, buying a wedding gift is quite the honor. It means you’ve been specially chosen to share in one of the most important days in a couples’ life.  The marriage will hopefully last a lifetime and you want a special gift that will let them remember it forever, however, coming up with that gift can be a challenge.

The gift registries that are so popular can be a wonderful thing because then you know exactly what is asked for, but if you’re like me, a water purifier or a set of kitchen utensils isn’t exactly how I want to say “congratulations on beginning your life together.” I like to show the couple that I have put extra thought and care into their gift.  A monogrammed item, like a serving platter, is always a hit. Wall décor with a bible verse is my personal favorite or you can have a present hand tailored with their last name and established date. 

    The list is endless but I’m sure whatever you choose will stay in the hearts of the couple forever.  And of course, what would a gift be without being accompanied by a personalized ornament from Ornaments for Keeps? Weather you decide to give a card with the ornament attached to the envelope or hand tied to the package, your gift will show uniqueness with its personalized  touch  and will definitely stand out above the other packages on the gift table(which is what I strive for…presentation first:).  

The Vintage Wedding Car is not only our most popular wedding ornament but our most popular ornament sold.   
    Each year they will be able to bring their own ornament out to proudly display and to remember “their day.”  We have a wide selection so browse through and pick the perfect one from your heart to theirs!  Just to make this even more fun, use code LOVE10 for 10% off your order today through June 12^th.


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The Road to Graduation

     Once senior year rolls around graduation is the main event. As our news feed fill up with graduation posts, announcements and party invitations we know that spring is here and summer is just around the corner, yay! But back to graduation, there are so many event filled years that lead up to these final days.

Time flies and many of the details will be lost in the hustle and bustle. Don’t let this memorable occasion pass without giving something to document all the blood, sweat and tears it took to get here. A personalized Christmas ornament does just that.

As they build their lives, start careers and families of their own, being able to bring a little memento out every year can remind the grad that they did it! We have a great selection of ornaments to be personalized for the special grad in your life. Get a glimpse of our full selection here.

    Want to customize your graduation ornament? We can do that too! Give them a gift they will treasure forever from www.ornamentsforkeeps.com

Congratulations to all the graduates out there!

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