Author: Charlene Maund

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What is it?

It’s Christmas time! My absolute favorite time of the year. I love the hunt for that perfect present, the thrill when I find it, and the anticipation as it gets unwrapped. Last year Pinterest gave me lots of gift ideas and also inspired me to wrap my presents in unique and creative ways. Instead of that box with perfect folds and a beautiful bow, I decided to get artistic and wrap my presents in unique ways.  

The Designs

I scoured the internet for ideas. Pinterest was a huge help and so were other bloggers and internet articles (check out the article 30 Times People Wrapped Gifts In The Most Original and Fun Ways). The design has to fully disguise the gift and after many ideas, I decided to wrap my gifts as a vacuum, a boat, and a hobby horse.

Once I had my designs, I got straight to work. Thank goodness I started early as It took lots of time, ingenuity, and wrapping paper! Below is a picture of each of my finished products and a description of how I constructed it.

The Vacuum

For the vacuum, I used an empty laundry detergent container for the handle. The hose portion is a pool noodle I purchased from our local dollar store. The suction part contained the actual present and was a cereal box on the bottom with a smaller box on the top. To keep the entire vacuum upright, the pool noodle went through the boxes to the floor and was taped to the inside of the handle as well.

The Boat

The boat was slightly trickier. I used the actual present as the base and had to mould the bow of the boat out of cardboard. The upper deck is a leftover Amazon box, and the smokestacks were made out of empty toilet paper rolls.

The Hobby Horse

For the hobby horse, I had to get out my sewing machine and dust it off. I took an old bedsheet and found a horse head pattern on Pinterest. Luckily for me, my artistic daughter helped me size up the pattern. I cut it out, sewed it all together, and stuffed it full of presents. The stick of the horse is a few empty wrapping paper rolls glued together to add strength.

What did my family think?

The presentation was a hit! Not one family member guessed what their present was. It was awesome! I loved watching them open it and try to find their presents inside. I must say though, it took WAY longer to wrap them than it did to unwrap them.  

What was inside?

The vacuum was for my awesome mother-in-law and had face cream and personal products. The boat was for my brother-in-law and was a hockey equipment drying rack. The hobby horse was stuffed full of clothes and toys for my 4-month-old nephew. All the presents were perfect!

Have you ever wrapped presents in unique and creative ways? Let me know so I have new ideas for next year!

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Have you ever wrapped Christmas presents so they appear to be something they are not?  I have! Check out my blog to read about the year I gifted a vacuum, a boat, and a hobby horse! #wrappingfun https://wp.me/p3QRy0-yX7

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Has Pinterest inspired you to creatively wrap presents? For me it has! Check out my blog, ‘What is it?’ and let me know what you think. #vacuum #boat #hobbyhorse https://wp.me/p3QRy0-yX7

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How Facebook Saves Me Money

Life is expensive, so I take every advantage I can to save a few dollars here and there. What does this have to do with Facebook you ask? The answer is simple. Facebook communities not only provide tips and tricks for staying on budget and shopping locally but also provide up-to-the-minute sale prices of items that I can use to get some cash back.

Facebook helps me put cash back in my pocket

Photo by Daniel Xu via Facebook

This past January, my husband and I decided to purchase a kayak from Costco. On Facebook, I am an active member of our local Costco community, Costco Waterloo Fan Club. In this community, there are a few individuals who regularly take photos of all the sale items in the store and post them. Not long after we purchased our kayak, there it was front and centre in one of the pictures on Facebook for $100 off. That day, I went to Costco and had no problem getting the $100 back.

This isn’t the first time I have used this community to price match something I already purchased at Costco. One time last year we purchased an outdoor shed. It too ended up on sale shortly after our purchase, and I was notified via the Facebook community. That time I was able to get a refund of over $150!

Facebook keeps me buying local

Another community group on Facebook that I actively participate in is our local community connections group. It’s where I find out about everything local and view recommendations on roofers, plumbers, landscapers, cleaners, pet groomers and so much more. With it being close to the holidays, local craft shows have been a highlight this week. Yesterday I went to one of the advertised craft shows and purchased locally-made items at awesome prices. I love getting good deals, especially on items that I know my family members will love unwrapping this Christmas. It’s even better knowing that they were made locally!

Thank you

Thank you, Facebook, for providing a platform where I can join communities that help me save money!

What communities are you a part of on Facebook? I would love to hear what you find most valuable about them. Let me know in the comments below.

Facebook

Do you think Facebook can help save you money?  I do! Click here to read how I leverage Facebook communities to save hard-earned cash! #joincommunities https://wp.me/p3QRy0-yX7

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Life is expensive! Social media can help you save money. Check out my blog & join the discussion! #moneytips  #savings https://wp.me/p3QRy0-yX7

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Bye-bye Encyclopedias, Hello YouTube!

I know I am dating myself here, but I remember a time when I had to turn to a physical book, an encyclopedia, for answers to my everyday questions. Now, when my kids ask me random questions (for example, just yesterday one of my daughters asked, ‘How do clocks work?‘) my response isn’t, ‘I don’t know, go grab the encyclopedia’, it’s ‘I don’t know, let’s YouTube it’. In our house, YouTube has become the starting point for information on travel, home improvement, fitness, dinner recipes, and so much more. We also use it as a source of entertainment and find ourselves looking at some of our channel subscriptions daily for new content.

What was it like to use an encyclopedia?

We had a set of 20, each about two inches thick and they were always on the shelf ordered by number and alphabet.  All the information in them was printed and cataloged in alphabetical order. I can distinctly remember singing the alphabet over and over in my head until I found my topic of choice. Back then, I thought it was pretty awesome to have our own set and have sole access to them outside of the library. I mostly used them for school projects (specifically one about the digestive system in grade 6), and general information, but also when I needed weight to straighten out a piece of rolled-up paper (they were awesome paperweights). In fact, I bet they are still at my parent’s house today!

Image from Abe Books

How has YouTube replaced the encyclopedia?

You can search for anything on YouTube and have multiple results in seconds. No more running around the house looking for the encyclopedia that is out of place. No more singing the alphabet while flipping through the pages!

Just go to youtube.com, and in the search bar type what you are looking for.  Most times the search results are endless. One of the big benefits of YouTube is that there are multiple perspectives and points of view on any topic. Some videos will be long, and some will be short. Some will be professionally choreographed, and others will be a person with their phone. Anything goes and you get to select the way the content is presented to you!

Is this a good change?

My opinion? Yes. YouTube gives us quick access to great and useful information. It has helped me plan vacations, do home renovations, plan meals, help with school projects and so much more.

Do you remember encyclopedias? Have you too started leveraging YouTube?  

Share your thoughts on how YouTube has affected the way you look for information below.

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How do you get the answers to your questions? Check out my blog ‘Bye-bye Encyclopedias, Hello YouTube!’ and let me how YouTube has affected the way you look for information. #UseYouTube https://wp.me/p3QRy0-yUh

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Has YouTube shaped the way you look for information? Check out my blog, ‘Bye-bye Encyclopedias, Hello YouTube!’ and join the discussion. #YouTubeRocks #quickinfo https://wp.me/p3QRy0-yUh

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What’s 4 Dinner?

It’s the daily question that used to send me into a tailspin up until 3 years ago. That’s when I knew something had to change! And it has changed for the good, thanks to social media! Every Sunday I comb through food blogs, Instagram and Facebook for new recipes and easy meal ideas. I love reading the reviews, watching the video instructions, and learning how others have made it through their comments. Once I am satisfied with the meal plan, I post it on the fridge for the whole family to see.  It becomes the basis for my grocery shopping list and most importantly it answers the everyday question, ‘What’s 4 dinner?’.

What was it like before meal planning?

Prior to taking the time to meal plan we never had the proper ingredients to make the dinner we thought of on the spot. We were rushing to eat pre-made food in between sports activities and were constantly over budget (all those individual trips to the store for that missing ingredient add up). Mostly, we just weren’t eating as healthy as we could.

What does social media have to do with dinner?

Social media platforms are my meal-planning inspiration and starting point. There are a ton of great food blogs. One of my favorite food blogs is simply recipes. The ‘Table Talk’ section always has quick and easy ideas. You should check it out!

In addition to food blogs, I love the recipe posts on Instagram and Facebook that include video instructions. Replicating the recipe is easy and seeing what it should look like in the end is a huge help. I learn from the comments and tweak the recipes I find to fit the tastebuds of my family.

What’s dinner like now?

Now we have a PLAN!

Photo of one of my meal plans

Because of this plan we have all the ingredients we need for each meal. We are still rushing between sport activities; however, we now know what is available to eat and when. We are staying on budget and are eating much healthier homemade food.

Thank you social media for helping to bring some organization into our busy lives!

Does this sound like your family? I’d love to hear from you.

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Does the question “What’s 4 dinner?” send you in a tailspin? Click here to read how you can take control and make a meal plan with the help of social media! #mealplanningrocks https://wp.me/p3QRy0-ySl

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Does the question ‘What’s 4 dinner?’ stress you out? Social media can help you make a weekly meal plan. Check out my blog & join the discussion! #yummy #dinnerplans https://wp.me/p3QRy0-ySl