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Another great idea from Better Homes and Gardens Magazine (Jan. 2010 issue).....
Ever heard of a Swap party? NO, it's not something you do with the couple down the street - get your mind out of the gutter!
Its a fun, free and green way to get rid of things you no longer want and take something you do home. Kinda like a yard sale with no money exchanged.
Here's how it works:
Invite a few friends and ask them to bring items to swap. Everyone will lay out their items (kinda like a flea market booth). Allow browsing time, then take turns choosing one new item for each item you brought. The only rule is that everything for the swap is clean and in good condition.
Tips:
- Invite five friends to bring 10 items.
- Send ten tags to your friends for them to use to tag each item. They can write sentimental
values of t each item, little stories about the item, "selling points", anything they wish, and
attach it to each item.
- When guests arrive, give them 10 clothespins with their names written on them. They will
use these to "tag" the items they wish to chose. If multiple people "tag" an item, put the
pins in a bowl and draw a winner.You can also play the "white elephant" game with your
items.
- Have progressive swap. Each person will have their items at their own homes. The group
moves from home to home to view items and have a different snack. Great for
neighborhoods with close neighbors!
- Have boxes and recycled grocery sacks for your guests to take their new treasures home
in.
- For anything that is left over, instead of your guests taking them back home, arrange for a
local charity to pick everything up the next morning.
Challenge -
Keep a zip lock bag or plain envelope in your purse or car. Every time you get a dollar bill in change back, put it in an envelope. When you get $50, put it in your savings account. In a year's time, you'll be surprised how much you have saved!
A local radio talk show host does this with every $5 bill he gets, but I think I'll start with $1 bills!
This is a great craft for small groups of children such as church youth groups and small classrooms:
Make garland out of paper you would normally toss in the recycle bin:
Use a circle punch or trace the top of a jar to make circular cutouts out of last years holiday cards. Glue layers of circles, placing twice in between the layers for hangers.
Cut cardboard tubes from paper towels and gift wrap rolls into 1-inch sections, then fit the rings together to form a ball. Poke a hole in the top and run a string through it for a hanger.
Cut pages from magazines into 1 1/2 wide strips. Spread glue on one side, place a straw lengthwise along one edge and roll the paper around the straw. When dry, cut the straw into 1 inch pieces and thread onto ribbon.
*Taken from the Dec. 09 issue of Better Homes and Gardens
Salute a solider this holiday season. Send cards and messages of cheer through the Holiday Mail for Heroes program, a partnership between the American Red Cross and Pitney Bowes. Runs through the end of the first week in December. Visit www.redcross.org for info.
So many days we rush around trying to "get it all done." We jump in the car, speed off to multiple destinations, never thinking a thing about it. What about those who are unable to do so? Ever notice that mother is the grocery store with four young kids in tow? Or the elderly man in the post office trying to figure out how to use the self-serve mailing station? Next time you are on your way out the door, take a minute to think: Does my neighbor need something dropped off at the post office? Maybe my mother-in-law needs something from the grocery store while I am there. Did the church bulletin say this is the week for the can drive? Reach out to others. Save them some hassle and get rewarded in your heart in return.
Here are some other great gestures that will make a world of difference to others:
- Cook and deliver a meal to a friend who has been stressed lately
- Offer to help the single mother by watching her children while she does her weekly grocery
shopping
- Purchase one extra gift every time you do your personal shopping and give it to a child in
your neighborhood or drop it to the local children's shelter
- Help and elderly family member decorate their home for the holidays
- Stand in line at the post office to mail gifts and cards for a shut-in church member
-Buy a Christmas tree, decorate it and donate it to a family who cannot afford one
- Have Christmas dinner at your house this year and take the load off grandma
*Some ideas were taken from www.wholeliving.com
