Money Saving and Meaningful Gifts

Money Saving and Meaningful Gifts
(There’s a Great Giveaway Too!)

Gift Giving can be hard, right? I know that I often spend way too much time trying to find that “perfect” gift for someone and then end up settling for something at the last minute that isn’t special at all. It’s easy to give yet another gift card or a fancy candle, but sometimes you want something truly different and meaningful.

My friend Lauren, who blogs at The Thinking Closet, told me earlier this year that she was working on an ebook called Thinking Outside the Gift Box. I knew if Lauren was writing it, the book would be beautiful and well written, because she’s just this amazingly thoughtful and creative person. However, I will also confess,  I was kind of expecting her ideas to be these complicated Pinterest worthy gifts that people like me look at at think “Wow!” followed by “There is NO WAY, I could ever have the patience/creativity/time to pull THAT off.” (If you haven’t caught on yet, it’s Michelle who does most of the crafty stuff for our blog)

Then, I started reading Lauren’s book, and the first thing you should know was that I didn’t want to stop reading it.  Lauren tells all these engaging personal  stories about important moments in her life that will absolutely charm you.  Plus, I’ll admit, she had me the minute she started professing her love for Cyndi Lauper’s music and quoting Gandalf the Gray.

Yet, it was more than just her whimsical spirit and narrative that got me, it was the gift ideas themselves.  Most of her ideas were things I’d never heard of, or seen on Pinterest for that matter. Then, this is where I got really excited, most of the ideas were S-I-M-P-L-E.  I found myself thinking “Wow, I could do that! Heck, I would WANT that!!”  In fact, I’ve already decided I’m getting #3 in the book,  which is a special plate that is used to recognize and celebrate when someone in the family has accomplished something important – big or small. She offers many ways to bring this gift to life from an easy create your own option, to a plate scavenger hunt in local thrifts stores, to a ready to buy plate made specifically for this purpose that is available for a very reasonable price on Amazon.com (umm, yes, I’m buying the one on Amazon).

Thinking Outside the Gift Box really could become a one stop shop for all your gift giving needs. Lauren will hold your hand and take you on a walk down memory lane helping you to see all the ways to turn both extraordinary and ordinary moments of life into gifts that will have so much meaning and yet only require a little bit of time and money on your end.  There are easy steps, a list of anything you will need and LOTS OF FREEE PRINTABLES to add that extra polish and style.

So, I absolutely encourage you to go buy her eBook right now with one of the biggest gift giving occasions of the year  just around the corner and I’m guessing you haven’t checked everyone off your gift list yet.  BUT ALSO, in celebration of her recent eBook launch, Lauren is offering up a free copy of Thinking Outside the Gift Box, along with all the extra goodies that come with the premium package–like video interviews, a birthday and anniversary calendar, brainstorming printables, and so much more. {You can see a full run-down here.} PLUS, The lucky winner will  receive a giveaway basket  with all of Lauren’s favorite gift-giving supplies. Here’s the run-down:

• gift bags

• tissue paper

• gift tags

• gold & silver gel pens

• 2 rolls of washi tape

• ribbon trio

• 3 rolls of baker’s twine

• confetti

• a rubber stamp

• metallic-ink stamp pad

• regular scissors

• scrapbooking scissors

• double-sided tape

Basically, with the eBook and Lauren’s supply kit, your holiday gift giving is going to be rockin’ this year. All you have to do to enter is just fill out the entries in the box below! The more ways you enter, the better chance you have of winning.

Best of luck, everyone. And may you all have a joyous season of meaningful gift-giving.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway Rules: 1. This giveaway will run from now through 11:59 p.m. eastern on December 14th, 2014. 2. The full giveaway prize is open to U.S. & Canadian winners only; however, internationals are welcome to enter for a chance to win the eBook package. In the event an international winner’s name is chosen, Lauren will email the eBook package to the international winner and draw another name(s) in order to find a U.S. or Canadian winner to whom to ship the Gift-Giving Supply Kit. That way, everyone can play! 3. Winner will be chosen and notified via email within 24 hours of giveaway’s end. Winner will have 48 hours to respond. Should the winner fail to respond within 48 hours a new winner will be chosen. 4. To read more fine print, click on the terms and conditions in the Rafflecopter widget. Cheers!

Full Disclosure: I received a free preview copy of Lauren’s eBook in order to share this review. However, all opinions are my own. I only recommend products or services I personally use and believe my readers will love.