We’re really trying to keep the holiday spending to a minimum this year. The budget has really forced me to get creative in regards to gift giving.

I decided to give the kids some coupons in their stockings for ‘on-demand’ fun outings and of course ‘free passes’ to get out of chores. I searched the internet high-and-low for printable coupons and couldn’t find anything. I decided to create my own.

Although we’d most likely do most of these things anyway. I think they’ll enjoy the ‘redemption’ process. It’s always fun to be in charge.

It is my intention to hole-punch and tie them together with ribbon, BUT … guess what? I can’t find either {ERR}. Imagine them cut out a little more neatly and tied with holiday ribbon.

Please feel free to DOWNLOAD the coupons and create some holiday fun of your own.

Supplies needed:

DOWNLOAD Free Printable Holiday Coupons
Color printer
Heavy card stock paper for best results
Scissors
Hole-punch and ribbon (optional – for stringing together into booklets)
Sharpie for labelling.

Directions for use: Simply print out your file onto the paper of your choice. Cut around coupons. Fill out the coupons and you’re done!

If you have any fun and inexpensive gift ideas, please share!

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

MK xo
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NOTE: I’ve been having trouble with the comments. If you can’t comment PLEASE let me know at kim (at) mommyknows (dot) com. Thank you!

Winner is: Justine

Do you remember way back in December, I held a Happy Book Day Giveaway on my birthday? Well I enjoyed it so much (because books are my favorite thing), I thought I’d make it a weekly occasional occurrence. For the next several weeks you can count on a ‘Happy Book Day to You ~ the Series’ giveaway every Tuesday {maybe not, it’s summer}.

Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner – I LOVED this book. It was touching and funny and a wee bit Judy Blume’ish.

Here’s the publisher’s synopsis of ‘Best Friends Forever‘

Addie Downs and Valerie Adler will be best friends forever. That’s what Addie believes after Valerie moves across the street when they’re both nine years old. But in the wake of betrayal during their teenage years, Val is swept into the popular crowd, while mousy, sullen Addie becomes her school’s scapegoat.

Flash-forward fifteen years. Valerie Adler has found a measure of fame and fortune working as the weathergirl at the local TV station. Addie Downs lives alone in her parents’ house in their small hometown of Pleasant Ridge, Illinois, caring for a troubled brother and trying to meet Prince Charming on the Internet. She’s just returned from Bad Date #6 when she opens her door to find her long-gone best friend standing there, a terrified look on her face and blood on the sleeve of her coat. “Something horrible has happened,” Val tells Addie, “and you’re the only one who can help.”

Best Friends Forever is a grand, hilarious, edge-of-your-seat adventure; a story about betrayal and loyalty, family history and small-town secrets. It’s about living through tragedy, finding love where you least expect it, and the ties that keep best friends together.

Some simple rules and things to remember:

1. This book is second hand. I’ve read it, I liked it and I am giving it to you. It may possibly have coffee rings or warped pages from sitting on my night stand. Call me cheap, or call me environmentally friendly, I’m not bothered either way.

2. Consider passing it forward when you are done, you could even have a giveaway! Remember, what goes around comes around.

3. You must come back here to see if you are the winner. I won’t track you down, if you wait to long … I might lend it to a friend or a neighbor and then YOU are out of luck. You need to email me with your address, once I receive it I will pop it in the mail to you at my convenience.

4. To be eligible to win, you need to leave a comment on this post. I’ll pick a winner sometime on Wednesday, August 5th, 2009.

5. Tell a friend—> this isn’t really a rule, but it would be really nice. wink –> think twitter, facebook, email.

MK xo
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**NOTE: this is not a paid advertisement — they’re my books and I am giving one of them away — because I am nice like that — just saying!**

Winner is Nikkapotamus –> email me with your address and I’ll pop this in the mail.

Welcome to week 7 of —> Happy Book Day to You ~ the Series

Can you believe it is week 7? Time flies … it surely does!

Do you remember way back in December, I held a Happy Book Day Giveaway on my birthday? Well I enjoyed it so much (because books are my favorite thing), I thought I’d make it a weekly occurrence. For the next several weeks you can count on a ‘Happy Book Day to You ~ the Series’ giveaway every Tuesday.

THE QUEEN’S FOOL (by Philippa Gregory)

I like Philippa Gregory, and I enjoyed THE QUEEN’S FOOL, but I have to say I am tired of 16th century women and SICK to DEATH of 16th Century MEN. Bleck! Good riddance. I would have been beaten to a pulp and then burned at the stake if I’d been born in any century prior to the 20th. The hygiene gets to me too. I need some good 21st century smut. Good ‘clean’ (no lice, no leeches), feminist smut.

Here’s the author synopsis of ‘THE QUEEN’S FOOL’:

At a time when an innocent woman could be burned for heresy or strangled for witchcraft, to spy on the queen for the love of a traitor was the most dangerous choice of all.

Into a Tudor court on the brink of treason comes Hannah, a young Jewish girl on the run from the Inquisition. Sworn into the service of a handsome Robert Dudley, he sends her as a Holy Fool to spy on Princess Mary Tudor, the forgotten heir to King Edward’s throne. Instead of the tyrant of popular legend, Hannah finds a woman waiting for her chance and only wanting the best for the kingdom – while her sister Elizabeth waits to take advantage of any mistakes, and longs for her death.

Caught in the lifelong enmity between the rival daughters of Henry VIII, torn between her infatuation with Dudley and duty to her family, thrilled by her own rare gifts, but scared of the unknown, Hannah must find a safe way through dangerous times. Times in which she is both key witness and key player, when the wrong religion is a death sentence, science and magic are one, and true love can mean death.

Some simple rules and things to remember:

1. This book is second hand. I’ve read it, I liked it and I am giving it to you. It may possibly have coffee rings or warped pages from sitting on my night stand. Call me cheap, or call me environmentally friendly, I’m not bothered either way.

2. Consider passing it forward when you are done, you could even have a giveaway! Remember, what goes around comes around.

3. You must come back here to see if you are the winner. I won’t track you down, if you wait to long … I might lend it to a friend or a neighbor and then YOU are out of luck. You need to email me with your address, once I receive it I will pop it in the mail to you at my convenience.

4. To be eligible to win, you need to leave a comment on this post. I’ll pick a winner sometime on Friday, March 13th, 2009.

5. Tell a friend—> this isn’t really a rule, but it would be really nice. wink

MK xo
If you’ve enjoyed this post, please subscribe to my feed.

**NOTE: this is not a paid advertisement — they’re my books and I am giving one of them away — because I am nice like that — just saying!**

Every time I look at Georgia in braids;

I think about Pippi Longstocking. { project365 37/365 }

From ages 7 to 9, Pippi was my hero. I even tried sleeping upside down in my bed a few times. I am claustrophobic, so it never lasted for more than a couple of seconds. I just couldn’t handle all the blankets over my head.

I’m NOT going to tell you about the ‘homemade’ airplane, I tried to fly off the roof of the house! I’ll just leave you with this one thought –> I’m thankful now that it was one story dwelling.

Consider that last sentence my contribution to: ‘grace in small things’.

Tell me about some of your childhood favorites … books, tv, movies.

MK xo
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Comments Closed – the winner is: One Scrappy Gal – email me @ kim (at) mommyknows (dot) com

Welcome to week 6 of —> Happy Book Day to You ~ the Series

Do you remember way back in December, I held a Happy Book Day Giveaway on my birthday? Well I enjoyed it so much (because books are my favorite thing), I thought I’d make it a weekly occurrence. For the next several weeks you can count on a ‘Happy Book Day to You ~ the Series’ giveaway every Tuesday.

Lights Out Liverpool (by Maureen Lee)

It has taken me six weeks to put this up. This is one of my favorite books from one of my favorite authors. I love, love, love this book, and I am forcing myself to give it away.

Here’s the author synopsis of ‘Lights Out Liverpool’:

The residents of Pearl Street, Liverpool, are having a street party, but a shadow hangs over the festivities. It is l939 and Britain is on the brink of war.

For Annie, the outbreak of war means constant worry for her twin boys, already sent to France. And for Sheila, the birth of her sixth child is eclipsed by fear for her husband’s safety as he faces the daily threat of U-boat attack. Her sister, Eileen, whose marriage is not all she had hoped for, finds that work in a munitions factory brings far more than a much-needed wage.

But the war brings other changes too: when Freda and Dicky, the grubby, least-cared-for children in the neighbourhood are evacuated, their new lives change them beyond recognition – and their mother finds it is not easy to bring them home.

Some simple rules and things to remember:

1. This book is second hand. I’ve read it, I liked it and I am giving it to you. It may possibly have coffee rings or warped pages from sitting on my night stand. Call me cheap, or call me environmentally friendly, I’m not bothered either way.

2. Consider passing it forward when you are done, you could even have a giveaway! Remember, what goes around comes around.

3. You must come back here to see if you are the winner. I won’t track you down, if you wait to long … I might lend it to a friend or a neighbor and then YOU are out of luck. You need to email me with your address, once I receive it I will pop it in the mail to you at my convenience.

4. To be eligible to win, you need to leave a comment on this post. I’ll pick a winner sometime on Thursday, March 4th, 2009.

5. Tell a friend—> this isn’t really a rule, but it would be really nice. wink

MK xo
If you’ve enjoyed this post, please subscribe to my feed.

**NOTE: this is not a paid advertisement — they’re my books and I am giving one of them away — because I am nice like that — just saying!**