Christmas Gifts On A Budget With Groupon Coupons

 This is a sponsored post. All opinions are mine

I can hardly believe it's the middle of the November and there are only 38 more days until Christmas! I still have so much shopping left to do and a budget that can only stretch so far. I'm always looking for ways to save money. I stalk the weekly flyers before they even start for deals and I love coupons. A great place to find coupons is Groupon. Groupon Coupons allow you to save on events and experiences but Groupon also shares verified coupons to use at your favorite retailers. These include Claire's, Things Remembered and Shutterfly to name a few. Searching for coupons is easy and you can even search for coupons based on your geographic region!

I found a great deal for personalized Christmas ornaments at https://www.groupon.com/coupons/stores/thingsremembered.com. Right now you can save 20% plus you will get free shipping. Budget friendly and a fantastic gift for the grandparents on your list. Another fab coupon is  15% off your entire order at Ashley Stewart. Save on beautiful clothes for that curvy girl on your list. They promise gorgeous clothes at very affordable prices. You may even find a gorgeous holiday outfit for yourself! Stock up for Christmas and save!

Sticking to your Christmas budget can be easy, just head over to Groupon Coupons and find coupons and promo codes to save at all your favourite retailers!

Last Minute Christmas Gift Ideas from Photobox Canada

If you are anything like me you are scrambling for those last minute gift ideas for those hard to buy for people. Photobox Canada has a fantastic Christmas Corner full of great photo gifts for everyone on your list! 

We had some holiday photos done this year by a fantastic local photographer. He captured an amazing shot of my 2 children looking so cute I knew I had to display it in my home. I decided to make a photo canvas. Photobox Canada has a few styles to choose from including their new Retro Canvas! I chose to make a traditional rectangular canvas. Ordering from PhotoBox is so easy: just sign up for an account using your email and select the product you want to order. You can easily upload a photo from your computer or chose one from one of your social media accounts. 

The one I ordered is 24" by 16" and it is gorgeous! It arrived very quickly (within 7 days) and it was packaged perfectly to prevent damage. It came with a hanging kit so I can hang it on my wall. I'm planning to proudly display my photo canvas in my living room. That's this weekend's project! You still have time to order your own photo canvas before Christmas if you hurry! They make beautiful gifts! Visit Photobox Canada and get creative!

Salt Dough Christmas Ornaments

Every year in December my son and I make these wonderful salt dough Christmas ornaments. We have so much fun making them and they are so easy to make! They make fantastic gifts for friends and relatives from your little ones or simply hang them on your own tree.

Ingredients/Equipment Needed

• 1 cup flour 
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1/2 cup water 
• Rolling pin
• Cookie sheet 
• Drinking straw
• Holiday shaped cookie cutters 
• Acrylic paints
• Paintbrush
• Glitter (optional)
• Ribbon
• Parchment paper

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Bake Time: 1 1/2-2 hours, preheat oven to 250 F

Before you start to make the dough don't forget to preheat the oven to 250 F. In a large bowl mix the flour, salt and water. You want it to be soft and pliable. You may need to add more flour and water, but just add a little at a time.  I make my dough and put it in the fridge for about an hour because it's much easier to work with as it less sticky. 

When you are ready to start making your ornaments sprinkle some flour on your counter top or table to prevent the dough from sticking. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness.

Using your holiday cookie cutters cut out ornaments and place them onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. 

When you have finished cutting out all your ornaments, use the drinking straw to punch a hole into each ornament. This is so you can place a ribbon through the ornament for hanging. 

Place ornaments in the oven and bake for 1 1/2-2 hours or until completely dry. Flip once while baking, then remove and allow to cool completely. Oven temperatures vary so watch them closely. Once they are starting to lightly brown flip them.  If your ornaments are thicker or thinner baking time will vary as well. 

Once they are completely cooled (2-3 hours) you can paint them with acrylic paint. I bought some small, disposable containers at my local dollar store to use. My kids loved painting their ornaments and did a fantastic job! 

Allow the paint to dry completely before placing a ribbon through the hole for hanging. You are now ready to place your ornaments on the tree or give them as gifts! Happy Holidays and happy crafting! 

Getting Creative for Christmas with Photobox Canada

Can you believe it’s almost Christmas? This is my favourite time of the year. I love baking and decorating my house festively but I have the most fun buying or making gifts for those I love most. Finding that perfect gift can be difficult which is why I decided to make my husband a photo book filled with the memories we made this year! A photo book allows you to tell your unique story through photos. Photobox Canada offers unique, personalized photo gifts including canvas prints, phone cases, calendars and beautiful photo books. 

 Getting started was so easy! I simply went to the Photobox Canada website (https://www.photobox.ca) and created an account using my email address. Just for signing up they will give you 40 free 4 X 6 prints! And uploading your photos to their site couldn't be easier. There are 2 ways to do it, either directly from your computer or you can take them right from your social media sites like Instagram and Facebook. After you have uploaded your photos, select the product you wish to order and follow the simple instructions.  As you add your photos, Photobox Canada will let you know what the quality of that photo is through a happy face rating system. Your photos will either be rated excellent, average or poor. Most of my photos in my book were taken with my iPhone and uploaded from social media. Out of the 50 or so photos in my book only 4 received an average rating and you can’t tell when looking at the photo book. So if you're like me and only take photos with your phone rest assured your book will be as gorgeous as mine! 

I chose to create a 30 page square hard cover photo book. When I was making my photo book, I was given the choice of layout for each individual page allowing me to customize how many photos per page, background colour and you can add text you to each page or individual photo. I didn't add any text to my book choosing instead let it be a beautiful pictorial of our kids. You can pick and design the cover of your book. There were so many choices I really had a hard time picking but finally settled on a pale shade of blue.

After I completed my book which took me about 2 evening to complete or roughly 4 hours (I am a perfectionist!) I placed my order. I received my photo book approximately 7 days later packaged very carefully to prevent damage. I am thrilled with how it turned out! My book is a beautifully bound hard cover book that my husband will treasure for years to come! Each page is printed on beautiful high quality glossy photo paper. I am so excited to share this beautiful photo book with my husband on Christmas day and I can’t wait to make more amazing photo memories on Photobox Canada! 

Photobox is a print company with a twist- it's personal. "We take your photographs and print them onto books, calendars, posters and mugs (to name just a few)." They also store your photos, help you share them online and come up with new ways of doing all things digital. Visit them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram! And don't forget to visit their new Christmas Corner!