gift giving Archives - Dine and Dish

The Joy of Choosing Experience Gifts Over Things

Kristen — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 17:23:46 +0000

Choosing experience gifts over things could make you happier this holiday season.

Like many of you, I have spent much of the past year following the KonMari Method of decluttering my home. What I learned from reading The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up has been a constant theme in my life. “Does this item spark joy?” is a question repeating over and over again as I’ve been faced with the decision to declutter something or even bring something new into my home. It’s a method that has worked wonders in my life…until Christmas.

As I look at the giant stack of boxes that keep coming into my house for Christmas presents, I wonder where I went so wrong. How did I once again get caught up in the value of “things” over “joy”? Simply seeing these boxes and knowing the impact the clutter inside will have on our house makes me anxious. In fact, many of the things I’ve “KonMari’d” from this past year were Christmas presents from past years. Why did I allow myself to get caught up in shopping, shopping, shopping, yet again?

I’ve already made the mistakes I’ve made this year, but I vow right here and now that next holiday season will be different. Instead of choosing things, our family is going to choose experiences. It’s the experiences we share together… from big to small… that brings happiness to our lives. By not allowing more clutter into our house and by bringing more experiences to our life, we will be released from the stress of being suffocated by a house full of things.

As I think to next year, some ideas I have for experience gifts for my family are:…

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Gift Ideas for Kids from HMK

Kristen — Fri, 29 Aug 2014 03:27:34 +0000

I’ve partnered with HMK to share some of my favorite gift ideas for kids!

So far on Dine & Dish I’ve shared with you some great hostess gift ideas from HMK as well as some great gift ideas for friends, but I haven’t shared with you some of my favorite selections of kids gifts from HMK! As a mom, aunt and friend of people who seem to be always having babies, I’m always on the lookout for great gifts geared towards kids. Here is a list of a few of my favorite kids items from HMK.

Customized Books for Kids

My kids get a kick out of anything that has their name or likeness in them. I think most kids do… I remember growing up looking all over for pencils with the name “Kristen” on them. Every one else had a pencil with their name on it, but since my name at the time wasn’t all that popular, I could never find any personalized things for me! Well, HMK has solved the “I can’t find my name anywhere” problem by creating these amazing customized hard cover story books! Customize the lead character’s name and likeness to a kid you love and the story is transformed to make them the hero. The best news is, you can have the book printed and bound while you wait!…

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5 Perfect Hostess Gift Ideas from HMK

Kristen — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 18:23:34 +0000

I’ve partnered with HMK to share a selection of my favorite hostess gift ideas!

Finding the perfect, and let’s face it… unique, hostess gift can be hard. I don’t know about you, but I tend to always just go for a bottle of wine and a card. However, isn’t that what everyone does? Wouldn’t you like for your hostess gift to stand out and be memorable? Well, HMK, the newest boutique concept store by Hallmark, has pulled me through my hostess gift buying rut. They have a plethora of truly great, unique ideas to give to the next hostess with the mostest you encounter! Here are a few of my favorites!…

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Being Purposefully Thoughtful with HMK

Kristen — Tue, 01 Jul 2014 04:43:19 +0000

Do you know those people who are some how naturally thoughtful? Those friends who drop by a coffee exactly when the timing is right, or send you something unexpected, completely out of the blue in the mail? I am so blessed to be surrounded by so many just naturally thoughtful people and each time I receive an unexpected note, a knock on the door with a special treat, or even a random gift on my doorstep, I am in awe and inspired to be more like them. I’m thoughtful, but I wouldn’t say I’m naturally thoughtful. I’ll see something that makes me think of a friend, but that doesn’t mean I necessarily think to go the next step and send it to them or write them to tell them about it….

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Holiday Giving {Giveaway – T-Mobile myTouch and myTouch Q Phones} CLOSED

Kristen — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 23:32:20 +0000

This giveaway is now closed. The winners were Shari from Tickled Red and Joshua. Congrats to you both!

It’s the time of year when Dear Santa letters start to stuff the mailboxes of neighborhoods everywhere. Dolls, toy trains, clothes and more show up on many lists. I’m glad that Santa takes care of all of that for us, as sometimes finding the perfect gift can be overwhelming!

For the more adult crowd, I’ve been sharing ideas through my holiday gift guide to cover the perfect present for the cook in your life (make sure to enter the KitchenAid Pasta Extruder Attachment giveaway!) and the small business owner / Type A gift recipient (the NeatDesk Giveaway is perfect for them!). How about the electronics enthusiast on your list? As someone who would rather receive tech gadgets than diamonds, you know I wouldn’t ignore this category!

My friends at T-Mobile and I are partnering up to share tips for holiday shopping – especially what to look for when buying electronics for those on your list. If you are a social media user (Twitter, Blog, etc) local to the Kansas City area contact me about the local event I’m hosting with T-Mobile next Thursday, December 8th. There is promise of great food, awesome swag bags and giveaways galore!

For the rest of you, T-Mobile wanted to let you in on the action too. They are giving away one T-Mobile myTouch (ARV $279) or one T-Mobile myTouch Q phone (ARV $279) to two lucky Dine & Dish readers! Both of these phones are feature rich, simple to use, run on the largest 4G T-Mobile network and would be an ideal gift for anyone on your gift list.

To enter the giveaways, simply answer this question in the comments section of this post: What is the biggest question you have when it comes to buying a wireless product as a gift?

For additional entries:

Become a fan of T-Mobile on Facebook. Leave an additional comment on this post letting me know you did this.
Follow T-Mobile on Twitter. Leave an additional comment on this post letting me know you did this.
Tweet the following: “Enter the #giveaway to #win a T-Mobile myTouch or myTouch Q phone (ARV $279) on @DineandDish #TMobileHolidays http://su.pr/7Z6ehi ” Return to this post and leave an additional comment letting me know you completed this.

All entries must be received by midnight CST on Wednesday, December 7th 2011. Winners will be chosen by Random.org and notified via valid email address. Sorry, but this giveaway is available for US readers only.

This is a sponsored post on behalf of T-Mobile. I am receiving compensation from T-Mobile for my participation. T-Mobile is also providing the giveaway items. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Help me spice things up with the hubby!

Kristen — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 07:56:38 +0000

My sweet husband is constantly asking me what I want for Christmas. Even though I give him a suggestion or two here and there, he never seems to remember (or write it down, for that matter).

The other day I was browsing the Smitten Kitchen blog and was oooohhhing and ahhhhhing during the tour of her kitchen. When I saw the way her spices were organized, I knew that’s what I wanted for Christmas! If you’ll notice, she has them arranged in a very OCD type manner in little tins with easy to read labels on the outside. The way they are organized seems to me that they would be easily accessible, easy to organize, and a cinch to dip in and get the measurement you need.

So, I tell my hubby “I know what I want for Christmas!”. I show him the picture of the spices all neatly arranged in their little tins. I also show him the comment that would lead him directly to the website where he can purchase said tins. His response? “Those look great. Why don’t you go ahead and buy them for yourself as your Christmas present from me.” Whaaaat??

I decided to compromise. I decided that I would by the containers myself, but he has to provide the spices. I do want something to open on Christmas morning and he shouldn’t be able to get off that easy now, should he?

I do know my husband well though, and know that without things written down exactly like you want them, he’ll feel lost and confused when shopping for presents. What I’m asking from you all is a list of your all time favorite spices. I have the essentials and quite a few non-essentials. What I’m looking for are the herbs and spices that you use in your meals that might not be so common. What might I be missing?

Now, I beg of you, please don’t leave me hanging. I’m opening myself up here, asking for your help in making sure that I have something under the tree on Christmas morning

I’d love your feedback and comments. I hope I can send my dearest love off to the spice store armed with a great list of herbs and spices that will help me to get more spicy in the kitchen.

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Etsy – Give with style!

Kristen — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 23:11:27 +0000

Recently, my friend Karen Beth, turned me onto a gem of a website called Etsy. Etsy is “your place to buy and sell all things handmade”. It is a really fantastic site! Well, I was on there looking at Karen Beth’s beautiful bookmarks and decided I’d look around to see if I could find anything to buy as gifts for our dinner party guests. In true me style, I got sidetracked and came across this apron. Don’t you love it? I can’t imagine wearing it while our guests are in the house (too Donna Reed for me) but I can definitely picture wearing it while preparing for the dinner parties! I may have to purchase a little Christmas gift for myself 🙂

After getting my mind back onto what I was originally there to do, I started looking around for the guest gifts. I was hoping to find some kind of wire wrapped beaded serving ware or tongs, but I didn’t find anything like that listed. Then I took a look at wine charms, but that doesn’t seem very original. I’d like the gift be related to food or eating. Something practical, yet unique and of course, as always, I’m working on a budget here! I’d like it to be something that when they would use or look at, they’d remember the good time we had (hopefully!) that night.

The search is still on. I’ll probably search around Etsy more and see what might be out there. I may also look at some other food / party blogs and see if there are any gift ideas there. I’ll keep you posted and if you have any ideas for me, feel free to let me know.

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