10 Gift Ideas

Barbie Beach Bucket Gift

For Mother’s Day, teacher appreciation, birthdays and more… 1. A Rose for Mother’s Day – We clip a rose from the front yard bush and wear it in honor of Mama on Mother’s Day. But it’s also tradition for my husband and the children to give me a new rose bush for the front yard. [...]

DIY Hand Soap Dispenser

DIY Hand Soap Dispenser at Hodgepodge

You may remember our pretty hand soap dispensers with initials? Well, in our house some things need to be super-sized. See, how much bigger this warehouse-sized hand sanitizer is compared to one that would sit by the bathroom sink? Nana taught us this fun craft and helped us make hand soap gifts, personalized for teachers. [...]

What Fun it is to Laugh and Sing

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What fun it is to…laugh! 1. Make Christmas cookies | 2. Get an early Christmas present – new washer and dryer! | 3. Go on a library trip then laugh over Diary of a Spider | 4. Make tents on a rainy day | 5. Catch Eldest Boy in the laundry room again | 6. [...]

Christmas Favorites

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I found myself looking through my archives for some Christmas favorites. So, I thought it would be good to place them all in a nice little spot. Favorites like recipes we use often in December, advent resources and holiday and winter art. He appeared and the soul felt its worth… From all three Hodgepodge categories [...]

Kids in the Kitchen: Hot Chocolate Mix Gifts

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Frugal fun in the kitchen. Just four ingredients. Plus one or more children equal a fun time making hot chocolate mix for gifts. Mixing up lots of fun at $5 Dinners today!

For the Birds: Gift Idea

Gift Idea for Bird Lovers

from the 2010 archives…We spent an entire afternoon Saturday making treats for the birds – and the bird lovers we know. Nana came across a really neat recipe for birdseed wreaths. I was especially excited about it because it is peanut free for our crew. Just three ingredients! Gelatin, water and birdseed. We made ten, [...]

Gift idea: Slow Cooker Love

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Only two years old and it’s changed my life. The slow cooker my in-laws gave me for Christmas. I didn’t know that just a few, little features like these would make such a difference: programmable timer switches to warm when cooking time is over removable insert can go right in the dishwasher or be used [...]

Two Step Pound Cake

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No sifting. No alternating. Just put it all in together and bake it. Make this cake and I promise you won’t think the same way about pound cakes ever again. It’s the only pound cake I’ve made for almost a dozen years now – since Southern Living published this recipe in February 2000. I still [...]

Give a cake

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The credit for this idea goes to my friend, Paige. Several years ago she shared that she makes a pound cake. Then she either cuts it in half for two gifts or fills large muffin tins to make mini pound cakes. A recipe I’ve been making for years is Southern Living’s two-step pound cake. It [...]

Photo Album Gifts

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My friend, Kerri, got me into the habit of giving these simple, little photo albums as gifts. I uploaded about 25 photos to Sam’s Club. Representative pictures from the year: a family shot, plenty of each child, a few birthday pictures. Then, at the Lifeway Store, I picked up the $1.99 photo albums. Each with [...]