Elfster Gift Exchange

Recently I was invited to be a part of an Elfster Gift Exchange with other crafty people from all over. (Elftster is a Secret Santa type of gift exchange.) For this exchange our Christmas gifts to each other had to be handmade  and our budget was $10.00 or under. I made a scarf for my “person” since it’s getting colder and I love making scarves! The scarf is black and grey, but I took the picture outside in the sunlight so it looks like a black and white picture! 

I received my Secret Santa gift in the mail today and it was this cute little wooden snowman ornament: 

I love doing gift exchanges! I love the surprise of seeing an envelope with my name on it in the mailbox. It’s just like old times – before the internet. The only thing filling up my physical outdoor mailbox now is bills and junk mail. I do not need another letter telling me how I can finance a mattress. 

My daughter and I took a day off from school yesterday and ran to the mall. They are calling for a big snowstorm this weekend so I wanted to make sure she had some snow pants and boots. Apparently none of the stores in our area planned for winter because nobody had snow pants and the boots were almost gone everywhere! We finally found some at Sears in a dark corner of the store and I was lucky enough to get 10% off! Woo Hoo!! 

There’s a pet store inside our mall called Puppy Love and it’s full of adorable puppies. None of them are priced under $1000. They are all kept in glass cages full of shredded paper. It’s so sad! If I had all the money, I would take all the puppies and have the place shut down. I don’t even like to go inside because it breaks my heart, but my daughter wanted to see the puppies so of course I have to go in for her. 

This little guy kept giving us crazy looks: 

He is just too adorable with those ears!! It took all I had not to break the glass and run away with him! But, stealing is wrong and I’m pretty sure bail money cost more than all those puppies combined. 

There is a storm in California that is making it’s way across the entire United States just to bring us a predicted 6-12 inches of wet snow. Perfect for making snowmen and sledding and snowball fights! I’m sure all the bread and milk at the grocery stores will be gone by this afternoon.

Tonight is our town’s annual Christmas event. They close off the road in downtown and the streets are lined with vendors, crafts, bouncy houses, food, carriage rides, a small parade, and Santa! There’s even a free show at the performance center. One year they had Christmas caroling there, but I missed it. It’s so much fun to walk around sipping hot chocolate and listening to the sounds of Christmas. I look forward to it every year. 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!! 

Do you have any plans?