Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

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Gifting good cheer – and deals!

December 7, 2013 by Kristin Leave a Comment

Did you notice a Saturday between Thanksgiving and Christmas is missing? Yep. Only three Saturdays remain until Christmas. And one of those is today.

So, I thought I’d offer some help if you’re still shoppin. Photo cards and stocking stuffers are two of my favorite ways to give good cheer this time of the year. I’m bringing you ideas based on what I’ve bought and used lately.

And, yes, I’ve shopped almost entirely online this year. Amazon Prime really is worth it. {You can try it for a month for free. Just think. Free two-day shipping on many, many items with no minimum purchase total and all kinds of streaming TV shows and movies.}

Sing the Bible
Did you hear Slugs & Bugs has a new CD? And, honestly, it’s my favorite project yet. Only Randall Goodgame can get my kids memorizing scripture and talking about aliens at the same time. You can pre-order the CD now and have it in your hands soon after the projected Dec. 10 release date or download the 18 songs now.

Being a Kickstarter supporter, we’ve had this album for a week now. It’s fabulous. We were listening to it on the way to school earlier this week and after the kids got out, I was tempted to keep listening. It’s that good.

Author Sally Lloyd-Jones reads scripture and has a funny conversation with Randall about aliens. I could listen to her sweet British accent all day. And the African Children’s Choir is the perfect addition.

There are links just to the left of that Rabbit Room store page where you can buy any of the other Slugs & Bugs CD too. If you’re looking for “I’m Adopted,” which is a favorite song around here, you’ll find that on the “Under Where?” album. You can also download individual songs from the previous three Slugs & Bugs albums at Amazon.

Jesus Storybook Bible
Speaking of author Sally Lloyd-Jones, if you don’t have “The Jesus Storybook Bible,” you need to.

We’ve liked it for awhile now, but the advent readings we’ve been doing from it have reminded how every story truly does whisper Jesus’ name and have a mighty purpose in God’s master plan to rescue us. Her words tie it all together beautiful and the pictures take it to another level of goodness.

Yes, it’s possible I like this Bible even more than my kids do. And right now Amazon has it for less than $10, which is a fabulous price for such a treasure. {Check prices before ordering as they change often!}

Trades of Hope
I recently received my first order from Trades of Hope, a company that sells beautiful handmade gifts that help empower women out of poverty. While I loved the three gifts I ordered, I’m especially fond of these star ornaments and these angel ornaments created by Haitian women.

My friend Becky Lile works with Trades of Hope and would be happy to assist you. {Read more about the company in a recent guest post she shared here.}

DaySpring
I’ve ordered so many Christmas presents from DaySpring. It’s a good place to stock up on journals, cards, and gifts on sale to have throughout the year. It’s nice to find lovely items with meaningful messages to give as gifts.

Right now, Christmas items are 25% off. Calendars are 25% off. Journals are 30% off. You can save 20% on cards when you use the code 20offCARDS or 20% off gifts with 20offGIFTS. Shipping is free when your purchase totals at least $50 or you can get free shipping with a $30+ order when you use shipping30.

zulily
And if you just need to browse, hoping to happen upon a random but perfect gift, I suggest zulily. I’ve gotten hooked the past few months and have found some fabulous gifts, including My Little Pony and Lego gifts. {Yes, that’s what’s popular around here!} I’ve also found home decor gifts, crafts for all ages, Crocs for my boy next summer, and various items with sports team logos on them. Deals come and go, so you never know what you’ll happen upon!

Tyndale Books
If you haven’t signed up for Tyndale’s reward program, you should. Because it’s free. And you earn free books. Um, hello, what a deal! I’ve ordered {for FREE!} a couple Bible that are nice. There are different gift-type books too.

Basically, you do various things that don’t take much time to earn free points. Different Bibles and books can be ordered for certain amounts of points. Shipping has been quick too.

What’s going in your stockings? Feel free to share other deals and ideas in the comments.

________

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About Me

Telling stories is my therapy and I love sharing them with friends on my porch.

The main characters in my stories are my entrepreneur husband, our high school girl who never forgets, our middle school boy who has no fear, and our joy-filled first-grade girl. As we live out our stories, we seek God as the author of them all.

Learn more about my story here.

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