Christmas Archives - What's up Fagans?

The Easiest and Best Way to Save Money for Christmas All Year Long

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March 7, 2017 By Katelyn Fagan 1 Comment

Even though Christmas comes but once time a year, it's a big expense. That's why I'm excited to share what I think is the best way to save for Christmas in partnership with Sears Mastercard. I used to really not like Christmas, but it's grown on me a lot since having my own children. And, like my husband, I want to make it magical for our kids. It's the one time of year that I want to give them all-the-things. I want to spoil them rotten because I love them and I don't spoil them hardly at all during the year. But this seasonal desire clashes hard with my ever-present frugal inner self who hates spending money, hates going into ...

8 Perfectly Romantic Gift Ideas for Him for Valentine’s Day or Anniversary

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February 2, 2017 By Katelyn Fagan Leave a Comment

Want awesome and romantic gift ideas for him this Valentine's Day or for your anniversary? Read on for my top romantic items you can gift your husband! It's crazy how I totally lucked out by marrying the man I did. He's a natural romantic and gift giver. He loves to show his love for me by his actions, words, and gifts, and not just for birthdays, anniversaries or other special occasions. No, my husband brings me flowers after we had a fight, or I had a particularly rough day at home with the kids. He'll buy me chocolates when it's the Time of the Month because he knows I'll want them. He'll pick me up my favorite soda, ...

Stitch Fix Review #2 – These Prices are Killing Me!

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December 30, 2016 By Katelyn Fagan 3 Comments

My styling fee was waived in exchange for an honest review of Stitch Fix. I received this box December 2016 in time for the holidays. I wasn't sold on Stitch Fix after my first box, and questioned whether the cost of Stitch Fix made it something frugal people (like myself) could really get behind and use, or if it is something solely for those with extra income because of the Stitch Fix prices. If you are unfamiliar with Stitch Fix, they are a styling service that handpicks fashion pieces - clothing and accessories - for you and ships them to your door how ever often you'd like. They use a comprehensive style quiz to determine ...

6 People You Forget to Thank All Year and Gifts They’ll Appreciate

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December 21, 2016 By Jeni Ware 1 Comment

Once again, the Christmas holiday is upon us and I’m looking around wondering where the year went! The older I get, the faster it seems to go. Part of getting older means hopefully getting wiser too, right? As I get “wiser” I try to focus more and more on gratitude – all of the things in my life that I take for granted and how much they bless me: my car, my “day” job, this blogging opportunity, comfortable shoes, macaroni-and-cheese…okay, okay, I digress, but it’s all true! I also like to use this time of year to remember all of those people who give to me all year long and bless my life as well, and that’s really the focus ...

Why These 8 Traditional Stocking Stuffers are Enough

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December 20, 2016 By Katelyn Fagan 4 Comments

This post is sponsored by Orajel. All opinions are mine own. Every Christmas morning I woke up early, eager to get started unwrapping all the Christmas presents for me underneath our Christmas tree. But, I had to wait until the rest of my family was up and out of bed to do so. Thankfully, I always had a Christmas stocking hanging full of treats and other traditional stocking stuffer items that was free game to rummage through as I waited for my parents and siblings to wake up. I loved our family's Christmas stockings for the simple fact of where it came from: my grandmother. She hand-knit every stocking for myself, my eight ...

One Crucial Way to Take Christmas to the Next Level

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December 13, 2016 By Katelyn Fagan 3 Comments

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Christmas Tree Promotion Board. My husband and I celebrated eight years of marriage at the end of November. Over those eight years we created memories, children, and traditions. It's been super fun having our own simple everyday family traditions, as well as holiday traditions. Christmas is my husband's favorite holiday and he wants to go big every year. Because of his attitude toward Christmas and the joy it brings myself and my growing family, it has quickly become my favorite holiday as well, even more than Thanksgiving, my old favorite holiday. But, for eight years my ...

How to Assemble Blessing Bags for Homeless People as a Group

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November 30, 2016 By Katelyn Fagan 9 Comments

This post is sponsored by Mormon.org. All opinions expressed are my own. This year as part of our homeschool, we participate in a local Christian Exploring Co-Op. We take turns planning field trips for our kids. In addition to the field trips we schedule a Moms Night Out, a Teen Night, and a Service Project each quarter too. Our last service project was a few weeks ago and we collaborated as a homeschool group to make blessing bags for homeless people. I know many of us (myself included) are never quite sure what to do when confronted with a homeless person. Should we ignore them, look the other way, gesture that we don't have ...

How to Limit Christmas Gifts to 3 or 4 Without Being a Scrooge

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November 28, 2016 By Katelyn Fagan Leave a Comment

This post is sponsored by Carter's; however, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I can't imagine Christmas morning without gifts. It's like having a birthday without a cake or people singing Happy Birthday to you at least once. It just would not be the same. At all. No matter how tight money was when I was a kid, my parents, eight siblings and I all managed to have at least a few gifts under the Christmas tree every year. Even though my greed at Christmastime sometimes prevented me from appreciating the gifts I received, I still received gifts! Of course Christmas isn't really about gifts, and birthdays will ...

Bring the Scriptures to Life for Kids with an Epic Scripture-Themed Carnival

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November 25, 2016 By Katelyn Fagan 1 Comment

This post is sponsored by Mormon.org. All opinions are my own. One year ago I became the Primary President in our local church congregation. This means I've been responsible for overseeing the Sunday School, music, nursery, and sharing time of all children ages 18 months to 11 years old in our church. There are somewhere between 35-50 children in this age bracket. It can be a pretty overwhelming and stressful position to have, especially with a new baby, homeschooling, and a husband gone long hours with a PhD, oh, and working from home. The good thing is that I love children and find joy in this calling. To help motivate ...

Top 6 Reasons You Should Still Mail Christmas Cards

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November 23, 2016 By Katelyn Fagan 5 Comments

This post is brought to you in partnerships with Orajel. All opinions are my own. Every year I hear the same excuses as to why people don't mail Christmas cards to their family and friends via USPS snail mail. People often say things like: "Christmas cards are so much work!" "It's just another thing to do during the busy Christmas season." "Honestly, sometimes I just forget to do them until after Christmas is over, and then don't send them because I'm embarrassed to send them so late." "People just throw out the cards anyway, so why bother?" "They are too expensive! There's the cost of a photographer and/or a ...

5 Fantastic Elf on the Shelf Alternatives You’ll Wanna Start This Year

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November 10, 2016 By Crystal Barnes 6 Comments

If Elf on the Shelf isn't for you, here are five Elf on the Shelf alternatives for your family. Start a great new family Christmas tradition that you can totally get behind this year. Just before Christmas last year, my kids were 3½ and 1½ and I was 37 weeks pregnant. And I turned into a crazy person. I had this super intense need to make the looming holiday mean something “more”. I scoured Pinterest, and I harassed my family and friends about their traditions. I needed to find a way to connect my kids to the meaning of the holiday and not to the fluff. And then I gave birth to our third minion two days before Christmas. ...

14 Fun & Needed Gift Ideas for New Gun Owners

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November 7, 2016 By Katelyn Fagan 1 Comment

In America, about a third or more of the population owns at least one gun, with some polls suggesting that gun ownership is on the rise. Chances are you know a gun owner, or several, or are one yourself. It's exciting when someone purchases their first gun, but also scary if they are not very familiar with using one! If you want gifts for new gun owners that will help him or her know how to properly use, store, clean, and shoot a gun safely and accurately, this list of Christmas gifts for gun owners is for you! Whether male or female, this is the perfect new gun owner gift guide. The items on this list will improve their shooting ...