Lilac City Momma

Lynn

Christmas gifts on a budget

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Christmas spending can get totally out of hand, with the annual push for more, bigger, better. Time off work paired with the expense of parties, travel, and shopping at the grocery store for those special holiday meals doesn’t help matters. Take back control of the gift list with budget-friendly Christmas gifting ideas.

DIY

Creative homemade gifts can be a great option for those on a budget. For best results, consider your recipient’s interests and tastes, and price out materials ahead of time. If you need the supplies for other tasks or you can reuse them for multiple gifts, you’ll save more money. Dollar stores and some secondhand shops or thrift stores can also provide crafting supplies inexpensively enough to make DIY gifting practical. This is a great option for creative, artistic people with good hand-eye coordination, lots of patience, and some proven skills. If you’re new to crafting and DIY, make sure that you give yourself lots of time to work on the gifts, and that you have extra materials on hand to make up for any false starts, and be realistic about the complexity of projects. Homemade gifts can range from cute, simple everyday items decorated to a friend or loved-one’s taste, to impressive efforts in bespoke customization.

Humor

Joke or gag gifts can provide big fun on a budget. Since many of these are inexpensively mass-produced, their value comes from the response that they can elicit. Pick up on inside jokes, established interests, and styles of humor to find the right gifts for those on your list. Consider the probable audience in the room when it’s opened – adult humor can be great fun among friends or mature relations, but you don’t want to be scrambling to make awkward explanations in front of the kids on Christmas morning. Likewise, lowbrow humor will work better with the young and young-at-heart than those on your list with a more elevated or dry sense of fun.

Fandoms

Like joke gifts, there are often a wide variety of mass-produced goods targeted towards fans of pop culture franchises across film, gaming, and comic media types. Look for character or branded goods that the recipient would enjoy or find useful. From wearables to purely artistic pieces, toys to character serving ware and themed peripherals, there’s something for everyone. You can blend this with a DIY gift if you’re artistically inclined.

Vintage and second-hand

Vintage and second-hand shopping is an underutilized strategy in the budget shopper’s arsenal. Good for the environment, socially responsible, and deeply creative, finding the perfect gift in the post-consumer market is a treasure hunt for an unknown prize. You can go searching for one thing and find an even more perfect gift idea drop in your lap unexpectedly. While true vintage can fetch high prices in discerning markets, you can often find incredible deals on surprising finds – and be sure to find unique gift options. Online markets such as eBay and Craigslist are another bargain-hunter’s dream if you know what you’re looking for.

Books

Simple, fun, and budget-friendly, a good book is a smart choice for any recipient. If you’re not sure about the literary taste of those on your list, browsing their social media for ideas or asking for a recommendation based on age or interests at the bookstore are both great approaches. Bookstore employees are generally book enthusiasts who have wide-ranging knowledge about trends and top titles across many genres and love to help you find the perfect bookish gift.

Practical

Sometimes, the best budget gifts meet a need or supply a regular activity or interest. Keep things simple and elegant, or pull together a box of fun goodies with a theme. Perennial favorites for adults can be barware such as whisky glasses or whisky tumblers, a cocktail shaker, a wine decanter, or home décor such as a new decorative pillow or throw blanket in the recipient’s preferred shade, pattern, or style. For children, a selection of art and craft supplies or themed, age-appropriate small toys such as a collection of farm animals or dinosaurs can keep them busy and entertained. For teens, foundational or fun cosmetics don’t have to cost a fortune, and simple basics such as socks suited to hobbies, activities, or other tastes can go over surprisingly well. Pick up on a regular drink order with a new coffee mug, tea tumbler, or water bottle in a design that suits the recipient.

Whether you’re a DIY master artisan or a thrift-store maven, these budget-friendly ideas are sure to help you breeze through your list this year.

Essential Information You Need to Know About Palliative Care

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Palliative care is the kind of medical approach given to people with life-limiting diseases. They are at a point in their lives when they are just waiting for their time to be over. It does not mean they are to be left to fend for themselves. Instead, they still need to be given love and care.

 

The benefits

Cancer patients for instance who are on their final stages still need therapeutic massage every now and then. It won’t necessarily lead to recovery but it will at least make them feel better. Some patients also need counselling. There are times when they simply need someone to listen to them. It helps if a caregiver is there to do the job.

Suffering from a life-limiting disease also means that the patient experiences discomfort and stress all the time. It would be nice to just have someone by their side to ease the pain. The caregiver can provide medicine and other forms of therapeutic care but their presence alone is more than enough. Among the most common illnesses requiring caregivers are kidney failure, congestive heart diseases, Parkinson’s and cancer.

Getting a palliative care team

The team creates a plan based on the goals of the family. Not all patients with life-limiting diseases have the same problems. The team is usually composed of dieticians, therapists, counselors and even chaplains. The person asked to provide palliative care at home will most likely implement these plans with the help of the assigned experts.

Taking care of the patient

People with these illnesses suffer from anxiety and confusion. They also feel depressed knowing that their time may soon be over. Aside from physical pain like difficulty in breathing, diarrhea and nausea, they also suffer from all sorts of stress. They also feel embarrassed that they have to be given much care and attention.

For someone like you who is working full time and with kids, spending time with someone with this problem could be a really huge challenge. You will have a hard time balancing everything. It could even reach a point where you are affected personally. You can’t perform other tasks well since you are focused mainly on providing care for your loved one.

Beginning the process

You should start considering this type of care if curative therapies are no longer working. They can’t do anything to control the illness. The harm caused by some treatment also outweighs the benefits. At this point, forcing different treatments just to achieve full recovery is not only impossible, but inhumane. You just need someone to be there helping your loved one. They might be gone soon but at the very least, they have felt loved until the end. This also gives you time to be there as much as possible without having to take on too many responsibilities on your own, especially with work and other priorities that you can’t just drop. You will always know someone is there to help and to be company. You can have all the care needed and it will help keep the process simple for everyone in the family.

Even If You’ve Finally Moved In, Your Tasks are Not Over Yet

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Don’t think that once you have finally arrived at your new place, you no longer have anything to do. In fact, the tasks have just begun. There are a lot of things that you need to settle before you can finally take a rest. Here are some important reminders.

Say hi to your neighbours

You might not find this important but establishing a good relationship with the people closest to you is a must. If there are emergency problems, you can contact them for help. If you need someone to talk to, they can also be there as they are the nearest people to you. You should find some time just to say hi and let them know more about you.

Check the local post office

It is important that you have transferred all the mail addressed to your old house to your new house. Check with the post office if there has been mail delivered to your old place. This is pretty common. You should organise this even before moving to your new place. You must advise those who need to know about your change of address, especially for important bills.

Look for local professionals

It is great if you know a doctor or a vet whom you can really trust. In the event of an emergency, you don’t want to just find anyone close to you. While you have the time, start searching for local professionals. Ask your neighbours if they have recommendations. Read online reviews. Visit their offices or call them.

Contact insurance companies

You need a new insurance policy now that you are in a different place. If the previous insurance still applies, it would be great. You just have to change the address.

Consider getting a storage space

You might not have the time to arrange everything in your new place immediately. You should consider renting a storage space in a nearby facility. You can keep some items there while you are still fixing up your new place. It is more practical. Besides moving in to a new place can get messy. The last thing you want is a whole bunch of boxes left unopened in the corner of every room. Make your life easier and stay organized.

Hire a professional moving company

If the tasks involved once you have moved in seem overwhelming, imagine if you are yet to move. There are a lot more tasks that have to be done. Ask for help from a professional moving company like http://www.advanced-removals.co.uk. They will be there as scheduled. They can help pack the items, place them on a truck and deliver them to your new place.

It is not easy moving to a new place but if the opportunities are there, grab the chance. You should also get all the help you can get to make things easier.

 

Image: Pixabay.com

Helping children understand the death of a pet

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The death of a family pet is an unexpected and sudden shock for a child. It is common for a cat, dog, rabbit or other animal to be part of the extended family, and when coupled with the fact that it is often a child’s first encounter with death, the process of dealing with the loss can be challenging for everyone.

Young children are not able to fully comprehend death as adults do and how they view it generally changes quickly as they grow up. From ages three to five, they often regard death as being reversible or temporary, but this changes from ages six to eight and then again at nine to eleven as they begin to understand that it is part of life, and is inevitable and irreversible.

Each child is unique so you should approach the subject with regard to your child’s personality. Chair of the Department of Early Childhood, Abigail McNamee, believes you should ask yourself several questions beforehand. She says: “How many experiences has your child had with death? How have you talked with him or her about death? What’s been seen on television?”

McNamee recommends an “honest, accurate and brief” approach to pet death and warns that using phrases such as “went to sleep” or “passed away” may cause confusion. Instead, tell them that the pet has died, but make it sound as peaceful as possible, and spare them any details that could be traumatic. You can then use their questions and reactions to gauge their general feelings and ideas about death, before moving on to make pet funeral arrangements.

If you’re feeling stressed about organising a funeral/reception for your children to say goodbye to their pet, it can be done as simple as possible, and still have full meaning. Concentrate on celebrating the good times.

Grieving process

Grieving is a part of life that at some point we all go through, and you should always include your child in the process as they need to say goodbye. You can ask them what they would like to do and offer suggestions such as drawing pictures of the pet or sharing funny stories about it. However, there is no rule for grieving and you must be vigilant about the fact they may not react in the way you would. McNamee adds: “She might go in and out of strong feelings – be intensely sad, then begin to play and act as if it hasn’t happened.”

These fluctuations in temperament can last up to month but your child may need extra support if they have trouble letting go, and it subsequently affects their wellbeing, either through lack of sleep or trouble at school. If this happens, you should ask them if they are feeling sad and whether they want to talk to someone about it. Recounting your own childhood experiences can help you to relate to them and ease any concerns.s

Children will eventually come to terms with a pet’s passing, and many will gain a better perspective on death as a result. They will then probably want to get another pet but McNamee recommends waiting for around six months before doing so. You can use this period to anticipate the arrival of a pet and ask them about favored breeds and possible names to keep their minds on the future.

Photowall Review

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I was approached by Photowall.com to do a review of one of their products. I take pride in doing honest reviews of products and figured it would be fairly straight forward as all their prints and wallpaper looked high quality. But, let me tell you… my experience with this site and their customer service has been amazing.

Firstly, it took me weeks… WEEKS to decide which print I wanted. The woman who had originally approached me about the review was so patient with me and would politely check in ever other week. I felt so bad that I was taking forever, but I finally decided on the canvas print Beach Path.

I had an issue with typing the wrong address and they followed up with me immediately. The support emails were friendly, polite and very helpful. After I had taken ages to decide on my print, they were still so kind and patient.

The print was delivered to my house within a few days and although I was worried about putting together such a large canvas myself, my man wouldn’t be home for hours – so I gave it a try. I watched Photowall’s how-to-video and to my surprise, I had the canvas done in 20 minutes. I was SO proud of myself!

My plan was to put the canvas in my office at work and I was so excited from putting it together myself that I forgot to measure my stairway. When I tried to bring the canvas downstairs, it wouldn’t fit. Being extremely busy, I put off dealing with it for another week or two. Again, I would get friendly and patient emails from the staff at Photowall wondering how it was going with the canvas.

Although I would not recommend this, I managed to take the canvas partially apart and put it back together at my office. The results of my beautiful print are below. I absolutely LOVE it. I don’t like to gush about things overly, but I will definitely be using Photowall again to add some colour to the basement (man cave).

Walls say a lot about a place. Usually, the décor on the wall can reveal about the inhabitant’s interests and personality. Walls can also define the appearance of a room. Well- decorated walls can revamp a once boring room while poorly done walls detract a lot from a room, like my office or basement.
There are countless ways to decorate your walls- from something as simple as hanging pictures to something as complex as a wall mural. Photowall is a Swedish company who’s main goal is to bring life to your walls. Here are the top reasons to get your wall décor from this reputable company:
More Information About Photowall
1. Countless Designs
When it comes to wall décor, Photowall offers you a wide array of designs to choose from. For wall murals, there are over 3000 motifs and over 70 designers from all over the world. Why, you can even determine exactly what kind of environment you want for your walls by designing it yourself and then uploading the photos. That way, you can rest assured that your decoration will be one- of- a- kind for all the good reasons.
2. Quality Décor
Another thing that sets Photowall décor from other types is the superior quality of the decorations. For instance, the canvas prints are made purely from cotton. Additionally, the paintings do not fade from exposure to the sun and are fire- retardant. Nothing spells quality better.
3. Affordable
Even better is the fact that these quality products come at reasonable prices. For the quality of Photowall products, they are priced rather low; for products of their caliber. Every single coin you spend on them is well worth it.
4. Easy DIY Décor
If you have been reluctant to get your walls decorated out of the conviction that it is a lot of work, Photowall is the perfect solution to your troubles. The décor can be hung up in very little time, and is not energy consuming either. If you opt to get the canvas prints, you can also choose whether or not to use the accompanying frame. Their easy do it yourself décor gives you no excuse not to get your walls decorated.
Conclusion
You would be hard put to find an interior décor company with deals half as good as those of Photowall. To start with, whatever decoration you buy from the company, you can rest assured that it will be of superior quality.