Happy End of Daylight Saving Time! Or not.

This Sunday, the clocks will change. People have mixed emotions about Daylight Saving Time. But whether you are a "yea" or a "nay," the fact is that the days are shorter at this time of year. And shorter days can mean Seasonal Affective Disorder (or SAD) for many people, including people in our family.

There are a few reasons for this, like less sunlight time, loneliness during the holidays, or the need to reset our biological clocks with the time change. Don't lose hope though! There are many ways to combat SAD. https://wellbeingtrust.org has some great information about doing this.

Some symptoms of SAD are depression, heightened anxiety, inability to sleep or sleeping too much, and eating too much. To help with these issues, experts recommend talking to your doctor, light therapy, eating well, maximizing your time in the sun, keeping a regular sleep schedule, and exercising.

Another suggestion is mindfulness, prayer, or positive thinking. So, with the end of Daylight Saving Time, we thought some positive ideas might be helpful.

Feel free to use and share these. We wish you joy.

Thanksgiving Planning Plus Free Downloadable Planner

Thanksgiving is on its way. Are you ready? We've come up with a simple planner to help you get ready for the big day. You can download the PDF here, but keep reading for more great ideas for Turkey Day. 

https://drive.google.com/file/ 

We have a huge family with lots of brothers, sisters, nephews, aunts, you name it. We often make dinner for a dozen people and Thanksgiving is usually at least a 20-person affair, if not 30 or 40. So, planning is something we have to do if we want everyone fed and happy on Thanksgiving Day.

It's best to start a couple of weeks in advance. How many people are coming? Do you need to borrow folding chairs? How much turkey and pie will you need? Check out this turkey size calculator https://www.inchcalculator.com/turkey-size-calculator/ for a rough idea. As for pie, well you can never have too much of that! You can look up serving sizes for almost any dish you're going to make, so you can see how much you'll need.

Remember you can't do it all alone, at least not without having a nervous breakdown. Assign guests to bring different dishes. They will usually offer. Have people bring their specialty dishes. Each family has it's own take on Thanksgiving dinner, and you want to make them feel at home with their own comfort foods. Write it down, so you don't forget who's bringing what.

Keep track of everything on your to-do list and have a separate to-buy list or shopping list you can mark things off of. It helps if you put due dates on things to keep yourself on track. 

Don't forget to download our free Thanksgiving Planner to help with your Thanksgiving feast this year. Happy planning!

Host and Hostess Gifts

 Staying with family or friends at Thanksgiving or Christmas? Here are a few simple ideas for holiday hostess gifts you can bring to say you appreciate them letting you be their houseguest. 

1. Something Useful

A kitchen host gift item might be appreciated if your host doesn't always have large groups in their home. A serving platter or spoons, pretty napkins, hand soap, cheese knives, a cake stand, oven mitt, or a nice big bowl (preferably full of something yummy.)

2. Something Edible

Speaking of food, if you live close enough to your host you will probably already be bringing a part of your Thanksgiving meal. Bring a special Thanksgiving dish you're famous for.

If freshly cooked food is not practical, you can still bring goodies along in your suitcase. Some ideas are non-perishable items like boxed and wrapped pies, chocolates, candy, cured meats, an herbal tea sampler, fancy olive oil, etc. If you don't have room in your luggage, order online and have your gift arrive while you are there.

3. Something Decorative

Candles are probably one of the most popular host/hostess gifts. You could try doing something personalized, like making your own label for the candle to make it more special, or try some of these other ideas: A vase of flowers, a centerpiece (real or fake), pillowcases, a tablecloth, or a warmer for all those candles. We found this cute customizable candle on Amazon.

4. Something Fun

Bring an after-dinner game or activity. A get-to-know-you game might be appropriate, or another game if you already know each other really well. Some good games for crowds require more planning than buying, like charades or home-made pictionary.

 A relaxation gift for your host to use after everyone is gone is another idea, like a spa set, a gift card for a foot rub, a book to read, or a soft blanket. 

Your host will be grateful for your thoughtfulness even if you don't spend a lot, especially if you add a thank you note to your token of appreciation. Happy travels!

Let us know what gift you decide on in the comments below 🙂.

DIY Halloween Cemetery Sign

If you've seen the movie Hocus Pocus, you'll know the witches can't set foot on the hallowed ground of the local Salem cemetery. The Old Burial Hill sign is huge in the movie. We made a scaled down version to attach to a purchased garden arbor. 

We were hoping to be able to download an accurate depiction from an online source, but we couldn't find anything with good enough resolution to work with. Instead, we found a closely matching font at dafont.com: Wizards Magic.

We typed the words we wanted into LightBurn and cut the letters out of 3mm thick plywood.

The original plan was to have the letters on beams, like they are in the movie, but we decided that this option wasn't stable enough. Our letters weren't made of metal, like on the real sign.

Instead, we cut out a piece of wood to match the arc of the garden arbor. We just laid the arbor down on the plywood and traced it before cutting it out with a jigsaw.

We spray painted the letters gold and painted the arched wood black on both sides. We then drilled holes at the top of the sign for attaching it to the arbor. 

When gluing the letters to the wood, we opted for the good super glue. This stuff is great. The cheap super glue tubes often clog up or get glue all over your fingers. This Loctite super glue doesn't clog and doesn't come out too fast. Get the good glue!

The final step was using zip ties to attach the sign to the arbor using the previously drilled holes. Make sure your arbor is sturdy, so your cemetery sign doesn't fall over on any trick-or-treaters.

We laser cut letters and shapes for our own and customers' signs all the time. It was fun using the Wizards Magic font. Happy haunting!