I’ve always been a fan of a great at-home bar. I strongly believe it’s a must-learn life skill to mix up classic cocktails, and as an avid host, it’s important to provide an array...
Looking back on Easter as a child, I remember how excited I was to dig through my Easter basket. Full of chocolate bunnies, malt ball Easter eggs, Peeps, golden coins, and my favorite Cadbury...
Lets be honest, salads can be boring. So I’m always trying to think outside of the box to come up with salad recipes that I’ll thoroughly enjoy, but are beyond easy to make. Enter...
Lets be honest, salads can be boring. So I’m always trying to think outside of the box to come up with salad recipes that I’ll thoroughly enjoy, but are beyond easy to make. Enter...
If you missed yesterday’s big news, you’re in for a treat this week here on Waiting on Martha! We’re sharing a handful of holiday gift guides this year, and including a MAJOR giveaway with EACH to truly celebrate the season with all of you. Today, my friends, marks Gift Guide Number Two.
Since we’re sharing everything we’re planning on gifting this year (the what, the to who, and the why we’re gifting it), we thought it would be fun to give it all away, too. One lucky winner will receive everything you see in this picture! That’s right…one lucky winner will be picked for each gift guide!
Be sure to read about all of the products included below, who we’re gifting each one to, and of course enter via Rafflecopter. Good luck, good luck and let’s cheers to a great start to gift guide season! Truly, MKR
P.S. Don’t forget to enter yesterday’s giveaway (Gift Guide Number One) HERE. xo
Mark & Graham gives us a gorgeous handmade, wooden keepsake box with the basics to get your creative juices flowing to master calligraphy at home. This calligraphy set includes a wood pen with steel nib, three extra nibs, wood pen rest, miniature ink vial, 1 oz. bottle of black sumi ink with dropper, practice booklet, letterpress alphabet sheet.
We’d gift this to a friend who’s in a creative rut.
*Giveaway winner will receive one calligraphy set.
Perfect for the jetsetter (or local wanderer!), this leather travel journal includes pages for journaling, full-color maps of major cities, world weather info, international dialing codes and more.
We’d gift this to the person in our life who has the most frequent flyer miles.
*Giveaway winner will receive one journal, customized and monogrammed if desired.
We’re big fans of these elegant measuring cups that instantly elevate your kitchen routine. The copper offers a heavy-duty construction with low-maintenance finish, and the sturdy stainless steel means you won’t be replacing these anytime soon. The set includes 1 cup, 1/4 cup, 1/3 cup and 1/2 cup.
We’d gift this to the baker in our life.
*Giveaway winner will receive one set of measuring cups.
Celebrate two of our favorite things (wine and chocolate) with handcrafted chocolate bars that have been made to perfectly pair with different wines. An easy stocking stuffer, and a simple gift for just about anyone on your list!
We’d gift this to the person who always has a glass of wine in their hand and orders dessert first.
*Giveaway winner will receive kit of four 2 oz. bars.
These all natural, premium batch cinnamon toothpicks have a subtle hint of mint, creating a sweet sensation while chewing. Chewing sticks are an American tradition, and prove to be a great stocking stuffer for the boys.
We’d gift this to the man in our life.
*Giveaway winner will receive two bottles of chewing sticks.
As any Southerner will tell you, true Dixie cooking is done with cast iron. What’s destined to become an heirloom houseware, this No. 10 cast iron skillet by Charlestons’s Smithey Iron is US made and crafted with care.
We’d gift this to the Southern chef.
*Giveaway winner will receive one skillet.
Blood Orange Himalayan Salt Body Scrub, Aftershave Toner, Bikini Body Ingrown Relief Serum, & Lavan Shave Oil
Oui Shave is seriously changing the shaving game with luxurious, all natural products that your skin will love. We rounded up four of our favorite essentials from the brand (a body scrub, an aftershave, ingrown serum and shave oil), so you can start enjoying shaving once and for all, too.
We’d gift this to our bestie who eats organic, but doesn’t wear patchouli.
Taco Tuesday (our favorite day of the week) just got better; just grab your margarita and you’re set. These orange matchboxes are stamped with ♥ TACOS in sparkly gold foil and couldn’t be cuter.
We’d gift this to our work buddy.
*Giveaway winner will receive a set of 3 matchboxes.
The Prayer Partner is a great way to keep track of the blessings in your life. The journal provides easy spaces to fill in (even if you only have five minutes!) your thoughts, desires, dreams and prayers, along with prayers and bible verses to help inspire you on your path. It’s simply a stunning book (188 pages!) with 20 art prints included.
We’d gift this to our Mom or MIL, (Mother In Law).
We think a life upgrade comes in the form of a freshly roasted coffee subscription, delivered straight to your doorstep! Drift Away Coffee offers great subscription plans (customizable and flexible for your lifestyle) that would make anyone smile this holiday.
We’d gift this to the coffee lover in our life who prefers local the pour over method to red cups.
*Giveaway winner receives one 3-month coffee subscription.
PLEASE NOTE: Giveaway items will be shipped directly from each retailer. xo
After talking with our friend Anna recently about thoughtful holiday traditions for the family, we got to thinking about a few new memories we can make this year to commemorate the holiday season. Anna introduced us to St. Nicholas Day (Dec. 6) where her kids leave out their shoes for St. Nick to fill them up with candies and goodies, and both MKR and I just loved that. The tradition immediately made me think of Three Kings Day (Jan. 6 aka Epiphany), a holiday we celebrated in southern Spain when I lived there for a few years as a little girl. It was always a delight waking up to find chocolate coins and taffy in our shoes!
Does your family partake in any cherished holiday traditions this time of year? Do you set up an Advent Calendar or watch the same marathon of Christmas movies with holiday hot chocolate? As the team sets out to start their own holiday traditions this year, we’d love to hear about any you do to add to our list! And these aren’t just for the little ones..we included our new favorite southern cream liqueur in the mix…proof that kids of all ages can have a little fun with these new holiday traditions! Cheers, Kat
There are old Christian traditions surrounding St. Nicholas’ feast day on December 6; kids leave their shoes out overnight in front of the fireplace, on the windowsill, or outside their bedroom door so that St. Nicholas can fill them with special fruits like tangerines, candies like chocolate coins and taffy, as well as other small gifts and treats.
We especially love this tradition for kids of all ages (hence the Jackson Morgan southern cream liqueur!). And if you have little ones at home, encourage them to leave carrots or hay in their shoes St. Nicholas’ donkey to eat too. St. Nicholas will replace it with treats to enjoy in the morning!
An advent calendar is a fun and easy way to signify the countdown to Christmas Day. While advent calendars come in all shapes and sizes these days, the original advent calendar can be traced back to the 19th century, when religious families made a chalk line for every day in December until Christmas Eve.
Fill your advent calendar with small chocolates and treats to keep the excitement of the season alive for all.
We love the idea of adding one special ornament to the tree each year to commemorate times spent with family and friends. Plan a trip to pick out your ornaments together, or have them ordered by the time you decorate the tree. It will be such a treat to pull them out each year and remember the memories tied to them!
Opening just one gift on Christmas Eve is a fun tradition to do in eager anticipation for Santa Claus to arrive the following day. Invite your family to share this memory as you settle in after the presents are opened, reading holiday stories and cozying up with holiday hot chocolate.
Three Kings Day, aka“Feast of the Epiphany,” on Jan. 6 marks the day on the Christian calendar when the three kings brought gifts to baby Jesus (and also the last day of the 12 days of Christmas). The traditions originated in Spain and Latin American countries, though many in the US celebrate it now too. The tradition goes: children line their shoes outside the front door, in which the three kings leave candies and small gifts. Many people leave a box of hay or grass too, for the camels of course!
This DIY all natural lip scrub and body scrub have my name written all over them. Well, Kat’s too because she’s obsessed with any and all kinds of scrubs these days. But seriously, this may be our favorite DIY since our flavored salts way back in the day.
These scrubs prove to be excellent exfoliators and moisturizers (thanks to the Coconut Oil), with ingredients you can feel good about. They’re great for yourself of course (at-home spa night, anyone?!), but they also make a thoughtful and affordable gift idea this holiday season.
What you’ll need: organic evaporated sugar crystals (don’t worry, you can find them in your grocery store and on Amazon), Christmas Spirit (my favorite essential oil by far…it smells like all the Christmastime feels with its sweet, spicy blend of orange, cinnamon, and spruce essential oils), peppermint essential oil, orange zest and coconut oil. Easy as that! If you’re pulling together your ingredients and find yourself sans Christmas Spirit or peppermint essential oil, first be sure to enter our GIVEAWAY this week, but then go ahead and snag your Premium Starter Kit to get covered on that front. And if you’re totally new to essential oils, make sure to read why we’ve become obsessed with oils HERE.
Anyway, back to the DIY at hand. The actual process of making the DIY all natural lip scrub and body scrub is simple. For the lip scrub, I simply combine all of the ingredients together in a bowl with my hand (it’s easiest to get your desired consistency that way). I store it in an small airtight jar like this one. And if I’m gifting it, I just tie with a bow and voila…the perfect little “happy”!
As for the DIY body scrub, I mix coconut oil and sugar in a stand mixer until I have a paste. After transferring it to a bowl, I mix in the orange zest and essential oils. Lastly, I add a few drops of cranberry juice for the coloring…though I do it super slowly to get the palest of pinks (it can get red fast!). Like with the DIY all natural lip scrub, I store the body scrub in an airtight glass container or apothecary jar in my fridge. It’s a super easy (under 10 minutes), thoughtful, homemade treat this time of year that I’ll definitely be gifting! Truly, MKR
P.S. Enter our essential oils giveaway HERE. And check out my picks below for great apothecary and cosmetic jars. xo
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2 tablespoons of organic evaporated cane juice crystals
1 tablespoon organic coconut oil
2 drops peppermint oil
1 drop Young Living Christmas Spirit*
Zest of 1/2 orange
For the Body Scrub
14 oz organic coconut oil
3/4 cup standard sugar (I used fine crystals because I don't like my body scrub to be super rough, but it's your preference)
zest of 2 oranges
10 drops peppermint oil
About 15 drops of Young Living Christmas Spirit*
A couple drops cranberry juice (amount based on what shade of pink you want)**
For the Lip Scrub
Blend all ingredients to your desired consistency (I use my fingers to really get a feel for the consistency!).
Store in an airtight container or jar in the fridge.
Tie up with a bow, and gift away!
For the Body Scrub
In a stand mixer, mix coconut oil and sugar until you have a paste.
Transfer to a bowl and mix in the zest and the oil.
Mix it all together, and then add a few drops of coloring (slowly...you don't want it to be red!).
Store airtight in a glass container or apothecary jar in your fridge.
Tie up with a bow and it's ready for gifting!
Notes
*If you don't have Young Living Christmas Spirit, or can't get it (it's super popular!), sub this ingredient out for orange essential oil and a warming spice oil like cinnamon, clove or nutmeg.
**You can also use beet juice or pomegranate juice for a natural pink coloring to your body scrub.
By Mandy Kellogg Rye @ Waiting on Martha
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