Buying kid gifts is one of those things that can drive me up the wall. My kids are old enough to want a lot of things, and what they want keeps getting more and more expensive. That doesn’t mean they always get what they want – far from it – but it does make finding appropriate gifts within a budget challenging at times.

Kid gifts that encourage creativity are among my favorites. Kids enjoy movies and such, but creative toys really encourage them to explore. What works well varies quite a bit with age, of course.

One of the challenges can be that a lot of creative activities are messy. Painting, for example. My kids have a lot of supplies to allow them to create, and it does create a mess sometimes. But it means I know they’re having a good time expressing themselves.

Younger Kid Gifts

HearthSong – HearthSong is an online store I love to look at. They have wonderful creative play and outdoor play toys. Some of their exclusives look really amazing.

Cardboard Playhouse – One of the best gifts that my husband ever gave our kids didn’t cost any money at all, just time. He got a two layer cardboard box from Home Depot by having the night crew save it for him. He taped it closed on top, then cut appropriate doors and windows for a playhouse. This allowed the kids to color on it as they liked. The double thickness of cardboard meant that kids could safely climb on top.

If you like that idea but don’t want to cut one out, there are cardboard playhouses available at Amazon. They aren’t strong enough to climb on for the most part, but they’re really cute.

LEGO – When you’re talking about kids gifts that encourage creativity, you can’t skip LEGO. There are so many things kids can do with them. There are LEGO sets to go with just about anything your kids like. Personally, I’ve always loved the plain block sets where the kid gets to decide what they’re making. The sets where you’re supposed to make a particular item always struck me as a little limiting, although some are truly amazing. I’m rather in love with the LEGO Space Station personally.

Easel – Young kids are usually very enthusiastic artists. A good easel gives them an appropriate place to draw or paint as they like. Ours survived use by three kids over more than a decade and was still in great shape.

Perler Beads – It amazes me how long kids can sit and play with Perler beads. One year they even made homemade party favors with them for a Minecraft themed birthday party. Perler beads were perfect for making Minecraft characters and tools.

These obviously require some adult interaction when the kids are too young to use an iron on their own. If you get more than one board, you can iron out a few at once rather than waiting for the kids to finish something.

Snap Circuits – Snap Circuits are one of the best toys we ever got for my son. My daughters played with them a little, but not like my son did. He was in second grade when we got them, and quickly mastered them. He has even done demonstrations at school with his Snap Circuits, and this is my quiet kid who hates to speak up in class. Some schools even use Snap Circuits in class to teach about electric circuits.

If your kid ends up loving Snap Circuits, save on batteries and get the Battery Eliminator. It connects to the Snap Circuits set in place of the batteries. It plugs into the wall instead.

Garden Tools – Age appropriate garden tools are great for kids. They love to dig!

When possible, I’ve given my kids their own place to garden in the yard. They decide what to plant, if anything. They can just dig if they like. My oldest loved fairy gardens for a time when she was little. My youngest has a thing for marigolds. Whatever the kids do, it’s fun to just let them do it on their own.

Play Kitchen, Tool Bench, etc. – A play kitchen, tool bench or whatever suits your kids will encourage a lot of creative play. Children love to do things similar to what they see adults do.

If you want to get more realistic, go for an Easy Bake Oven or real cooking tools they can use in your kitchen. Real tools to make things are great as kids get older too.

Art Supplies – Art supplies of all sorts are ideal for encouraging creativity. We have a cabinet where the kids keep all their art supplies. Crayons, colored pencils, pens, paint, all kinds of paper, clay, play dough, glitter, craft foam – the list goes on and the cabinet gets cluttered. But that’s all part of the fun.

Lessons – What does your child want to learn? Art lessons, dance lessons, music lessons… what do they want to do? Lessons will allow them to improve their skills while indulging their interests. There are often good classes available locally.

Teen And Older Kid Gifts

As kids get older, they are so much harder to shop for. They also have a better idea of in which direction they want to direct their creativity. Some will make it difficult, however, and insist that they aren’t creative at all. Don’t believe them! Everyone can be creative; it’s just a matter of figuring out what type of creativity they enjoy.

YouTube videos can be great for helping teens improve their skills. There are lots of “how to” videos for just about anything your teen can imagine.

Art Supplies – Just because the kids are older doesn’t mean they won’t enjoy the right art supplies. My oldest daughter still loves to draw, so better quality colored pencils are good for her. My son is into steampunk, so supplies to work on that are better for him.

Drawing Tablet – Art on the computer may be more fun lots of kids, and a drawing tablet is a huge help. My oldest daughter has one, and she likes it. It’s a great tool for drawing on the computer.

Musical Instruments – While some musical instruments for kids could almost be considered instruments of torture, things improve as the kids get older. They get better at playing their instruments and may appreciate something of better quality.

Tools – As kids get older and reach their teenage years, real hand tools are definitely in order. Teach them to use the basics such as hammers, screwdrivers and glue guns. Then take it farther, depending on your own skills with tools and what you have available. A good set of tools that is all their own may serve them for life.

Soldering Kit – Take an interest in electronics up a notch from Snap Circuits and teach your child to solder. It’s also a useful skill for a teen who wants to make jewelry.

Camera – A decent quality camera all their own can be very encouraging to the older kid or teen interested in photography. It’s a creative skill that can be a lot of fun to practice. Younger kids enjoy this too, but a teen who enjoys photography can easily be encouraged. A cell phone camera is good enough for a lot of photos, but it’s not the same as having a camera that is just a camera.

Lessons – If your child has been taking lessons and enjoying them, keep them up. If there’s something they want to start, go for it.

Independent Outings – Make sure your older kids and teens get out and do things on their own. Gifts to encourage this could include movie tickets or gift cards to places they would like to go. They’ll be adults all too soon. They need to get used to acting independently so they’re ready to head off to college or career when the time comes. If they’re used to creative thinking and problem solving, so much the better.

Family Gifts

Not all gifts have to be for just one person. You may find that it’s a lot of fun to get things to do as a family, as well as individual kid gifts. This can include things such as passes to a theme park or local zoo. We get annual passes to one attraction a year. More than one is too difficult to get our money’s worth. We change which pass every year, so we get to enjoy a variety of family activities.

Larger items such as a good swing set can also be fun. Think about how long you want the family to be able to use it before you buy one. Some are even strong enough to hold adults, giving you a chance to play outside with the kids or just relax on a swing. Getting everyone outside and playing can help kids be more creative by getting them away from screens.

Board games can be wonderful family gifts or individual gifts. Be sure to give games that you will be willing to play with the kids and that they will hopefully play together.

Always remember that the point of gifts is to consider what the recipient wants. Especially if you do a family gift, make sure it’s something all will enjoy. Giving and receiving gifts should be a fun time for all.

The post Kid Gifts to Encourage Creativity appeared first on Home with the Kids Blog.

Birthdays and holidays are a great time to get others to help you improve your home business. It’s hard to know what to ask for sometimes, but even harder for others to know what gifts you want if you don’t ask. I’ve gathered some ideas to help you build up a list of home business gift ideas.

Education

Udemy – Udemy has a lot of online courses that could be very useful to anyone running a home business. You could learn to develop apps, improve your social media or writing skills, learn about digital marketing and more. The courses are reviewed by students, so you can see which are likely to be worth your time and money.

Conference Tickets – If there’s a conference coming up in your industry, wouldn’t you love someone to get you tickets? They’re a great way to catch up on what’s happening in your industry and make new connections. Events such as Affiliate Summit, BlogHer, Social Media Marketing World and more can make a huge difference to a home business owner who is looking for ways to take their business to the next level.

Books – Get on Amazon and find books related to your industry that you’d like to read. Add all of them to your wish list. Here are some selections to get you started.

The key to picking a great book to gift to an entrepreneur is to know what they’re struggling with or want to learn. If they’ve told you that they’re having trouble getting results from their social media, for example, a carefully chosen book in that area may be welcome.

Remember that some things change fast in business. A book on online marketing that is a few years old may be badly out of date, while one on motivation is still relevant.

Equipment

Microphone – If you have ever considered starting a podcast or posting videos, a good quality microphone would be a great investment. The Blue Yeti is a popular choice, but there are many to choose from.

One option to consider is whether a desktop microphone will be preferred to something that can be clipped on. This depends, in part, on where the person you’re shopping for works. If they’re at a desk all the time, a desktop microphone should work wonderfully. Some people, however, prefer the mobility of a clip-on microphone, especially when making videos.

Camera – How good is your camera? The ones in smartphones are pretty impressive these days, but if you want to get serious about high quality photography on your website, a better camera may be in order.

Consider whether they’re likely to use the camera to make videos as well. A camera that takes high definition video and can take sound input from a microphone will be a big help in that case.

Second Computer Monitor – I love having two monitors in my home office. My setup isn’t ideal, as one is attached to my laptop, but I’ve still noticed how much it helps to have a second computer monitor at times. The most useful setup is usually to have them side by side, which doesn’t work with keeping my hands at a good level with my laptop. Even with that disadvantage, having two screens is worthwhile so that you don’t have so much clicking back and forth to see different pages.

Tablet Computer – A tablet computer such as an iPad Pro can be very useful if you want to work on the go. It’s so much easier to carry around than a laptop.

Make sure you know which operating system the person you’re shopping for is comfortable with. Someone who has Apple everything isn’t going to be as happy about the gift of an Android something or other, and vice versa. In many cases, it’s much easier to share apps across devices if they’re all the same OS.

Laptop or Desktop Computer – A new computer can be a wonderful gift if yours is getting old. Something a bit faster and less cranky is always nice.

Performance is always key with computers. You don’t want to give someone a computer that isn’t as good as what they already have. More RAM and more memory are always good, as are faster processors.

Of course, if you’re the more technical sort, you may be able to buy parts to upgrade their old computer. This is cheaper, but not practical unless you know how to put the new part in. It is fun, however, to take an otherwise good computer from “adequate” to “amazing” with just the right new part.

Laptop Cooling Pad – A laptop cooling pad can extend the life of your laptop by ensuring that it is always well cooled, even when you use it on your lap with a blanket.

I bought one of these recently for my laptop when its fan was struggling to cool it. This problem came close to destroying my laptop.

A cooling pad won’t save your laptop if the fan completely dies or if something else goes wrong, but it can drop your laptop’s temperature nicely. Some of the reviewers on Amazon have shared the results of tests they’ve done on various laptop cooling pads, and the results can be significant.

I chose the Havit HV-F2056, which has a lot of great reviews. So far, I’m delighted by it. If you have a laptop, I strongly recommend getting one. Be ready for a cold lap, though.

Smart Speaker – A smart speaker such as Amazon Echo or Google Home will be welcomed by many people. They’re a nice way to play music in your home, and they can answer questions for you. There have been problems here and there, and there can be privacy concerns, but those don’t seem to limit the interest much.

Whiteboard – A whiteboard is good for brainstorming or visualizing goals. It’s an easy way to keep ideas and goals in sight while you work.

This gift idea works best for an entrepreneur with an available workspace. It’s hard to use a whiteboard if it’s not hanging on the wall or otherwise readily available.

Don’t forget a variety of colors for the dry erase markers. It helps a lot if you can color code or sketch things out.

Sit-Stand Desk – I love my sit-stand desk from Autonomous. Appropriate heights can be programmed in, making it easy to change positions throughout the day. They say either sitting or standing all day is bad for you, but changing positions is better. You don’t have to get a full size desk – there are units that simply lift the keyboard and monitor on the desk you already own.

Office Chair – A good, ergonomic office chair is a must for anyone who spends long hours working in a home office. No one wants to be hurting at the end of the day due to a poor quality chair.

Proper back support is essential, as is a comfortable seat. You don’t have to get an office chair with a headrest unless that’s a preference. Most people don’t spend that much of their workday leaning back anyhow.

UPS Battery Backup – Having a UPS battery backup is a huge help for anyone who uses a desktop computer. There’s no worry about losing all your work if the power goes out. It’s less important with laptops, since they already have batteries.

Backup Drive/Personal Server – Having a backup drive or personal server can be a lifesaver if your computer dies. My husband’s computer inexplicably quit working recently – won’t even boot far enough to turn on the monitor. Fortunately, his hard drive was fine. Also, fortunately, we have a backup drive of our files anyhow. You don’t want to lose all your home business files because your computer goes kaput.

USB Flash Drive – These little drives come in handy so often. They’re great when you need to move data from one computer to another. They come with enough storage now that they can do some good work as backup too.

Alternatively, sign up for an online backup service. These can be very reasonably priced, and their data will be safe even if their home is subject to a disaster.

Portable Charger – I love my portable charger for those days when we’re on the go. It’s not necessarily just for work – they’re great when you go on vacation too. It’s nice not having to worry about running out of charge on my phone or camera while out and about.

Choose a portable charger that carries enough charge for multiple devices. It’s not at all uncommon for an entrepreneur on the go to have several devices with them.

Laptop/Messenger Bag – My laptop bag was one of my favorite gifts several years ago. I still use it any time we travel. It’s so nice having an easy way to carry my laptop.

When gifting a laptop bag, remember that more than a laptop will be in there. That’s why pockets, lots of pockets, is often a good idea. Make sure it’s big enough for their laptop and any necessary accessories.

Noise Cancelling Headphones – Noise cancelling headphones are great if you have a lot of background noise in your home office. You can get ones that will work with your phone if you have to call people, or just use them to listen to music while you work.

Square Card Reader – Square is great for home business owners who sometimes take credit card transactions in person. Its small size makes it convenient to carry around, plus it can be connected to a mobile phone, so payment processing can take place anywhere they have a data connection.

Moleskine Notebook – For the home business owner who likes to take a lot of written notes, a Moleskine notebook is a great choice. They’re attractive and functional. You can step it up a little with a Moleskine Evernote Smart Notebook. It allows you to digitize your notes, which can be a huge help when ideas really get going.

Fitness

Basic Exercise Equipment – Some basic exercise equipment to be kept in your home office makes it easier to get a quick workout in during the workday. It doesn’t have to be a lot. Some hand weights are a good start.

The one big catch with giving any exercise equipment is making sure it’s welcome. You don’t want someone to feel that there’s a hidden message in the gift.

Exercise Ball – An exercise ball is great for core exercises. It’s also useful as an office chair.

Treadmill Desk – For those who are more ambitious, a treadmill desk may sound like a good plan. It may be more difficult to type while using one for some people. If you can make it work for you, it’s a great way to keep moving while you work.

Gym Membership – Not only will a gym membership help them get fit, it gives an excuse to get out of the house more often.

Activity Tracker – It’s far too easy to be sedentary with many home businesses. A good activity tracker can be that little bit of encouragement needed to get up and move.

Decor

Posters or Art Prints – It’s their home office – it doesn’t have to be plain. The kind of posters or other wall decor depends on what you like and how professional your office needs to look. If you have clients come in, you have to consider them. If no one ever comes to your office or sees it on video, it’s all about you!

Fun Stuff – What do they like? My office has dragons, some Harry Potter stuff, Doctor Who stuff, Star Trek stuff… you get the idea. Go to Think Geek if you need ideas.

For The Home

Smart Thermostat – A smart thermostat makes it much easier to control the temperatures in your work environment. You can set up the basic program for what you usually want household temperatures to be, and change if if needed using your smartphone.

Fire Safe – A fire safe is a perfect place to put all your important documents, both for your business and your personal life. You can even keep your backup drive in one. You may never need fire protection for these things, but if you do, there may not be time to think about how to save them at that moment.

Shredder – Having a shredder is a great way to take care of those papers which shouldn’t be thrown directly into the trash. Most are also good enough to shred old credit cards too.

Video Doorbell – A video doorbell, such as Ring, can help you decide whether or not it’s worth it to answer the door during your work hours. The ability to know who’s there is a huge help when you don’t want to be interrupted, but you’re also expecting a package.

Food & Drinks

Stainless Steel Water Bottle – I love my stainless steel water bottle. It’s one of the ways I make it easier to drink water throughout the day. The straw lid I use minimizes the chances for a spill, which is great.

Travel Mug – A good travel mug will be loved by anyone who drinks their coffee or other hot drinks on the go. They help prevent spills, which is great for having your coffee in the office too.

Coffee – Some good coffee, or just some gift card to Starbucks or a local coffee shop, will be welcomed by many home business owners. A good source of caffeine is a great help most days. A good coffee maker is also worth considering.

Chocolate – For those who don’t drink coffee (me!) or who just love chocolate (also me!), some good quality chocolate is always a welcome gift. It makes a quick snack while working or taking a break.

Healthy Snacks – Having some healthy snacks available to grab and go is great for those busy days.

Help

Childcare – Whether you offer to take the kids yourself or pay a babysitter, having the kids out from underfoot can be a huge help to the home business owner. This is especially true when kids are small and clingy.

Relaxation

Slippers – Is the floor of your home office ever cold? A nice pair of slippers will help you deal with that in comfort.

Massage Equipment – At the end of the day, a massage will probably always sound good. It’s much easier to get one if you have the right equipment. Alternatively, a gift card to a good local spa would be a great idea.

Big Red Button – For those days when you need to pound something in frustration. We all have those days.

The post 40 Home Business Gift Ideas For Entrepreneurs appeared first on Home with the Kids Blog.

Mother’s Day is a big deal to most mothers. We all love to feel appreciated. It’s a great time to show a work at home mom how much you appreciate and support what she does. These Mother’s Day gift ideas for work at home moms may give you some ideas for what that important work at home mom in your life may appreciate.

Maid Service/A Clean House

Who cares how the house gets clean so long as it gets done? Your budget might care, meaning that cleaning it yourself rather than hiring a maid service may make the most sense. On the other hand, paying someone else to clean it, especially if it can happen regularly, would be much appreciated by most moms.

The key to this gift is getting the house clean without making a fuss for mom to hear. It isn’t nearly as nice a gift if there’s a lot of arguments over who does what.

Sleep

Moms are often tired creatures. This is especially true of working moms, who have to mix the duties of motherhood with their work. This can be extra challenging at home, where the separation between motherhood and work is much less.

This can be a difficult gift to get a work at home mom to accept. We’re as likely to get up early or stay up late when given the chance to get extra sleep. After all, there’s always more work to be done!

Amazon Echo Show

The Echo Show gives mom a screen along with the various wonderful Echo features. This is one more way to keep up on what’s happening during the workday. It can even connect with a Ring doorbell so that work at home moms can see who’s at the door when they’re working. It can connect with other smart devices around the home, making it easier to control things while you work. Dual Dolby speakers give it great sound if mom likes to listen to music while she works.

Noise Cancelling Headphones

Do things get noisy in your house when mom is trying to work? I know mine does. Noise cancelling headphones could be a great gift that allows her to focus better on work.

Ring Doorbell

My sister has a Ring doorbell, and I’m so jealous. It’s great for knowing when someone comes to your front door, whether you’re home or not. It’s especially nice for seeing when a package has been dropped at the front door – too many delivery people skip the “ding dong” part of “ding dong ditch.” I hate not knowing when a package has been left outside.

Amazon Prime

If you don’t already have Amazon Prime and tend to order a lot from Amazon, Prime could be a great gift. It’s more than just free shipping, after all. You might get access to Prime Now if it’s available in your area, making grocery delivery a possibility. Prime Pantry can also help with groceries. Add in music and video streaming, and your entertainment options open up.

Office Plants

An office plant makes a home office look much nicer, and may be good for air quality. Find out what she likes, and make sure you take any pets into consideration. Some houseplants are toxic to cats or dogs. I like my phalaenopsis orchids, which are nontoxic to cats and dogs. Best of all, they can be watered with ice cubes, which minimizes the mess and chance of spillage.

Office Decor

Is mom’s work at home space kind of dull? Something to liven it up may be a good Mother’s Day gift. You might find some good wall art, give her a Himalayan salt lamp, or find something else that will give her home office more of a personal touch.

Neck And Shoulder Massager

Working at home all day can lead to neck and shoulder pain. A good neck and shoulder massager can be used to minimize this during the day and can come out of the home office in the evenings if anyone else needs a massage.

Instant Pot

Making dinner as a work at home mom can be a real pain. An Instant Pot can speed up your cook time for a variety of meals. If you promise that mom won’t be the only one to use the Instant Pot to make meals, so much the better.

Recipes The Kids Promise To Cook

What are your kids capable of making in the kitchen? Have each child give mom a recipe that they promise to make, ideally with little to no help from mom. The older the kids are, the more challenging the recipe should be, with kids who are old enough promising to make full meals for the family.

Yoga Set

Yoga can make a great break in the work at home day. It doesn’t take a lot of fancy equipment, and there are lots of videos online that mom can use to get a little fitness break in her work at home day.

Equipment Upgrade

What does mom use to work at home? Is any of her equipment getting old? It may be time to upgrade some of it. Take a look around her workspace or ask her if there’s anything in there she needs replaced.

Anything She Needs For Her Home Business

Do you know of something mom wants for her home business but has been hesitating to get? You can give her a nice gift while showing your support for her business if you get something to help her build it.

This could be a training course for a skill she wants to develop or software she needs to make her work easier. There’s always something useful to learn out there.

This Is A Momarchy Shirt

I like this shirt. If your mom rules the house, she may like it too. Sometimes mom is in charge even when she doesn’t want to be at the moment. Is your home a momarchy?

Talk Nerdy To Me Shirt

Nerdy shirts have become a traditional gift for all kinds of holidays in my family. The important thing to know is what her fandoms are. Most of my family especially like the ones that have a subtle sense of humor or a really good crossover. This “Talk Nerdy To Me” shirt goes pretty well in that category.

Dragons

Ok, maybe this is a personal preference. I’m always happy to get a new dragon. Windstone dragons are my favorite, but I have some others I adore, especially my fireplace dragon. She’s beautiful. The hardest part is finding great looking dragons because a lot of companies don’t make them that well at all.

The post Mother’s Day Gift Ideas For Work At Home Moms appeared first on Home with the Kids Blog.

ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income

Great for the blogger who wants to really build up their blog. There are many things you need to do to build a successful blog, and this book can be a help figuring it all out.

Digital Camera

Images can really help to make a blog stand out. I’ve often thought I should use more of them. A good camera can be a big help to a successful blog.

Flip Mino

Video is getting more and more important to successful blogging, and the Flip Mino has become hugely popular with bloggers. It’s affordable and small.

Hosting

Website hosting can be particularly nice for the person who’s just thinking about getting started with a blog. A year with Host Gator, the company I host this site with, is quite reasonable.

ThinkGeek.com

I could get into so much trouble shopping at ThinkGeek. Too much really fun stuff. For bloggers there are some fun t-shirts, such as the “I’m Blogging This” t-shirt or babydoll tee, as well as the “Reduce, Reuse, Retweet” t-shirt. Or lots of neat stuff for the desk and home office.

Laptop or Netbook

There have been so many times I’ve wanted a laptop or netbook to make working away from home just a bit easier… or even just working in the front or back yard and watching the kids play. With Wi-Fi available in so many places, a laptop or netbook can be a fun productivity tool for your favorite blogger.

Extra Monitor

A dual monitor setup is another highly welcome way to help your favorite blogger be more productive. It’s a wonderful thing to be able to see multiple programs up at once.

Exercise Ball

I first learned about how wonderful an exercise ball can be when I was pregnant with my oldest child. But they’re good for bloggers too. Get a big enough one to sit on, and it encourages just a bit of movement even while sitting at the computer. Or they can be used for a variety of exercises. Blogging is so sedentary that if you aren’t careful, that weight just creeps on.

On a related note, exercise balls are great for kids too. A mid size one can work for a chair for kids doing their homework as well as for fun exercises.

The post Gift Ideas for Bloggers appeared first on Home with the Kids Blog.

I worked as a medical transcriptionist for a few years.  I hope this helped me to think of the things you might buy that a transcriptionist would appreciate.

Typing Gloves

A good typing glove helps with hand pain from typing for so many hours of the day. They aren’t a bad idea at all for anyone who does a lot of work on the computer. A good pair supports the hand but doesn’t inhibit movement.

Shirts and More from CafePress

Creative people have submitted all kinds of designs to CafePress, and there are some really great shirts, mugs and more for transcriptionists.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking

A great productivity tool for the right transcriptionist. It takes some training to get it to work well enough for transcription purposes, but if you know a transcriptionist who’s been talking about trying it, what better gift?

Ergonomic Keyboard

You do have to be a bit careful about ergonomic keyboards. Just about any one you find out there some will love and some will hate. But if you know of one that has been admired, it’s probably a good choice. Be prepared to be amazed at some of the wild styles out there. They do work once you’re used to them, for the most part.

Exercise Ball

Any sedentary job comes with a price, that being a high potential for weight gain. A good exercise ball is good for working out with, and some people even like to sit on them as they work. I tend to recommend the larger sizes for that reason.

Just be sure that the recipient isn’t too touchy about weight issues. Unwelcome fitness equipment is a really, really baaaaad idea!

The post Gift Ideas for Transcriptionists appeared first on Home with the Kids Blog.

Shopping for gifts has always been a challenge for me. But I decided to see if I could figure out some good gift ideas for various sorts of people who are likely to come to this site. Always nice to be able to give people ideas for what you want, I think.

Gift Ideas for Stay at Home Moms

Couponizer

The Couponizer is a good choice because so many stay at home moms are highly focused on saving money. It’s tough being a single income family. Having a way to keep those coupons organized can be a big help in actually using them.

Day Planner

This is great for the mom whose family is always on the go. Keeping up with all the activities isn’t easy if you don’t have things written down.

Hire a Cleaning Service

Contact local cleaning services in your area for the mom who needs a break.

Babysitting

Offer to babysit the children for a stay at home mom or pay a sitter for her. Either way she gets some time out, either on her own or on a date with her significant other.

Give a Spa Day

Well, I hear this one works for most women. Doesn’t matter if they stay at home, work outside the home, whatever. A little time to be indulged is a wonderful thing.

Digital Photo Frame

The trouble with digital cameras can be that you take so many pictures you rarely see them, and most people don’t print that many. A digital photo frame takes pretty good care of that issue.

Pay Attention to What She Wants

I can list things all day, but in the end it comes down to what the person wants. Pay attention or even flat out ask for ideas if nothing is appealing yet.

The post Gift Ideas for Stay at Home Moms appeared first on Home with the Kids Blog.

I’m not much of a coupon user – too disorganized and I know it. It’s a round and round kind of thing where I might be interested if I were more organized but I’m not organized so I’m not interested…

But for those of you who are more organized, have you tried the Couponizer? It’s a system that helps you to organize your coupons, keep you shopping list, keep track of your savings and so forth. It looks like a possible good investment for those who do enjoy using coupons… or maybe even a Christmas present for people you know who use a lot of coupons.

There’s even a consultant opportunity if you decide you really enjoy the system.

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