My favourite things for December

When I think of December, I think winter, snow, holidays and family! It’s such a great time of year and there is so much to be celebrated, thankful and grateful for! Here are some of my favourite things that help make this busy time more enjoyable and manageable.

Origami Owl jewelry

You might have heard of Origami Owl from a friend? As the story goes, the company was founded on a little girl’s dream to own a brand new car. Through the advice of her parents, she got a job! She made customized lockets, running her business from a little table at the local mall and as the saying goes, the rest is history! Just as amazing as the story, is the beautiful jewelry you can make. Each locket can be customized both in terms of its size, style and type (silver, gold or other). The fun part is what goes inside the locket! You can literately select from hundreds of different charm options to make your locket unique and personal to you. I made a few lockets myself. One for a close friend living on the other side of the country and two for me! One I use as a keychain and the other as a necklace. I’ve included charms to represent my life and the best part is that the kids have a blast looking at it and talking about all the different pieces. I love it because it looks great, is meaningful and can be worn daily or as a statement piece. Origami Owl jewelry will make a great gift for anyone on your holiday shopping list, including those hard-to-buy-for sisters, moms and aunts! However, I bet you’ll want one for yourself too, so feel free to post this on your timeline tagging your loved ones as a subtle hint 😉

If you don’t know someone who is selling these, you can reach out to my good-friend Jenny who would love to help you out in creating your story on a locket! You can find her HERE, on her Facebook page.

She speaks hair

In the past, I’ve written about using the services of She Speaks Hair, which you can find HERE. In a nutshell, it’s a mobile hair salon. Alex is probably one of the most talented, professional, friendly and just all-around amazing hairdresser I know. She comes to your house with all of the necessary equipment and products and all you need to do is relax and feel pampered as she works her magic. This service is so perfect for this busy month since 1) we don’t have time for ourselves and 2) there are usually no shortage of holiday parties to attend. Alex services the GTA area and will work around your schedule and is totally understanding if you have little ones running around between your feet while she works. To find out more and contact Alex, click HERE.

Chatbooks

Okay Instagram lovers… listen up! Chatbooks is an amazing service that links up to your Instagram account to create photo books of your pictures. This won me mom-of-the-year as we now have printed photo books. The great part is that once you set Chatbooks up you don’t need to do anything at all. Really, it’s that simple! Each 6×6 book is printed with 60 pictures and mailed to you for only $8! ONLY $8 A BOOK!!! Nothing is that cheap or easy these days. Once you have enough pictures to create a book, Chatbooks will send you an e-mail notification so you can make changes if you want (i.e. exclude a picture from the book or edit the caption). After that, all you have to do is sit and wait and enjoy your books with your family. Printing pictures of your family is one of the best things you can do not only for yourself, but your kids. My three boys love looking through them daily and my husband and I love to look back and reminisce.

Dear Santa, Love, Rachel Rosenstein

As a Jew growing up, I always wanted to celebrate Christmas. Luckily, I had a next-door neighbor who allowed me to partake in the festivities without making my parents too upset. I helped her decorate their Christmas tree, wrap gifts, and even discovered the joy of using Washi Tape to add a unique touch to the presents. And while we didn’t celebrate the holiday, my parents always took us around the neighborhood to check out all of the awesome lights and decorations outside people’s homes. My personal Christmas envy is perfectly described and illustrated in the sweet and cute new book titled Dear Santa, Love, Rachel Rosenstein written by Amanda Peet. I read it to my oldest son who really enjoyed it. Even though we celebrate both holidays, the story highlights that it’s important to remember that we each have something special and unique to celebrate and we don’t need to feel “left out” or excluded because of one event or holiday. This books makes a great gift for the special kids on your holiday list, Jewish or not!

Disclosure: Sample of this book and prizing are provided by Penguin Random House. As always, the stories and opinions are my own. Besides, I would have probably bought this book by myself as it totally screams “MAYA!! This is your life!”

GIVEAWAY

Together with the lovely folks at Penguin Random House, one lucky Mayahood Blog reader will receive their very own copy of Dear Santa, Love, Rachel Rosenstein and a kid winter warm-up prize pack consisting of gloves, scarf, and hat ($58 ARV). Enter the giveaway via Rafflecopter (please give it a few seconds to load).  Contest is open to all residents of Canada & USA.  Contest ends Thursday December 10, 2015.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

With the exception of the book, everything mentioned above are items that I’ve personally purchased and love. But like I said, I totally would have bought the book myself if I didn’t receive one as a sample.