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Create a “Dinner Party in a Box” for easy entertaining at home

Submitted by Guest Blogger on January 23, 2013
 

It’s the New Year and I couldn’t be more excited. 2013 will be a year full of successes, trying new things and most importantly, spending time with family and friends. I don’t know about you, but I often struggle to balance my career with my social life, and try to squeeze in time in with the people who are most important to me. Well not this year! My resolution is to entertain at home more often in order to spend more quality time with my loved ones. The best way for me to do this is to plan ahead for an easy night in. For some people, hosting comes naturally. Others, like me, need a little help. Now, when I want to have people over, I can just grab this box and sift through the contents to get the party planning juices flowing. Think of this as a dinner party preparedness kit.

 


Here’s how I created a “dinner party in a box.”

 



  2. Grab an old shoe box or a box you have stored in a closet somewhere. Wrap it, including the lid, with colorful or festive paper. Really make it your own!
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Make Healthy Food Choices and Stay on Track with a Meal Planner

Submitted by Amanda on January 8, 2013
Topic: Home Helper
 

About eight months ago I made a radical diet change to improve my overall health and help me lose 10 pesky pounds I had been carrying around for a while. The eating plan was simple: no refined flour or sugar, no dairy, and lots of lean protein, veggies and complex carbohydrates, like sweet potatoes. That paired with a gym routine of three to four 60-minute workouts per week and I quickly dropped the excess weight (I actually ended up losing 16 pounds!) and felt better than I had in years.

The holidays, though, threw me off track. The office was loaded with sweet treats, popcorn tins and candy. I am a sucker for sugar.

Determined to get back into my healthy eating habits, I created this laminated meal planner for my refrigerator door. On it, I can list what I’ll have for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for the entire week. I can even include items for my grocery list, which really makes shopping once a week a lot easier. 

Here are the steps to create this custom meal planner:
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Make Resolutions as a Family in the New Year

Submitted by Maggie on January 4, 2013
 

I can’t believe it’s time to start thinking about a new year with new possibilities. New Year’s resolutions can be hard to maintain, so this year I came up with a fun idea for my family. We each contributed four resolutions so that at the beginning of each month we can draw one and help each other complete our resolutions throughout the year. This way we hold each other accountable and spend time together in the process.


Here are the steps to create a family New Year’s Resolutions box:


1.)   Select a box. I went to my local craft store and purchased a box. There are so many choices for creative boxes such as bright colored take out containers, different shapes, and plain white, so you can be as artistic as you want. I chose a star shaped box with a lid in my son’s favorite color. Any box with a lid, opening or hole cut in the top will work.
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