Christmas is next week and many families are entertaining, shopping or traveling. So from creative hosting to toys that double as decor, smart tech and more… Family Entourage is here with a handful of ways to celebrate this festive season.
CREATIVE HOLIDAY ENTERTAINING
For the person who loves to host, or entertain guests, give the gift of Melissa’s Produce. From organic mixed boxes shipped nationwide to gift baskets, wine or specialty items, this is a great go-to. We love the idea of taking it a step further and turning the ingredients into showpieces that are delicious while you host.
We tried a few fun ideas we saw on social and were thrilled with the outcomes. We turned pineapples into Christmas trees, strawberries and basil into a Christmas tree and added other favorite fruits for a beautiful serving platter, of course topped off with powder sugar to give the effect of snow.
It was super simple to make a fruit wreath as well… a bed of green grapes, kiwi cut in slices, raspberries and blackberries placed in a circle with basil perfectly placed to look like leaves. Gorgeous, delicious and Melissa’s Produce allowed for it all to come together with ease.
TIME TOGETHER: KEEP KIDS BUSY
Parents are always looking for ways to keep the kids entertained over break and also while cooking or visiting with relatives. We love the Crayola Paint Pendulum is easy to set up, and use — all the paint is washable — and the price point is super budget-friendly. Our kids enjoyed mixing the paint to create colors and spinning the pendulum to create fun designs. We love that it is all contained in an arena-style creative zone, which keeps the paint all in one area. And yes, it is washable paint!
If you need time to cook, or visit with adult relatives, kids and siblings can do this together! Plus it’s a great gift idea to round out the presents under the Christmas tree. A fun idea is to have the kids create Christmas ornaments or gift tags using their Crayola Paint Pendulum.
“BUILD” MEMORIES, AND DECOR
We love building LEGO®️ sets as a family and each year we build on our holiday collection but we also love the fact that so many sets can double as actual decor too! From LEGO Poinsettia Plants to LEGO Gingerbread Ornaments, or even recreate Vincent Van Gogh’s The Starry Night with the LEGO Ideas build-and-display set complete with clever building techniques to mirror the swirling clouds and rolling hills of the original artwork… all are fantastic sets to build together and then display as decor!
Our families love building on our Winter Village Collections and this year LEGO®️ Icons Santa’s Post Office and LEGO®️ Santa’s Sleigh are a must! We absolutely love all the details like the hot-air balloon (and its burner that actually illuminates!), a letter sorter chute where you can use a lever to deliver letters to green or red sorting carts, and ice-fishing scene to name a few.
One of our favorite holiday movies is Home Alone so when we found out we could get a brick-built movie memorabilia set where the house walls and and roof open up for easy access and it has many fun
functions including swinging paint cans, a basement furnace that lights up and a lever to push Kevin down the stairs on his sled…. well we just had to add it to our Christmas collection! The LEGO Ideas Home Alone set has 5 LEGO minifigures: Kevin McCallister, Kate McCallister, Harry, Marv and ‘Old Man’ Marley, so families can relive the story as they build during the holidays.
Additionally from now through December 24 with all orders on LEGO.com of $70 or more customers will also receive a Christmas Picture Frame gift with purchase set – offering a festive build that doubles as décor display for your favorite photographs!
TECH TO PROTECT WHILE AWAY
Packages are getting delivered daily as the countdown to Christmas is on! Even if you have the best neighbors, there are only so many times you can only ask them to watch your home while you are traveling, or away. Whether it is a holiday vacation or just package protection, we love having peace of mind when we travel with Vivint Smart Security Systems. People always ask us why Vivint?
When it comes to the holiday season, packages are being dropped at the door and you want to make sure that they make it to the stockings or under the tree and aren’t swiped by a porch pirate. One of the things we like about our Vivint Smart Security System is the doorbell camera. It not only notifies me on my phone when I have a package, but it uses Smart Deter enhanced with computer vision chip technology. The Doorbell Camera Pro intuitively detects deliveries and lurkers. When the camera spots someone trying to take a package, it activates a bright LED ring and 90 dB speaker, letting the potential thief know they’ve been caught on camera.
At Vivint, the Future of Smart Home is also the Future of Smart Energy. If a home is smart, it is energy efficient. It works for the homeowner while conserving and efficiently using energy. Vivint currently offers a wide range of energy-focused smart home devices. By leveraging algorithms and data analysis, these devices dynamically adjust energy settings, such as temperature control, lighting, and appliance usage, to ensure optimal comfort and efficiency. For example, Smart Thermostat and Smart Lighting seamlessly work together to create welcoming sanctuary that meets all the homeowner’s individual needs. The environment can be monitored and adjusted remotely via the mobile app, giving any homeowner complete customizable control of their experience and energy usage. This proactive approach to energy management reduces unnecessary energy consumption. It not only helps customers to save on utility costs, but also contributes to a greener and more sustainable future.
We also love how easy Vivint Smart Security Systems are to use. There’s a smart home hub that enables me to control everything but I can also use my phone. If I forget to lock the door, I can do that through my phone. Vivint Smart Security System you can set up a notification when doors open or when motion is detected on your camera an alert is sounded.
