It’s the most wonderful time of the year! We couldn’t bear not getting together with friends to welcome the holidays, but with California’s quarantine mandates growing stricter, we knew it had to be an intimate gathering and social distanced in order to celebrate. So we teamed up some of our favorite brands including Xyron and Netflix to create a Christmas Chronicles Crafting Event that left everyone better equipped to take on all their holiday wrapping and card making, coupled with a genuine excitement about getting cozy with the family while taking in a magical adventure to the North Pole from the comfort of their couch!
TRUE BELIEVERS: UNBOXING THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS CHRONICLES PART 2
Holiday movies are mainstays when it comes to ushering in the Christmas season. We absolutely love classics like It’s a Wonderful Life and Chevy Chase’s Christmas Vacation, of course we have to watch Elf a handful of times, and keep faith the center with The Star and it’s animated telling of the birth of Jesus. But this year, a new film is added to that list… we adore The Christmas Chronicles 2 and all this action-adventure comedy that has the whole family invested in saving Christmas. From the director of Home Alone, this film was the perfect partner for our party and unboxing all the magic was a highlight. From festive sweaters to lit trees, scented pine cones and hot cocoa kits, we immediately felt merry and bright! Plus a big thank you to Netflix for donating 1,500 meals to Feeding America on behalf of our event!
The Christmas Chronicles 2 streams on Netflix this week and we got a chance to sit down with Mr. and Mrs. Claus! Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell shared holiday cooking, making this sequel with their grandkids in mind, and the importance of true believers in our own lives, you know those people that give you so much confidence you feel like you can accomplish all your goals and achieve all your dreams. Plus look for our interviews with the rest of the cast including Kimberly Williams-Paisley and Tyrese Gibson.
BUNDLE UP AS YOU FOIL IN LOVE WITH XYRON
If you are like me, gift wrapping can sometimes be intimidating. Everyone knows which presents are the ones that I wrapped. My ends often flap open or I run out of tape. But when we tried the Xyron Mega Runner, I felt like a wrapping wizard! The Mega Runner contains a dot matrix, strong hold permanent adhesive. Rather than feeling like you have to hold the paper in place while you rip tape, you can just glue everything nicely together. All of our friends were surprised at how easy it made wrapping gifts big or small! For our get together, we also lined envelopes with wrapping paper, made Christmas cards and did some other paper crafts and the Mega Runner made it all a breeze. We enjoyed wrapping our gifts and pairing it with a personalized gift tag. Xyron has put together a limited edition Xyron Holiday Gift Wrap Bundle which includes the Mega Runner, two Xyron 3” Disposable Sticker Makers in a blue pattern and 40 labels. The sticker makers are great for creating your own personalized labels. This is a must for all of your holiday wrapping and crafting endeavors.
‘TIS THE SEASON TO “TAG” A FRIEND
For our get together, we gave our friends a couple options. They could wrap presents, make a card, line envelopes or make gift tag ornaments. We got all of our supplies from Paper Source. From wrapping paper to washi tape and even paper craft kits, they have such a great assortment to take all of your holiday projects up a notch. The crowd favorite was making a Holiday Camper using it as a gift tag and attaching string to make it into an ornament. The kits are a great option to do with your family. We love that everything that we need is right there. You can even do a kit together while you watch your favorite Christmas movie. Our friends loved using the Holiday Campers wrapping paper to match the Holiday Camper tags. We also made Christmas cards. Everyone was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was to line their envelopes using wrapping paper and the Xyron Mega Runner. We used our Paper Source envelope liner template kit to make it even easier for everyone. We loved adding a personal touch to the gift tags and cards we made with the holiday stickers and washi tape.
NAUGHTY OR NICE LIST? A DELICIOUS WAY TO DECIDE
Sant’s pulling out his list, checking it twice, and going to find out who has been naughty or nice… either way, it’s a win with Chuao Chocolatier! If you find mischief is tempting this time of year, now, it has its rewards. Exploding Coal is the bar that has gone to the dark side; black cacao powder mixed with delicious dark chocolate and a lot of extra pop, makes the holidays a little sweeter for those who are far from angels. But on the flip side, if your name does top the nice list, make your Christmas merry and bright with For the Love of Peppermint bars. The delightful dark chocolate merrily mixed with crushed candy canes is Chuao’s ode to the wonder and glee of the season, and absolutely perfect any time. Plus there are so many other favorite flavors like Gingerbread and Cookies, even S’mores and truffles!
“SOAK” IN THE HOLIDAYS WITH PEACE, LOVE AND JOY
We can all agree that we need a little self-care this year. Taking a nice bath provides a little bit of solitude and we love Musee bath balms. They smell so good and feel so relaxing, plus they leave our skin feeling so soft. Not only are their bath balms handmade in the USA with ethically sourced, natural ingredients, their bath balms are cruelty-free, paraben-free and sulfate-free and safe for all skin types. We also love that they are committed to restoring lives by providing work for vulnerable people in their community. They hire primarily women in recovery, people with disabilities and people who have lived in chronic poverty.
The Peace, Love, Joy bath balm set is a great treat to gift to yourself or a friend. We can’t help feeling more peace when we take a bath. There’s also a fun glitter ornament inside each balm. And while we are soaking, we can’t wait to try out Musee’s new Pretty Inside face mask line. The All the Works 5-pack is a great way to experience all of the different types of masks. The masks are made with the best plant-based ingredients for your skin at one of the highest quality skincare facilities in the world. We also love that just like Musee, Pretty Inside partners with World Relief and helps support women refugees.
SPREADING CHEER, ONE SWEET CUP AT A TIME
Whether we’re on the go or working from home, our GoSili tumbler is usually by our side. Made from 100% European-grade, platinum silicone this reusable cup is soft, nontoxic and eco-friendly. We want to help the environment but paper straws are the absolute worst, so we love that the reusable straw won’t melt in our drink and since it’s both dishwasher safe and microwave safe, it’s the perfect cup from everything from cold brew and smoothies to lattes and hot tea!
Speaking of tea, as the season shifts and cooler weather comes in, Three Peaks New Zealand Manuka Honey becomes a necessary immunity booster. And not all honey is created equal, genuine Manuka honey has been scientifically proven to contain antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties. What makes New Zealand Manuka honey special, is it has over 200 compounds that are not found in other types of honey. So wether we are easing a cough or soothing a sore throat, or eating the honey as a daily energy boost, we love the taste and health benefits.
SOCIAL DISTANCED, YET STILL SO PERSONAL
Getting our families to wear masks can be challenging at times, ourselves included! We adore Little Navy because it allows us to personalize our masks, from the print on the fabric to adding names. We picked a holiday print for the Christmas season. Even though you may not be able to see our smiles underneath the masks, we are definitely smiling. The kids enjoy picking out a print and it also makes it easier to keep track of everyone’s mask with their names on them. In addition to masks, they also have stockings, pajamas and blankets, all of which make great gift ideas.
.
We were gifted items from Netflix, Xyron, PaperSource, Chuao, Musee, GoSili, 3 Peaks Honey and Little Navy. The creation of the party and all the elements, thoughts and ideas are our own.
