Last year, my family began a remarkable holiday tradition by welcoming Sapphire, our Elf Magic elf, into our home.  You see, Santa Claus allows a few of his elves to visit the homes of good little boys and girls each year after Thanksgiving.  On Christmas Eve, he stops back by and picks the visiting elves up on his way back to the North Pole.

Riley has become very fond of Sapphire and misses her throughout the year.  The last time Sapphire made a special visit was during the Easter holiday, but now she's back again...and this time, she's brought a little friend with her!

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There are some brands which just seem to signify the holidays, and in my opinion, Hallmark is one of them.  Each and every year, my family adds at least one new special ornament to our Christmas tree which represents something special that happened to us then.  Hallmark's wide variety of Keepsake Ornaments always manages to capture that something special quite well.

I've also become a big fan of their recordable books which delight children all year long and allow them to listen to your voice no matter how far away you might be.  This year though, Hallmark completely surprised me with their new Interactive Story Buddy.  This little guy takes their recordable books to a whole new level.

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In honor of Small Business Saturday, I wanted to introduce you to my personal favorite small business, MCM Inventions, Inc.  How did this business come to earn the status as my all-time favorite?  Because this is the business that my husband and I started together three years ago!  Here's a little background on MCM Inventions:

MCM Inventions, Inc. was founded in 2009 by Melissa Cleaver and her husband, Michael.  The couple met while attending Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.  Michael earned a bachelors degree in Agricultural Development and Melissa attained a bachelors degree in Genetics.  They graduated from college in December of 1999 and were married in Houston, Texas seven years later.

The company’s first product line, Toothpaste 2 Go, was invented by Melissa while traveling to the National Science Teacher’s Conference in Boston, MA.  While brushing her teeth that night, she noticed the small airplane icon on her bottle of travel-sized toothpaste and thought back to how much she had paid for that tube.  She remembered that her travel-size toothpaste cost her 30 cents less than a full size tube of toothpaste, but she only got half as much actual toothpaste.  Now, she could travel on an airplane with this smaller sized tube, but why was she paying so much more for so much less?

Necessity truly is the mother of invention, and because of the potential savings for future travel, the Toothpaste 2 Go toothpaste refill system was born.  MCM Inventions, Inc. has many other useful innovations that are currently being patented and developed for future release. The company’s goal is to consistently provide you, their valued customers, with products that will save you both time and money, thus truly "making your everyday easier".

By simply completing the entries in the Rafflecopter widget below,  10 winner(s) will be chosen to receive a $20  Cardraising promotional gift card.  Remember, 30% percent of every purchase goes to a school or charity of your choice!  You already plan on ordering holiday cards and what’s better than customizable cards that also give back?  Visit: www.Cardraising.com for more details on how to give back.  Good Luck!

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Thanksgiving has come and gone and now the reality of the holiday season is quickly setting in...to my waistline.  I've learned a long time ago that your weight is predominantly determined by how many calories you consume, but when those holiday cravings and temptations are staring you in the face and you feel your tummy rumble, it's often hard to walk away.

In order to stick to your dietary goals, you could turn to diet pills to help curb your cravings, but I think those pills are dangerous and I don't want to have to rely on a method like that. So is there any way to battle the holiday feasting or are we all doomed to gain 5-10 unwanted pounds each season?

Thankfully, healthEAR has created a safe and noninvasive way to curb some of our worst habits, from overeating to smoking, with a custom acupressure therapy device you wear in your ear.

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