Holiday Archives - the style du jour

Five Unique Holiday Gifts for Kids And a Giveaway! ($300+)

December 4, 2017

As a mom of a two little ones, we’re still in the early stages of our gift giving and receiving for holidays and birthdays. That said, thanks to very generous grandparents, family and friends, the kids seem to have everything they’d ever want. With this in mind, Andrew and I started to talk about gifting the kids more experiences instead of “stuff.”

Don’t get me wrong. I love to see my kids light up when they receive a toy they’ve wanted and to watch them as they spend hours playing with these toys. But, as they grow older, I see how much they learn and grow from enrichment activities so I’m starting to value those experiences more and more.

If you feel like your kids or kids on your holiday gift list already have a lot of “stuff,” I rounded up my five top picks for gifts this holiday season to provide learning, lasting and fun experiences beyond the gift wrap.

But first….a GIVEAWAY! Make sure to enter my Holiday Experience Giveaway (valued at $300+) here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

One lucky winner will receive:

– A holiday package (worth $220) from Goldfish Swim School (includes: 2 months of swim lessons, annual registration fee and a gift basket of Goldfish retail items)
– $59 credit to Pearachute, which provides parents and caregivers access to thousands of activities and classes for kids
– $50 gift certificate to Blo Blow Dry Bar

It’s super easy and quick to enter. Just click the link above and follow the prompts. I’ll contact the winner this Saturday, December 9. Good luck!!

The Style Du Jour’s Top Five Picks for Kids’ Holiday Gifts

Photo Credit: Goldfish Swim School

Goldfish Swim School
While the last thing I want to be caught wearing is a bathing suit in the dead of winter, I will say that the winter is the perfect time to register kids for swim lessons. I’m always looking for indoor activities during the cold months to keep my pre-schooler active and learning, plus the lessons will help prepare them for warm spring break travels and for the summer months ahead. We’ll be hitting the pool this winter at Goldfish Swim School which has a dozen locations in the Chicagoland area and is available in 21 other states (check for your town’s availability here). For the holiday season, you can purchase a holiday gift package that includes two months of swim lessons, the annual registration fee, and a gift basket of Goldfish retail items for $189 (regularly $220). Make sure to enter my giveaway for a chance to win your own holiday gift package (see how to quickly enter above!)

Pearachute

Like a Class Pass for kids and families, Pearachute provides one-stop access to drop-in classes, sessions, events and camps in your area that match with your kids ages and interests. We’ve been enjoying the beauty of Pearachute (which appeared recently on ABC’s Shark Tank, no big deal) – from the kids’ first bumper bowling to Sloane’s first ballet class – and I’m already a fan. I love that you can explore a type of activity, class set-up and venue with your kiddos to see if they (and you) enjoy it before investing in a long-term class. I also love that you can search for activities that accommodate the ages of more than one child. I feel like I’m constantly in search of activities to cater both my four and two year old (it’s not always easy and I run out of ideas) so Pearachute is giving me new and fun classes to explore. An added bonus: you can cancel an hour ahead of your scheduled activity without losing your money or on the flip side register the night before (depending on availability). Pearachute is available in five cities, including the Chicago area, and is rolling out soon to cities across the country. Check here for availability in your town. (Psssst…did you enter the giveaway above?!)

Feeling glam with my “pillow talk” blow out this fall.

Blo Blow Dry Bar

I think this is a perfect pampering gift idea for women of all ages on your gift list. Blo, Blow Dry Bar, with its first Chicagoland location in the Southport Corridor (plus locations all over the country), offers hair (blow and style) and makeup, with blow outs starting at only $35 (on Mon-Wed and $45 other days). You can choose from a menu of blow dry and curl styles which makes it easy to sit back and relax and get pampered. Beyond gift certificates, it’s a convenient stop-in locale to get glam before a holiday party or New Year’s Eve event.

Wise Apple

If you’ve been following me for a while, you’re familiar with my obsession and registered dietitian approval for this wholesome, kid-inspired meal delivery service available in the Midwest (my recent thoughts are here). Wise Apple now has gift cards (yay!). Let’s be real, this is a gift that keeps on giving – benefitting both the parents and kids.

Animal Act and Silly Street by Wannaplé

These character-building, creativity-inducing games create fun and memorable experiences every time they are played. I can personally attest to this because they are my kids’ favorite games and we always love to watch a new friend or family member laugh and get silly the first time when they play with us. (Pssst. You can get my full review of Animal Act and Silly Street from this recent post). They’re available at national stores (Toys R Us, Walmart and Target) as well as Amazon (hello, Prime and last minute gifting!). Bonus: Silly Street is currently on sale for less than $15!

This holiday season, consider these experience gifts as a unique present for kids who seem to have all the “stuff.” If you have another creative gift idea, please share it with me!

Happy Holidays!

XO,

Emily

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Shop Small in Highland Park, IL: A blogger’s review + gift guide

November 20, 2017

As a parent of little ones, my attention to my immediate community and our neighbors has grown. I’ve found that supporting local businesses is one of the best ways to invest in our town and make personal connections with other families. Even more so, I’m always inspired by the passion, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of small business owners. This is exactly how I felt after discovering some of the local businesses – 13 in total – that reside in my new town of Highland Park, Illinois.

If you know me, you know I take my shopping seriously so I was thrilled to collaborate with Downtown Highland Park to visit 13 Highland Park businesses for the first time and share my review of each store in a guest blog post series that is now live:

Shop Local for World Class Gifts, Part 1

Shop Small for World Class Gifts, Part 2

If you live in Chicago or the North Shore area, you will not be disappointed if you shop downtown Highland Park for Small Business Saturday (11/25) and throughout the holiday season. Here’s just a preview of some of my favorite new shops in town, but you can get all my shopping recommendations and gift ideas here.

For those of you in the Chicago area, I hope you find my review helpful in finding special gifts for everyone on your list!

XO,

Emily

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Special Father’s Day Gift Ideas from Gift in Time

June 1, 2017

Father’s Day is just a couple of weeks away (Sunday, June 18). Do you already have gifts planned for all the special papas in your life? Sometimes it can be tricky to find just the right surprise for our deserving Dads which is why I’m thrilled to be partnering with one of my favorite sites, Gift in Time, to share a few thoughtful gift and card ideas.

The beauty behind Gift in Time is that unique and thoughtful gifting is made easy. Here’s how. Browse their selection of quality artisan-made goods, from clothing and accessories to specialty coffee and chocolates, all from the comfort of your home. Included with every gift is a beautiful greeting card, selected and personalized by you.

Here are some of my favorites: boutique-style notecards.

Credit: Gift in Time

You can also feel good knowing that your purchase is supporting local businesses and artists in North America.

For the coffee-drinking, sweets-devouring, outdoor-adventuring Dads, here are just a few ideas (all for less than $65):

Crowsnet Coffee ($13): These small batch roasted beans are available in four flavors (including a decaf option). What Dad wouldn’t like waking up to a delicious cup of coffee Father’s Day morning?!

Coffee + Chocolate Set ($27): This flavor-packed duo can only be found together at Gift in Time. With this combo, you can enjoy specialty roasted Crowsnet Coffee with ChocoMe’s luxury dark chocolate bar made with chili, orange and hazelnut. Yum!

Mini VSSL ($65): This portable and lightweight LED lantern is the perfect sidekick for outdoor adventures. It has room to store keys or money, plus there’s a compass and a clip to attach to a belt or backpack. That said, you don’t need to be an outdoorsman to appreciate this lantern. The light and safety compartment make for a handy tool while working in the toolshed or yard or it can even shed light when dining outdoors at dusk.

Good luck with your Father’s Day celebration planning and keep Gift in Time in mind if you really want to spoil your dad this year with a unique and thoughtful gift.

Most importantly, we want to make sure our Dads know that “We love you!”

XO,

Emily

*Gift in Time sponsored this post. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.*

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The Best (Sophisticated) Jello Shots – Fizzy Prosecco Jello Shooters

December 29, 2016

While we don’t have any wild New Year’s Eve plans this year, I still like to dress up a bit (sans yoga pants) and plan a little special dinner with fun cocktails for the two of us.

To mix it up and try something new, I tested a super easy champagne jello shot recipe – one of the many I’ve come across recently. Apparently bubbly in jello form is the new thing (this is not your average college jello shot, may I add) and I kind of love it. Using Siri Daly’s recipe as a starting point, I made these fizzy, berry-filled jell0 shots to ring in 2017.

With only four ingredients including champagne or sparkling wine, vodka, ginger ale and gelatin powder, this recipe takes about ten minutes to prep and a couple hours to gel together in the fridge. These are sure to impress your NYE mates, whether you’re enjoying it from the couch with your loved one or entertaining friends.

For this batch, I used Lamarca prosecco and added colorful blueberries and strawberry slices for a sweet addition. I tried a few different serving options, including an oversized square ice tray, little glass shooters (repurposing my votive candle holders) and stemless flutes. I used a spritz of cooking spray in each before adding the liquid mixture to make for a seamless jelly removal.

For serving, you can leave them in the glass with a cocktail mixing wand or remove and dust with sugar or top with cookie sprinkles. Dress it up with a pretty toothpick with berries and voila! Your Fizzy Prosecco Jello Shooters are ready to eat (er, drink?)!

*Toothpicks, mixing wands, straws and stemless flutes are from Target’s Bullseye section for $1.00 – $3.00!*

Visit the TODAY website here for the full recipe. If you give these a try, please let me know how you like them and how you gave them your own twist!

I hope you all have a safe and happy start to the New Year! Cheers!

XO,

Emily

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3 Tips for Surviving Holiday Air Travel with Toddlers

December 21, 2016

We fly with the kids a fair amount, and at this point, we’ve weathered the storm of inconsolable babies and night terrors on a plane. And we survived to tell the tale (I’m not dramatic, at all LOL) …and I believe we finally figured out how to keep the little ones content, even happy, throughout the (majority of the) journey.

Here are my THREE easy strategies to help avoid the mid-air toddler meltdown:

Have Ready-to-Nosh Food on Hand. This seems like a no brainer (of course we’re going to have food to feed these tiny humans?!), but I’m talking about pre-washed, peeled, seeded, cut, portioned, you name it. Ready.to.eat. And a colorful rainbow of options is the best bet. Enter EatPakd, wholesome meals prepared and stored in convenient and portable little containers. Each meal has a main option, a few sides (fruit + veg) and a little dessert, and you can separate each of the four containers for your little ones’ to select and eat. Genius! As an added bonus, these meals make delish adult snacks for those late night wrapping sessions.

Don’t have EatPakd available in your area? Think colorful and variety to help satisfy your little traveler’s appetite. My go-to travel snacks include fare like baby carrots, pea pods, apple slices with PB, dried fruits (raisins and mango slices are our fave), mixed nuts, apple sauce pouches, yogurt tubes and string cheese. For the day of travel, I stash all my individually wrapped goodies in one big clear food bag (with a small freezer pack, if necessary) so I can easily find what I need from my seat.

Surprise and Delight. A good family friend gave us this tip years ago as we headed to California and we’ve used it ever since. Bring a handful of small new or current toys – like books, coloring pads, stickers and play-doh – wrapped in colorful tissue paper or holiday wrap and present them one at a time over the course of the flight. In the past, I’ve spent $5 buying some cute books and coloring activities from the Dollar Store or the Bullseye section at Target, but with Christmas around the corner, I plan to simply wrap a few current toys (a mixture of favorites and ones hidden at the bottom of their toy bins). Half of the fun is tearing the paper off!

Become BFFs With A Crew Member. Sorry, you can’t necessarily plan ahead and pack this in your shoulder bag. 🙂 Being a little extra congenial and friendly can go a long way. I think we’ve all been guilty of taking on these alter egos when we step from the jet bridge onto the plane. But ’tis the season. While the hustle and bustle of airport travelers may get you stressed, putting on a smile and sharing a kind word can make someone’s day. And the favor may be returned to you perhaps in the form of bonus snacks and beverages or an extra hand to hold your fussy little one.

Now that I think I figured it all out, I’m sure my kids will surprise me with some new tactics up their sleeves. But these three tips will at least get me through take-off.

Do you have some creative travel tips to keep your kids happy? If so, please share!

Safe holiday travels!

XO,

Emily

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Ready, Set, Glow! Three Tips to Get Holiday Party Radiant

December 19, 2016

This time of year, your calendar is likely packed with holiday soirées, from work parties and client events to New Year’s charity balls and friends’ festivus celebrations. It’s the best time of year, after all.

So while you plan your festive party attire, here are my three tips to create a fresh-faced holiday glow, the best accessory in my opinion (second to some bright and sparkly statement baubles):

1). Prep your skin with a brightening face primer.

Honestly, I haven’t worn face primer religiously until recently. But now that I’ve found a quality primer, I realize what a difference it makes for my makeup application and how my complexion appears eight hours later. Why use primer? Like prepping a canvas, a good face primer will ready your skin for an even makeup application by filling in fine lines and wrinkles, and firming, smoothing and moisturizing the skin. An added benefit is finding a primer with optical diffusers which help to minimize lines and lighten and brighten the skin. Hello, glow!

My current face primer go-to is Studio Gear’s Prime Objective Skin Perfecting Face Primer ($30, available at StudioGearCosmetics.com. Save 10% with code BB). In addition to all the benefits I mentioned above, its luxe formula contains antioxidants to help strengthen skin structure and protect the skin from the elements. So, rest easy that your skin will be protected as you bop around the city from party to party.

2). Apply cheek color first, foundation second.

This may seem backward, but I heard this pro makeup tip about a year ago and have used it daily ever since. To give your cheeks and overall complexion an added dewy appearance, apply liquid cheek color to your skin first, (after you moisturize and apply primer) followed by your foundation. Apply your foundation with a wet beauty blender sponge. Your cheek color will blend a bit with your foundation color, (so don’t shy away from those bold cheek tint hues) creating a softened hue and overall glowing appearance.

3) Winterize your lips with a sweet treatment.

Make sure your lips are mistletoe-ready with a bold, berry hue. Set your pout with long-lasting color by using these sweet pantry items first. Before applying your lipstick, rub a mixture of granulated sugar + honey (equal parts of each) over wet lips with your finger or a toothbrush. Let sit for a minute or two and remove with warm water or washcloth. The sugar granules will gently exfoliate dry, flaky skin and the honey will help create a smooth surface for your lip color to adhere.

What is your favorite beauty trick to get holiday or NYE party ready?

XO,

Emily

*Studio Gear Cosmetics provided me with complimentary product in exchange for this post. All thoughts are my own!*

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Easy Holiday Brunch Bread Pudding

December 14, 2016

Bread pudding is one of my all-time favorite dishes. While I consider it a comfort food – especially the kind I order out at a restaurant topped with loads of sugary goodness – I personally don’t keep bread pudding assigned only to the dessert category.

When homemade with ingredients like eggs, milk and fresh or dried fruit and a sprinkle of sugar, bread pudding is a dish I serve up and enjoy with the kids, warmed up or cold straight out of the fridge, for breakfast or as a quick snack.

I’ve found an excellent recipe from AllRecipe.com (authored byEllenMarie) which I use as my bread pudding foundation and I may adjust it ever so slightly depending on my fruit or bread selection on hand.

For the version I made and snapped in these photos, I used a whole grain bread, fresh Italian plums (in place of optional raisins) and honey (in place of granulated sugar). While most of the bread in our house is a whole grain variety, the best type is a stale (this is a must!) white crusty bread like an Italian or French bread.

With only eight ingredients (bread, butter, raisins, eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla extract) you’re sure to have on hand, this recipe is so simple to whip up and pop in the oven for a delicious Christmas morning brunch. Or make it ahead and store in the fridge to re-heat in the morning.

Visit the recipe here on AllRecipes.com for the ingredient list and directions!

What is your favorite comfort food dish?

XO,

Emily

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