Elfster Blog - Page 4 of 22 - Christmas Gift & Holiday Party Game Ideas

weight loss encouragement gifts

Online Community For Members 50+ Shares Weight Loss Encouragement Gifts and Support

February 6, 2018 Meghan Langseder

They say, 50 is the new 30, and I’d really love to believe it. But let’s face it, age happens. When we become those “women of a certain age,” we may not always recognize the person gazing back at us in the mirror, either physically or mentally. Growing older with grace takes dedication to our own well-being, determination to face the challenges life sends our way, and lots of hard work. No one has all the answers (and I’m not…

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Secret Santa virtual

How to Play Secret Santa the Virtual Way Online

February 6, 2018 Justina H

I raced down the stairs of my apartment building to eagerly check my mailbox for what seemed like the 10th time that day. A gift from my Secret Santa was due any day, and I couldn’t wait to see what it was and who had picked my present. My best friends and I, scattered across the country, couldn’t be together for our annual Secret Santa gift exchange, but instead of giving up, we just moved everything online. It makes sense….

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red carpet party games for adults

Oscar-Inspired Red Carpet Party Games for Adults

February 2, 2018 Courtney S

Here are a few game ideas to spice up Oscar Night. Don’t get me wrong – I love watching the Oscars each year, but I’ve got to admit, sometimes I get a little bored. I mean, I love all the glitz and glamour, but it just seems to go on forever. In fact, last year, I fell asleep and missed Viola Davis’ acceptance speech for best supporting actress. Of course, I YouTubed it later, but I was a little crushed…

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Have fun with a Secret Santa gift exchange.

The Best Secret Santa Funny Gifts for a Goofy Gift Exchange Game

January 31, 2018 Essa

Getting goofy for a Secret Santa gift exchange can be a bit difficult if you’re like me; the kind of person whose jokes are usually greeted by awkward silence. While most people are thrilled with a Secret Santa funny gift exchange, I usually struggle, wondering if my gag gift is going to fall flat. Lucky for me, the internet is a thing. You don’t have to be funny when you can buy funny—or at least get a few decent ideas…

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Cool Tech Gifts Under $30 He Will Love

January 29, 2018 Justina H

Swat! Swat! I watched rapturously as my sister clicked around the screen. We had just gotten our first computer, a PC that came with a few floppy discs, including our favorite new game, Swat the Fly. God forbid we actually help our mom swat flies when summer rolled around, but this was cutting-edge technology! How far we’ve come since that first computer! These days, I have not one but two laptops, a smartphone, an e-reader…the list goes on and on….

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out of the box Valentine's Day ideas

Creative Out-of-the-Box Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas

January 25, 2018 Courtney S

I’ll never forget my first Valentine’s Day in high school. I was sixteen years old, head over heels for my high school sweetheart, and thrilled to finally be allowed to go on a date on a school night. I waited nervously at the window for him to drive up in his parents’ car, clutching a handmade card and the gift I’d bought him—his favorite cologne and chocolates. When he finally arrived, he came to the door with a dozen red…

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A Cupid Worthy Valentines Day Gift Exchange Game

January 23, 2018 Justina H

I’ll never forget the first time I got mail. It wasn’t in my family’s actual mailbox; I was at school, and it was Valentine’s Day. The feeling of happiness that washed over me as I took all the cards out of the little mailbox I’d made from construction paper was like nothing else. There were notes from all my classmates, a token of our friendship. Granted, I was 6 and it was mandatory that if you made a card for…

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Chinese New Year party games

Chinese New Year Party Games

January 19, 2018 Justina H

Every year on January 1st at 12:00 am, I can be found usually wearing some outlandish dress, bright and bold red lipstick, and covered in confetti. It’s my favorite holiday, but it wasn’t until college that I realized not everyone celebrates the new year on the Gregorian calendar’s schedule. My Chinese-American roommate brought me home one weekend to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year with her family, and I decided I wanted to find out more about the wonderful family…

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Have some fun at work this January.

National Have Fun at Work Day Game Ideas

January 17, 2018 Justina H

I smelled the burning coffee before I saw it. My coworker Jana looked up from her desk and asked if anyone else smelled something funny; I took a big whiff, then bolted out of my chair and sprinted to the breakroom. It was January 2nd, and in my sleepy post-holiday state, I had forgotten to put a coffee filter in the machine! Going back to work after the holidays is always interesting. Summer is far away, everyone’s a little more…

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football party games for adults

Super Bowl Football Party Games for Adults

January 11, 2018 Justina H

Super Bowl Sunday seems like a holiday to most Americans—there are even efforts to get the day after to be a national holiday. Many of my friends don’t even watch football, and they still love to celebrate the Super Bowl with a party, usually hosted by yours truly. In fact, I’ve made a list of common football terms and the goals of the game so my less football-savvy friends can know a little reason as to why there are so…

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creative gift exchange game ideas

The Most Creative Gift Exchange Game Ideas for Your Next Party

January 9, 2018 Courtney S

“Gift exchanges aren’t just for Christmas, silly!”, my coworker Kathryn laughed as she closed her laptop and got up to refill her coffee. She had just told me she was planning a getaway weekend for the girls at our office at her parents’ lake house. But when she told me she was organizing a gift exchange for the occasion, she immediately picked up on my puzzled look. A few weeks later, ten of us ladies were tearing open immaculately wrapped…

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Relaxing after the holidays.

Relaxing After the Holidays: Gifts to Give Yourself

January 5, 2018 Courtney S

Let’s face it, the holidays can be draining. Now, I absolutely love Christmas and New Years, but by the end of the festivities, I am utterly exhausted. All the shopping, traveling, cooking, feasting, and visiting really takes it out of me, and I crave some quality downtime. It’s like I need a holiday from the holidays! Last year, I decided to do just that when the festivities were over. I wanted to start the year feeling rested and rejuvenated rather…

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pampering gift ideas for her

Four Pampering Gift Ideas for Her Healthy New Year

January 3, 2018 Justina H

Every January, as I sweep up balls of wrapping paper and Christmas cookie crumbs, I ponder how I’ll make a positive change in the coming months. Making New Year’s resolution is a fun and inspiring tradition for me, but my sister has been staunchly against resolutions for years, insisting no one ever keeps them anyway. However, this year brought some fairly serious health scares to my sister and she finally gave in, agreeing to make some resolutions to improve her…

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health and fitness gifts for him

Health and Fitness Gifts for Him to Kick Off a New Year

January 1, 2018 Justina H

I love my brother Sam, but wow, is he a pain to shop for! One year, I bought him a video game, but he never played it. His girlfriend Kelly later told me, in whispers, that he only played first-person shooters. I had gotten him the wrong kind of game! Then last year, he grew a beard, which he really got into. So I bought him a fancy beard grooming kit, complete with oils and brushes. When he came over…

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Yankee gift exchange game

The Best Yankee Gift Exchange Game: Ideas for How to Play

December 28, 2017 Justina H

“Jingle Bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg!” I screeched as my sister and I dissolved into a pile of giggles at the lyrics. I’ve never been one to take the holidays too seriously, preferring silly Halloween costumes to spooky ones, Galentine’s Day to Valentine’s Day, and birthdays full of mirth. That’s why I’m obsessed with the funny, frenetic Yankee gift exchange game that I play with my friends and family every chance I get. While I love a classic…

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tips for new years eve party

Tips and Tricks for Throwing a Last Minute Party for New Year’s Eve

December 26, 2017 Courtney S

Impromptu—it’s one of my favorite words, but funnily enough, impromptu gatherings always throw me for a loop. I prefer to plan and prepare for everything well in advance, but that changed last year when my husband and I decided to throw a last-minute party for New Year’s Eve. A day before the big countdown, we ran into a friend who asked if we had any New Year’s plans. I tried to change the subject, as I was looking forward to…

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twist on Secret Santa

A Twist on the Secret Santa Game for Last Minute Christmas Fun

December 22, 2017 Justina H

We gathered around my mom, anxiously shifting from foot to foot as she shook a red and green bag filled with slips of paper. On each slip was written a name—the name of the person we would need to buy a present for as part of our annual Secret Santa game. Finding out who I was assigned to was always my favorite part (other than opening my present, that is!). But after we drew names, my mom unleashed a surprise:…

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Secret Santa game reveal ideas

Funny and Festive Secret Santa Game Reveal Ideas

December 18, 2017 Justina H

“Please tell me! Pleeeease!” my niece begged over the phone. We were two weeks away from Christmas, and she was dying to know who drew her name for our family’s big Secret Santa game. “The surprise is part of the fun,” I explained, knowing full well that hearing such words was agony to a seven-year-old. I remembered how, when I was a kid, my sister and I would conspire with our cousins to trade gift recipients and try to figure…

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last minute Christmas shopping tips

Six Stress-Free Last Minute Christmas Shopping Tips

December 14, 2017 Justina H

“Rockin’ around/the Christmas tree,” crooned Brenda Lee. I was making circles in the mall parking lot, and this was the third or fourth rendition of my favorite holiday song I’d heard in the time it was taking me to find a spot. Usually, I try to Christmas shop throughout the year to avoid these eleventh hour journeys, but I’d been traveling for work a lot that year. Now I needed to get gifts for everyone in the family—on the last…

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Christmas craft projects

Make Your Own Christmas Ornament Projects You Can Gift or Keep

December 12, 2017 Courtney S

There’s nothing I love more about Christmas than decorating the tree. When I was little, my family and I would turn on our favorite Mel Torme Christmas cassette, fill a tray with Christmas cookies my mom had baked, pass around the eggnog, and begin merrily untangling the lights and hanging ornaments. The best part was opening the box of ornaments and being reminded of all the wonderful memories attached to each one. And while they all had a special place…

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homemade edible Christmas food gifts

Homemade Edible Christmas Food Gifts You Can Make in Advance

December 7, 2017 Courtney S

I’m not the craftiest person in the world, so it goes without saying that DIY Christmas gifts are not my forte. Give me a glue gun or a needle and I’ll probably end up hurting myself rather than creating something impressive. What I can do, however, is cook. One Christmas, fresh out of pastry school with very little money to spend on Christmas gifts, I used my new confectionary skills to make nougatine with rosewater, pistachios, and dried cherries for…

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easy last minute Christmas gifts

Easy Last-Minute Christmas Gifts

December 6, 2017 Justina H

“They’re here! They’re here!” my kids squealed, running between the just knocked-upon front door and the kitchen, where I was elbow-deep in sugar cookie dough. My sister was slated to arrive for a Christmas visit that night, but she was two hours early. Not to worry! I thought, remembering all the time we spent meticulously cutting out and decorating cookies when we were kids. I wiped the dough off my hands and ran to the door, flinging it open to…

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Christmas wish list maker

A Festive Christmas Wish List Maker for Kids That’s Online, Free, and Easy

December 4, 2017 Justina H

When my daughter told me she wanted “the new Barbie” for Christmas, I should have known there was more to the story than that. I arrived at my local big box retail emporium and asked an employee to direct me toward the “cool new Barbie.” She led me to the toy section, then down a hot-pink aisle lined floor-to-ceiling with dolls. “They’re pretty much all new this year,” she said. I bought (and eventually exchanged) the wrong “new” Barbie, and…

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Kwanzaa gift ideas homemade

Traditional Kwanzaa Gift Ideas to Make Homemade

November 30, 2017 Justina H

I was in college the first time I was invited to a Kwanzaa celebration. Some girls in my dorm were hosting a Kwanzaa feast in the common room and asked if I wanted to come. Honored that they wanted me to witness this special celebration, I said yes. But in the days leading up to the event, I realized I didn’t know much about the holiday and decided to do some research. Kwanzaa first began in the 1960s as a…

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