Pretty Wine Totes

These pretty little wine totes really dress up a bottle. Wouldn't they be perfect for a housewarming, hostess or Mother's Day gift? And, they only $6.99 at Target.

See more Mother's Day gift ideas from Country Living.

Image via.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

My mom, me and my stepdad on my wedding day.



Happy birthday, Mom! You're the strongest woman I know (mentally and physically), and I'm so grateful for you. Thank you for everything you've done for me. I could never repay you for even a little of it. I hope you have the best birthday ever -- you deserve it.

See her birthday gift after the jump!

The Ultimate Man Gift

They say food is the way to a man's heart, I think beer might be a close second. For $36.95 a month, you can gift a subscription to the beer of the month club (or get one for yourself). I'd like to get it for Jeff just to sip a little of each. I'm not much of a beer drinker, but I'm happy to be a taste-tester and critic.

There's also wine, fruit, flower, cigar, coffee, chocolate and pizza of the month clubs! See them here.

Thrifty Gifting

Buying Christmas gifts can be expensive. To help relieve a little of that burden, I shop thrift stores for most of my gifts. I don't want to spoil the surprise for those on my list so I'm not going to go into too much detail, but I've found some really great deals this year. Let's just say some nice clothes (some new with tags!), great home decor items, and cool things you can't find anywhere else. It ups the gift-finding challenge sometimes, but finding the perfect thing is even more rewarding. The trick is finding things that don't look too "used." My thrift store mantra is to not buy something just because it's cheap. Make sure it's in good shape and is something the receiver can use and will appreciate.

My mom, my sister and I have been shopping for gifts this way for years now. We can get so many more gifts for the same cost. Probably about a third of my house is decorated with things that came from a thrift store and I received as Christmas gifts. You'd be amazed at how good a bunch of Goodwill junk can look!

I also like to shop at Home Goods and Pier 1 (mainly the clearance racks) for gifts. Handmade gifts or baked goods are always special, too (get some ideas here).

Do you have a favorite place to shop or something special you make that is a great gift? I'd love to hear!

Image via. (Isn't it a great idea to wrap gifts in the cute Trader Joes bags?! If only we had one here.)