This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Dollar General for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey Friends!

Well, we are half way to Christmas, and I don’t know about you, but I am feeling the financial stress of getting everything checked off my Christmas list.

There are so many gifts to buy for our kids, family, teachers, friends, etc., that I have to come up with ways to stretch my budget. One of those ways is to shop at stores with great prices like The Dollar General.

We have one right down the street from us in my small town.

I love shopping there, especially during the holidays, because I love looking at the Dollar General Holiday décor  items.

I bought some of their tableware items for Christmas morning. Every year, after the boys have gone to be on Christmas eve, I set the table for our Christmas breakfast.

I love how festive the $4.00 striped tablecloth is with the $2.00 silver chargers and $1.00 snowflake plates. I also love that the chargers and plates are plastic so I don’t have to worry about the boys dropping them and breaking them!

For a more light, crisp look, I placed the table settings on my white tablecloth.

My very favorite purchase were these $1.00 striped straws to go in my daisy cut lids. It’s funny how the littlest things can make us so happy, isn’t it?

My boys love drinking out of these mason jars, so I knew they would love these straws. They are plastic and sturdy, so I will be able to wash and reuse them.

Now we are all set for Christmas morning! Nothin’ fancy-schmancy…just sweet and simple!

If you would like to win a $20 gift card to The Dollar General, just leave a comment answering this question:

“What Holiday memories can

Dollar General help you create this year?”

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This past weekend, I had the honor of meeting a local veteran as part of the “Celebration of Service” program through The Home Depot Foundation.

It has been so amazing to be a part of this program!

I was able to fly to Detroit and work with the amazing people at Stiggy’s Dogs.

Then I was flown to Columbus, Ohio to help update a home for Veterans who are attending college there.

And now finally, I was able to honor a sweet local Veteran and his family.

The Home Depot sent me a bunch of Christmas goodies in the mail to take to this family.

We wrapped them up, and headed about 45 minutes away to deliver the gifts.

I took Jonathan and Eli with me.  I wanted the whole family to go, but Cy had to take Adam and Luke to their basketball games.

So we loaded the gifts in the car, drove through Wendys for a late lunch, and watched Ice Age on the dvd player on the way over there.  I loved having my boys with me.

Here is the Veteran family that I had the privilege of meeting.

And here are the other wonderful people that came to help out.

Left to Right:  Todd Murdoch {Home Depot}, Me, Tamara Langley {Community Liasion Operation Homefront}, Harold Smith {Home Depot}, Jason Langley {Veteran and Tamara’s husband}

I had so much fun talking to them and getting to know them while I was there.

As soon as the children saw the presents, they began opening them.  The Home Depot had supplied a corner Christmas tree, ornaments, a star, a wreath, and a tree skirt.

The children immediately began asking us to help put it all together, so we did.

I had never seen a corner Christmas tree before, have you?  It is really cool if you need to save space.

We had to connect the lights and fluff out the branches.

Then we put up the star…

I laughed out loud when I asked their son if he wanted to “put the skirt on,” to which he immediately said, “NO!”

He had a look of terror on his face.

“Not a real skirt,” I said.  “A TREE skirt ON the tree!” 

Then we all laughed some more when I pretended to “put the skirt on” me.

Eli loved the door wreath, and so did I!  {Wish I had one of those for myself.}

We watched as the children hung the ornaments…

They wanted Eli to help, so he did…

Jonathan brought his guitar and sang, Silent Night, as we continued decorating the tree.  It made it feel so Christmas-y.

After we were finished decorating the tree, we hung out and talked a little more.  Eli sat on the couch for a while with his new friend.

The tree looked beautiful all lit up and decorated.

But nothing was more beautiful than seeing 11 strangers spend a couple of hours together, sharing stories, decorating a tree, enjoying the season, and honoring the service of our Veterans.

I am so grateful to have been a part of this “Celebration of Service” event.

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The Home Depot partnered with bloggers such as me for their Celebration of Service Blog Network. As part of this program, I received compensation for my time. They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about any product mentioned in these posts. The Home Depot believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. The Home Depot’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.

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