Day 7: Secret Santa Gift Ideas | Blogmas

I don't know about you but I always find buying secret santa gifts to be harder than buying any other gift at Christmas time. Typically, secret santa happens somewhere like work, or school, or with those random relatives you hardly know. It's hard to balance buying a cool gift for someone you barely know with the money side of it- you don't want to be cheap but you don't want to spend a fortune either. To help combat this stressful gifting process, I have put together a list of three secret santa gift ideas that are affordable, easy to put together, and appropriate for whomever you're gifting to!

1. Cook Book & Recipe Cards

I feel like you can never go wrong with a good cook book- everyone eats! The healthy and easy recipes in Jamie's Everyday Superfood make it a great recipe book to gift to anyone- from the fitspo in your life to the kitchen newbie, everyone can get something out of this. Paired with some cute recipe cards that you can print out on card stock yourself using this template and maybe a goodie bag of holiday sweets, this gift would be great for anyone!

2. Hot Drink Kit

There's so many places that do this up for you now a days, from Starbucks to Wal-Mart you can get a hot drink gift kit for relatively low prices. You also always have the option to create your own! Throw together a DIY sharpie mug, some homemade hot chocolate mix, and some bits and bobs to go along with it like candy canes, chocolate, marshmallows, etc. and you have a perfect gift for any secret santa recipient!

3. Cozy Night In Basket

For this last idea, get a nice cozy blanket as the main gift. Putting this in a little basket with a classic holiday movie, some snacks, or anything else you can think of makes a cute little gift. It's the perfect arsenal to create the perfect cozy night in! Being the holiday season, who wouldn't want this?

I hope these secret santa gift ideas help some of you and make the process a little easier. Which idea is your favourite/would you like to receive? Any other ideas? Leave a comment and let me know!

Thanks for reading, xo, Katelyn

33. Something You Look Forward To | 52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge

In the spirit of Blogmas as well as true, genuine gratitude, I have to say the something I'm most looking forward to is heading home for the holidays. I'm so excited to see my family and to spend the holidays with all the people I love back home. 

Family means so much to me and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing everyone again! I can't think of a better reason to travel home than to enjoy the worship and kinship of Christmas will the people I love the most.

What is something you're looking forward to? Please do let me know!

Thanks for reading, xo, Katelyn

Day 5: Holiday Photo List | Blogmas

Since photography plays such a big roll in my life, I've decided to make a list of all the photos I want to take throughout the holiday season to make sure I don't miss a thing! Here is my list:

1. Christmas cards ready

2. Stockings hung in a row

3. My favourite tree ornament

4. Christmas meal pep

5. Baking for Christmas

6. Gifts under the tree

7. Outside of house with lights

8. A silhouette in front of the tree 

9. Building a snowman

10. Opening gifts

11. A tree with fresh snow

12. Outdoor clothing portrait

13. The whole family in Santa hats

14. Footprints in the snow

15. A bird on a snowy branch

16. A hug and/or kiss

17. Enjoying a holiday movie

18. Kids in line for Santa

19. Calendar on December 25th

20. Genuine smiles and laughter

What photos do you want to capture this holiday season?

Thanks for reading, xo, Katelyn

Day 4: Go-To Holiday Hair | Blogmas

As the weather turns colder, I find myself always wearing my hair down. This way my ears stay warm and I can always pop on a hat if I need to. I've always been a fan of curling my hair and have typically done so with my wand, however lately I've been using my straightener! I find the waves to be softer and more natural looking and the process is super simple (I burn myself a heck of a lot less haha). I learned how to create these waves from 2 videos; one from Ingrid Nilsen and one from Zoella. Of course Ingrid has short hair and Zoe had super long hair at the time of her video, but the process is adaptable to all hair lengths and looks amazing on everyone!

As you can see, I'm not using a super expensive or high end straightener to create these delicate waves. I do believe I picked this up for about twenty bucks back in the ninth grade at Wal-Mart haha. It's lasted very well but is on it's way out. I've actually ordered a NuMe set and it should be waiting for me at my family home when I get there for Christmas! I'm so excited!

What is your go-to hair look for the holidays? Do you prefer to curl with a wand, iron, or straightener? Also if you have any NuMe products let me know how you get on with them!

Thanks for reading, xo, Katelyn

Day 3: Holiday Playlist | Blogmas

There's something about playing Christmas music that just totally gets me into the holiday mood! Today I'm going to share with you my Christmas playlist that I put together on Spotify. If you want to follow me on Spotify you can find me by searching Katelyn McPhee. Hope you enjoy the tunes!

This last song isn't on Spotify that I can find, however my friend told me about it yesterday. I bought it and immediately fell in love with it! As a HUGE Mariana's Trench fan, hearing Josh sing one of my favourite holiday songs is such a pleasure- I recommend checking it out for sure!

I hope you guys enjoy this little Christmas playlist and that it gets you into the Christmas spirit! If you have a Spotify account let me know so I can follow you- I'm always looking for new music! What is your favourite Christmas song?

Thanks for reading, xo, Katelyn

Day 2: Our Christmas Tree on a College Budget | Blogmas

I have to say that upon moving out I was most excited to be able to decorate my new place. To make the apartment a little more festive, my roommates and I decided that we would all pitch in to buy a Christmas tree and some decorations! They trusted me to be the fearless leader so I set out to Michaels to pick up the goods! I went during their Christmas tree sale and picked us up a pre-lit 4ft tree for only $30. I then used a coupon I got emailed to me from Michaels for 25% off any purchase to pick us out some cute little balls. I got a multi pack of gold and silver balls as well as a 4 pack of beautifully frosted winter scape balls. And of course, no tree is complete without some candy canes! The tree in total cost each of us just $22.75. We had an absolute blast decorating our tree and it has really put us into a festive mood- we all can't wait to be home with our families for the holidays!

How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Do you prefer a simple tree like ours or something more over the top? Please do let me know in the comments!

Thanks for reading, xo, Katelyn

Day 1: Hello December! + Blogmas | Monthly Goals

November has come and gone and now that December has arrived we are officially entering my favourite three month stretch of the year! December, January, and February are definitely my three favourite months. As November draws to an end I want to review the goals I set for myself as well as set new goals for December!

1. Maintain my GPA at 3.8+ for the second half of the semester
Done and done! My grades are something I'm really proud of this semester and my success thus far is definitely motivating for next semester as well!

2. Get back on track with my fitness routine
I'm so pleased to say I did indeed get back on track fitness wise. I do a little workout every morning and it's a lovely way to start my day. I also try to do another longer and more thorough workout anywhere from 1-4 times per week.

3. Enroll in a Crafting Session at Michael's
Unfortunately did not do. I've been so busy with school and work that this just didn't pan out. Hopefully when I'm home for Christmas I'll be able to enrol in a class.

4. Attend the Weekend Craft Exposé
Again, time did not permit me to go. I had to work the entire weekend that the craft expose was taking place. 

5. Decorate the apartment for Christmas
Did do!! Our tree is up and the fairy lights are hung!

6. Donate to the food bank
I put together a bag of food to bring in and it has literally been sitting on the table for 3 weeks... I know that doesn't help but I've not gotten around to actually bringing it down there. December will definitely see a food bank donation!

7. Only spend money on things I NEED
I would say I accomplished this loosely. I did spent a few dollars here and there on things I didn't need but they weren't on items for myself, I did some of my Christmas shopping already.
8. Make sure I have a meat free day every week
I did follow through with this goal and I'm so glad I did! I feel like most of my days are now meat free and I feel great. 
9. Complete all assignments at least a day in advance
I was able to pull this off surprisingly and it's something I'm going to stick with. There's definitely a reduction in stress when you aren't worried about getting things done last minute. 
10. Relax and try not to feel anxious
The key word here is try haha. I would say that overall I succeeded however there were definitely moments that pushed me very close to a panic attack. 

December Goals
1. Finish the semester with a 3.8+ GPA
2. Finish all Christmas shopping before going home
3. Spend a day with just my mom
4. Write in my journal every day
5. Capture all the images on my Christmas List
6. Have a completely unplugged 48 hours
7. Visit all my grandparents at their homes
8. Build a snowman
9. Catch up on my music downloads
10. Read 3 novels

I hope you enjoyed reading through my monthly goals- I'm very proud of how well I did in my November goals and I hope I can do just as well or better with my December goals! What are your goals for the month?

I also want to let you all know that I WILL be attempting to do Blogmas. That means a new post will be coming your way EVERY DAY of December! *fingers crossed* haha. Hope you are all as excited for the holiday season as I am!

Thanks for reading, xo, Katelyn