Monthly Archives: April 2010

Tips for Staying Cool

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With summer coming in and the weather heating up, everyone is looking for some fun and unique tips for staying cool. Even if you have air conditioning, the heat can still sometimes put a damper on your plans, so we’ve decided to come up with a list of our favorite things to do to beat the summer heat.

Go Swimming: Nothing cools you off like a nice day of swimming. Whether you have your own pool, become friendly with the neighbors who do, head to the local community pool or jump in a lake – you can’t help but instantly feel better as soon as you take a swim. But remember: wear sunscreen or this tip could make things worse!

Wear Light Colored Clothing & Hats: Dark fabrics such as black, brown, red, purple, and navy blue all attract and absorb the heat from the sun. Lighter colors such as white and most pastels will help you reflect the sun’s rays and help you stay cooler. It also helps to wear all cotton clothing, as it helps with staying cool also.

Drink Lots of Liquids: When the weather is hot, it’s very easy to become dehydrated quickly. Stay away from caffeinated or high sugar content drinks, since they will actually increase your thirst and instead opt for good old water. You could also try making some of your favorite summer time cool drink recipes, like some fresh squeezed lemonade.

Use Fans: Even with air conditioning, fans will always help you cool off as they help circulate the air even more. The bigger and more powerful the fan the better, though expect there will also be more noise associated with those types. The Lasko 20-Inch Cyclone Pivot Fan is probably our favorite – and it works so well we don’t care how noisy it is! Clicking the picture below will let you read the reviews on it.

Visit the Library: Most libraries are air conditioned, so going there during the hottest part of the day is a great way to cool off and dive into a great new book. Check to see what types of summer programs or activities they have for the kids, and you might even be able to take a nice break!

Turn off the Lights & Unused Appliances: Lights, computers, and televisions all add heat to a room – so by turning them off you can avoid overheating. Needless to say, it’s also not a good idea to cook or bake on very hot days. Microwaves are preferred to conventional ovens as they can do not produce any heat.

Insulate Properly: If you are running the air conditioning, you’ll want to make sure that your home is properly sealed to keep the cold air in. The same measures you take in the winter can help keep the cold air inside.

Stay in the Shade: If you must be outdoors, avoid being in the direct sun when possible – if you are, be sure to wear sunblock. If you don’t have a lot of shade over your home or yard, consider planting trees that will do that in the years to come.

Eat Something Cold: Ice cream, popsicles, gelatos, and all of our other favorite frozen treats can help you cool down. Make your own popsicles with juice or consider getting an ice cream maker and it can also be inexpensive and a fun way to entertain the kids!

Take a Shower: Taking a shower with cool water will help you feel cooler and stay refreshed. The sprinklers in the yard can work just as well.

Use Cold Compresses: A wet wash cloth or towel can be a nice soothing way to stay refreshed. You can also place the towel in the freezer if you’d like.

The summer heat doesn’t have to be unbearable. What tips for staying cool in the summer do you have to share?

Creative Ways to Give Money as Gifts

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If you want to give someone money as a gift, but want it to stand out as something memorable or special, there are many creative ways to give money as gifts. Whether it’s the holidays, a birthday, or some other special occasion, when you put some thought into how you give money, it becomes a lot more personal and special than it would if you just tossed a couple of bucks into a card. Many people especially like to find creative ways to present money as a gift in settings where many people chip in together to give them something, such as students for a teacher or coworkers for someone they work with.

The first thing to do is to consider what the occasion may be. For example, if you are attending a baby shower, and not really interested in buying anything from the baby gift registry, then one idea would be to take a diaper, place the money inside the diaper, attach a note to it that says “Baby diapers are full of surprises” and then wrap or give it to the person, that is a cute and fun way to give the gift. Obviously this would not work for say a grad student or a Christmas present however, so that’s why we’ve decided to come up with a few other ideas and tips that will help get your creativity moving.

The Money Tree: This is one of the best gifts I ever got – and it’s simple to do! All you need is a miniature tree (or you can even just use a tree branch in a flower pot) and then tie bills and coins onto it with ribbons. If it is near the holidays, you can usually find inexpensive small Christmas trees.

Clothesline: Just about any craft store offers little mini clothespins, so all you need is a package of those, a small basket, and a piece of rope. Then, all you do is attach the money to the rope with the pins and then fold it up to go into the basket.

Small Bills: If you want to give someone a unique gift, consider using smaller bills, such as single dollars, and then stuff them into a decorative jar or place them in a mini book.

Animals With Backpacks: It’s not too hard to find small stuffed animals with backpacks, so another creative thing to do is find one of these and then place the money into the backpack.

A Wallet: If you ever give someone a wallet as a gift, it’s an unspoken rule that it’s really extra nice to place a little money in it, too! You could also do this with a small purse.

In a Book: If you have a favorite book you think the person will like, you can always tape the money into one of the pages inside.

Calendar: A calendar is another good alternative for a card to give cash – just tape the bills or coins to the different pages.

In a Bar of Soap: If you’re someone who likes to make soap, you can place coins in the silicone soap molds and then make them a few bars of soap!

Origami: If you are good with origami or paper folding, another fun thing to do is shape the dollar bills into different things and then place them into a box and wrap the box. You can make rings, bracelets, animals, cars, etc. etc. – the possibilities really are endless for this one!

Miniatures: Maybe the person you are giving the gift to is saving up to buy a house or a car or maybe even a new computer. If this is the case, simply buy a miniature of this item, such as a toy car or a key and affix the money to that with a small personal note.

Clue Hunt: If you have the ability to do this, it can be fun to send someone on a hunt for the money! You can either do it like a treasure hunt with a treasure map and a treasure chest, or do it something like an Easter egg hunt. Either way it can be a lot of fun to finally find it!

Cold Hard Cash: All you need is a container, a waterproof plastic bag, and a freezer to wrap the money in the bag and then fill it and the container with water and freeze it!

Self Counting Piggy Bank: Anyone who’s ever had a lot of loose change can know what a pain it is to count all of it! You can get an Electronic Money Jar that will count all that loose change, and you can give them some loose change so they can have fun adding it all up in the jar!

Favorite Food: If the person you are shopping for has a favorite food, you can wrap $1 or $5 bills around each of the items as well, which makes it an extra sweet treat!

These are just a few ideas, but I’m sure they’ll help get your creativity flowing for different ways to give money as a gift! Have any ideas you’d like to share? Tell us about them in the comments below!