Posts Tagged ‘Holiday Tips’

With Christmas less than two weeks away, there’s not much time left to buy the perfect gifts for your loved ones. If your ideal way to spend the holidays isn’t searching disheveled store aisles, combing through ads and promotions to find the best deals, and spending extra time brainstorming ideas, here is a list of five quick and easy stocking stuffers or last-minute gifts for your family and friends.

Compact Multi-tool

An excellent gift for any adult is a compact multi-tool. This versatile gift includes various functions like a screwdriver, bottle opener, steel blade, pliers, and more! With this excellent tool, life’s unexpected mishaps won’t have to disrupt any plans. The multi-tool is small enough to be kept in a car glovebox, purse, or pocket, making it a great gift for anyone on your nice list.

Blue Light Glasses

Blue light glasses are a practical and stylish gift to relieve digital eye strain during extended screen time. Someone with a job that requires them to spend hours per day on a computer or looking at blue light would appreciate this thoughtful gift. Blue light glasses are a unique gift to give to someone who always says they don’t need anything new!

Mason Jar Cookie Mix

Everyone knows someone that’s a self-described “foodie.” What better way to indulge their sweet tooth than gifting them a mason jar filled with layers of cookie mix?! Choose a cookie you think they’d enjoy or share a family recipe to add more sentimentality to the gesture. Add decorative festive ribbons, bows, or stickers for another personal touch. This delicious ready-to-bake treat will be fresh out of the oven in no time. Don’t forget to save a few for Santa!

Assorted Gourmet Coffee or Tea Sampler

Do you have a coffee lover or tea sommelier in your life? An assorted gourmet coffee or tea sampler pack is perfect for those who enjoy indulging in different flavors. If you have enough time, find out which brews would be the best for them to try, or go the extra mile and ask which coffee/tea flavors or brands are their favorite, then buy what’s available.

Smart Bluetooth Key Finder

Give the gift of time this year to a friend or family member who frequently misplaces their keys. A smart Bluetooth key finder to help locate keys or other lost items can significantly improve someone’s daily life and encourage them to be more organized in the new year. As humorous as this gift is, it signifies how much you want to help your loved one have a less stressful year.

Don’t let the crowded stores keep you from finding the perfect gift for the ones you love. With these stocking stuffers and last-minute gifts, you’re on your way to having the best holiday season and Christmas morning! For more helpful seasonal tips and ideas for homeowners, check out our Instagram!

Paran Homes wishes you a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year!

Creekwood is Paran Homes’ newest community of age-qualified homes. Now selling in Powder Springs, these thoughtfully designed houses are built for a comfortable and convenient lifestyle. The open-concept ranch-style floor plans are ideal for homeowners 55+ years of age looking to settle into a neighborhood for the next chapter of their lives.

When you live here, you don’t have to worry about climbing stairs to access the bedrooms, bedrooms, and laundry room spaces. That guaranteed accessibility brings peace of mind and sets Creekwood apart from similar neighborhoods. The floor plans in this community offer three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and up to 1805 Sqft of living space. The front of the home has a beautiful green lawn with a large paved walkway and garage. There’s room to garden in the interior, exterior, and sides for those who enjoy curating curb appeal and making their home stand out with seasonal blooms.

The expansive kitchen has double sinks, stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, and modern white cabinets. The dark hardwood floors in the common areas (including the screened sunroom) make cleaning a breeze and reduce unwanted odors and stains. Homeowners can use the spacious island to seat several people for meals, or the kitchen nook with additional seating and natural lighting, and the open-concept design allows the living and dining rooms to flow together seamlessly.

The spacious and elegant bedrooms have tray ceilings, carpeted floors, and multiple windows, creating the perfect blend of style and convenience. A designated sitting area allows homeowners to unwind, enjoy a good book, or engage in other relaxing activities. The primary bedroom connects to an en-suite bathroom with carefully designed fixtures and features such as a walk-in shower, seat, non-slip flooring, and a raised toilet. The bathroom is aesthetically pleasing and highly practical, simultaneously promoting independence and safety.

The community amenities and features are an excellent addition to the neighborhood and can increase the property value of your new home investment. Homebuyers can rest assured that safety is Paran Homes’ priority both inside the home and throughout the property with the installed gate at the front of the neighborhood. The gate reduces crime and dissuades unlicensed solicitors from entering the community.

There is also a clubhouse for residents and their guests. The surrounding community is a fantastic area with a lot to do. Creekwood is down the street from the Silver Comet Trail and a short drive to Sweetwater Creek State Park, so staying active with your children, grandchildren, and pets is easy.

For those who love eating out and shopping, the neighborhood is just a few minutes from downtown Powder Springs. For various Mexican and soul food cuisines, you can enjoy nearby eateries, Carzell’s Kitchen, Don Diego, and La Parilla. Popular shopping areas, including Brownsville Commons and Austell Promenade, are nearby for grocery, retail, and daily living needs.

Explore Creekwood – NEW 55+ Community in Powder Springs

Now is the time to move into the home you’ve been dreaming of! Call Creekwood your home this holiday season and ring in the new year knowing you’re exactly where you want to be. This 55+ community is selling quickly. Contact our agent, Fran Torchia, today to learn more about available homes and our current promotions that can save you money!

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, we know you want to focus on finalizing your travel plans, cleaning your home/preparing it for guests, and double-checking your grocery list. With so much to prioritize, you may need to prepare additional dishes and drinks for a holiday dinner you’re proud to host. Paran Homes wants to help make your holiday enjoyable this year with five easy last-minute Thanksgiving recipes your family will love.

Many families spend hours in the kitchen cooking delicious recipes for Thanksgiving dinner but forget to make a special drink to pair with their meal. This year, your guests won’t just devour what’s on their plate. They’ll come back for seconds and thirds of this crowd-favorite brew!

Sparkling Apple Cider Punch

Mix equal parts sparkling apple cider and ginger ale. Add a splash of cranberry juice and garnish with apple slices and cranberries.

Do you want to spice up your canned cranberries this year? We’ve got the perfect easy recipe to satisfy your taste buds.

Cranberry Brie Bites

Place small squares of Brie cheese on top of mini phyllo cups. Top with a dollop of cranberry sauce and bake until the cheese melts. To infuse your cranberry sauce with extra flavor, consider adding one or more of these sauces and seasonings you may already have in your pantry – maple syrup, brown sugar, honey, cinnamon, whole cloves, citrus zest, and star anise.

You can prepare this popular vegetarian dish in many ways with different vegetables, faux meat, cheese, tofu, tempeh, and grains. Try this recipe this year to ensure everyone is satisfied at your dinner table.

Vegetarian Stuffed Bell Peppers

Fill bell peppers with a mixture of cooked quinoa or rice, black beans, corn, diced tomatoes, and spices. Season generously with your favorite mix of herbs and spices, and add black pepper and salt to taste. Bake until the bell peppers are tender, and garnish with basil leaves to add another pop of color to the plate.

Did you really celebrate Thanksgiving unless you ate something pumpkin-flavored? Instead of a pumpkin pie, try this classic cheesecake for a satisfying spin on the flavor.

No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake

Mix cream cheese, canned pumpkin, sugar, and pumpkin spice seasoning in a bowl. Taste the ingredients as you mix to get the desired flavor. Spoon the mixture into a graham cracker crust and refrigerate until set. Keep the cheesecake in the fridge for at least 8 hours for clean and sturdy slices. The end result is a delectable, hassle-free dessert that will likely become a yearly staple in your family!

Another delicious sweet treat is always welcome at the Thanksgiving table! Here’s a recipe that adults and kids alike will love!

Caramel Apple Tray

Cut slices of apples and spread them evenly across a baking sheet. Top the apples with sweets such as caramel, chocolate chips, nuts, small candies, or sprinkles. To add more fun to the dish, separate the toppings into small bowls and allow your guests to create their own custom flavors.

We’ve got you covered every Tuesday with tips to make your homeowning experience enjoyable! Follow us on social media to stay updated on our amazing tips and advice. From our Paran Homes family to yours, have a happy Thanksgiving!

Now that “It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” don’t let winter prep get you down. This month is the perfect time to get your home ready for the chillier days ahead. From buying winter clothing and gear to insulating your pipes to prevent a burst, Paran Homes has 5 tips you need to get prepared and keep your new home snug and stylish throughout the season.

Stop the Draft!

Along with the cold weather comes the windy season. A cozy evening watching holiday movies with the family can be ruined when cold drafts throughout the house keep the temperature at nearly freezing temps. Preventative measures like investing in attic insulation, adding door socks, and installing window caulk are top ways to winterize your home and will help keep the cold out!

Reverse Ceiling Fans

It might feel counterintuitive to put your fan on during the winter, but hear us out! Set your ceiling fans to rotate clockwise to help distribute warm air throughout the rooms in your home. Hint: most fans have a small switch on the side of the motor that makes this step easy. Remember to use a sturdy ladder or stool to reach the fan, and consider asking someone to hold it to ensure you don’t fall while you make the switch.

Service Your Chimney

Chestnuts roasting by the open fire can only happen this year if your chimney is clean of soot,  creosote, and debris. Small animals like raccoons, birds, and squirrels can also get trapped inside. If you have a fireplace, have it cleaned and inspected by a professional to ensure it’s safe to use. Consider converting to ventless logs for extra credit!

Protect Pipes from Freezing

A pipe burst can turn a calm day at home with your family into total chaos. Don’t let it happen to you this winter! Insulate pipes in unheated areas of your home to prevent freezing and potential bursts. Make sure you take care of the exterior areas of your home, too, by covering sprinkler spigots and draining garden hoses.

Stock Up on Winter Supplies

Disaster doesn’t have to strike twice this year. When inclement weather descends, ensure you have essentials like rock salt, shovels, and emergency supplies on hand. A case of batteries, flashlights, oil lamps, and a first aid kit should always be in your home in case of an electrical power outage or health crisis.

Bonus: Clean Gutters and Downspouts

One of the worst emergency repairs a homeowner can face is needing a new roof. This can be especially taxing in the winter when cold breezes and freezing temperatures make home maintenance harder to complete. To avoid any potential water leaks and roof damage from clogged gutters, remove leaves and debris to prevent clogs and ensure proper drainage.

With these 5 tips, you’ll be one step closer to keeping your home safe and sound this winter. If you’d rather prepare for the cold season in the new home of your dreams, check out our available new homes! Contact an agent today for more information.

Ask a real estate agent, nothing makes a brand new kitchen more welcoming than the smell of fresh-baked goodies! This Christmas, if you’re lucky enough to be warming up the oven to treat guests to family-favorite baked goods, why not take a swing at something new and amazing too? We have three of our top picks for unique Christmas cakes and cookies here today, including a recipe for something fun, a surprising and exciting recipe, and a cookie recipe that’s so simple you’ll have to restrain yourself from indulging in them every single day!

Frosted Fun: Edible Tic-Tac-Toe

Your strict old great aunt Gerta was wrong – you absolutely can play with your food! All you really need for this one are lines and pieces to represent X’s and O’s. Whether that’s decorated X- and O-shaped cookies, or cupcakes vs. Christmas-shape ginger snaps, the genius of this idea is all about how simple it is to make! You just need a board to go under your shapes; you can go as simple as pie crusts cut straight across and baked, then laid on a plate, or you can decorate a frosted cake board to cut into after the winner is declared. It’s all up to you, and your whole family will be wowed by how creative your baking is!

Forget the Wrapping: Hidden Present Cake

Who doesn’t love a surprise? Cakes with overflowing candy filling are all over TikTok, but how about a Christmas present with wrapping made entirely out of frosting and delicious sponge cake? If you have a cake pan that’s large enough, it’s actually much easier than it sounds. First, bake at least two layers of your sponge cake. While they’re baking, make sure your present is actually wrapped with clean wrapping paper – if you really want to protect it (and the cake), go ahead and wrap the outside with food-safe foil or plastic wrap as well. When your layers are done baking, let them cool, cut a hole in the bottom-most layer in the shape of your gift box, and make sure the top of the box is level with the top of the layer. Ice over the cake and the box, then lay the top layer on. The present should be totally concealed now, and all you have to do is decorate the outside of your cake. Careful when you cut in, and enjoy the look on all your guests’ faces during the big reveal!

Easy Peasy: Super-Soft 3-Ingredient Nutella Cookies

Finally, we have one of the easiest, tastiest treats that the internet has ever invented. 3-ingredient Nutella cookies are exactly what they sound like: a delicious, chocolate-hazelnutty treat that comes together in a snap and satisfies even the biggest sweet tooth. Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking is to thank for this recipe, but you can alter the ingredient ratio to experiment with different consistencies if you want them firmer or fluffier. Her recipe calls for 1 cup flour, 1 cup Nutella, and 1 large egg, or egg substitute. That’s it! Heat the oven, mix the dough, and in minutes you have an entire pan of irresistible, gooey Nutella cookies. Bake a dozen, or bake ten dozen – it’s truly the gift that keeps on giving!

Find a Home for Making Memories Like These

In Paran Homes neighborhoods, we create homes that enable your family to have fun and create memories just like these – all year long. When it’s time to discover the next home to call your own for many Christmases to come, take a look at the neighborhoods where we build all across Metro Atlanta. You’ll find homes that make it easier than you ever thought possible to enjoy the warmth and happiness of the season with friends, family, and all your guests.

Moving into a new home is an exciting time. Moving into a new home right before the holidays take it to an entirely new level. Whether celebrating your first Thanksgiving, Kwanzaa, Christmas or Hanukkah in your new home, it’s always fun to welcome friends, neighbors and family to join in a seasonally themed inauguration of your house. Needless to say, food and music will likely play major roles – possibly even a favorite holiday film or two, but if you really want to fill the rooms and hallways of your home with laughter, you might want to incorporate a few fun holiday games. Best of all, Paran Homes has trolled the internet in search of the best holiday party games so you don’t have to!

Gratitude Game

This great Thanksgiving Day suggestion comes from Country Living Magazine. It involves multi-colored pick up sticks and a color-coded instruction sheet to match. With five suggested Gratitude themes, you can place a corresponding color next to each command. For instance, Brown for “Name a Person You are Thankful For”, Orange for “Name a Place You are Thankful For”, Green for “Name a Food You are Thankful For”, Blue for “Name a Thing You are Thankful For” and Purple for “Name Anything of Your Choice.”

To play, hold all the colored sticks in your hand and drop them so they fall randomly. Everyone gathers around the sticks and takes turns trying to pull sticks from the pile without making the other sticks move. As they successfully pull a stick, they must follow the command on the instruction sheet you created. The person next to them repeats the cycle. If one of the other sticks moves, they lose their turn. At the end of the game, the person with the most sticks wins!

Please Pass the Corn

For this Thanksgiving-themed game from PlayPartyPlan.com, you’ll need candy corn, popsicle sticks, several pie tins/shallow bowls and a table or kitchen island. Played in pairs, this game requires both players to place popsicle sticks in their mouths. On one end of the table is one contestant and a bowl full of candy corn, on the other is another contestant and an empty bowl. The goal is to empty one bowl into the other using only the popsicle sticks.

The first player can use their hands to place a candy corn on the stick in their mouth, they must then meet the other team member in the middle to transfer the corn from their stick to the others, without dropping it. The other team member must then drop the corn in the empty bowl, and this continues until the bowl full of candy corn is empty. As you become more skilled at the transfer, you can add more than one candy corn to your stick. The team that finishes first – with the fullest bowl – WINS (in other words, you don’t get rewarded for DROPPING your candy corn on the floor).

Santa Limbo

This Christmas party game suggestion comes from Shutterfly and involves a group of three or more guests, a limbo stick and a collection of throw pillows. Have participants put a “Santa belly” under their shirt using one of the pillows. Have two guests hold the limbo stick at a starting height, and then everyone can try to limbo underneath with their Santa bellies in place. Once everyone has tried, lower the stick slightly and have those who made it through go again. Continually lower the stick until one winner remains! For added fun, have everyone don Santa hats, play Christmas music and take lots of photos!

Stocking Guessing Game

Another great Christmas-themed suggestion from Shutterfly, this game comes complete with PRIZES! Stuff a stocking with fun little gifts you pick up that would have broad appeal for kids to grown-ups and boys to girls. Put a notepad in front of four or more participants, tie of the top of the stocking so no one can see inside and then pass it around so everyone can have a chance to feel the objects inside. They can then write down their ideas (but don’t let anyone peek) and pass it on to the next person. Once everyone has filled out their guesses, open the stocking to reveal what’s inside. The person with the most correct guesses wins the contents of the stocking.

Ornament on a Spoon

A fun Christmas game for larger gatherings, it’s the same concept as Egg on a Spoon – with a seasonal twist. According to Shutterfly, you break your group of 8 or more players up into teams for a relay course – with or without obstacles. With an ornament on their spoon, the first person will go through the course and return to pass it on. Players can only use their spoons and NOT their hands when passing the ornament. If someone drops their ornament, that person needs to return to the beginning and repeat the course again. Once the ornament is successfully passed off, it’s the next person’s turn and so on until everyone has completed the course. The first team to complete the course WINS!

Dreidel Scattergories

This Hanukkah-themed take on the popular Milton Bradley game of Scattergories comes from SignupGenius. You’ll need a timer and a list of categories – like food, animals, movie stars, colors, careers, clothing, TV shows, flowers, countries, etc. – written onto pieces of paper or index cards that are facedown. All the players will need a pad of paper and a writing utensil. And – of course – you’ll need a dreidel.

Flip a card to reveal the category and then spin the dreidel and whatever letter it lands on – N,G, H or S – your players will have two minutes (set your timer) to write down as many things that come to mind that start with the letter facing up. For example, if the category is food and the letter is N, they might write down nachos, nuts, noodles, etc. When the two minutes are up, each person counts the number of fitting answers and tallies their score. Repeat all the above until all the categories have been fulfilled. The person with the largest score wins.

Two Truths and a Fib

This game can be used for both Hanukkah and Christmas celebrations, but for Festival of Light-specific parties, test your party guests’ knowledge of the historical story of Hanukkah. Have everyone write down two true facts and one fib about Hanukkah – the real fun comes from telling the fib with such detail that it seems like the truth. Go around the circle and have each person tell their two truths and a fib. The other contestants should score which one they think is the fib on a piece of paper, then move on to the next person in the circle. Anyone who gets away with their fib without anyone catching on wins! To customize this game for Christmas, simply make it about the Christmas story. This idea also came from SignupGenius.

At Paran Homes, no matter the time of year, we hope you find many years of happiness in your new home. Best wishes to you and yours for a Happy Holiday Season!

In search of a new home in which you can host holiday gatherings for years to come? Check out our communities throughout Metro Atlanta and the Greater Nashville area! Many of our floor plans come with flexible living spaces or dedicated game rooms that are ideal for families who love to have FUN!

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