Hey y’all, Merry Christmas! If y’all are anything like us there are several different family Christmas events to attend as well as church and friends Christmas parties. While this time with family and friends is filled with so many wonderful moments, small things like grocery shopping can get in the way.

View Cart (Instacart on iPad)

Shopping (Instacart on iPad)

There is a wonderful tool called Instacart. Raise a hand if you wouldn’t mind ordering your groceries from your favorite local grocery from the comfort of your own home. In your pajamas while drinking your favorite beverage. I have both of mine in the air, if you’re wondering.

Instacart is Convenient and Easy to Use

The website and app are both super convenient to navigate. To begin punch in your area code and the app will confirm if your area is covered. There have been times when a friend or family member was too far out of the city but the delivery service met them at an agreed location.

Once you have established your residence, pick the store you would like to shop. For instance, in Elkhart, IN Kroger, Aldi, Petco, and Walgreens are the available options. Usually I shop at one store because each store added to the cart requires a $10 minimum. Your first delivery is free, second delivery 7.99, unless you sign up to be an express member. Express membership costs $99/year but offers free delivery (order must be greater than $35).

My personal experience has been wonderful. The first time I tried the app we were driving home from a family get-together and I still needed to buy groceries for the weekend. Within 1½ hours after placing the order on Instacart my groceries were delivered to my doorstep.

One of my favorite features on the app is the ability to watch the progress of the groceries being picked up throughout the store. As your personal shopper adds the items to the cart, they are crossed off your phone in real-time. If you need to add something to your list before they get to checkout that you missed earlier, simply add the item to your list.

Your personal shopper will also notify you if there was a price change, if the store is out of stock on a particular item, and will ask you questions if needed through the Instacart app. Once they are in the checkout, you are notified that items can no longer be added to your list. Your personal shopper (that phrase is kind of fun to say) notifies you when leaving the store and estimates delivery time.

Let me just say that this app has helped maintain my sanity. I am not particularly fond of grocery shopping so I am so grateful to have this tool available. If y’all have more questions about the process go to instacart.com/help. You will not be disappointed.

For a limited time use code CARMENH185118 at checkout with a cart of $35 or more to receive $10 off.

P.S. This post is not sponsored by Instacart or their affiliates.

Like most things in our family, Thanksgiving was not celebrated in the traditional sense. In the week leading up to Thanksgiving day we slowly baked, fried, stirred and cooked enough side dishes and finger foods to feed a small army of hobbits.

Then bright and early on Thanksgiving morning we ate a simple breakfast and drank endless amounts of coffee. Our parents were firm believers in the powers of coffee. We never changed out of our pajamas and we played games, read books, discussed the next big topic or walked down our lazy country road.

At eleven o’clock rolled around and we headed to Cracker Barrel to eat our “traditional” Thanksgiving meal. While our traditions weren’t normal for most people, they were ours. I can still taste the sweet potato casserole and turkey served up by a waitress with 3 stars embroidered in yellow on her brown apron. In the afternoon we slept off our Turkey coma and played games into the evening.

My husbands traditions are very different than mine. His father’s side of the family gathers together for four whole days of merriment. The festivities start Wednesday evening and don’t end until Sunday afternoon. There is food, and puzzles, and talking, and sleeping on bean bags in the corners. The younger kids play games in the barn, the teens go bowling and watch movies. There is line dancing, and karaoke, and the traditional Thanksgiving day football game.

Traditions are beautiful in the fact that they usually carry sweet memories with them. It doesn’t matter whether you have a quiet stay-at-home Thanksgiving like our family or spend it catching up with loved ones you haven’t see all year. They are your reminders of what you have done in the past and stories are swapped about how and why the tradition was started in the beginning. Whatever your traditions are this year, hold your loved ones close. Reminisce about the things you are doing. Carry on the stories of your family before you. Open your heart to new traditions and allow the old and new to blend making for a beautiful experience shaped by the past and presence.

What are some of y’alls holiday traditions?

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