Husband

Looking for name change advice or some tips for newlywed life? The MissNowMrs experts have created state-specific name change articles and checklists for you. We’ve chronicled our recommendations for how to travel while changing your name AND how to handle voting during the transition.

We’ve also compiled our best guidance for how to handle difficult sister in laws, holidays as newlyweds, the ever-annoying baby questions, and much more. Why? Because, while we are name change experts, we’re also newlywed wives, moms, and sisters.

We hope our name change advice articles help smooth your transition to your new name, and a whole new phase of life. Congratulations and best wishes from the entire MissNowMrs team!

Perfect Newlywed Stocking Stuffers

Looking for newlywed stocking stuffers? We’re officially in the home stretch for Christmas…hooray! Hopefully your presents are purchased, your stockings are hung by the chimney with care and you can relax and enjoy the holiday festivities with the love of your life. If you’re still frantically scrambling for last minute gifts for your spouse, read on for some quick ideas to stuff those stockings!

For Him:

Tools. Men just love to get gadgets in their stockings, and Home Depot makes it so easy by having inexpensive items on each of their end caps during December. Confused about what to get? Just ask any man standing next to you for his opinion…he’ll be happy to tell you what he hopes his wife gets for him!

Gloves. You may have a matching pair of gloves for all 13 coats that you own, but chances are your man doesn’t. Surprise him with nice leather gloves, and he’ll be wearing them for years to come.

Sausage….yes, I’m serious. For some reason all men we’ve encountered love the mini summer sausages that come with the holidays, so wrap a few up and add them to his stocking. The man in your life will be pleasantly surprised at how well you know him and his tastes!

Hobby-related items make ideal stocking stuffers. Golf balls, fishing lures and sports team paraphernalia are always good bets. Just be sure to pick something you know he’ll use, not something you wish he would.

Something silly. Guys love a good joke and will appreciate your efforts to amuse them. Try to reference some inside joke that the two of you have or go for something really off the wall like a screaming monkey sling shot. Your man will be entertaining your neighbors and his co-workers for the next month with it!

For Her:

OPI minis are a fantastic little beauty treat to find in a stocking. They’re fun, festive and will last until summer! She’ll smile every time she looks at her post-holiday manicure.

Chocolate, there’s simply nothing better or more indulgent to receive! Check out the Godiva Stocking Stuffers page chock full of chocolate treats for the ladies in your life. Our favorite is the Milk Chocolate Truffle Gems Tube!

Holiday scented candles are another fun goodie to get. Try to find a scent that you know the recipient will enjoy.

Something romantic, like Reasons I Love You Stones. This little pouch of metal pieces reminds your loved one how special you think they are all year through.

Bath products are always a great stocking addition. Anything from bath salts to hand cream works. Check out Philosophy’s whole holiday line.

We hope these few tips will help you fill your love’s stocking full of things they’ll appreciate and use! Do you have any go-to newlywed stocking stuffers for your spouse? We’d love for you to leave us a comment about it!

Announcing Our Home Depot Gift Card Winner!

We’re so excited for our Home Depot gift card winner! Today Kelly won our week long mini-giveaway For the Fellas—a $50 Home Depot gift card! Congratulations!! It’s the perfect stocking stuffer and will arrive in time for the Christmas Holiday, leaving her with one less gift to worry about.

Kelly simply posted a comment on our newlywed blog and won this great prize for her man! We hope you will send us a picture of of what project you ended up completing with your gift card. Please check your email for the details on how to redeem your prize from Home Depot. Happy Holidays from the MissNowMrs.com team!

5 Ways to Steer Clear of Unnecessary Holiday Highway Frustrations

Tis the season for holiday highway frustrations. There are two ways to look at this holiday season- 1. If you’re staying home and don’t have to travel, lucky you for avoiding the traffic troubles, but then your concerns lie with having to be the host, and cook for family and friends. 2. If you are the ones making the trek over the holidays to visit family, then fortunate for you someone else will be doing the cooking this year, but unfortunately you will need to cope with the hustle and bustle of fellow travelers!

Since my husband and I have not yet been promoted to the hosting position yet, we are the ones that are traveling around visiting our families during the holidays. Because of this, we have had to come up with a serious system; a time and money-saver system, and a try not to strangle each other in the car system. So, if you’re one of the millions of people that have plans to be traveling in the next months, here are some tips to help make it a more pleasant, enjoyable experience with your spouse!

Pack the night before. If you don’t have kids yet, you’re still going to find that you are packing for more than yourself, if you catch my drift, so make sure to get the laundry finished ahead of time so that you can pack the day before your trip!
Be cash conservative! Tolls are out-of-control expensive these days, so conserve your spending money elsewhere by packing a cooler with some H20 and a few snacks for the ride. This will also save you a few minutes of your time sitting through the drive through!
Music is key! Make sure to have your music selection ready-to-go, especially if you get stuck in some heavy traffic on the way, you will need something fun to take your mind off of your situation at-hand!
Find your alternative route. You never can be sure that you’re not going to get stuck in a detour or have to stray off of your course due to an accident. Although your GPS can help with this situation, they’re not always 100% accurate, so printing off an alternative route from Google Maps isn’t at all a bad idea.
Avoid the rage. It is so easy to lose your temper and become frustrated, so if someone flips you the bird, wink, smile or wave back. It’s so much more fun and may help to calm down the other party involved!

What are your best tactics to ease the holiday highway frustrations when traveling, and maintain your holiday spirit!? Please share!

Home Depot Gift Card Giveaway—For Your Mr. Fix-It

We have something for your Mr. Fix-it! Today kicks off our week long mini-giveaway For the Fellas—a $50 Home Depot gift card! It’s the perfect stocking stuffer and will arrive in time for the Christmas Holiday, leaving you with one less gift to worry about. Maybe you just moved into a fixer-upper and want to paint your kitchen or are thinking about converting your home office to a nursery? The possibilities are endless!

Most men love going to a home-improvement store to pick up the latest tools and gadgets for all their at-home projects, so enter to win this and your spouse will surely be grateful. Think about it ladies, what could be a better way to get your hubby to start tackling tasks on his To-Do-List than a FREE $50 gift card for Home Depot?

Simply post a comment below for your chance to win (and re-tweet this post to double your chances)! Remember, we will randomly select and announce a winner next Friday December 10, 2010. If we don’t hear back from the winner within 2 weeks, we will randomly select a new winner to make sure someone ends up with this great goodie.

Tell us why you (or your spouse) need to win the Home Depot gift card and what you plan to do with it, we’d love to hear about your projects!

Thankful Newlywed Thoughts

Are you struggling to find thankful newlywed thoughts? As a newlywed, it is easy to get caught up in the holiday rush and the aspects of how to juggle whose family to do what with, when. My advice to you: take a moment and realize how fortunate you are.

If you can keep the things that you are thankful for in the forefront of your mind, you’re guaranteed not to miss the reasons for the seasons that are upon us.

Ideas for Thankful Newlywed Thoughts:

Your Spouse – Not only have you met the person of your dreams…you married them! I can’t think of too many other things that are as amazing as being married and madly in love.

Security – You now have someone to have and hold in sickness and in health till death do you part. Just knowing that someone is going to be by your side for long haul is incredibly comforting.

Friends – There are people in the world that know all of your flaws and faults (some since childhood) and still love you. How great is that?

Family – Whether you’re working on making your own or thinking about your parents, family is a gift to be treasured. These are the people who have loved you before they even met you and want only the best for you.

The Holidays – While they may be stressful, holidays are the times we get to spend with all of the people we are thankful for. When you look at them this way, it’s much easier to stretch a bit to make sure you see everyone and celebrate together.

What are you thankful for this holiday season? Do you have a creative way to see all of your family members while remaining sane? We’d love to hear about it!