Gifts

I’m going to go ahead and declare it: What you are about to read is the best gift idea for the person who has everything. And by “person,” I mean your mother.  

I am a parent in the unconventional sense. My child is a feisty and fun white and dark gray (almost black) rat terrier fittingly named Oreo. And like most pet owners I know, I can’t imagine life without him. Neither can my parents…who take care of him when I’m traveling for work or just because they want their only “grandchild” to visit. So in my search for some last-minute stocking stuffer ideas, I decided to create them a small Oreo-themed 2010 calendar so they could see his smiling snout even when Oreo’s home with me! ...read more

With only one week until Christmas Eve, I know I need to buckle down and find meaningful gifts that won’t break my budget. I’ve always found it best to give a few trinkets that are useful and unique, along with a special note to remind friends and family how much I care.

I’ve always found beautifully framed photos of kids to be tried and true winners when it comes to giving holiday gifts to the grandparents each year. I’m sure you’ve found the same – even when it’s something you came up with last minute for Christmas or Hanukah. If you want to put a spin on it this year, think about putting together a family photo calendar. Some options to consider: ...read more

Every year my girlfriends and I get together for a holiday cookie swap a few weeks before Christmas.  We all love how the swap gives us an excuse to get together – plus we’re guaranteed to leave with several tins filled to the brim of different treats to munch throughout the holidays. But this year everyone is just too busy to bake in time for our usual party date. So for this go-round, I had a great idea – swapping festive jars of holiday cookie mixes and recipes instead of the baked-up goodies!  While we won’t get the variety of years past, we will still get to try out few new recipes, and I can bake them when my schedule quiets down.

I put together the cute mix jars in the photo a few days ago. The cookie cutters and holiday ribbon are from my local craft store. I designed the recipe cards using a common word processing software, and printed them out on card stock at FedEx Office. ...read more

My son has been coming home from pre-school for the last few weeks laden down with arts and crafts projects – everything from Thanksgiving handprint-turkeys to Christmas count-down calendars.  I saw this great article on the Examiner Web site I just had to share for all the parents out there battling this issue too!  Check it out here. She’s got five great ideas, and I have at least one more to share. ...read more