Christmas Shopping Ideas That Count

I’d really like to make Christmas count this year. So I’m doing my Christmas shopping a little differently.

ONLINE – For all of the years that I’ve had an online business, I’ve never done my Christmas shopping online.

I picked my father in laws name for Christmas, he is an avid golfer so I went online to find something great for golfing instead of the usual (and useless) golf stuff. I found this set of “Birdie Balls” that are great to practice with at home. I’m sure he’s going to really enjoy it. I thought it was such a great idea that I got one for my son who also likes golf and gets bored around the house (when he’s home!) and also a set for my nephews.

Something useful – entertaining and something to get them out of the house – and it took me about 20 minutes while I was having my morning tea.

CANADA: http://www.albatrossgolfsupply.com

US – Birdie Ball Website with lots of stuff and gold tips: http://www.birdieball.com

MAKE IT YOURSELF – Do something a little different and make some natural skincare items for your family. My work at home business is selling ingredients – it’s easy and fun. A lot of women do it, and sell their items to make some Christmas cash, or bump up their earnings through out the year. Makes a great gift for the “crafty” person you know.http://www.handmadesoap.ca

WHAM PRODUCTS – The first thought that came to my mind was that in supporting other WHAM’s we will help give every body a nice Christmas, and we will, but maybe the best thing is the feeling of accomplishment we will be giving the mom’s who work so hard on their business so that they can be home, and boosting their rate of success.

Here is one website that lists WHAM sites http://www.wahmtalkradio.com/christmas-gifts/

Within a day or two I hope to have some handmade natural skin care sites listed on my blog at
http://time-management-at-home.blogspot.com Meantime pop in anyway!

CRAFT SALES – You can get some amazing bargains and some really unique stuff. It’s fun and a nice chance to see some friends in your local community. Even better than that, you are making a real difference to the ladies and gentlemen who are selling at the craft sales. I know from experience that these people work extremely hard, for some of them, this is their “big thing” for the year and every sale means a lot to them. (I went to one yesterday, got some amazing things at amazing prices, had a great time with my daughter (we made it a date and went out for breakfast first) and felt really good for supporting the local people who work so hard to get it ready)

SCHOOL BAZAAR – Why not support your community schools and get something different? Donations are always welcome as well. I usually donate soap and there is no better feeling than hearing from a mom who got some of my soap for Christmas from her child – and they go like hotcakes. Think tinsel when decorating, the kids love them! Also, consider volunteering to help out, it is a hoot to watch the kids do their Christmas shopping.

GIFT A STRANGER – For years I wanted to do something for people who don’t have much but had no idea what to do. Now there are some great online opportunities to do just that. There is a program called Embrace-a-Family that looks amazing, I will be donating to it and I hope that you can do the same. We also as a family – my inlaws, myself and each of my kids contributed to this one as well – giving to those in need is one of the best feelings that you can give to your kids.
http://www.ccfcanada.ca/managed/Default.aspx

I’ve been contributing to this charity monthly for about 10 years and have really enjoyed it. Right now we have a little girl who is my daughter’s age and even looks a bit like her, so it is really fun.

TIRES – Sounds odd but I have never forgotten a TV special about winter tires and a mother who’s daughter was killed because her car slid backwards off a hill and over a cliff, the consensus was that if she had proper tires it wouldn’t have happened. Do you have kids who drive their own cars? At home or moved out. Driving your grandkids around? Splurge and take their car in for a new set. I know I won’t drive without decent tires anymore. A few close calls with proper tires is bad enough!

ECO SHOPPING

There are countless environmentally friendly choices that you can make this year, the good news is that most of them seem to be healthy choices as well.

But remember when you are shopping to bring a bag or a tote instead of getting overdone with plastic bags this year.

My personal pet peeve is plastic bags. I ask for paper at the grocery store, we are lucky to have the choice. I use the bags to wrap boxes that I ship so they do double duty. If I didn’t, I would either be bringing my own reusable, or I would be getting some of those nifty plastic boxes that many grocery stores sell. Or you can buy some totes especially for that. I love the idea because you can keep them in your van or trunk, they can be useful for a variety of things and to keep your vehicle clean and organized. And you can use the lids to keep your groceries cold and dust free.

A great idea all around! The Green Guide blog has an article on it below.

http://www.thegreenguide.com/blog/tow

You can get a very reasonable subscription at this page
https://ssl.thegreenguide.com/gg_LPs/index-117.html?c1=GreenGuide&source=GG2Go

And here is their Christmas Gift for kids recommendation page (I don’t think this is a permanent link if you don’t have a subscription, so check it out now, or subscribe!)
http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc.mhtml?i=117&s=toys

Check out their home page, one of my favourite publications.
http://www.thegreenguide.com

KEEP THEM MOVING

Anything to keep your kids active is great.

We where lucky to get a second hand snowboard in kid’s size for my 9 year old daughter. My 16 year old son is an avid snowboarder and amazingly enough, they like to go out on our hill together. So now she will have her own “real snowboard” and she won’t care one bit that it is used. I am happy that she will be out in the fresh air having fun with her brother, getting some great exercise and getting another skill under her belt.

I haven’t personally seen them, but I think that they have video games out now that you use your whole body to do the moves, I think that would be great fun.

TIME

Take your kids out for a fun activity, maybe something you don’t normally do – bowling, cross country skiing, skating are a few fun things that are relatively inexpensive. Have a Blast and make some Christmas memories and traditions.

MOST OF ALL

Take the time to remember the people you love this Christmas, and who love you. Sometimes a phone call is priceless (not to be a bummer, but the person you are calling won’t always be here to answer the phone, do it while you can and make a memory)

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A MOST EXCELLENT NEW YEAR!

Christmas Shopping and Decorating

Getting Ready for Christmas It is that time of the year and we catch ourselves rushing to do the last minute things for Christmas. We celebrate Christmas almost as long as we live but why is it that we catch ourselves running around when it’s time to open presents and sing carols? How are you going to get ready for Christmas this year? There are some simple things you can do this year to ahead of the game. First and foremost make a list of all the people who are close to you and your family that you need to buy gifts for this year; it is okay to include your work friends in this list. Then make a second list for your kids and grandkids and include in the list the toys or games that they talk about the most and love. Decide how much money you have to spend on the gifts. Some dollar stores have beautiful items of good quality that you can give as gifts for your friends. Last year, I was able to buy gifts for thirty of my friends for less than eighty dollars at the Dollar Tree.   The fun part is that they all thought I spend so much money. For women you can buy something to decorate their house, if you are the boyfriend or husband stick with jewelry. Picture frames and plaques are really good gifts but make sure the person receiving the plaque really likes things like this. Online is the best way if you hate shopping like I do. There are some online stores that offer prices lot less than the regular retail store and they ship directly to your door step. Now that you have gifts out of the way, let’s talk about decorating your house for the holidays. I have seen people spend money every year for decorations like wreath and Christmas tree. Buy a nice artificial Christmas wreath, to add value to the artificial Christmas wreath, pass the Christmas wreath to your daughter, granddaughter or your niece. This will become a tradition in your family long after you are gone. You can find beautiful artificial Christmas wreaths that you can pass it along from one generation to another. You can also involve your daughter or granddaughter in picking the wreath and other decorations to go along with it to make the process meaningful and to create a wonderful memory. Some of the artificial Christmas wreaths I like are by Thomas Kinkade. Victoria Christmas Wreath is my favorite.   You can also buy artificial Christmas tree that you can use year after year and save money. In order for you decorations to be perfect, make sure your wreath, Christmas tree and house decoration are on one theme. You have taken care of the gifts and decorations and the only thing left is Christmas parties. Always make sure that your decorations are ready to be hung before Thanksgiving. The gift list should be ready by Thanksgiving. In that way you have at least two or three weeks to get organized before the big day. Merry Christmas!

Shopping for Gadget Gifts This Christmas Season

Christmas is less than two months away. I am sure that most of you are already coming up with gift lists. But are your lists done and ready for Christmas shopping? I know coming up with gift ideas can be very challenging. You must have certain criteria when deciding which items to get already. I am sure that there are two main things you consider when buying gifts – relevance and budget. As opposed to birthdays, which are scattered throughout the year, Christmas is the season when you have to remember quite a number of people – your parents, your partner, your children and maybe some very close friends. Let me help tone down your stress levels. Have you ever thought of giving gadgets as Christmas gifts to your loved ones? If one of your loved ones is a gadget enthusiast, then what else is there for you to worry about? For one thing, gadgets are not contained to just the latest laptops, mobile phones or mp3 players. There are other nifty gadgets that can be both fun and functional. Here are tips on shopping for gadgets. ListenThe most important thing is to listen. Throughout the year, I am sure that either your partner or any of your kids have hinted the gadgets they would want to buy for themselves or receive for their birthdays or Christmas. Keep your ears open for these hints and try to jot them down. This “wishlist” will definitely help you when the time for Christmas shopping comes. Seek the Help of the InternetThe internet is full of information on the latest gadgets and unique gifts. Looking at online stores and catalogs is a great way to find the best gadget gifts. Why? Because online listings and catalogs do not only have a list of the full features of the items, but also reviews from people who have already tried and tested them. Finding great online stores for gadgets is not difficult. Actually, it’s just one Google search away. Be Unique and RelevantAlways take into consideration the personality and interests of the person to whom you are giving a Christmas gift. He might like gadgets, but he may appreciate certain special or unique gifts more. For example, if you have a son who’s always talking or texting 24/7, you can give him a battery-powered Emergency Mobile Phone Charger. That way he never has to worry about getting a low-battery notification. Or if your partner has very important documents on his or her laptop, why not giving him or her a Wireless PC Security Lock? Christmas shopping need not be hard on your pockets. Sure, if you do have some money for the latest gadgets, then by all means, indulge your loved ones! But you know, not all gadgets need to be expensive for them to be fun and functional.

Get Ready for Christmas Shopping – Get a Payday Loan

It’s that time of the year again – the air is nippier than usual, the mood a little bit more festive, and you can hear Christmas carols being played in many places now. Have you made any preparations for the holiday yet? I know a lot of people who have started late this year or who have not even started yet. It is not surprising, as many of us have been hit with money problems in the past year. The last thing on our minds right now is to splurge, right? Yet we have to somehow prepare for Christmas. We don’t necessarily have to splurge but a little extra cash will certainly help. The good news is that you can get this little extra cash from a payday loan lender. Now before you balk at borrowing money, let me tell you a little bit more about payday loans. Payday loans are short term loans that are given to most anybody. They are easy to get and relatively cheap as well. There are many payday loan lenders that operate in the United Kingdom today. The good thing is that most of them operate online, making it even easier for the average person to borrow money from them. What do you need to borrow money from a payday loan lender? First of all, you need your computer and the Internet – and I assume that you have both. Second, you have to meet their requirements. Every payday loan lender has its own specific set of requirements but in general, you can expect four basic things to be asked of you. One, you have to be a resident or a citizen of the United Kingdom. Two, you have to be at least 18 years old. Three, you have to have a regular source of income. Four, you have to have a current bank account. Of the four, I think that the third requirement is the most important as it takes the place of a credit check. That means that you would not have to go through the hassle of having your credit history examined. We all know how the average person does not have a pristine credit report. With a payday loan, you do not have to worry about that. All you need is to provide the payday loan lender with copies of your latest pay stubs. In addition to this, you might have to be with your current company for at least 3 months – this is something that could vary from one payday loan lender to another. If you are not employed by another entity, that is you run a self-owned business, you can opt to provide copies of your financial statements. This would suffice as proof that you have a regular stream of income. So how can a payday loan help you get all geared up for the Christmas season? Well, if you borrowed money today, you can get the cash within 24 hours. That means that you can get started on buying gifts and other things that you might need for the holidays. You need not have to wait till the last minute (when you get money from work perhaps) to prepare.