My husband and I exchange gifts with several of our neighbors each year for the holidays. It seems that each year it gets more difficult to think of a gift. This year we decided to give them wine and cheese gift baskets. We did not like the pre-made cheese gift baskets that are available in the kiosks in the mall so we decided to create the baskets ourselves.

The pre-made cheese gift baskets included processed cheese spreads. We were concerned about how long some of the baskets had been sitting around. We thought that if we made our own baskets the cheese would be of higher quality and we could choose varieties that we knew our friends liked.

We went to an import store and found wicker baskets to place the cheese in. The store had inexpensive cheese cutters so we purchased one to place in each of the cheese gift baskets. We then went to a local deli. This deli wraps the meat and cheeses in paper. We did not want this for the gift basket. We decided to go to the supermarket and purchase large rounds of four cheeses. We were making four cheese gift baskets so we would quarter each round and wrap the wedges in clear plastic wrap. We also purchased boxes of specialty crackers to place in the baskets. We went to a paper supply store and bought shredded paper to use in the bottom of the baskets as filler. We also bought curling ribbon to decorate the handles of the baskets.

We brought our purchases home and cut and wrapped the cheeses. I placed the filler in the bottom of each basket then arranged the cheeses, cutters and crackers in each. I used several strands of the curling ribbon and tied the strands to the handles. The wine and cheese gift baskets looked very nice and we knew that the cheese was high quality and fresh.

Each of our neighbor’s was very pleased with the wine and cheese gift basket we gave them. They all like entertaining during the holidays and so the wine and cheese could be served at their gatherings. My husband and I decided that we are going to make similar baskets for our brothers and sisters. This is a gift that can be assembled quickly just prior to giving it so that freshness and storage do not become an issue. We simply purchase the baskets in advance and then the day we are giving the baskets we purchase and cut the cheeses. We decided we could also include a bottle on wine and other goodies for other people that we give larger presents. Anyway, we made wonderful baskets for everyone and could feel really ready for the holidays.

Tender memories of Christmas joys are only enhanced when the gifts mean a little more. As each of us roam through the golden toned corridors of our Christmases past we can select a few cherished moments and gifts that shine a little brighter than others. In homage to these meaningful Christmases of our youth new parents embark on a frenzied journey each year to buy those toys that will in turn shine brightly in the adulthood memories of their new babies.

Nostalgia is priceless

There is no way to put a price value on these holiday gifts. The gift itself may have cost a small amount, but the love felt with its giving and the memories that span a life time are without price. It will be the same for your children. It may not always be possible to gage what gift will be the one to engender such fond memories.

Parents are surprised to find their babies and toddlers paying much more attention to the trinkets in their stockings than the elaborate gifts beneath the tree. For a child there is no mystery – it is not the price tag they count, but the imagination, time and love that is put into the gift itself.

Make it personal

Not all nostalgia toys come from a store. Kids love to hear stories that are true. My children’s interest is never piqued more nor held longer than when I relate stories to them from my or their father’s own childhood. They love to hear about what toys and candies we ate, the movies we loved, the songs we sang and the traditions our families had for different celebrations. Hardly a week fails to pass that they request a ‘mommy’ or ‘daddy’ story at bedtime instead of the usual book. Our children are not alone in this interest. My nieces and nephews and friend’s children share a similar obsession with their parent’s past. Each child latches onto a different memory and takes it to heart.

Keep these stories in mind when shopping for your toddler’s Christmas gifts. Purchasing a doll that resembles your beloved Emma-Lou, will delight your own baby girl when she knows the full story connected with her new baby doll. The same is true of boys. My son’s favorite gifts for Christmas to date were a collection of well-loved and abused Star Wars action figures that his dad had played with as a boy.

Old is New

Don’t panic if all your childhood toys went to Goodwill years ago. You can still get your child a gift with a story. A growing trend among toy manufacturers is to recommission toys from yesteryear. If you are new to the Christmas shopping scene for youngsters it might surprise you to see how many familiar toys you will find greeting you like old friends from store shelves. Nostalgia toys are fun not only for the children to get, but for parents to give. This year as you shop for your baby and toddler and bask in the magical memories of your childhood Christmases you may discover that it is truly better to give then to receive.

If you are not inclined to share your much loved toys or they are no longer in your possession, why not start a new tradition? Pedal cars, trains, tractors and even pedal airplanes are making a big comeback for the new generation, in classic and new colors sure to please the little ones in your life.

Each year, Christmas arrives on December 25th, and yet, it tends to “sneak” up on some of us as if we had no clue about the actual date of the holiday. In November, I begin to verbally remind myself “Christmas is coming. Christmas is coming.” Plus, I implement the following five tips of preparation to help me embrace the holiday instead of dismaying over its arrival.

1. As early as possible (preferably November) make time to clean your home and tuck away your life clutter, because Christmas brings its own bag of extras such as wrapping paper, baking, and maybe even Uncle Abner and Aunt Thelma for a five day stay. In December, none of the regular household duties and errands stop-the dust mites still need corralling, the kiddos still have piano practice and homework. 2. Plan December meals ahead by marking them on a calendar page. Scale back for everyday meals and keep them as simple and inexpensive as possible. If you can, have the ingredients in your pantry and freezer at the beginning of the month. This will save time and money and extra trips to the supermarket and being enticed to spend more. Those Christmas carols are funneled into the stores for a reason, and it’s not totally “goodwill toward men.” If I hear carols in July, I at least want to mop my floors with Pine-Sol. 3. Display in your home a symbol of why you celebrate Christmas. On her dining table, my mother placed a red Bible opened to Luke chapter 2, as part of the holiday centerpiece, a reminder of why our family cherished the season. Gentle prompts can help us focus on others and not so much on our long to-do lists. 4. As early in December as possible, gather your immediate family and list your holiday traditions, and then take a family poll. Find out which ones are favorites. Do any customs get shoulder shrugs? Consider dropping those and simplifying your December. Is there a stickler among you who has to have Aunt Margaret’s plum pudding? If so, enlist their help in hunting down suet and cheesecloth. 5. Relax. Relax. Relax. Don’t set your expectations too high. Things will and can go wrong. Holiday trees will topple, souffls will fall. Those happenings don’t ruin a holiday-they can make memories or they can cause attitudes to plunge south. Choose to laugh at those minor incidents. Laughter can grant more warmth to the holidays than perfect tinsel and trimmings.

My co-authors and I give several calming down tips in our book A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts. Here’s a sampling:

In your home, designate a chair for a resting place and dub it “Santa’s Chair.” Tie a huge red bow on it and announce to your family that whoever needs a rest or just ten minutes of peace, they are to sit in the chair. The rest of the family is to respect this short respite and leave them alone for those 10 minutes. Parents, this can give you a brief rest or your children an oasis of refreshment. It can be a sanity saver.

Another tip we share in the book is called “Silent Night Hour.” Families are in need of quiet and silence. You may need to start out with 10 minutes of silence and work up to an hour of quiet time. During this prescribed time, family members are to turn off all electronics and not answer the phone (preferably turn off the ringer/s). They can read, do homework or work on any low-noise project. No silent text messaging either-try to eliminate incoming disturbances and see if this time of silence offers an invitation for peace and calm to descend and settle lives. Even preschoolers like to play this “quiet game.”

Cathy Messecar is co-author of A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts ~ Stories to Warm Your Heart and Tips to Simplify Your Holiday and author of The Stained Glass Pickup. Visit Cathy at www.cathymessecar.com For other December holiday tips visit http://scrapbookofchristmasfirsts.blogspot.com/ or www.christmas-scrapbook.info

Puzzles from Santa – Getting the perfect gift for your toddler shouldn’t be a riddle and can be the best investment you ever made for many reasons.

Toddlers are a busy, imaginative group of individuals. Their minds and needs have progressed past the impulsive desire to chew every thing their fingers grasp into slimy shreds. They love colors and will not forget about an object simply because mommy has hidden it out of sight.

Toddlers are also natural problem solvers. Don’t believe me? Then why the need for a million dollar baby proofing industry, constant parental supervision and a great deal of improvising when the fancy toddler proof containers fail to keep your toddler out?

Work with it

This Christmas as you select holiday gifts for your toddler use these natural impulses to select gifts that stimulate these natural tendencies and capture the imagination. To that end puzzles are the perfect gift.

What kind?

The latest trend in holiday gifts or newborn baby gifts is the childrens personalized step stool. Choosing a childrens personalized step stool can be one of the more unique ways to add the enjoyment of having a puzzle along with their own name engraved in the stool. The stepstool not only promotes independence, it encourages learning to read with dexterity.

Of course your toddler will not enjoy a 1000 piece puzzle of Vincent Van Gogh’s masterpieces, but you are not too far off the mark. The best kind of puzzles for a toddler will take into account their fine motor skills and love of colors, learning and imagination. If you do choose a landscape type puzzle, choose one with a large pattern or picture. Too many intricate details will mean that this puzzle is dumped and abandoned for mom or dad to piece together again.

When selecting a puzzle for toddlers keep the following things in mind:

-Toddlers might not chew on everything, but will be tempted to take a nip or two every once in a while. Choose puzzles that can handle that kind of wear and tear without falling apart and creating a choking hazard. To this end wooden or foam puzzles work best.

-Nimble toddler fingers adept at defying the childproof cap still have trouble with fine motor skills. Puzzles with tiny pieces which lock together might confuse and frustrate them. Choose puzzles that have larger pieces and whose pieces fit into their own slot on the puzzle board.

-Some puzzles come with little knobs or handles attached to each piece. These are especially easy for even the youngest puzzle enthusiast to master.

-Bright colors and themes to match and stimulate your child’s interest are best.

Making it fun

One of the elements that make puzzles fun for your little one are the wide variety of character, themes and age appropriate educational pictures that appeal to children of that age. Puzzles featuring the alphabet or numbers help your child to learn as they play. Fun characters or puzzles with cars, princesses or bugs stimulate imagination and foster your child’s interests in and awareness of the world around them.

Perhaps the best part of a puzzle for Christmas is that this gift often creates moments of one on one play with you and your child. What parent or toddler doesn’t love more quality time spent in simple play?

Take it to the web for an entirely different holiday shopping experience Now that we have explored the material world of traffic, long check out lines and swelling crowds it is time to enter an entirely different kind of shopping jungle. This is Holiday Shopping Diva here with a whole new shopping subject and a bag of tricks to guide even the least computer savvy shopper to cyber success this holiday season.

Christmas on the Block

Ok, first things first – just because you are facing a computer screen instead of an intimidating mob of shoppers does not mean the competition is any less fierce. In some ways it is more so, but don’t let that frighten you.

Heading to the online auctions to shop is a great way to stretch your dollar, avoid post office messes, and find a wider variety of toys in one spot. That being said you still need to prepare. The list, the research and the stakeout are all still important. This initial work will allow you to get down to the nitty-gritty of defending your bid when the time comes.

Gone Shopping

With your list and exact toy needs in mind it is time to head to the auction sites to find little Billy’s first toddler bike. Having done the research means you know exactly what you want and this increases your odds of finding it among the thousands of cyber offerings listed as toddler bike. Once you have zeroed in on the target, place your bid. Timing is often very important. You can put the toys you wish to observe in a special ‘watch’ list. This allows you to keep a close eye on the toy without placing a bid. It is a good idea to watch an item before officially placing your bid. This is especially true for auctions that still have several days before they close or for toy items that are likely to be popular.

As you watch your list, keep track of similar toys and their selling prices. This will help you know what you can expect a winning bid to be.

Going once, going twice and sold! To nannygoo124

As you compile your watch list one of the most important things you need to decide is what your maximum bid will be. Remember as you calculate how much you are willing to spend on Suzie’s custom step stool, remember to account for shipping. It is easy to get carried away in the excitement of last minute bids and end up spending way more than you had intended.

Near the end of the auction place your bid. If the auction site has an automatic re-bid system it is a good idea to use it. This allows you to set your top price and then if you are out bid the site will automatically re-bid on your behalf until your top price is reached.

As the auction time is close to finishing, now is the time to be hyper vigilant. Don’t turn your back on your item for even a minute in the final 15 minutes of the auction or you may lose it. Shopping the auction adds an element of fun to Christmas shopping you won’t find elsewhere and you don’t have to fix your hair to get it!

It takes a bit of time to find the good deals, using auctions and if you have the extra time, it could be worth it.

Classic toys from a bygone era bespeak the tradition of the season and a connection with antiquity that is renewed with each holiday season. There are some things which seem impervious to the dimming factor time has on most. Christmas and traditions which are woven into its very fabric stand the test of time year after year. Most folks have great memories of the Radio Flyer wagon they got and if they are lucky, have kept.

Babies and the renewal of life, the freshness and love each tiny little bundle brings is also a timeless experience. Each new parent or grandparent will attest to this fact. Babies and the memory of babies stand forever young.

The marriage of babies and Christmas is almost unavoidable. Parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles the world over wait for Christmas to spoil and love the newest additions to their family circles, just as the childless wait for a baby to complete their Christmas celebrations.

Heirloom Gifts

Babies don’t usually need a lot, nor are they very aware of the gifts bestowed upon them for their first Christmases. To this end it is fun, and befitting to select gifts of heirloom quality. This kind of gift has a value which goes beyond the item itself and springs up from tradition, love and the memories of antiquity as well as dreams for the baby’s future.

Big bucks

An heirloom gift does not need to be expensive, but is usually of a higher quality than the more disposable counterpart. For example, a silver or pewter cup engraved with the babies name and birth date is not an extravagantly expensive gift. Yet the gift itself will last into future generations honoring the special feelings felt for this child. The grandbabies of this baby will share in that birthright of love as the cup passes hands.

Specifics

Heirloom gifts do not need to be fancy; some of the most beautiful heirloom gifts are the simplest. Toys made from wood like wooden cars and trucks or boats and animals are of heirloom quality. Raggedy Ann dolls are also cherished heirloom toys. This kind of heirloom gift can be played with and enjoyed in ways other than just observing it on a shelf.

Other heirloom gifts are less sturdy in play, but no less valued. Gifting a silver picture frame along with a certificate for a photography session is a gift that will certainly be appreciated long after it is given.

To select the perfect heirloom gift for the babies on your list think about traditional gifts such as: silver cups, bronzed baby booties, a pewter rattle. More modern gifts that still qualify as heirloom gifts include: classic books like those by Beatrix Potter or A.A. Milne, well made toys fashioned after eras past, porcelain dolls, bonnets, layettes and christening gowns.

Or think about any of the Radio Flyer toys, Airflow collectibles for pedal planes or tricycles. As a child, there is nothing like being able to have your own set of wheels to cruise around the neighborhood and many of those children will keep that toy forever and ever and even pass it on to their own children.

No doubt most of us are feeling the effects of the low economy. It is definitely a time for pursuing “save money ideas.” This is especially true for the rapidly approaching Christmas season. With each passing day, our children become more overjoyed with excitement as their favorite time of year approaches. Their Christmas list is filled with the hottest toys, amazing technology gadgets and other thrilling delights.

Numerous people love to give gifts because of the sure joy they receive from giving. They are filled with an overwhelming feeling of joy and contentment when they see the look of pure delight upon a loved one’s face as gifts are opened. Gift giving is made even more special, when you can give someone a fabulous gift and know you benefited from “save money ideas” in the process.

To capture the essence of “save money ideas” for the holiday, all you need is a small amount of preparation, coupled with foresight. Consider these holiday season money tips as a way to help you manage your money wisely this holiday season.

1. Look at your budget and compose your Christmas shopping list. You will need to take some time to reflect upon your list. After you decide upon the names for your gift list, place an estimated amount by each name based upon your budget constraints. Make it a key point not to go over your budget. This is a critical factor in being successful with “save money ideas.”

No doubt, you will sometime run across an item that you would love to give, but the price is not within your budget. When this happens, remember there is always another great gift around the corner for a loved one to enjoy that will meet your budget constraints. Just use your imagination when shopping. Think “outside the box” of gifts you normally give. Sometimes a unique gift ends up being the favorite.

2. Start your Christmas shopping early. Take advantage of the early sales, not to mention escaping the hustle and bustle of packed malls. Shopping online is one of the best “save money ideas” for Christmas shopping. You can find some great bargains online with the added plus of never having to leave your home. This gives you extra time to devote to holiday decorating, entertaining and having fun with family and friends.

3. Plan your food budget. Seems as though each time we go to the grocery store our grocery bill gets bigger. Having a potluck holiday meal is a great way to save on the food bill. If you are the host for this year’s holiday meal, then serve one meat dish. This can be a big saving for your food budget and at the same time most people will not care. With a potluck meal food tends to be bountiful, especially during a holiday. One of the great things about a potluck holiday meal is guests frequently love sharing the recipe of their own special dish they brought to the festivities.

4. Limit your travel. Traveling expenses can easily add up. Try to stay home this Christmas, if possible. If you must travel in order to spend time with loved ones, then pack sandwiches and snacks. This can save with food expenses for the trip. If you are traveling via car, then driving slower will give you better gas mileage. If you need to fly, then be sure to book your flight early to get a good price. This will be a key consideration in your Christmas “save money ideas.