Christmas Gift Shopping
My gal friends and I decided that we'd pool together all of our resources and find the best deals on the internet for Christmas gift shopping at its finest. For this first article, I'll give our theory of what works best, and then we'll get into the nitty gritty and fun! of all the great places to check out this holiday season.
First, since this economy has just about everyone I know in and out of the black at various times (that's nicer than saying in the red!), we start with strategy. If funds are not so important and freely available, this site isn't for you. We're going to concentrate on how to best serve the majority of us who struggle with "to shop on a budget, or not to shop adhering to the budget". If you make a formal budget, you can always decide to make an exception here or there. However, don't let the exceptions become such the rule that there was no reason to make the shopping budget in the first place. That's where we realized most of us became apathetic. If you're diligent about sticking to the budget, you really can bring home a treasure trove of lovely Christmas gifts within budget (minus a dollar here and there). That's the goal. Don't make yourself wrong for being slightly above budget. It's not a "down to the last dollar" kind of thing. It's a general target that you want to hit plus or minus 5%.
The next problem many of us run into is that we think we HAVE to spend a certain amount on specific people for Christmas. WRONG! No, if you find the right item for $20 and you budgeted $40, take the win! The value is in the "rightness" of the item and the fact that you cared enough to find it. Nobody thinks, "Dang, she only spent around $20 on me" when you've found that person the absolute right thing. Spending less isn't being cheap. It's being smart when the item is right. Grab it and move on.
(more)
Chinese Christmas Decorations Imports
It is well known that the vast majority of Christmas decorations are Made in China. There are periodic outcries of Western consumers being tired of seeing the CHINA label in nearly everything they buy. Made in Scotland or Made in the USA become the battle cries in the media and populace for awhile until products 4 and more times the price hit the shelves. As demonstrated by actual sales, the outcry is always short lived. Nobody wants to pay the US equivalent of $65 for a box of 12 red glass ball Christmas ornaments. It's just not going to happen.
Guilt never dissuades the consumer. They're going to buy with their pocketbook in mind. Yet the guilt, in our humble opinion, is misplaced. Western consumers have directly caused the dramatic increase in the standard of living all across China. Billions and billions of dollars have transformed family life in China. For generations of hand-to-mouth citizens, the chance to earn a paycheck, buy clothes with money, travel within China--all of these changes are the direct result of Western consumerism.
(more)Radko Limited Edition Ornaments
I think I'll start off this year with the higher-end of the market. Interestingly, the higher-end has gotten lower. Manufacturers have wised up to the economic crisis. Those who haven't are no longer around.
Let's start with Radko Limited Edition ornaments and gifts. Not only are they the best of the best designer, on this site you can have them personalized with the year or in some cases, with your family name.
You can also browse this site by departments, like they have baby if you need baby; graduation; wedding; kids; etc. It's nice that you don't have to look through 400 Christopher Radko ornaments, rejecting the kind you don't need. I prefer efficient shopping because I usually have to shop a lot. I like to make it home before all the traffic and enjoy some hot tea with the satisfaction that I got a lot done.
(more)Personalized Christmas Ornaments
Next up is my favorite Christmas ornament shop. They're my favorite for 2 reasons. One: they have the best offer of free shipping: just 2 ornaments is the minimum, versus no deal or order at least 5 for free ship. Nobody comes close. Second: they're in the top 3 for quality of personalization. When I spend $15-20 on an ornament, I want it to look better than if I'd done it myself. Otherwise I'd order them blank, and I have no desire to spend my time to create ok-stuff when they do an unusually professional job at Christmas ornaments personalized.
OK, with that said, I recommend that you pay close attention to the way they've organized their website. There are big groupings on the front to avoid a huge list of categories. The big groups are a good place to start, and once you get past the front page, you can use the long alpha list for all the little departments. I counted them once -- I think there are something like 120 different categories. They carry personalized glass ornaments, too. So if you're looking for a little something extra special, they're likely to have it.
(more)Christmas Ball Ornaments
I almost didn't write this article. Whenever I searched for ball ornaments on the web, I found ball ornaments. I mean plain old everyday ball ornaments. That's not what anyone searching the web for ball ornaments really wants. A regular ball ornament can be found at any given Target or WallMart or a 5 and 10 for that matter, and you don't have to pay for shipping. It's crazy.
What I want is something extraordinary, something totally wonderful and cool. Ball in shape? Yes. That's it? No. Show me some true artwork. Show something the artist or craftsperson could be proud of. I want to look at something 10 years from now and remember the moment I purchased it with pleasure. I want to think fond thoughts of the artist way into the future.
Well, I finally found what I was looking for. My only complain is that there aren't several hundred of these Christmas ball ornament designs to choose from. The glass ornament shop has about 30 of them, all of which are hand painted by a real human being. You can even ask to have them personalized with each family member's name and the year. That's cool, but it leaves me wanting more.
(more)Ornaments Make Great Christmas Gifts
I have long felt that there are three classes of Christmas gifts: the useful that lasts, the useful that gets consumed, and the useless.
The useful that gets consumed is everything from potpourri and candles, to something more elegant like imported cheeses with a good bottle of wine. The useful that lasts is more difficult to find. On the low end you have something like a wine bottle opener or cheese knife set. And on the high end, you have my favorite Christmas gift: ornaments.
The nice thing about ornaments as gifts is that it's immediately lovely, gets used, and then gets stored. The recipient takes care of it, and then uses it again, year after year. It's the gift that keeps giving newly each year. It's a nice way for friends to remember your thoughtfulness, and to think of you as well.
I tend to look at lots and lots of ornament sites, but I found one I think we'll all be interested in as the years progress. Specifically, check out Ornaments shops that is one convenient marketplace for multiple shops. You won't get every ornament shop on there, but you'll get a lot of the better ones. I like it.
(more)Sports Ornaments - Personalized Gifts for Active Kids
This list will be by no means exhaustive, but I thought I'd start out with at least the broad strokes. There are roughly 2 different kinds of sports ornaments for kids. There are the professional athletic team ornaments, like, for example a Dallas Cowboys ornament. If you're looking for a sports team ornament, do not bother typing the phrase into google. Google returns zazzle, pmall and a host of junky sites that do not in fact sell a broad range of ornaments for professional teams. Instead, type in the exact team ornament you're looking for, like, "Denver Broncos ornament" and you'll find good selections.
The other type of sports ornament is a more intimate gift. Youngsters play all sorts of sports, so you can buy them a personalized sports ornament as a Christmas gift for any particular sport they excel at. Here are a few favorites:
Basketball Ornament Personalized
Hockey Ornaments
Soccer Ornaments
Glass Sports Ornaments
Polymer Clay Handmade Sports Ornaments
Claydough Sports Ornaments
The biggest assortment of personalized sports ornaments is at sportsornaments.org. But you can also find...
Christmas Gifts for Baby
There's nothing more exciting than a new baby. Whether she's yours or a best friend's, there are tons of precious memories to cherish in the heady days of a newborn's arrival. For Christmas gift shops for babies, one of my favorites is Go To Baby. They've just got loads of great gifts, and most importantly, in all sorts of price ranges. It doesn't matter if you're shopping for "someone in the office" or your very best girlfriend, they've got low-end and high-end gifts perfect for the occasion.
I should share that I was thinking about the time when my own children arrived, how wonderful those times really were. Most of the gifts from that period, of course, are long since gone, either through use or (ahem) abuse. It's not that I need those gifts anymore. My children are all in their teens. But I have to say, each Christmas when we decorate the tree as a family, I get a tear in my eye when my husband and I get to hang up our baby's ornaments. They just bring back all the wonderful, warm memories. My mother didn't have one when I was growing up, and I have my best friend to thank for that first ornament. Since then, I bought them myself for each successive child. I highly recommend the first Christmas ornaments personalized at www.babysfirstchristmasornament.com. They do a fabulous job, the ornament selection is huge, the prices run the gamut from under $10 to close to $70 for Radko.
(more)