Christmas gift ideas are one of the several aspects that are integral to Christmas. The others include Christmas decorations, Christmas tree, Christmas flowers, Christmas cakes, Christmas cookies, Christmas gift baskets and a wide range of soft toys.

Christmas Decorations: Christmas is an effervescent festival which is incomplete without suitable Christmas decorations. Presents are integral to the celebrations and unique Christmas gift ideas are the prerequisite for a successful Christmas celebration. The decorations may be simple or elaborate, depending on the individual preference. The Christmas gift ideas focus on eye catching and constructive gifts ideal for the festival.

The Christmas gifts ideas may be employed systematically. On having suitable funds, you may first establish a limit after which you may think of a suitable theme. If you prefer colors over a single tone, then make sure to think up suitable combinations of houses that would blend perceptively and not be jarring. The traditional Christmas colors include red, green, white, gold and silver and based on this, other decorative items like bells, shining ball, stars etc may be purchased. If the wintery look appeals to you, a little snowfall could do the trick. The snowy look may include blue, lighter shades of purple etc. Ornamental snowflakes include snowy white garlands, little snowmen and strands of clear beads.

Christmas Tree: Christmas is unthinkable without a Christmas tree and unique and ready made Christmas trees add up to the festive aura. They are available in pre lit and pre decorated forms, which apart from being a decorative item, is amongst the ideal Christmas gift ideas.

Christmas Flowers: Have you thought of surprising loved ones with fresh flowers delivered at their footstep on Christmas day? Now you can, as online shopping portals will cater to this need in the most diligent manner. Christmas flowers with customized messages and other forms of personalization are among the novel Christmas gift ideas.

Christmas Cakes: Either as a dessert after the Christmas meal or a snack to kick-start the celebrations; Christmas Cakes are indeed one of the best Christmas gift ideas. Embellishing the cake with customized messages or a Christmas cake complemented with suitable gifts will add panache to these unique Christmas gift ideas.

Soft Toys:Soft toys may seem the most ordinary gift but with suitable customization even soft toys may seem like one of the nice and innovative Christmas gift ideas.

Christmas Cookies: Have you thought of ways to make the Christmas cookies really special? The cookies may be accompanied with special messages. Cookies in the shape of Christmas bells, and Christmas trees are not so novel so how about a nice and unique topping? Christmas cookies can also be decorated with unique toppings to add to the grandeur of the gift.

Christmas Gift Baskets: Individual gifts are a great way to greet the festive season but the icing on the cake would be to gift your loved one, a basket full of goodies. Christmas gift basket is one of the innovative Christmas gift ideas that include the art of preparing a theme and adorning the basket as per the chosen theme. If the recipient is a gourmet, then choose food coupons, wine, chocolates and any other food item that may appeal to the recipient. If a baby is expected, then gift items for the soon to arrive baby may seem ideal in the Christmas gift basket. If the recipient is a tech savvy youngster then portable electronics or DVDs and music CDs make ideal Christmas gift ideas.

Shopping for Christmas and other festivals is no more a long ordeal. The emergence of online retails sectors have made the shopping experience very rewarding. Infibeam.com is one such shopping portal that is profuse with Christmas gifts that are laced with enticing offers.

Individuals living abroad may opt for the speedy yet inexpensive shipping options to send Christmas Gifts to India. Infibeam.com has a variety of time specific shipping options like same day delivery, midnight delivery, scheduled date delivery and international shipping; tailored for shoppers’ individual needs. So, what are you waiting for? Log on to Infibeam.com and order the gift of your choice to avail incredible discounts and superlative shopper satisfaction.

Source by Amrith K.a

We have some friends who are gluten free.  At first I thought this was kind of weird.  It just sounds strange.  Gluten Free. It wasn’t the first time I had heard of it but to know an entire family that is gluten free is a rarity.  So they invited us over to dinner. I was a little nervous because I wondered if they would be eating rice flour and some strange unheard of foods. I warned the kids to have good manners no matter what they served.  I was so excited to be their guest but wondered what this term would look like in real life?

What I found was they made fresh, healthy, and delicious food. It even had a Mexican theme to it and that is my most favorite type of food.  There was amazing salsa, chips galore that were organic and gluten free and we had steak and fresh veggies.  The kids loved it and didn’t even know it was gluten free.  It really got me thinking.  As I learned more about why they made this choice it really was a necessity.  My friend had food allergies and had been ill and the change in food had made a dramatic difference in how she felt inside and out.  It had also helped her twin daughters.

I learned so much that night about food and how it can affect you.  For dessert they served us cookies.  I didn’t think you could eat cookies being gluten free.  I went on to ask them to clarify just what was gluten.  I learned it is when there is no wheat, rye, barley, or oat gluten present. And yet they still made these amazing cookies.

It was a learning experience.  Later that year I learned my daughter’s friend also was gluten free.  She had lost her grandpa and we wanted to do something special for them. So we made a gluten free gift basket.  What did we put in the gluten free gift basket?  We put those amazing cookies wrapped with love and pretty bows. It was so much fun knowing we were helping someone else and being sensitive to their needs.  I was learning so much.

Later, they told us how much the gluten free gift basket meant.  Not many people know what gluten free is.  I am only beginning to understand.  I do know this; food allergies affect almost 18% of kids.  That is huge.  And so I look forward to learning more……………..in the mean time here is that recipie for those amazing cookies they made that night.  Gluten free or not you will absolutely love them. You can see the recipie here or go to About.com as well.

A classic gluten-free chocolate chip cookie recipe with a refreshing mint flavor. If you love classic Nestle Toll House cookies (and who doesn’t?!) and you like the flavor of chocolate mint, you’ll love these cookies.

Make this a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe by omitting the peppermint extract and adding one teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 11 minutes

Total Time: 26 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/8 cup light buckwheat flour (see note)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon natural peppermint extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup (6 ounces) gluten-free chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375° F / 190° C

Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly oil

Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. In a large mixing bowl, combine egg and sugar and beat with an electric mixer on high until light and fluffy. Add butter and beat on high until combined. Add extract and beat briefly. Add dry ingredients and mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts (optional).

For 1 dozen large cookies use a 2 tablespoon (1/8 cup) ice cream scoop or drop heaping tablespoons of dough on prepared baking sheets. 

For 2 dozen small cookies use a 1 tablespoon ice cream scoop or a rounded tablespoon.

Bake in preheated oven for 9-11 minutes or until cookies are crisp on edges and slightly soft in the middle. Cool on baking sheet.

Try it. You will love them and they may make you feel healthier and better too. I know we did.

Source by Gretchen Bell

Every year at Christmastime, thousands of Australians send gift baskets to friends, relatives and co-workers. Increasingly, though, those same people are sending out gift hampers for a huge number of different occasions. Unlike in the past, hampers have become popular beyond the confines of the Christmas season.

Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday – or Just Because!

If you’ve ever given someone a gift basket before, there’s a very good chance that it was for Christmas. Back a few years ago, hampers were largely perceived as Christmas gift items and were often used as such. The initial popularity of gift hampers is definitely attributable to the holiday season; right off the bat, baskets full of chocolates and other treats were popularly handed out at Christmastime. Over time, though, many different varieties have been developed and gift baskets are suitable for any occasion now. Without a doubt, gift baskets have transformed from Christmas gifts to gifts for any occasion – and their popularity just keeps growing.

A Wider Assortment Means Greater Usefulness –

Without question, the fact that gift baskets used to boast chocolates and other delicious treats – and little else – was largely why they were reserved for the holiday season. Nowadays, though, gift baskets come in a stunning array of themes and configurations. While chocolates and other delicacies continue to be quite popular, gift hampers today can be stuffed full of anything from golf novelty items to specialty teas. Creativity reigns supreme when it comes to gift basket design, which is a huge part of the reason why people are handing them out all year long these days.

Baskets For Every Occasion –

In addition to a wide array of delightful, customised choices, there are gift hampers today that are geared for just about every imaginable occasion. While Christmas hampers remain a hot commodity, birthday hampers, hampers for men and hampers for women are all hot sellers. There are baskets designed with expectant mums in mind, and options that boast a bevy of goods for newborn bubs as well. There’s no reason not to give a hamper as a going away present, a welcome back present – or “just because.” No matter where the recipient’s tastes lie, hampers are unquestionably one of the most versatile and thoughtful gifts that you can give throughout the entire year.

Source by Tom Venuto

Having a beautiful smile is one of the most splendid gifts you can offer yourself. When you have that, you aren’t ashamed to show up to other people, you gain more confidence, and most of all you feel good about yourself. But what does it cost to have a beautiful smile? A great way to have a beautiful smile is to have a good set of teeth. This will be made possible by getting a smile makeover or dental treatments by a qualified and expert dentist. Before you choose a dentist to do the treatments or makeover for you, it’s very crucial to do same thing you would have done with any other types of cosmetic surgery. This entails that you do lot of research; by doing so you’ll have the chance to compare the cost depending on the services as well the knowledge about the whole procedure.

Generally, your cosmetic dentist will talk to you in order to figure out what you are interested in improving your smile. And then he or she performs some X rays or conducts a cursory check up on your mouth and gives you recommendations. Your cosmetic dentist will then set a price for either the specific method or for an entire package wherein each treatment’s individual price is discounted. A smile makeover by a Houston cosmetic dentist for instance, includes a number of different methods depending on your wants for your mouth or the kind of treatment you would like to have. The various processes applied in refashioning the teeth are limitless. Sometimes dental veneers will be used to cover chips and the gaps between teeth. Or sometimes they used invisible braces to straighten the teeth. It’s entirely up to you.

If you want to undergo any of the methods there are many options available in Houston, Texas. Even if you don’t think you’re decided and geared up to get some dental treatment, it’s important to speak to or consult a Houston dental care specialist regarding your options. In that way you will be able to come up with a wise and sound decision. Most dental specialists will not charge you a great deal of bucks for these initial educational consultations, you actually lose nothing, you only gain a beautiful smile

Source by Tom Heap

Christmas is a special time of year and homemade Christmas gift ideas can add to the excitement of the holiday season.  Christmas shopping and gift decisions can make the season a lot less jolly, but making the gifts yourself give can make Christmas more personal and memorable. It can also help you save money too!  Getting the children involved with making the gifts can start a cherished yearly tradition.

Here is some money saving homemade Christmas gift ideas to help you show the special people in your life how much you care:

Christmas Candles: purchase plain pillar candles (at least 3” wide) at a discount store and dress them up with ribbon, plastic berries, or gift tags.  You can also use fabric or Christmas pushpins.  Another idea is to purchase a small votive candle, a small votive holder and a wide glass vase.  Partially fill the vase with Christmas decorations – plastic holly, fake poinsettias, red/green/gold glass beads, etc. – and then place the votive in the small holder in the bottom.  You can find all kinds of decorations that will work – just use your imagination. You can spend less than $20 at a local dollar store and make up to 10 candle gifts, now that’s how to keep more money in your pocket.

Christmas baskets: purchase a large, plain, wicker basket and any type of Christmas fabric with a small print.  You will need to purchase 2 to 3 yards of fabric.  You will need fiber fill material and a 2 yard strip of elastic.  Place the fiber fill material in the bottom of the basket.  Sew the strip of elastic around the edge of the fabric.  Place the fabric in the basket so that the edge with the elastic sewn in it is covering the outer edge of the basket.

Christmas tray: purchase a plain wooden tray from a craft supplies store.  Decorate it with paints and premade Christmas designs.  (You can find all of these items at the craft supplies store.)  Another idea is to paint the tray a solid color, then place a photograph in the center of the tray.  Cover the photograph and the bottom of the tray with a thin sheet of glass.  (This will make it waterproof.)

Christmas ornaments: you have many different options for homemade Christmas ornaments.  One of the easiest ways to make homemade ornaments is to buy the plain wooden, ceramic, or glass ornaments from a craft supplies store and then decorate them yourself.  You can also make ornaments from paper.  Another idea is to get plain glass ornaments and cover them with swirled paint or use decoupage techniques to cover them with decorative paper.

Photo ornaments: purchase scrap booking supplies and several sheets of card stock.  You can use premade scrapbooking picture frames and use the card stock as the backing for the ornaments.

Homemade Christmas gift ideas are a great way to let your creativity and thriftiness shine through during a very special season of the year.  Making your Christmas gifts by hand will ensure that your gift stands out. The only thing that limits you is your budget and your imagination.

Source by Michelle Blaise

Looking for legitimate work from home business ideas? Well you have come to the right place. We at HomeBizScout.com have scoured the web in search of legitimate work from home business ideas.

Before I start to list the ideas I just want to make sure you understand that these are not get rich quick ideas nor are they become a millionaire overnight! Oh and let’s not forget my favorite start making $5000 a week! Nope these are legitimate business ideas and they all take work, time and yes even some money to get started. Being a business owner is HARD WORK!

If you are not a hard worker or more importantly a self starter then please don’t waste your time or money trying to start a legitimate work from home business. It’s not going to work for you. I am sorry but I just prefer to keep it honest! Being a business owner is not for the faint of heart! You have to wear many hats, work extremely long hours on little to no sleep, and you have to make extreme sacrifices!

 Now that I have gotten my short sermon out of the way, without further ado let me introduce you to 10 legitimate work from home business ideas…

1. Business Coaching
2. Catering/Personal Chef
3. Childcare/Nanny Services
4. Cleaning Services 
5. Computer Repair
6. Customer Service
7. Data Entry
8. Event Planning
9. Gift Basket Business/Gift Basket Maker
10. Virtual Assistant

If you would like more information on any of the home business ideas listed above or you would like to get more ideas make sure to visit HomeBizScout.com – The Insider’s Guide To Working From Home.

Source by Home Biz Scout

If you like Easter time, you’ll love the WOW Noblegarden at that time.  The Noblegarden festival is usually held on Easter Sunday and the city Barker and Guest Giver direct players to the celebration.

The egg hunt actually goes on for a week, with eggs hidden in the starting zones of the Alliance, Horde, and Neutral areas.

Eggs painted to look like wildflowers and containing treasures, coins and candy are hidden by the Nobels and Lords from each race.  Then everyone in the city looks for them. Every egg contains a piece of Noblegarden chocolate. Hint: Eat your first 100 eggs to obtain the Chocoholic achievement.

Eggs can also contain buffs which turn players into a rabbit for an hour.

You actually need to find 355 eggs so you can purchase event items from various venders using your Noblegarden chocolate! If you want to go for some of the more expensive items, save up your eggs until you figure out how much all of your eggs are worth.  Mage’s will need an additional 100 if they want the [Tome of Polymorph: Rabbit].

Some of the items that can be purchased include:

Spring Flowers

Robes

Tuxedo shirts

Tuxedo pants

Elegant dresses

Prices range from 5 – 100 pieces of chocolate.

The quests that are available for Noblegarden are: Spring Collectors and Gatherers, The Great Egg Hunt, and A Tisket, a Tasket, A Noblegarden Basket!

Here are a two different ways to collect eggs fast.  1) Give yourself the ability to run faster by attaching your basket to a key or button. This keeps the buff out of the way, 2) Locate yourself in a spot with a lot of spawn points so you DON’T have to run around so much.

And remember, if possible, eat your first 100 eggs to obtain the Chocoholic achievement award.

Source by Alex R. Cooper

Fruit carving is amongst the oldest traditions followed from the Oriental nations, China, Japan, Thailand and some Asian nations specifically. This inventive custom frequently centers on some festivities wherever the beautiful sculptures draw the attention in the people. In reality carving of fruits is definitely an exquisite work of artwork. In China, watermelon carving is considered the most well-liked. Fruit carving can be completed on like fruits as carrots, papaya, pumpkins together with other more compact fruits for carving personal items. But watermelon carvings show up to be really captivating on account of its varied hues and size. The contrasting hues of melons lend a striking influence to the finished solution, creating all of them the more desirable.

Just before the execution of the carving ability, it is important to generate the many correct arrangements. A great carving knife with a simple sharp pointed blade is a must- have in cases like this. Carving on a watermelon is finished inside a relief format; it may be only a very simple lower out or have an complex engraving. This Chinese creative sculpture is of historical origin that has been passed down in the generations. In present day times, this wonderful custom has discovered excellent recognition and recognition through the entire earth. The various tones and colours of watermelons (pink, white, green) function wonders to offer a contrasting effect into the sculptures.

Watermelon sculptures can flip out for being the cynosure for virtually any situation or global function. This artwork is often exhibited at any cultural platform to showcase some amazing abilities. The carvings done within the watermelons are endless, ranging from teapots to flower vases, to minor animals or simply trophies. These incredible models are carved out applying carving tools and melon ballers. The carving resource is employed to cut out intricate styles while the melon baller scoops out greater sections. The melon baller is particularly beneficial in carving out huge exceptional shapes such as a fish, basket or fruit holder. The watermelon rind is extremely straightforward to lower into and amateurs can start with cutting the rind to generate big models.

Watermelon carving could be a great fun with all the kids as well. The fact is, becoming a very good source of vitamins in addition to a tasty fruit, children might have a good time learning this artwork and absorbing the advantages of this fruit. This exceptional artwork sculpture should be encouraged amid the children not just to propagate and continue to keep alive the historical tradition but also to give technique to the creation of masterpieces with the potential.

Source by wmallare

The BP oil spills have resulted in many weapons being brought out to help save the beaches from destruction. Oil spill clean up companies are acting fast because time is of the essence with the spill. The oil is already washing up tar balls on white beach sand all along the Gulf Coast. Without wasting any time, some companies have started using HESCO® Concertainers® along with Enviro-Amour™ to prevent the oil from ruining the beaches. The HESCO® units have an accordion design and are easily positioned. By using a sand thrower, they create a wall of protection that can be assembled within 20 minutes time. They have a stable core with a pyramid design of three rows that are stacked on top of each other. The structure is then concealed with a layer of sand. Two people can put the units together as opposed to the 10 people it would take to put together 1,500 sandbags. This adds to the many benefits of the units and their effectiveness against BP oil spills. The benefits include:

·    Easy to install
·    Cost effective
·    Can be applied to a wide range of projects
·    Constructed durably
·    Good for fighting BP oil spills, floods and beach erosion

Enviro-Amour™ is a real effective tool against BP oil spills. It made up of a blend of USDA food grade polymers that are non-harmful to humans or animals. They act as a solidifier that can transform any hydrocarbon spill on water into a disposable solid. It is easier to pick up during oil spill clean up efforts and it can even be turned into raw materials for later use. Some of the materials it can used for include:

·    Asphalt
·    Rubber
·    Fuel
·    Plastic

These along with the HESCO® basket units make a great duo in the fight against BP oil spills. The U.S. military uses the units in combat situations and it has resulted in many soldier’s lives being saved. There is no special training required to install them, just the work of two people and 20 minutes time. There is no limit to their height or length – you just keep adding on more units as needed.

The BP oil spills have caused enough trouble as it is, so implementing new ideas to fight the spill are welcome. Integrated Protection Systems has been using their preferred installers, Sterling Building Specialist, to install the HESCO® units. For more, call 800-605-6586 or log on to www.bp-oil-spills.com.

Source by Michael Moorhead