Holiday Gift-Giving and Entertaining Tips with a Personal To

Article by: ARA

(ARA)- As carolers sing during chilly nights and stockings hang by crackling fires, , Make Your Own Lampshades families and friends everywhere will celebrate this holiday season , Stay Cool and Comfortable While Saving Money by giving gifts, decorating trees, , Pruning Weeping Cherry s and Other Grafted and Budded Ornamentals and treating themselves to festive food. , Decorating With Room Dividers It's the time of year when people will become inspired to make their loved ones feel as cherished as the season , Not only should one’s bedroom be a refuge, but it should als -- and you don't have to spend a lot of money or invest a lot of time to get the job done.

"This is the time of year when you want your home , Household Fires Claim Thousands of Lives Each Year to feel extra warm and inviting, your food , Liles for the garden to taste even richer and more delicious, and your gifts to be remembered long after the wrapping paper is tossed," says lifestyle expert Sandra Lee and creator of the Semi-Homemade(R) philosophy. "By applying personal creativity with inexpensive items, holiday efforts can impress while also saving valuable time and money."

Sandra Lee shopped Wal-Mart stores and created the following tips , The Benefits Of Stainless Steel Kitchen Sinks for holiday entertaining and gift-giving with flair:

Packaging is everything. Doubly delight family and friends with gifts that are wrapped within another gift. Try a pretty scarf, vase, hatbox, or even a pair of red long johns. Or, add a special touch by tying an extra gift onto the bow and ribbon such as an ornament, a pair of gloves, a bag of golf tees, or candy.

Themed gifts capture attention. Create themed gifts around the recipients' favorite hobbies or interests. For example, give a favorite movie video or DVD in a ceramic popcorn bowl and include microwave popcorn, Junior Mints, Sugar Babies, Charleston Chews, and other nostalgic movie candies. For an angler, fill a tackle box with fishing line and other gear. Place , Outdoor life and garden living in a large fishing dip net and secure with a red bandana for a knapsack effect. For the busy mom in need of pampering, fill a basket with spa soaps, lotions and oils, and include new slippers and her favorite magazine. Weave a colorful ribbon through the basket and tie the bow with a pretty card featuring an I.O.U. to help her find the time to relax with her gifts. Merry memories can be made by tucking a camera , The Benefits of Home Ventilation and film inside , Decorating With Room Dividers a photo organizing box and writing a personal note on the back of a picture of the two of you together and attaching it as a gift card.

Create a centerpiece good enough to eat. To make a Nutcracker Holiday Cake that can double as a table decoration, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8-inch-round cake pans. Combine two boxes of gingerbread cake and cookie mix, two eggs, and two cups water , Palm Trees - Uses And Locations in a large mixing bowl. Stir until just moistened. Divide batter equally between two pans. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes and allow to cool completely for 20 minutes. Frost the top of one of the cake layers with cream cheese frosting. Place , Characteristics of Different Types of Soil second layer on top. Frost the entire cake with remaining frosting. Decorate , Plants For Establishing a Hedge in Plumstead Township Pa. outside rim of cake with tiny, wrapped presents and ribbon. Top with a wooden , Decorating With Room Dividers nutcracker and place , Keep Your Valentine Roses Looking Fresh on a cake pedestal. Or, purchase an easy-to-assemble gingerbread kit from a discount retailer such as Wal-Mart for a quick and easy centerpiece.

Deck the halls with a festive bow-quet. Use velvet bows to attach garland to stair banisters, porch , Weed Control Facts: Winning the Battle of the Weeds railings, window , Stay Cool and Comfortable While Saving Money frames, and mantels. Affix bows to wreaths and wrapped packages. Decorate , Customize Your Home Décor Like a Pro indoor and outdoor trees , Satellite TV by tying velvet bows around the branches, and use a large bow as a consistent and eye-catching topper. For another festive touch, buy a box of cards in your favorite design , Choosing the Right Wallpaper and adorn 12 to 24, depending on size, with braiding or piping from a craft , A Look at Retractable Awnings department. Many retailers sell inexpensive and festive cards that you can hang as ornaments on trees , Home Fire Safety and stair banisters.

Treat guests to a sweet arrival. Make your own Lollypop Lane by placing large circular pieces of Styrofoam on a wooden , Palm Trees - Uses And Locations dowel and wrapping them in colorful cellophane. Place , The Bathroom…The Forgotten Area Of Your Home? them in the ground approximately 18 inches apart down the length of your walk or driveway and embellish with pre-made velvet bows. String white lights , ReliableRemodeler.com between each lollypop, swagging slightly between each one, and securing to the bows. Make sure lights , Growing Orchids In Greenhouses, Can You ? are plugged into a fire-safe outlet before flipping the switch to a sparkling path. , The Bathroom…The Forgotten Area Of Your Home?

The best gift of all is time to spend with family and friends and these gift ideas can help you find that time. Simply purchase items from your local , Characteristics of Different Types of Soil discount retailer and then add a personal touch to make them special and festive. These items can be purchased at a one-stop discount retail store like Wal-Mart.

Courtesy of ARA Content

About the author:

Courtesy of ARA Content

What's Inside
Getting Tulips to Bloom for Two Months - Would you like to have tulips , Planting Hydrangeas For Late Season Color blooming for two months in your garden , If you are chasing the best sourced advice pertaining to arc ? Planting a few each of the following different types will ensure a long season , Affordable Paintings: Art Prints Buying Guide color show. For the most part, the species tulips , Is An Old Home For You? – The Cons bloom the earliest. You'll know they are species...
Full-size Cooking for Today’s Kitchens - (ARA) - From the automobiles we drive to the houses , Practical Feng Shui - Debunking the myths and finding out what we can actually learn from the ancien we live in, everything in America seems to be getting bigger these days. While we may debate over...
Urban Farming, Even In Quakertown, PA - Urban Farming, , New Style Waterbeds Help You To Sleep Better Even in Quakertown, PA Anyone can be a farmer, really. It is not rocket science as that expresssion goes. And, trying to get string theory, quantum loop gravity theory, and M-theory to work out is even harder than rocket science. Bu...
Decorating Toolbox 101 - Where is that hammer ? Save , Choosing and using storage boxes in the home time and frustration by assembling your own decorating , Treated Lumber FAQ's toolbox. Most do-it-yourself projects are hampered by t...
Spring Turns To Summer And Your Roses Need Care - By now you have already been captivated by the first blooms of late April and you're filled with anticipation over the wave of blooms which are yet to...
Three Choice Arborvitae For Your Landscape - The Emerald Green, , Gardening Magazines - Some of the Best Hetz Midget and the Riengold Arborvitae are commonly used evergreen shrubs , Popular perennials for the garden or trees , Mrs. Stone of Coon Path in Lambertville, NJ useful in urban areas where low maintenance and durability is needed. Many cultivars with forms such as being globed in shape, columnar, or narrow...
Why It's Important to Get Pre-Approved - Having a pre-approved mortgage will give you the confidence of knowing exactly what you can spend on a home , Feeding Your Plants before you start looking....
Sky Pencil Hollies Are Used in Easton Pa. - Common Name: 'Sky Pencil' Japanese Holly Zone: 6 to 9 Height: 6 to 8 Feet Spread: 1 to 2 Feet Habit: Dense, upright columnar shrub , Invite Butterflies to Your Garden . Slow growth rate. Culture: Full sun , How To Find Discount Area Rugs Online to part shade. Foliage: Small, 1/2-1" long, lustrous dark green. , Advising on the latest and accurate assistance relating to f Evergreen. Flowe...
Spring into Lawn Mowing - Ahh. Spring , How to Grow Flowering Dogwood Trees from Seed arrives with the beautiful , Composting and Soil Improvements twittering of birds , How Your Heat Pump Functions preparing their nests for the unborn. What - can't hear them? The low rumble of law...