The Collectibles Store Blog

A few days ago, I talked with a family friend who recently learned that his huge manufacturing company was closing his plant. He is actually luckier than most of the people working for that company. He very recently reached the magic age at which he qualifies for early retirement, so he will continue to have a steady income. Those who did not reach that milestone of the specified number of years with the company will get a small severance package and be left to search for a job in that difficult market. That caused me to think about giving gifts for special occasions to those people who are finding themselves in tough situations. I came up with a few ideas that make more sense than a piece of home decor or a new tie. Here are some of them:

A gourmet fruit basket is healthy, beautiful, delicious and always enjoyed. If you live near your gift recipient, you can find a lovely basket or other attractive container and fill it with fruit that is in season in your region of the country, obtained at a farmers market, and fill it out with a few exotic fruits picked up at your local super market. If your loved one is farther away, you can arrange for any of a large range of beautiful fruit gift baskets to be delivered to the recipient’s home. It will help them to reduce their grocery bill on their next trip to the super market.

A special meal is another way to remember a birthday or holiday. One possibility might be to take the friend or family member to a popular local restaurant. If price is no object to you, be sure to recommend a couple of the more expensive entrees on the menu, so that your guests know that they should not worry about ordering what they want. For example, you might say something like, “The crab legs are wonderful here, but, if you don’t like seafood, try the tender and tasty filet mignon.” If they live too far away for that, you can actually find delicious, gourmet, chef-prepared meals online that arrive frozen and can be heated in almost no time. (I actually keep my freezer stocked with these.)

You might also consider a tasty dessert. No person should have too many desserts, but on a birthday, anniversary or holiday, everyone deserves an opportunity to indulge a sweet tooth. Bake cookies, if that is a skill of yours, and hand deliver or have them delivered. For something a little more special consider giving them a freshly baked pie or turtle cheesecake. Whether you make it yourself or have others do the work for you doesn’t matter. It will be appreciated and definitely enjoyed either way.

You’ll notice a common feature in these suggestions. They all involve food. Someone who is going through a difficult time may not want to accept charity, but nobody can reject a genuinely special gift. If it reduces the grocery bill by a bit, so much the better.

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Everyone has a story about their mother. Mothers are as different as their unique personalities. Some are patient and kind. Some are loud and obnoxious. Others are very opinionated. In spite of these characteristic differences in a mother’s personality, they do the best that they can, as there is no wrong way to love their child.

Let me first point out that being a mother is the most challenging, yet rewarding, experience in a woman’s life. Women have the ability to love their child unconditionally, in spite of the circumstances. It is said that a Mother’s Love begins at the very thought of conception and never ends; not even after death.

This year I wanted to mark my mother’s 80th birthday with something special. It didn’t need to be expensive; I simply wanted somethat that would reflect upon her life and our relationship. I eventually chose to put together an Italian charm bracelet that would reflect each of the stages of her life, especially her role of a mother.

For the mother who just gave birth to a red-faced, wrinkly skinned, squalling infant with no hair, no teeth, and no idea of who this woman is, her first comment is “Isn’t my baby the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen in your life?!” A new mother’s love is blind.

The mother of an obstinate two-year-old, whose boundaries are constantly being tested, patiently teaches the right way to behave. She allows her child to experience anger and frustration, but ignores tantrums, choosing instead to reward good behavior. This mother’s love is patient, for she understands this stage in her child’s life is short-lived.

The mother of the kindergartener learns to “let go” and allows her child to explore new experiences, meet new challenges, and discover ways to socialize with their peers. As the youngster grows into adolescence, the mother’s role changes with each stage; supporting, encouraging, and challenging the child to become independent. This mother’s love is constant.

In a mother’s eyes, her child can usually do no wrong, regardless of the circumstances. Not so true in the tumultuous adolescent years. Because the mother did such a good job of raising her child to be an independent, self-reliant individual, teen-agers often push themselves into adulthood before they are actually ready. Mistakes are made. Often, all a mother can do is guide the child to learn from their mistakes; to make better decisions; to accept that her child is not perfect. In this stage of motherhood, her love needs to be very forgiving and understanding.

The love a mother has for her adult child is full of pride, for she has the satisfaction of a job well done in raising her child. Her efforts have been successful. Her love has overcome all of the obstacles and stages in life. This love is reciprocated because the adult child realizes and appreciates the love their mother has shown them throughout their life.

There is a special bond formed by mother and child once the child becomes a parent. The mother’s ever-changing role is now defined as “Grandmother”. This woman’s love has come full circle now because she understands the challenges her child will face in raising a child. She knows the rewards her child will receive. She appreciates the lessons in love that her grandchild will learn. For, there is no stronger love than that of a mother; and no love more rewarding than becoming a grandmother!

Let’s all celebrate mothers and all the things they are!

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I’m a little embarassed to admit this, but I am a gift giving catastrophe waiting to happen.  No, I don’t stumble and break the gifts before giving.  My problem is that I have an impossible time deciding.  I’m just plain awful at coming up with original gift ideas.  I’m sure you’ve already guessed the solution to my despair: the Web.

The Internet is full of the usual and the unusual when it comes to gift suggestions.  Now I realize that everyone is out to make a buck, but that doesn’t bother me in the least.  I’d actually be willing to pay someone just to make the decision for me, so why not buy their products if they can come up with good ideas.  In my country, that’s the patriotic way to look at it!

Is there anyplace other than the online world where I might be inspired to send my mom a New York style cheesecake instead of the same boring chocolate cake I usually sent her?  Fortunately, I can stretch this one idea out for many years simply by changing the flavor of cheesecake from one birthday to the next.

My daughter, who apparently gets her creative gift giving skills from me, found a bracelet idea for her grandmother.  It worked out beautifully for her but it raised the bar to a higher standard for me.

You can find gift ideas by searching for age groups, say teenagers (with whom I most the most trouble) and children.  You can also use a search engine to find articles recommending gifts of all the gift giving occasions from Bat Mitzvahs or Easter, from anniversaries to house warmings, or even what I lovingly refer to as the “Hallmark holidays,” such as Valentine’s Day or Sweetest Day or take your terrier to work day.  You can even search by the category of the item that you want to give.  For example, you might know that you want to give a video game for a Playstation, a piece of jewelry that includes diamonds (you’ve just moved out of my price range) or even a gift for a dog.

Indeed, there are entire website pages and sites dedicated to people who give gift ideas for gift klutzes like me to steal and claim them as our own.  If you have any great gift ideas, please put them online so that I can find them or you could just send the item directly to me and I’ll forward it to my favorite recipient.  You can count on my everlasting appreciation.

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Shopping on-line has many benefits.  A lot of  people hate crowds and noise, and all the smelliness that goes with it, and the inevitable mind-numbing agony that your significant other will feel should you force him/her to go with you.  Shopping on the net is a breeze.  It takes a lot less effort to browse a few sites than walk several miles.  Internet shopping is quick and efficient.

This “easy” process becomes convoluted however, when you try to search for the items and you get everything but what you are looking for.  Many companies now air commercials mocking this phenomenon.  The un-net-educated will find themselves awash in ads. and internet hysteria.

I have compiled this guide for YOU!  Please read on to find the happy road to online shopping.  This guide comes to you in a David Letterman Top Ten list order.  Please don’t be distracted.

5. The easiest way to find something is to start somewhere you are passionate about.  Catholic’s for example, have Catholic Relief Services (C.R.S.), and local parish offices.  These organizations provide links to other business that in return for certification, donate a portion of their profits from each sale.  Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Fair Trade provides a list of partner companies that provide Fair Trade products.  The same goes for World Wildlife Federation, Red Cross, Mothers of Preschoolers (M.O.P.S.) and many more.  You will want to check their links pages for more information about their programs so you can find out how much is given back.

4. When surfing the web it is always prudent to pay close attention to everyt site you visit.  Make sure they have a privacy policy and a secure shopping cart (look for the https on the URL address when checking out.)  Look for sites with clean graphics, easy-to-operate tabs, and the ability to navigate through the site with ease.  If you have to visit 8 pages and you still can’t find the item you want, it is best to find another resource.

3. My personal preference is to never purchase items through a website that doesn’t provide a shipping estimate BEFORE I have to enter credit card information.  There have been occasions in the past that I did proceed with a  entering information without knowing the shipping charges upfront, only to find the shipping cost to be exorbitant.

2.  Make sure you do your homework.  You may find something you think is a great deal, only to discover later that it is an item discontinued by the manufacturer offering no support.  Before placing your order, look at the product specifications in detail.  Make sure that all the accessories you think should come with an item are listed.  If items aren’t listed, they aren’t in there.  Make sure the seller has clear product photos, sizes etc.  If the vendor doesn’t list that information, do not purchase from them. 

1. Compare, compare, compare!  If you are shopping for a unique gift, such as a coffee gift basket, you need to look around.  For example, a gift basket with coffee and mugs at one web site can be upwards of 0.00, but a nicer gift basket with Fair Trade and Organic Gourmet coffee is less than 0.00 from Nectar of Life Coffee Company.  Wouldn’t you be willing to spend a couple hours doing research to save 50 bucks?  Do not ever assume that ebay is going to have the best prices.  Checking with on-line stores such as Wal-Mart, Sears, or Craigslist can often yield savings of 50% from those auctions on ebay.  There are a couple of exceptions, but don’t bid until you have checked around.

Christmas shopping doesn’t have to be fighting through the crowds and wasting gas while trying to find parking.  Hop online and you too can retain your sanity this holiday season.  You can start now too.  Many retailers will allow you to purchase an item and post-date the shipping to two weeks before the event.

I would like to personally recommend that you check out http://www.NectarOfLife.com.  They have a wonderful selection of organic coffee and coffee gifts.

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Christmas is now on the way and just for a laugh I thought it would be a cool idea to write down a few of the strangest things I have recieved over the holiday season.

Every year that goes by the gift from her seems to be more and more out there and insane, is this saying something about her mental state. My Aunt is the one who seems to enjoy handing out crazy gifts and it would seem especially to me. Of course these crazy gifts are more than welcome to the boring socks that are opened.

Some of these eco Christmas gifts have even been green gifts which I cannot say I am a personal fan of but nevertheless some of them have been really quite fun to mess around with, so without further baffling, here is the list of my favourites.

The Fighting Old Gits

The great thing about these is that whenever they are switched on you seem to get a small gathering of people each routing for one granddad over the other. Basically you get two toy granddads and once you set them down on the table or wherever they start hitting each other with canes. It was just like watching Hulk Hogan wrestle it out in twenty years time.

The awsome USB chess game

Although I do not actually play chess and never will I have this a quick go to find that the board knew exaclty when I made a wrong move which just so happened to be every single move

Bed Linen, Yes really

Yes I received eco bed linen from my mad aunt and this is the strangest of all the items received as it isn’t even a crazy gift.

Has she actually lost it now altogether? The wait for Christmas is on and I cannot wait to see what I get from her this year. After all, most people have that crazy person who loves to give out wacky gifts every year right?

How about you – let me know in the comments what your weirdest christmas presents have been.

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