Author: Ricky Alberta
Source: download
We all get caught up in the material excesses of Christmas at some point. We shop for that perfect Christmas gift for that special someone, we wait in long lines, we spend a, garages, load of cash, only to find that the best gifts are the ones, garages, that don't cost a thing but are filled with thought and joy. These are the true, garages, gifts of Christmas. Here are some surefire Christmas, garages, gift ideas that won't cost you a cent but are, garages, guaranteed to please:
IOU's
These are probably,, garages, garages, the most thoughtful gifts you can, garages, give. Figure out what someone needs or wants, something that's not tangible, and write out an IOU to them on a Christmas card. Some examples:
- Your Mom would love some time alone to relax away from the baby, write, garages, an IOU for 2 hours of babysitting.
- You Dad plans to organize the garage, write, garages, an IOU for 2 hours, garages, of help with sorting out the garage.
- Your elderly neighbor could use a hand with yard work, write them an IOU for 1 hour of yard work on a future weekend.
- Your sister gets migraines a lot, write an IOU to give her some TLC during her next migraine.
- Your nephew is having trouble in math, write an IOU for 2 hours of math tutoring.
- Your friend recently moved so you don't see them anymore, write an IOU for a trip to the park or some other special place.
There are a million different things you can write an IOU for,, garages, the only limit is the limit to your imagination.
Pictures & Collages
Relatives love to receive pictures of their family. When you buy, garages, school pictures or have any other type of picture taken, you are usually, garages, left with some extras. Put the extras together in an old album and give it as a gift. You can also make a collage with your pictures, these are easy to make and thoughtful gifts.
Crafts
There are tons of crafts you can make with stuff just laying around your house. From handmade, garages, ornaments to adorned picture frames to home decorations made with pinecones, twigs and branches, garages, .
Food
Many people make cookies, candy or some other treat for Christmas. Why not make a, garages, little extra and give them as gifts? Some other excellent food gifts that won't break the bank are gift jar recipes, seasoning mixes, hot cocoa and drink mixes, spice rubs, flavored oils,, garages, flavored vinegars and pickled, garages, fruits and veggies.
Ornaments
Some of the easiest gifts to make are ornaments. Use old greeting cards, AOL cd's, pinecones, foil, candy, pictures, gift wrapping, gift boxes etc. There's a million ways you can make lovely ornaments from things found around your house.
Gift Basket
You, garages, can go all out and make a personalized, customized gift basket filled with each, garages, of these things. You might have an unused basket around the house, make sure it's clean and fill it with an IOU or two, some cookies or candies, homemade hot cocoa mix, a picture collage and some ornaments.
No matter, garages, what you give, put plenty of thought and, garages, care into it and your gift will surely mean much more to the recipient, garages, than a $200 MP3 player or $50 jeans.
Ricky Alberta writes for Eternal Christmas, a Christmas portal loaded with information, garages, about Christmas as well as games, music, graphics, recipes, gift ideas and much more. Come and celebrate the spirit of Christmas year round at Eternal Christmas, www.eternalchristmas.com
Showing posts with label Christmas season. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas season. Show all posts
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Christmas Villages - Another 5 Great Locations For Your Village Display
Author: Stephen Baird
Source: ezinearticles.com
So you still have not decided where to display your new collectible Christmas village this next holiday season. Or maybe you are just tired of setting up your current display in the same expected location, garages, year after year and are, garages, looking for that ultimate new location to showcase your Department, garages, 56, Lemax, or other village collectibles. Grab a notepad and pen, because you may find your creative talents energized and anxious to be put, garages, to use when you hear about these 5 great locations for your village, garages, display.
Before I suggest the following possible locations for your Christmas village, it is important, garages, to remember that the viewability of your village is affected greatly by the space you have available. Never being a fan of displaying every single piece in my, garages, collection just for the sake of unpacking them out of mothballs, I always recommend striving for visual impact in a display over showing the quantity of a collection. For that reason alone, you can consider the following locations to place smaller vignettes, or groupings of your village collectibles to create more visually impacting village settings, garages, .
•Curio cabinets: Not everyone has a curio, garages, cabinet, but for those, garages, who do, consider temporarily replacing some of your regular curios with a small village vignette or two. The key for success here is to keep the vignettes small because of the glass shelving you typically find, garages, in a curio cabinet. Rather than find out the hard way that your village display was too heavy for the glass shelves, why not simply group a small vignette or two where each can tell, garages, its own miniature story. You will love the glimmering effect created by the village house lights shining and reflecting off of the mirrored background and glass enclosure of the cabinet. It is very easy to camouflage, garages, the light cords with a few miniature pine, garages, trees strategically placed.
•Wall, garages, units: Wall units are a strong and perfect location for displaying smaller village vignettes. Because the shelving is typically, garages, wood or a composite material, you will not have to worry at all about the weight of, garages, your village like you would with a, garages, curio cabinet. For that reason, you can experiment with terracing in your vignette. Elevate a village piece or two towards the background to create textured focal points for viewers whether their eyes are drawn to the back or the front of your display. Too often I see displays where a person has to strain their neck to see a beautifully detailed village building shrouded from view by another similarly sized piece or one, garages, bigger right in front of it.
•Garage side window: Yes, you heard me right. Have, garages, you ever thought of showing off your village, or maybe a few of your village pieces in a smaller vignette inside of, garages, a side garage, garages, window? Perhaps you have been thinking for years of a way to incorporate your display in to your exterior decorating without the risk of damage from the elements. Well, a framed display inside a garage window that is viewable towards, garages, the front of your home is a wonderful way to add a storybook appeal to your holiday decorations. Be sure to see my article entitled 'Creating a Magical Window Display for your Christmas Village' for details on how to, garages, go about constructing this type of display.
•Foyer sideboard table: Sideboard, garages, tables, sofa tables, and consoles are ideal locations for smaller, garages, village groupings. They are very easy to arrange village displays on top of, and are one of the better locations for isolating your display for a more focused viewing, garages, point. These tables offer the advantage of displaying at a level where even smaller children can see every aspect of your village setting. Of course that can also be its greatest disadvantage, garages, . If you believe tiny roaming hands may mean the, garages, destruction of your miniature, garages, town, choose another location.
•Under glass of a wood-framed coffee table: This is a truly unique concept for displaying villages. Imagine family and friends sitting around the family room talking about your 'village under glass.' This idea takes a bit more time, garages, and care to assemble your display, but the results are amazing, garages, . If you have this type, garages, of table, simply remove, garages, the glass insert(s) temporarily while you construct your village. Place a large enough, garages, box underneath the table to elevate the viewing surface that will be visible when you replace the glass back on top,, garages, but not so large, garages, that the tops of the village buildings or trees are too high and protrude through the glass level.
Make sure to place a solid and flat item on top of the box to create a sound surface, such as a shelf or two side by side. Cover the box and shelf with a small white tablecloth to not only cover the more unsightly aspects, garages, of your box foundation, but to also give your display a nice wintry effect. Finally, employ your own personal creativity to make a truly unique type of display.
I hope you enjoyed these ideas for possible locations to display your village. You may even have a few of your own that suit your home even better. The key thing is to take some time and consider the visual impact you can achieve rather than just lining up your collection end to end.
Merry Christmas!
Source: ezinearticles.com
So you still have not decided where to display your new collectible Christmas village this next holiday season. Or maybe you are just tired of setting up your current display in the same expected location, garages, year after year and are, garages, looking for that ultimate new location to showcase your Department, garages, 56, Lemax, or other village collectibles. Grab a notepad and pen, because you may find your creative talents energized and anxious to be put, garages, to use when you hear about these 5 great locations for your village, garages, display.
Before I suggest the following possible locations for your Christmas village, it is important, garages, to remember that the viewability of your village is affected greatly by the space you have available. Never being a fan of displaying every single piece in my, garages, collection just for the sake of unpacking them out of mothballs, I always recommend striving for visual impact in a display over showing the quantity of a collection. For that reason alone, you can consider the following locations to place smaller vignettes, or groupings of your village collectibles to create more visually impacting village settings, garages, .
•Curio cabinets: Not everyone has a curio, garages, cabinet, but for those, garages, who do, consider temporarily replacing some of your regular curios with a small village vignette or two. The key for success here is to keep the vignettes small because of the glass shelving you typically find, garages, in a curio cabinet. Rather than find out the hard way that your village display was too heavy for the glass shelves, why not simply group a small vignette or two where each can tell, garages, its own miniature story. You will love the glimmering effect created by the village house lights shining and reflecting off of the mirrored background and glass enclosure of the cabinet. It is very easy to camouflage, garages, the light cords with a few miniature pine, garages, trees strategically placed.
•Wall, garages, units: Wall units are a strong and perfect location for displaying smaller village vignettes. Because the shelving is typically, garages, wood or a composite material, you will not have to worry at all about the weight of, garages, your village like you would with a, garages, curio cabinet. For that reason, you can experiment with terracing in your vignette. Elevate a village piece or two towards the background to create textured focal points for viewers whether their eyes are drawn to the back or the front of your display. Too often I see displays where a person has to strain their neck to see a beautifully detailed village building shrouded from view by another similarly sized piece or one, garages, bigger right in front of it.
•Garage side window: Yes, you heard me right. Have, garages, you ever thought of showing off your village, or maybe a few of your village pieces in a smaller vignette inside of, garages, a side garage, garages, window? Perhaps you have been thinking for years of a way to incorporate your display in to your exterior decorating without the risk of damage from the elements. Well, a framed display inside a garage window that is viewable towards, garages, the front of your home is a wonderful way to add a storybook appeal to your holiday decorations. Be sure to see my article entitled 'Creating a Magical Window Display for your Christmas Village' for details on how to, garages, go about constructing this type of display.
•Foyer sideboard table: Sideboard, garages, tables, sofa tables, and consoles are ideal locations for smaller, garages, village groupings. They are very easy to arrange village displays on top of, and are one of the better locations for isolating your display for a more focused viewing, garages, point. These tables offer the advantage of displaying at a level where even smaller children can see every aspect of your village setting. Of course that can also be its greatest disadvantage, garages, . If you believe tiny roaming hands may mean the, garages, destruction of your miniature, garages, town, choose another location.
•Under glass of a wood-framed coffee table: This is a truly unique concept for displaying villages. Imagine family and friends sitting around the family room talking about your 'village under glass.' This idea takes a bit more time, garages, and care to assemble your display, but the results are amazing, garages, . If you have this type, garages, of table, simply remove, garages, the glass insert(s) temporarily while you construct your village. Place a large enough, garages, box underneath the table to elevate the viewing surface that will be visible when you replace the glass back on top,, garages, but not so large, garages, that the tops of the village buildings or trees are too high and protrude through the glass level.
Make sure to place a solid and flat item on top of the box to create a sound surface, such as a shelf or two side by side. Cover the box and shelf with a small white tablecloth to not only cover the more unsightly aspects, garages, of your box foundation, but to also give your display a nice wintry effect. Finally, employ your own personal creativity to make a truly unique type of display.
I hope you enjoyed these ideas for possible locations to display your village. You may even have a few of your own that suit your home even better. The key thing is to take some time and consider the visual impact you can achieve rather than just lining up your collection end to end.
Merry Christmas!
Stephen Baird is an author, artisan, and founder of the well respected Christmas display firm Village Fantasies, designers of animated and life like Harvest and Christmas villagescapes for the holiday season. Expansive and detailed with textured landscapes and realism so unmatched, the displays by Village Fantasies take viewers to a place where storybook dreams come to life http://www.villagefantasies.com
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