Inexpensive Gifts -- More than a Hundred Ideas

These were suggested for teachers...but there are lots of ideas here for teenagers, mailpeople, choir directors and others!

On My Way, Back Another Day...

A big basket of shirts waits for ironing. The sink's full of dishes. Random scraps of paper are piled here and there. Phone messages. Business files still to be sent.

And Husband and I leave for Panama tomorrow morning! 

We'll return in a few weeks, hopefully brown and rested. (And having visited the Panama Canal, something I've wanted to see all my life.) The Brickworks offices will still be open, though quieter. (It always is, this time of year.) Feels strange, knowing that in less than a day, the cold and snow will be a past memory.
    Please continue to stop by. A pile of posts are waiting and ready, and will be doled out over the next few weeks until I return. Be good -- see you soon!

Making Money for Christmas

Surely you've noticed the Swagbucks 'swidget' on the right of my column. It's been one of my best secret ways to earn gift money for birthdays and the holidays.
   I don't do anything fancy, either, to earn it. I just do the searches I would normally do. I respond to a short survey now and then (5 min. tops), and do a Swagbucks poll (even shorter). That generally earns me 450 points twice a month -- and 450 points is a five-dollar Amazon gift card! I've earned 17 of them so far, this year. That makes a total of $85 for doing little normal than my normal routine. (And note: I haven't had any trouble with weird cookies, viruses or anything like that. Swagbucks is extremely respectful about that issue.)

You can do this, too. Just click on the 'swidget' to get started. (And you'll give me an extra bonus for doing it -- thanks if you do.) It won't be long before your first gift card -- or other item -- is a done deal.

New Picasso Trove Uncovered

Picasso's long-time handyman has surfaced, with a trunkful of paintings, drawings and such he said Picasso's second wife gave him. He's been storing this stash of hitherto-unknown work -- 271 pieces -- in his garage for decades!
     Needless to say, the official purveyors of the Picasso estate -- children Picasso was reluctant to acknowledge during his lifetime -- are not thrilled. They're trying to argue that the handyman stole the works, but based on the lack of official action, are having trouble making their charges stick.
    It will be interesting to see how all this develops. The handyman and his wife said they came forward now, so their children wouldn't have to deal with problems after they pass on. They were certainly right about that...

Top Ten Christmas Movies

Here's one list -- whaddya think?
   (I'm still at a loss to understand why Bad Santa would be here...but hey, that's me.)

My Ten Favorite Holiday Movies (not in order of importance)


*The Christmas List:   Mimi Rogers has a boring, if busy life -- but a list to Santa Claus, of all the things she's ever wanted, or wanted to try, change her life. Not always for the best, it seems, either. I didn't want to like this movie -- but it's one I never miss each year.

*It's A Wonderful Life: Jimmy Stewart, a very strange angel named Clarence, and the chance to see what would happen if you never had been born. What more could one ask?

The Shop Around the Corner: The movie that inspired Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks' endearing You've Got Mail (which easily could be on this list, as well).  Two clerks hate each other on first sight...but have been falling in love via mail, at the same time. A charming picture of a small pre-war shop in New York City. (I know, it's supposed to be in Europe somewhere -- but it sure feels like NYC to me.)

*Scrooge: Albert Finney remains one of the best truly skinflint misers...with a humorous edge. The songs in this musical stay with you, especially "Thank you very much." And Bob Cratchit's buying expedition with 15 shillings ("FIF-TEEN shillings, mind you!") put Black Friday madness back into perspective.

*The Santa Clause:  Is there anyone whose family or friends haven't had to deal with the heartbreak of divorce during the holidays? The notion of a "revolving Santa" is intriguing, but it's the whole 'how do we do this peacefully' dilemma that really breaks my heart. Sad...and funny, too.

*White Christmas:  Along with Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, I watched this late night in a comfortable pile of sleeping bags, and cousins. The only problem: we could sing the songs, but never caught the title! It wasn't until college that I finally learned the movie's name. Great actors, lots of snarky side comments, ebullient music and dance. (Even some weird stuff, like "Choreography" and an  "Abraham" dance-down.)


*The Homecoming:  Where's Dad? He hasn't gotten home from the mill yet -- send Oldest Son out to look for him before it's too late. A Depression era family waits, and so do we. I love this simple, touching movie. It was also the first appearance of John Boy, and his family, the Waltons. (Note: Daughters mutually loathe it, and say it's corny. But hey, whose list is this?!?)


*Holiday Inn:   A restaurant/inn that's only open during holidays, Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby -- and a ton of jokes and side comments, along with the sparkling dance and music. I love, love, love this black-and-white celebration.

*While You Were Sleeping:  The cutest guy in the world falls on the subway tracks...and you save him, only to be mistaken as his fiancee. Spend your holiday with this quirky family, as well as the sweetest, most wistful heroine ever to wander into the subway. (Plus, Bill Pullman is kinda cute.)  For weeks after we see this, we wander around saying, "Was you leanin'??"


*Die Hard:  The perfect antidote for too much sweetness -- a vacationing cop who's the only hope for foiling a bunch of terrorists and saving a high-rise building...not to mention his wife. Bruce Willis brings just the right amount of humor and bravado to this frenetic romp. ("Whadja think -- I'm ordering a pizza!?) And Die Hard 2 is just as good -- not a common happenstance for a sequel, and something DH3 and 4 can't say.


Here's a more-or-less complete list of holiday movies...pick your own. And let me know what your list is!

Black Friday...Scary

Remember my earlier post about Black Friday? Take a look at this scene from a Hawaiian Wal-Mart. My Colorado Wally experience wasn't this bad...but around the displays that held cheap DVDs, I'd say it came uncomfortably close!

Viewpoints actually has a section on Black Friday Horror Stories. While you're there, take some time to write reviews -- 10 of them will net you a $10 Amazon gift card, but only until Nov. 30.

Weird Photos for the Holidays

...how many strange photos did you produce this year?

Actually, we behaved ourselves. Everything looked normal. But that's not the case for others; witness this odd slide show. The best treat of all in this department is Awkward Family Photos.com, which has a full range of just weird to truly bizarre. (Don't miss 'Grandpa's Last Stand' and 'LOL Cats'...sterrrrrraaannnge. There's also Grandpa and Grandma at Christmastime, with three of four grandchildren screaming their heads off.)

For once, I actually celebrated Thanksgiving without reading Christmas stories, or listening to Christmas music. Now, on to enjoy it!