My sister and the rest of the gang did their best to cheer me up. I got more presents than I’ve received in years! I didn’t need any of them, but I appreciated every single one of them. I think my sister alone bought me six or seven gifts. LOL One of them was one of those funny t shirts with a saying on it that I’d better not repeat here that made me laugh for a few minutes. It definitely fit what I’m going through.

Another reason why Christmas was different is because I actually stayed over at my sisters. I’ve never done that before. I stayed over Christmas eve until boxing day (3 days) and because I have a dog she also stayed at my sisters too. Oh and it was the dogs first time around cats so that was interesting. Luckily the cats and my dog got along fairly well so that was a good thing.

How was your Christmas or Holiday season?

She’s just started her own home business making all kinds of craft items -everything from hair clips to fancy dog collars to home made soaps and so on. I don’t even know the extent of what she makes but there’s all kinds of things. I don’t even know where she finds the time to it all. She’s always posting new pictures on her Facebook page of new items she’s just made.

Anyway, the other day I called my sister and my niece was busy making some kind of no sew blanket. My sister explained how she was doing it, but I think I’d have to see it to really understand – but it sounds cool. The floor was apparently covered with material, bead, yarn and all her crafting tools. I’m surprised my sisters cats didn’t get into any of the stuff that was scattered about!

The Christmas gift I got for my niece has everything to do with her craft business. I hope she likes it.

Do you have a crafty person in your family as well?

Obviously I’m still going to have to do some shopping in stores, but luckily it’s still early enough in the month that I can do a little shopping online if I can find some gift ideas for the people on my list. For example, one of my friends lives in a rural area and she’s always complaining about her cellphone service. She has a lot of trouble getting reception so .. I found this wilson cellular booster online and I’m thinking about getting her one. I’m sure it would help make her cellphone work better for her when she’s at home.

Ok .. time to start browsing online for gifts … How about you, are you all caught up on your shopping or are you still checking people off your list too?

I would like to get some, if not all, of my Christmas shopping done before November is over if that’s possible. I’d love to be finished before the stores and malls are crowded with people. Better yet – I might even be able to do some of my Christmas shopping online. I found a site that has some great ideas for personalized mens gifts and that might help me cross a few names off my list.

How are you doing with your Holiday shopping? Did you start yet? One thing that I know for sure – I’m going to try not to spend too much this year!

She came to me a month or so ago asking for advice on how to start a small business and once I knew what kind of business she was working on I suggested that she set up on Etsy. However things have just exploded for her in the last month and I hear that she might be looking into unsecured business loans soon! Yes … that’s how fast things are picking up.

I hope that her business takes off. Of course if it does she’ll probably have to hire a few people to help her out. Anyway if you love craft items or need to get some as gifts for friends or relatives check out Muench Love Creations.

I think I have the gifts for our nieces figured out, and I have a few creative ideas for the nephews. One of my nephews is really into baseball. He plays on a school team and then in the summer in plays in a community little league. So .. I thought about maybe getting him one of those personalized baseball bats. I think he’d love it. Gifts for the rest of the boys are pretty easy … video games, video games and more video games. They love them!

My brother in law might be coming for a visit from Chicago. We don’t know for sure yet, but my mother in law said he’s going to try to come to the Toronto area if he can .. if only for a few days.

I guess we’re going to have to visit a few cigar retailers to try to find his favorite cigars. He loves nothing more than having a cigar when he comes for a visit to Toronto … only this year he’s not going to have my husband to smoke with since we both quit smoking this year! I’m sure he’ll be disappointed but he’ll get over it.

Are you having out of town guests during the holidays? Do you do anything special when you’re expecting guests?

After all, don’t let the term “diecast toy” fool you. While they certainly can be playthings that amuse children, there are all different types of figurines that make for fabulous showpieces and add to the décor in a person’s home. Furthermore, these aren’t cheep toys. Available in various sizes, colors, designs, and replicas, the majority of die-cast products purchased as collectors items have moveable parts, are a work of art, and are often quite valuable.

Thus, not only are die-cast truck models great gifts for truckers who may want to add to or start building a collection of their own, but they are also ideal for collecting should the gift receiver wish to sell it to other collectors in the future when its value increases.

She’s not one to even celebrate her birthdays let alone expect extravagant gifts, however I want to get her something nice. Something that she’d use and hopefully enjoy for a long time.

I’ve been looking at some personalized gifts. She’s a photographer so I was thinking that a personalized photo frame or something similar might be nice for her.

Of course I’ll probably get her something else as well – maybe a gift certificate for a spa day or something like that.

What would you get for a good friend who’s turning forty?

Man, this month could be expensive!

My parents are gone, unfortunately … but my husbands are still around. My husbands father is 81. Hmmm What do you get an 81 year old for Father’s day?

Lucky for me I came across this father’s day gift guide 2010 and I think it might help give me some ideas. It might help you too if you’re as stumped as I am.

At this point I have no idea what we’ll get for my Father in Law. He’s really into genealogy and any thing Ireland … so maybe something along those lines.

Have you come up with any cool ideas for Father’s Day? Care to pass a suggestion along?