Friday, September 3, 2010

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The Holidays

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As the relationship changes, so do the Valentine’s Day gifts

Do red roses mean more than you’re willing to admit? Does the jewelry you’re giving your loved one send the correct message? What is the appropriate gift to show your mother that you love her on Valentine’s Day?

As the holiday of love quickly approaches, many of us are trying to find the right gifts for our loved ones. For new couples, maybe a gift of red roses in full bloom, which means “I love you,” isn’t what the man is ready to give, or the woman is ready to receive. For couples who have been together for a long time, a lasting gift like a living plant might convey your love better than cut flowers, which wilt quickly and then are thrown away.

Here are some tips to determine what gifts might work well for your relationship.

A new relationship
* Spending time together and discovering new talents is what makes a new relationship so exciting. Consider cooking a special meal for the two of you to enjoy together, or make a favorite food item for your sweetheart, like brownies or a cake.

* Flowers work for any relationship. If you aren’t ready to go the red roses route, consider an arrangement of her favorite type of flower, or roses in her favorite color. Online flower companies have Valentine’s Day specials, and you can find flower coupons for discounts or free delivery at CouponHeaven.com.

Still in the honeymoon stage
After you’ve known each other for a while, and enjoy spending every waking minute together, you start to pick up on your partner’s personal tastes. An extra level of thoughtfulness is conveyed through the giving of a creative and specialized gift.

* Jewelry gifts provide a beautiful way to show how much you care. Diamonds are a traditional favorite for expressing a long-lasting message of love, but other gemstones may be a better fit for the current phase of your relationship. For example, if you want to promote your faithfulness, weaving sapphires into your gift would be a brilliant idea. You can check out what’s available in your local stores or better yet, shop online and find discounts with jewelry coupons. Be sure to leave extra time for delivery if you choose a personalized gift.

* Cologne and perfume also make excellent Valentine’s Day gifts. You can refresh your loved one’s supply easily by shopping online – just make sure to look for coupon codes for free shipping or an extra discount.

Happily ever after
* Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity for established couples to reconnect, and giving your loved one a gift that inspires a memory from happy times in your relationship works well. For example, consider finding a bottle of the wine or champagne you drank on your first date, or at your wedding.

* Being comfortable with each other is what works for happily-ever-after couples. Consider booking a couple’s massage, so you can both enjoy the gift of time spent together in blissful relaxation.

Best friends forever
* Finding a non-romantic gift for your best friend doesn’t have to be difficult. Just pay attention to their special interests and cater to them. For example, browse the bookstore for a copy of their favorite book. Or if they’re into sporting events, think about getting tickets to an upcoming home game or a jersey shirt as a gift.

* Family members will appreciate gifts that bring back memories of time spent together. If you’re creative, a scrapbook of time spent with your mom would make a wonderful gift. Or a digital photo frame preloaded with family photos will put a smile on your dad’s face.

Of course, it’s easy to show how much you care this Valentine’s Day. A simple hug will go a long way.

Filed Under: Valentines Day

Outdoor Decorating Ideas for the Holiday Season

Everyone is familiar with the longstanding practice of putting up outdoor Christmas lights. That’s still a great way to decorate the exterior of a home. But go beyond the usual and add some delightful twists to your decorating efforts.

A string of colored lights wrapped around the pine tree in the front yard is fine. But take advantage of modern technology. Add a holographic snowman to your lawn and delight the neighbors and yourself. These simple devices will project a snowman image in 3-D anywhere you want. You can walk all around the display and see a snowman in Christmas colors.

Take the next step and add motion to the scene. Moving light shows that project Christmas-themed images can be anything from simple colored lights to complete video. You can light up an outdoor bush or project a scene onto the garage door. You can make the shadows dance under the eaves or twinkle the angel decoration on the top of the house.

Add real objects to the light display and flesh out the decorations.

The Nativity scene is a holiday favorite and still works well in many decorating schemes. Spruce it up a little by adding some spray-on snow if you don’t live in a climate that provides the real thing. Add some realistic touches by putting down small clumps of straw inside and outside the manger.

Sadly, though, sometimes a person will get the idea to ruin the scene. So, you may want to invest in some security. Devices such as a buried-in-the-lawn wire alarm system can alert you to unwanted visitors in the night.

Mailboxes provide the perfect opportunity to exercise your creativity. You can go for traditional ribbons and bows or spruce it up with decorative red and gold-colored paints. Or, you can go a little more abstract and design a decorative wreath made from non-traditional materials. An icy-crystal look can be achieved by using white wire hangers and shiny translucent plastic.

Place a white or colored light in the center of the wreath and hang it from the mailbox. You can run the wire down the pole and along a thin extension cord to the lawn lights. Or, use a solar-powered light that stores up energy during the day and releases it at night.

If you have trees and/or bushes in the yard they give you plenty of objects to decorate in traditional or unusual ways. Strings of lights work fine. Faux-icicles are still a great favorite. But be creative and use some miniature figurines to make your design unique. Tiny figures from the Grinch Who Stole Christmas are an idea. Or, sprinkle the foliage with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs carrying out their characteristic actions.

Even the lawn itself can be a huge canvas. Light strings, solar lights in the shape of a wreath, some special glow-in-the-dark paint of the type that washes away after a few weeks…. The list of possibilities is bound only by your imagination.

Filed Under: Christmas