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Posts Tagged ‘Christmas’

It was the Christmas of 1977, I was 9 years old, and my older brother got an air hockey table from Santa. We were just at the age when we were pretty sure that we knew the truth about Santa Claus and were determined to stay up and catch him in the act. We lived in a tri-level house, and my brother’s room was on the first floor, right by the entry way and the family room. He had bunk beds, so I slept downstairs in his room with plans not to sleep that night. We laid in our beds and chatted excitedly but quietly (Christmas Eve is not the time to get in trouble, just in case Santa was real!) Every now and then we would quietly open the door and sneak up the stairs to peak into the living room. But always it was the same, quiet and no change. It was going to be a long night.

I guess we must have fallen asleep, though I still don’t remember actually sleeping. It was around 4:30 in the morning when Matthew and I snuck out of the room. We crept upstairs, and sure enough, Santa had been there while we were sleeping! Santa always brought us one present each, and we easily located my gift and the gifts for our two little sisters, but nothing for Matthew. As we went back down to Matthew’s room, we spotted something in the Family Room. Yes, and air hockey table–we were so excited! 

My parents always had a rule on Christmas morning. We could get up early and play with our Santa gift, but we had to wait until 8:00 before we could wake them up. So here it was, about 4:30 or 5:00 in the morning, and Matthew and I were playing air hockey and having a blast! But my mom’s memory of it isn’t as fun. It just so happened that our parent’s room was on the third floor, right above the family room (typical tri-story house layout), and of course, the heating vent ran right from the family room to their bedroom. So Mom and Dad had been up late and were trying to finally get some sleep, and all they can hear is a clickity-click-click-click! Needless to say, we were sent back to bed and had to wait to play until later.

But that air hockey table was the most popular and memorable Christmas gift of all time, one that I still remember more than any other. It provided hours of family fun. As kids we would hold tournaments, and the more neighbor kids involved, the better. Our home was always one where everyeone hung out anyhow, so the air hockey table was an added bonus. We probably didn’t play with official rules, but we had a lot of fun, making up our own rules and games as only a child can. But  unlike child’s toys, there was no age limit to those who enjoyed playing, and the game never got old because new opponents brought on new challenges.

For great family time, air hockey tables can’t be beat. I know that it brought us hours of fun when I was growing up, and brought us together as a family. Plus, we still enjoy the air hockey table with the telling of the story, and laugh at Matthew and I playing very early on Christmas morning and waking up our parents with a clickity-clack!

 

One of the traditions of Christmas is gift-giving to our friends, family, and clients.  As Chrismas is coming soon, it’s time to do our holiday shopping for the recipients on our list.  Instead of going through the hassle of shopping in the mall, shop for holiday gift baskets online this season. There will be no more looking for a parking spot, and waiting in long lines in the shopping mall.  There won’t be any gifts to wrap, nor any trips to the post office.  Shopping for gift baskets online is a cost effective and time efficent way to shop for your gifts.  This article provides an overview on some of the Christmas gift baskets available online.    There are many types of gifts to choose from, including: holiday gift baskets, Christmas fruit baskets, holiday cookies, candies, fresh baked goodies, and special theme gifts for men, women, and children.

An elegant way to send your warm holiday wishes to clients, families, or groups is to send them a holiday gift basket.  These gift baskets come in different sizes to fit your gift-giving needs, and can handle any event from a family get-together to a company party. These gift baskets are dressed up in their holiday best, and overloaded with mouthwatering gourmet treats. These indulgent gifts are sure to satisfy even those hard to please recipients on your gift list. Instead of gift basket, you can send holiday gift tower. These gift towers are beautifully arranged collection of gold foil boxes, adorned with red holiday ribbon and filled with richly scrumptious treats, such as white chocolate covered cream filled sandwich, double chocolate covered mocha truffles, chocolate cherries, and walnut fudge.  These sensational gifts will bring your holiday wishes with great taste.

There are many variations of holiday gift baskets that come with keepsake decorations.  For example, one popular design is the holiday sleigh gift basket.  This beautiful brass decorative holiday sleigh is filled with plenty of holiday goodies, and will serve as part of Christmas decoratons for years to come.  Inside the sleigh can be a plush Christmas bear, votive candleholders, a CD of holiday music, or jinglebell holiday door knocker, depending on the variation of holiday sleigh gift.  Other holiday gift baskets come with heirloom keepsake decorations, gingerbread house candle, holiday bear tree ornament, or angel bear tree top decoration.  These gifts are ideal for family gifts, and can add a touch of family tradition to the holiday celebration.  For families with young children, You may want to send a velvet Santa’s bag stuffed with holiday candy and cookies inside.  The Santa’s bag can be used year after year to bring back memories of your lovely gift of good taste.

Holiday celebration is not complete without delicious cookies. A popular gift is the Christmas cookie house, which is filled inside with gingerbread men cookies with white fudge icing.  Another popular gift is a ceramic hand painted cookie jar filled with chocolate chunky chewey cookies, and hand decorated holiday shortbread cookies.  Everyone on your list will love this delightful cookie jar. For family gatherings or office parties, you may also want to include a gift of fresh baked goodies.  This special gift features scrumptious coffee house style pound cake, chocolate chip blondies, brownies with walnuts, milk chocolate foils, and aromaful coffee. Comes ready to serve in a cozy wicker basket. For health conscious recipients, Christmas fruit baskets may be the gift of choice.  These baskets are packed with a nourishing, juicy, and beautiful variety of harvest-fresh fruits and delicious assortment of holiday treats: white chocolate Christmas tree pretzels, handmade candy cane, butter toffee peanuts, mixed nuts, Ghirardelli chocolate, and beautifully decorated sugar cookies. That’s a fun way to say Merry Christmas!

Non-food Christmas gifts are also available. One example is an outdoor decoration panel that will brighten the recipient’s home. This adorable snowman family is made from hand-painted, hinged wood panels that stand up wherever you put them.  This gift is a lovely expression of your fondest holiday wishes. Another non-food Christmas gift is an all in one container garden which contains easy-grow peppermint seeds, nutrients, soil in a candy cane designed leak resistant container. The recipient can just plant, water and grow the seeds in the container.  This gift will make a wonderful addition to anyone’s holiday season.

If you are looking for a gift for your wife, mom, or girlfriend, send her a bath and body gift basket.  These lovely gift baskets are filled with fresh bath essentials that will help her to relax.  One such beautiful gift basket comes in a fashionable pink and sage tin, and includes hand & body lotion, a handy nylon sponge, bath gel and an aromatherapy candle, all in the soothing and invigorating scent of cucumber and melon. Once the spa products have been enjoyed, the stylish planter/tin can be reused.

Gift baskets that are most welcomed by men include meat and cheese gifts, and sports gift baskets.  Golf gift baskets, NASCAR theme gift basket are especially popular for men. Bath and body gift baskets for men are also available.  For kids, popular gifts include Jelly Belly bean machine, Christmas bear with chocolate chip cookie mix, and kids activity gift basket which is packed with a music CD for kids, sticker game, coloring book, drawing pad, jumping rope, and plenty of delicious treats.

In conclusion, there are wide selections of gift baskets available for your friends, family, clients, and someone special,  You can see why shopping for Christmas gift baskets online is a convenient and effective way to select the perfect gifts. 

Every Christmas our hearts are filled with hope and joy. It’s a festival of exchanging good wishes and gifts to friens and clients. If you are looking for a special gift this Christmas why not consider a Christmas gift basket or hamper. A Christmas gift basket is the best way to show your feelings to your family, friends, clients and collegues. A Christmas gift basket is one of the best ways through which you can express your feelings this festive season. Christmas hampers are can be designed to suit your budget and style as well as matching contents to the recipient. Hampers containing wine and Champagne are always the most popular gifts baskets to send at Christmas. Remember Christmas is a celebration and it is human nature to celebrate an occasion with alcohol. Of course hampers are available within wine if required. There are many different online gift shops where you can find Christmas gift basket. A simple online search can help you find a reliable Christmas gift outlet. Always choose a company which has been around for a while. The professionalism of their website will say alot about the company you are ordering from. One of the best gauges is to have a look at the quality of the images on display. This will tell you whether they are professional or a backyard operation. Below are some of the Christmas gift basket ideas which you can search for: • Corporate Christmas gift basket • Gourmet Christmas hamper • Christmas cookie gift basket • Christmas gourmet food gift basket • Christmas chocolate gift basket • Christmas wine gift basket • Christmas Champagne gift basket • Christmas Bon Bon gift basket• Christmas baby gift basket Corporate Gift Baskets There are many corporate Christmas gift baskets available on the internet, Christmas time provides a great opportunity for businesses to thank and present gifts to employee who have worked hard during the year. A show of appreciation can go a long way in retaining staff or getting the most out of them. It is also a perfect period for a business to thank its most valued customers. Customer loyalty is very important in business and there is no better way to reward this loyalty than giving them a Christmas gift basket. Hampers can be customised with your company colours and in some instances your company logo can be incorporated.