Dec 6
If you celebrate Christmas in your home, chances are there will be a wreath to adorn your front door this holiday season. Have you ever stopped to wonder where this tradition came from or why we hang a wreath on the door at Christmas?
Read moreNov 1
Feb 9
Joe Coulombe opened the first Trader Joe store in 1967 in Pasadena, California. It has been an enormous success story and is now in many States throughout the United States. We found these fun facts about Trader Joes and thought you would enjoy reading them.
Apr 25
Everyone has had pigs in blanket, breakfast sausages wrapped in pancakes. This is a variation on that theme. Little cocktail hot dogs wrapped in buttered toast. Kids of all ages love these! Read more
Feb 7
It goes without saying that some people dislike the fact that card and candy companies promote Valentine’s Day with the intent of making large profits. But I think in a world of people hungry for love, and longing to be known by someone who cares, we should grab every opportunity that comes our way to show love to anyone our hearts bring to mind. That might be a friend, a sister or brother, certainly a child or grandchild, a parent, and of course a spouse or boyfriend or girlfriend. Expressing love and affection is always a good idea.
Sometimes though, the difficulty isn’t the desire to express one’s affection, but just plain feeling stuck when it comes to choosing a gift that might show someone you care. It is hard to feel good about typical generic gifts like an average looking tie or drugstore box of candy, or some little meaningless thing you picked up on the fly just to at least have something for that special someone.
What matters most to people is how much thought you have put into the token of your affection, whatever that is. Take some time to really think about the person for whom you are buying or making a gift, and what things he or she likes. What is their favorite music, favorite color, favorite restaurant? Do they love to read or have a special hobby or sport they enjoy? Is there something you have heard them say they are wishing they had? Your gift may or may not be something that would generally be considered classically romantic, but if it is something that you know the person you love has been longing to have, I assure you they will appreciate the fact that you know them well enough to know what they would love to receive. This is what we mean by “a gift from the heart”.
(A note here to the wise….. if your wife or girlfriend has mentioned that she wishes she had a new toaster, this is NOT the time to fulfill that wish. Appliances just aren’t ever a good idea for Valentine’s Day, so try to find something else she is wishing she had.)
Jackie and I put our heads (and hearts) together and came up with a short list of some gift suggestions for this Valentine’s Day. These are just ideas that we hope will spark some other creative ideas for you. We would love to hear from you about what creative gifts you have come up with for your special someone. Please share them with us, and all our chums!
