Grandma Stories» christmas gift ideas

Christmas For Grandparents – Personalized Christmas Gifts For Grandparents

Grandma — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 23:37:52 +0000

Choosing Christmas gifts for grandparents can at times be difficult, especially since many if not most grandparents have a home full of just about everything they need. Having seen several lists of what are deemed to be the “worst Christmas gifts for grandparents”, it is easy to see why gifting grandparents with things like cookbooks or knickknacks that must be cleaned or dusted aren’t the best ideas for gifting purposes.

Many grandparents have already or are in process of downsizing their homes to smaller abodes, so the last thing grandparents or elderly people need or want is more “stuff” to fill shelves and spend time on cleaning. Finding the perfect Christmas gift for a grandparent doesn’t have to be expensive, can certainly be homemade and dearly loved, and the more personalized the gift is the happier the grandparents will be.

While many grandparents love to receive new photos of their grandchildren for Christmas or other occasions, a new twist on the photo gift is to make a homemade iron on transfer and put the grandchildren’s picture on a sweatshirt or t-shirt for grandma and/or grandpa to wear proudly. Using fabric paint for the grandchildren to put their little hand prints on the front or back of the shirt is also a nice idea, and some parents even have their children use a fabric marker to write a special personalized message on the sweatshirt for an inexpensive gift.

Both grandma’s and grandpa’s love to bake cookies with their grandchildren, so one homemade gift idea might be to make “jar gifts” from your kitchen with dry ingredients for making cookies, brownies, muffins, cakes etc and place the ingredients in wide mouth jars or Mason jars in layers, decorated by the grandchildren with pretty ribbons and recipe instructions.

Another nice Christmas gift idea for grandparents requires a little help from the parents for making a homemade calendar with computer software with photos of the grandchildren for each of the twelve months. The grandchild(ren) can help select some of the best pictures to be used on the homemade calendar for a personalized touch, and may even want to use some decorative stickers for special dates like birthdays, holidays and anniversaries. Kids can make some kitchen magnets with self-photos using magnetic sheets, or plain kitchen magnets in various shapes with small photos applied, poems, special phrases or quotes.

For grandparents who have gardens, making some personalized stepping stones with clay kits is another cheap gift idea that grandparents will love, or handprint clay kits for young children to give their grandparents with hanging ribbon to display on the walls of their home. Personalized Christmas ornaments are lovely gifts for grandparents to trim their Christmas tree each year, and many other do-it-yourself craft kits for making grandma a necklace or bracelet and many other homemade craft gifts.

For Christmas, grandparents of all ages and abilities love nostalgia. Giving thoughtful gifts that bring back memories of long ago and perhaps forgotten over the years can brighten the smile on a grandparent’s face, being reminded of fun family times and family gatherings with a digital photo frame to cycle through important happy events. Grandchildren making a homemade scrapbook with help from mom and dad is another inexpensive but well thought out gift for grandparents to cherish.

Many grandparents love to read books but may have difficulty reading books with poor eyesight, which makes audio books a great gift option. Noise-cancelling earphones or headphones with volume controls allows grandparents with hearing impairment to enjoy listening to their favorite music or TV shows without difficulty. Senior grandparents who have difficulty getting around on their own, but enjoy activities to keep their mind sharp, find gifts like crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, board games, dominoes and crafting supplies wonderful gifts for grandparents to keep active.

Deciding on the best Christmas gifts for grandparents of any age is just a matter of knowing what their interests and hobbies are. Gift Grandma and/or Grandpa with a luxurious shower gift set or bath set for enjoying a soothing, warming and body-ache-reducing luxury bath or shower, perhaps with a bottle of their favorite women’s perfume or men’s cologne for a nice xmas present. As always, it truly is the Thought behind the gifts given that counts not the price tag, no matter how cheap the gifts may be, your thoughtful gift will be appreciated and cherished for many years.

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Door Draft Blockers – How to Make Door Draft Stoppers with Door or Window Draft Dodger Patterns

Grandma — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 21:20:46 +0000

Door draft blockers are called by many different names. Door draft blocker, door draft stopper, door draft dodger, door draft stop and even a “bean snake”. Simply put, a door draft dodger, stopper or blocker is a long tube of fabric that is sewn and stuffed with various materials and used to keep the cold and windy outside air from coming into your house or apartment through drafty windows, doors and fireplaces.

Using door draft stoppers under doors, along drafty window sills, to cover any cracks where cold air leaks in or around fireplaces helps keep warm air in and cold air outside where it belongs, and helps consumers save money on heating bills and energy during cold and blustery winter months. During hot summer months, cool air conditioned air can leak out through the same cracks around doors, patios and windows, substantially increasing your electric air-conditioning bills.

Stop Door Drafts! Every home has at least one leaky door, window or window sills, patio sliding door, basement doors or windows, fireplace or attic doors that should be checked for air leaks. To check for any air leaks or cracks, feel around every door, door frames, windows and other areas of your home with your bare hand or cheek and see if you feel any amount of air leakage or draft.

You can buy snake-shaped door draft dodgers to guard and protect against air leaks that actually look like a snake with a whimsical designed red felt tongue and button snake eyes, or various animals like dogs and cats. Grandpa and I love the Hallmark Maxine door draft dodger we found on eBay, which could be used to block door drafts or as a decorative fireplace mantel shelf sitter.

How to Make Door Draft Stoppers

Making door draft stoppers is an ideal, inexpensive craft project for sewing beginners and a great kids craft project for older kids, sewn on a sewing machine (with help from mom or Grandma), crocheted or knitted. Beginner sewing books and simple door draft patterns with easy to follow instructions are cheap, with suggestions on fabrics to use and a list of things needed to make whatever style door or window draft stopper you might want to make.

Free, printable, downloadable sewing patterns can be found online to make fabric snake door draft stoppers, patchwork door draft blockers and very cute character themed drafty door blockers that look like a dog (dachshund, sheepdog, husky, lab, etc), cool cats, cow, leopard, dragon, hippo, camouflage, giraffe, bunny rabbit, Santa Claus, snowman, Wizard of Oz wicked witch of the west ruby slippers and legs draft stopper, dolls, a Star Wars space slug, brown wood fireplace log, a tree branch with green leaves, gnome and mushroom, and many other ingenious ideas for craft hobbyists.

If you want to make your own fabric stuffed draft snake with your sewing machine, you will need enough fabric to cover the area where your draft dodger will be placed. Fabric needed for making draft stoppers can be heavy duty fabrics like corduroy, denim (old jeans), upholstery or quilt fabric. You can also use 100% cotton, flannel, heavy stretch knits or polar fleece, polyester blends, super soft micro-suede fabric, dad’s old neckties, etc. If you have any leftover fabric pieces from previous sewing/craft projects, these would work nicely for making patchwork draft stoppers.

Besides your sewing machine (unless sewing seams by hand -ugh!), you will need measuring tape, matching or coordinating thread, good quality fabric cutting shears, your sewing pattern/template (if needed), straight/stick pins, funnel and stuffing materials. Optional materials needed for DIY draft stoppers, depending on what kind of draft stopper you plan to make, might include a variety of decorative accessories such as buttons for eyes, felt material for snake tongue, etc.

What to stuff your door draft dodger with? There are many ideas for stuffing materials that range from eco-friendly recycled products you may already have in your home like old socks, cloth scraps, old sheets, pillowcases, cut up sweatshirts or t-shirts, cotton gloves and towels etc will all make great stuffing for recycled door draft stoppers.

Stuffing ideas may also be sawdust, sandbox sand, dried beans, peas, shredded up newspaper, un-popped popcorn, aquarium gravel, cat litter or “yesterday’s news cat litter” made from recycled newspaper, pieces of quilt cotton batting, fiberfill pillow stuffing, polypropylene pellets used in beanie babies which are washable and nontoxic. Uncooked rice and feed corn is sometimes suggested for filling draft dodger snakes but is not recommended for homes with pet dogs or cats, and anyone experiencing trouble with mice should definitely not use corn or other grains as an organic filler for draft stoppers.

5 online resources where you can learn simple and easy ways of making adorable homemade drafter stoppers are:

Door Draft Blocker Snake Craft that Kids Can Make at CraftJr.com
Martha Stewart’s Draft Dodger Tutorial and Template at her website
20 Door Draft Snake Ideas for Do-It-Yourselfer’s at The Daily Green
15 Door Draft Stoppers, Dodgers, Snakes with FREE Patterns at TipNut (love this site!)
FREE Download, Printable DIY Door Draft Snake in PDF at VonFrau

Detailed, step-by-step “how to” instructions, pictures and printable tutorials to make your own door draft stoppers includes my personal favorite which is the “hot dog draft stop” snake I found on the craft stylish website, that I am in process of making into a Lab draft stopper for Grandpa.

Crafter’s and hobbyists can turn their homemade sewn, knitted or crocheted door draft stoppers into wonderful wintertime Christmas gifts, donate the draft stoppers to homeless shelters, senior citizens, low-income families in need, church groups, or even sell them online at Etsy.com or at craft sales or garage sales. Fun, easy to make, and best of all…appreciated.

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Kids Luggage Suitcase Sets – Melissa and Doug Trunki – Disney Suitcases For Kids and Babies

Grandma — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 22:45:48 +0000

Kids luggage, specially designed suitcases for kids, babies and toddlers are very popular for children of all ages for travel or when going to Grandpa and Grandma’s house for a visit. Children enjoy having their own luggage to call their own and put their clothes and toys in when traveling out of town, and since Grandpa and I have grandchildren that enjoy visiting, we thought it would be a great idea to look for kids suitcases for sale that are age appropriate and in colors or designs the kids would enjoy.

Kids luggage come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Children’s suitcase styles include backpacks, duffel bags, kids rolling luggage with wheels attached and are the right size as carry on bags when travel requires flying on an airplane. With a new grand baby on the way, we’ve of course looked for baby luggage as well. When our soon-to-be born granddaughter is coming to visit or spend the day/weekend with Grandma and Grandpa, the cute little baby girl will come supplied with everything she’ll want or need for a fun stay.

The toddler suitcases we found for sale are so cute, from popular luggage brands like Samsonite, and the Disney suitcases and polka dot luggage sets for kids or babies are not very expensive at all. To make it easy for young children to lug around their suitcases, luggage makers have fortunately made rolling luggage for kids, toddlers and even babies in the cutest styles.

Melissa and Doug Trunki Kids Suitcases

Since there is a new grand baby on the way, we were happy to find specially designed baby luggage by Child to Cherish in pink or blue colors that says Ready or Not, Here I Come Grandma on the outside of the suitcase. The very popular brand Melissa & Doug luggage called Trunki, part luggage and part riding toy, is prefect for little kids and toddlers who might otherwise grow tired pulling their suitcase or walking through the airport.

Older kids might be happy with solid color luggage or any number of character themes, patterns and styles of kids suitcases, but after seeing how cute the Melissa and Doug Trunki suitcase is for girls and boys, our grandchildren will have fun riding on their suitcase as a scoot toy and have the benefits of very own luggage all rolled into one.

While I’m sure there are many suitcase brands for kids of all ages available for sale to choose from, Melissa and Doug toys and wooden toys, puzzles, toy kitchen and play food, kids crafts, train sets, drawing easel, puppets and blocks for kids, and the extremely popular Melissa and Doug dollhouse for little girls are all high quality, trusted products. It only makes sense that Melissa & Doug’s luggage for kids on wheels, that little girls and boys can ride on and play with, would also be a high quality product parents and grandparents can fully trust.

Our toddler size granddaughter is almost two years old now and she has fun playing with all of the Melissa & Doug toys she has received so far and will continue to receive for Christmas, birthdays or as just because gifts, and the same goes for our yet-to-be born granddaughter when she makes her appearance into the world. Melissa and Doug’s Trunki comes in several colors for boys and girls, including Trixie pink, Sunny orange, Ruby red, Terrance blue, Jade green and Iris purple.

Disney Luggage Bags For Kids

Disney bags and Disney luggage sets and sleeping bags for kids are also very popular suitcases, with a variety of Disney character themes that toddlers and kids love. Some of the best known Disney characters like Mickey Mouse, Tinkerbell, Minnie Mouse, Little Mermaid, Disney Princess and the Frog, Winnie the Pooh and others are amongst the list of very popular kids rolling luggage, tags and backpacks.

With so many luggage options for little girls and boys, it’s sometimes hard to choose one over the other choices, especially when kids get a little older and become a tad picky. We’re nowhere near that kid stage with these little grandchildren being babies and toddlers, so until the children get old enough to voice their own preferences for a specific suitcase style or their parents choose their favorite, we’re going to go with Trunki by Melissa and Doug in pink and purple. Once the Trunki’s are received and tested out, maybe I’ll do a blog review about it.

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Best Last Minute Christmas Gift Ideas of Last Minute Gifts to Make or Buy

Grandma — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 08:00:42 +0000

No one can accuse me of being a procrastinator, waiting until the last minute to buy Christmas gifts for everyone on our list. Shopping for Christmas gifts at the last minute, within days, hours or minutes of Christmas gift-giving exchanges would make this Grandma stressed out and unable to enjoy the fun festivities of the holiday season. Christmas Eve gift shopping? Yikes!

Even though our Christmas shopping is often finished well ahead of time, gift-wrapped and ready for Christmas gatherings with family and friends, sometimes there is a need to buy or make a last minute Christmas gift for an unexpected guest. It isn’t much fun watching or participating in opening Christmas gifts when someone is invited at the last minute to a Christmas dinner party when there is not a single present for him or her to open. Awkward is putting it mildly.

I like to keep a list of a few last minute gift ideas for those “just in case” moments at Christmastime, gifts that are inexpensive but still thoughtful, and certainly something the child, teen or adult would actually like and enjoy receiving. If I were as crafty as I’d like to be, I’d have a few pre-made, homemade knitted or crocheted hats, scarves, mittens etc in a nicely decorated Christmas-themed box for those surprise moments when a last minute gift is needed.

Since I don’t know how to sew very well yet, and I certainly have no experience with knitting or crocheting or making other handmade crafts to give as gifts, I have to stick with quick and easy cheap gifts from a retail store or homemade gift ideas of things that can be quickly made and given from my kitchen. Homemade Christmas sugar cookies with icing and sprinkles, brownies, fudge, Pecan Sandies tea cookies, soup mixes in a mason jar, my pecan pie muffins with a recipe card attached etc.

Homemade Christmas food gifts like: rum cake, coffee cake, pumpkin bread, popcorn or granola mixes, caramel corn clusters, chocolate bark with or without nuts, homemade biscotti cookie samplers, canned jams and jellies, chocolate-dipped peppermint sticks, homemade hot chocolate mixes presented in a holiday-themed coffee cup or mug, all make easy last minute Christmas gifts to make and enjoyed by the recipient.

Last minute gift ideas for wine drinkers isn’t hard either; just make a small homemade gift basket out of a good quality bottle of wine, add some cheese and cracker selections along with a new bottle opener, wrap it all up in a pretty basket or box with some colorful cellophane and ribbon and you’re all set to go.

A last minute trip to our local grocery store or pharmacy offers some quick and inexpensive gift ideas of fruit and nut gift basket selections, varieties of bubble bath or novelty soaps, great smelling candles, gift cards for restaurants or movie theaters or electronics stores etc, gourmet coffee and tea gift sets, women’s perfumes or men’s cologne’s, just to name a few of some of the best things that can be found last minute.

Shopping last minute for Secret Santa Christmas parties at work with co-workers can sometimes be a challenge, especially when the maximum price for a gift is no more than five, ten or twenty dollars. We found a cheap webcam within the required price range and it was one of the gifts everyone was fighting over. Inexpensive tools for men or women, small electronic gadgets, digital photo frames, barbeque/grill tool sets, books from a top-notch author, movies, CD’s, magazine subscriptions all make excellent, quick and easy to find last minute gifts.

Last minute Christmas gifts for kids or grandchildren might include a couple of the most popular board games for kids, building blocks, jigsaw puzzles, stuffed toys, high-bounce balls, toy cars or trucks, etc. The possibilities are endless if you really put your mind to it. Gift shopping at the last minute before Christmas still means putting some thought into what the gift recipient likes and enjoys, specifically needs or wants for Christmas.

Even though we’re finished with all of our Christmas shopping and ready for just about anything, there is always the possibility that an additional guest or two will be added last minute to our dinner guest list. We’re not worried at all though, as we’ve got lots of ideas for gifts we can make at home, in the kitchen, or quickly run to a local store and buy a small gift for our house guest just in case.

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Handmade Christmas Decorations – Indoor Christmas Decorations to Make

Grandma — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 19:21:01 +0000

Making handmade Christmas decorations, Christmas tree ornaments, diningroom table and fireplace mantel xmas home decor is just one of the many reasons why I’m anxious to receive my new sewing machine for Christmas this year. Christmas is my all-time favorite holiday, not because of all the festive Christmas gift-giving or receiving gifts that goes with the holiday season, but because of what Christmas means to me personally.

To me, Christmas means spending time with those you love and who love you, remembering that Christmas is all about Jesus and all He did for us, not about Christmas presents. Christmas is a time of sharing and being with family and close friends, helping those in need who are less fortunate than ourselves, like people living in shelters or homeless people living on the street or those who don’t have enough food to eat. You don’t have to be a Church-going attendee to understand the true meaning of Christmas.

Decorating for Christmas, indoor and outdoor, can get very expensive. I’m not really interested in decorating every room in the house for Christmas, but I’ve gotten quite a few great ideas on ways to decorate for Christmas from online pictures and sewing patterns of things I can make myself, at a much cheaper price than simply buying decorations at retail or online stores. As a self-proclaimed sewing beginner, finding simple, quick and easy craft projects that I can make with my sewing machine or by hand, gives me so many Christmas decorating ideas that I don’t know where to begin.

I’ve made my own Christmas wreaths before and the wreaths turned out quite nicely, so much so that I’ve been asked a few times to make Christmas wreaths for others, and I was happy to oblige. A few years ago I was asked to make several wreaths of varying kinds and styles that would be sold at a church craft sale and the proceeds donated to charity, and I fully intend on making and selling other Christmas decorations and crafts where the profit proceeds are once again donated to charities.

I enjoy handmade and commercial Christmas decorations and ornaments of all kinds just like everyone else does. Angels, gingerbread houses, snowmen, reindeer, Santa’s and elves, they’re all beautiful and unique in different ways. Indoor and outdoor animated Christmas decorations make us laugh and smile, but I have no lofty plans of making animated decorations or wooden outdoor Christmas yard art whatsoever. I’ll leave the animated stuff and lawn décor to the skilled and experienced professionals.

To make Christmas decorations that are homemade, made by hand or with my sewing machine, will be a long-term project of making a variety of crafts to display throughout the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season at home, to give as inexpensive gifts or to adorn Christmas presents with homemade Christmas tree ornaments rather than using typical cheap ribbons and bows sold in stores.

I become a kid-at-heart during the Christmas holiday season, especially during our annual visit to a relatively expensive Christmas decoration store where I get some great ideas for decorating at Christmastime without actually buying much of anything at the very high-priced store. Virtually everything sold at the local Christmas décor store is handmade, including artificial Christmas trees, ornaments, stockings, tree skirts, countdown calendars, garland, home decorations, tablecloths, wreaths etc, but buying unique handmade Christmas decorations there comes at a very high cost that will drain your wallet dry rather quickly.

With my adoration for reindeer and snowman Christmas decorations being at the top of my list of craft projects to start making, besides the usual Santa’s and elves and sleighs of course, decorating the front door, fireplace mantel, kitchen, bathroom, living room and dining room areas for the Christmas season is going to be a lot of fun. It will also give me plenty of time and opportunity to greatly improve my sewing and crafting skills in order to feel competent and good enough to sell (or give as gifts) the homemade Christmas decorations I decide to make.

I’ll of course be watching closely for after-Christmas sales, discounts and clearances on exterior Christmas decorations to save for next year’s lawn displays. Finding unique and inexpensive blow up outdoor decorations shouldn’t be too hard, except at retail stores that have already been picked over and the only yard art left is stuff no one else wants either. I have no intention of turning the inside or outside of our house into a Santa’s village or “winter wonderland” at all, but it will be a lot of fun to at least have a few rooms decorated nicely for Christmas parties and family gatherings and not look so primitive and bare.

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No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe

Grandma — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 01:58:22 +0000

The No Bake Chocolate, Oatmeal, Peanut Butter Cookies is a family favorite throughout the year, but these delicious cookies are especially requested around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and I’m happy to oblige.

I’ve been known to make these cookies and ship them overnight to family and friends living out of state, or make them and give a batch or two to friends as a “just because” gift. I’ve recently heard that some people refer to these cookies as “Reindeer Turds” and I can understand why, based on how they cookies look when they’re done setting up, but if you like chocolate, oatmeal and peanut butter, you will love these cookies.

My Pecan Pie Muffins are made every year during the holiday season at the request of family, as are my Pecan Sandies cookies baked and rolled in powdered sugar. If you haven’t yet made these easy no bake cookies that have been popular for many years, I would highly recommend spending the few minutes of preparation time and give them a try. These chocolate oatmeal peanut butter cookies require no baking in the oven at all, as all the “baking” is done on the stove top and only take a few minutes to prepare.

No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

Measure out the ingredients for this cookie recipe ahead of time because you’ll need each item listed pretty quickly and you don’t want to burn the mixture as it cooks on the stove.

3 1/2 cups dry quick-cooking oatmeal

1/2 cup peanut butter (creamy, crunchy or extra crunchy)

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 stick butter (8 tablespoons), cut into pieces

2 cups sugar (white granulated)

1/2 cup milk

4 tablespoons cocoa

How to Make No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

Place the butter, sugar, milk and cocoa in a large saucepan, gently mix together. Turn the heat on high and bring cookie mixture to a full, rolling boil. Let the mixture boil for exactly 1 minute uncovered, no more and no less than a minute. Remove from heat and add vanilla, oatmeal and peanut butter. Use a large wooden spoon to quickly stir the ingredients together completely and thoroughly.

Using two spoons or a small ice cream scoop, drop the hot cookie mixture by tablespoons on wax paper. Allow the cookies to cool until set, approximately 30 minutes.

We usually double the recipe for a larger batch of these delicious cookies to last longer than a day. I’ve noticed some people suggest making individual cookie batches and repeat the stove cooking process for each additional batch desired because the cookie dough can become rather difficult to mix once the oatmeal, peanut butter and vanilla have been added. That hasn’t been a problem for me, so you’ll have to decide for yourself if separating batches is really necessary or not.

These no bake cookies ship well overnight boxed up in an airtight container. I also like to include a index card with the recipe for the recipient to enjoy making them on their own and share with loved ones. I haven’t tried it yet myself, but I bet this cookie recipe would do very well as a Christmas “jar” mixture gift, where dry ingredients are layered in a mason jar and the jar lid is decorated with Christmas ribbon and a recipe card attached. Enjoy!

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Grandfather Birthday Gift Ideas For Grandpa’s Birthday

Grandma — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 16:05:36 +0000

Grandpa’s birthday is coming up soon so I’ve been trying to come up with some really good ideas of what to get him for his birthday. Even though Grandpa’s birthday isn’t one of the so-called milestone birthdays, like if he were turning 50, 60, 70 or 80, his birthday is an important occasion and I want to make sure his gifts are things he would want and enjoy having.

As always, I pay very close attention to what Grandpa says, and by being thoughtful about gifts for people, I can usually come up with some great gifts for his birthday or as Christmas gifts etc. There isn’t much that Grandpa “needs”, so whenever I’ve asked him directly what he might want for his birthday, the usual answer is something like getting him a new bottle of his favorite cologne.

This year for his birthday, I want to get him something really special, something I know he would really like and be very happy to receive as a birthday gift. A couple of years ago, he had mentioned in passing conversation how someone he knows was talking about a new GPS Navigation System the guy had received as a birthday gift, and sure enough Grandpa thought the GPS was a really cool gadget and said he might like to get one ‘one of these days’. Grandpa does love his gadget gifts, that’s for sure, and I’ve found some very unique gadgets over the years that he really enjoys.

Well, either for a previous birthday present or as a Christmas gift a couple of year ago, I surprised Grandpa with the same exact GPS gadget that the other guy has and boy oh boy was Grandpa excited about getting that as a gift. That’s what thoughtful gift giving is all about and it’s a lot of fun for me as the gift giver. Grandpa hasn’t talked about any particular gadget gifts on the market that he would like to have, but he has talked about how having just network television has become increasingly boring, especially during weekends when sports games are being shown on cable television channels and we haven’t had cable television for years.

Grandpa had fun recently playing with an iPad someone else owns, and I’ve seen him checking out the Kindle ereader too, so either or both of those may become gift ideas for him at some point in the future. Of course, considering how much Grandpa enjoys doing fun things like fishing, hunting, golf etc, sports-themed gifts for Grandpa are always a good idea. I’ve noticed there are some new/newer sports type electronic games that can be played on the tv that just might be a hit for Grandpa when he’s feeling bored or wants to engage in game playing.

Having said that, I thought well.., maybe it’s time things change and we start looking into bundle packages for cable tv by DirectTv or some other cable provider company that serves our area. Grandpa and I had researched options for cable television, satellite tv and HDTV’s etc quite awhile back, but for the timebeing we decided to get a couple digital converter boxes and continue to use our non-digital tv’s. We’ve focused our energies and money on getting out of debt as fast as possible, and we’ve managed to accomplish quite a lot of that since we curtailed most of our spending on gifts for Christmas, birthdays and other special occasions.

Apparently, a local network television station is battling to be able to continue airing sports on their network station, which is the channel Grandpa usually turns on when he’s wanting to watch sports. Grandpa couldn’t watch the Rangers play and win the game against Tampa because we don’t have cable television, and “watching” the baseball game on an internet animated play-by-play simulator showed me how much Grandpa would enjoy having cable tv and be able to watch his favorite sports shows and movies.

Grandpa’s birthday this year is going to be a very special one, and he deserves every one of the gifts he’s going to receive, including finally getting digital cable tv hooked up and happily handing him the remote so he can relax and watch his favorite shows and sports games. Grandpa isn’t having just a one-day birthday party this year; Grandpa’s going to be enjoying a long weekend of fun and games for his birthday this year. His birthday this year will include what are commonly referred to as “experience gifts”, rather than gifting Grandpa with a lot of ‘stuff’ he doesn’t want or need.

Coming up with gift ideas for this particular man, husband, father and grandfather is pretty easy for me. Grandpa doesn’t ask for anything, nor does he want for anything. Whenever there are things he or I really want or need, we just go ahead and buy them for ourselves because we can and these sort of gifts or gadgets aren’t things that would be appropriate to ask for as gifts because they’re a bit higher priced than what would be considered reasonable.

I can hardly wait for Grandpa’s birthday to arrive because he is going to have the biggest smile on his face when he sees what very special and unique ideas I have planned for his birthday celebration. Birthday parties are fun, with delicious favorite foods and birthday cake, birthday cards and gifts made especially for the birthday boy. Grandpa’s birthday this year just might turn out to be his favorite birthday celebration thus far, and I’ll be camera ready to capture each activity and every happy smile and fun experience as they occur.

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Key Lime Bundt Cake – Oprah’s Favorite Things Recipe

Grandma — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 17:12:21 +0000

Oprah’s 2004 favorite Gourmet Florida Key Lime Bundt Cake recipe is incredibly delicious and has become a family favorite in Grandma’s kitchen. The Oprah Winfrey Show had an annual segment called Oprah’s Favorite Things, or “The O List”, as it is sometimes referred.

Typically aired during the Thanksgiving holiday season, Oprah shared with her audience a list of things she believes are great gift ideas and products, and audience members participating in the taping of the segment receive free gifts to take home from her favorite things on that year’s list.

If you like key lime pie, you will love this key lime pound cake with the cream cheese glaze. Just be sure to use Nellie & Joe’s Key Lime Juice to make this tangy, lime, gourmet cake in a bundt pan.

O, The Oprah Magazine includes a similar feature that some refer to as Oprah’s Favorite Things, but the term for that feature in the magazine is actually called “The O List”. Oprah’s magazine is one my favorite things to browse through, check out the recipes and decorating ideas, as well as the stories.

It’s no wonder why Oprah’s favorite things was the most watched episode in the history of the show, that is, until Oprah canceled her popular favorite things show in 2009.

Gourmet Florida Key Lime Bundt Cake

Key Lime Bundt cake directions and ingredients:

*Nellie & Joe’s Famous Key Lime Juice

Cake:
2 Cups extra fine sugar (C&H Baking Sugar)
Zest of three key limes, (2 if using limes) finely minced
1 Cup unsalted butter, room temperature
4 eggs
2 yolks
2 Teaspoons vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons key lime juice
1/2 Teaspoon lime oil or lemon extract
1-1/3 Cups heavy cream
3-3/4 Cups all purpose flour
4 Teaspoons baking powder
1/2 Teaspoon baking soda
1/4 Teaspoon salt

Key Lime Syrup:
3/4 Cup water
1/2 Cup key lime juice
1-1/2 Cups sugar
1/2 Teaspoon lime oil or lemon extract

Cream Cheese Glaze:
8 ounces cream cheese
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon key lime juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon each, lemon and lime zest, finely minced
1 1/4 – 1 1/2 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray 12-cup Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Mix together sugar and zest for 2 minutes to help release the oils. Add butter to the sugar and zest and cream mixture. Blend in eggs, yolks, and extracts on low to blend, scraping bowl. Add in remaining ingredients and blend into a smooth batter.

Pour batter into cake pan and bake for 1 hour or until cake tests done. Cake will be lightly golden brown and firm to the touch when you press your fingers on it.

While cake is baking, make Key Lime Syrup:
In a small sauce pan, bring all syrup ingredients to a boil and simmer 5 minutes.

When cake is done, remove from oven and pour all but approximately 1/3 cup of the syrup over cake while still in the Bundt pan. Pour so syrup goes down sides and around the center tube. Set reserved 1/3 cup syrup, set aside. Let cake cool for 15 minutes and invert onto serving dish. With pastry brush, coat the top of the cake where glaze didn’t reach, with the remaining syrup.

Let cake cool completely and glaze with Cream Cheese Glaze.

Cream Cheese Glaze directions:

Soften cream cheese and cream with butter. Stir in lime juice, vanilla, and lime zest. Fold in confectioner’s sugar to make a soft, drippy glaze. If glaze is not the right consistency to drizzle, thin by adding 1 teaspoon at a time of hot water and stirring to mix well until glaze reaches the desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled cake. Allow to set. Yield Serves 12-16. Enjoy!

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2010 Gooseberry Patch Calendar by Gooseberry Patch

Grandma — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 02:36:30 +0000

The Gooseberry Patch calendar is on the top of my list of favorite things from the Gooseberry Patch company, and now the 12-month 2010 wall calendar and appointment scheduling calendar are available. This year’s calendar is filled with tried and true (and delicious!) recipes, with unique recipe ideas surrounded by unforgettable watercolors throughout the calendar, with plenty of room to jot down special occasions and dates to remember.

Since I couldn’t decide between the 12-month Gooseberry Patch wall calendar and the appointment calendar, I ultimately decided to buy both calendars since I always carry a planner or appointment scheduler in my purse. Since Christmas is coming and a few people I know love to cook and have started a collection of cookbooks, I’ll be buying a few cookbooks from Gooseberry Patch as gifts for them as well.

Have you heard about the Gooseberry Patch company yet? Gooseberry Patch is a thriving mail-order company based in Delaware, Ohio. Neighbors Vickie Hutchins and Jo Ann Martin founded Gooseberry Patch in 1984 over the backyard fence even though neither had any business experience; Martin was a first-grade teacher and Hutchins was a flight attendant & legal secretary. Let that be a lesson to you: always follow your dreams, and don’t let anyone tell you your dreams aren’t worth chasing.

The Gooseberry Patch company is currently operated from a 52,000-square-foot building that includes retail Gooseberry Patch products, wholesale and web sale divisions. Gooseberry Patch has been allowing customers to submit recipes for inclusion in their Gooseberry Patch cookbooks since 1992, with over 6.8 million cookbooks sold to very satisfied cookbook-loving customers.

Gooseberry Patch Christmas

Christmas this year is of course going to be full of gift giving, and for my friends who love to cook, what better Christmas gift could I possibly give if not for Gooseberry Patch cookbooks and gift items? Did you know that Gooseberry Patch has over 100 recipe-filled cookbooks? I’ve heard great things about the slow cooking, crock pot recipes too, and I’ll be trying out those recipes now that autumn is in full swing.

Gooseberry Patch has grown to where they have over 500 items under $20.00, and with many families struggling to get by in this economy, being able to buy Gooseberry Patch products like nightlights, cookbooks, organizers, calendars, country crafts etc so cheap is a very good thing.

Jo Ann and Vickie, who shared a love of collecting antiques, gardening and country style decorating, decided to open a mail-order business right from their kitchen tables! I wish I had thought of that! Gooseberry Patch outgrew the kitchen table-style business and ended up moving to the country, where store shelves were stocked not only with their own line of cookbooks and calendars, but also kitchenware, enamelware, bowls and other wonderful items.

Gooseberry Patch has recently released their new cookbook called “Gooseberry Patch Christmas” book 11, and is described this way: “Every year Gooseberry Patch brings homespun charm to the holidays with its popular annual Christmas book, and the eleventh edition is no exception. Reflecting the latest trends in decorating and entertaining-while keeping a close eye on tradition-the pages brim with all-new ideas for handcrafted decorations and gifts, keepsakes, activities, and yummy recipes from Gooseberry Patch’s family of readers.

With beautiful photography, simple instructions for crafts and recipes, easy-to-use recipe and craft indexes, and beloved Country FriendsÂ® illustrations, this series helps make treasured memories and establish new holiday traditions.”

I don’t know about you and what kind of cookbooks or crafts you like, but I simply love Gooseberry Patch and everything the company offers. Trying new things and creating fond memories of cooking with my children and grandchildren is an activity I’ve always enjoyed, and I can only hope that others enjoy Gooseberry Patch as much as I do.

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Homemade Christmas Gifts For Grandparents-Personalized Grandparent Gifts

Grandma — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 20:25:28 +0000

Homemade Christmas gifts for grandparents vs. personalized grandparent gifts, which is best for grandma and grandpa? It can be a challenge to think of new Christmas gift ideas for grandparents, especially when Christmas shopping for elderly or senior grandparents who have everything already or grandparents who don’t live nearby. Gifts for grandparents, especially Christmas gifts for grandparents over 70, only requires a little creative thinking and time to find unique grandparent gifts grandma or grandpa will love.

Thoughtful Christmas gifts for grandparents are those that take care of needs, solve problems, keep them comfortable and show them you care. The best gifts for grandparents are tailored to their tastes, interests, hobbies and activities. Grandparent activities or hobbies may include things like bowling, golfing, fishing, hunting, gardening, boating, traveling, cooking, needlepoint, crafts, sewing, reading and volunteering. Many grandma’s and grandpa’s of all ages are also computer geeks, internet surfers, web-savvy, techie/gadget electronics lovers.

Best Christmas Gifts For Grandma and Grandpa

Today’s grandmother and grandfather are younger thinking than in past generations, keeping active by walking, hiking or playing tennis, and have a longer life expectancy. All grandparents love gifts that focus on their grandchildren, especially recent photos put in a digital photo frame that holds a lot of pictures. With a little help from you in learning how to add photos to a digital picture frame, grandma and grandpa will enjoy the pictures of their grandchildren for years to come.

Another favorite gift idea for grandparents are personalized Christmas gifts for grandparents and collectibles that take into account the personal interests, wants and needs of grandma and grandpa. Have you considered a family ring or mothers ring as a great keepsake gift for grandmothers and grandfathers?

There are many family ring designs to choose from, often personalized with genuine birthstones or simulated stones signifying the birth month, and/or names of each child or family member. Jewelry gifts for grandmothers or grandfathers may be rings, bracelets, charms, necklaces, pendants, lockets, gold or silver cufflinks, money clip, new wrist watch or pocket watch are all appreciated by grandparents.

Christmas Gift Baskets and themed gift baskets are a personal favorite, as gift baskets are a simple and inexpensive gift idea for grandparents regardless of their interests and hobbies. There are gift baskets that meet the needs and tastes of every grandma and grandpa regardless of age or ability, and you can’t go wrong giving your special grandparent a perfect gift basket filled with goodies or delectable gourmet snacks.

If your grandparent is living in a nursing home or senior care center, choose appropriate Christmas gifts that won’t take up a lot of room or add a lot of clutter, but pay close attention to what things grandma or grandpa may be needing or replaced because of wear and tear.

Bathrobe

Nightgown

Undergarments

Comb or brush set

Slippers

Cologne or perfume

Bath products, powders or lotions

Books or magazines

Word search or crossword puzzles

Chocolates or candy

Lap tables make a great gift!

Playing cards, dominoes or board games

New pillow, sheets, quilt or comforter

New clock or clock radio

CD player and CDs of their favorite music

Large button Universal TV remote

DVD player and/or favorite movie collection

Gift Cards, Restaurant Gift Certificates, large print books, lap blanket or throw, Grandma brag books, money and TIME spent together with family and friends are some good Christmas gift ideas for senior citizens and younger grandparents.

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