2010 Christmas Gift Ideas for Families

Buying Christmas gifts for families, friends, or groups can be easier (and less expensive) than buying for an individual. There are many stores and gift shops with a wide range of items that will suit just about anyone this holiday season.

You may already know of something the family needs. Maybe they need a new fireplace screen, or a toaster. The best gifts are ones that you know are right for them. If you’re not sure, here are some ideas sure to please your friends and family:

Board Games – Something everyone can enjoy.
Cookies
Decorations – For the house or lawn.
Candles and Potpourri – To add to the holiday atmosphere.
Concert Tickets
Flowers – Pleasing the the eyes and nose.
Fruit Baskets – Always popular and provide nutritional value.
Game system
Gardening Tools
Gift Certificates – For food or services, these are always welcome.
Gourmet Jellies and Jams
Holiday dishes, glasses or serving tray
Home-baked cookies and treats – Economical and filled with love.
Homemade gifts – Add a personal touch such as a monogram or family crest.
Ice Bucket
Kitchen Appliance – Such as a popcorn popper or toaster.
Magazine Subscription
Meat & Cheese – Purchase a tray or make your own to save money.
Old-fashioned Ice Cream Maker
Poinsettia plant
Services – Offer services you specialize in such as mowing, snow removal, manicures or haircuts.
Tablecloth
Table centerpiece
Tickets to an Event
Wine & Spirits – Just make sure nobody is “on the wagon.”
Wine Glasses

Create Custom Greeting Cards with Greeting Card Templates

Greeting cards convey thoughtful messages to your loved ones. There are many occasions, festivals and other much awaited events when you need to personalized cards. The main idea behind personalizing any greeting is that a sender can give a personal touch to the card. There are many tips and tricks used for customizing a card.

A person can choose to either create a card in a printed form or an electronic form. If you are choosing to create a card in a printed form, you need to collect a few things. A high quality printing paper and search for advanced greeting card templates. A printer prints your card that you have created with the help of templates. The templates are the guidelines which guide a user with many different ideas for creating cards. They range from birthday celebrations, wedding anniversaries, Thank You notes, Congratulations to Christmas, New Year Eve, Easter and much more. You can collect ideas from these themes and add personal touch to the card by using advanced tools. A person can decorate the front side of the card by using funny pictures or bright images, clip-art or even insert a personal photograph. Inserting a personal photograph of the past times gives a sense of human touch to the cards. In the inside page, you can select your own verses or write your own thoughts. Take a print out of it with the help of a printer and envelope the card with a perfume. Perfumed cards leave a deep impact and favorable impression on the mind of a receiver.

In a similar way, you can make electronic cards on different occasions. A person can easily insert pop-ups or animated images into the front page. There are a lot of flash animation cards available on the Internet. You can pick any of them and customize the greeting according to the way you desire. One can even add musical tones or jingles to the greeting. Even in an electronic card, you can insert a personal photograph for making it more memorable for the receiver. Create attractive cards with advanced greeting card templates.
About the Author

Harsin Carter is a full time internet marketer and having inclination towards writing. This article is basically based on creating photo greeting cards using personalized greeting cards and other tools.

Christmas Recipes: Banana Sour Cream Bread

By: Esther Nelson
“I know, you’re probably thinking, ‘Oh no! Another banana bread recipe!’ But this one is a little different: the sour cream makes this one so moist it melts in your mouth. The flavor is just wonderful! This one is great for gift giving and holidays. Loaves freeze well.”

Prep Time: 10 Min   Cook Time: 1 Hr   Ready In: 1 Hr 10 Min

Original Recipe Yield 4 – 7×3 inch loaves

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 3 cups white sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 6 very ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 teaspoons baking soda
  • 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease four 7×3 inch loaf pans. In a small bowl, stir together 1/4 cup white sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Dust pans lightly with cinnamon and sugar mixture.
  2. In a large bowl, cream butter and 3 cups sugar. Mix in eggs, mashed bananas, sour cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix in salt, baking soda and flour. Stir in nuts. Divide into prepared pans.
  3. Bake for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Nutritional Information 

Amount Per Serving Calories: 263 | Total Fat: 10.5g | Cholesterol: 38mg

original source & reviews