Temporarily Closed

Santa's Stocking Stuffer Helper is taking a break, but will be back for next season! In the meantime, I hope everyone has a wonderful, happy, healthy New Year!

We Interrupt this Blog for an Important Kitten

Boy, life does keep getting in the way of this blog! But this is a happy announcement. About a week ago my husband and I trapped a stray kitten living out of a dumpster in a parking lot. We cannot keep her as we already have more cats than we should. So tomorrow I am flying from Houston to Newark to give the kitten to a friend of mine who lost his cat of 17 years just a few weeks ago. I couldn't be happier about the outcome, although I'm a little nervous about flying with a kitten! But she will be in the cabin with me, and once she gets where she's going she'll be in a wonderful, loving home.

As a side benefit for me, I get to visit my sisters over the weekend. So I'll see you back here on Monday!

A Kind Friend

A kind friend e-mailed to ask if I was OK, since I was ill when I last posted in July and I haven't posted since. That was so sweet of her! In any case, I am fine -- I just returned from that trip to some big changes at work that have taken up most of my time and energy. I'm teaching a college course for the first time and I'm nervous as anything, although I hope my students don't realize it! It's all new territory as we (the librarians at my community college) created this course from scratch, so it's the first time any of us are teaching it. We also have a student population that is often behind where they should be in terms of reading and writing, so that adds another layer of challenge.

But I am fine, in good spirits in fact, and I promise the stocking stuffer posts will start again in a few days! I have loads of post ideas stockpiled, enough for every day between now and Christmas, I think!

Thanks again to the kind friend. It made my day to hear from her!

A Bit of a Rough Week....

Apologies for the radio silence, which I'm afraid is going to continue for the next 2 1/2 weeks or so. Long story short, on Sunday I went to bed perfectly fine, and on Monday I woke up violently ill, as in sometimes literally crawling between the bedroom and the bathroom ill. Naturally, this happened while my husband is away for several weeks. On Tuesday I roused myself long enough to call a friend and ask her to take me to the doctor, and the doctor sent me to the ER just in case. It turned out to be a viral infection (aka nasty stomach bug), which is much better than the alternative. It's Wednesday evening and I'm feeling much more human, but still not myself.

And tomorrow I fly to Europe to meet my husband. Not only am I not particularly looking forward to flying, I now have to take schoolwork and freelance writing work on my vacation. I'm leaving the house in an absolute shambles for the petsitter. I'm still trying to do laundry and at least scrub the litter boxes, but I'm not exactly full of energy. Tomorrow morning I also have to return the second pair of headphones I've bought for this flight (first pair didn't work, second pair hurt the top of my head within seconds of putting them on).

Ah well, it can only get better, right? We seriously considered canceling the trip for me, but since I feel so much better today than yesterday, I'm hoping tomorrow I'll feel lots better than today -- and we would have lost so much money on this trip.

I'd planned to have all of those posts done in advance, of course. Not possible now, I'm afraid. I'll be back when I'm back (August 9), and in the meantime I hope you have a wonderful couple of weeks!

Happy Memorial Day! / Blog News

Happy Memorial Day! I hope you are able to celebrate with your loved ones and that you all stay safe and sound.

In blog news, I have decided to take a holiday of my own, for the month of June. I have written a post per day since I started this blog on November 1, 2008. I think I may have missed one or two posts in all that time, but in any case Blogger shows me as having just under 600 posts. That's a lot of stocking stuffers! I'm still enjoying this, but I thought now would be a good time for a short break because I'm taking an online class in writing for children, I'm preparing to teach a library course in the fall, and I have four book reviews due in the near future!

I'll be back on July first with daily "Christmas in July" stocking stuffer posts. In the meantime, please feel free to contact me with any stocking stuffer ideas or questions you may have. Happy summer, everyone!

Google's Pac-Man !

I had no idea when I did my post yesterday that Google would be using Pac-Man for its logo today! What's more, you can play Google's Pac-Man! Just click on "insert coin" and then use your up-down-left-right arrow keys to guide the little Pac-Man. What fun!

I'll be back later today with my regular post. I just couldn't resist blogging about Pac-Man!

PartyPalooza.com

Yesterday I posted about crayon banks from PartyPalooza.com, and in looking at that website further, I see tons of things that would make great stocking stuffers:

• A box of 12 pretty pastel-colored chalks for 39 cents
  
• Penguin rubber duckies for 89 cents
  
• Alien baby glow putty in eggs for $1.19
  
• Pirate finger puppets for 49 cents
  
• Fairy tale finger puppets for 55 cents

As with the crayon banks I mentioned yesterday, the only drawback I see is that you may not be able to specify colors or individual items, which makes getting the "dozen" items more attractive so you can be sure of getting the ones you want. Keep in mind, you can always donate extras to a women's shelter where the clients may have small children.

In any case, they certainly have a tremendous variety -- you name it, they seem to have something related. In fact, they have a page listing categories such as dolphins, space, Christmas, Halloween, western, and so on. Essentially, then, PartyPalooza is a lot like the Oriental Trading Company, but I have to admit I'm finding things here I haven't seen there. Like the Oriental Trading Company, you'll do best on prices and shipping if you can find a friend or two to go in with on your order. It's worth a look!

Miniature Opera Guides (or anything that goes with event tickets)

I realize that opera is a very specific, acquired taste, but I also thought I wouldn't like opera, and I was wrong. For Christmas 2008, I put opera tickets in my husband's Christmas stocking because I knew he'd been wanting to go. (Unfortunately I also left the receipt lying around so the surprise was kind of ruined!) The tickets were for A Midsummer Night's Dream, because I wanted to start with something that was in English and that was a comedy. I really enjoyed it, so this year I bought a package deal for tickets to three of the Houston Grand Opera performances. No easy comedies this time: I got Tosca and Xerxes, both in Italian with English supertitles, and The Turn of the Screw, which is in English but is a creepy atmospheric ghost story based on the Henry James story.

So last night was my real test: was I going to like tragic opera sung in a language other than English? Yes! Although a tragedy, Tosca is also a beautiful love story and it even has a little humor in it.

In any case, though, one of the reasons I enjoyed the opera is that I did a little homework. A week beforehand, we went to a lecture on Tosca, learning a bit about the opera itself, the composer, and the context in which it was written. Opera is not like the movies -- you don't have to worry about spoilers because 1) the stories are generally well known to begin with, and 2) if it's a tragedy, which many of them are, you already know that most of the good guys are going to die. So generally, the more you know about the particular opera going in, the more you'll enjoy it. At the lecture we went to, we purchased a little booklet guide to Tosca -- sort of like a Cliff's Notes to the story. This guide was prepared by the lecturer who is local to Houston, although you can order the booklets by mail.

I also looked just now on Amazon and there are miniature guides to many operas there as well. Shown here is the La Traviata guide that is part of the "Opera Journeys Mini Guide Series". The booklet is 36 pages and measures 8.3 x 3.2 x 0.2 inches -- in other words, it's a tall and narrow little booklet that would fit into a wide-mouthed stocking.

Along with some tickets. ;-)

Since I know that opera will not be to many people's taste, and not everyone lives near an opera company anyway, I'll try and make this post a bit more general at the end by saying that tickets to anything the recipient will enjoy make terrific stocking stuffers: rock concerts, Sesame Street on Ice, you name it. And they're a great opportunity for paired gifts, because you can get a CD by the band whose concert the tickets are for, a Sesame Street toy or stuffed animal or book, etc. Tickets to a Broadway traveling show can be paired with a DVD of the movie if there is one, and so on. The possibilities with event tickets are endless.

What: Miniature Opera Guides (or anything that goes with event tickets)
Where: Amazon (for opera guides) or elsewhere
How much (as of today's post): approximately $9.75 for opera guides

Perpetual Kid Website Winter Clearance Sale

Not all after-holiday sales mean you have to go fight the crowds and stand in long lines. A lot of online retailers are trying to clear their warehouse shelves too, and cutting prices on a lot of merchandise. I happened to be looking at the Perpetual Kid website, and saw their winter clearance sale. In addition to slashed prices, they have coupon codes for 5% off orders over $35 or 10% orders over $100.

But it's actually the slashed prices I'm more interested in. Among the 113 items listed in this section, there are several that would make cute stocking stuffers next year, or small gifts throughout the year. I tend to stay away from any food items, even gum, because I don't want to give people gifts that have gone stale, but there are lots of other options, such as:

• Set of two "Bombs Away" shot glasses, where the cavity holding the drink is shaped like the tail of an old-fashioned wartime bomb
  
  
• Pickle Bandages or Crime Scene Bandages
  
  
• Christmas Bingo Cards
  
  
• Plant-sized "lawn" ornaments, including a lawn jockey holding a lantern, two different garden gnomes, and a fawn
  
  
• airplane and dinosaur toddler utensils

...and so on. Even if you're not up for buying this far ahead, it's fun looking at any rate!

The Great Resolution Exchange

If I may be excused for one more day on the stocking stuffers.... I thought instead I'd mention a little New Year's tradition we have at our annual New Year's parties. It's called the Great Resolution Exchange. Before midnight, we circulate little slips of paper and ask that people write down a resolution, whether silly or serious. They all go into a bowl, and at midnight we toast with champagne and sparkling juice, then each draw a resolution and read it aloud going around the group. Theoretically the one you draw and read is the one you're supposed to keep for yourself for the new year! Of course, I'm sure it doesn't always quite work out that way.....

This year it was a little more involved. The theme was the Evil League of Evil from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, so everyone was supposed to come as their evil alter-ego. Some folks wore elaborate costumes, and others didn't wear costumes but still invented a persona. We had Nurse Wretched, an adorable Dust Bunny who plotted to take over the world from underneath the bed, a subprime mortgage lender named Cha Ching, and so many more. So this year, when it came time to read resolutions, we had people introduce their alter-ego persona formally, then read the resolution, then read who the person writing that resolution had voted as Best Candidate for the Evil League of Evil. The winner was a fabulous Ming the Merciless.

We even have a resolution that has been recycled from year to year. A few years ago, an attendee took home the resolution he'd drawn and saved it all year, then brought it back the next year and added a note saying that the resolution was to be passed on from year to year. It's had three recipients so far, and back it will go on my bulletin board to save it for next year.

And now.... I am exhausted -- but happy! The last of our 67 (!) guests left at 4:30 a.m. (we had two out-of-town guests staying overnight who were already asleep.) We finished cleaning up the food at 6:30 a.m. One of our cats, who did not enjoy being sequestered all night, cried for an hour so I didn't get to sleep until 7:30 a.m. Then I got up at 10:00 a.m. so we could go out to breakfast with our house guests, and after that we got together and hung out with our other two out-of-town guests who had stayed in a nearby motel. They left at 4 p.m., and at 5 p.m. I went and took a four-hour nap. But I'm still not going to have any trouble sleeping tonight, I can tell you that!

I love New Year's -- it's my favorite holiday. Here is to a bright, happy, and healthy 2010 for everyone!

Ack!

Can you forgive no post today? There are about 70 people arriving at my house in 1 hour and 55 minutes!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!

What Santa Brought Me in My Stocking Today:

• A Harry Potter Time Turner Sticker Kit
  
• Three Lego Star Wars magnets, including Princess Leia, Boba Fett, and (my personal favorite) an Imperial Guard
  
• Two Williams Sonoma paring knives
  
• A miniature box of Godiva orange creams
  
• A Barnes & Noble gift card
  
• A Williams Sonoma miniature spoon/spatula set on a ring
  
• A Golden Compass bookmark
  
• Vouchers for six Houston Aeros hockey tickets

Until tomorrow, Merry Christmas!

Do It Yourself Stocking Stuffers, Part the First

I'm afraid I've been a little under the weather this week, so for today's post I'm going to rely on the cleverness of others. All year I've been bookmarking posts to come back to for DIY stocking stuffers, with the idea that I would try them all myself first before listing them.

Well, you'd think someone whose blog is dedicated to something Christmas related wouldn't get caught off guard just because it's almost Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here any second, but you would be wrong! So I haven't tried these myself yet, but they're simple enough that I feel confident even I could make these without messing them up!

So without further ado, here are some links to some of my favorite do it yourself stocking stuffers:

• DIY rubber stamps from dollar store erasers, courtesy of Obsessively Stitching
  
  
• The most elegant DIY S'Mores kits that you'll ever see, courtesy of Twig & Thistle
  
  
• A DIY wooden memory game, courtesy of Heather at Dollar Store Crafts
  
  
• A DIY mint-scented travel candle from an Altoids tin, courtesy of Kate at Design*Sponge
  
  
• DIY spiced nuts, courtesy of The Washington Post. [Note: I don't think any registration is required to access this article, but if it is required, it's definitely free. See the comments after the article for additional tips.]

I hope you see something on this list that inspires you. If you have any terrific DIY stocking stuffer ideas yourself, please do leave a comment!

101 Uses for Customized Dogtags

I was very excited recently when Matt from MyDogTag.com contacted me about the possibility of customized dog tags as stocking stuffers. He kindly offered to send me a sample to evaluate, which just arrived the other day. And they were just as much fun as they looked like they would be!

The reason I am so excited about these dogtags is that I can think of a zillion uses for them, as stocking stuffers and otherwise! Here is the sample I chose for myself:

Now, this may seem strange, but if you've seen Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, you'll get the reference. Neil Patrick Harris plays Billy, an aspiring evil supergenius trying to get into the Evil League of Evil, and also trying to get the girl, Penny (played by Felicia Day of The Guild). Nathan Fillion, of Firefly and Castle, plays Captain Hammer, the supposed hero who may not be as heroic as he seems. The entire 45 minutes is done as a musical, and Neil Patrick Harris in particular can really sing!

Anyway, for our annual New Year's Eve party this year, my husband and I decided we would have a Dr. Horrible-themed party, consisting of open auditions to the Evil League of Evil! Champagne served in test tubes, mad scientist decorations, and glowing green things everywhere. And maybe we'll use these souvenir dogtags as prizes for the best supervillain costumes!

So just think of what else you could do with these:

• I FIGHT FOR TEAM JACOB or I FIGHT FOR TEAM EDWARD dogtags for your Twilight-crazed teen or 'tween
  
  
• Re-usable family gift tags, one for each family member
  
  
• Souvenir gift tags for a baby gift, noting the baby's name, date and time of birth, and weight. Silver dog tags would look right in place on a baby blue or baby pink package with a silver bow!
  
  
• Birthday party favors
  
  
• AMANDA'S BEST FRIEND and JENNIFER'S BEST FRIEND -- in other words, best friend tags to give to your daughter and her best friend!

Part of the fun is that you design the dogtags yourself right on the website, choosing the text, style of the dogtag (there are even brass and copper ones), color of the "silencer" (the elastic rubber that fits around the edge to reduce jangling), a long or short chain, and optional gift/storage pouches. The dogtags come in sets of 2 for $7.99, and the two tags can be completely different! The tags ship from Toronto, Canada, and shipping for any number of tags to the U.S. is extremely reasonable.

Last but not least, you might also want to check out the survival gadgets under the "Extras" drop-down menu, for a number of other items that might make useful stocking stuffers. My favorite is the lightweight aluminum howler whistle, a great emergency whistle especially for women.

What: Customized Dogtags
Where: MyDogTag.com
How much (as of today's post): $7.99 for two (plus shipping)

Custom Stockings Handmade by Aimee

More than a year posting about different stocking stuffers every day, so how is it I have not yet posted about Christmas stockings themselves? Well, I now have the perfect excuse to remedy that omission by letting you know about custom stockings handmade by Aimee, who makes:

• 19-inch custom stockings that reflect the stocking owner's occupation, hobbies, and/or interests (up to 2-3 images incorporated into the design), or a Christmas theme if you prefer;
  
  
• 19-inch custom pet portrait stockings based on your photo; and
  
  
• 28-inch jumbo stockings incorporating 4-5 images.

You choose the size and color (red, burgundy, green, or navy with either a white or cream cuff), hand-cut felt letters or cursive hand-embroidery for the name on the cuff, and your list of what you want incorporated into the design. Aimee then sends a proposed description, you hammer out the details, and viola! You have a beautifully personalized stocking on the way!

Because I only just discovered these stockings, and Aimee does have a waiting list at the moment, I won't be ordering for my husband and myself for this Christmas. This works out just as well, because I've already established my budget for this year, plus I want a little time to think over exactly what to get. Right now, my husband and I are using two store-bought stockings that are certainly pretty enough, but my husband doesn't think they're "us". I also still have my childhood stocking, which my mom decorated with felt cookie cutter shapes, a few jingle bells, and some sequins, but I'd kind of like for my husband and I to have matching stockings.

So sometime early next year, I plan to order stockings that are very us -- something that combines space, science fiction, books, and cats. I'll probably go for the 28-inch stockings so we can have more images, and because I happened to be married to one of those rare husbands who is a very talented and dedicated stocking stuffer. I might as well make sure I have a large stocking for him to fill, don't you think? Really, I'm only trying to be considerate of him! ;-) I will be sure to do a follow-up post to show you the results!

Take a look at the gallery on Aimee's site for some terrific examples of stockings. I have to say, I think the pricing is very reasonable for a beautifully handcrafted stocking that will bring pleasure year after year. The 19-inch stockings are $32 and the 28-inch jumbo stockings are $52. I think they're terrific!

NOTE: I first came across Aimee's stockings on the Everything Up Close blog by Ilissa. She currently has a giveaway, running until November 20, for a make-your-own-stocking kit from Aimee.

Happy Halloween / Blogaversary Tomorrow!

First of all, Happy Halloween! My husband and I really enjoy Halloween, even though we don't have kids. Last night we went to the last of our five weeks of Friday-night hip-hop classes learning the dance routine from Michael Jackson's Thriller video. We all went in costume and they video-taped it for us so we'll have a memento of how good we were. Or, you know, not! But no matter how good or bad we were, it was great exercise and a lot of fun.

Tonight we have a Halloween party to go to, although we're going to wait until after the trick-or-treaters have been by. We usually get over 100 in our neighborhood! Right now my husband is carving a pumpkin and we're working on decorations. So I'd better get back to it, but before I go...

Tomorrow is my one-year anniversary on Amy's Stocking Stuffers! I made my first post on November 1, 2008, and I haven't missed a single day since! Just in time to head into the true stocking stuffer season, and to celebrate, I'm going to be doing weekly stocking stuffer giveaways during the month of November. The giveaways will be announced each Tuesday beginning November 3, the entry periods will run through each Friday, and I'll draw the winners randomly each Saturday. Each giveaway will be for a different selection of stocking stuffers, but that's all I'm going to say for now!

Thanks for reading, be safe as you celebrate Halloween, and be sure to come back to check my weekly stocking stuffer giveaways in November!

Stocking Stuffers at Bed Bath & Beyond

Today I took a little trip to Bed Bath & Beyond because I needed a new, more airtight container for cat food. So I thought I'd do a little stocking stuffer scouting (try saying that five times fast!) at the same time. I actually found one thing so adorably cute that I'm going to save it for its own post on Monday, but in the meantime, here are a few of the tidbits I found:

• Oxo mini silicon spatula for $6.99. These came in black, green, and purple.
  
  
• Paperhouse magnets for $1.99. These are essentially magnets made from photos and cut to the exact shape of the object. There are flowers, cats, dogs, butterflies, holiday items, and more.
  
  
• Li'l Lewis animal luggage tag for $9.99, including pandas, ladybugs, and others. [Updated 10/25/09 -- The Container Store carries this same brand of luggage tags for $7.99!]
  
  
• Travelon toothbrush covers, $2.99 for a set of two.
  
  
• Boo Boo Buddy flexible ice packs for kids, including sports, pets, cars, and farm and jungle animals, for $4.99 apiece.
  
  
• Apara Jammies aloe hydrating socks, pack of two for $9.99
  

This doesn't even touch upon all the cute measuring spoon sets, mini kitchen appliances, and a whole row of sample-sized toiletries. So basically, it would be possible to completely stuff a stocking just by visiting Bed Bath & Beyond once!

Stocking Stuffers at an Art Supply Store

If you have an art supply store near you, it is probably a treasure trove of stocking stuffers! Today I went to my local store, Texas Art Supply, and here a few of the things I found there:

• Pocket Posh mini-puzzle books from the Andrews McMeel Publishing Company, including sudoku, sukendo, word search, brain games, logic puzzles, and more.
  
• Mrs. Grossman's Stickers, which is a brand I've not seen before. My favorite were the Eric Carle stickers from A Very Hungry Caterpillar
  
• Strathmore supplies for artist trading cards, including ATC-sized envelopes, and mini paper suitable for watercolors and acrylics already cut into the right dimensions
  
• Yasutomo Fold 'Ems origami paper -- the smallest size, 4 and 5/8 inches square, would fit nicely into a stocking, and a book on origami would make a great paired gift for under the tree
  
• Stuart Houghton ceramic monogram mini seals and wax
  
• assorted ink stamps (including an adorable polar bear I bought for myself)
  
• Copic markers (in case you're stuffing a stocking for serious crafter)
  
• Dover miniature sticker, activity, and temporary tattoo booklets

And this is just a drop in the bucket. So don't just stick to dollar stores, grocery stores, and drugstores for your stocking stuffers!

Dollar Merchandise at Michaels

I'm sure most people who shop for stocking stuffers keep an eye out in the dollar stores, but don't forget that mainstream stores such as Target and Michaels regular keep dollar sections these days, usually towards the front of the store. As with general dollar stores, the selection can be pretty hit and miss. For instance, much of the dollar merchandise at Target tends to look like leftovers made in China. At Michaels, though, the nicely organized dollar items look like Michaels went out and bought them on purpose rather than getting them dumped on them to get rid of.

So what's at Michaels right now for a dollar? Yesterday I found:

• Notepads in the shape of letters
  
• Coasters
  
• magnets
  
• mini-calendars (the ones that measure about 4 inches square)
  
• mini-keychain-calendars (measuring about 1.5 inches square)
  
• packets of note cards
  
• packets of Christmas cards
  
• miniature Christmas tins (which are terrific for stockings!)
  
• ink stamps (both clear acrylic and rubber)
  
• decorate binder clips

Now, that's just everything I remember off the top of my head -- I'm sure there was more. And another nice thing is that many of the items coordinate with each other, so the design on the magnets might be the same as the design on the binder clips or notepads. That means you can put together a nice little selection of school or office stocking stuffers, for instance.

Where do you like to shop for stocking stuffers?

Saturday Night at the Ballet

Tonight we are going to see the Houston Ballet. We have season tickets, and I really have come to love it. Thankfully, we are not seeing Elmo and his friend Zoe at the ballet! (Although this does look like a cute board book, alas, it is too large for a stocking, at 7 x 7 inches.)

In any case, it is actually possible to find stocking stuffers at the ballet! In the atrium, they have a little kiosk set up with ballet souvenirs that they sell to support the nonprofit organization. The last time we were there, my husband bought me a little moose-in-tutu ornament, and a black-kitty-in-tutu ornament. They're little tiny stuffed animals with real tulle tutus. I'd hoped to find them online to share with you here, but haven't been able to. So if you go to the ballet or to the theater or symphony, keep an eye out for unusual stocking stuffers you may not be able to find elsewhere!

And enjoy the rest of the weekend!