Americans are Turning to Traditional Gifts for Holiday Season
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Americans are Turning to Traditional Gifts for Holiday Season |
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by: ARA
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| (ARA) - With daily lives run by cell phones, e-mails, and “personal digital assistants,” it’s no wonder Americans feel such a strong desire to reconnect with family, friends, and tradition during the holiday season. And what better way to reconnect than by giving traditional gifts with a handcrafted, personal touch? Teddy bears have always been a welcomed site on Christmas morning, especially an old fashion teddy bear, like the one you remember as a child. The Vermont Teddy Bear Company handcrafts their teddy bears in the Green Mountains of Vermont and their bears feature the same fully jointed design as the first American Teddy Bear made in 1902. “It’s an old fashioned high quality teddy bear, just as they describe in their catalog,” said Thomas Frazier, a Vermont Teddy Bear Customer from New Milford, New Jersey. The company has over 100 bears to choose from and each one is guaranteed for life, so they’re sure to become old friends. Shoppers can choose a bear that reflects a person’s hobby, occupation, or lifestyle, such as the Snowboarder Bear or Biker Bear. The Baby’s First Christmas Bear can be personalized with baby’s name on the bib. Or try some tradition with a twist, with the officially licensed Elvis Bear perfect for that rock-n-roll lover! In about the same amount of time it takes to wrap a present, holiday shoppers can enjoy stress free shopping by purchasing and sending a personalized, handmade Teddy Bear through the company’s Bear-Gram delivery service. In most cases, delivery to the recipient’s doorstep can be made within 24 hours. “Last year for Christmas, I wanted to find my wife something special, and my purchase was all that and more,” said Tom Reich from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. “The bear was received ahead of the promised date and in beautiful condition.” The company’s embroidery service makes it easy to get really personal for the holidays. Names and messages can be stitched or printed on many of the bears’ outfits, or on Santa hats. Every Bear-Gram gift comes with a free personalized holiday card and chocolate, all packaged in a colorful gift box with an air hole so the bear can “breathe.” If you're looking for other traditional gift ideas, check out one of Vermont Teddy Bear's sister companies. The PajamaGram Company (www.PajamaGram.com) has over a hundred styles of sleepwear that can be sent as gifts in a keepsake organza hatbox complete with free lavender bath tea, "Do Not "Disturb" sign, and personalized gift card. The TastyGram Company (www.TastyGram.com) features the finest and freshest food gifts shipped directly from the kitchens and bakeries of our country's most talented culinary artisans. And Calyx & Corolla (www.CalyxandCorolla.com) offers luxury flowers fresh from the best growers around the world. So no matter what your special plans are for the holidays, make sure you take the time to get personal with those you love. You can find teddy bears for loved ones of all ages online at www.VermontTeddyBear.com or with a five minute phone call to a Bear Counselor at (800) 829-BEAR. Courtesy of ARA Content About the author: Courtesy of ARA Content
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Kids Dish about the True Meaning of Christmas, Moms’ Roles in Pulling the Holidays Together and Hot Gifts on Their Wish Lists
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by: ARA
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| (ARA) - Decorating, cooking, cleaning and more. When it comes to preparing for a picture perfect holiday season, there is one holiday elf that’s busy at work -- Mom. According to the KidzEyes Holiday Wish List and Habits survey, 64 percent of kids say that their moms bear the brunt of responsibility for making sure the Christmas season is bright versus a mere 1 percent who say dad does his fair share. While the stress associated with the multitude of seasonal tasks could easily turn mothers into Grinches, 50 percent of kids say their moms handle the holidays like snow angels. Girls are a little tougher on mom with 52 percent claiming mom is a little crankier during the hustle of the holiday season (less than 50 percent of boys say so). This year’s KidzEyes Holiday Wish List & Habits survey -- conducted annually by KidzEyes, a specialized youth market research division of C&R Research -- uncovers how (and if) families share holiday-related responsibilities, what’s hot and what’s not on kids’ wish lists this year, whether kids really believe in the jolly man in red and what they believe is the true meaning of Christmas. “Our annual Holiday Wish List and Habits survey has become a recognized vehicle that gets at the heart of what kids are thinking about, doing and wishing for during the holidays,” said Robbin Jaklin, president, C&R Research. “The results provide a glimpse into what is undoubtedly kids’ favorite time of year.” As the primary holiday gift buyer, what should moms be shopping for to give their little angels? It is certainly not clothes, which again appears at the very bottom of kids’ wish lists. Electronics continue to take the top spot (37 percent) followed by hard, cold cash (30 percent) and toys (21 percent). Boys tend to want electronics more than girls, helping to vault them to the top spot among kids. This year kids have gift giving ideas of their own. When asked what they would give their parents if they could give them just one “big” gift, 45 percent said a vacation, 27 percent said house cleaning assistance, 16 percent said money and 12 percent said time off work. Here are some of the other things kids are saying about the holidays this year: Holiday Hustle -- Mom versus Dad * Where is Your Father? . . . According to the KidzEyes survey there is nothing on the family holiday to-do list that mom doesn’t do. Twenty-five percent of kids say their moms are responsible for buying the presents and decorating the house. According to kids, dad does not offer much of a helping hand with either holiday chore -- only 1 percent and 3 percent respectively. * A Woman’s Work is Never Done . . . More than half (54 percent) of kids say that moms are the chief holiday cook. Only 4 percent say dad dons an apron. And, moms (47 percent) not dads (one percent) clean the house in preparation for the big day. * It’s a Guy Thing . . . Dad’s domain seems to be the tree with nearly one-quarter of kids saying that putting up the tree is their dad’s main job. But, the truth is, dad puts his little elves to work as 50 percent of kids say it’s really a job the whole family shares. * It’s a Family Affair . . . Eight out of 10 kids (87 percent) say that decorating the tree is a family tradition -- something they do together. Nearly two-thirds say the whole family pitches in when it comes to decking the halls. * Shopping Styles -- Mom versus Dad . . . According to kids, 25 percent of dads shop for their wives the week before Christmas, while another 13 percent say their dads are scouring the stores on Christmas Eve. In sharp contrast, 55 percent of kids say their moms shop for their loving husbands a month before the big day, with only 5 percent who say that their moms wait until one week before Christmas. Less than a percent say their moms are out shopping frantically on Christmas Eve. The True Meaning of Christmas * Christmas Spirit . . . Even kids as young as 6 years old have a solid idea of the “true meaning of Christmas.” According to 70 percent of kids, the true meaning is celebrating the birth of Christ. Another 39 percent say it is being thankful and 37 percent say it is spending time with family. Surprisingly, only 13 percent say the true meaning is about receiving gifts. * Charitable Hearts . . . Nearly half of kids think of others during the holidays; 48 percent say they would ask their parents to donate some of their allocated “gift” money to charity. Of all kids surveyed, girls between the ages of 6 and 8 are the most likely to give up their presents (60 percent -- 13 percent more than boys the same age). Gifts . . . What’s Hot and What’s Not * Stop the Music! . . . Along with clothes (7 percent), kids don’t want to see music and videos (6 percent) in their heaping pile of gifts this year. * Electronics are Tops . . . According to the survey, the best gifts are electronics (37 percent), with video game systems or handheld video games leading the category (57 percent). Those were closely followed by computers and software (53 percent), cellular telephones (38 percent), CD players (32 percent) and DVD players (31 percent). * Boys and Machines . . . Fifty-three percent of boys age 6 to 11 want electronics versus only 18 percent of girls the same age. Conversely, girls that age wish for toys nearly twice as much as boys (39 percent versus 20 percent). To request more information about KidzEyes call (800) KidzEyes (543-9393) or visit www.crresearch.com or www.kidzeyesomnibus.com. Courtesy of ARA Content About the author: Courtesy of ARA Content
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The Best Holiday Ever
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The Best Holiday Ever
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by: Cindy Morus
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| The value of Christmas and Hanukkah isn’t found in the glossy pages of mail order catalogs, the frenetic hype of TV commercials, or the slick graphics of the dot com world. Nope, my greatest enjoyment on Christmas morning has never come from knowing how much my gifts cost, or that they’re the “latest” thing, but rather that my son or daughter cared enough to take the time to buy or make a gift for me that was something truly meaningful to me not just a pretty package to place under an already over-burdened tree. A tin box filled with a dozen handmade cookies from my aging neighbor, even though she may have accidentally substituted salt for sugar again this year, are cookies made all the sweeter because of the love poured into each one. Christmas without those cookies just wouldn’t be Christmas. My favorite gifts to receive are the ones that require some time, not just some money and the biggest, baddest elbows to get to this year’s best- seller before the rest of the mob. I like knowing that I’ve been thought about by my loved ones and dear friends, that I’m more than just another checkmark on their holiday to do list. And as much as I like to receive handmade gifts, I like giving them even more. My favorite gifts to give have always been the ones that I’ve made with my own two hands; one year a blanket, another year an oak mantle clock assembled from a kit. I sanded and varnished and sanded again, with each stroke I imagined the smile on Dad’s face when he unwrapped it Christmas morning. And he did smile and that clock still ticks on that mantle. Sit back for just a moment. Put up your feet, close your eyes and think back over the years to the best gifts you’ve given and received. What made that gift so special? Was it how much it cost, or the store that it came from, or the fact that it wouldn’t be paid for until next December? Probably not. I invite you to give gifts from your heart and not your pocketbook this year. This year leave the credit card debt behind and bury that Christmas tree in love, not glossy frivolity that leaves behind a big mess, a stomach ache, and a big stack of bills. Happy Holidays! About the author: Cindy S. Morus (www.phelps-creek.com) is a Certified Financial Recovery Counselor and Certified Credit Report Reviewer. Contact her at 541-387-2995 or cmorus@phelps-creek.com She is also the publisher and editor of "Women's Financial Freedom Monthly", an internet gazette dedicated to showing women and their families how to achieve financial well-being and peace of mind. Attention Ezine editors/Site owners: Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or website as long as you leave all links in place, do not alter the content and include our resource box as listed above. If you do use the material please send us a note (cmorus@phelps-creek.com) so we can take a look. Thanks. Circulated by Article Emporium |
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