Daily Home Gift Guide

November 2012

Holiday Gift Guide

Supplement of The Daily Home

2A — THE DAILY HOME, Talladega and St. Clair counties, Ala., Wednesday, November 21, 2012

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

Bob Crisp/The Daily Home

The right gift for any woman can be found at Griffin’s Jewelry in Talladega, including a double heart necklace, left, or a diamond cluster ring, right.

Make jewelry a gem of a gift Jewelry tops the list of desired Christmas presents. According to U.S. Census studies, jewelry stores in the United States sell approximately $2 million in merchandise every Christmas.

Each year leading up to Christmas, jewelry manufacturers overload the airwaves and department store advertisements with the must-have jewelry trends of the season.

Many women welcome the gift of jewelry, but prefer jewelry that’s unique. Jewelry presents should be as unique as their recipient. But being personal, unique and ensuring your jewelry

piece will be worn takes a little effort. Consider these pointers. * Think beyond the diamond: Many guys feel pressured to purchase diamond jewelry. The fact is, not all women feel compelled to wear diamonds — well, all of the time. It may be more meaningful if you gift her with her birthstone, a favorite gem or even a simple piece of gold.

It all depends on her personality. Notice what type of jewelry she tends to wear and her color preferences. Figure out if she has her heart set on a particular piece.

* Buck the trends: Avoid the marketed gift of the year. While it may work for footwear, jewelry, like fragrances, is more personal. A onestyle-fits-all gift simply may not work here.

Again, think about her style and personality and use that as a guide for jewelry purchases.

* Personalize your pieces: Think about pieces that have unique meaning. Does she collect pearls? How about a charm bracelet that can be augmented each year?

Even having a pendant engraved with a touching sentiment can be the way to ensure her gift is oneof-a-kind.

* New is not necessarily better: Some women adore antique pieces. A passed-down cameo pendant that your grandmother once wore may offer more implied meaning than that new necklace fresh off of the display case.

* Go with what works: If she’s a stud earring sort of gal, gift her with a new pair. Now is not the time to try out what you believe to be new and exciting. A woman can never have enough of her favorite type of jewelry.

Bob Crisp/The Daily Home

The Past, Present, Future diamond necklace can be found at Stacey’s Jewelry in Sylacauga.

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Fossil watches are a popular gift available at Stacey’s Jewelry in Sylacauga.

Keep kids engaged and occupied during holiday shopping trips Holiday shopping with kids can be fun.

Kids enjoy giving gifts, and bringing them along on shopping excursions to offer their input can make the season that much more special for youngsters.

But bringing the little ones along on a holiday shopping trip also can be tricky, as kids can easily grow tired or bored at the mall. The following are a few tips to ensure kids and adults enjoy their holiday shopping trips together. * Bring backup. Kids might find shopping enjoyable at the outset, but visiting store after store can drain them of that enthusiasm. To quell the inevitable boredom, bring along some back-

up, such as a handheld video game or a tablet or e-reader on which kids can watch a favorite film or television show. * Choose your shopping destination wisely.

All malls and retailers are certainly not equal, especially when kids will be accompanying you for a day of shopping. Some malls offer attractions for kids, such as a merrygo-round or a live performance with a holiday theme. Such attractions provide some balance to a shopping trip, giving kids something to look forward to between store visits. * Don’t be a Scrooge.

An ice cream cone, some holiday cookies or a hot chocolate might not be the healthiest fare for

youngsters, but such items can make a shopping excursion that much more enjoyable. When shopping with kids in tow, relax a youngster’s dietary restrictions so they can enjoy some holiday treats while shopping till they drop. * Give kids some spending money. Kids are more likely to engage themselves in a holiday shopping trip if they have some spending money of their own.

Offer children some money before leaving the house, and tell them the money is theirs to spend on gifts as they see fit.

Kids might just enjoy looking for the perfect gift and hunting down a holiday bargain as much as Mom and Dad.

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THE DAILY HOME, Talladega and St. Clair counties, Ala., Wednesday, November 21, 2012 — 3A

Gifts from bad to worst Great gifts are great for a multitude of reasons, but bad gifts tend to have a lot in common. The worst gifts are not only a poor fit with the recipient’s personality, lifestyle or interests, but also send a negative or critical message. Just plain bad gifts tend to fall into three categories: The useless, the thoughtless and the tasteless.

And while the lists of awful items for men and women may be different, they nevertheless fall into one of these diagnostic categories.

If you’re considering purchasing gifts in any of the following four categories for the man or men in your life, think again.

Clothing: While this sounds innocent enough, when the clothes don’t match a man’s style, it can be construed as a suggestion that you don’t like what he wears or want him to up his fashion game. If you don’t have a clue about what the men in your life actually like and will wear, make another choice.

Household bric-a-brac or decorative elements: Items in this category include everything from a new dish rack to artsy decor items. Such items might send a negative message similar to new clothes, and many men are territorial about their homes and resist outside (i.e., female) advice on decorating. So unless you know exactly what he wants or needs, go back to the drawing board.

Sentimental items: What a woman might call “sweet,” a man might want to store in the trash can. If you’re tempted to get your husband or boyfriend that cute teddy bear that reminds you of him, or flannel pajamas printed with those same teddy bears, forget it. And forget the book of syrupy love poetry, romantic movies or T-shirts with sappy sayings. He’ll be glad you did.

Psychology or self-help materials in any form or format: This is perhaps the biggest no-no of them all and sends the biggest “You’re not okay” message. So if you’re tempted to buy your guy a book about improving communication skills, finding a better job or making better use of time, don’t. Enough said.

When gifting women, men should also avoid certain gifts.

Appliances: For most women, household appliances fall under the heading of “need” rather than “want,” unless it is a specialty item that you’re certain she has been yearning for.

Lingerie: The principle here is similar to why clothes are a bad idea for guys, but can lead to far more disastrous outcomes. Many men don’t realize that a gift of lingerie is often accompanied by an unintended message.

If it’s too small, she needs to lose weight. If it’s too big, you think she’s fat. If it’s too racy, you don’t think she’s sexy. And if it’s too plain, you don’t think she’s sexy.

Simply stated, unless you know the exact size and type of lingerie she favors or want to ruin any chances of peace on earth during your holiday season, move on.

Jewelry: Here again, unless you know exactly what the woman in your life wants, skip it. Not only is jewelry something that women prefer to choose for themselves, it can send a message (i.e., overly romantic or not romantic enough) that men don’t realize they’re sending.

Gym membership/fitness equipment: The big nono. Under no circumstances is it wise to present the woman in your life with a gift whose underlying message is “Lose weight” or “Shape up.” The all-time worst gift for women? A bathroom scale.

Ask yourself: What would Myhrvold gift?

Associated Press

Anybody can giftwrap a matching apron and oven mitts. But if you really want to impress the foodie in your life, give the gift of kitchen tech.

To suss out which gizmos are worth giving, we went to the master himself, Nathan Myhrvold, the former Microsoft executive turned high priest of modernist cuisine. Myhrvold spent hundreds of thousands of dollars decking out his Bellevue, Wash., kitchen-lab, outfitting it with texture analyzers that determine meat’s doneness, a laser that precision cuts pasta shapes and micronsthin daikon slices, even a centrifuge that separates peas and other matter into their component parts.

Admittedly, most of that won’t land under the tree this year. But we walked the lab with Myhrvold to get ideas for outfitting a modernist kitchen on any budget. Here are the basics:

UNDER $100 * Digital thermometer ($10 to $60) Start with a really good digital thermometer. “The texture and taste of food changes with temperature,” Myhrvold says, so it’s important to measure accurately. Digital thermometers also are fast, giving accurate readings in just seconds. * Digital scale ($15 to $40) A reliable scale is a must. “We weigh rather than using teaspoons and cups,” Myhrvold says.

“It’s more accurate.”

This is true if you’re measuring flour for bread or if you’re measuring xanthan gum to thicken a sauce. Myhrvold recommends a scale for ordinary weights up to a couple of kilos, and, if you’re serious about pursing modernist techniques, a second model that measures tiny quantities — hundredths of a gram — for gums and gelling agents. * Lab sieves ($35 to $75) Similar to what you might see used by a kid on the beach, except lab sieves have very tiny openings — think less than 1/100th of an inch. In labs, they separate different sized particles. In the kitchen, Myhrvold uses them to create super-silky sauces, jams and stocks, with every last bit of sediment removed. * Blow torch ($50 to $65) “We like the Home Depot ones,” Myhrvold says. “They’re simple, they’re reliable, and when you want to make something hot — really hot — there’s nothing like it.”

Use a blow torch to sear a steak or brown a chicken while still preserving the perfect doneness of the item in ques-

tion. $100 to $200 * Whipping siphon ($120 to $150) Normal people use this to make whipped cream.

Myhrvold uses it to serve scrambled eggs in foamy little dollops or to lighten sauces and soups. It also can be used to vacuum marinate meat, a process that uses pressure to create more flavor. * Pressure cooker ($50 to $200) Besides cooking things quickly, a pressure cooker also cooks them better.

“It’s the best possible way to make stock,” Myhrvold says, explaining that the high heat in the pressure cooker does a better job of extracting flavor than the traditional long, slow simmer method. The pressure cooker also can reduce vegetables such as carrots to soup with a little help from baking soda to foster caramelization.

MORE THAN $200 * Sous vide machine ($329 to $499) The granddaddy of hipster kitchen appliances.

Myhrvold is unrelenting in his devotion to sous vide, the water bath method used by chefs to cook items to an exact doneness. “It gives you exquisite control over temperature,” Myhrvold says, eliminating the need to pinch and poke your meat.

Plus, he adds, “You can do really, really cool things.” Like cook scrambled eggs and dispense them from your whipping siphon (see above). The truth is, you can make a sous vide cooker with a cooler and some plastic bags. But if you want the real deal, maybe splurge on the machine and cut back somewhere else. * Countertop induction burner ($75 to $250) Powered by magnets, these energy efficient burners heat food more quickly than ordinary stoves, but leave your pot handles cool. Plus, it lets you use inexpensive steel pans to achieve the same results as the priciest copperware used on gas burners. * Dehydrator ($50 to $325) Tell me again why I want this? “It’s cheap and it’s fun,” Myhrvold says with a twinkle.

“And there’s a lot of cool stuff you can do with it.”

Witness, candied rose petals. Cocktail sauce leather — think fruit leather made from cocktail sauce (Duh! You wrap it around shrimp!). * Blendtec or Vitamix blender ($350 to $900) These super fancy blenders have more power and better blade contact with the food than your average wedding gift, transforming chunky items into silky smooth purees.

They make one heck of a smoothie (or, you know, other stuff).

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HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

4A — THE DAILY HOME, Talladega and St. Clair counties, Ala., Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Giving on tight budget As global economic woes continue, holiday spending remains difficult to predict. In 2010, holiday spending rose more than 5 percent from the year before, according to MasterCard AdvisorsTM SpendingPulseTM. That increase surprised forecasters, many of whom predicted holiday spending would decline for the fifth straight year.

With the holiday season on the horizon once again, no one truly knows what consumer response will be. But many consumers figure to exercise some restraint this holiday season, sticking to a budget when buying gifts for family and friends. While budgets are good ways to limit spending, a holiday spending budget doesn’t mean shoppers can’t still put a smile on their loved ones’ faces. In fact, with a few tips, holiday shoppers can stick to their budgets and still enjoy a happy holiday season. * Get creative. Holiday gifts don’t have to be bought at the local mall or from an online retailer.

Gift-givers with unique talents can create their own gifts and save some money along the way. For example, shoppers skilled at woodworking can create a personalized wood carving for a friend or

family member. Good at knitting? Knit a scarf, mittens or even a blanket for a loved one who lives in a cold weather region. Such personalized gifts are often especially meaningful to their recipients, who appreciate the time and effort such keepsakes take to create. * Be patient.

Nowadays, many families are so spread out geographically that they don’t always get together on Christmas Day. If that’s the case and you won’t be seeing your family until a few days after Christmas, take advantage of the special sales offered in the days after the actual holiday. Items are often heavily discounted, and if you can stay patient, your patience might just pay off with substantial savings. * Establish spending rules with family members before the shopping season begins. In an effort to reduce some of the financial burden of the holiday season, many families have begun to place spending limits on holiday shopping. This saves everyone money and ensures no one finds themselves with substantial debt come the new year. * Do a gift exchange with family and friends.

Many larger families have

also begun to do a gift exchange rather than asking members of the family to buy gifts for each and every member of the family. In a gift exchange, each member of the family draws a name out of a hat and then only buys a gift for that specific person.

This even has the added benefit of allowing shoppers to buy something a little more expensive for a family member since they aren’t obligated to buy gifts for anyone else. * Start early. The earlier you begin your holiday shopping, the more you can spread out your spending. This reduces the financial stress of the season while still allowing shoppers to get something special for everyone on their shopping list.

Holiday spending may or may not increase this holiday season. But savvy shoppers can still make the most of their spending without breaking the bank.

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SOLDIERS Lots of organizations arrange for holiday care packages shipped to active duty servicepeople. At the nonprofit adoptaussoldier. org, the experience goes deeper. The site “assigns� a U.S. soldier serving in one of more than 128 countries to send care packages and write letters to.

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CLASSROOMS At adoptaclassroom.org, make a generation donation to benefit schools damaged by superstorm Sandy. The site promises 100 percent of donations will go directly to teachers for their students.

A donor selects a classroom from hundreds registered by teachers to contribute by region of the country, school name, teacher name and other search criteria.

If a donor has no preference, Adopt-A-Classroom partners the donor with an underserved classroom in their community.

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DEFORESTATION Cuipo, a preservation organization based in Newport Beach, Calif., has purchased swaths of Panama rainforest and allows supporters through its One Meter at a Time Foundation to help foot the bill. Pay $5 to $100 at Cuipo.org for various amounts of land or purchase gifts that come with codes on their tags where a meter of rainforest can be named through the website.

New partner Sigg, the water bottle people, are offering Cuipo-branded bottles with the codes on tags for naming. The bottles are available for purchase at Whole Foods markets around the

NEW ORLEANS The Audubon Nature Institute in New Orleans went through tough times after Hurricane Katrina.

For $15 to $500, animal adoptions that benefit the institute’s various attractions, including a zoo, aquarium and insectarium, are available at auduboninstitute.org. Donations help feed and care for more than 15,000 invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals and insects.

Special gift packages include a personalized certificate, photo and fun facts.

More unusual adoptions include an Amazon milk frog and a giant anteater.

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NEW YORK (AP) — Buy a sheep, “adopt� a soldier or name a piece of rainforest.

There are lots of ways to honor loved ones for the holidays with gifts through charitable-minded naming and adoption programs.

Heifer International’s catalog at heifer.org offers shoppers a unique way to make giving more meaningful by buying cows, goats, sheep, llamas, water buffalos, bees, trees and more to benefit people in need around the world. A card of explanation goes to the giftee.

The National Wildlife Federation has an adoptan-animal program. The adoptions are symbolic and represent a general donation to the cause but do include certificates and small tokens of appreciation, such as a stuffed animal, depending on the amount spent.

An array of endangered species are covered, from sea turtles to baby pandas.

Order online at nwf.org.

Or try one of these lesser known programs:

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HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

THE DAILY HOME, Talladega and St. Clair counties, Ala., Wednesday, November 21, 2012 — 5A

For that just-right vehicle, shop at an area dealership 704 E. Battle St., Talladega

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If you’re looking for a new vehicle or one that’s gently used, Bill Stanford in Talladega is the place to go.

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Town & Country Ford in Pell City has a vehicle to suit any need — from trucks, big and small, to the car you just have to have.

Beware these holiday shopping traps The holiday season is rife with deals on items that range from the very small to the very large.

But as enticing as holiday deals can be, not all of them will benefit the consumer in the long run. When shopping this holiday season, consumers should be mindful of the following holiday shopping traps. * Extended warranties. On the surface, service plans are in a consumer’s best interest.

However, many service plans cover repairs that are already offered by a product’s standard

warranty. Retailers tend to push extended warranties because they’re very retailer-friendly, often set up so retailers keep as much as or even more than 50 percent of the warranty cost. What’s more, data from Consumer Reports indicates that products rarely break within the extended-warranty coverage, meaning consumers who purchase extended warranties truly are paying for nothing in many cases. * Restocking fees.

Gifts are often returned during the holidays, and

many retailers insist items can be returned and fully reimbursed if done within a specific window of time after purchase. However, restocking fees can challenge that claim.

Electronics, for example, are often subject to restocking fees, which means consumers will have to pay a fee if they return an item that is not in its factory-sealed box.

These fees can be substantial, as some retailers’ stocking fees are as much as 25 percent. * Varying return policies. Some retailers

change their return policies depending on where the item was purchased.

For instance, in-store purchases might be subject to different return policies than items purchased on the retailer’s Web site.

This is especially difficult during the holidays, when people are buying for family and friends who don’t necessarily live near the store where the item was purchased.

Before buying, always acclimate yourself with the return policy, including an differences between the in-store and online return policies.

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HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

6A — THE DAILY HOME, Talladega and St. Clair counties, Ala., Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Toys through history that caused a frenzy

All your needs can be met at area furniture stores

Standard Furniture in Talladega has everything you would need to furnish a home, including this sectional sofa.

Recliners make an excellent gift for Christmas, especially for that man in your life. Room by Room in Pell City has a wide selection of recliners and any other kind of furniture you might need.

Photos by Bob Crisp

‘Twas the night before Christmas when all through the store; Parents seek the hottest toy, while sales clerks shout, “No more!”

Few holiday seasons have come and gone without a must-have toy causing pandemonium among shoppers. In the months leading up to Christmas, one toy always seems to grab kids’ attention and become a must-have item.

These could be quirky digital-voiced animals or video game consoles.

Naturally, children put these gifts on their letters to Santa or wish lists. But as the days wind down to Christmas, manufacturers often cannot meet the demand for the season’s most popular item. It’s then left to parents to find the toys and gadgets by whatever means necessary.

Certain toys throughout history have caused a frenzy that results in desperate parents scouring wiped-out toy stores or making black-market deals to land themselves a hot toy. Here is a list of them, courtesy of MSNBC. * Shirley Temple Doll (1934): Shirley Temple was the inspiration behind the first recorded toy to cause a shopping frenzy. The demand for the doll elevated after the actress’ breakout film, “Bright Eyes,” was released three days before Christmas. * G.I. Joe (1964): Hasbro came up with the male action figure after watching Barbie dolls become such a popular toy for tots. The action figures were an instant hit, garnering over $16 million in 1964 alone. * “Star Wars” Action Figures (1977): No one expected George Lucas’ franchise to become such a smash hit. The merchandising company associated with the project didn’t have time to make associated toys beyond a few board games and coloring books once “Star Wars” fever took hold. Therefore, “Early Bird Certificate” vouchers were sold and the action figures were shipped out a few months later. These action figures can still thrill, with

eBay auctions bringing in $1,200 and up for figures that once retailed for just a few dollars. * Cabbage Patch Kids (1983): What little girl in the mid-1980s didn’t want a chubby-faced Cabbage Patch Kid to adopt as her very own? The demand for this fad doll became so heated that adults fought over them and price gouging ensued. * Teddy Ruxpin (1985): If kids weren’t seeking a Cabbage Patch doll, they may have been hoping to find a Teddy Ruxpin doll under their tree. Teddy Ruxpin was an animatronic bear who interacted with the child and told stories. It was based on the animated figures kids would see at theme parks or at their local play areas. Shortages around the holidays played into frenzied behavior. The doll was expensive for its day, coming in at around $68. * Tickle Me Elmo (1996): “Sesame Street” fans fell right into the hype offered by Tyco Toys and Children’s Television Workshop. Stampedes occurred in toy stores, people were injured and reports of extreme price gouging ensued, all in an effort for people to get their hands on the giggling, red furball. * Furby (1998): This creature reminiscent of the popular 1980s film “Gremlins” came out of the box speaking its own language and slowly learned English over time. The animated pet/friend became the must-have toy of the year, but production numbers were scant in comparison to demand. * Nintendo Wii (2006): Video game aficionados were wowed by the motionsensing game controllers of this new system. This helped push the Wii to the top spot for video game consoles for that year and created a demand that led to limits on units purchased, diminished inventory, and even vouchers or wrist bands being offered by stores to get your hands on the Wii.

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Put some green in holiday plans With the holiday season on the horizon, many people’s thoughts turn to charitable giving and other altruistic efforts. Amid giving a helping hand to those who need it and donating to worthy charities, individuals can think about giving back to the planet as well.

Many people equate the holiday season with trying to do more or give more. While these efforts are well-intentioned, the “bigger is better” mantra often turns into a season of excess. From thousands of twinkling lights adorning homes to pounds of wrapping paper used on gifts, the toll the holiday season takes on the environment is substantial.

The Clean Air Council estimates that an additional 5 million tons of waste is generated during the holidays in the U.S., and 4 million tons of this is wrapping paper and shopping bags. Incandescent twinkle bulbs consume considerable power, especially when every house in the neighborhood is lit up. Extra food is often purchased to make holiday meals lavish, and plastic or disposable dishes and utensils is commonly chosen for convenience. All of this adds up to considerable excess.

There are several ways to reduce the impact the holidays have on the environment. Making smart choices and being con-

scious of when you could be adopting the “bigger is better” philosophy could help. * Switch holiday lights to LED ones. LEDs use 80 to 90 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs.

Plus they are supposed to last longer before burnout.

Although their initial cost is higher than standard bulbs, energy savings and longer lifespan mitigate these initial costs. * Place lights on a timer so that the light display turns off overnight. If you don’t have a timer, simply turn the lights off when going to bed. * Buy items with less packaging to reduce waste.

If you plan to purchase the same items as other friends and family (i.e. adhesive tape or tissue paper), think about buying one bulk package and splitting the contents. * Reduce reliance on wrapping paper. Many people now forgo wrapping paper for gift bags because they are easily portable and can be used over and over. If you select wrapping paper, choose types that can be recycled and papers that are already made of recycled materials. You can also use unique materials for wrapping items, such as cloth with ribbon or handkerchiefs. * Trim the tree with handmade items. Stringing popcorn and berries to

make a homemade garland is a much greener option than plastic tinsel. Use pine cones collected at the end of autumn and decorate with acrylic paints and hang with ribbon. To add to a Christmas decoration collection, shop at thrift stores or tag sales to find gently used decorations that are new to you. * For those who want a real Christmas tree this year, buy one with the root ball intact. Then plant the pine tree in the yard after the holidays are over. * Choose locally grown or organic food for holiday feasts. These foods might be more fresh, and you will know they were raised in a way that doesn’t compromise the environment. * Limit gifts that require batteries. Batteries routinely end up in landfills and damage the environment when they are carelessly discarded. Select toys and gadgets that use rechargeable batteries or ones that can be easily recycled later on. * Reduce reliance on disposable entertaining items. Skip the plastic cups and paper napkins. While it may take a little extra effort to clean up, using china dishes and stainless flatware reduces waste that ends up in the garbage. Plus, all of those plastic and paper products that will end up in the trash require energy and resources to make.

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HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

8A — THE DAILY HOME, Talladega and St. Clair counties, Ala., Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Bob Crisp/The Daily Home

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It’s that time of year again, when we pull out the blankets and sweaters and stash the last of the warmweather items until spring arrives.

Many homes lack the space needed to store everything right where we use it. So seasonal things get shuttled around and sometimes even misplaced.

If the serving dishes you use only at the holidays are stacked way up at the top of your pantry, “you may find yourself running out and buying something you’ve already got, because you can’t remember what you have or you can’t get to it,” says Atlanta-based interior designer Mallory Mathison.

Many of her clients struggle with insufficient closet space for storing items that are only used for a few months each year.

Here, Mathison and interior designers Brian Patrick Flynn and Molly Luetkemeyer offer advice on creatively storing offseason items in ways that maximize every inch of space and make it easy to retrieve what you need.

FIND DOUBLE-DUTY FURNITURE All three designers love furniture that offers hidden storage. A bench with storage space inside is perfect for boots, and bins containing scarves, gloves and hats.

Or add a large coffee table/ottoman combination to your living room: “They’re an easy way to sneak a bit more seasonal storage into a room, without having to add extra closet space or add pricey, big-ticket furniture pieces,” says Flynn, founder of the design website decordemon.com. “You can find a ton of storageottoman-coffee tables on websites like overstock. com or hayneedle.com.”

For families with pets, Flynn suggests creating a

sleeping space for a small dog or cat that doubles as seasonal storage. “To do this, I take a flea-market dresser, usually a highboy with four to six drawers, then remove the bottom two for use as an open lounge space for pets, complete with a removable cushion,” he says.

Use the remaining drawers above for seasonal items like off-season clothing.

MAXIMIZE UNDER-BED SPACES Many people use the space under their master bed for seasonal storage.

Luetkemeyer suggests doing the same with every bed in the house.

Tuck clear plastic bins under children’s beds (and a guest bed, if you have one), labeling each one clearly.

You can rotate items in and out of these bins during the year — one holding swimsuits all winter might hold sweaters in summer. If you know that all under-bed space is designated for seasonal items, it will be easier to track down the once-a-year items you’re seeking.

Also, see whether any sofas or other large pieces of furniture might have room underneath for flat storage bins.

TRY CREATIVE CARPENTRY Mathison suggests having built-in cabinets added along the walls on both sides of your bed.

Creating this architectural niche for your bed “is totally cozy, and it also creates great concealed and/or open storage,” she says.

Another built-in option: If your kitchen cabinets don’t go all the way to the ceiling, add extra closed storage on top for seasonal serving dishes and table linens. Or have a row of very shallow shelves (no more than 3 or 4 inches deep) added to one wall of your kitchen or pantry.

You can prop up dishware

or serving pieces you rarely use, creatively storing them while adding some beauty to your walls.

Also, search your home for bits of square-footage that aren’t being used, such as a crawl space under a staircase. Hire a handyman to add a small door and turn that empty space into a cabinet.

Consider changing your kitchen seating: Swap out chairs for builtin benches with hidden storage, then hide rarelyused items there.

GET HOOKED “Seasonal things that inspire you should be left out as much as possible,” Flynn says. “I use a ton of wall hooks in my spaces, mostly to be able to hang up favorite pieces of clothing which add decorative flair to a room.”

In a bedroom, a cluster of favorite flannel shirts can look great on decorative hooks, and the same goes for winter jackets.

In summer, hang your favorite T-shirts or swimsuits on those same hooks while the winter items are put away.

This works well in kids’ rooms and nurseries, helping ensure that kids wear their cutest pieces before the season ends and they grow out of them.

USE CLOSETS WELL Maximize closet space by adding shelves up high if there aren’t any, then keep a small step-ladder in the closet for accessing high items, Luetkemeyer says. Add inexpensive, battery-powered lights to dim closets, and increase shelf space by adding a row of canvas hanging shelves.

In a guest room closet, if you have one, Mathison suggests using two rows of hanging canvas shelves — one filled with items your guest may need, such as extra towels and soap, and the other left empty so your guest can put out some of the clothes they

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brought. Then use the rest of the closet for your seasonal things. It will be clear to the guest what space is theirs and what isn’t.

If winter items will be hung in a closet, Flynn opts for “thick wooden hangers or sculptural modern aluminum hangers to keep the structural integrity of coats or heavy pants.” For lighter summer items, Luetkemeyer recommends slim, foamcovered hangers that take up less space and won’t let items like camisoles slip off.

Consider splurging on rebuilding your closets with exactly the shelving and hanging space you want: “This way, every closet in the house can work for all seasons,” says Flynn. “We spend a ton of money on our cars and have garages built for them, right? Well, we spend just as much on our wardrobes, so why not invest in a space to store that investment?”

ROLL OUT THE RACKS Mathison suggests keeping seasonal things like coats in clear plastic garment bags on rolling racks in a basement or attic. They’ll stay clean, and when it’s time to swap them with the opposite season’s items in your main closets, having items grouped in garment bags will make it simpler to transport them quickly back and forth.

Rolling garment racks are easy to find and affordable, but it’s important to choose good quality ones so they don’t bend under the weight of winter clothing.

Mathison is also a fan of coordinated bins or baskets to organize smaller items (gloves, hats, swimsuits, goggles) in closets.

It’s easy to move these bins out of your main closet into a basement or attic during the off-season.

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HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

THE DAILY HOME, Talladega and St. Clair counties, Ala., Wednesday, November 21, 2011 — 9A

The gift of good taste that lasts Managing a holiday shopping budget can be a daunting task. While there’s constant temptation to buy the latest must-have on the “hot” list, it pays to mindfully shy away from fads in favor of gifts that offer genuine value and lasting enjoyment. When selecting gifts for food lovers and cooking enthusiasts, consider well-designed and durable pots and pans that can be used long after the holiday decorations are taken down and the last sugar cookie is eaten.

Practical, kitchen gifts like cookware help families save money by fostering home cooking; and more cooking and gathering at the kitchen table fosters strong bonds and harmonious relationships. Here’s a brief primer on the newest and best cookware options this season at varying budget levels.

Specialty Pans, GiftReady Sets and Cookware Under $100 For the cook who enjoys variety when it comes to whipping up dishes, a beautifully designed, multi-functional pan, such as the new Anolon Nouvelle Copper Stainless Steel 9.5-inch Everything Pan ($69.99), will more than delight, it will exceed expectations.

Meticulously crafted in gleaming stainless steel, this versatile, medium-size covered skillet has two side handles for perfect transition from stove and oven to the table. The pan’s high-performance, magnetic stainless steel base includes fast-heating aluminum and a layer of copper for optimum heat control.

Dishwasher safe and compatible with all cooktops, including induction, the Everything Pan is just the right size and shape to cook and serve au gratins, casseroles, frittatas, rice pilaf and more.

Durable nonstick skillets are beneficial for all types of meal preparations, and essential when preparing delicate foods that are prone to sticking, such as eggs, pancakes and fish. For a gourmet choice that’s also gift-ready, consider the Anolon Nouvelle Copper Twin Pack Set of 8-inch and 10-inch Skillets ($49.99). The skillets are constructed of heavy gauge hard-anodized aluminum — a material that is twice as strong as stainless steel.

Super fast and even heating, the patented design of these pans includes a unique, induction-suitable base with a layer of elegant and heat responsive copper.

A long-lasting, restauranttested and metal utensil safe nonstick coating, plus flush rivets make the skillets easy to clean.

An excellent choice for a novice cook, or anyone looking for a cookware set with all the essentials, new Farberware High Performance Nonstick is hard to beat for functional design and value. Every item in the 10-Piece Set ($89.99) is a basic that will be put to work, and since the collection is dishwasher-safe and has a quality nonstick cooking surface, clean up is a breeze. Styled in black, red and copper hues, there’s a set to coordinate with any kitchen decor.

Colorful Nonstick Cookware For Under $150 Cooks who favor colorful, retro-style cookware will be overjoyed to receive pans from the bell-shaped Paula Deen Signature Porcelain Nonstick collection ($119.99 for 12-Piece Set). Inspired by Paula’s fond memories of cooking with her mother, the cookware features speckled porcelain enamel that is durable and stain-resistant in an array of hues.

(Oatmeal and Pear are the two new and calming colors for this season.)

Heavy aluminum gives the pans heft and even heating without hot spots, while the champagne-colored nonstick surface prevents sticking and speeds cleaning.

Convenient, tempered glass lids make it easy to keep a watchful eye on the cooking process, and copper accents on the knobs and handle loops complete the collection’s nostalgic feel.

For quality cookware with more high octane colors, there’s a choice of bold orange, red or blue in the new, shapely-

designed Rachael RayTM 2-Tone Gradient Hard Enamel Nonstick collection ($129.99 for 10-Piece Set). Crafted of fast and even-heating aluminum, the cookware’s eye-catching, glossy exterior instantly revs up the tempo, and imparts a happy feeling while preparing dinner.

Slip-resistant, rubberized handles in matching hues complete the collection’s vibrant design, and make it easier to lift pots from the oven and stove to the table.

Another colorful option in quality nonstick cookware is the new bronzehued, eco-friendly EarthPan Plus collection ($129.99 for 10-Piece Set). Featuring SandFlow Nonstick, a uniquely durable PTFE and PFOA-free material that originates from sand, EarthPan Plus is perfect for searing and sauteing at high temperatures. Featuring a magnetic stainless steel plate on the bottom of the pans, the cookware is suitable for use on all cooktops, including energyefficient induction. The elegant bronze nonstick on the inside and outside of the pans warms up the look of any kitchen, and helps keep the cookware looking like new longer.

Gourmet Pots and Pans for $200 and Under Avid cooks who would like to upgrade their pots and pans with the latest designs in gleaming stainless steel will appreciate a gift of new Circulon Contempo Stainless Steel ($199.99 for 10-Piece Set).

As practical as it is goodlooking, the cookware’s high performance base of thick and fast-heating aluminum is enclosed in magnetic stainless steel for convenient dishwasher use and compatibility with all ranges, including induction. All Circulon cookware features the brand’s signature TOTAL Food Release System, which combined with a durable, metal utensil-safe nonstick coating, allows for a lifetime of healthy cooking by reducing the need to add butter or oil to the pans.

Rachael Ray devotees can also cook with wellpriced, pro-style cookware crafted in polished stainless steel. The new tulip-shaped Rachael RayTM Stainless Steel collection ($179.99 for 10-Piece Set) features a non-reactive stainless steel cooking surface that experienced cooks prefer for sauteing and searing at high temperatures.

A thick base of fast and even heating aluminum is encapsulated in magnetic stainless steel, making the cookware both dishwashersafe and compatible with all cooktops. Pans in the set also feature tempered glass lids and rubberized orange handles that stay cool during stovetop use.

For the food lover that prefers the look and performance of hard anodized cookware, Rachael offers her similarly styled Rachael RayTM Hard Anodized collection ($179.99 for 10-Piece Set). A clear nonstick coating on the exterior allows this hardworking nonstick cookware to be placed in the dishwasher for convenience.

Rubberized orange handles with Rachael’s logo ensure a comfortable and sure grip, and durable, tempered glass lids are reinforced with a wide stainless steel rim.

For cooking enthusiasts who want their pans to match the fresh vibrancy and adventurous spirit of their dishes, check out the new Circulon Contempo Red collection ($199.99 for 10-Piece Set). The cookware’s high-gloss red exterior adds punch and complements the high energy of contemporary kitchen decors. Heavy gauge construction ensures fast and even heating with no hot spots, and a magnetic stainless steel base makes this collection induction-ready as well as dishwasher-safe.

Three Fabulous Finds for $300 and Under The thrill of preparing even the most ordinary weeknight dinner using gourmet cookware crafted from the finest materials will linger for years when a lucky cook receives the gift of new Anolon Nouvelle Copper Stainless Steel ($299.99 for 10-Piece Set).

Each piece in this durable,

high-performance collection features a non-reactive stainless steel interior surface that is matched by a mirror-polished stainless steel exterior. A unique, magnetic stainless steel base with thick aluminum and a layer of copper delivers fast and even heating, optimum heat control, and versatile use on all cooktops, including induction. Dishwasher safe and oven safe to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, the elegantly styled, tulip-shaped cookware provides drip-free pouring, cool-touch stainless steel handles, and slightly dome-shaped, highly polished stainless

steel lids.

Superb durability is also assured when gifting a cook with Anolon Advanced Bronze ($299.99 for 11Piece Set). This cookware is a top collection on bridal registries, and a winning choice for anyone who values the fast cleaning and low fat cooking benefits of quality nonstick cookware.

Heavy gauge hard-anodized aluminum quickly and evenly heats up the pans, and the long-lasting, restaurant-tested nonstick interior releases the stickiest foods easily. Adding a warm touch to traditional and contemporary kitchen decors, the cookware is

fashioned with an appealing bronze nonstick exterior that helps prevent staining. Very comfortable and secure SureGrip handles, a signature feature from Anolon, are crafted in stainless steel and matching bronze silicone rubber.

The third fabulous find under $300 is new Circulon Symmetry ($299.99 for 11-Piece Set) — heavyduty, hard-anodized nonstick cookware with the added bonus of being both dishwasher safe and compatible with all cooktops, including induction. This gourmet cookware heats up fast and evenly with no hot spots for optimum cooking

performance. Additionally, healthy, low-fat cooking is always an option since the cookware’s signature, metal utensil-safe nonstick surface eliminates the need to add butter or oil to prevent sticking.

Splurge-worthy Cookware at $400 and Above When budgets allow and the recipient has refined tastes in culinary equipment, here are two collections worth considering for truly luxurious gifts: Anolon Nouvelle Copper ($399.99 for 10-Piece Set) and KitchenAid Architect Clad ($450 for 10-Piece Set).

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HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

THE DAILY HOME, Talladega and St. Clair counties, Ala., Wednesday, November 21, 2012 — 1B

Wine makes excellent gift for the hostess

By ANDY PERDUE and ERIC DEGERMAN Wine Press Northwest

KENNEWICK, Wash.

(AP) — The holidays are not far away, and a key part of a successful and festive feast is making sure the right wines are on your table.

Between roasting a turkey and mashing potatoes, this can be a stressful meal for the host, so not having to worry about the wine will be a relief.

With that in mind, here are eight wine tips for making the holiday meal a successful event.

No. 1: Begin with bubbles. Sparkling wine is perhaps the most versatile of food wines, and fortunately for us, plenty of good bubbly is made in the Pacific Northwest. We suggest starting off your feast with a celebratory toast. As a bonus, it will pair beautifully with most of the food on the table.

No. 2: Got (enough) wine? Be sure to have plenty of wine. Caterers will tell you to budget a half-bottle of wine per person. That might be a bit much, but a gathering of family and friends is a great time to share the wines you’ve selected for the meal. If you have several half-empty bottles by the end of the meal, it’s easy enough to put a cork in them and enjoy the next day with the rest of the leftovers.

No. 3: Think pink.

RosÈs are deliciously bright and bursting with fruit aromas and flavors.

Dry rosÈs in particular pair beautifully with tur-

key, mashed potatoes, salads and many other dishes on the table. Avoid white Zinfandel, which is little more than California Kool-Aid, and stick with a dry to slightly off-dry rose’.

No. 4: Spice up life with variety. If a lot of family and friends are coming over for dinner, you will have a lot of different palates around the table. Thus, try to provide many styles of wine.

For reds, consider Pinot Noir or Sangiovese, both of which are versatile food wines. For whites, Riesling or Gewrztraminer can be enjoyed by occasional wine drinkers, while Chardonnay is America’s favorite wine and has broad appeal.

No. 5: Put the cork in the Cab. Cabernet Sauvignon is the king of wines and the wine of kings, but it probably won’t pair well with much on your table. It’s often a bold and tannic wine that will be better enjoyed with beef.

No. 6: In with the new.

Are you saving an older red wine for a special occasion? Keep it in your cellar for a bit longer.

Older wines are often delicate, and their nuances will be lost amid the din of a Thanksgiving meal. A special older wine should be the focus of a meal that is built around it. Instead, purchase newer wines with young, fresh flavors that will make this happy meal even more joyous.

No. 7: Get bogged down. Most wine snobs turn their noses up at fruit wines, but you’ll need

Sandy Carden/The Daily Home

Charlotte Green shows off the many wines she sells at her store, CG’s Spirit Store in Talladega. to trust us on this one: cranberry wine. A few Northwest wineries make cranberry wine from fresh coastal fruit (Westport, Heymann, Cranberry Road are three in Washington).

They tend to be a bit sweet, and they go amazingly well with a meal.

You owe it to yourself to give this a try.

No. 8: Go sweet or go home. What are you serving for dessert?

Pumpkin pie? Apple pie?

Regardless, your dessert wine should be sweeter than the dish or they will clash. We suggest a British Columbia ice wine, one of the great wines in the world. Can’t get to B.C. or afford $50 for a halfbottle? There are plenty of choices south of the border (Kiona and Chateau Ste. Michelle are just two).

You’ll get roughly eight little pours out of a bottle, so plan accordingly.

Bob Crisp/The Daily Home

Lakeside Package in Pell City has that just right bottle of wine for a holiday gift.

Bob Crisp/The Daily Home

Lakeside Package in Pell City will wrap your gift of wine to make it even more special.

Estimates say that 2.65 billion Christmas cards are sold in the United States each year.

That’s enough paper to fill a football field 10 stories high. Most of these cards end up in a trash can come the end of the year, which contributes to the millions of pounds of extra trash generated during the holidays. As an alternative, many environmentally conscious, or just costconscious, people turn to e-cards.

E-cards are digital cards either sent through e-mail or an online card service. Many e-cards are available at no cost if you know where to look.

Other retailers offer ecards at a minimal cost, or some enable shoppers

to subscribe to a monthly service for a low price.

Although many people use e-cards because they’re free, convenient and eco-friendly, it’s unlikely that e-cards will replace paper Christmas cards entirely. That’s because the tradition and the sentiment of sending greetings through the mail has been in place for centuries.

Those who send out e-cards can establish a list of recipients by compiling the most current email addresses of friends and family. Individual e-greetings are more personal. However, some people choose to post one universal greeting online through a social networking site, like Facebook.

Although e-cards can be sent immediately, that doesn’t mean you should wait until the last minute to send them. Let the person enjoy the sentiments for a few weeks, just as you would with a paper card.

Add a few personalized sentiments to the greeting so it’s not just a bland, mass e-mailed sentiment.

Consider designing your own greeting card as another option. Use either design or wordprocessing software to create a card and then save it as a PDF file, which can be opened with a program like Acrobat(R) Reader. It can then be e-mailed as an attachment.

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E-cards an alternative, not a replacement to paper greetings

2B — THE DAILY HOME, Talladega and St. Clair counties, Ala., Wednesday, November 21, 2012

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

Good Housekeeping picks top toys for holidays

By The Associated Press NEW YORK — Not all the testers for Good Housekeeping’s annual Best Toys list wear lab coats. Some are barely out of diapers.

For its 2012 list, engineers reviewed hundreds of toys for safety and educational merits. But the true test comes from 140 kids, ages 3 to 13, who play with the top 135 new toys at the magazine’s product-testing laboratory in New York.

There are more priceconscious choices under $25 to choose from this year, according to the

Good Housekeeping Research Institute, along with toys that teach, including robotics for very young children and sophisticated art projects and models for older kids.

Others fall into the category of back-to-basics, abandoning tech in favor of more open-ended play.

“Parents can feel confident that our winners are safe, fun and encourage creativity, imagination, and problem-solving skills,” said Rosemary Ellis, editor in chief of Good Housekeeping.

The winners of Good Housekeeping’s 2012 Best Toy Awards are revealed in the December issue, on

newsstands Tuesday: * Ages 3 and up: The Hexbug Hive Habitat Set ($35) has mechanical bugs running through a customizable maze, and the Techno Source Glow Crazy Doodle Dome ($20) is a tent that allows children to draw on the walls with a green light wand. * Ages 4 and up: T.S. Shure ArchiQuest Architectural Elements ($30) is a set of wooden blocks “in fresh shapes and bright hues” while the Playmates Shellraiser ($35) is a car for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ($10 each). * Ages 5 and up: Moose Toys Fortune

Cookie Maker ($25) lets kids make their own fortunes and cookies with a little help from the microwave, and the Jakks Pacific Power Trains Auto Loader City ($40) has a five-car train and 18 feet of track for “an affordable alternative to die-cast models.” * Ages 6 and up: The Moose Toys Micro Chargers Loop Track ($20) has fast-charging cars that shoot through a stunt track, the Crayola Marker Airbrush ($25) uses markers to create spray paint-style art and the Lego Friends Adventure Camper ($30) creates a motor home with

dolls, bikes and a surfboard. * Ages 7 and up: The Techno Source Codee ($8) is a twistable chain of blocks that can be made into creatures like a bright flamingo or robot, and the Playmobil E-Rangers Headquarters ($130), has a swiveling LED spotlight and a working solar panel. * Ages 8 and up: The Silverlit Porsche 911 Carrera ($80) is a replica of the sports car that can be steered by iPhone, or kids can create colorful domino-type patterns with Colorfall from Marbles: The Brain Store ($45).

Wild Planet Night Sight ($40) is head-mounted

infrared night-vision goggles, and Hasbro’s Bop It! Smash ($23) has players trying to hit a moving light * Ages 9 and up: The K’Nex Atomic Coaster ($71) is a motorized ride for dueling cars that requires assembly of more than 1,000 pieces. * Ages 10 and up: The Ravensburger 3D Building Set ($26) is a puzzle kit to create replicas of famous sites like the Eiffel Tower or the Empire State Building.

Online For board games and more information: http:// www.goodhousekeeping. com/toyawards

Sensible planning makes for smart holiday shopping

Photos by Bob Crisp

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what portion of a holiday budget is for gifts and keep a running total of expenditures as you shop.

This way, you will have a sense of where you stand at any given point in the shopping season and can adjust accordingly.

Be an informed shopper. There are deals galore in the run-up to the holidays and it pays to compare prices and offers before making any purchases. Check newspaper and online ads as well as retailers’ Web sites to determine both where and when you can get the best deal.

Make a list and check it twice. Plan your purchases ahead of time to avoid impulse buying. By having a gift in mind for each person on your list, you will save time, money and headaches.

Consider family gifts.

If there are a number of families on your gift list, consider giving a single gift — or gift basket — that everyone can enjoy.

A waffle iron or ice cream maker, for example, is a gift that foodie families will savor for years to come.

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Big boy toys

The holiday season is among the most stressful times of year. With long lists of things to do, meals to prepare, family and friends to entertain, and gifts to buy, many people embark on the holiday season with more fear than cheer. And with so many people trying to spend less these days, preparing for the holidays has become that much more challenging. But by planning in advance and establishing a holiday shopping game plan, men and women can save money and maintain their peace of mind.

Start at the bottom line.

The best way to avoid overspending during the holidays is to establish a budget -- and then stick to it. Before making any holiday purchases, determine a holiday spending limit that is acceptable to you and your spouse or partner. The figure should include not only the cost of gifts, but expected expenditures for holiday entertainment and entertaining, decorations, travel, and items such as clothing and home improvements.

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HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

THE DAILY HOME, Talladega and St. Clair counties, Ala., Wednesday, November 21, 2012 — 3B

Simple ways to bulk up your Christmas tree AMY LORENTZEN Associated Press

The Christmas tree is the focal point of many homes during the holiday season, so if yours is looking less than lush, here are some tips from the pros for, well, sprucing up its appearance.

Location, Location, Location Whether your Christmas tree is real or artificial, placing it in the right spot can go a long way toward giving it a bountiful look. Avoid placing a thin-looking tree in front of a window or lightcolored wall, which will highlight its patchy areas.

Real trees should be kept away from heat sources and radiators, which can drain them of moisture and fullness.

Fluffing with Flourish Spend time fluffing your tree for a more voluminous look, says Jami Warner, executive director of the American Christmas Tree Association, a California-based trade group.

She advises starting at the bottom of an artificial tree and working your way up, carefully adjusting each section as you go. To get the best coverage, tips that are closest to the center pole should be angled vertically and out to the sides to resemble a peacock’s fanned tail.

Consider researching the natural bend of branches and tips that your tree should imitate.

“Modeling your tree

Trimming the Tree If you’re looking to create bulk or a new look, Soto says hot ornament trends this holiday season include unconventional colors such as pinks, purples and blues. Jewel tones and bright citrus hues are also popular, as Nourishment are gilded and mercury Real trees should be ornaments that really “jazz well-nourished to keep up” a tree. them looking full. Some Also popular are nature green thumbs swear by a themes, and upcycled or teaspoon of brown sugar recycled items. or flat ginger ale, but Karen Edenfield, a Warner says fresh tap water daily is all you need. designer with Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores, suggests using feathers, pine cones or artificial Dazzle With Light pine stems for naturalSo you’ve placed looking filler, or floral your tree in a cozy spot, arranged its base and branches just so, and now it’s time to make it shine.

Sabrina Soto, Target’s home style expert and an HGTV designer, says one of the easiest ways to give a tree life is through lighting. She recommends allotting at least 100 bulbs for every foot of height.

“A full, brightly lit, decorated tree gives a feeling of abundance that puts everyone in a happy holiday mood,” Soto says.

A lighted garland can go far in filling empty space on a thin tree, she says, and creates an even warmer glow.

Add any extra lighting before you decorate with ornaments so you’re not getting them tangled up.

Also, while lighting makes your tree sparkle, it also can highlight bare areas and show where ornaments or other items may be needed to create an ample appearance. after a photo of that style will help you ideally shape your tree,” Warner says. Her organization’s website, www.

Christmastreeassociation. org, has pictures to help guide in fluffing.

This holiday season give the gift of seasoned salt

By J.M. HIRSCH AP food editor

It seemed like a tall order. I wanted an edible gift that was fast and easy to make, inexpensive, wouldn’t spoil or need to be refrigerated, and that kids could be involved in.

With so many caveats, the field is pretty narrow.

I’m not a fan of baking mixes, such as muffins or pancakes. Too much measuring and printing of recipes so recipients know how to use them. Spice rubs are a good choice. Trail mix is another. But I’ve done those before and this year I wanted something different, something a little less expected.

The solution I came up with — seasoned salts. The concept is simple. Blend salt with various seasonings, then package them nicely. The kids can even get in on decorating the jars.

There are just a few things to remember as you do this. Most important is that seasoned salts — whether prepared or purchased — are intended as finishing salts. That means they should be used to season finished dishes, not during cooking. Most of the nuanced flavor of a seasoned salt would be lost if used for cooking.

For gift purposes, I suggest planning for two kinds of salt — powdered salt, which is intended for use on popcorn, and flaked salt, which is for sprinkling over finished savory foods.

First, the powdered salt.

The powdered part of this is key. Movie theater popcorn tends to be perfectly salted because vendors use powdered salt; this adheres to the corn kernels far better than even fine grain salt does. This is why your homemade popcorn usually is unevenly salted, and why you end up with a sea of salt on the bottom of the bowl.

Making powdered salt is simple. Use inexpensive kosher salt (usually about $1.50 for a 3-pound box), then run it through either a food processor or blender (you also can use a mortar and pestle for smaller batches) until it reaches the consistency of powdered sugar.

Seasonings can be mixed in by hand after the salt is ground, or simply added to

the processor or blender at the same time.

When selecting seasonings for popcorn salt, don’t hesitate to get creative, even mixing sweet and savory flavors. But always aim to use seasonings with a similar texture as the powdered salt (in other words, finely ground seasonings such as cinnamon, paprika, garlic powder, etc.).

For flake salts intended to use on savory foods, you’ll need to start with pricier flaked sea salt. You usually can find bargains on this variety at places such as Trader Joe’s and similar retailers. With these salts, you simply mix them with the seasonings you want, then bottle them. Even easier than powdered salts.

You also have more choice when it comes to seasonings. No need to worry about matching the texture of the salt, which in this case tends to be large and coarse. Finely ground seasonings or more robust dried herbs, or a blend of the two, all work well.

I’ve outlined a few suggestions for each variety, but this is a creative effort, so just explore your spice cabinet. Be sure to label your salts and include hints on what to use them on.

POPCORN SALT COMBINATIONS (Each makes enough for 4 to 6 gifts, depending on jar size) * 1 pound kosher salt, six 3-inch cinnamon sticks, 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (grind everything together) * 1 pound kosher salt, 2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice blend (mix the spice blend into the salt after it is ground) * 1 pound kosher salt, 4 teaspoons garlic powder, 4 teaspoons smoked paprika (mix the spice blend into the salt after it is ground) * 1 pound kosher salt, 2 1/2 tablespoons Sichuan pepper (grind together)

SAVORY SALT COMBINATIONS (Each makes 1 to 2 gifts, depending on jar size) * 1/2 cup flaked salt, 2 teaspoons dried oregano, 2 teaspoons dried basil, 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes * 1/2 cup flaked salt, 1 1/2 tablespoons fennel seed, 2 teaspoons cumin seed, 2 teaspoons mustard powder * 1/2 cup flakes salt, 2 teaspoons curry powder

stems and bushes for bulk, texture and color. Berry stems can be placed deep in the tree to mask gaps and give a glimpse of color. Reused and recycled items could include old sheet music, jewelry, and gift wrapping or bows.

Other trendy themes include wine and grapes; seashore; and cupcakes and other sweets. Themes can be a great fix for sparse-looking trees: “People won’t focus as much on the tree as they will on the overall look,” Edenfield says.

Ribbons are another simple way to fill out a scraggly tree, and can be found in an array of

patterns. If placed horizontally, they should go on after lights and before ornaments. Or use a large, multi-bow ribbon at the top of the tree with ribbon streamers hanging down for a finishing touch.

And decorations aren’t just for the tips of the branches. Remember to place lights, ornaments, garlands, picks, stems and other decorations deep and outward to give more dimension.

“A full-looking tree signifies abundance, family and warmth of the holiday season,” Warner says.

Preparing for Next Year Carefully packing and storing your artificial tree

can ensure that its needles don’t flatten out, and will make decorating next season a little easier.

Edenfield recommends a cool, dry storage area.

Heat can shorten the life of the needles. Ideally, she says, store the tree so it doesn’t have to be crammed back into its small box.

If your artificial tree won’t make another holiday appearance at your house, don’t just throw it in the trash. Consider donating or recycling it, or reuse its branches as filler for an even more ample tree next Christmas.

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HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

4B — THE DAILY HOME, Talladega and St. Clair counties, Ala., Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Kids and gifts: How many is too much?

In general, the answer lies within each family.

Parents should purchase what makes sense to them and what they believe their children will use and appreciate.

However, in recent years, child psychologists and experts in child development have returned to these questions as economic conditions have forced many families to scale back, both throughout the year and during the holiday season.

Books such as “The Pampered Child Syndrome” (Jessica Kingsley, 2006) by Maggie Mamen and “Give Me, Get Me, Buy

Me” (HCI, 2010) by Donna Corwin and several others on the same topic offer similar conclusions: When children are given too much over the course of their childhoods, they can develop a serious case of entitlement, become unappreciative of what they have and begin to equate love with “stuff.” And for younger children, receiving a huge pile of gifts in one sitting can be both overwhelming and overstimulating.

If you have been wondering about these issues, here are some general guidelines for having a fun-filled holiday with just enough stuff.

Make a gift plan Before setting out on your first shopping expedition, devise a plan that makes sense for your family. If you have younger children, decide on the number of gifts for each. With older children, you might want to establish a dollar amount rather than a gift amount.

Once you’ve made the plan, stick to it — no matter what.

Draw names Particularly in bigger families, gift-giving can become a financial and emotional burden if everyone buys for everyone. Drawing names not only reduces those burdens, but often results in more meaningful gifts all around.

Opt for a shared experience Consider pooling the

money you would have spent on individual gifts and putting it toward a special outing, vacation or shared item for your home. Long after the toys have broken and the electronics have stopped working, your children will cherish their memories of a holiday that focused on sharing time together.

Communicate If Grandpa Mike or

Daily deals make great holiday gifts Over the last few years, daily deal sites have grown enormously in both popularity and membership. The largest of these sites — Groupon, Living Social, Woot and Eversave — are all expected to draw large crowds of virtual shoppers on the hunt for gift deals this holiday season. These deal-ofthe-day Web sites and the many others that have sprung up recently offer consumers opportunities to purchase deeply discounted gift certificates that can be redeemed at both local or national companies. And with so many consumers still on the lookout for savings this holiday season, daily deal sites are an attractive source for great gifts on a tight budget.

Typical deals offer 50 percent off the retail price of the goods or services and become valid once the number of deals

purchased reaches a predetermined threshold.

Registration is free and the daily deal offers for everything from food, fitness and fashion items to salon services, sporting events and weekend getaways are delivered via e-mail and localized to each user’s market area.

For those consumers who want the best shot at deals offered on multiple sites, but don’t want to spend hours reading multiple e-mail offers, PriceGrabber has launched deals.pricegrabber.com, a one-stop shopping site that allows users to look through hundreds of deals offered by more than 20 daily deal Web sites via a single e-mail each day.

Other deal aggregators — sites that gather information on deals offered by multiple companies — include Dealery, Dealnews and Yipit.

Giving daily deals as gifts generally works two ways. The purchaser either presents the gift certificate itself or uses the deal to purchase the actual gift item. Either way, there are few, if any, drawbacks to daily deal shopping, particularly if you have access to multiple sites in one daily e-mail. There are only two things to keep in mind when purchasing daily deal vouchers as gifts:

print. Some offers come with conditions. For example, a yoga studio or hair salon might limit the use of the vouchers to new customers or specify that the deal can only be used for particular classes or stylists. In most cases, however, daily deals are straightforward and don’t require more than one read to decipher.

Aunt Emily has a reputation for heaping on the presents at Christmas or Chanukah, let them know ahead of time that one will do, then offer a suggestion that is sure to please your son or daughter.

If they insist that they want to do more, consider asking them to make a donation in your child’s name to a charitable organization or to

purchase a gift for a local child in need.

Collaborate Sometimes one big gift makes a lot more sense. If your child would love a new bike or a trampoline or horseback riding lessons, consider asking extended family members to contribute to that item or to items that go with it, such as a helmet or other gear.

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Despite the many messages from all corners promoting a “more is better” philosophy when it comes to holiday gifts, the truth is far more complex — especially for children. While most parents work hard to give their kids everything they need and much of what they want, it is often hard to draw the line, prompting many well intentioned moms and dads to ask, “How much is too much?”

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Note the expiration date. Most daily deal certificates have an expiration date, which is often one year from the date of purchase. Especially when purchasing activities, accommodations or services, make sure that the person receiving the gift will be able to use it within the specified timeframe.

Read the offer carefully, including the fine

Hey Kids, Christmas is coming! Got your letter written to Santa yet?

Send it to us and we will print your letter in our special Christmas Greetings section.

Jolly Old St. Nick will read this publication cover to cover, so don’t wait, get your letter in today!

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HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

THE DAILY HOME, Talladega and St. Clair counties, Ala., Wednesday, November 21, 2012 — 5B

Ideas for the challenges on your gift list

Tools for the Big Jobs * Rockwell Sonicrafter X2 3-Amp with Hyperlink — Make a wide variety of cuts, sand corners and trim nearly everything — wood, metal and tile — with this new Rockwell offering that accepts most major brands of multi-tool accessories, features tool-free blade changing without slip-

page and provides one ton of clamping force. * KREG Toolboxx(TM) Master Collection — The Toolboxx Master Collection is a complete pocket-hole joinery solution for materials from 1/2” thick to 11/2” thick and larger, including four Kreg jigs, a host of accessories and 1,000+ Kreg screws. Use with a saw and a drill to create beautiful furniture, build custom cabinets, or maximize your interior space with custom closets and built-ins. * PULY 12V Li-Ion Two-Speed 3/8” Drill Driver — Lightweight and ergonomically designed, this drill driver

features two speeds (0300 and 0-1,050 RPMs) and 203 inch-pounds of torque to handle just about every drilling/driving task at home or in the shop. * Earlex SprayStation Gemini HVLP Sprayer — This innovative HVLP Sprayer is capable of spraying fine finishes, stains (with 1.5mm needle available separately) and paints with the enclosed 2mm needle from the standard gun/ cup configuration or latex paint directly from the gallon can, utilizing an onboard auxiliary pump that pushes the paint up to the gun.

Products That Make Work Easier * Festool Syslite LED

Worklamp — Six highefficiency LED bulbs provide 170* of even light in this portable light source that is perfect for under a cabinet, in a crawl space or attic or anywhere. * Beginner’s Marking and Measuring Kit — Before cutting, drilling or joining begins, these handy helpers will likely be in demand: standard/ metric 12” measuring tape, 2”, 4” and 6” all steel, precision engineer’s squares, and 6”, 12”, 24” and 40” stainless steel cabinetmaker’s rules. * Work Sharp Knife & Tool Sharpener — This handheld, motorized tool

sharpens any knife, as well as scissors, garden shears, and a host of other tools. * Shop Stool with Adjustable Height — This stool has a molded “tractor-style,” high density polymer seat and back, and chrome foot ring and base. Seat height adjusts from 22” to 32”; overall height is 413/4”.

Stocking Stuffers * Woodcraft Gift Card — Gifting made easy — the recipient selects his or her own gift! * Woodcraft Magazine Subscription — Give a year-round gift — six issues packed with woodworking projects,

Gift cards not always best option As people gear up to do their holiday shopping this year, gift cards figure to remain a popular choice for gifting. But the hidden pitfalls of gift cards may make giving cash or a check a better bet.

Eight out of 10 people include gift cards in their holiday purchases, offers information from Statistics Canada. About $65 billion is spent in the U.S. annually on gift card purchases, many around the holiday season. Convenience and ease of use is what lures many shoppers to the gift card rack. Just about every major retailer out there has its own gift card for sale, which can make it even more enticing to pick one up. Furthermore, many supermarkets and big box retailers sell gift cards for other merchants right at the check-out line. So if you’re shopping for supper you can also get a gift card to a restaurant or home improvement store.

Despite the convenience of gift cards and their presumed utility, financial experts estimate that about $7 million in gift cards go unused each year.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that states are supposed to track down gift card purchasers and try to get them their money back on unclaimed cards. But many cannot be found because they paid in cash and that money just goes to the state as unclaimed funds/abandoned property, which sets in after two years of non use. New York collected

* Restore-A-Finish — This unique finish-penetrating formula restores the original color and luster to wood finishes while blending out minor scratches and blemishes.

It comes in neutral and eight wood colors. * O’Keeffe’s Working Hands — Two key ingredients — glycerin and allantoin, a comfrey derivative — enable this revolutionary conditioner to assist the healing of dry, damaged skin.

To learn more about these products and others, visit your local Woodcraft store, call (800) 535-4482 or visit www.woodcraft.com.

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Another thing to note about gift cards is that some retailers impose fees on the cards if they are not used in a timely manner.

Penalties are placed on the card that reduce the value for a time period they are not used. Expiration dates on the gift cards can render them useless if they are not used by a particular time as well.

Another lesser-known problem is gift cards activated by third-party retailers, such as those restaurant cards purchased at the supermarket. In some instances, the activation does not work correctly and the issued gift card does not have the paid value when the gift recipi-

ent goes to use it to dine out. Third-party sellers are often not responsible for issuing a refund on malfunctioning gift cards, even if you have the receipt; you must call the service line on the back of the card.

As an alternative to gift cards, plain old cash or check might be a more viable option. Gift recipients are less likely to be lax in cashing a check or spending cash — and it can be put to use for the same purchases as a gift card. Cash is also a greener option, as it doesn’t require the production and use of a plastic gift card. Should a check go uncashed, there’s little chance you spent your money for naught, as it

simply won’t be deducted from your account and you can cancel or writeoff that check number.

Individuals who are crafty can make their own cash or check holders so that the monetary gift is presented in a creative way. Checks are safer than cash if mailing the gift because cash can’t be cancelled if it’s lost in the mail.

Although the lure of gift cards can be very enticing, they do have some disadvantages, including expiration dates, fees for failing to use the card promptly, and even lost or buried cards that are never used. Cold hard cash never goes out of style and is seldom overlooked.

Green alternatives for gift packaging If your holiday halls are decked with stacks of paper bags, mounds of crumpled wrapping paper, an array of random ribbons, and a gaggle of gift tags that are destined for the local landfill, it’s time to add a little “green” to your gift-wrapping regimen.

Given that the average household’s waste jumps by more than 25 percent between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day and that holiday debris adds an additional one million tons per week to landfills, there is a lot that everyone can do to recycle, reuse and reduce during the holidays.

According to Eco-Chick. com, “If every family reused just two feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could tie a bow around the entire planet.

If every American family wrapped just 3 presents in re-used materials, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields. The 2.65 billion Christmas cards sold each year in the U.S. could fill a football field 10 stories high. If we each sent one card less, we’d save 50,000 cubic yards of paper.”

Here are some ways to go green and even save green on gift packaging this year:

techniques, and products.

Recycle: Conventional wrapping paper typically cannot be recycled since it is often coated in metal foil or is plastic laminated. But if the paper rips and doesn’t glitter or shine, it can — and should — be placed in the recycle bin along with other paper products. Check with your local recycling provider to find out which types of wrapping paper they accept. The good news is that recyclable wrapping paper is increasingly available from both online and brick-and-mortar retailers such as Amazon. com, Office Depot and UncommonGoods.com.

Reuse: Before the opening of the gifts begins, set aside a box for collecting reusable boxes, wrapping paper, gift bags, bows, ribbons, and other decorative items. Even if wrapping paper is torn, it can be used for craft projects, packaging filler or to enclose smaller gifts the following year. Gift bags are also great candidates for reuse. If the surface of the bag is marred from removing ribbon or a bow, the spot can be covered with other decorative items or scraps of used wrapping paper.

Reduce: Recycling

and reusing boxes, wrapping paper, ribbon and gift bags is a big step in the right direction. But the best way to avoid waste is to reduce the use of these items in the first place. Rather than wrapping gifts in paper, consider using scarves, old tea towels, cloth napkins, or leftover fabric.

If you’re crafty, consider

creating your own simple fabric sacks that can be easily sewn by hand or machine. If you’re not, try painting an old pillowcase and tying it up with fabric ribbon, string or even shoelaces. And don’t forget newspaper!

The comics make colorful giftwrap any time of year, particularly for kids.

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HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

6B — THE DAILY HOME, Talladega and St. Clair counties, Ala., Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Tips for your last minute holiday shopping Nearly everyone has a last minute holiday shopping horror story to tell.

Be it a late-season grab for a child’s must-have gift or fighting fellow procrastinators for a parking spot come the waning days of the season, veteran shoppers have experienced it all.

While those with more experience might know the tricks of the late season shopping trade, novice procrastinators might need a few of the following tips to make it through the season without a horror story of their own. * Consider online retailers. Shopping online might not be for everyone, but those without much time might want to consider online retailers, many of which guarantee delivery of the item by Christmas Day for orders placed as late as December 20. In addition, some retailers even guarantee delivery if the order is placed by December 22, but such guarantees often require consumers to choose overnight delivery, which can be costly.

When shopping online, if no gifts stand out, consider buying an electronic gift certificate instead.

Such certificates can often be delivered directly to a loved one’s e-mail inbox, and it only takes a matter of seconds for the delivery to be made. Though some find this impersonal, nowadays many people would prefer a gift card instead of another sweater. * Go the food-andbeverage route. One of the worst things about last minute holiday shopping is dealing with fellow procrastinators at the local mall. Last minute shoppers tend to be as short on patience as they are on time. To avoid the malls, last minute shoppers can give the gift of food or drink for those friends or family members you will be seeing during the holi-

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Happy Holidays

day season. A nice bottle of wine or a collection of gourmet cheeses make thoughtful gifts, and last minute shoppers don’t need to visit the mall to get them. * Consider a monthly gift. As a nice bottle of wine or a package of gourmet cheeses proves, not all great gifts need to be picked up at the mall.

A monthly gift like a magazine subscription or a membership to a monthly club (i.e., “Pastry of the Month”) are gifts that keep on giving all-year.

Late-season shoppers will find these options especially appealing as they can almost always be ordered in just a few minutes, whether it’s over the phone or via the Internet. * Don’t abandon the mall entirely. Though procrastinators are in no danger of becoming extinct, most people do get their holiday shopping done well in advance of Christmas Day. As a result, truly last minute shoppers might find the mall isn’t so crowded on Christmas Eve. While the pickings might be slim for shoppers who wait until December 24, the lines may not be as long and the parking lot probably won’t be as packed. But keep in mind it will be impossible for a gift purchased on Christmas Eve to find its way under a tree unless you personally bring it to a loved one. If you can’t give the gift in person on Christmas, don’t wait until Christmas Eve to buy it. * Donate in a loved one’s name. If a specific charity is near and dear to a loved one’s heart, make a donation in their name.

Charities are among the many organizations that are struggling to survive in the current economy, and your donation might go a long way to helping a cause your loved one truly supports.

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Tanning • Hair • Nails • Waxing • Spray Tanning Gift Certificates Available Buying items on layaway gives shoppers the ability to pay in installments without any interest.

The concept is once again gaining popularity in many stores.

Did you know?

Interactive electronics are poised to be all the rage for the 2012 giftgiving season, as Flying Super Grover(R) and Bouncy the Happy to See Me Pup(R) figure to generate significant interest.

In addition, a classic interactive electronic toy is making a comeback this year. Developed in the 1990s, Furby(R) was one of the first interactive toys for kids. Its reincarnation has more expressive LCD eyes,

No fine print: For the most part, retailers’ layaway plans are straightforward and easy to understand.

No credit checks: Credit checks are not required to enter into a layaway contract, making it a great option for people who are trying to rebuild their credit due to foreclosure or past credit card problems.

No need to leave home: Some retailers have launched e-layaway programs, making it possible for consumers to purchase online over time.

There are only a few drawbacks to layaway plans, but they are worth noting: Missed payments: Making payments — and making them on time more emotions and various fur colors.

It even comes with an iOS app. Children can have fun teaching their Furby to learn English and respond through play.

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Overall, layaway plans are heavy on benefits, including:

— is the key to a successful layaway purchase.

The penalty for missing payments is the cancellation of the layaway contract. However, most plans offer a seven-day grace period for missed payments. It is important to know the details of each retailer’s plan before signing a contract.

Missed sale prices: For shoppers who count on cashing in on Black Friday sales, layaway might not be an option.

Some retailers don’t offer Black Friday prices to layaway customers, so it pays to check with the stores you plan to patronize before the holiday shopping season begins.

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While there’s no doubt that today’s shaky economy has contributed to the revival of layaway plans, economists and representatives of several of the nation’s leading retailers and layaway providers — Sears, KMart, Burlington Coat Factory, Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, Toys R’ Us, and Hallmark — insist that the recession is only part of the story. For retailers, layaway plans open the doors to millions of new customers who would not be able to make purchases without them. For consumers, paying in installments is increasingly viewed as a sound financial tool for purchasing necessities and managing expenses, particularly during the

holiday season.

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For people who are unfamiliar with the concept or were born after the 1980s (when installment plans gave way to credit card purchases and other types of financing), layaway is a simple way to purchase merchandise — interest-free — over time. Consumers select the items they want to buy from a retailer offering the plan, make a deposit, which often includes a modest service charge, and pay for the merchandise over a specified period. Once the item has been paid in full, the retailer releases the goods to the consumer. The only potential

glitch is if the consumer fails to make payments in full or on time. In that event, the retailer has the option of returning the customer’s payments (less service charges) and reselling the items.

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Layaway plans make a comeback If you thought layaway plans had gone the way of eight-track players and floppy disks, think again. The deferred payment or installment plan, once popular with budget-conscious consumers — especially during the holiday season — is making a big comeback.

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HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

THE DAILY HOME, Talladega and St. Clair counties, Ala., Wednesday, November 21, 2012 — 7B

Has gift wrapping become a lost art?

Have we become a society that is too busy for gift wrap? When a birthday arrives or the holidays come around in full force, where do most people turn? To the ultraconvenient gift bag, that’s where.

Gift bags have largely taken over the party aisles at most stores, where rows and rows of gift bags in all shapes and sizes are not uncommon. If you’re trying to find a roll of wrapping paper, good luck. For birthdays, anniversaries and even baby showers, paper designs have essentially become obsolete.

It’s true that wrapping paper seems to make a rebound come the holiday season, when stores begin to devote aisles of space to holiday supplies. But

even when shiny foils and smiling Santas beckon customers from the tightly packed rolls, many people still choose gift bags.

Gift bags do have many advantages. They are easily portable, generally inexpensive and come in some very clever designs.

They’re also touted as a “green” product because they can be reused.

But there are plenty of people who feel that the elimination of intricately wrapped presents takes some of the magic out of the holidays. Carefully wrapped gifts show that a person put in time and effort to present a gift in a way that is sentimental and personal. Although it may take mere minutes to pry away the paper and find a treasure inside,

there’s something to be said for paper-wrapped gifts. It means the giftgiver sat down, pondered the paper design and carefully chose the bow or ribbon with the recipient in mind.

Before you eschew wrapping paper for a gift bag this holiday season, think about all of the advantages to spending some time and reacquainting yourself with the art of gift wrapping. Here are some reasons to save the gift bag for another time. * Wrapping can be green, too. Wrapping paper can be reused if it is carefully removed from a gift. You also can create your own wrapping paper by decorating brown postal paper with a rubber stamp or having children

color their own special murals. Don’t overlook newsprint as wrapping as well. * Paper is more costeffective. You are bound to get more bang for your wrapping buck by choosing wrapping paper.

Although there are scores of discount stores that sell low-priced gift bags, often the quality isn’t the same, and the handles could tear after one or two uses.

Wrapping paper per inch is definitely more affordable than gift bags, particularly when purchased on sale. * Wrapping paper lets you be creative. Cover a box with a patchwork of different paper scraps, choose to stagger colors of paper with boxes towered

one on top of another or tie on the biggest bow you can find. * Paper is traditional.

Look back to the classic stories of yuletide and you are bound to find images of Santa Claus pulling wrapped boxes out of his enormous gift sack. Also think about how department stores used to (and some still do) offer complimentary gift wrapping.

phous shape. Plus, wilted tissue paper can be offputting. * There’s something magical about wrapping paper. The anticipation, the drama, the build-up to peeling aside wrapping paper and revealing the gift has brought smiles to children’s (and adults’) faces for generations. It is hard to improve on something that has been successful for years and years.

Although the public may be swept up in rushing from here to there, there are traditionalists who appreciate sitting down and spending time creating holiday magic by way of beautifully wrapped gifts.

* Wrapped gifts travel better. When carrying your bounty of gifts to friends and family, carefully wrapped boxes tend to stand up to travel better than gift bags. No one wants to receive a gift bag that has been wrinkled and crushed into some amor-

Celebrate Your

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This year, we invite you to participate in our “Babes In Toyland” page which will be in the December 23rd edition. The cost of the ad is only $5.00 and will include your child’s photo, name, and your message (ten words or less). We will accept ads until December 7, 2012 at 5 p.m., so hurry, space is limited.

Your Name______________________________ Address_________________________________ City________________State_____Zip________ Phone__________________________________ Payment Enclosed $______________________ Payment Required With Order (Please Print)

Many people have turned their backs on wrapped gifts in favor of gift bags. However, there’s something to be said for intricately wrapped presents under the tree.

Secure your identity when shopping online ing your online safety.

However, if you decide to order from a Web site you have never patronized before, it’s a good idea to spend a few minutes investigating the site. For starters, reliable Internet retailers always include a business address and contact telephone number on their sites, as well as information about site security, their return and refund policies, shipping practices and privacy policy. This information should be easily located on the Web site, often along the bottom of the company’s home page. If you can’t find this information or suspect that the business might not be legitimate, contact the Better Business Bureau or your state’s Attorney General’s office to determine if there are outstanding complaints against the company.

Another critical step in securing your personal and financial data is to provide only the information necessary to complete the transaction — and no more. Social Security numbers are not required to complete an online purchase and consumers should never provide this information. Being asked to reveal sensitive information, such as a Social Security number, on a retail Web site is an automatic red flag indicating that something is not right. Your best bet? Close your browser window and search for another, reputable source for the item you want.

Finally, whenever you shop online, it’s best to pay with credit cards, which are protected by the federal Fair Credit Billing Act — a law that entitles cardholders to dispute charges made to their accounts. Unfortunately, there is no other form of

payment that provides this type or level of protection.

The good news? Once you are assured that a site is secure and the retailer

is reputable, shop away.

Chances are good that you’ll not only save time, but money and energy as well.

Deadline Is December 7, 2012 at 5 p.m.

The Daily Home 22 N. Broadway Sylacauga, AL 35150

Please bring your ad by or mail it to the office nearest you: The Daily Home P.O. Box 977 Talladega, AL 35161

The Daily Home 1911 Martin Street. S., Suite 7 Pell City, AL 35128

Give The Gift Of Shoes For Christmas I wish to give the following amount $__________ to The Daily Home

“Shoes For Christmas” Campaign (Deadline December 7th)

Name_________________________________________ Address________________________________________ City___________________________________________ Credit My Donation To: (Check One) Sylacauga________________Talladega______________ Childersburg______________Pell City/St. Clair Co._______________ Please list my donation in (my name), (anonymous), (in honor of) or (in memory of) the following: Underline one of the above and write in name or names below. ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________

Mail your check payable to "Shoes for Christmas" and attach a copy of this ad to: The Daily Home P.O. Box 977, Talladega, AL 35161 The Daily Home 22 N. Broadway, Sylacauga, AL 35150 The Daily Home 1911 Martin St. S., Suite 7, Pell City, AL 35128 or drop it by in person at any of these offices.

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There is no denying that shopping online is the quickest and easiest way to zip through a holiday shopping list. With a few clicks and keystrokes, it’s possible to have all of your Christmas shopping done in no time.

But as many people have found out — the hard way — purchasing via the Internet can be risky business, especially during the holiday season when shoppers are pressed for time and make hasty decisions. While identity theft and fraud can occur at any time of the year, the holiday shopping season leaves consumers particularly vulnerable to hackers and identity thieves.

According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, a San Diego-based nonprofit, there are several important steps that consumers should take to ensure that their online transactions are conducted both safely and securely.

First and foremost, the ITRC recommends that consumers shop only on sites that use technology that encrypts — or encodes — both your personal and financial information before sending it for payment processing.

Encrypting sensitive information makes it inaccessible to anyone outside the system, and all of the Web’s major retailers secure customer data in this manner. Nevertheless, it’s a good idea to ensure that a shopping site is secure, particularly if you have not made purchases there in the past. Any page on a site that asks for personal or financial information will have a URL or Web address beginning with https:// as opposed to the usual http://.

Shopping only on the sites of merchants you know and trust is another critical means of ensur-

Child’s Name____________________ Message________________________ ____________________(Ten words or less)

8B — THE DAILY HOME, Talladega and St. Clair counties, Ala., Wednesday, November 21, 2012

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

Holiday giving for special needs children

Shipping gifts more than just timing

Holiday giving for special needs children w pix Everyone wants to get the perfect gifts for people on their holiday shopping lists. Shopping for a child with special needs can make gift-giving a bit more difficult. After all, buyers want to ensure the gift is practical as well as thoughtful. However, there are many great gift ideas for special needs children.

Buying gifts for kids with a disability or other special needs make take a little more time, but shoppers who consider a child’s developmental readiness as well as personal interests can still find the perfect gift. * Consult with parents and caregivers. Parents often know best when it comes to their own children and will make the most reliable source as to which gifts to buy for special needs children.

When shipping holiday gifts, much of the focus is on getting those gifts in the mail on time. While it’s important to avoid procrastinating when shipping holiday gifts, there’s more to shipping gifts than just getting them sent out promptly.

When shipping holiday gifts this season, consider the following tips. * Ship through an online retailer. Billing address and the shipping address are two different categories when buying from an online retailer, and holiday shoppers should take advantage of a retailer’s willingness to package and ship gifts for you. Many online retailers will even gift-wrap items for you and include a personal note as well. * Protect the gift. For those who won’t be using an online retailer, be sure to protect the gift, especially if it’s fragile. Use bubble cushioning and packing peanuts when sending fragile items through the mail.

If sending multiple items, wrap each item tightly in bubble cushioning but leave some space between the items for peanuts. * Carefully pack perishables. When sending items, always send them via nextday delivery and never ship them near the end of the week, such as a Friday or Saturday. Items shipped on Friday and Saturday should be able to withstand a few days of being in transit. But when sending cheeses, fruits or any other perishable items, it’s best to do so early in the week and choose next-day delivery. * Insure more expensive gifts. Don’t skimp on insurance when sending expensive gifts such as jewelry through the mail. Shipping companies typically only insure items up to a certain amount, so insure these items through your own insurance company.

Parents may have a list of items a therapist or teacher has suggested, and these learning tools could make good gifts, particularly if parents’ own budgets are stretched. If you’d like to make the gift a surprise for everyone involved, go directly to a therapist or teacher and ask for suggestions. There may be classroom aides that can be bought to continue the learning experience at home. * Assess developmental level. When it comes to special needs children, age does not always dictate the proper developmental level. A pre-teen with special needs may not be on the same level academically and socially as his or her peers, while some special needs children may be more developed in a particular area than other special needs kids their age. Assess a child’s

developmental level to help you select toys that he or she can play with.

For example, a nonverbal child with autism who likes marine life may benefit from a colorful picture book where he or she can point to the animals. * Think about interests.

Most children gravitate to certain types of toys and have specific interests when it comes to play. A music lover may enjoy a learner’s guitar or keyboard. Those who like to build would prob-

ably like a Lego(R) or Mega Bloks(R) set that can be transformed into cars, trucks or even space stations. Most children benefit from art sets where they can explore their creativity and also master greater dexterity and imaginative thinking. * Consider making a financial donation. Some children with special needs require the use of specialized equipment, such as braces or wheelchairs. Such equipment can be expensive, and

the child’s family might benefit from a financial gift. A monetary gift to be put toward medical supplies, travel, gear, or even a charitable donation to an association would make fine gifts.

Special needs children are just like others in that they look forward to the bounty of holiday gifts.

Choosing presents that pertain to their interests, needs and developmental readiness can ensure that this holiday season is a happy one.

A quick guide to gift-giving etiquette tastefully and within the following guidelines: * The regifted item should not be homemade or made especially for you. * The item should be new, unused and in its original packaging, along with instructions. * Be sure to remove all previous wrapping and gift tags. * Don’t regift to friends or family members who have a reputation for returning things they don’t like. You don’t want to be asked for a gift receipt. * Make certain that the original giver and the new recipient will never cross paths.

TREND SETTERS Hair & Nail Salon Styles For The Entire Family 113 N. Broadway, Sylacauga Call for Holiday Appointments 256-245-6234 Walk-Ins Welcome service you count on throughout the year, such as hairstylists, babysitters, dog walkers, etc. An easy rule of thumb for holiday season tips is to double the usual tip. For household employees, give one week’s pay. * If someone surprises you with a gift, the best bet is to respond honestly.

Let the giver know that you are surprised, touched

and appreciative as well as a bit embarrassed that you don’t have a gift in return.

Then let it go and add his/ her name to your gift list for the following year. * Don’t arrive at holiday gatherings emptyhanded. A small gift, bottle of wine or contribution to the evening’s edibles is the right way to thank your hosts for their invitation.

* Acknowledging gift givers is a must, but formal, written thank you cards are optional.

While handwritten notes are always preferable and greatly appreciated, e-mails are increasingly acceptable -- especially for young people. * Regifting is now considered a (mostly) acceptable practice, as long as it’s done thoughtfully,

Managing credit cards during holidays The holiday season is synonymous with many things. Among those things is holiday shopping. Some people revel in holiday shopping, while others would just as soon never see a mall again the rest of their lives.

Regardless of where men and women stand on holiday shopping, an essential element to a successful shopping season is managing money wisely. For most consumers, that means using credit cards in a way that won’t leave them with a mountain of bills come January. This holiday season, consider the following suggestions to ensure your holiday shopping doesn’t come back to haunt you when all those bills are due after the New Year. * Don’t start spending until you have devised a repayment plan. Particularly during the holidays, consumers tend to spend first and worry about payments later. However, this is a dangerous approach.

Before spending a dime,

have a plan to pay bills already in place. This helps shoppers avoid going over budget and finding themselves in a nightmare come January when the bills are due.

When devising a plan, be as specific as possible, such as setting a Feb. 1 deadline to pay off all credit cards. The more specific you can be, the more likely the plan is going to be successful. * Beware of retailer credit cards. Retailer credit cards entice customers during the holiday season, typically offering 10 percent back on the first purchase after applying and receiving the card. While this entices many consumers to sign on the dotted line, shoppers should know retail credit cards often come with high interest rates. For shoppers who plan to carry a balance, these interest rates can add up, negating the benefit of that 10 percent discount at the register. If a retail credit card offers a reasonable interest rate or something like 18 months with no inter-

est on more expensive purchases, then it might be worth considering.

But for the most part consumers are better off simply paying full price and not signing up for a card they don’t need just to save an extra 10 percent. * Be careful when using multiple cards.

Using several cards tends to give consumers a false sense of security.

Consumers who use multiple credit cards during the holidays often feel this keeps them from piling up a massive balance on one card. However, the best strategy is to simply use the card that boasts the best interest rate. * Know your balance and where you stand. A holiday shopping spree can quickly grow out of control, but shoppers must know their balances at all times. Exceeding the balance typically results in hefty penalties, and those penalties are something most shoppers simply can’t afford during the often costly holi-

day season. If one card is maxed out, shoppers might want to cease their holiday spending altogether. A financial situation in which a person is carrying a maxed-out credit card is never ideal, and shoppers should not dig themselves a deeper hole by spending more on top of that. Instead, they can work toward paying down the balance and spending less on holiday gifts. * Use credit cards when buying gifts online.

One positive way to use credit cards when holiday shopping is to use them when buying gifts online. Credit cards offer consumers more protection against fraudulent purchases than debit cards, so consumers should always use credit cards when shopping online.

The holiday season is a fun time of year, but consumers can quickly spoil their season if they aren’t responsible when using credit cards to make their holiday purchases.

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Deciding on and paying for holiday gifts can be a challenge under the best circumstances. But then there are the inevitable “sticky situations” that can leave even the most experienced gift-givers scratching their heads. In the hopes of dodging major gift gaffes this holiday season, here are eight tips for gracious giving and receiving. * Review your gift list each year to determine if any relationships have changed and require a shift in your gift-giving plan. * Don’t ask non-family members on your gift list what they would like.

This not only spoils the surprise, but puts pressure on recipients to gauge how much you want to spend and requires them to get you something in return. * Don’t feel obligated to match what others spend. Buying gifts based on what others spend is both unnecessary and can lead to excessive expenditures. * For workplace gifts, adhere to the company’s policies and make sure that gifts are given out of appreciation, not expectation. * Including a gift receipt is a good idea and avoids potentially awkward situations when an item doesn’t fit or doesn’t work. * Give holiday tips to those individuals whose

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

THE DAILY HOME, Talladega and St. Clair counties, Ala., Wednesday, November 21, 2012 — 9B

Who to tip during the holidays Come the holiday season, most people find themselves in a giving mood. Gifting friends, family and even coworkers is common, but there are many other people in our daily lives who societal norms suggest deserve a gift as well.

those who have an especially strong relationship with their accountant, lawyer, etc., perhaps a gift such as a bottle of wine might be a nice gesture.

But it’s certainly not mandatory.

Holiday tipping is more common in certain areas than others, but there are a few questions men and women can ask themselves when trying to decide if a person in their lives deserves a holiday tip or gift.

How often do you see the person How frequently you see a person can help

determine if that person deserves a holiday gift or tip. For example, a child’s babysitter or nanny deserves a little something extra come the holidays because you likely see that person on a regular basis. The same goes for the postman or a dog walker. Men and women you rarely see or rarely need do not warrant a tip or gift.

Where do you live?

Where a person lives also goes a long way toward determining a holiday tip or gift. People who live in apartments should show their appreciation to the doorman and building superinten-

dent with a tip or gift.

Homeowners need not tip their local handyman, however, even if he performs the same tasks as a building superintendent.

Homeowners tend to do more of their own fix-ups around the house, while

apartment dwellers often rely on the super to keep their apartment in tip-top shape.

Is the person a professional?

Men and women who provide profes-

sional services, such as accountants, lawyers and doctors, do not warrant a tip during the holidays.

These professionals are already paid handsomely for their services, and many might even gift their customers. For

Did the person go above and beyond?

Of course, there are no ironclad rules when it comes to tipping or gifting others during the holidays. For example, many people don’t find it necessary to tip their auto mechanic come the holidays for the same reasons you wouldn’t tip an attorney. Both are already well compensated, and an extra tip is not necessary. However, if your auto mechanic saved your car from the scrap heap or provided service that is above and beyond what you have a right to expect, then perhaps a tip or a thoughtful gift is in order.

When the holiday season arrives, generosity often reigns. But men and women should not feel obligated to tip or gift every person in their lives.

Results are important when choosing a charity

Bean Project helps give women a purpose (MS) — The U.S. has a greater poverty gap between men and women than any other country in the Western World. This holiday season, become a part of the solution to domestic poverty and help close the gap by giving a gift from Women’s Bean Project.

Women’s Bean Project is a nonprofit business that helps women break the cycle of poverty and unemployment. Women earn a steady paycheck, stabilize their lives and develop solid, transferable work skills while producing lovely and delicious products.

Whether it’s a gourmet gift basket or a piece of handmade jewelry, each purchase gives a woman purpose.

With the opportunity to hold a transitional job in gourmet food and jewelry manufacturing, these women complete handson job training, attend daily courses in life skills and job readiness and, upon graduation, are prepared to land and keep a job.

Elora is one of these women. After going to prison, Elora struggled to find a job, despite going out every day and leaving her halfway house with the most positive attitude she could muster.

No matter how many days she told herself today will be the day, she always returned at night with no job or viable leads. As such, she was ecstatic about the prospect of a new opportunity when she got the call from Women’s Bean Project. However, her excitement was met with trepidation when she saw

how many women came to apply. Due to limited positions, the Bean Project turns away four out of five applicants.

Though nervous at her interview, Elora demonstrated a fundamental willingness to change, which ultimately made her a successful applicant.

“This is more than a company about packaging beans and soups,” Elora said upon graduation from the program.

“It’s a whole new way of life for women who really need and want to make changes in their lives. This place really does what it says it’s going to do. The best way to prevent recidivism is to allow for people to be gainfully employed, and the Bean does this and a whole lot more.”

Since its founding in 1989, Women’s Bean Project has made a positive impact on the lives of more than 18,000 women and their children. Each woman who gains the skills that empower her to support herself and her family helps break the cycle of poverty and contributes to a stronger community.

Angela is just one example of how Women’s Bean Project has empowered a graduate to pay it forward.

“I learned a lot about myself at the Bean Project,” says Angela.

“I have gained so much self-esteem and confidence from being here.

In my career, I really want to do something that gives back to the

A charity’s past results, be they good or bad, should help shape how it goes about its business going forward. If the charity continues along the same path without regard to past results, this should be a

red flag to donors.

Choosing a charity is no small task. But donors should emphasize results when determining which charity deserves of a donation.

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When choosing a charity, individuals often find it difficult to narrow down the list of deserving candidates. A host of factors must come into consideration, but most individuals end up choosing a charity they have some personal connection with.

While it’s important to donate to a charity you feel strongly about, it’s also important to do your homework before making a donation.One of the more important factors to consider is the charity’s results. Charities vary greatly in their ability to bring about meaningful change, with some producing better results than others. When determining how effective a charity is, community in some way, there are several things to look for prior to making a especially after seeing donation. how much good can be The Mission done.”

Can the charity adequately explain the need Women’s Bean Project for its existence?

A charity products can be found should be able to explain in more than 500 locain detail the reason for its tions in 40 states. They existence and that there is are also available online a significant demand for at womensbeanproject. its services and programs. com, Amazon.com, Reporting of Results WorldofGood.com and A charity should have Overstock.com. Since the a statement as to how they initial Toni’s Ten Bean monitor their results. Their Soup mix, the prodmethodology for monitoring results should be uct line has expanded clearly stated and available to include a variety of items perfect for gift giv- to prospective donors to examine. When examining, from gourmet gift bundles filled with signa- ing the results, look to see ture soup, chili and salsa how frequently results are reported and how much mixes, to gift baskets the results relate to the perfect for business and charity’s mission statepersonal giving ment. If results are older and less specific, conIn 2009, Women’s sider another charity. Also, Bean Project expanded when asking for a report its product line to include on the charity’s results, ask limited edition jewelry. if these results were valiEach piece is handmade dated by an outside source. with love by a program Activities participant. This venture A charity should be has proven to be yet transparent, providing another successful means prospective donors with to hire and empower more than just heartfelt stories as to what inspired more women. and continues to inspire the charity. Ask about Purchases help the charity’s activities Women’s Bean Project related to its mission. For hire more women and example, if a charity’s change more lives. mission is building schools Each gift will help give in impoverished countries, a woman an opportuask how many schools nity to succeed through they have built and if there employment. Product is any data that compares sales generate more than the current situation to 70 percent of the Bean how it was before any Project’s operating revschools were built. How enue with the remaining frequently are these activineeds met by contributies reported? In the case tions from foundations, of the above example, individual donors, corcan donors expect to be porations, churches, and notified every time a new service clubs. school is built, or are reports harder to come by?

Going Forward To purchase a gift or Before donating to a to make a donation to charity, ask how the charWomen’s Bean Project, visit www.womensbean- ity has adjusted to past successes and/or failures. project.com.

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