Shoplocalguide2013 0

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in North Iowa

A publication of the Buffalo Center Tribune November 27, 2013

PAGE 2 — Buffalo Center (Iowa) Tribune — Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Bison Graphics and AJ Embroidery Offer Wide Variety of Gifts The Christmas season is once again here and Bison Graphics and AJ Embroidery are here to help with your Christmas shopping. AJ Embroidery offers a wide variety of North Iowa apparel, as well as polos, t-shirts, sweatshirts and jackets for your family. Children sizes to big and tall are offered. “If we don’t have it in stock, most of our items can be ordered and received within a couple days,� explains Al, co-owner of AJ Embroidery. Bison Graphics, a full printing and graphic arts business, can fill all your vinyl orders for mom with wall words, or dad with a logo for his truck or semi. He offers a great selection of either, or can customize them to their personal preferences and install them if you wish. If you have Christmas letters that need to be printed, or family Christmas cards, Al can help

Bring home some holiday spirit with one of B.C.’s businesses Whether you don’t want to show up at a holiday party empty handed or planning a get-together of your own, Shelton’s Liquor is the place to start. Boasting a large selection of wines and all your favorite labels at the lowest prices around, Shelton’s Liquor is the perfect solution to your Christmas wine & spirits gifts and entertaining dilemmas. The store is open seven days a week and will be open Christmas Eve from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. In addition to the wine gallery, they offer gift baskets and gift certificates for the

you out here also. Wide format poster and banner printing are also available in shop, along with wide format laminating. Main Street Tanning, the only state licensed tanning

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facility in Buffalo Center, is open too, and has gift certificates available for upcoming winter vacations or spring tanning for prom. Stop by their shop at 124 N. Main in Buffalo Center and get your orders in for Christmas. Hours at the shop are 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and 1:00 to 5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and weekends by appointment. Gifts certificates are available for any of these businesses as well as FREE gift wrapping on your purchases! “Hope to see you all soon at our one-stop shop right here in Buffalo Center!�

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holidays. Can’t find what you’re looking for? Not a problem. Special orders for the holidays are yet another convenience they offer during this busy time of year. Be sure to stop in on Small Business Saturday, Nov. 30, for in-store

Prevent identity theft during the holidays As the holiday shopping season approaches, consumers are once again preparing to do a significant amount of their holiday shopping online, while many others will rely on debit and credit cards to make their in-store purchases. Though banks and online retailers have made holiday shopping easier in many ways, that convenience has also made shoppers more vulnerable to identity theft. The hectic nature of the holidays season can make it harder for holiday shoppers to recognize if their personal information has been compromised. As a result, many men and women do not realize that they have been victimized by identity thieves until after the season has come and gone. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, identity theft affects 10 million Americans each year, costing individuals and businesses $52 billion. But Americans aren't the only ones at risk of identity theft, which can victimize holiday shoppers whether they're shopping at the nearby mall or from the comforts of home. When shopping this holiday season, shoppers should consider the following safety measures to reduce their risk of identity theft.

* Confirm the legitimacy of online retailers. Many online scammers masquerade as legitimate businesses. Some may even steal logos or information from real businesses to make their scam appear more legitimate. When shopping online, stick to well-known retailers or verify with the Better Business Bureau or another watchdog organization that a Web site is operated by a reputable business. * Check for a secured browser. Reputable online retailers encrypt their customers' personal information. Look for a "locked" icon on the browser before entering payment information, or check to see if the URL has an "https" prefix, which means the site is secured. * Beware of credit card skimmers. Skimmers are devices that read the information on the magnetic strip of a credit or debit card. Some are planted on ATM machines or selfservice kiosks at stores. They can be hard to detect. Certain skimmers can even skim the information off a card while it is still in a wallet or purse. Some devices can block the capture of signals from the cards. But even consumers who have such devices should still check their bank and

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credit card statements to determine if their cards have been skimmed. * Promptly check credit and debit balances for accuracy. Routinely check purchases against the records of credit card companies and banks. Log into online accounts to verify any purchases and report any inaccuracies immediately. Recognizing fraudulent activity early on can help consumers recover their money quickly and prevent any further problems. * Opt for credit over debit. Credit cards come with zero liability policies, which means consumers will not be held responsible for fraudulent purchases. Debit cards do not always offer the same level of protection, and debit cards linked directly to a bank account could put consumers at greater risk. * Keep receipts. Being cautious with receipts doesn't just facilitate potential returns. Receipts often include a lot of personal information, including the shopper's name, signature and credit card number. These receipts could be the doorway to identity theft. * Password protect everything. A lost smartphone or tablet could provide a thief with a lot of personal information if it is not locked down with a password. Also, always use a secured wireless signal when shopping online or accessing personal account information. * Don't carry extraneous information in a wallet. A lost wallet is less problematic when it isn't filled with scores of credit cards and a social security card. Consumers should limit the amount of personal information stored in their wallets.

We make it easy to entertain this holiday season with low prices on a large selection of wines!

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Please remember to drive safely and sober this holiday season!

SHELTON’S LIQUOR

113 1st St NW

• Buffalo Center • 641-562-2070

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Buffalo Center (Iowa) Tribune — Wednesday, November 27, 2013 — PAGE 3

Third Generation to Serve You on Main Street! In 1909, Betty’s grandfather Henry Schutter opened a furniture store on Main Street. In 1949, Betty’s father Art Schutter took over his father’s business. In 1953, Art sold the business to George Winter. In 1963, George built a new building and moved his furniture business up the street. In 1995, George sold his building to Betty & John Davids. Betty started offering furniture in 1996. Fifteen years later, she is still here and still selling furniture, 102 years after her grandfather began on the same block. Betty has hundreds and hundreds of framed prints that she offers at 25% off the ticketed price. There is literally something for everyone. She carries both motion

and stationary upholstery from Marshfield of Wisconsin, Charles Schneider of Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Catnapper of Tennessee. The new electric-recline “PowerLoungeâ€? sofas and recliners from Catnapper have been very popular, as well as the lift chairs and other motion furniture. The mattress companies that Betty offers are Symbol, Englander and Spring Air. Symbol has been her #1 company since 1998 with their latex beds being hands-down the best sellers. A new line of mattresses that Betty has added is the Englander E-gel™ mattress which features Englander’s exclusive CoolBlue Sleep Technology™. The combination of memory

foam and thousands of gel cells permanently bonded to memory foam make this mattress comfortable, supportive and temperature correct. This is the second generation of memory foam mattresses that offers a cooler sleep experience as well as a “non-sinking� softer feel. If you are looking for reasonablypriced bedroom furniture, Betty can certainly help you! She is currently offering a wide range of styles. She also offers a “buy one, get one half off� on any of the laminate furniture which includes both Lang and Perdue pieces. This means that you can purchase an entire bedroom set for not a lot of money. If you need some new lamps, this is the place for you! Betty has a great selection of many different

lamp styles from contemporary to traditional including stained glass and floor lamps. They are 25% off if you by two. Betty’s jeweltone rag rugs are a great buy at $35 for the 2’x3’ size. The nice thing about these rugs is that they are washable and seem to last forever. And it’s easy to finish off your room with rugs in different sizes but all in the same color. Betty also has many, many occasional tables in stock for you to choose from in a variety of styles. If you need help finding something for that Special Someone, Betty has lots of ideas for Christmas giving in every price range. Stop in to see for yourself what’s new at Emporium Furniture & Gallery; Main Street, Buffalo Center. You’ll be glad you did!

Is your child ready for a tablet? Tablets are poised to grow more popular in the years to come, and many children are anxious to get their very own tablet. But many parents wonder if their kids are ready for a tablet and if such devices would make good gifts for their youngsters this holiday season. According to a 2012 report from Pew Research, 22 percent of American adults now own some type of tablet, while In-Stat research estimates 65 percent of Americans, or more than 200 million people, will have a smartphone and/or tablet by 2015. According to a Fall 2012 report by the Media Technology Monitor, an estimated 26 percent of the Canadian population has a tablet, more than twice the amount of tablet owners just a year earlier. As tablets become the device of choice, many different manufacturers have entered the tablet market, and children have begun to ask for tablets for holiday gifts, leaving parents wondering if their children are responsible enough to own a tablet that may cost several hundreds of dollars. Price-wary parents should realize that tablet prices vary greatly depending on the device. But a growing number of child-friendly tablets have entered the market, and such devices are designed to be more durable for children who have a tendency to drop and destroy things. Those on the fence about whether or not to purchase a tablet for a child can consider these options. * The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Kids is a tablet that comes with a selection of educational functions, games and e-books. The device allows parents to decide which apps can be accessed on the device and restrict use to certain periods of time. The Galaxy Tab 3 Kids boasts a seven-inch screen and will run Android 4.1 or Jelly Bean. The front and rear fac-

ing cameras are considerably lower in quality than Samsung’s previous products, down to 3-megapixels and 1.3-megapixels, respectively. * The VTech InnoTab tailors apps to children in a compact device. The screen is just five inches in size, and the tablet comes packed with interactive e-books, learning games and other creative tools. It also has a modest price tag for a child’s first foray into the world of tablets. * The LeapFrog Leappad Ultra is a kid’s learning tablet designed for children between the ages of four and nine. It comes with a seven-inch screen, Wi-Fi with kid-safe Web access and the ability to connect to a library of more than 800 educatorapproved apps, books and more. * The nabi is an Android tablet that is geared entirely toward kids. The nabi comes in several different incarnations (nabi Jr., nabi 2 and nabi XD) depending on the age of the child and the desired features. In July of 2013, Fushu, Inc., creator of the nabi tablet, was received the “Best Tablet 2013: For Kids� award from Laptop

magazine for its nabi 2 device. * The Amazon Kindle Fire is quickly becoming a go-to option for parents interested in acclimating their children to a tablet. Less than half of the price of its biggest competitor, the Kindle Fire still allows kids to access a bevy of features. Music, movies and Amazon’s ever-growing trove of e-books are just some of the features that make the Kindle Fire a popular choice. * Though small, the iPad mini has all of the features of a larger iPad but in a more kidfriendly size. Many parents prefer the iPad mini for their children because they have Apple products and appreciate being able to share with their kids apps and information among all of the devices. Determining if a child is ready for a tablet is a difficult decision for parents, who must assess how well the child handles responsibility, toys and electronics in

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PAGE 4 — Buffalo Center (Iowa) Tribune — Wednesday, November 27, 2013

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Shop for all ages at Murra Hardware Murra Hardware in Buffalo Center is the place to shop this Christmas. On Small Business Saturday (November 30), we will be featuring Christmas gift ideas at incredibly low prices. Stanley tool sets, housewares and select toy items will be marked at a special rate from 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Beanpod Candles, Charles Viancin silicone lids, breads and spreads from The Beer Bread Company are excellent gift ideas or help make any home festive

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Prizes Awarded to the Winning Entries in Each Age Category!

1st Place: 1st Place:2nd Place: 2nd Place: $10 Buffalo$5 Bucks $5 Buffalo Bucks $10 Buffalo Bucks Buffalo Bucks

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throughout the holiday season. Our line of Christmas trees are sure to make your season merry and bright. Stop in to see our traditional tree line, or our new tinsel trees. These tinsel trees come in black and gold, and are slender in size – perfect for a smaller room. We have gift ideas galore, whether you are looking for Mom, Dad or the kids. Don’t forget to sign up on our wish list so everyone – including Santa – knows what you want this Christmas.

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DPOUFTU!SVMFT 1) Contest open to children ages 1-11. Only one picture may be submitted by each child. 2) Pictures may be colored using crayons, markers or colored pencils. Three winners from each age group (1-4, 5-7 and 8-11) will be awarded prizes. Decision of judges is final. 3) All entries must be received by 5 p.m. on December 12. Mail or deliver to the Buffalo Center Tribune. 4) Winners will be announced at the Old Fashioned Christmas in Buffalo Center Saturday, December 14.

`Tis the season for shipping gifts Travel is a staple of the holiday season. Many men and women find themselves spending a significant amount of time in the air or on the road, whether traveling to visit family or embarking on a holiday getaway. For those who must fly to their holiday destinations, travel can present certain obstacles, as baggage restrictions and fees have made it more difficult and more expensive to travel with gifts in tow. But savvy holiday shoppers need not worry about fitting all of those gifts into their overstuffed luggage. Shipping gifts is a far more convenient way to get all those precious presents from point A to point B, and it saves travelers money on airline baggage fees. When shipping gifts this holiday season, consider the following tips. * Use the right box. Boxes come in all shapes and sizes, and there are packing methods to ensure gifts arrive intact. The gift should not have much wiggle room inside the box, as the more the gift can move around the more likely it is to break. Gently shake the box before closing it, adding any padding if the gift is moving around too much, otherwise move the gift to a smaller box. A box also should not be too small, as it may break before reaching its destination. * Wrap each individual item. When shipping holiday gifts, it’s often most convenient to include several items in one large box. When doing so, wrap each item separately in air-filled wrapping or newspaper. This reduces the risk of items breaking during shipping. * Line the interior of the box with a garbage bag. A garbage bag lining along the inside of the box can help to prevent potential water damage from rain, snow or other leaky packages. * Tightly tape the box. Once items are inside the box, be sure to use professional packing tape. Though there are cheaper alternatives available, professional packing tape is far more likely to hold up as the item travels from your home to its ultimate destination. Low quality tape could split or tear, resulting in a situation where boxes break open and items fall out. * Pay attention when reusing boxes. Reusing boxes is a great way to benefit the environment when shipping holiday gifts, but carefully examine the box before shipping it. Old labels and bar codes should be removed so packages ultimately end up in the correct destination. In addition, check any boxes for wear and tear before reusing them. Avoid using any boxes with previous water damage or tears. * Double check addresses. Before shipping items, double check the address, making sure the name, address and ZIP code are correct. Confirm the information with the recipient as well. Be sure to write the address and full ZIP code in the method the shipping company requires to ensure prompt delivery. * Include an extra mailing label inside the box. Inclement weather is common come the holiday season, and some packages may fall victim to the elements. In such situations, shipping labels can be compromised, and some shipping companies have admitted they will open the box to look for a backup label if the exterior label has been soiled. Include an extra mailing label inside the box as a backup plan.

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