All I want for Christmas...

Mmmm…

”All I want for Christmas is …

something nice,

something sweet (not sugary sweet)

something personal,

something romantic,

something feminine,

something ME…something SPECIAL!

I left my latest issue of Marie Claire on my coffee-table opened on THE page with book-marker (do you need a book-marker for your woman’s magazine? … (eye-rolling!)… And, I left the browsers of my note-book opened on these pages for a couple of days now...

Not very subtle am I? But…the hints are so obvious… hehehe…let’s see if this works.

Chinese have a saying ‘ngau-pei tang-lung’ (roughly translated, leather lampshade)…sigh! I can count the number of presents under the tree…mine is still not there yet. But it’s already the 22^th!

Every year, I’ve got something practical… I’ve always been practical…yeah, (sigh!) that’s why I get ‘practical gifts’… so can I change that?

 

In the past, I’ve got cookbook…alright, cookbookS… (maybe, my cooking needs improvement?). I’ve got a dress (OK, dresses), a John Grisham’s book (not a cookbook!), a beautiful set of pyrex dish (was it for Mother’s Day?....can’t remember!), a camera-phone (my old mobile-phone died on me 10 days before Christmas – how convenient!)…

Are these nice, sweet…

Estee Lauder

Elizabeth Arden

Sigh!...

Read more...
Read more!

Christmas gift ideas

I have always shopped personally, ie see, check, touch, feel, try and pay customer. Not very keen to try online purchase, for there is the fear of credit card fraud, I don’t get my goods after payment, I'm not getting my quality stuff… but there are a good many trusted sites recommended by purchasers as we can follow in forums and reviews. Perhaps I'll try some day.

For children, you may want to consider some of the followings:-

Fisher-Price’s Geo-trax is excellent for motor-skills training. I got this set for Max when he was just 1. He was able to learn to maneuver the joystick forward and back and hold it to get the “choo-choo”. It’s a bit pricey though.

Lego Duplo Explore  – Max’s 2^nd Big-set toy. The big blocks are just right for their tiny fingers to learn to put together. It’s excellent to teach them colours with these. But being tough and durable, you might want to be careful if other younger children around to prevent any sibling fights with these! It sure is gonna hurt.

Lego – Bionicles with Toa Matoro, Toa Kongu, Bogarak .... these are suitable for Age group 7 and above, but I got these for Max when he was 4. We taught him to refer to the instruction manual to put the pieces together section by section…and within an hour he has them diassembled!  They’ll need help to insert some of these small pieces which has tight fit. Please remember it’s only play with strict adult supervisions only for smaller kids. He has also taken some pieces here and there and made up another awesome-looking robotic creature.

Lego Technic - now, this is very exciting as it features various technical moves, with gears, hinges and pulley...Max is very fascinated with this set.

The return of the Rubik Cube. This coloured cube made a comeback recently and is also available in 4x4, not just 3x3. It comes in pyramid shape too. How on earth is this going to be solved!

Books, sounds boring but it’s not. It’a perfect gift. A gift of knowledge and good to inculcate a good reading habit when they are still young.

Board games, the popular ones like Scrabble, Monoploy, Snake-n-Ladder, are good for family fun.

Boggle, Boggle, a very interesting classic word games, very useful for vocabulary building for age 8-up, price @RM49.90

Mattel UNO Stacko @RM54.90 for age 7 – up

Eduscience Starter Microscope, @RM89.95.

You might want to check out some of these sites, some of which offers online purchases


TOYS”R”US, Check this out, based on gender and age, the suggested toys. 


Educational Insights offers some interesting puzzles that develop children in areas of problem-solving, logical and stimulate thinking skills. I've purchased a number of sets like the 

  

and the lastest is the River Crossing

One of the most trusted site, the Amazon has a wide collection of toys and puzzle for kids.

and I found a good choice here, Kids Online Store.

Books from MPH Online, but they were having upgrading works on their website but it’s up already. Their customer service is very good. Last year, I called up to enquire on availability of a particular book. Very kindly they let me know the price of paperback & hardcover too and availability at which outlet.

Popular Bookstore is having some kind of In-store activity with the beginning of year-end school break on Nov 20 at Ikano Power Centre and Sunway Pyramid. You may want to check out the stuff there and note the interest of your kids.

FOR HIM, 

You can get a good book or CDs or DVDs at Amazon . I was thinking of getting a "Beautiful World" by Jim Brickman...I like Jim Brickman, so we'll enjoy the CD together. :-)

Speedy Video seems they have free delivery for purchases above RM100 (valid for Msia only) but available to for sale in other currencies too.

FOR HER 

Again, I'm thinking for myself, besides getting the fragrances from the local Departmental Store and you go dizzzzzzzzzy, inhaling those fragrances...& deciding on one might be hard. Maybe you can check out her sets on her dressing table.

Amazon, availability of wide range of cookbooks, cookware & even kitchen gadgets, you can check it out, as it may make good gift your loved ones or mother or MIL (mother-in-law :-P) or even sister or aunt.

Cooking.com not only has recipes online but some pretty good deals on kitchen stuff, might be a good idea to check it out.

Emmagem’s 100 onlineshop in Malaysia. Please read and check out the boutiques carefully before making the online purchases...some are pretty reliable and have build a very good reputation. I bought a couple of outfit from Layla Walk-in-closet (in USJ Taipan), very nice and very good price too.

Have fun shopping....I'm off to do my rounds shortly, looking for nice stuff and enjoying the festive cheers.

Have a great weekend.

Read more...
Read more!

“When I was small and the Christmas trees were tall…”

I watched Jacky Cheung, HK's Superstar 2005 Live Performance DVD late last night for the umpsteen times and he sang “When I was small and the Christmas trees were tall…” from 1969 Bee Gee’s First of May. Oh, it’s so beautifully sung.

Yes, another reminder Christmas will be here soon. J

I gotta dig out the Christmas tree from the storeroom together with some decors and maybe if I have some time, shop for some new ones to add on. Then I gotta to make out a shopping list. Then I gotta check against last year’s list… I don’t want to get the same stuff again this year!

Choosing a Christmas gift, here’s usually what I do,

1.      Sometimes, I buy them at bargain sale time which can be some months before Christmas but not this year. I’ve been so busy… I’ve been blogging! Hahaha. But it depends on your luck. You just might get something you have been eyeing for sometime at a very good price. That’ll be some savings in $$$. Then, hide it till Christmas… just don’t forget where you hid it, that’s all!

2.      I hand-make some stuff personally which gives it a very personal touch. It can be a jewellery box, a picture frame, a knitted scarf, artificial flower arrangement, a dress/blouse…

3.      Bake a batch of cookies which you think they will like. Or something from your very own kitchen, you efforts will not be dismissed, in fact, most appreciated if the recipients are foodies. These are perfect especially for your neighbours. Or a cake, beautifully decorated with Christmas theme.

4.      When it comes to getting toys for children, I’m pretty careful. First, must be suitable for the age, no too-small bits in case there might be babies at home (eg: Lego blocks), non-toxic materials in toys if the wooden blocks are painted or non-toxic colour pencils or crayons. Educational toys preferred, and suitable for sharing with siblings and also suitable for passing on to younger siblings later on.

5.       Gift for HIM – mmmmm… there’s after-shave, toiletries, fragrances, menswear, necktie, leather belt, cuff-links, DVDs or music CDs, fishing rod, roller-skates (I got a pair or roller-blades for hubby a few years ago), watch, a bottle of whisky/wine, pen set, digital camera or camera lens he has been eyeing, leather wallet or bill-fold, a good book on photography or hobbies-related, a photo album (I did that once, compiling all my hubby’s favourite photos), concert-tickets, golf club… I know it sounds endless but it takes time to get it right. It should be something HE has been eyeing, longing to get, needed and perhaps can use for sometime.

6.      Gift for HER – Hehehe, now that is pretty tough! A bottle of her favourite fragrance will be nice, a spa treatment voucher (that would be a lovely treat to pamper her, or me), a new car (I wonder if Hubby is reading my blog), toiletries (a bar of scented soap, bath foam), a crystal bracelet, a nice handbag, a book (got a cookbook once, many year ago… that got me thinking if my cooking was that bad!... hehehe… then, a book on Yoga – message? I need exercise?), limited edition DVD, costume jewelry or jewelry (now, that is not easy for Men to get for HER), a new kitchen mixer (pleazzzze, hope Hubby is reading the blog) or a new kitchen gadget, a bottle of Benedictine DOM, a dress/scarf, iPhone, a holiday trip (that would be most lovely & needed), a dress watch, lingerie, swimsuit …

7.      I give every gift lots of thots – like will it be useful, will he/she like it, was it hinted, is the colour right, is the size right, is it too luxurious or otherwise (I don’t like to go overboard). I always focus on whether they will like the present and find any use for it.

8.      I have one box of ribbons in various width, material and colours to coordinate with the wrappers chosen. I love wrapping presents. It’s so fun.

9.      There are some plain colour rolls of wrappers which are suitable for all occasions, like gold or silver or pink or blue or green or striking red. Just co-ordinate with a colourful matching ribbon for the perfect wrapped gift.

I just realized I was making out my very own Christmas Wish-List… Hehehe.

I’ll have more ideas on Christmas presents in the next posting.

Read more...
Read more!

Cute stuff

This is so cute. Thought I'll share with you.

Of course, Max's favorite is the 'thumb up' and he has given me the pink one, Mommy being girl must like pink!

Read more...
Read more!