The Strawberry Patch Hallmark shop in Strawberry Square Harrisburg is a great place to stop in at lunch break to select a last minute gift or card for that special occasion that may have slipped your mind. I often find myself stopping in and checking out their 99 cent …

I have been a crystal lover and collector for about twenty years now, and I must own at least sixty pieces. This awesome crystal sun is one of my top five favorite pieces and maybe even my very favorite. I only wish I knew who the maker of it …

I would have called this piece something like “Mini Butterfly” or “Baby Butterfly” instead of “Spring Butterfly.” This is a small figurine (one and a quarter inches tall), and there is something very sweet and innocent looking about this piece. This looks like a butterfly that is not fully …

I have always wanted to send a gift that doesn’t cost too much, but has a special meaning. I discovered InstaSong.com a while ago. For a price of $4.95, you can choose any of the occasion, whether it is for a birthday, anniversary or any other special occasion.
You can …

I bought a copy of Don Miguel Ruiz’s The Four Agreements shortly after he appeared as a guest on Oprah years ago. I remember this book as being one of the few new spiritual self help books to come out that didn’t strike me as absolute nonsense.
I first …

Ever since the 911 tragedy, it seemks that many Americans fear saying what they think or feel because someone else might find it offensive and seek to hurt or harm them or their families. It is so sad that America has come to this. One of the …

I collect coins as a hobby and the 2013, fine silver, Arctic fox coin is definitely an exquisite piece in my collection. I purchased the Arctic fox coin from an authorized dealer of coins made by the Royal Canadian Mint.
The coin comes in a maroon box (reminiscent of a …

For my daughter’s two year old birthday, I got her a Nick Jr Deluxe Book Gift Set. It comes with 4 story books, a misic player (which looks like a cd player), 4 play cds that play songs along with the books, a movie projector, and 8 picture disks. …

Looking for X-Mas tree? I just got one on HarryandDavid.com . It’s a real tree , all decorated and ready to go. I simply love it! It’s about 20-30 inches tall, and can be planted into the ground after the holidays if you choose to, so next Christmas …

Looking for a gift to give the previous holiday season was made easy for me because I was able to find some goodies that I think most Filipinos would love to eat. It is not a plain goodie, but also something that even those meticulous kids would enjoy. I …

This figurine is one of my favorite pieces from Crystal World. I have around ten of them. What sets them apart from Swarovski crystal figurines is that many of Swarovski’s pieces are made entirely of clear crystal. Crystal World creates their figurines by combining clear and colored crystal. That …

For the Halloween season, my aunt had sent me a large tin carton of three different kinds of popcorn. She had gotten this gift from Popcorn Expressions, and not only was the tin colorfully decorated with Halloween characters such as cats and witches, but the popcorn itself was colorful …

There is no real secret behind snow globes. They come in various sizes, themes, and some even come with a wind up lever to play music. But even though there is no real secret behind them, the joy that they bring is inevitably apparent. What I feel makes snow …

This is a set with a wonderful value. It was about $40 and has around 4000 pieces in it.
I am new to scrapbooking and from what I’ve seen in stores, it appears to be a very pricey hobby.
I received this gift recently as a birthday present and was very …

Stuck for something to buy when it comes to boys who have everything?
Try Roboraptor iteractive robot dinosaur, this toy is expensive in my opinion but well worth the money.This toy will interact with the child giving hours of fun. Roboraptor performs many functions including;hunting,running,walking,stalking, he moves his head clockwise …

This is the very first paperweight that I ever purchased, and it is almost 20 years old. I purchased it some time in the early 1990s. Since then, I have collected dozens of glass paperweights and figurines. But this is the one that started it all and got the …

Scott Bisson is a glass artist who is known for creating very realistic glass sculptures of insects, frogs, snakes, and reptiles. He has even created octopus sculptures! If you google his name, then you will come up with websites that feature his work. I think it is truly amazing …

Now, this is the gift for the person who has it all, and, also, for the person who spends a lot of time in bed, lounging, or ill. This is the beautiful, practical Winsome Wood Bed Desk, Cherry finish! I discovered it at Bed, Bath, and Beyond store, …

I have known about the M&Ms website for quite some time now and I have always thought that the concept was a great idea…if only the candy makers would make gift giving more affordable.
Well, now they have. When the M&Ms website first went up, you could go online, pick …

I bought a couple of Schuster Studios paperweights at an art and jewelry gallery near my home. I have actually purchased a large variety of dazzling glass pieces from that gallery over the years, but this exquisite paperweight is one of my favorites. Schuster Studios became established in 1972, …

This is a very unique piece, because it’s not every day that I see a crystal figurine of a treasure chest. And what’s more, it is petite! It’s only about an inch and a quarter in length and an inch and a half in height. So of course it …

The Eleven Piece Thermometer gift set, is a great idea for a baby gift for any mom. You can find one at any Babies R US store, and the price is only about twenty dollars. You get one accu scan ear thermometer, twenty second baby rectal thermometer, …

I was looking for a gift to give my 3-year-old goddaughter at the toy store. One toy that caught my eye was Disney’s Baby Princess Doll Collection. The collection consisted of baby versions of Disney princesses. There were five in the set—Ariel, Belle, Aurora, Snow White …

From my experience, children absolutely love animals. While interning at a local elementary school, I was teaching a lesson that revolved around a book about animals in the rainforest, which were of course animals that none of the students had seen up close. They loved it! Every page was …

My eight year old son received 15 Childcraft Encyclopedia Books for Christmas. I wasn’t familiar with ChildCraft but I did like the fact that they seemed sturdy and had really good illustrations that made him interested in reading the stories.
The books in the collection are:
Once …

This is a great winter/fall scent and has a very welcoming aura, when lighting this up. The scent is exaclty what it states it is, with a hint of something spicey. The scent covers up the whole room in the matter of minutes. Soon after a short period of …

I will freely admit that I am not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to K & M International of Ohio, but I thought it was worth writing a review of their standing wolf plush figure as it is really rather impressive, and could make an excellent gift …

I bought this little bottle in a women’s boutique called Sea Weeds by the Sea, which is located in both Cape May, NJ and Stone Harbor, NJ. They carry women’s clothing, handbags, jewelry, sunglasses, and other accessories. This perfume bottle was so tiny that I was instantly drawn to …

I often find that the quality of assorted boxed chocolates is all over the place, and doesn’t necessarily correlate to the price. In fact, if it’s up to me I prefer not to buy assortments at all. I’d rather pick out only what I like at a specialty shop. …

Happy Halloween! Wait, what do you mean it’s November?
The Skelanimals line of plush seem to appeal to the new popular crowd - the “emo” and goth kids who want everything to be black, want the bones showing and preferably glowing in the dark, even if it’s just a …

I know that friends back home would be expecting some nice gifts when I return from Bangkok, Thailand.
So, the last evening of my stay in Bangkok, the City of Angels, I went around looking for some Thai gifts. There were so many nice and beautiful items, Thai traditional …

I had received a snuggie blanket for Christmas and every since then I have been using it faithfully. A snuggie blanket is a blanket with sleeves and it comes in a couple of colors. I had got a pink one for Christmas as a gift from my mom. It …

Hi friends, I used to sell stationery: for school and the office.
In addition, at my retail outlets, salesmen wrapped gifts. They wrapped them in the paper, wrapped a beautiful ribbon, and attached a pretty bow.
At first, we used automatically assembled bows or pre-made bows. But then I did the …

I think I bought this crystal figurine in a Hallmark shop in Cape May, NJ, several years ago. Unfortunately, I don’t know the name of the company. I know that it is not a Swarovski piece, because I have many of their pieces, and this doesn’t look like their …

I really hate shopping for gifts. Rather than spend hours looking for just the right present, I usually end up grabbing a gift card and letting the recipient get whatever their heart desires. After a few rounds of giving people gift certificates, I finally found a way to liven …

Lee Roy the lion is one of Swarovski’s Lovlots. The Lovlots are a collection of loveable crystal animal figurines that Swarovski put out on the market several years ago, and they each have their own amusing “personality,” so to speak. Swarovski keeps adding more Lovlots to the collection, and …

Happy Holidays I always say with a gift that is part homemade and partly bought materials. I have found that you can go creative and use Dollar Stores to really make your gift special. Last year I went to the Dollar General and picked up some cute …

I was at my local discount dollar store, browsing around for household items at really great prices, I am looking to cut back on my expenses and save money in any way I can. The price of gas is killing me. Well, I picked up toilet tissue, paper …

This is a piece that I bought about ten years ago, which was around the time that I first started collecting Swarovski crystal figurines. I like the faceting on Swarovski’s pieces and the way the light reflects off of them so that you can see virtually every color in …

December 21st was my 23rd birthday. My husband is in Iraq and I had to work that day. Not exactly the best birthday plans. I arrived at work at about 3 PM and started my usual daily routine of paperwork, counting down the safe and preparing the facility for …

I was, during my last visit to Bangkok, Thailand, walking around in the Central World Plaza building, floor to floor, looking for some nice gifts and souveniers for my sister and her family back home. Ofcourse, the Central World Plaza building was a huge building, and with the recent …

My scent-sensitive self lately is taking the direction toward easy, uncomplicated, and cheerful scents. I cannot explain why, but I seem to have caught a happy bug or something. Maybe the scents and sensations of the things I’m using of late have something to do with it. …

I don’t have any other crystal bird figurines from Crystal World, so I am glad that I had the opportunity to purchase this one. And what’s more, it is a bluebird, so that really makes it something special. Every once in a while, I do see crystal and glass …

I bought this perfume bottle in a gift shop called People’s Pottery, which is where I used to work. They sold all kinds of handmade metal sculptures, art glass, and ceramics as well as handmade sterling and semi-precious gemstone jewelry. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to work there very long, …

I purchased this Swarovski crystal tulip several years ago. It all began when Swarovski started to create lovely little, single flowers in faceted pots. First they made one that didn’t have a specific flower name. It simply had five rounded petals, and the flower was available in clear crystal …

You can always tell when Easter is approaching. In the old days it might have been a result of increased activity in the churches, but nowadays it’s more likely to be the result of increased activity in the supermarkets! With this in mind, Tesco have brought out their “Easter …

If you have a difficult man in your life to shop for, Omaha Steak Company can be found online at omahasteaks.com. They offer a wide variety of meats, side dishes, fish, and cookingware. One thing that most men have in common is that they enjoy good food, …

I have a really wonderful friend who loves to send out surprises to brighten up the days of her friends. Oftentimes, she sends treats from Cheryl & Co.
This company specializes in a variety of cakes, brownies, and cookies. They’ve come up with some inventive ones, that’s for …

While I can’t exactly remember who gave this to me and when, since it was so long ago, I do know that the “Sad Sam Vintage Tight Stuffed Toy” made a cute and splendid gift. I did not even know that the “Sad Sam Vintage Tight Stuffed Toys” existed …

I came across the full range of Swarovski Crystalline Ballpoint Pens while in a souvenir shop in Titisee, Germany. I have seen these pens in brochures and have been wanting to buy them but they are always out of stock in the Swarovski outlets I have inquired with. …