October 5 ~ Why Holly?

    Did you ever wonder why holly is so strongly connected to the Christmas Holiday.  No, it's not the name of the plant that makes it special.  Holly was considered a magical plant by the Druids, who believed it symbolized fertility and eternal life.  Hanging holly branches in the home was thought to bring good luck and protection.  As with many other pagan symbols and rituals, the holly was adopted by the Christians and given new Christian symbolism.  

     In any event, the fact that Holly is an everygreen and sports its bright red berries against the white winter background make it a beautiful plant and a great decorating option.

September 21, 2010 "oh look...a tie"

     I remember with great fondness all the years of buying my Dad a tie for Christmas. He was always very gracious and acted so excited and grateful for the lovely gift. Little did I know at the time, this was just another one of the hundreds he already had hidden in his closet with the hopes that he never really had to wear any of them. Yes, I did see him wear some of them, he had a job that required a shirt and tie, but most of them were boring to say the least. 
     A tie however is still a great gift idea for the Dad who has to wear one. What is really nice though, is to make sure that the tie suits his taste or expresses his personality. If you're even just a little bit creative you can make Dad a one of a kind tie that he'll surely cherish forever. Zazzle is a website where you can personalize a number of gift type items, ties being one of them. (Yes...I'm plugging another one of my shops here)... Here is a sampling of the ties I have available at my shop on Zazzle, but once you're there, you can start from scratch and design your own tie especially for Dad.

Design a personalized gift at Zazzle.

     While you're there be sure to check out some of the wonderful Christmas ties. However he feels about Christmas...form serious and sentimental to funny and sarcastic...they have 'em all.