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December 16, 2010

Holiday Dilemma

I’m not much of a mall person, the crowds drive me crazy and the space of each room seems to shrink twice its size during the holiday frenzy. I hate driving; even more so in busy traffic and if you add snow and bad roads to the mix- I’m pretty sure I could possibly end up having a nervous breakdown. This is going to get much more positive, I promise, just bare with me.

I am the youngest of four children and sadly, have not purchased one single Christmas gift for any of them. Christmas is a little over a week away. Time to panic? Perhaps. With my issues of malls, crowds, and driving I may have a bit of a conundrum. How may I gift without having to begrudgingly face the beast of traffic and the consumer jungle? I could do online shopping. Not until this year have I so frequently heard the term “cyber Monday” and “Eclipse Saturday”- thinking it was another day that I had ignored the in your face “killer deal” ad’s and the “I got three flat screen TV's for $300.00”conversations ( three TV’s-really?). Cyber Monday is a day where one can avoid the crowds but amongst a time in a recession, have the opportunity to purchase gifts at reduced prices. “Eclipse Saturday”, sad to report, is not the consumer-market predecessor of Black Friday. It is the highly-anticipated DVD release date of Stefanie Meyer’s sequel to Twilight. At least that is what I was told by a bewildered FYI teenage sales associate, when I inquired about the term.

At this point what would be the point? I no longer can benefit from the marked down prices of “cyber Monday” and after searching to find the perfect gifts for my older siblings who seem to already have everything they need, I would have to consider the time period for delivery.
Almost succumbing to the realization that I may be doomed to resort to my early college days and slap my name on whatever present my parents purchased, I suddenly recalled when my brother (at the time a 24 year old man) opened a DVD entitled “Happy Feet”, I promised myself that I would never jeopardize my reputation in gifting again.

Insert a brightly lit light bulb above my head and a delightful chime- I have an ingenious idea to solve my holiday dilemma! I will MAKE them all presents! Wait, the idea looks much better in my mind then on the paper. I love glass. I collect wine bottles from friend’s houses and old glass containers from yard sales and second-hand stores. My supervisor lent me a bottle cutter that cuts glass in a circular motion. So, with using what I have, here is what my gift ideas will look like for my two sisters and one brother:

Oldest sister, Nichol: She just moved into a beautiful home in the avenues and has an incredible backyard, where the previous owner (a horticulturist) planted a melody of beautiful plants, flowers, and vines reaching every corner of the yard. At night it’s most definitely a place to find peace on earth. I thought these would add to the wonderful night scene:

Candle Lanterns made out of reused bottles:













Click here to learn how to make the lanterns.

Second oldest sister, Chantelle: My sister will be moving in with me to our new house with a yard and hopefully a garden! I know the one thing she is looking forward to in having a yard is the numerous possibilities of having friends and family over for dinner parties. I thought this would go well with her deliciously famous salad dressings:

A recycled glass bottle for serving homemade dressings:














You can get the spouts at Cali’s Natural Foods.

Last the brother- Shae: Poor guy three sisters, none of which are shy to tell him what’s on our mind. He however, is more of a listener than a talker- by choice or by circumstance, I’m not sure really. Point is he is a little more difficult to name a gift for and never answers anyone straight forward when asked, “What do you want for Christmas?” I did realize that he had just a few plain looking plastic cups at his house for drinking glasses, so this idea came to mind:

Drinking glasses made from bottles. You can find old fashion ones at second-hand stores or use popular brands of soda or beer bottles:













Click here to learn how to cut glass.

Note: Cutting glass is dangerous. Sites referenced are not necessarily advice given by professionals. Additional research should be conducted before attempting this activity.

Problem solved! Happy Holidays!

By: Charice Bourdeaux

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