Last Minute Handmade Christmas Gifts

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Chandler

Crafters and knitters go all out this time of year. Oh what fun it is to make a Christmas stocking from a pattern. Yarn mills and spinneries sell Christmas stocking patterns for $4 online (or you can buy the kit for $20.) But for some of us, it might be too late. The hands on the clock have ticked past, and we can no longer enjoy the luxury of plenty-of-time-to-prepare; instead we must resort to what I call last minute “Christmas Eve Crafting.”

Martha Stewart’s site has a great idea for a last minute handmade gift. Fill organza sachets with herbs such as lavender, tansy, wormwood, cedar, patchouli, rosemary, cinnamon, or cloves to repel moths. These sachets are a sweet-smelling alternative to your grandmother’s chemical smelling mothballs. They are pretty easy to make. Just buy the organza squares and decorative ribbon from a Joann Fabric Store and dried lavender from a flower store.

Another idea comes from a mother and creative designer in Charlotte, NC. She blogs about this great last minute handmade gift idea.

DIY family photo magnets. Get your magnets from Hobby Lobby and follow this blogger’s tutorial. All you need is photo paper, chipboard from the back of a notebook, rubber cement, and a white marker. Such a personal and inexpensive gift for your family and friends!

Our favorite last-minute ideas are Christmas ecards. A life szver if you forgot to send a printed card to someone. Frankly, I save myself time and effort and send all my friends and my family members a fun or a heartfelt ecard with a personal message from me to them.

Our Sexy Fruitcakes ecard makes light of that time old culinary Christmas gift – the fruitcake. Whether you hate the taste of them or love them, fruitcakes get a bad rap. Lucky for us, The Food Network’s Alton Brown gives the fruitcake a makeover with an updated recipe finally allowing the fruitcake to, in the words of Justin Timberlake, bring sexy back.

Christmas ecards are the ultimate last minute gift. We hope Doozy helps you this Christmas Eve Eve so that you remember everyone on your list.

Weather Forecast: Snow?

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Chandler

Christmas is less than five days away. What’s your weather forecast?

I recently watched Irving Berlin’s White Christmas On-Demand. I love the lyrics to the song, Snow, that Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye, and Vera Ellen sing on the train from L.A. to Vermont. The lyrics go:

“I’ll soon be there with snow
I’ll wash my hair with snow
And with a spade of snow
I’ll build a man that’s made of snow”

The show business foursome leaves the palm trees of Southern California for the snowy scapes near a New England Inn. According to the Chicago Tribune, “A white Christmas, as defined by the National Climatic Data Center, is one with an inch or more of snow on the ground at 6 a.m.”

The places in the U.S. with the highest probability for White Christmas each year are two cities in Michigan (Marquette and Sault Ste Marie), two in Minnesota (Hibbing and International Falls), and one in Washington (Stampede Pass.)

Chicago has a 40% chance of White Christmas each year. New York has a 10% probability. And Los Angeles is 0%. So think of us this holiday season when you send Christmas ecards. We’re warm here in the balmy weather of Southern California busy making gifts; instead of the toys Santa makes in the snowy North Pole, we’re making Christmas ecards!

How Hanukah is Celebrated around the Nation

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Chandler

Hanukah begins tomorrow night at sundown and ends December 28. As you begin your celebrations, here’s a look at how others do it across the country. I like to find out about different customs, and then send faraway friends and family Hanukah e cards.

The National Chanukah Menorah is located near the White House at The Ellipse, in the President’s Park South and will be lit at 4:00pm. Hot latkes and doughnuts will be served.

In New York City’s Midtown neighborhood, the “World’s Largest Hanukkah Menorah” stands. Certified by The Guiness World Book of Records and designed by artist Yaacov Agam, this sculpture is a festive Jewish decoration amidst the Christmas lights, songs, and colors generally associated with Manhattan at this time.

In Saint Louis, Missouri, Home Depot sponsors a Menorah Workshop where kids can build menorahs from wood. Started by Rabbi Levi Landa in 2008, this annual event has been so popular that Home Depot is extending it to other cities. It’s a great way for kids to do something hands-on to celebrate the holiday especially if your child has an inclination for doing carpentry or handiwork around the house.

In Boulder, Colorado, Ignite Chanukah with Vodka Latke Party is described as Colorado’s biggest young adult Chanukah party. It’s a way for young adults to share ideas about Chanukah and other Jewish topics in a light-hearted way. The vodka and latkes is the pre-party. The talks and five minute speeches are the main event, and there is usual an after-party as well. What a great way to get into the festive mood.

In whatever way you like to celebrate Hanukkah this season, we’ll be sending Hanukah e cards to all of our Jewish friends and family this year. Nun, gimel, hei, shin!

Doozy Brightens a Son’s and Mom’s Day

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Chandler

Bob is one of our most loyal customers. He called us the other day with a Christmas message and explained what our service means to him. Bob moved to the Coachella Valley in California some years ago to care for his 93-year-old mother, Liz, whose health had begun to waver in her nineties. Here’s a lovely picture Bob sent us of them both. (yes that’s right; We get snow on our desert mountains here in Southern California!)

On mornings that are harder than others, Bob visits DoozyCards.com, plays one of our animated ecards, and shares it with his mother. He tells us that our light-hearted, animated ecards put both of them in a smiling mood and help them get on with their day. In his message Bob says “We want to thank you for bringing so much joy and happiness into our lives. We applaud each and every one of you.”

We found Bob’s and Liz’s story to be remarkable. The irony that Bob sends us a thank you note with Christmas greetings is that it is perhaps his sunny disposition that deserves the highest recognition. Most us of hope to live to age 90 like Liz; the wisdom that comes with it is earned. Parents dedicate their lives to us and sacrifice so much for us, and when it is our turn to care for them later in life it is truly a gift. We know that Bob and Liz are treasuring this time together. We are glad to bring a little merriment and joy to their day. They certainly bring some to ours! Happiest of Holidays, Bob and Liz!

A Christmas Carol vs. The Nutcracker

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Chandler

Families across the country journey to local, regional, and national theaters to watch these traditional shows that are synonymous with the season. It seems to me that people can be divided into two camps: A Christmas Carol People and The Nutcracker People. There is of course the rare breed of species that is on the fence. If you are someone like that, please find below my arguments for each, and let me know what you decide!

Case for A Christmas Carol.

Supporting fact #1:

There’s a whole literary following of the Dickensian style. You know – Victorian England, British accents, poor working conditions and miserly bosses. Going to see A Christmas Carol sends a message to the world: “I am literary. I love words and fine writing.”

Supporting fact #2:

You will probably leave the theater with a good moral learned. The themes of regret, guilt, greed, and gratefulness will permeate any theatre-goer’s mind and even leave a few of us crying with tears of recognition. Spectating A Christmas Carol can make you a better person.

Supporting fact #3:

The ghost of Morley is downright scary! This is a much bigger thrill than seeing a horror movie at the cinema.

*If you find yourself in the A Christmas Carol People camp, consider your gifting style to fall into this category of Christmas ecards:

Case for The Nutcracker.

Supporting fact #1:

Dancers are athletes as well as artists and watching ballerinas do their thing is awe-inspiring. Here. This video will explain what I’m talking about. When you watch a good ballerina perform, and you see the holes in the shoes and the muscles working to their capacity, you feel so much respect for the art.

Supporting fact #2:

Silence. Unlike, A Christmas Carol, there are no lines of dialogue in The Nutcracker. Simply, sit back, meditate and watch the dreamlike sugar plums grand jete their way across the stage in silence to the melodic sounds of Tchaikovsky.

Supporting fact #3:

Be a kid again and romanticise that you, in a way, are Clara being courted by your own prince!

*If you find yourself in The Nutcracker People camp, consider your gifting style to fall into this category of Christmas ecards: