Joy of Christmas

Archive for November, 2007

The cost of an average person’s Christmas shopping is £384.40, new research claims, comprising an average of 18 presents.

Naturally, men were found to spend less than women – to the tune of £56.

The average woman’s Christmas shopping costs £412 for 22 presents, while the average man spends £355 on 15 gifts.

Northerners are the most generous, spending an average of £628, compared to just £300 in the south east.

One in ten start their Christmas shopping in September. An incredible 7 per cent of those polled by Halifax Credit Cards actually started theirs in January.

36 per cent of shoppers actually set a budget for Christmas presents, and 72 per cent of them stick to that budget.

The Halifax study also found that shoppers are losing an average of £23.09 by not paying off credit card balances for their gifts, or simply by not having the best credit card deals.

Ken Stannard, head of Halifax Credit Cards, warned: “Our research shows shoppers could be paying too much interest on their Christmas purchases.”

Christmas is just around the corner. Well, almost.
Jemma Walton paid Queensgate a visit during the run-up to its Christmas lights being switched on.

WEIRD, hideous and embarrassing were just some of the kinder comments directed at Queensgate’s Christmas lights last year.

To say they weren’t quite to some people’s taste would be putting it ever-so-slightly mildly.

Certain shoppers and traders were shocked, disgusted and distressed by the centre’s decision to embrace more contemporary decorations, including purple lights and silver Christmas trees.

In fact, people hated them so much that they went to the trouble of organising a petition against them, complaining that they looked like Dr Who’s cast-offs, or a naff version of the Blackpool Illuminations.

But this year uproar will hopefully be avoided, and the Yuletide decorations will fill everyone with a sense of joy and wonder. At least, this is the hope of the centre’s marketing manager Phil Drinkwater and assistant centre director Frank Grant.

“If you went in your neighbour’s house you might not like the Christmas decorations they have chosen,” said Phil. “We have to try and suit everyone, which is obviously hard.

“If you go in somewhere like Next to buy your Christmas decorations you will notice that old-fashioned things like tinsel and baubles are out, and decorations today are more modern-looking, and that is reflected in our decorations.

“Having said that, we have tried to make Santa’s grotto a little bit more traditional this year. And we are having a lovely almost life-size nativity scene near John Lewis.”

Queensgate’s bosses begin planning their Christmas celebrations in February, and strive to make sure they get it right as the centre could have up to half a million people through its doors during Christmas week. During the average week this figure is closer to 330,000.

About 6,000 of those will be children visiting Mr Claus in Santa’s grotto. Santa will be coming along to find out what the city’s little ones want for Christmas on Thursday, November 8, and parents will this year be able to book a time slot with him on the internet, instead of having to queue up for hours.

Despite the world economy’s rocky time over the past few months Phil and Frank insist that plenty of us are still spending our cash on the High Street, and the centre is expecting a healthy Christmas.

He said: “Queensgate’s shops, like BhS, McDonald’s and H&M have spent about £5 million refitting their stores this year, which is a sign that they are happy with Peterborough and feel it has a lot to offer. And 92 of our 94 units are let – that is extremely good for any shopping centre.

“I would say to anyone living in Peterborough, or in nearby towns such as Bourne or Stamford, that you would have to travel a lot further to get what we offer here, from fashion through to food and home furnishings.

“And getting in and out of Peterborough is easy, as is parking. Parking here is a lot cheaper than in other cities.

“Take Cambridge – it has some very good shops, but parking there is very difficult and very expensive, and if it rains, you get wet.”

IT can be a tricky operation, but putting up the Christmas tree does not normally involve removing the front door or abseiling from the ceiling.

However, when the first real tree in five years was installed and decorated at Jenners department store over the weekend, a military-style effort was required to get 40-foot Norwegian spruce in place.

Special aerial teams worked all night on Saturday, using ropes and harnesses to put up 9500 lights ahead of the switch-on.

The team of 25 contractors had already taken out the department store’s revolving door in order to get the tree in.

But staff declared that the hard work and sleepless night had been worth it when brothers Frankie, six, and Adam Cusack, four, turned on the lights. The boys won the prize following a charity auction in aid of the Sick Kids Friends Foundation.

Store manager Alan Thomlinson said: “This is the first time we’ve had a real tree for five years. The chief executive was keen to go back to the traditions of Jenners.

“Customers ask every year ‘When are you going to put up a real tree again?’ You don’t get the smell and the whole atmosphere from a fake one.

“The tree has been specially treated so it doesn’t drop too many needles. It’s also a case of vacuuming up every morning.”

Aimi Hautau, head of personal shopping and publicity, added: “People do come especially to see the tree, and for the whole Christmas experience. We’ve had e-mails from customers in England asking if the tree was up.”

A team from K2 Specialist Services Ltd helped remove a revolving door, before carrying the tree into the grand hall.

The tree had arrived in a truck from a forest in the Scottish Borders, with a police escort because of its size to ensure the journey went smoothly.

The contractors used a motor and ropes to winch it up and into place. It has been anchored in a wooden base, with a supply of water to keep it hydrated.

The store’s visual team then worked through the night, spending nearly 13 hours decorating the tree. Specially trained workers used ropes and harnesses to abseil from the roof and place the thousands of tiny white lights.

Frankie and Adam had helped the visual team choose the Norwegian spruce, nicknamed “Bruce the Spruce”, from the Duke of Buccleuch’s Borders estate.

Ian Kirby, Jenners’ visual manager, said: “We chose this one for colour and fullness. It’s a very lush green. We hope it will last until after New Year. We keep the temperature down so it doesn’t get too dried out.”

The previously-used fake tree, specially made to fit the grand hall, was the largest indoor one in Europe when it was first erected in 2003. But many customers complained that it was not the same.

Catriona Gillespie, 33, a full-time mum from Stockbridge, watched the lights being switched on with her two children.

She said: “It’s much nicer having a real one, and more in keeping with the traditional feel of the shop. It really gets you in the mood for Christmas shopping.

MANCHESTER’S new-look Santa was in pieces yesterday – scattered across Albert Square.

But if all goes to plan, the 32ft Father Christmas will have pulled himself together today ready to be hoisted into place.

Unlike his inflatable predecessors, he won’t be heading for the town hall roof. Instead, he’ll take pride of place on a platform of Meccano-like metal girders above the front door.

The new Santa will be immune to puncture problems which have plagued the past.

Shipped in from France and weighing in at six tonnes, the metal-framed giant has no inflatable components. But he promises to grab the attention with 100,000 bulbs which will sparkle into action at Thursday’s official switch-on. As well as being the centrepiece of the Christmas lights, the new Santa will also be used in a major fundraising drive by the New Children’s Hospital Appeal.

Coun Pat Karney said: “I’m convinced Manchester will like him – if people don’t, I’ll abseil down the Beetham Tower.”

Santa has been a feature on Manchester town hall for 21 years. In 2002, when town hall bosses said they had tired of his presence, M.E.N. readers mounted a successful campaigned for him to stay.

But at the beginning of this year, the latest blow-up version was declared unsafe and sent to be melted down for recycling.

The switch-on features stars led by X Factor winner Shayne Ward. The festive markets will also return on November 15.

Christmas came more than a month early to some kids in rural Alaska this weekend.

Every year “Operation Santa Claus” delivers school supplies, goodies and Mr. and Mrs. Claus to rural Alaska villages.

This weekend, the Claus family dropped in on Wainwright, Togiak and Kotlik in a C-130 aircraft. They received a warm reception as kids lined up to meet Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

The program, now in its 51st year, is put on by the Alaska National Guard.

Volunteers from around Alaska contribute to make Operation Santa Claus a yearly tradition, including the Salvation Army.

Halloween was the perfect day to break the news.

My daughter’s giddiness about her princess costume would diminish my announcement’s sting.

“I talked to Santa Claus,” I began, “and he said he will bring you the three gifts you most want, so we need to start thinking about what you want.”

She stopped adjusting her costume and stared at me.

“You saw Santa Claus?” she asked, a look of respect on her face.

“Uh, no,” I confessed. “I e-mailed him.”

Less impressed, but still curious, she asked, “Why does Santa only want to bring me three gifts when I want more?”

“Getting every child in the world everything they want is just too hard to do in one night,” I said. “So he decided to give each kid three great gifts.”

“Well, I already know I don’t want the Magical Talking Kitchen anymore,” she said about the gift Santa never delivered last year.

Being grateful

For Christmas 2005, she received a sturdier and more expensive play kitchen than the talking one. I told her in 2006 Santa did not remodel one-year-old kitchens.

“That’s great to hear,” I said. “I know Santa appreciates girls and boys who are grateful for what they already have.”

Rather than ruin the moment, I decided to wait to tell her that mommy and daddy will only be supplementing Santa’s presents with one extra gift this year.

I’ve committed to downsizing my family’s spending during the winter holidays. The talk with my daughter was part of the effort to stick to the plan. But lowering children’s holiday expectations is harder than finding them the perfect gift. And we parents have no one to blame but ourselves.

We give a gift each night of Hanukkah, more elaborate and expensive than the previous night’s. We dole out lavish gold jewelry on Diwali. We tell children about Santa Claus and his holiday heroics and pile presents under trees.

“Whose problem is it? It’s ours for wanting our children to have everything and wanting them to be so excited and so fulfilled,” said Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, the celebrated child development expert in Boston.

“We’re teaching our children to value things more than people,” said the co-author of Touchpoints: Three to Six. “It takes parents to say, ‘I’m not going to go along with that anymore.’ ”

With his own four children, Brazelton limited the number of presents and established a round-robin style of gift opening. Each child would take a turn opening one gift until all the presents were opened.

“That allowed us to focus on the gift and to know who gave what to whom and to say thank you,” he said.

Dr. Kathy Flanagan and her 13-year-old niece bake and deliver holiday cookies to friends and relatives. The ritual teaches the joy of giving.

“Make the holidays about memories rather than material things,” said the general psychiatrist in private practice in Houston. “Spend family time together rather than spending time in the mall.”

Activities

One of the season’s last activities can be making a photo album or scrapbook showing everything you did together during the holidays, Flanagan said.

Then when your child returns to school and talks with friends about gifts, she can show them her memory book and talk about all the fun she had.

Materialistic peer pressure is real, but it does not have to overwhelm you and your children.

“If your friends don’t like you or tease you because you don’t have an iPod, then they are not really your friends,” LaVera Prestage, a financial adviser with Ameriprise Financial, tells her clients’ children.

She helps families identify their values and make financial decisions to uphold them. Then, she helps them craft statements to explain the plan.

For example, “I don’t have an iPod because I am helping my family save for a vacation, and one of the ways I contribute to that is by not asking for things I don’t need.”

Brazelton’s children called him mean for limiting their holiday hauls. His response: “That’s what we stand for in our family, and I’m very proud of it.”

And when his children were older and emulated that response and got teased, he said, “You and I have the same values, and I’m proud of it and I hope you are.”

Beliefs

I made a mistake with my daughter. Instead of sharing Santa secrets, I should have talked about my beliefs.

I should have said I asked Santa to bring fewer presents this year so he could do more for children whose parents cannot afford to buy extra gifts. And I should have said if we get less in our family we can give more to other people.

And I will.

Brian Fais can sympathize with the toddlers who get yanked away, sometimes kicking and screaming, from the knee-high wooden train table in the back of his Bethlehem store, Toy Magic.

He understands that while Mommy or Daddy scanned the shelves for a birthday present or Christmas gift, their child got deep into an imaginary world from which it is difficult to abruptly detach.

A former Air Products engineer who opened his first toy store in Wescosville 20 years ago, Fais discusses toys with the enthusiasm of a mad scientist. Talking about the products in his shop and his decision to open a store in the fiercely competitive retail industry, the conversation meanders from his boyhood experiences building model bridges and towns to mathematical principles he embraced as an engineer.

”The TV toys have a lot of built-in behaviors, because they’re often designed to be characters in movies or TV or comics,” Fais said. ”If you have open-ended toys, you can use your imagination and do anything you want with them…Being able to have something represent something else is a fundamental requirement for higher mathematics.”

It’s not the type of conversation you’d expect to have with the sales clerk in the toy aisle at Wal-Mart, assuming you can find one.

But Fais makes it clear that he is not competing with big-box stores. His store mostly offers niche, educational toys that are not mass-produced and not likely to be found at Target or Kmart. He’s not selling toys. He’s selling tools for the brain.

The narrow aisles of the small shop are packed with inventory. The offerings include the wooden bead roller coasters for toddlers that are often seen in doctor’s offices, fake fruits and vegetables that can be cut in half with a wooden knife and put back together with Velcro, doll houses and accessories made of wood, not plastic, and good old-fashioned wooden block sets that can be used to make castles and forts.

In the front window along Main Street is a 6-foot Ferris wheel that Fais estimates has revolved 13 million times, burning through several motors. People ask about the Ferris wheel all the time, but he doesn’t sell it. He’s in discussions with the manufacturer, K’Nex, to sell a similar Ferris wheel kit.

Fais and his wife, Nellie Fais, opened their first store in 1987 in Wescosville. They later opened another shop in a west Allentown shopping center, and opened the existing store, on prime retail real estate in downtown Bethlehem, in 1998. They closed the other stores.

The Bethlehem site is ideal because it is centrally located in the Lehigh Valley, and it also gives him exposure to tourists who come to annual events such as Musikfest and the Celtic Classic, Fais said. He now has a database of customers spanning the globe, from France to Japan to South America, and he would like to open another location, ideally in the western part of the Lehigh Valley.

The life of a toy store owner is like those performers who spin plates on sticks. Parts are moving all the time and there is a lot to monitor. The store is open every day, it carries 20,000 items and the owners deal with several hundred vendors. Sometimes items ordered in January won’t show up until November, or half will come in January and the other half will take months to arrive, he said.

And then, of course, there’s the Christmas crunch, with the challenges that include trying to anticipate consumer demand and trying to keep the small store tidy.

”The Christmas season is very hectic,” Fais said. ”If it weren’t a labor of love, we probably wouldn’t do it.”

There are between 2,500 and 3,000 independent toy stores in the country, said Kathleen McHugh, executive director of the American Specialty Toy Retailers Association in Chicago. They survive by offering unique toys not found in chain stores and not mass-produced, she said.

”These are toys that were made by inventors that didn’t go mass market and they’re not marketed at all,” McHugh said. ”Once children and adults play with these products, they become big hits without any advertising. There’s no comparison in the mass market for some of these toys because they’re so cool.”

For Fais, the reward comes from having a base of loyal customers who know they can arrive a half-hour before the birthday party and find something they know will be a big hit. And in meeting young adults who come to the store and talk about toys they enjoyed as children that they got from his store.

”We’ve had professors and engineers and all kinds of professions who come back and thank us for being able to play with an Erector set or wooden trains or a chemistry set,” Fais said. ”They were inspired.”

Well, almost. Stress-free holidays are probably not entirely possible. We must deal with extra chores, extra spending and extra relationships that we sometimes don’t want to deal with. But you can make all of this less frantic by starting now to implement some easy techniques into your day.

Before giving you these techniques, though, I want to explain why you need to do this. It’s not only for yourself, but also for all the important people in your life.

First of all, there’s your health. Stress — particularly chronic stress — affects our bodies several ways. It causes our adrenal glands to secrete hormones, such as cortisol and catecolamines. Cortisol, especially, can have several effects. First, high levels of it can cause the kidneys to retain salt and water. This makes our blood pressure go up. When blood pressure goes up, heart rate increases.

Cortisol also lowers our sensitivity to insulin, says Drs. Michael Roizen and Mehiant Oz in their great book, “You On a Diet.” The docs say that because of this, the way we metabolize fats and proteins changes. We are now on the slippery slope towards metabolic syndrome and eventually diabetes.

The direct effect of this is that our body changes how it uses or stores fat. In general, it ends up storing more instead of using it. Right here at the holidays, when many of us pack on a few pounds from overindulging, we are hit with a double whammy if we don’t manage our stressors properly.

Our immune system can also be compromised by added stress. Just when we need to be in tip-top shape to get everything done, we don’t need a cold or the flu to put us in bed for several days. So, first tip — eat well during this time.That doesn’t mean you can’t indulge in Christmas cookies once in a while, but have an apple or a banana at the ready so you have a choice. And, watch your portion sizes.

My November issue of Cooking Light magazine says eating more fruits and vegetables can actually boost immune function. They also recommend eating some non-fat or low-fat yogurt that contains probiotics — “beneficial bacteria that also aid a healthy digestive tract.”

Get enough sleep. This goes without saying. If you are trying to work through the night like Santa’s elves, enlist someone to help you, or start now. Our body needs good restful sleep to repair and rejuvenate itself. If you are going days in a row without enough sleep, body systems start to break down.

This reminds me of a recent conversation with a “crafty” friend. Both she and I like to make gifts. I usually wait until the calendar says Dec. 1 to start. But Robin is starting now, and as I write this she should be at the craft store buying her supplies. She’s not waiting until the last minute, and has inspired me to get going, too.

So, you need to make a plan. I have been a list-maker my whole life, and for years have kept a Christmas gift list. It comes in handy especially if I find a great book or useful kitchen item that I might buy in bulk. Then I know I won’t give the same gift to anyone two years in a row.

If you want to print some list forms for the holidays, visit organizedchristmas.com/free-

printable-forms. There you will find forms like Master Gift List, Gift Closet Inventory, Catalog Gift Tracker and Internet Order Tracker. That last one can be especially helpful if you plan to shop online this year. (There are many other practical list forms at their sister Web site —

organizedhome.com. I use the forms for freezer inventory, pantry inventory and meal planning here.)

I know you have been waiting with baited “breath” for me to talk about stress and breathing. You knew I would get to it sooner or later. It’s my favorite way to de-stress and as Dr. Andrew Weil, the complementary medicine guru says, “it’s free and it’s right under your nose.”

It is also the fastest and easiest way to take control of your blood pressure and heart rate. As soon as you slow down your breathing, these physiological workings change. Sit tall, close your eyes, and starting breathing in slowly through your nose. Let your stomach stick out like a big balloon. Hold the breath for two counts and then slowly exhale out your mouth or your nose. Do this for five minutes. If time is short, do five breaths. Anything is better than nothing.

Finally, make another list. This one is called “Gifts to Myself.” These are not tangible items that can be bought at a store, but gifts of time, so you can rest and relax and reflect on the true meaning of the holidays that are approaching.

Here is what the beginning of my list looks like: Take a long bubble bath, read an inspirational book, watch a favorite old movie again, have lunch with a friend I haven’t seen in months and schedule a massage.

You get the picture. And, hopefully, you are ready to change and implement some of these newfound ideas into your holiday game plan. This is my segue into a quote by Everett McKinley Dirksen that I came across this morning: “Life is not a static thing. The only people who do not change their minds are incompetents in asylums, and those in cemeteries.”

Amen and have healthy, happy holidays.

Twin stars of Big Brother 8 Sam and Amanda Marchant have been revealed as the stars who will turn on this year’s Christmas illuminations in Plymouth.

The reality TV stars, who have also launched a pop career, will be pushing the plunger on Thursday, November 15, as part of a packed evening of entertainment marking the start of this year’s exciting festive season.

‘Samanda’, who have just made their pop debut with a remake of Aqua’s Barbie Girl, will be joined on stage by other familiar faces including Toby Hull and Emu and 17-year-old Plymstock School pupil Anelisa Lamola, who appeared on ITV’s The X Factor.

This year’s switch-on will take place at 6.25pm at the top of Cornwall Street and will include music performances and competitions.

There will also be music at Frankfort Gate from 3.30pm to 7pm, with a record-breaking martial arts display and a lantern parade organised by the Barbican Theatre. Anelisa Lamola will be singing live at both sites during the evening.

The city centre will boast &pound450,000 of illuminations, many designed by the company responsible for lighting up London’s Oxford Street and the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

The event signals the start of late night Christmas shopping which runs every Thursday from 15 November to 20 December.

Plymouth is aiming to provide a truly magical atmosphere for shoppers and visitors this year, with dozens of attractions throughout the festive period, including the Ice Castle in Armada Way where children will be able to visit Santa and his elves, as well as street entertainers, family fairground rides and a giant Christmas tree.

Other highlights include the return of the Christmas outdoor markets and Santa’s sleigh, which will be pulled through the streets of Plymouth by his team of adorable reindeer on 16 December. An open air carol service in association with St Andrew’s Church will be held each Thursday at 6.30pm around the giant Christmas tree donated by the Rotary Club of Plymouth Mayflower.

Plymouth’s shops will be open until 9pm every Thursday. In the week before Christmas (commencing 17 December) shops will be open every night until 8pm. Shoppers will be able to park free at Western Approach car park from 4pm on Thursday 15 November and every other Thursday in the run-up to Christmas.

Councillor Glenn Jordan, Cabinet Member for Healthy Communities and Leisure, said: “Shoppers and visitors are guaranteed bags of festive fun in Plymouth this year, with fantastic Christmas activities and entertainment for all the family, a great selection of shops and a spectacular lights display. We look forward to seeing everyone in Cornwall Street next week for the countdown to Plymouth’s biggest and best ever Christmas celebrations.”

David Draffan, Managing Director of Plymouth City Centre Company said: “Plymouth’s Christmas celebrations are looking bigger and better than ever before for 2007. Late night shopping, amazing lights, carol singing, fairground rides and the many Christmas markets taking place during the festive season mean that there’s something for everyone.

“The arrival of Santa’s Ice Castle is a very exciting development and together with the packed entertain programme it means Plymouth this Christmas it’s the only place to go for a truly traditional festive experience for the entire family.”

Christmas is coming, and it’s time to deck the halls, but many holiday lovers may not realize they can save 80 to 98 percent of the energy costs of Christmas lights by switching to LEDs (light-emitting diodes).

LED bulbs are also environmentally friendly, nearly unbreakable, can be used indoors and outdoors, are weather- and water-resistant and do not heat up like conventional bulbs, making them safer.

“They’re cool to the touch. You don’t have to worry about an ornament touching a light and starting on fire,” said Tracey Haberman, communications specialist with Nobles Cooperative Electric.

In honor of the festive season, Nobles Cooperative Electric will exchange functional conventional lights for strings of LED bulbs for a nominal fee.

Energy cost comparisons between conventional and LED bulbs are stunning, particularly when compared with outdoor lights.

For 600 traditional outdoor-style lights on for six hours a day for 45 days, the energy cost is $56.70. For the same number of lights and the same amount of time, the cost of indoor mini-lights is $4.82.

The energy cost of running 600 LEDs for the same period would total 96 cents.

“They cost a little more up front, but it’ll pay for itself,” said Adam Tromblay, Nobles Cooperative Electric’s member services manager.

The LED bulbs come in large and small sizes as well as white and multicolored.

Unlike LEDs sold at some other locations, the bulbs for the lights available through the cooperative can be replaced, and replacement bulbs are included in the package along with the string. In addition, if one LED burns out, the rest of the string will remain lit.

Conventional bulbs have a life less than 10,000 hours, and LED bulbs have a life of 60,000 hours. Unlike compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs), LEDs can be thrown into the garbage when they burn out.

Although the promotion of the energy-efficient LEDs began Oct. 1, 415 strands of the old bulbs have already been traded and snipped so they cannot be used. They have been replaced by 415 strands of new bulbs.

The project’s goal was to exchange 500 strands total, but given the promotion’s success, the cooperative has already ordered more LED lights.

Nobles Cooperative Electric estimates the 415 strands of lights traded so far will save customers a total of $12,765. Great River Energy, the cooperative’s power supplier, gives the cooperative a rebate for the LEDs.

LEDs look about the same as conventional Christmas lights and can be seen on display outdoors and indoors at the Nobles Cooperative Electric building just north of the Prairie Justice Center.

Prairie Holdings’ annual Christmas display also utilizes energy-saving LED bulbs, allowing the company to put on an impressive show at about a tenth the energy costs of conventional bulbs.

“It’s a really great opportunity for people to save and conserve, especially during the holiday season,” Haberman said.

The Orangeburg Parks and Recreation Department’s elves have been busy preparing for Santa’s arrival in the city by creating a “Winter Wonderland” he can really appreciate.

A 10-member elf crew and an elf from the Orangeburg Department of Public Utilities have been secretly setting up “signs” and “road maps” for Santa and his eight reindeer at Edisto Memorial Gardens so the Jolly Old Man will feel right at home even this far away from his North Pole residence, Parks and Recreation Director elf Buster Smith said.

Smith said crews have been working eight-hour days since the second week in October to prepare what Orangeburg has called its Children’s Garden Christmas and Kid’s Walk, a drive-through and walk-through experience filled with 300,000 glittering Christmas lights and about 75 lighted or animated displays.

Long hours can be grueling work, but Smith said the work is never tiresome.

“Our employees really enjoy having a little something different out of their daily duties,” he said. “They realize the importance of the Christmas lights for the people of Orangeburg and the surrounding areas. They take great pride in having a hand in it.”

He said the department has a veteran and experienced crew that handles well the sometimes-difficult terrain of putting up the elevated displays and those along the Edisto River.

“We have to be very careful right next to the river,” Smith said, noting the steamboat display located on the other side of the Edisto can prove challenging. It is attached about 20 feet off the ground.

Smith said bucket trucks provided by DPU help facilitate the work on harder-to-reach areas.

But the work is well worth it, Smith says.

The free seasonal event, which has been recognized by the Southeast Tourism Society in the region’s top 20, attracts approximately 300,000 people a year.

And what to my

wondering eyes

Two new additions to Children’s Garden Christmas will greet visitors this year.

A friendly tail-wagging sea monster will take a time out from his underwater escapades to get a sneak peak at passersby while a little farther down two youngsters are seen busily building a snowman in the newly falling snow.

But there is still plenty to see, so come follow me.

Entering the Ggrdens, you will find a Children’s Garden Christmas sign.

Old Man Winter greets travelers with a chill and covers a 40-foot-high Christmas tree with his blanket of snow. A glance will reveal a countdown to Christmas Day, along with the dim sounds of “ho ho ho.”

A little farther along the path … lo … what to my wondering eye should appear, but flying packages, a train and Santa in fishing gear.

Giving his reindeer a rest, Santa is also seen parachuting from house to house where people nest.

A little farther along the path, one can spy bicycles and, if one is quiet and still, a white-tailed deer is also witnessed galloping through the nighttime chill.

Santa and his sleigh are overhead making sure all the little ones are safely secure in bed.

A jack-in-the-box greets visitors a little farther on the right and caroling reindeer are seen to great delight.

Waving snowmen, snowball fights and the ever-popular elf ski jump: The night is alive with Christmas cheer.

And then a mother-and-child display in a Nativity scene reminds all of the sacredness of season.

Angels announce Peace on Earth while bears busy with bumblebees wish all a Beary Christmas.

Across the Edisto River, a frog is jumping and wheel boats are moving while ducks are on the landing.

Farther along, a bridge is lighted with an angel and star.

And then there are carousels twirling ’round about, and Santa is spied using a fire truck to give presents out.

Farther still along the snowy path, sweet giant candy canes give way to a “New Day Dawning” and another special day.

Though the end of the journey draws nigh, Santa takes advantage of the moment and waves to all good-bye.

The Kids’ Walk, complete with about 30 displays, also offers an interactive adventure.

Hopping bunnies, scurrying squirrels, colorful lights and Christmas carols accompany walkers along the way to meet Santa and to possibly spy his sleigh. Children will be able to personally make the bunnies hop and squirels climb with a click of a button.

The “Twelve Days of Christmas” carol will sound loud and clear, reminding all that Christmas draws near.

And then at the end of the walk paved with glow, Santa will be there complete with his ho ho ho.

Despite Santa’s busy schedule, he will take the time to meet with little boys and girls at the North Pole (DPU Centennial Park gazebo) on opening night.

Santa will be nice so little ones there is no need for fright.

Come by on Nov. 19 and on Friday and Saturday nights so Santa can listen to your Christmas wishes and give you what is right.

How it began

The possibility of a winter wonderland was first thought of by the Orangeburg Council of Garden Clubs in the early ’90s, with the Children’s Garden Christmas beginning in 1993.

At the request of the garden clubs to decorate the gardens’ Yoshina Cherry trees with lights, City Council members and Parks and Recreation officials went even further and developed a plan for creating a drive-through Christmas display.

Utilizing $10,000 from the Council of Garden Clubs, along with local, grant and accommodations tax monies, the initial construction of the display cost approximately $46,000.

Children’s Garden Christmas began with about 12 scenes. It included 50 lighted trees and silhouette figures of bears, deer, ice skaters and carolers. These were joined by swans, a jack-in-the-box and a snowman.

Christmas comes once a year, and merchants like the Mall at Green Hills and Phillips Toy Mart are already leaving their mark on the minds of shoppers.

Retailers are trying to reel shoppers in early, given the fact that forecasters predict another “below average” shopping season, but does it work?

Does this “supermarket psychology” of luring people to the mall early really help to improve sales?

The Christmas holiday is already beckoning the bucks in your billfold.

“I was just at Restoration Hardware, and they’ve got all their Christmas ornaments and their Christmas gifts and their stocking stuffers out. So, it’s kinda cool,” said shopper Debbie Loring.

Cool, yer carefully contrived. Retailers know forcasters predict another lack luster year with only two percent sales growth and four percent in new stores, and thus the premature race to get Christmas out there sooner.

A recent poll shows one in four Americans will spend less this year than last and spending will hapen the latter part of the season.

“I buy my gifts two weeks before and one week, 54 minutes before anyways, before the hour that I’m supposed to give the gift.” said shopper Patrick Howell.

Whether the early approach works reamins to be seen, but mall merchants in all their discount desperation may be cutting the shopper some slack.

WHO wants to queue for hours Christmas shopping in frantic stores to the sound of Jona Lewie’s Stop the Cavalry when they can sit in the silent comfort of their own home and work through their festive list at the click of a mouse?

The UK is predicted to be Europe’s biggest market for online shopping this festive season with 27 million consumers anticipated to generate £14 billion in sales. But how safe is it? PAULINE HOLT reports . . .

MORE than 70 per cent of UK web users are expected to shop online this Christmas . . . spending an average of £490 each.

But just how safe is it to commit credit or banker’s card details to online stores?

University lecturer Julie Bradford is one internet shopper who is thinking twice about whether to buy online this season after her debit card details were stolen, possibly during an online transaction.

Julie, of Morpeth, Northumberland, explained: “The first I knew was when my bank sent me a series of letters saying I had exceeded my authorised overdraft.

“I couldn’t understand why and thought my pay had not gone in that month, but the bank told me it had. When they talked me through the debits I discovered that, five days earlier, someone had taken out £3200 in a single day — £1500 in the morning and £1700 in the afternoon — and the bank hadn’t thought this was anything odd.

“The money had gone to an online gambling site, yet I have never spent a penny on gambling in my life.

“When they said what had happened they simply rolled their eyes and said ‘We’ve had loads of this’. They didn’t seem surprised. I had done a bit of internet shopping recently and it occurred just after that, so that got me worried. It’s put me right off.” Julie did get her cash back, though not immediately.

Jonathan Wheatley, a cyber crime expert based in Stokesley, North Yorkshire, believes Julie’s online transaction is the most likely reason for the theft.

He said: “There’s a technology called ‘Man In the Middle’ which enables another internet user to see all the information from your computer to another computer.

And he revealed that he too has been the victim of computer fraud: “Only last month I had to cancel my bank’s credit card because someone used it to gamble online to the tune of £240.

“Security is a cat and mouse game. All banks would say the amount of money they spend on anti-fraud technology are double digits higher than they spent last year. But spammers are very clever.”

Jonathan, a partner with HD Forensics and a registered expert witness for court trials, added: “They’re looking to hijack other people’s PCs so they can send spam from theirs.

“They’ll send out ads for products like Viagara etc or ‘phishing’ emails seeking verification of bank details. Nobody is above being hacked and there is no system that can advertise itself as foolproof.”

However, there are precautions we can all take. Jonathan advises restricting shopping to reputable websites that place a premium on security measures and always check the address in the top bar remains the same.

“In some cases you can be redirected to a site that looks and feels like the site you are on but it’s a hoax site to get your credit card details.

“Look for sites that have secure certificates when you go to the payment area. You are looking for ‘http’ to turn into ‘https’ in the top bar, which means you are entering a secure site. It’s not an absolute guarantee but it’s safer.”

And he believes it’s better not to lodge your card details with websites, even if you shop on them regularly, but rather to input your details each time you use them.

He said: “I don’t do it because what is safe today is not necessarily safe tomorrow. I also use a credit card with a set limit. For the average buyer we recommend no more than £500 to £1000 for internet purchases.”

And Jonathan said hackers don’t always act alone: “One of the new things with the internet is there are now whole communities buying and selling credit card information.”

A very easy way for cyber criminals to obtain information is through discarded hard drives.

Jonathan said: “When you take your computer to the tip we suggest you remove the hard drive and damage it with something like a hammer. You need that drive absolutely unusable.”

Despite his insider knowledge, Jonathan still intends to shop online this Christmas, although he’ll be taking his own advice.

“Internet shopping is a wonderful thing,” he said. “It fits in with our lifestyles but we need to be aware of its risks.”

As the Canadian dollar hit a new high of $1.07 Friday, a wave of Ottawa shoppers hit the malls of upstate New York this weekend in search of bargains, just in time for the beginning of the holiday season.

“We came here to start on Christmas shopping, but ended up buying some things for ourselves because the deals are so good,” laughed Sara Qualizza as she browsed the stores of the Waterloo Premium Outlets mall just outside Syracuse yesterday afternoon.

“There’s more selection here,” said her fiancé, Carl Atkinson. The Kanata couple arrived Saturday with two friends to spend a weekend shopping, mostly for new clothes.

It was their first time going to the U.S. since the dollar hit parity earlier this fall and for them, the 45-minute wait at the border Saturday was worth it.

Jordy Boss and his wife, Jaime, veterans of the cross-border shopping scene who say they usually come twice a year, thought ahead and woke up at 5 a.m. to beat the anticipated traffic on their day trip to Syracuse’s Carousel Center mall and the Waterloo outlets. On the Ottawa residents’ agenda? Clothes and shoes, plus a digital camera.

“I checked online before we got here – the camera was $699 at home and $499 here,” said Mr. Boss. “It’s worth a trip even with the duty.”

For Kate Cavin and her friend, Beth Powell, it was all about fashion. “I’m looking for clothes I can wear to work, Christmas presents for friends and family, and a new fall coat,” said Ms. Cavin as she perused the racks at the Macy’s store in Syracuse.

The two had an eye out for bargains, but mostly came down for the day to find unique things they can’t get in Ottawa stores, such as clothes from H&M.

Ms. Cavin’s best find was a pair of shoes for $40 with a lower sales tax rate. “I’m used to adding our tax rate to something automatically,” she said.

And they’re certainly not alone in their thinking.

With the Canadian dollar as strong as it is, U.S. retailers in popular cross-border shopping areas are seeing a substantial increase in the number of Canadian visitors.

Package bus tours add to the cross-border shoppers. Ottawa-based company Queensway Tours offers a weekend Syracuse and Waterloo shopping trip for $299, which includes four malls, two nights accommodation and two breakfasts, according to their website.

“We’re getting lots and lots of tours, which we really appreciate,” said Diane Woodward, a volunteer who works at the information counter at the Waterloo Premium Outlets.

“It can be any number of buses – usually there’s around four on a weekend, but sometimes lately there has been as many as nine.”

Ms. Woodward, who started volunteering almost a year ago, has seen the increase even in the short time she has been there.

“When I started, it wasn’t at the rate it is now,” she said. And as an added bonus to attract Canadians looking to spend, some retailers are offering special perks for tourists.

At the Waterloo outlets, shoppers that come in groups of 15 or more get “VIP coupon books” for even more savings. In Massena, another hot spot for bargain-hunters, the St. Lawrence Centre mall offers a “courtesy program” that rewards Canadian shoppers with a free bridge pass for the toll on the Seaway International Bridge crossing when they spend $75 or more.

“It’s just a little thank you for shopping at the St. Lawrence Centre,” said marketing manager Ronald Patnode in a September interview with the Citizen.

“It seems to be very popular. Recently, we seem to be going through a lot of passes.”

Another small bonus for Canadian cross-border shoppers headed to Watertown and Syracuse have to look forward to is the new toll rate for the Thousand Islands Bridge – as of Nov. 1, the U.S. fares and the Canadian fares are the same price.

Even U.S. shoppers were taking note of the influx of Canadians.

“I noticed in the parking lot that a lot of the plates were from Ontario,” said Rochester native Cori Southern inside H&M. “I was very surprised – I thought most Canadians shopping in the U.S. normally go to Buffalo.”

Fashion Island’s traditional two-month celebration of Christmas officially began Thursday, as 115 feet of holiday cheer arrived on a flatbed truck.

The towering white fir, shipped from Mt. Shasta and said to be the largest Christmas tree in the country, will be adorned with thousands of ornaments, bows, ribbons and white lights during the next two weeks in advance of lighting ceremonies.

Lighting ceremonies

Fashion Island’s Christmas tree will be illuminated during ceremonies at 6 p.m. on Nov. 16 and 17 in the Bloomingdale’s courtyard, 701 Newport Center Drive. Students from the California Conservatory of the Arts will perform, and the shopping center’s 40th anniversary will be recognized.

More and more Americans prefer to give gift cards for Christmas to save them from the inconvenience of finding the perfect gift, having these wrapped and delivered to recipients.

According to the latest Annual Holiday Survey commissioned by Deloitte, gift cards are seen as the top gift purchase for four consecutive years, with 69 percent of the consumers planning to buy them this year, compared with only 66 percent in 2006. The respondents plan to buy an average of 5.5 cards, compared with the 4.6 cards last year, at $36.25 per card on average compared with $30.22 last year.

Almost four in 10 respondents, or about 39 percent, favor gift certificates so that friends and loved can choose their presents. Their popularity is also across all age groups, including adults, teens and children. Almost half of the respondents, or 46 percent, say they will buy them for immediate family.

Nearly half of consumers, or 49 percent, though have at least one partially or completely unused gift card. These consumers have 3.7 unused cards on the average.

However, gift cards are still seen as “impersonal” by 19 percent of the consumers and will not give these to spouses or significant others.

Based on survey results, although Americans plan to spend more on gift certificates, they also training their sights on less Christmas spending this year.

The survey shows that four in 10 consumers, or 41 percent, expect to reduce their spending this holiday season. But as expected, women plan to buy even more.

The survey polls a sample of more than 10,000 and Deloitte has been conducting since 1985 the national survey that gauges consumers’ outlook on the economy, expectations about the year-end holidays, and related spending and purchase patterns.

Christmas shoppers are being urged to be life savers this Christmas by purchasing a simple baby birthing kit – just one of 42 gifts available from the Christmas 07 Present Aid virtual gift catalogue from Christian Aid.

The gifts have proved to be a huge hit in previous years, with people sending goats and other assorted livestock to the developing world, as a Christmas gift on someone else’s behalf.

Christian Aid have expanded the range of charity gifts available, to include new ideas such as the birthing kit.

Newborn deaths in developing countries such as Burkina Faso are nine times higher than those in the UK. This kit, which contains sterilized razor blades, gloves, soap and bandages, could help volunteer midwives trained by Christian Aid partner organisations to prevent infection and the death of thousands of children.

The Present Aid Christmas gift list features 42 inspiring and fun gift ideas, ranging in price from £8 for a basketball for a kids sports project working on peace and reconciliation in Burundi to £3,140 to fund a health worker’s annual salary in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Perfect for friends and relatives, and difficult-to-buy-for people, there is something to suit everyone’s budget and gifts can be ordered from the comfort of your own home.

Loved ones will receive a card detailing their gift and a unique Present Aid mobile ring tone to download.

New gift ideas for Christmas 07 include a barber’s kit for vocational training in Jamaica – perfect for your bearded friends – a greenhouse or watering can for farmers in Bolivia and Mali – ideal for those with green fingers – or a sewing machine for a livelihoods project in Egypt – great for a friend who is a bit crafty!

It’s one of those mundane chores that annoys even the most cheerful Christmas enthusiast but is quickly forgotten shortly after completion in the glow of the holiday spirit: watering the Christmas tree.

Everyone knows the drill. Fill up whatever container that has been designated to do the job year after year with water, get down on your hands and knees and fight your way through prickly pine needles and boxes of neatly wrapped presents, all the while tryng not to spill the sloshing pan of water before reaching your goal: the tiny stand at the base of the tree.

Now there’s an easier way to keep your tree hydrated. It’s the HandyCane, the brain child of Nantucket Resident John Arena and his business partner Erik Dieknann.
The HandyCane, a 41-inch long plastic candy cane shaped funnel, makes the daily watering of the tree a snap, and the tool doubles as a holiday decoration.

“I used to live in Boston and had a Christmas party every year and just got sick of getting on my hands and knees to water the tree,” said Arena, who left Boston four years ago to come to Nantucket and work in real estate.

The HandyCane is so simple, even Arena noted as much in the company’s press release announcing the invention, calling it the “’Why Didn’t I Think Of That” solution to watering a Christmas tree.

The product works by using the bent part of the candy cane, which detaches from the stem, to hold a quart of water. The stem is then placed in the base of the tree and the water is poured from the bent section into the stem and into the base.

Arena said he thought of the idea as far back as December of 1995, but never took any action on it because once the holidays were over, so was the need for watering a Christmas tree.

It took some prodding from Diekmann to get the project moving forward.

“Erik lived in an apartment in Boston and had the same problem watering his tree and he said to me ‘lets get going on this,” said Arena.

Arena said the clincher that he thinks will make his invention a big seller is its functionality combined with the candy cane holiday design.

“No one wants a PVC pipe and an oil funnel hanging around the Christmas tree,” said arena. “I don’t think it’s a good idea unless it is a decoration as well.”

Arena then drew up a prototype on a piece of paper and brought it to an engineering firm, who worked out the logistics. The final design was then manufactured in China before being sold for the first time this season.

The invention has drawn widespread national media attention and is set to be featured on the December 19 episode of the “Rachel Ray Show” a popular home design and cooking show on the Food Network.

“We had no idea if it would sell or not, but when we brought it to the Boston Christmas Festival we sold hundreds of them,” said Arena.

Arena said his company, HandyCane Inc., had about 30,000 units made and have sold a few thousand so far, but it is the 2007 season he is looking forward to.

“QVC (the home shopping network) has tested the product and is looking into selling it next year,” said arena, who has also hired a product rep to shop the HandyCane to major retailers like Wal-mart and Target.

For now, shoppers can purchase the HandyCane, which sells for $14.95, on the web site, HandyCane.com or at a handful of island retailers, including Marine Home Center, Bartlett’s Farm, Grand Union, Four Winds Gift Shop, Dan’s Pharmacy and Island Variety.

Christmas in Brazil is celebrated at the same time as Christmas in the United States, and elsewhere around the world. The characters and the story of the holiday are all the same, too.

But Santa, in Brazil, often sweats profusely, because Christmas, in the Southern Hemisphere, falls at the height of the summer.

Island resident and painting contractor Isabela Justo remembers celebrating Christmas with her family at their summer home near the beach in Garopaba, Brazil, a respite from their winter quarters in Porto Alegre.

Like so many other South and Central American or eastern European transplants who now live on the island, Justo will spend this Christmas far away from home. But the traditions they grew up with, regardless the climate, will always be there, in their memories.
Justo compared Christmas in Garopaba to summer on Nantucket.

“All the kids would be outside with their new toys, riding their bikes,” she recalled.
Major celebrating is done in Brazil on Christmas Eve, leaving Christmas day as a time for kids to play outside, sporting their new presents.

Anthony Camilo, a painter, graphic designer and disc jockey on-island, split time in his childhood between the Dominican Republic and Colombia, before coming to Nantucket.
In Colombia, about 90 percent of the population is Roman Catholic, Camilo said. The Christmas celebration for them begins on Dec. 7, with a ceremony in honor of the Virgin Mary.

“This day, families light scores of candles and use them to outline streets, sidewalks and parks so that entire cities are illuminated,” Camilo said.

Christmas trees are raised on Dec. 16, with the start of the “Novena,” a nine-day prayer ritual that incorporates rosary beads that leads to Christmas day. During this time, people build altars in their homes, called “Pesebres” or nativity scenes, Camilo said. Like Brazil, the major Christmas meal in Colombia is served on Christmas Eve, and usually consists of a pig roast, homemade bread and natilla, a corn-based desert, he said.

“Presents are brought by ‘El Niño Jesús’ (Baby Jesus) to the foot of the Christmas tree by the next morning, and after a relaxing day spent with family, the Christmas season is complete,” he said.

In the Dominican Republic, most Christmas trees are white, Camilo said. As a traditional gesture of Christmas cheer, most employees receive an extra months pay, called “Doble Sueldo,” in December, Camilo said.

Gifts aren’t given in the Dominican Republic until Jan. 6, the Biblical day of the Wise Men’s arrival, called “El Dia de los Reyes,” or Kings’ Day.

“Because of the American influence, the old custom has been slowly disappearing, meaning that the gifts are often exchanged both times, on Dec. 25th and Jan. 6,” Camilo said.

Christmas is celebrated on Jan. 6 and 7 in other parts of the world, too. As Black Eyed Susan’s waitress and aspiring filmmaker Oxana Shestakova remembers, in Russia, the country virtually stops from New Year’s Eve through Jan. 15 each year. Shestakova, 26, grew up in Siberia, and has lived on Nantucket for six years.

The reign of Communism also had a profound effect on Christmas celebrations in Russia, Shestakova said. A lot of holiday celebrations were shifted toward New Year’s, Christmas trees becoming New Year’s trees, Hanukkah candles becoming New Year’s candles, and so on, she said.

They followed a “Pagan tradition,” she said, that rivals American caroling, except, instead of Christmas attire, the band of singers would dress like it was Halloween, as little devils or clowns.

There was a Santa–like character too, Shestakova said, who legend had it lived in the woods and came through the front door instead of the chimney. His name was “Father Frost.”

But his criteria for giving gifts was the same as Santa’s.
“He only came and gave presents to good kids, and not the naughty ones,” she said.

Satellite radio network XM has begun transmitting six channels for Christmas music, ready for the festive season. XM’s first station, named Holly, will play contemporary holiday hits till New Years Day. Additional channels will launch later this month..

The extra channels include XM’s Radio Hanukkah, the first-ever national broadcast channel devoted exclusively to Jewish Culture, which will also return for the 2007 holiday season.

Holiday Traditions features traditional holiday recordings from the 1940s through 1960s with classic artists such as Bing Crosby, Nat “King” Cole and more.

Music City Holiday features contemporary and traditional holiday hits from popular country music artists, including Faith Hill, Kenny Rogers, and more.

A Classical Christmas features traditional holiday carols performed by celebrated classical musicians Luciano Pavarotti, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and many others.

And finally, Special X-Mas will features a unique mix of novelty songs, parodies, and retro oddities by a broad range of artists, including Cheech and Chong, Bob Rivers, Weird Al, Tiny Tim, Monty Python, and more.

Most channels are available till midnight Christmas Day.

If Halloween didn’t scare you, maybe the Christmas creep will.

Every year, the festive shopping season gets earlier, creeping into Halloween.

Observers have named it the “Christmas creep.”

Many stores have had their holiday displays up for weeks. And some stores are already playing holiday jingles.

At the Capilano Canadian Tire, there have been 10 aisles dedicated to Christmas since early October – and it’s been busy.

“A lot of our Christmas stuff gets sold out, especially Christmas tree decorations. People come very early for that, because if they come too late it’s gone,” said store general manager Anita Van Leeuwen.

“With the competition you can’t be too late setting it up.”

The Christmas creep doesn’t seem to be giving all shoppers the willies.

In Sherwood Park, Greenland Garden Centre part-owner Wayne Chichak said they used to open up their Christmas store after Halloween, but now do it in October.

“Everybody is anxious to get in, so we started before Halloween and it’s going like gangbusters,” he said.

When they opened the Christmas store on Oct. 19, he said there were 200 people waiting.

Not everyone is happy to see Christmas creeping up earlier and earlier.

“It drives me crazy,” said Susan Graham, who was buying Christmas cards at Canadian Tire to send overseas. “There’s just so many things going on. Just as one finishes, the other one comes.”

Graham said her real Christmas shopping won’t begin until December.

But Pat McCorry has been shopping since August and is loving the early season.

“Christmas is a very special time in my family. It’s our biggest holiday, where we are all together and I want to pick things that I know are perfect for my children and grandchildren.”

If you get away from the Christmas creep in retail stores, watch out in other places.

Tim Hortons is already using Christmas-themed cups, and in theatres Fred Claus starts Friday while Christmas in Wonderland, filmed at West Edmonton Mall, starts Nov. 21.

Rhonda van Arsdale isn’t content giving her family a good Christmas. She wants to bring a smile to the faces of children halfway around the world this holiday season.

“A lot of (those) kids have absolutely nothing,” van Arsdale said.

And the mother of two wants to change that.
She and her family belong to Pickerington Christian Church, where she is a member of the Compassion Ministry. That group has been collecting shoeboxes filled with gifts for needy children as part of Operation Christmas Child for six years.

“I think it is (a) very worthwhile (effort) and a wonderful way to share the good news of Jesus Christ,” van Arsdale explained.

She may well be right.

Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world, sponsors the endeavor. Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has delivered more than 54 million gift-filled shoeboxes to needy children in 120 countries.

But van Arsdale isn’t the only person who welcomes the opportunity to share her blessings with others.

Tasha Swarts is coordinating a similar effort at New Connections Community Church in Lancaster, where she is the assistant secretary.

“For most of their lives, these children have only known suffering and hurt, so the opportunity to reach them and their families through a simple shoebox gift is a privilege,” said Swarts, who donates two shoe boxes each November.

New Connections has been a collection site for three years and Swarts said each year the number of shoeboxes increases.

In 2006, the church collected about 2,000 boxes.

There is nothing more exclusive and sought after in the world than having your own private island, it becomes effectively your own little kingdom. From Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island, Mel Gibson’s Mago Island in Fiji, to Marlon Brando’s private tropical atoll of Te’tiaroa, private islands are exactly that – private.

The extraordinary private island resort of Caye Chapel, is located just off the coast of Belize City, in the central American country of Belize. The 265 acre island is 2.5 miles long, half a mile wide, and has over 13,000 feet of beachfront property, 12-slip marina, private airstrip, stunning seaside villas, magnificent bar & restaurant, conference facilities, large swimming pool complex with bar, and long sandy beaches. But the most attractive feature of the island is its par-72 USGA course with four par-5 holes which has received international acclaim for its quality design and calibre of play. The island’s landscape features picturesque inland ponds, lush vegetation including 3000 mature palm trees, and abundant wildlife consisting of native birds, crocodiles and iguanas. The island is situated amidst the second biggest barrier reef in the world, but only a 10 minute flight from Belize City, and just a 2 hour flight from Miami. The island is for sale for $75M USD.

“On the seventh day God stopped making islands, but Billionaires keep multiplying”
Cheyenne Morrison, owner of Coldwell Banker Morrison’s Private islands

The island is for sale by Coldwell Banker Morrison’s Private islands which is run by the globe-trotting island broker Cheyenne Morrison based in Port Douglas, on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The company has one of the world’s largest inventory’s of private islands with 250+ islands in dozens of countries, valued at over $1.3 Billion USD and has been voted one of the top 3 private island brokers in the world by most major business publications.

Whether it’s a small tropical island in the Caribbean for a personal retreat, or 5 star private island resort in Fiji or Tahiti, Morrison says, “Private islands aren’t just for millionaires though. I can make the dream of owning a private island come true even for those on a limited budget, with islands starting as low as $75,000 USD”

His favorite Christmas gift when he was a child was old – a used item from Salvation Army, an old cloth doll, restitched and stuffed, and made to look like a farmer.

“As a child growing up, I always wanted to be a farmer,” said Ray Patterson, 40, who grew up near Chicago in a family of seven children, one parent, and not enough money.

It was an old doll, but he said he loved it. “Any little thing can bring joy to kids,”he said.

And without the Salvation Army and other charitable organizations they wouldn’t have had gifts, he said.

So Patterson, now an inmate at the minimum security Missouri River Correctional Center south of Bismarck, said he knows first-hand how important such programs are, and that’s why he’s volunteering his time to clean and repair donated toys in this year’s 20th annual Christmas Playpen project put on by the Salvation Army, Dan’s Supermarket, North Dakota State Penitentiary and the Bismarck Tribune.

It works this way: Starting Monday, Dan’s south store, at 835 S. Washington St., will have a container in its parking lot for the public to bring in donated toys and bikes. Donations will be accepted through Dec. 10. The container will be open for donations from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day.

Throughout the donation period, prison personnel will pick up donations and take them to the inmates.

Inmates at the women’s correctional facility in New England will get mainly dolls, while the six inmate volunteers at MRCCwill get bikes, electronic equipment and other toys to work on.

In December, the finished toys will be available for low-income families at the Salvation Army’s Joy Shop.

Eligible low-income parents will then go through the Salvation Army’s Joy Shop, which will be filled with the donated items, to pick out Christmas presents.

Last year, 1,1212 children from 320 families received used toys from the Christmas Playpen, up more than 50 from the previous Christmas.

And Brenda Kriedman, Salvation Army director of social services, said she expects the need to be greater this year.

Toys resembling weapons will not be accepted, nor will stuffed animals, which could be used to bring contraband into the prison. Toys broken beyond repair and toys and games missing pieces also are not wanted. R-rated movies will not be accepted.

Dave Heidt, a corrections officer, who oversees the inmate volunteers, said in past years donations have included women’s lingerie and underwear. Those aren’t wanted, either.

Remember the teenagers. They need presents, too, organizers say.

The wood scavenger turns down another street in the Northeast Valley on Friday morning, keeping one eye on the road and the other on the curb, looking for discarded, old wooden chests and drawers.

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

No one knows that better than Ed Britton. He drove a Waste Management Inc. rubbish truck for 21 years before retiring a few years ago.

He found all sorts of hidden treasure in those waste receptacles, he says, but none more valuable than the curbside treasure he’s been picking up this past year on his own time: old chests and wooden drawers people put out on the curb and hope someone driving by will stop and take off their hands for free.

Ed is the guy driving by who stops. He takes the wood in his truck over to his garage in North Hills, where his wife of 50 years, Carol, looks out the window and greets her husband with the same words every time she sees him pulling in the driveway.

“Oh, Ed, not more wood!” she says.

Yes, more wood.

A man can never have enough wood when he’s trying to play Santa Claus to more than 100 little boys this season.

Most people see beaten up, old wooden chests and other furniture at the curb and think trash. Ed sees them and thinks toy cars.

“I’ve got a little over 100 toy cars and trains made so far, and by the time I drop them off next month at the Toys for Tots drive, I’m hoping to have 20 or 25 more,” he said, stacking another bunch of discarded drawers in his garage.

This is the 60th year that the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve will sponsor its Toys for Tots program that collects new, unwrapped toys during November and December to distribute to needy children as Christmas gifts.

Last year, more than 19.2 million toys were given to more than 7.6 million children nationally.

Ed, who runs a part-time mobile carwash business, figures he can carve two or three toy cars – complete with headlights and custom racing stripes – from each wooden drawer at the rate of about 20 minutes a car.

“You watch him out there working in the garage, smiling and singing to himself,” Carol says. “He’s just so happy when he’s making them.

“Ed loves kids. He knows every one of those toy cars is going to bring a smile to a little boy’s face.”

Yeah, but what about the little girls?

Carol laughs. That’s her job – she’s Mrs. Claus. Every few weeks when she makes a trip to the 99 Cents Only store, she picks up some little purses, necklaces, dolls and coloring books, and puts them away for the holidays.

When Ed boxes up his handmade toys for the boys, Carol boxes up hers for the girls. Then Mr. and Mrs. Claus climb atop their “sleigh” and ride off together to take their presents over to the Toys for Tots drive.

“You know, in 21 years of driving a rubbish truck, I’ve found money, jewelry, good furniture, even a 12-gauge shotgun once, but I never found anything more valuable than this,” Ed says Friday, finishing another wooden toy car for a little boy this Christmas.

It’s true, the wood scavenger says, laughing. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.