Jewellery News and Reviews

This year, greeting cards may be the last thing on your mind as you stress over budgeting Christmas gifts for the kids. However, for as little as $13, you can show 25 of your closest family members and friends that you care about them this Christmas. A mailed sentiment can really brighten someone’s day, much more than an e-card or a phone call. The thoughtfulness and kindness of a holiday card is a timeless expression of appreciation that radiates throughout the whole holiday season.

One type of Christmas greeting card to consider is the charitable donation card. At www.cardsforcauses.com, you can choose from a huge selection of causes, including the American Red Cross, Children’s Miracle Network, Doctors Without Borders, Environmental Defense Fund, Feed the Children, American Cancer Society, American Stroke Foundation, the ASPCA, Teach For America and many more. Choose from 56 designs, with prices running around $14.95 for 18 cards, with no minimum order mandate, like most other donation sites. Choose from over 250 vivid-color designs at www.goodcausegreetings.com and donate to the National Foundation For Cancer Research, Doctors of the World, the Global Health Council, the Breast Cancer Fund, the Wildlife Trust and others. Donate as little as $14.20 for 10 cards, $71 for 50 or as much as $12,298 for 10,000.

If you don’t plan on sending a ton of greeting cards this year but you want the coolest and most innovative, then there are some Christmas season goodies. There are cards that play music at www.americangreetings.com or www.hallmark.com. There are also cards that smell nice at www.scentsational-greetings.com. If you’re into holographic or lenticular effects, then try some of the latest cards from www.3dstereo.com. Chatterbox Greetings based out of the UK also has an impressive assortment of musical and lenticular light show greetings.

Business greeting cards are incredibly popular to thank high-rolling clients, build morale among employees or build stronger relationships. Some of the classiest holiday season cards can be found this Christmas season at www.thegallerycollection.com. The more you order at these sites, the more you save. For instance, you can buy 25 premium cards for $49.74 or 500 cards for $474. Choose from snowflakes, winter scenes and other tasteful art gifts. Box sets with 35 cards and 16 designs are available for $51.50. At www.artlinegreetings.com, and you can also find artistic greetings. At Artline, you can customize your own text and signature, ordering 25 cards for $58.75 or 100 for $162. You can choose cityscape, traditional holiday cards, recycled or charity cards as well.

As you begin shopping for holiday gifts this Christmas, start out with an organized list and a budget. Next, consider the person on your list for personality traits and do a Google search for something like “Gifts for readers,” “Gifts for travelers” or “Gifts for engineers.” For an excellent resource where you can search for the men, women, seniors and teens in your life, try www.gifts.com/ideas/holiday.

Electronics are big for Christmas gifts, making up 4/10 of the top wish list items for 2008 (Consumer Electronics Holiday Purchase Patterns Study). Nearly 80% of adults and 84% of kids said they’d like an electronic gift this year. So what’s hot for this Christmas season? Computers, video game consoles, portable MP3 players, mobile phones and digital cameras topped this year’s Christmas wish list. For computers, check out laptops at www.dell.com, where you can find products for as low as $376.

The Nintendo Wii is still the game console of choice this year, with its wide array of fun virtual-reality-type games. The price has come down a lot over the years, retailing for around $300. The X-Box 360 is another good option for the gamer. In the world of portable MP3 players, iPods still reign supreme, retailing between $149 and $300. The iTouch is the most coveted mobile phone on the market for 2008, known for its touchscreen, application support and versatility. For cameras, check out the Canon PowerShot series, where you can find great value for under $300. The Nikon SLR cameras have come down in price a lot and the Sony CyberShot is said to be a good buy as well for that perfect Christmas gift.

Even if you’ve been with someone for years and years, finding holiday gifts for a spouse or long-term partner can be difficult. While a thoughtful, personalized Christmas present is always preferred, there are some gifts that just can’t fail. For that special lady on your list, a Movado watch is a timeless gift that functions as a piece of jewelry, a symbol of your enduring love and a functional item. Girls also like gadgets just as much as guys, so something like the Canon PowerShot series camera, the Apple iPod Touch or a Garmin auto GPS system are always cool gifts. If your lover is a merry baker, then every woman deep down craves a KitchenAid Professional 600 Series 6-Quart Stand Mixer. Women also love a thoughtfully planned trip, whether it is a cruise or a gift certificate for www.bedandbreakfast.com. A day at the spa gift certificate and show tickets are also big winners for the high-powered, successful woman in your life.

A 2008 study by Home Electronics Journal found surprising similarities in affluent holiday gifts lists and the under $100,000 income bracket lists. A quarter of those making more than $100,000/year are hoping to receive flat panel plasma TVs this Christmas season. Another quarter would like a laptop and 25.1% would like a DVR/TiVo. For those making less than $100,000, the preferred gifts are flat panel LCD TVs (31.4%), laptops (27.2%) and flat panel plasma TVs (23.9%). “Consumers have more interest than dollars to spend,” says Roy Weiss, publisher of Home Electronics Journal.