I love animals and have had a pet for as long as I can remember. Yet for some families, that’s just not possible. No matter which of the two sides your family falls on, Hasbro’s Fur Real Friends Biscuit My Lovin Pup has become the hot toy idea for this year.

This cute, plush animal is a newcomer to the FurReal Friends product line of toy pets. This engaging and interactive toy pet is ready to keep your child busy for hours without any special setup required. Biscuit comes with a collar, tag, brush, dog bone and adoption certificate. He nods, whimpers, barks, wags his tail and more and is very convincing with his mannerisms.

And just like a real dog, Biscuit is able to recognize your child’s voice and execute six commands that include speak, sit and lie down. Undoubtedly the cutest trick this very smart pooch is able to perform is to shake hands on command. And when he sits up and begs, it is sure to melt even the coldest of hearts.

Other Things You Need to Know

While Fur Real Friends Biscuit is an adorable toy that most children would love to have, here are a couple things you should know. Biscuit is nearly two feet high. While most kids will enjoy the fact that is he a large size, this toy will be difficult for smaller children to carry around. This doesn’t mean a small child won’t fully enjoy this interactive pet, but this is certainly something to think about. Biscuit also requires 6 D batteries, which you will need to remember to pick up since they are not included in the box.

The Technology Behind Biscuit

Nine sensors help Biscuit to interact with a child based on movement, touch and voice. For example, if you touch his left paw he will raise it to shake hands with you. If given the command “speak,” he will bark in response. And if something is waved in front of the sensor in his forehead, he will respond by flinching, sneezing or blinking.

Biscuit My Lovin’ Pup is also able to switch to different interactive modes based on how much attention he is getting. For example, he will enter a hangout mode after a period of time without direct interaction. If he doesn’t receive some attention for a determined amount of time, he will next lay down and go to sleep.

With his many sensors and behaviors, it is not difficult to see why this sophisticated, interactive dog is considered to be one of the most innovative toys of the year. This is why so many parents are adding FurReal Friends Biscuit My Lovin Pup to their wish lists for their children.

An old fashioned country Christmas has a timeless appeal. No one knows that better than the folks at rustic-lodge-lifestyle.com so they’ve put together a few tips and ideas to share with you. Even if you live in the city, you can still put some country back in your Christmas.

“Each of the activities described below can be enjoyed by young and old,” says Sandra Thornton. “And the joy and memories in creating them will last for years.”

Do-it yourself table centerpiece

A simple but elegant way to dress up your dining room table is to create a striking rustic Christmas centerpiece using readily available, natural materials. It’s very easy and doesn’t take much time.

Cut a few evergreen boughs (pine, silver fir, and cypress stay moist longer), gather some pine cones, and look for some berries on branches. I made a quick trip into the woods to find my supplies. A shiny bobble or two, perhaps some red or gold ribbon, and some candles are all you need in addition to your natural materials. Arrange these items decoratively on your table to create an appealing, fragrant, and very rustic Christmas centerpiece.

Note: be very cautious with candles. Make sure the flame is not close to the evergreen boughs or any other flammable materials. Make sure you always extinguish your candles before leaving the room! Your natural centerpiece should only be kept in the house for a few days…as the boughs dry out they will become very flammable and will start to lose their needles.

Pomander

Literally, apple of amber in French, a pomander is generally thought of as a mixture of aromatic substances. We make our pomander – our rustic Christmas ornament – from an orange and cloves.

Children will enjoy this project. I made my first pomander when I was about 12. Now I’m making them with my grandchildren. It’s very easy and well worth the effort.

All you do is stick whole cloves into an orange until it is evenly covered all over. For best results use a needle or pin to pierce the orange skin so you don’t break the clove. At minimum there should be an equal amount of clove cover with orange showing through. As it dries, the cloves preserves the orange so it doesn’t rot and the aroma of the cloves and orange is wonderful! Tie it up in an attractive ribbon and hang it from a doorway, over a window, or on your Christmas tree. You might even want to give it as a gift. This natural ornament will last for years.

Chistmas garlands

We love the look and feel of natural garlands. You can use a variety of natural materials – evergreen boughs, crab apples, dried flowers, cinnamon sticks, and pine cones.

Here is a very simple and rustic looking garland – made of popcorn and fresh cranberry. Again, this is a geat project for children!

Use a heavy thread. You can also use thin fishing line but it really doesn’t need to be highly durable – you’ll throw it out when the holidays are over. You will need a needle large enough for heavy thread or line. Then make your popcorn and let it cool. Make enough to snack on too! Even young children should be able to thread the popcorn successfuly (watch out for the needle) but they may find the cranberries too difficult.

Create a pattern by repeating the number of berries or popcorn – for example, one piece of popcorn followed by five berries.

Harvest your own tree

Cutting down your own Christmas tree is the stuff of romance and memories! If you have land with coniferous trees, you can harvest a tree from your own property. If not, do you know anyone who will give you permission to cut a tree on their property. Take a small, sharp buck saw with you.

When heading out to get your tree, remember you have to come back the same distance, only you’ll be dragging a tree!

The first time we cut down our own tree, we were lucky enough to have access to family property. Our children were 10, 8, and five years old. It was a chilly day and there was a fair amount of snow. We found our tree, cut it and hauled it back. It’s a mystery how much a tree can change size from when you first cut it to when you bring it into your home! So make sure your tree is the right size before you cut it down. Our tree was perfect – once we took the top off so we could stand it in the house! Do you know we all still laugh and reminisce about that tree!

Real or artificial – which is greener? Despite the convenience of an artificial tree, it may surprise you that a real tree is the “greener” choice. Fake trees are manufactured from non renewable petroleum products. It’s the impact on the environment when the tree is manufactured and again when you dispose of it that tips the scales in favor of the real tree. We encourage you to plant a tree (or several) to replace the one you cut down.

Ready for your rustic Christmas? Maybe you aren’t the do-it-yourself type – or perhaps you just don’t have the time. If you find yourself running out of time, with just too much to do at this time of year, check out the rustic Christmas selection and ideas at Rustic-Lodge-Lifestyle.com.

As the Holiday Season gets closer, most of us who have children in the family are interested in which games and videos have been identified as the Hottest Selling  Christmas Gifts of the year.  We know that our boys and girls will be drafting  their Christmas lists with many of these top selling toys making their way onto it.  Toys like Elmo Live, Transformers, Monopoly, and PlayStation 3, just to name a few, will most likely be high on their lists.   But this is just the beginning of the process that is lovingly referred to as the Christmas Shopping “experience”.   

As Holiday shoppers are all too familiar, this involves scampering from retailer to retailer in search of a popular toy or game, only to be advised that the desired Christmas toy is sold out for the season.  

Obtaining any of these Top 10 Christmas Gifts can frazzle even the most calmest of nerves!   And the longer you wait to start your Holiday shopping, the wilder it gets.  So, how do you answer this Holiday riddle, “Where do I find the best selling Christmas gifts and how can I get the cheapest deal on them?”   And NO, this is not a trick question!

The Holiday Season Shopping Crisis

How many Holiday Seasons have you found yourself scampering through all of your favorite toy stores in search of the ever-popular toys from your youngsters’ Christmas Wish list?  Well there is an answer to your Christmas conundrum – your computer and Internet connection.  

By Googling for your favorite toys, games, and electronics on the Internet, you save yourself the abuse of overcrowded stores, overflowing parking lots, unruly sales people, empty shelves — you’ve seen it all before!

Online retailers have come a long way since the early days of the Internet, with many familiar names having a presence in cyberspace.  Most of your largest retail stores have established Online Stores to accomodate their customers who prefer to shop from the comforts of their own homes.  Why brave inclement weather when you can be relaxing at your table, or sofa for that matter, cruising the Internet for the best prices on the best selling Christmas gifts.  This really seems like a no-brainer to me!

Shop Early For The Best Prices

It’s not a revelation that the Top 10 Christmas Toys will sell out the quickest, so shopping for these toys should take a top priority on your list of Christmas “chores”.   Christmas shopping can be a stress-free experience if done early in the season and over the Internet.  

The most attractive deals on the most popular toys can be found right after Thanksgiving Day, often referred to as Black Friday!  But, the concept of Black Friday has been expanded with blowout sales being advertised through the weekend, as well as, the first Monday after Turkey day.  This has generally been the period where you can find the best deals on your Christmas gifts and the fullest shelves.

Digital cameras make it easy to take lots of photos, but you can easily find yourself without any of them if your computer crashes.All the memories preserved in your family Christmas photos now forever lost.

Most people who do backup their photos do it to CD’s or DVD’s.  But this is a feel good measure that does little good.  CD’s and DVD’s can start showing errors within three years even when stored in the best of conditions.Only perfect conditions will prevent these errors from happening faster.

And sharing your family Christmas photos is just a pain.Most just email pictures around the same household or using a free service that imposes restrictions on you.  But there is a much better way that is both inexpensive and easy to use, Internet Backup.

Internet Attached Storage is the combination of Online Backup, local network disk, and file sharing (like OPENRSM CloudBackup).  You don’t have to give away any private information and it has the added benefit of backing up your other essential data (like documents, files, and computer setup data).

Here’s how it works.  You create an with an Internet Attached Storage provider.You then set up the provided software on every computer with the network drive option selected.  Every computer will then automatically back up when you’ve configured and every computer will also have it’s own private backup at the Internet Attached Storage provider show up as a disk on the local system.And the best thing is.A shared folder can be created.Doing this makes the folder available on every computer in the house.

No more emailing photos, no more using services that make you give up your privacy.  And all the computers have backup for your other important files (like banking, documents, email) as well as having all those photos available from every computer.This saves loads of space and if bad things happen (like accidental deletion, hard disk failure, etc.) a previous version is in your Internet Attached Storage area.Even if you don’t find a overcropped or damaged picture right away you can copy the original back.

Here’s the things you need to remember.  If your photos are really important to you, don’t rely on CDs. They are easily damaged. Also, recorded CDs can degrade quickly (some in just a couple years).Most photo sharing sites have a cost in control and privacy of your family memories.Internet Attached Storage provides backup of your photos outside of your house and computer.  Keeping photos organized makes everything easier because Internet Attached Storage mirrors the structure of your own disk. Ensure you automatically backup new photos, you don’t want to lose pictures because you forgot that one time.Automate it so you don’t have to remember to do it.

Not every online backup or Internet Attached Storage provider have advanced synchronization, automation, or network drive and folder sharing features.We’ve looked at many of these services and think you should use OPENRSM CloudBackup.  It has the automation, ease of use, advanced file sharing features, and low cost you need to make sure that the pictures of your family don’t disappear from your computer.

Many people like antiquing – looking for rare treasures often at bargain basement prices. At an antique store, you can find lots of different items in various states of repair. In antiquing, the old adage, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure, is definitely true. One item that has been becoming increasingly popular among antiquers is Christmas tree ornaments, especially Victorian Christmas tree ornaments.

Christmas Tree Ornaments from the Victorian Era

The Victorian era – which ran from 1837 all the way to 1901 – is usually associated only with England (logically enough!), but the period also had a huge influence on the United States in terms of tastes and values. Victoria was famously rigid, yet her era also saw extremely fine decorations, and Victorian Christmas tree ornaments often reflect this.

For much of the Victorian era, electricity didn’t even exist as a household commodity, or it was very scarce. So there were no electric Christmas lights like we are used to – instead, Victorians used candles to light up the tree. While very few candles survive from that time, the candles themselves were set in brass candle holders, and those candle holders are now prized as classic Victorian Christmas tree ornaments.

Another example of classic Victorian Christmas tree ornaments are those depicting Father Christmas. While Father Christmas and Santa Claus are essentially the same person (based on the real Saint Nicholas), they do not have similar appearances. Instead of the familiar red suit, Victorian era “Father Christmas” ornaments show a man with a long white beard and long robes, resulting in an appearance that people today might associate more with a philosopher or a wizard. And a decent number of Victorian Christmas tree ornaments based on this image of Father Christmas still survive and can be found by the determined antiquer.

One example of Victorian Christmas tree ornaments that now are rather hard to find now are velvet ribbons. Crimson colored velvet ribbons were prized tree ornaments, and were placed decoratively throughout the Christmas tree. Velvet does not keep for a very long time, so if you do happen to see examples of these antique Christmas tree ornaments in an antique store, chances are they will need to be restored.

Thus, a simpler option is just to get new velvet for your Christmas decorations and ornaments at a local fabric shop. In fact, if you can use a needle and thread (or a sewing machine!), you could just buy a yard or two of velvet at a local shop, cut it up into strips, sew the sides, and make your own velvet ribbons that way. Whichever method you choose, the key is to have fun decorating your Christmas tree! Remember the Internet always has websites available that can help you with any and all of your holiday decorating ideas.

I’ve never been one to ask for a normal gift under my LED christmas treeFor the past forty-three years of my life, I would always wish for something unique. {Believe it or not|You may not think what I say is true}, I would always get my wish granted by Santa Clause, who ever since I’ve been a small child I’ve believed in.

As an example, there was a time that I wished for two gentlemen to court me on Valentine’s Day, and it happened. A goofy smile came over my face later that month, since I was thinking that yet again Santa had brought me exactly what I asked for. And for the following year, so for a second year I thought I would make a big wish, I wished with all my heart that I would meet the man of my dreams when I took my trip to Germany. During my trip, only two days before Christmas day, when I went to Germany on the train, a man spilled dark coffee at me. Six months later I married that man and he is now my Husband of many years. Now that is a great gift no one gets under their LED fiber optic christmas tree.

I figure after so many years of great presents that Santa has delivered to me I would ask for something for someone else. this year I’d like to use my Christmas wish for one of my patients who has a bad case of diabetes. She is supposed to have her foot cut off that she is losing to the disease on the 1st of January, because it got infected . She is the mother of three children and a Russian immigrant; the eldest is only twelve and the youngest is two and a half. She lives alone since her mother died of a heart attack six months ago. I can’t imagine how life will be for her family, since I don’t even know how she will make money if she can’t continue to work at the grocery store if she ha no foot.

If I can decide what I really wanted this Christmas season, I would ask that I do a good job on the operating table, and I can give the best advice to her family so that other complications of diabetes will be prevented. I also wish that the government would give more priority concerns for minority groups, especially those who are suffering from severe illnesses.

There are tons of retailers on the Internet that sell discount perfumes from their online web site. By buying discount perfume you can get some wonderful fragrances for a fraction of the recommended retail price, especially if you purchase them at the end of the summer or winter season with the intention of wearing them next year. It is never easy to choose a fragrance that you have never used before on your skin. If you purchase a discount perfume that doesn’t suit you then you will obviously have wasted your money.

Your best option is stick with buying those discount perfumes online that you have used before. In this way you you will have the benefit of knowing the frangrance suits you before obtaining it. If you are buying the discount designer perfume as a gift then obviously it will be a good idea to purchase something you know the recipient will wear. So if, for example, you want to buy a fragrance for your sister and you know she likes Cool Water by Davidoff then it would probably be wise to buy her that particular discount perfume rather than experiment with something new.

Another way to ensure a discount perfume will suit you when purchasing online is to look at the fragrance notes. The first step is to see what fragrance notes your favorites contain, which will give you a better idea of what suits you. For example, some people suit fruity fragrance notes while others smell great when they wear spicy Orientals. Typically you will want to find a discount perfume that has some of your favorite fragrance notes. You should deterine what fragrance notes do not smell nice on you and avoid those discount perfumes that contain them. For example, if by trail and error you’ve discovered that you don’t suit the fragrance note geranium then you should avoid women’s perfume like Cinnabar or Aliage by Estee Lauder.

When you are buying discount perfume online, the last thing you should do is buy the latest trendy fragrance simply because it is popular. You should not order a discount perfume just because everyone else is wearing that fragrance as it might not work as well with your body chemistry. Each person’s body chemistry is different and eveyone has a different personality which you have to recognize to determine what smells you like the best. If the discount perfume that suits you happens to be sixty years old, that shouldn’t matter at all. Of course if you want to test out the latest new fragrnace then the obvious thing is to go to your local department store to try out out instead of first spending your money online.

Everyone wants to get something they look forward to for Christmas, and hopefully we’ll get something nice this year. For some of us we want something under the pink christmas tree and others want something else. As the song goes however we can’t always get what we want. What I want for Christmas this year is that I would like to have something that I really want for myself. For a lot of years I’ve been asking for one, and it would be very good for me and Labron if it happened.

This year if its possible I’d like to buy a car, so that I can go places I want to when I want to, I could just get up and go. I do drive a car, but it’s reserved for use during work hours since it is a company vehicle. And usually we are not allowed to use company cars in driving or attending to our personal needs. And my husband Labron does drive his own car when he goes to work but our office is both situated in different locations. Besides that, something else I would defiantly enjoy receiving is a brand new digital camera so I can take pictures when I see something cool. Then I could see what wonderful pictures I could take, and add to my current collection, it would be a very good testiment to the passion I have for it.

For several years of working as a delivery driver, the road is the only partner that I had. It would also be nice to have to be able to find some type of hobby for non-work hours. It surely doesn’t bore me at all or let me think of something else rather than thinking about some problems or being alone in the road. These are the things that I want for Christmas, and now I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll find them under my white christmas tree.

Buying presents for some people is easy, you know exactly what they want either through clues, or simply just knowing them well.  At the other end of the scale there are some people for whom it seems impossible to buy a gift.  For these people everything you look at becomes something you know they won’t want, and the more you look for presents the more confused you get.  In these cases, there is only one solution, lateral thinking and imagination.

One great and unusual xmas gift for the person who has everything is a star.No, I do not mean one for the Christmas tree, I mean a real star in the sky.You can nowadays have a star named after someone.  This special person will receive a certificate which will confirm that there is a star with their name, and it will also show exactly where to find the star.  As we are not all star gazers this gift comes with a beginner’s astronomy kit.  Not only a great gift for the recipient, but also fun for their family, looking at the star to see the one named after mummy or daddy.

There is a register of roses, something which you may not know about if you are a novice gardener.  And there is nothing more exciting for either the notice or experienced gardener than received seed for a rose with their name.  This can be organized and the rose will be listed in the Amore registry of roses.  Nothing will inspire a gardener like tending a flower with their own name.

Frequently when you're trying to pick out a special gift you need to think of the persons favorite things, for instance are they a wine connoisseur, or a champagne lover?   These can be bought with personalized labels, not only something to drink and enjoy, but a unique bottle to treasure.  This can also be done with perfumes, and it shows a lot more thought than simply buying the fragrance.  Personalizing something will always make it a special and unusual xmas gift.

If you are looking for unusual xmas gifts for the children in your family, a book could be the answer.  There is the obvious option of getting the author to sign a book, but now there is another option. There are companies, some run through websites, where you can enter the details of the child you are buying for, and the names of important family and friends and they will produce a book based around the child.  This will certainly be fun for the child at Christmas, but it will be something which they can keep forever and they will be able to read to their own children in the future.

One of the best things about unusual xmas gifts is knowing that it is special and that no one else will have bought the same thing.  Take the time to find unusual xmas gifts as it makes the giving much more fun.

All my kids talk about getting every year for Christmas is video games if they don’t go downstairs and find Gears of War 2 under our new flocked christmas tree I do not know how they will survive. It makes me a little nuts since I do all I can to get my kids outdoors. I would much rather give them a pair of new skates or golf clubs then some mind numbing thing that will enchant them in front of the television. Alas, I suppose boys will be boys. Arguing with the boys over “appropriate” lengths of time is just too much work.

After saying that I guess I should get to the point that I’ve developed a few ways to control their television addiction. With a few techniques I try to get them outside more. The first way I try to accomplish my goal is by limiting time that can be spent in front of them television to only one hour per day. I have discovered that limiting the time is key to everything else because then they know time above and beyond that is to be earned. I do give them some ways to earn more time in front of the television. That leads me into my second trick. They can get more television time by either doing chores or spending time outside. The chores is nice for me and generally has a pretty good payoff for them. I intentionally made it with the purpose of them getting around one hour of television time for every one hour they spend on chores.

The second way they earn time, by going outside, is a little less rewarding. For every hour they spend outside they get fifteen minutes of video games. I know that it isn’t a huge payoff for the boys, but they like being outside and I do not think it’s a lot for me to ask of them. That option works the best of their long Saturdays where they spend the majority of the day outside anyway. They spend all day outside on Saturdays and earn themselves a couple of hours in front of the television. I do not even mind if they play a night of video games after a good day outside.

That being said I’m ok with one or two ending up under flocked christmas tree this year , that is if it allows for the positives of getting the boys outside and making them a little more obedient. I hope they like their games, because I am going to like my “gift” of a little more control around the house.