Dorsi's Christmas Holiday Gift and Advice Guide

It's here! Your comprehensive Christmas Gift Giving and Advice Guide covering everything you need or will ever want to know about Christmas this year...

NOT!!

Seriously though - as I browsed through my now 149 articles, I realized that I actually have quite a few hubs to do with this Christmas Holiday. I thought it would be a good idea to compile them into one great big hub for easy browsing and bookmarking. With that in mind, here goes my Christmas Gift and Advice hub with some of my favorite hubs. Christmas topics like: gift giving, how to make extra money during the Christmas season, surviving grief during the holidays, creative ideas for Christmas along with inspirational stories about life and love.

So get out your comfy slippers, grab yourself a nice warm eggnog, get that fire going and enjoy!

It's Dorsi's Christmas Gift Holiday and Advice Guide for the Holidays!

If you are one of those creative artsy-fartsy types that loves new ideas for Christmas, you will definitely want to check out my hot hub on How to Paint Christmas Windows. Look in the comment section for even more ideas from some of the greatest window painters around the nation. If you are a newbie please jump right in and join the conversation! (and BTW- this is a GREAT way to make some extra Christmas money) Read about my exploits as a window painter here:

http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Lost-Art-of-Painting-on-Windows

For you vintage Christmas holiday lovers here's a great hub on how to do an old fashioned Christmas with ideas for decorating along with some stories of my readers favorite holiday oldies:

http://hubpages.com/hub/Old-Fashioned-Christmas-Vintage-and-Antique-Christmas-Items

Short on cash but want to give that special gardener something cool this Christmas? Learn how to make your own topsy-turvy garden planter here along with a step by step video showing you how to do it. This would also be a fun project to do with your kids or grand-kids:

http://hubpages.com/hub/Make-your-own-topsy-turvy-gardening-planter-pot

For those graphic artists and aspiring artists out there, here are some ideas for using programs like adobe illustrator. Take your regular photos and do cool things to them - like adding watercolor effects or turning them into Christmas greetings with pre-made templates inside your graphics program (You can also use sites like Photobucket, Picassa and Shutterfly to make cool artsy photos for gift giving!)

Turn one of your average photos into a stunning one-of-kind artwork for that special person on your Christmas gift list! A couple of good hubs with some of my own photo examples of things I've created are here:

http://hubpages.com/hub/Having-Fun-Using-Adobe-Illustrator

http://hubpages.com/hub/Artistic-Effects-Using-Adobe-Illustrator

OK so now that we've had our fill of being creative, let's look at some gift giving ideas and product reviews for those on your Christmas gift list this year.

For parents and grandparents, I've got some great conversational hubs with reviews of toys and clothing that I have bought for my own kids and grandkids. For ideas on great toddler toys you will want to checkout my hubs on learning toys here: ( BTW -I do believe in giving educational toys)

http://hubpages.com/hub/VTech-Toys-Best-Learning-Toys-For-Kids 

http://hubpages.com/hub/Baby-Building-Blocks-and-Buying-Legos-Online

If you are the adoring grandmother or mother of a precious baby girl, I have some beautiful hubs on wonderful toddler and baby girl clothing along with recommendations on brands, styles and colors. Girls are so much fun to buy clothing for and these are some of my favorite hubs!:

http://hubpages.com/hub/buy-mud-pie-clothing-online

http://hubpages.com/hub/Christmas-Dresses-for-Girls

If toddler shoes are on your list this year, you will want to take a peek at my favorite shoe hubs here: (there is also a hub on best shoes for baby - helpful when selecting babies first walking shoes):

http://hubpages.com/hub/Buy-Robeez-Boys-Toddlers-Shoes-Online

http://hubpages.com/hub/What-are-the-best-shoes-for-babies-learning-to-walk

And last but not least on the Christmas list this year is learning how to take stunning pictures of all your beautiful babies this Christmas season. One of my latest hubs is full of tips that I use as a photographer.

http://hubpages.com/hub/New-Born-Baby-Photos-Photography-Tips

Being an avid pet lover, this list would not be complete without ideas for giving to that special feline in your life this Christmas:

http://hubpages.com/hub/Christmas-Toys-For-Your-Cat

And also some ideas for that big dog on your Christmas list:

http://hubpages.com/hub/Big-Dog-Pet-Clothing

Along with some great gift ideas (some really inexpensive) for that person on your list that loves to get their hands dirty in the garden:

http://hubpages.com/hub/Christmas-Gifts-For-Garden-Lovers

And for that person that you really don't know what to give to this Christmas season? An Amazon gift card. My favorite online store to shop at, not only at Christmas but all year round! Amazon gift cards make great gifts and are easy - easy - easy - to give!

http://hubpages.com/hub/Amazoncom-Gift-Cards-Buy-Gift-Cards-Online

You can also find very unique and beautiful gifts at the HSN shopping channel (just make sure you check those shipping times so your gift arrives in time!): Plus remember shopping online means NO standing in lines at the store!

http://hubpages.com/hub/Home-Shopping-Online-With-the-HSN-Home-Shopping-Channel

Now, let's get down to business here. We all know that times are tight and maybe Christmas giving is low on your priority list this year. Maybe just trying to get by is more important than gift giving. Maybe even putting food on the table is a stretch right now. Whatever your situation is, I have complied quite a few hubs on how to make some extra cash, mostly through Craigslist. I have also included some other ideas here like shopping at Dollar Stores. You could use the extra money you get from these endeavours to buy gifts, eat or whatever is important to you this 2010 Christmas season. (and BTW, I am not a big expensive gift giver - I make some of my Christmas gifts, shop frugally on Amazon, dollar stores and other places like that for some of my things - nothing wrong with that !!)

http://hubpages.com/hub/What-Can-I-Sell-on-Craigslist

http://hubpages.com/hub/Making-Money-with-Craigslist

http://hubpages.com/hub/how-can-i-make-money-on-craigslist

Great places to buy your Christmas Holiday decorations, cards, ornaments and even gifts CHEAP!!

http://hubpages.com/hub/Save-Money-by-Shopping-at-Dollar-Stores

Now that your fire is about out, your eggnog is about gone and you've spent all your money (or better yet have some ideas on how to make some money this Christmas season) - come check out a couple of my favorite hubs and just relax and unwind. This first hub is for grandparents - this is a unique idea to give to your grandchildren and it's absolutely free:

http://hubpages.com/hub/A-Letter-To-My-Unborn-Grandchild

And here is one of my favorite hubs that I wrote complete with my artwork and comments about what I believe this holiday Christmas season to mean. Not only do I believe this at Christmas but all year round. It is what makes my life meaningful and gives me a reason to live. I hope that you have enjoyed my Christmas Holiday Gift and Advice Guide this year and I look forward to adding much more next year!

http://hubpages.com/hub/Cross-Artwork

I know that some of you that are reading here this holiday season are going through some type of grief, loss or tragedy this year. Believe me, I understand, and there are years that I would not have even considered being able to write in this light-hearted way about Christmas and the Holidays. I hope that you will stop by and read this hub:

http://hubpages.com/hub/Grief-Help-Desling-With-Loss-During-the-Holidays

and I hope that you are blessed by it and use some of the suggestions to give a present back to yourself this year. Thank-you for stopping in, reading and I look forward to your comments.

(Dorsi Diaz is a freelance writer and publisher on the Internet who writes on a variety of topics)