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SavvyMom Roundup: A Holiday Gift Guide

We have officially entered into the holiday season, whether we like it or not. It's all about the sounds of Christmas jingles in grocery stores, gingerbread house kits, sparkles, baubles and great gift ideas everywhere we turn. Instead of fighting it, I say bring it. Get your shopping done early so you can enjoy the festivities and family when the big day (and school break) arrives.
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We have officially entered into the holiday season, whether we like it or not. It's all about the sounds of Christmas jingles in grocery stores, gingerbread house kits, sparkles, baubles and great gift ideas everywhere we turn. Instead of fighting it, I say bring it. Get your shopping done early so you can enjoy the festivities and family when the big day (and school break) arrives.

1. My inbox is full of gift recos these days. One that caught my attention for being hilarious -- although not very mom focused -- is the Finger Hockey Play Set. It's clearly a sign that Canadians are suffering from the NHL strike. Honestly...do we need finger-sized knee pads? Does that even make sense? This is so bad it's good. I give it a thumbs up for the under $20 office gift.

2. You'll find some more appropriate gifts for kids in our gallery of 34 Hot Toys for the Holidays. There are so many great ones, but if I had to choose, I would definitely go with the Yetitoy because it's a friend, a toy and a tricycle. What more can you ask for?

3. If you're a mompreneur, you might be asking your friends to vote for you these days. Together with Parents Canada and Mompreneur Inc., we have launched our annual Mompreneur of the Year Award, designed to help mompreneurs build connections with each other and offer one lucky winner the means to help grow her business to the next level. If you're a mompreneur, nominate yourself. If you know a mompreneur, vote for her. The grand prize is worth over $30,000.

4. Since you're so busy buying for everyone else these days, you might not have time to pick up stuff for yourself. Still, you want to update your look, so why not try a new way to wear that old pashmina scarf? I ran into my friend Johanna, a fashion blogger at Real Life Runway, who reminded me of this fantastic how-to video. Sarah and I found this last year, but I don't think I ever had a chance to share it. Enjoy!

5. One last thing that crossed my desk is this note about a project called Snail Mail My Email. In an effort to save the lost art of letter writing, an artist invites us to send a message to him by email so he can transform it into a lovely handwritten note to be sent by snail mail. This is an art project with an important message. Is email the new hand written note? Is letter writing a lost art? Are we celebrating this lost art already -- the way we hang onto dead languages in order to maintain our culture? Does it matter if our kids don't know how to write a proper hand-written note? Maybe this guy is a bit premature with his concerns. My kids still write thank you notes (ahem). And moms are still sending Christmas/holiday cards.

Watch out for some great ideas on those cards coming up next week on SavvyMom.

Have a great week.

This post originally appeared on SavvyMom.ca. Follow Minnow and SavvyMom on Facebook for more savvy tips and solutions.

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