Ramble: Fifth Avenue Stroll...

Tinsil, glitter,  and relevantly gifting are the matters of the mind at the moment.  My feet hurt after rambling up Fifth Avenue and down Madison. All of the extravagant decorations are awesome to behold.  The Cartier shop, left, is is a wrapped gift all to itself.  Outfitted with a big bow and various sizes of their distinctive red jewelry boxes, all on the exterior of the building, just like the Eiffel Tower, the design this season at Cartier goes up and up.  Louis-Francois Cartier founded the company in 1847.  Located near the Palais Royal, they became the supplier to the Royal Court in France. In 1873 the first original Cartier watch was made.  By the close of the 19th century in Paris, the artistry of Cartier was wed to the practicality of the watch. Paris was then the center of the universe in taste and art and glitter just as Manhattan at the moment in mid-town is this holiday season.   

Here are my link thoughts as I try to make my gift list and check it twice:

• A Buy Nothing Christmas? Ad Busters writes that if that's too extreme for grandma and the kids, maybe try a Buy Less  Christmas. Or a Buy Fairer Christmas. Or a Slow-Down Christmas.  Whatever you decide, 'tis the season to reclaim our celebration from  the grip of commercial forces.  Holiday e-commerce spending is up 24% versus last year  according to Comscore.  Do it differently?  Nell Scovell made a pact with herself to go a year without buying clothes or entering a clothing store and wrote about it in yesterday's NYTimes.    Shopping can sometimes be entertainment in the place of other needs filled with more worthwhile endeavors.  Strolling the glitter of Fifth, just looking in the windows and enjoying the decorations got me to start working on my gift ideas and put me in the holiday spirit.
  

• Brain Escape? Thanks to Laurie's Reflections, here's a link to a fun online brain game that you can play and I took a few minutes to divert my attention from online blog research and I would recommend it for free fun.  It is a game of nodes and lines.

• Garbage In, Garbage Out? Blogger KChristieH posted a page on her blog about movie, games, tv, videogame, book and music reviews for parents that she initially wrote as PTA president.  Borat? After reading reviews, she says  "no".    Gifts that are useful, gifts that are lasting...
  

• How to Raise Children to be Rich is a Wikihow page.  After all the  advice, there's an important tip included:  "Remember that money isn’t everything. Of course you want your children to grow up to be independent, financially successful adults, but remember that money really isn’t the key to happiness. Be sure to teach your children how to be happy, not just how to be rich."  Giving and receiving and happiness... the thought is what matters when we think of the holidays.

Some of the best things in life are free. How about a gift of time?  That is what my mother wants (she says it is a gift idea for my Dad), but it will cost me a plane ticket back to the place of my birth.  Matters of the moment, gifts with meaning and substance.

Glittery Cheers.

Comments

[Janet a.k.a Wonder Mom]

I love the city during the holidays. We always go and see the tree and walk around to window shop. This year, we are actually talking our daughter, that should be fun. Scary, but fun...Glad you had fun.

[Rhea]

I also love going to NYC during these holidays. Thanks for mentioning Buy Nothing Day. Buy Less is good, too!

[Nancy]

Wow, I can't imagine going for a whole YEAR without buying clothes. I couldn't do it, no way.

I love Planarity -- it's become my favorite online time waster. :-)

[nyc starlet]

gift ideas for 18 year old girls (should you have any) :
many many trips to a destination of her choice
mr. right
a "wow" handbag
many massages to relieve school stress
chocolate
a truck
mr. right

that should about cover it.

hope it helps.

[merry mama]

The above comment is hilarious. If you have a fraction of the means to provide those things, well, adopt me next year, kay??? (Just kidding. I'm the type of person who won't accept a house cleaner as a gift because I want to do it by myself thankyouverymuch.)