May your boot be filled with Lebenkuchen, not potatoes.

St. Nicholas Day is December 6, and is celebrated by modest gifts, often tucked into a boot, much like we

20 Days ’til Christmas, 20 Things to Buy

Okay, time to get serious. Twenty days, and at least twenty more things to buy…

at your favorite consignment, resale, or thrift shop.

Some of these might be gifts, some might make your life a bit easier, and some… well, heck, you need a little gift too, don’t you? You’ve been good!

So head your sleigh in the right direction, bring along a few carrots for the reindeer and a little bit of money, to find:

Entertaining supplies. Punch bowl? Extra wine glasses?

The perfect party outfit. Dancing shoes. Hostess gown. LBD.

The perfect decor items. Vintage, glamourous, or tongue-in-cheek.

Blasts from the past. A Parcheesi game, Rubik’s cube. Great hostess gifts.

Books. Rather than a single best-seller, gift your reading friends with a bundle of 5 great books.

Cold-weather gear for the sleigh ride or ski slope.

Kitchen gear you might only use once. A Bundt pan or trifle bowl.

Warm-weather gear for the resort-bound. Great beach bag? Diaphanous cover-up?

Christmas stockings. From simple to silly ornate, for use or to hang from every eave of your house.

Stocking stuffers. Teeny toys, funky sit-arounds, amusing bibelots.

Party clothes for the kids (red velvet’s adorable, but really, to buy new? Not so much fun.)

Serving pieces. Gravy boat, turkey platter.

Sparkly accessories. Rhinestone chandelier earrings? Cut-velvet evening bag?

A birdhouse. Spray it white and sprinkle with glitter, it’s an instant holiday centerpiece. Imaginative and budget-friendly.

Your wallet will love you almost as much as your friends and family will, for your thoughtfulness and imagination, when you shop resale, shop local, shop earth-friendly.

The birdhouse photo’s from A Stroll thru Life.

What a difference a few generations make!

Be thankful that you won’t be getting THIS for Christmas!

The Perfect Hostess Gift this Holiday Season

Whether or not you do the hostess-gift thing throughout the year (and if you’re coming to my house, why yes thank you), the holidays just seem to call for a little something.

Here’s how to make a little something into a bigger one:

Bring something yummie to eat on a dish picked out especially for your hostess.

First, choose one (or more) of the recipes from The Picker Who Perished, a TGtbT Consignment Shop Mystery. The recipes are here.

Then, with all the time you’ve saved by using one of Wendy Sam’s simple recipes, hustle over to your favorite consignment, resale, or thrift shop, and pick up a serving plate. It might be holiday-themed, or it might complement your hostess’s decor, or it might be a giggle (“Razorbacks” plate, anyone?)

That way, once the goodies have all been nibbled, the hostess gets to keep… or re-gift… the platter.

The Arkansas plate was one of Style Gallery’s offerings on Etsy.

The best gift you can give: Financial Freedom

National average credit card debt per household is $15,799. (Source: Federal Reserve’s report on consumer credit, July 2011)

Scary? You betcha. That quote’s just part of some eye-opening information. It’s hard to imagine that a family could have, in addition to mortgage, car loan or lease, student loans and all the rest, almost $16,000 debt on plastic.

Imagine the

Gift-wrap ideas for the holidays

The best gift wrap of all, for the holiday season is.. none.

Now, that’s not Scrooge talking. The point is, many tons of wrapping paper are manufactured, then trashed every year after just a few days or hours of use. Think of the trees cut down, the chemical dyes flowing into streams, the transportation costs of all that paper, which is headed for the landfill before the

Are ‘tweens too cool to recycle? Not with this idea!

What’s that you say? Your ‘tweens are a bit too old to make that gift wrap so beloved of grandparents, the “hand prints on paper bags” idea? They wouldn’t be caught dead doing things with tempera paint and grocery sacks? Well here’s something I (almost) guarantee a bunch of ‘tweens will enjoy:

Resale makes my heart RACE!

Resale, thrift, and consignment shops are my retail suppliers of choice. I would no sooner go first to a “real” store before checking out the secondhand possibilities, than I would rip up 20-dollar bills.

And not really only for budgetary reasons. Sure, a major perk of latching onto

Non-cook on your gift list? Everyone eats…

Just add water… the sweetest words any non-cook could hear. When you have some non-cooks on your gift list, how about something that will be truly welcome in their kitchen.

Home-concocted food mixes range from

Deck the Halls, Nostalgia-wise

My favorite treasure to hunt for, year-round, in resale shops is vintage decorations.

There’s so much you can do with them, and not just at the holidays.

A village of tiny buildings, originally nestled in cotton snow under the tree now