December 6, 2007
Thank our troops, elf yourself, lunch at "21", and unique gift
ideas
If you’re like The Three Tomatoes you love the holidays, but
you sometimes wish they were in July. The end of the year is jammed with all kinds of year-end stuff to get done, and then on top of that we
throw in the holidays, with parties, and dinners, and shopping, and decorating, and card writing, and cookie making, and gift wrapping until
we’re so stressed out, we barely enjoy the season. Okay, we feel much better now that we’ve had this little breakdown.
And we also feel a little better because we’ve found some fun holiday ideas, good will to spread, and a few fun gift ideas that
cheered our spirits and hopefully will cheer yours too.
An easy way to thank our troops
A tomato friend told us about LetsSayThanks. Funded by Xerox, this web site gives you the opportunity to send a free printed postcard to U.S. military
stationed overseas to show your support and appreciation for their service to our country. Go there and send your thanks today. What a great idea.
You’ve been elfed
Chances are you’ve already been elfed, because this really fun online
greeting is spreading through cyberspace like wildfire. But if you haven’t seen it, or haven’t “elfed youself”, go the site (sponsored by Office Max). It features dancing elves and you can upload up to four photos so that your
head and others are the dancing elves, you can record a message, and “elf” all your friends. It so funny and guaranteed to
lift your spirits and anyone you send it to.
Have lunch at The 21 Club and help the Salvation
Army too
The 21 Club,
one our favorite of the old-time classic New York City restaurants, is celebrating it’s 69th year of hosting the Salvation Army Band during their December
fundraising drive. Have lunch at The 21 and enjoy the performance of 10 or so Salvation Army singers and
players, with whom diners sing along. Visit The
21 Club for details on the lunch performances and the great story of how this became a tradition. Eat, drink, and be merry for a good
cause.
Shop ‘til you drop and help your favorite charity
too
Several charity/shopping web sites have sprung up in recent years, such as IGive.com and GoodStores.com. Both of these sites have tons of participating retailers like Gap,
Barnes & Noble, Macys, Nordstrom, and hundreds of others that will give
a % of your purchase to your favorite charity. You can choose from a list of hundreds of charities or sign up your own favorite
charity. So start your shopping from one of these web sites and help your favorite organization too.
A few fun and unique gift ideas for everyone on your
list
Books for children. Check out this new book , When Santa Turned Green, that’s getting rave
reviews. Santa discovers a leak in his roof and soon learns that this little leak is connected to a far bigger problem — global
warming! One dollar from the sale of each book will be donated to charitable organizations dedicated to preserving and protecting the
environment.
Books for those who appreciate civility. Civility is "under assault," says Town & Country editor-in-chief Pamela Fiori, and in a collection of
the magazine's columns, Town &
Country Social Graces: Words of Wisdom on Civility in a Changing Society, she and 46 other writers share their views on manners.
Our favorite book of the year for anyone. If you
haven’t read Water for Elephants, go buy it right now. And
then buy it for everyone on your holiday list.
For the foodie. This very cool gift idea is called Tastebook and allows you to customize a cookbook based on your favorite
recipies--it will hold 100 recipes. You can select recipies from Bon Appetit, Gourmet, or Epicurious.com or you can
add your own. The book costs $34.95. What a great way to share and
hand down family and friends recipes.
For Women who aren't kids. Give your friends a subscription to The Three Tomatoes
weekly newsletter. Sign them up today.
It's fun and free!
Unique gift idea for the frequent flyer
We all hate flying these days, but now there’s a way to at least get
through security a whole lot faster. It’s a fast track security service called Clear® . Members are pre-screened and provided with a high-tech card which allows them to access
designated airport security fast lanes nationwide. Membership is $99 for a year, and they now have fast lanes in all the NYC major airports and
they’re expanding quickly. Now that’s a unique
gift.
Wow. We feel so much better now. We hope you do to. And maybe those little elfs will just get it all
done for us too.
'til next week,
The Three Tomatoes
Copyright©2007. The Three Tomatoes. All rights
reserved.
