I’m thrilled to have you be part of my growing community of self-empowered kindred spirits.

I hope you’re having a wonderful day today, surrounded by your loved ones, and getting the exact gifts you were hoping for.

And here are a few more:

If you haven’t gotten my edible christmas gifts ebook, just click on the graphic right below:

It may be a bit late for this year, but a lot of these recipes work year-round, so you may be able to use them for birthday presents, and maybe even presents to yourself.

I’d also like to point you to a whole bunch of gifts, most of them for marketers, but some of them also for people who have no interest in marketing whatsoever:

CLICK HERE for some COOL Reports!

And if you like hot chocolate with spices, click on the link to the right, way down there where it says “Categories.” If I remember correctly, there’s one for chocolate recipes.

There’s a link for hot chocolate with curry, and another one for hot chocolate with Chinese 5 spice.

I love both of them.

Of course, you can also create hot chocolate with chipotle and, well, pumpkin spice mix.

OR… you just add whatever you like.

And, by the way, I just use the regular instant hot chocolate mixes. Personally, I prefer the sugar free kind, but you can use the regular kind, or even the one with the marshmallows

And if you want to spike your hot chocolate, I recommend Rum

Speaking of rum and things… and wine…

I could not believe my eyes when I spied a bottle of Piesporter Michelsberg (2009 Riesling, Kabinett) at my local health food store.

Why am I so excited?

That’s what we often had at home in Germany when I grew up. Piesport is only about 10 miles or so (or less) from where I used to live when I grew up, and we would often drive over and look out over the Moselle valley, with a view very much like that on the label of that bottle of wine I just bought.

Here’s a photo I just found online, which features that part of the Moselle, though it’s not quite the same image as that on the bottle…

CLICK HERE for a some Moselle images

A couple of Octobers, I even went there for a week during fall vacation to pick grapes! Okay, not in Piesport, but in a small town a bit further down the Moselle called Kesten, which looked very similar.

And of course, I bought that lone yet familiar bottle of Riesling, and have it sitting right here on my table (almost with tears in my eyes, thinking back on the last time my (late) father and I went for a walk at that lookout. And the many times our whole family had enjoyed that same view. Sniff.

So I plan to keep the bottle around for a long time, and feel very grateful for having found it, and for having had that last outing with my Dad (and many others before then).

Christmas often does get me nostalgic, but it’s a bit weird to have it triggered by a bottle of wine (which will probably remain unopened for a while).

Meanwhile, I hope you’re making (or thinking back to) some wonderful memories of your own.

Once again, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays and a fabulous 2011!

Elisabeth

P.S.: If you want to make some family memories, you can still go to my somewhat neglected Christmas Present Ideas blog and check it out over there:

Family Holiday Memories

P.P.S.: Coming up — a series of blog posts about Aromatherapy…

You may think, snooze, what’s the big deal. But that’s because your parents took you to have your picture taken when you were a kid. Maybe year after year. Maybe they even had to bribe you to sit on Santa’s lap.

Not so in my case.

I grew up in Germany, and we didn’t have many Santas, if any. I remember them more from hear-say and Santa pictures than from actually encountering one.

And the Santa from Willow Lawn Mall near where I live is just too cool! And so, today, finally, I had my photo taken with him.

And here it is:

Santa’s helper has been offering to take my photo on Santa’s lap for years, but I thought it was silly, and now — I realize it was me who was being silly, especially when I discovered that I didn’t have to have my picture taken sitting on Santa’s lap. He was perfectly happy to get up for the photo shoot!

I think I will treasure that photo forever!

And so I’m posting it in a few places… I put it on Facebook, and I also have it on my Christmas Present Ideas Blog.

And now here…

It’s really a Christmas Present to myself. And it occurred to me how much it is a great example for a Christmas Portrait, period. I have never done that before, but this year, guess who’s all going to get a photo postcard or something from me?

So if you’re stuck for ideas… Try having your photo taken with Santa too, or…

And if you miss the kinds of Christmas traditions you enjoyed when you were a kid, or at least much younger, here’s a handy guide to making the holidays truly memorable once again, like in the old days…

Personally, as long as there’s Santa, I’m happy. Especially if he has presents too…
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What’s this doing on a self help blog? Easy. I think there’s something magical about Santa. And very comforting, especially in the kind of stressful lives we’re all living these days.

Not having grown up with Santa, I am coming to this kind of late, but this particular Santa, who returns to our Mall year after year, has made a believer out of me.

It feels like I’ve been touched by some kind of magic: having told Santa my wishes, I really expect to get what I’ve asked for.

Even if I end up having to by things myself (I don’t think Santa seriously fits through the chimney, and besides, I don’t have a fireplace.

Here’s the thing… whatever we believe, we get. Pretty much anyway. So why not believe good things. It’s the Law of Attraction, and it works with Santa too.

So here’s to you, Santa! I’ll stop by for another visit or three before the season is over.
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I’m sorry I goofed and got this here a bit late, but I was MEANING to post a Holiday post.

I’ve been on the phone with some of my friends and family who are all over the globe. Makes for lots of phone calls, but it’s also great to connect and stay in touch.

It used to be that it was actually difficult to get through around Christmas Even and Christmas Day, but apparently, the capacity has been expanded so that this is no longer an issue.

I hope you’ve been able to spend the day souurrounded by your loved ones and that Santa brought you everything you wanted.

And if he didn’t… It’s not too late to get some of those gifts for yourself

That’s what I’m going to do (and have done for years).

And well, if a new and improved life is on YOUR agenda, you’ll enjoy my little gift for you:

I’ll write more about it in another post, but in the meantime, why not get your FREE 5-part e-course on how to make 2010 a MUCH better year?

Meanwhile, I also hope you won’t let that holiday glow wear off too quickly! Let the tree lbrighten up your days a bit longer, and go check out the tacky light shows around town. That’s what I will do in any case.

And continue to have

Happy Holidays!

Read on for some last minute gifts for growing your business!

First of all, if you’ve been procrastinating, you should check out the gift idea in the P.S.

Otherwise (or in any case) read on because I’ve got a few cool recommendations… and all of them can be gotten instantly!

1) One of my favorite “gurus” Marlon has a special sale. And yes, I’ll earn a commission if you buy any of his products, but I also own 4 of the 7 options myself, and I have to tell you, they are worth WAY more than what I paid for, and I paid a lot more for them than you would have to if you get them right now, while they’re available at a big discount.

Christmas Special Offer for Marketing Success

2) If you prefer, you can check out this cool video to find out the same “guru’s” 3-step process for to build a list:

FREE How to Promote Video

3) My other favorite marketer friend Jason (and I own almost everything he ever created — he’s that good!) has another free (and very cool) video for you — check it out here:

Jason’s FREE video

4) And last but not least… My blogging course makes a pretty cool gift…

Get it here at a discount (which I have decided to keep for a little while longer, as a special Christmas gift to you:

My Blogging Course Special

Your gift recipient will be able to get started right away, and then will be able to join in with my next live class that I’ll start in January 2010!

Happy Holidays!

P.S.: And stay tuned for a couple of ridiculously easy truffle recipes that I’ll be posting here soon.

P.S.: If you or someone you need a gift for is challenged by procrastination, why not get the best course I’ve ever come across…

Time Mastery Course

And you know what? Sometimes that strategy might lead to the better gift too.

Yeah, I know, it’s not just the thought that counts, but the more thought you put into something, the more likely it is to result in something good.

I just came across a cool blog with a ton of great ideas. I’ve had some of my own, and I wrote about them on my Christmas Present Ideas Blog, but some of these were just terrific!

So here’s the link for that blog post:

63 gifts under 10 dollars

I bet you’ll feel as inspired as I did. I mean, a cheese and fruit basket? Sounds pretty fancy, doesn’t it? Yet if you put some thought into it, you can asssemble a nice one for less than 10 bucks. Heck, I’ll make one for myself

But there are tons of other ideas too… Not to mention free ones.

In fact, she lists several that could have come straight out of that ebook that is my own gift to you…

If you go to that Christmas Present ideas blog I just mentioned, you can sign up to get a FREE ebook with edible gifts recipes — and yes, those are essentially gifts in a jar, that you can assemble and give as a gift with instructions on how to prepare.

And of course, you can make some for yourself too.

There are other frugal ideas as well… So I’ll shut up.

One bonus tip… with those gift jar recipes, you can actually prepare them to suit your diabetic and celiac friends too — since you’ll have total control over the ingredients.

Everybody else — check this out:

I just expanded my FREE stress tips report and added a bunch of tips for how to reduce holiday stress. It’s now the expanded Special Holiday Edition!

And where can you get it?

Here:

Holiday Stress Tips Report

And that’s just for starters.

I’ve also added a ton of new stuff to my Christmas Present Ideas blog, and created two new Squidoo lenses on the subject too, one of them on Last Minute Gift ideas. And another one: Christmas Present Ideas. Yeah, more of them.

I guess it’s the season

After all, what to buy for whom is a great source of stress during the holiday season, so I figured I’d help you out.

And don’t forget — if you aren’t already on my email list, please click on the link above and get my Holiday Stress Tips Report It’s free!

Happy Holiday Season

Elisabeth

P.S.: A couple of years ago, I read about EggNogg’n tea (by Bigelow), but I couldn’t get my hands on a pack. But now I have. It’s great stuff! Yummm.

And Stash also has a great holiday tea with pumpkin and spice and stuff, and it’s even caffeine free!

A nice cup of tea can be very relaxing. And if you’ve found any special holiday teas you like, please share them here in the comments section .

Don’t know what to give everyone for Christmas?

Well… it won’t quite fit on my self-help blog (not all of it anyway), so I decided to set up a Christmas Present Ideas blog!

Stop by for a visit — so far it doesn’t have a whole lot yet — but I’ll be adding tons of Christmas Present Ideas!

Here’s one that might be perfect for YOU if you have a family and would LOVE to reclaim the magic of Christmas past. It’s not gone forever. You can get it back. Here’s how:

Just check it out here: Family Holiday Magic!

It even comes with bonuses you can download right away, plus I have a few extra bonuses up my sleeves that I’ll send you over time, along with more tips.

And what if you need to watch your budget? I’ve got TWO solutions for that!

One: Make more money One way to do that is by cleaning out your shelves and selling stuff, for example on Ebay and Amazon.com. Check out my FREE ebook on the question Ebay vs. Amazon.com Marketplace.

It comes with a special deal on my full ebook with a detailed step-by-step on how to get the most for your books, CDs, DVDs, and other stuff.

Two: Get gifts for less. I’ll also share some tips that are almost disgustingly thrifty One of them: Just go shopping in your own home. You may find the perfect gifts for some of your friends and family members right then and there…

More to come on my new seasonal holiday blog.

Here are some of my favorite holiday lights photos I’ve taken.  As you can see, I love those grand illuminations, and Lewis Ginter botanical Garden here in Richmond always does a fabulous job.

And here is another one:

And here are a couple of ginger bread houses, one of them with a train:

Oooh, and I LOVE those butterflies:

Happy Holidays!!!

I have a little present for you, tucked in somewhere in this article   And it will come in very handy, I promise!

I have also gathered up some great ideas for what to shop for to make your loved ones happy, sorted by categories:

Almost everybody loves dogs, and these gift ideas are sure to delight the Doglovers on your list.

And of course, we love cats too, so here are a few cool things for the Catlovers among your family and friends (and for you!)

Like to cook? Know someone who does? Get them some of these cool presents, which are all perfect for Cooking Fanatics!

And what would Christmas be like without somebody taking pictures. What if your camera went belly up? Why not give someone a new one just to make sure that SOMEONE has a great camera for those Kodak moments. So here are some excellent choices for the Photographers (Digital Cameras anyone?) on your list.

All this indoor stuff in winter can make you stir crazy. We’re all looking forward to the nice weather again (except for those who live in nice climates year round, or those who live down under and are celebrating Christmas on the beach. Either way, most of us love to garden, whether the weather is suitable for it right now or whether we have to wait a while until it gets warmer, and so here are a few ideas for the Gardeners on your list (or yourself).

Love Golf? Know someone who does? Your husband maybe? Or your uncle, brother, boss? Hey, your sister, aunt, mom, grandmother?  Here are some great gift ideas for Golfers!

Now for the hardest to please…NOT. You know what they want, but you don’t really want to go searching all over town for their most wanted stuff. Here’s everything right at your fingertips: The Hottest Toys for the Kiddies! Make them smile and jump up and down in delight come Christmas morning!

But Kids are not the only ones who love toys. We grown-ups like them too. It’s just that we have a different label for them, don’t we. So here are some ideas for Toys for the Grown-ups (also known as Gadgets).  Yup, you got it.  These are techie toys!

And with all the cookies and eggnog and New Year’s resolutions coming up, no wish list could be complete without the latest in weight loss aids. So throw in a little Weightloss Stuff just in case…

And you might need it if you overindulge in the kinds of things you find in my next gift idea, which is actually my gift for YOU:  A downloadable book with tons of great recipes for gifts you can eat. Just control-click on that link and enjoy!  And if you have people left on your lift after buying all those gadgets, you can always make them some edible gifts in jars.

Still have people on your list that are hard to please and edible gifts are not appropriate for? Here are a few more general ideas for fabulous and sure to please Christmas Presents.

Happy Holidays. And I sure hope that Santa is going to bring YOU what you really want!