We Care to Share Christmas Gift and Craft Show

In that last few years we have held events to collect non-perishable food items for Hamilton food share. This year we are also collecting unwrapped toys for the CHML toy drive. This year we are holding two events, a Christmas gift and craft show during the day and a Concert and Dance during the night. Please come out and join us Dec. 17, 2011 in Hamilton and help us raise lots of food and toys for girls and boys in need. Christmas is a time to give, and enjoy time with friends and family. The Craft show has wonderful gifts and crafts, and is a wonderful opportunity to find just the right thing for the people on your Christmas list, though you will be tempted to pick up a few things for yourself. The concert and dance is a great time waiting to happen, have a fun night out and support Hamilton Food Share and CHML toy drive.

We Care to Share Christmas Gift and Craft Show:

Door fee, we are collecting non-perishable food for Hamilton Food Share and unwrapped toys for CHML at the door.

Location: ACCA Center

754 Barton St. East, Hamilton

Doors are open from 10 am to 5 pm

The Christmas gift and craft show will officially end at 5 pm however there will be a music concert/show that evening. Tickets for We Care to Share Christmas concert available at the Christmas Gift and Craft Show.

Vendors with crafts and unique gift items

1st Mount Albion Pathfinders and Ranger - Hand knitted items, fleece scarves, chocolate Mint Cookies, Christmas Crafts, Kernels Popcorn, Gifts in Jars, soup and baking, handmade Christmas cards and more.

Mar-Lee Enterprises Inc - Tarot readings, hand crafted dowsing rods, pendulums, angels, jewellery, books and calendars in support of the Erland Lee (museum) home.

Annabobanners – Unique hand puppets – www.annabobanners.com

Shelly Marinic - Scentsy and Avon

Jodie Davis/Sharon Laidlaw - jewellery, Pandora inspired key chains and jewellery.

Sharon Tousignant - handcrafted wood gift items and works of art, crochet.

Kynk Naturals - fair trade organic Shea Butter & other handcrafted personal care products.

Allie Kat Originals - Michelle of Allie Kat Originals designs and crates beautiful hand-crafted bridal jewellery that can be customized to enhance any bridal gown or coordinate with any style and colour of the wedding party and theme of the wedding. Michelle also designs fun, fancy and fashionable everyday fashion jewellery, perfect for every occasion. Allie Kat Originals are high quality at a very affordable price.

PeachieBeads - PeaschieBeads is a green company with jewellery designed and created to giving new life to unwanted jewellery. Very unique jewellery.

Karen Cooke - giftware, toys, games and handcrafted items.

Meghan Candler - Crocheted hats ranging from size newborn to adult as well as crocheted photo props.

Trendy Treatz - cupcakes, chocolate suckers

Kathy Mascola – photography

1 of a kind design – Vinyl Wall Talks, Stick Families Figures, Children Animal Magnets – Portraits on canvas by Tim’s photography.

Delroyoshen – Jewellery

K. Bass - unique scarves and jewellery

The Art of Tea and Tasseomancy - Amy Taylor Tea Leaf Reader, Tea Workshop Facilitator

Laura Elliot - Beaded Jewellery


So Dainty Creations - Jewellery, hair bands

Karina  - Fair Trade Chocolate
Jennofer Bramogam - Lighted Glass blocks, hot chocolate cones, chocolate arrangements

Elaine McIvor- Perfumes, I pad, hand knitted items and gift baskets

And many more vendors with wonderful gift and crafts.

Kim Gustafson – One of a Kind Jewellery, candle holders, unique stone & rhinestone mirrors

Natural alpaca – Handcrafted soaps & Alpaca fiber products - socks, sweaters, teddy bears and more

Karen Smith – native crafts, baby swaddling, blankets, it works wraps

Lori-Lee - Steriling Silver jewellery and handcrafted beaded jewellery

Great birthday gifts for your girlfriend

What you get your girlfriend for her birthday is going to depend on how long you have been together, at what stage of the relationship you are in, and how well you know her. The hardest gift to figure out is always the first one.

Great birthday gifts for your girlfriend when you are at the very beginning of the relationship and don’t know each other that well yet.

1) A light card, maybe with some humour, with a lottery ticket and some thing saying you hope she is as lucky with the lottery ticket or scratchy as you feel you are because you are together.
2) Flowers, with a vase. Try to find out her favourite colour, or flower before hand. If you have no idea of what she likes go for a mix with a variety of colours and types of flowers or go with one rose.
3) A gift basket is an excellent way to go. What is good about a basket is that you can use whatever information you do know about her to make one just for her. It can have food, candies, flowers, what ever she has shown some interest in. One man I know gave his girlfriend of a few weeks a basket with seashells, a small bag of sand and a glass bowl shaped like a shell to display them in. She had let him know that she loved the beach; it was winter so this was his way of bringing the beach to her. If you have only been out a few times you should still have a good idea if she likes coffee or tea. If she likes coffee or tea have a basket with a coffee or tea mug/cup. A good blend of coffee or tea products, some biscuits/cookies and card. If you know some thing she likes add it to the basket.
4) A nice dinner out is a great idea, but make sure it is part of the gift and not all you do. People like having some thing to open.

Things not to buy at this stage as they are not appropriate or give the wrong message or impression:

1) Clothing, of any type, especially not lingerie
2) Bath products, or personal care products. It gives the wrong message.
3) Jewellery
4) Candles
5) Box of chocolates
6) Perfume
7) No gag gifts even if she has a sense of humour.

Great Birthday gifts once you have been going out for a bit and have a good idea of what her likes and dislikes are. This is the easiest stage because you know more abut each other; things are still new and fresh. What makes the difference in the gifts is if you are in a casual or serious relationship.

Casual Relationship Birthday gifts



1) A card that has a casual tone, but still says I care.
2) Jewellery is ok here especially if you get her birthstone, as long as you do not buy any rings as they can be seen as taking the relationship to the serious level. Do not buy any thing with a Celtic Claddagh, as it is a symbol of commitment.
3) Flowers are still great, but not as the only gift. Make sure they have some special meaning to your girlfriend.
4) Birthday dinner is a good idea. You may want to have some of her friends over for a home cooked meal if you are always going out, or you will want to have dinner out with her friends if you usually have stay at home dates.
5) Gift baskets are still wonderful here and now you have a better idea of what to put into them. They still show that you put some effort into the gift, but you can keep it with a casual tone. You can put all her favourite things into it, foods, candies, books, tickets to a game, theatre show, concert or what ever she likes.
6) Candles, candies, chocolates, perfume, gag gifts will work as at this point because you know for sure that your girlfriend likes them or not. Do not buy bath or personal care products as it still sends the wrong message.


Serious Relationship Birthday gifts



1) A card that has a hand written message by you about how you feel about her and the relationship. Make sure it is honest and heartfelt, not just what you think she wants to hear. It should have some mention of event that was meaningfull to the both of you.
2) Jewellery is great here. A promise ring or Celtic Claddagh shows how you feel and that you are serious and committed to her and the relationship.
3) Flowers as always a nice but never as the only gift or main gift.
4) Lingerie and other things that can be bought at a sex shop may be ok to buy at this point. But not as the main gift, and only if it is some thing your girlfriend has expressed interest in. Surprising her with this can backfire fast so this is some thing you need to tread carefully with and make sure it is some thing she is open to. Some people see lingerie as the guy is buying himself a gift and giving it to his girlfriend, in other words it is more for the guy.
5) Gift certificates for a spa are very popular. As long as it is not some thing she does all the time already. Always make sure they are for relaxing things like a massage or open for her to pick what she wants to use it for.
6) At this point it should be very easy to buy a gift because you know what she likes, her hobbies, what she collects, what she really needs. If your girlfriend was looking at a coat that she wanted but could not afford then this is a good gift. It shows that you care about her, pay attention and took the time to find what she needed and wanted. It is something just for her, not a generic gift like candles or a box of chocolates. Just make sure that what ever you get is special to her.
7) Gift certificates for any thing other then a spa you have to be careful about. You have to make sure it is for some thing that only she can pick out. To be honest, at this point you should have a good idea of what she likes, what she has, and what she wants. If you have to go with a gift certificate instead of taking the time to pick some thing (and keep the receipt just in case) then some thing is not right.

Great Birthday gifts for your girlfriend once you have been together for a while. This can be almost as hard as the first gift, even harder if you live together. You just don’t know what to get her any more. You have already done every thing; you need some thing new and fresh. Don’t give the same thing you did last year, or the year before. You need to show you care, make it romantic and special.



1) Engagement or promise ring. If you are in a long term committed relationship (together for many years already) the idea of getting married has probably come up. This is a good time to show your love and commitment to her. Presentation will be important so that you can show you care, make it romantic and special. Everything you do for her birthday will evolve around the presentation of the ring. Some people are reluctant to give an engagement ring as a gift because if the relationship breaks up the ring was a gift and does not need to be returned. If you are concerned about that then maybe you are not in as committed a relationship as you thought and should not commit to something you are not ready for. However if you expect to be together forever then go for it, get married or whatever ceremony (Hand fasting is a nice ceremony) you want to that shows your commitment to each other.
2) Birthday parties can be fun and special. If you are always doing things at home then have the party out, dinner at a restaurant, dancing after at a club and then friends go home and you end the night romantically with a nice hotel stay.
3) One man gave his girlfriend a book of 52 coupons that he made himself. They were for things like: a back rub, foot rub, pamper night where he would take care of dinner and clean up and she got to go soak in the tub with a book, a night out dancing (he did not like dancing), Breakfast in bed day where he made breakfast and cleaned up, pick the movie, control of the TV remote, no sports day, girls night out, pick the take out, pick the restaurant, etc. What he did was listen when she was upset about any thing, then he would write it down and then made a book of coupons out of things she said. When she said she was tired of making dinner all the time he made the “I will take care of dinner and clean up” coupon. When she was upset that he was spending too much time watching sports on TV he made the “no sports day” and “control of the TV remote” coupons. It was a very good way to show her he listened and cared about her and how she felt. She was to use a coupon a week, though she did use more the one some weeks and none at all on others. She said this was the best gift any one had ever given her.
4) A gift certificate for a spa is always good, as long as you don’t do it every year.
5) Find out a place she has always wanted to go to or is important to her. What ever it is will be up to her, and some things may be out of your price range but you can still make a gift out of it. If she has always wanted to go to some place like China, Australia, Paris or a theme park you can still give that to her even if you can not send her. You can have a theme birthday. For Paris you find a great French restaurant, a theatre show or movie based in Paris, with gifts that she could get in Paris; Perfumes, paintings, pictures of Paris, a tacky tourist shirt or little Eiffel tower. It can be a lot of fun and if you find enough places she would like to go to you will have some great ideas for other birthdays.
6) Find out some thing she has always wanted to do. Then find a way for her to do it. It may involve getting gift certificates for some thing she may have always wanted to do like sky diving, a balloon ride, become an author, or painter or any number of things. You may have to arrange for classes, and make sure she can do them. If she has children part of the gift should be childcare for when she is doing the balloon ride or taking a French, drawing, or creative writing class at night school. Please note that if it is dance lesions you will more then likely expected to participate.
7) Maid for the day, week, month or year what ever you can afford. It is really a day off, knowing that the work is being done and will not be still have to be done the next day. Make sure this is presented as giving her a day off and not in a way that can be seen that you think she is a poor housekeeper. Not many people are going to say no to someone else cleaning up for the day, especially if it means the two of you can have some special time together instead of cleaning.

You can always find the right gift and a way to make it special if you take the time to talk with your girlfriend and then put the time, and effort into it. Money will dictate what you can and cannot do. But it is more important to give some thing that has meaning to your girlfriend then how much it cost.

Written by: Lori-Lee Craig

Great birthday gifts for your boyfriend

So what do you give that special guy in your life for his birthday? If you have been with him for a while it should be a snap, though not always. But when you have just started dating, it is incredibly hard to know what to get. What you give is going to depend on how long you have been together and what stage of the relationship you are at. So here is a list of great birthdays gifts for your boyfriend to help out when you just don’t know what to get.

Early on in the relationship you may not know very much about him so that can make it hard to get the right thing. You want something neutral that does not say, “I love you” but “I like you a lot”. At the same time you don’t want to give some lame generic gift every one else gives. So what can you give when you have no idea about what he will like? It is not like you can grab some flowers or gift basket. It is a fine line between too much and lame.



1) A card that is nice but not sappy or sexual.
2) Dinner is good option. Keep in mind that some men are not comfortable with their girlfriend paying for dinner early on into the relationship. You may want to go with take out or home cooked meal or go out as a group where every one pays for his meal.
3) Most people like gadgets and there are some very cool ones out there that you can be pretty sure your boyfriend will like. Kinetic Motion toys, Newton's Cradle, also known as balance balls, Mini Digital Camera, Mini Pool Game or Mini Zen garden are just a few ideas under $20.00.
4) You must have some thing in common other wise you would not want to spend time together. Take what little you do know about him and get some thing that is related to that. If it is music getting a CD or DVD but keep the receipt in case he already has that one.

What you do not want to give:

1) Gag gifts
2) Clothing or personal care products (like a moustache trimmer) even if you think he needs it.
3) Anything sexual even if done with humour.
4) Alcoholic or alcohol related
5) Any thing to do with sports or tools unless you know he likes them.
6) Gift certificates

So you have been dating for a bit and have a very good idea of what he likes and dislikes. Theme gifts around his likes tend to go over well. Sports, Cars, bikes, trucks, trains, planes, wolves, comic books, a band or type of music, tools, any type of theme works.



1) A card with a theme around whatever theme he likes.
2) Two tickets to a sports event, though you may be expected to join him unless you can arrange for one of his friends to go with him. Now it could be a concert or an art show, or even a cooking show, what ever he likes.
3) A collectable, maybe signed such as a baseball, football, jersey from the sport or team he likes. One year I gave a rare collectable card (not a sport one but a game one). It was some thing my boyfriend had been looking for. It was only $50.00 but you would think it was made of gold the way he acted.
4) It is very easy to find all types of home and car accessories or memorabilia with any theme. There are mugs, plates, tablecloths, bedding, wall hangings, clothing, video games, movies, car seat covers and more. There is no end of what you can give, and you can find things to fit any budget. The good thing is men will usually say at some point, I want that. It makes it very easy.
5) One lady gave her boyfriend a night out with the boys. She told him to meet her after work at a bar/road house restaurant. When he got there she was waiting out side, dressed to the nines. She told him she already had a table. It was a booth full of his friends. She gave him a birthday card. It held a ticket to a sporting event that night. He had wanted to go but decided to spend his birthday with his girlfriend instead. All the guys had tickets. They had time to eat and then head off to the sporting event. She told him “Have a great time but don’t drink to much because your night ends with me!” Then left him to eat with his friends.

The real problem is that it gets old quick if you always give the “theme” gifts and to be blunt it is some thing any one can do, no real thought needed for the most part. Sure it is nice to be given some thing you like, but not if you know you’re going to get it or some thing like it every year. It is like giving some one a tie all the time. There is a point were it becomes too much, how many wolf cups or figures, towels, pictures do you need. Also there are just some people who just go out and buy what they want and you never know what they have or want. It is nice to have a gift that is unexpected and appreciated. So sure if there is a band he likes get him a CD or DVD but don’t make it the main gift. What you need to figure out is some thing that has special meaning to him. This involves listening and asking questions and is not easy. You have to be creative these days.



1) One lady bought her boyfriend a small chest freezer and then filled it with home cooked meals portioned into individual meals so all he had to do was use the microwave. He loved her cooking, could not cook himself. He used to spend all his money on take out, fast food or frozen dinners. As a bonus he saved money and actually lost some weight because he was eating good food.
2) One lady gave her boyfriend his own domain and web site so he could do a web site about his hobby. Then had a friend help him make it. It was some thing he had been talking about ever since she met him; he just never seemed to get around to doing it.
3) One ladies boyfriend loved dragons and wolves and had statues, figurines, stuffed toy wolves and dragons, pictures, cups with them on it. Just every thing you could think of with wolves and dragons. He never put thought into displaying them. They were all over the place, when he got a new dragon or wolf it went were ever it would fit. She bought him a lighted glass display cabinet/case for them. Most of them fit. I liked that solution, not to buy him yet another dragon or wolf but a way to store and display the things he loved.
4) The same lady came up with a great gift idea the next year. She gave him some bisque pieces of wolves and dragons. This is a ceramic piece that is unpainted. In the birthday card was the receipt for the 4 ceramic classes she had signed him up for. It was so he could make the dragon and wolves his. He painted the two pieces himself. They may not have been the best pieces in his collection but they were displayed as if they were. They meant more to him then any of the other ones that he had bought or was given to him.
5) There is always some new technology creating unusual gift ideas. The new digital picture key chain makes a great gift, especially if you download some pictures that have good memories for him.
6) Unusual gifts that are growing in popularity are Divination of the future like Tarot readings, Palm readings and physic readings. Well being gifts like Reiki are also growing in popularity. Though they are not usually the main gift.
7) There are a lot of spas that cater to men and ladies now. They have become very popular. Men love to be pampered too. It may not be some thing he would buy himself but not many people do not enjoy hand, foot and back treatments.
8) I do not recommend tattoos on your self as a birthday gift for your boyfriend. But if your boyfriend is into tattoos get him a gift certificate for one of the better tattoo parlours, to have one of his own choices done.
9) As fun as they can seem I also do not recommend risqué pictures, even professionally done ones. They always seem to end up in the wrong hands. However one lady gave her boyfriend a big box full of lingerie she had picked out for herself. He was a little confused and worried when he opened it. She explained that she knew threw conversations with him that he liked the idea of her in lingerie but had never been comfortable about buying her some or asking her to wear it. So she took the initiative and removed all the uncertainty. This way she knew it fit and that it was some thing she was comfortable wearing. The lingerie was not the gift though. The gift was that she would wear the lingerie at least once a month and he got to pick what it was she put on.
10) The best birthday gift for your boyfriend is to find out some thing that he has always wanted to do but has not done yet. Then find a way to give it to them. Things like lessons for scuba diving, racecar driving, photography or the camera to take great pictures. Participation theatre is a great way to be a CSI, Sherlock Holmes or a Klingon. There are lots of ways to create unusual gifts if you hear what your boyfriend talks about.

You must have some ideas of what he likes, what he does not like, and what he would love to be able to do. What would he like more, something you did for him or something you bought for him? It is a real question. Some people don’t like anything made, or only want a purchased item. Others love it when someone goes out of their way to make a moment special by what they do, not what they give. Only you know what your guy would like more. A simple gift from the heart can go a long way whether it is purchased, made or created. It is about knowing and understanding what a loved one likes. Talking with each other is the best way to learn what your boyfriend would like. And I don’t mean just ask him what he would like. Talk to him. Find out what he likes, what he wants out of life, what is missing in his life and then see what you can do. It could be as simple as finding him a copy of a movie he loves but does not have. Or tickets to a show, concert, or event that he might not be able to afford to go to, or wants to go but does not think you would like to go. What would make his birthday special to him?