Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Special Book for Chrismas Gift: The Christmas Sweater (Kindle Edition)

Christmas, Gift, Book

Share your happiness of the Christmas with this gift. Feel the joy and spirit of the Christmas.

From Publishers Weekly
In Beck's debut novel, the conservative radio and TV host (An Inconvenient Book) makes a weak attempt at a holiday classic in the vein of It's a Wonderful Life. Despite his single mother's financial hardships, 12-year-old Eddie is certain this Christmas he will receive his much-desired Huffy bike. To his dismay, what he finds under the tree is "a stupid, handmade, ugly sweater" that his mother carefully modeled after those she can't afford at Sears (one of four places she keeps part-time jobs). Eddie tosses the sweater and insults his mother before the two go visit his grandparents at their farmouse. On the drive home, though, Eddie's exhausted mother falls asleep at the wheel and crashes, dying instantly. Sent to live with his grandparents, an increasingly bitter and angry Eddie lashes out at his accommodating guardians, engages in typical teenage angst and grapples with belief in God. For all his focus on traditional family virtues like respect, love and forgiveness, Beck's lightweight parable cruises on predictability, repetition and sentimentality.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Special Book for Christmast Gift: Christmas Jars

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Christmas is a special moment. Share your happiness with this special book. Enjoy the story and your Christmas moment.

From Publishers Weekly
In a plot reminiscent of Penelope Stokes's The Blue Bottle Club and Angela Hunt's The Note, a journalist happens upon a human interest story that winds up teaching her lessons about love and forgiveness and renewing her own faith in human kindness. On Christmas Eve, twenty-something Hope Jensen is quietly grieving the recent loss of her adoptive mother when her apartment is robbed. The one bright spot in the midst of Hope's despair is a small jar full of money someone has anonymously left on her doorstep. Eager to learn the source of this unexpected generosity, Hope uses her newswoman instincts to find other recipients of "Christmas jars," digging until her search leads her to the family who first began the tradition of saving a year's worth of spare change to give to someone in need at the holiday. Wright commits some rookie mistakes in style and pacing; the novel veers heavily toward melodrama at some junctures, and he tends to show us and tell us about his characters. Still, the heart of this novella is its transformative message about the power of giving, a compelling theme that calls to mind books like Pay It Forward and The Kingdom Assignment.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

The Ultimate Gift (2007)

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The Ultimate Gift is a tale of one man's tumultuous journey toward personal growth and fulfillment. Surrounded in life, and death, by avaricious family members fueled by a sense of entitlement, billionaire Red Stevens (James Garner) wants to bequeath at least one member of his extended family "the ultimate gift": something he perceives as immensely more valuable than material wealth. Red's arrogant grandson Jason (Drew Fuller) holds a deep-seated hatred for his newly-deceased grandfather, so he's surprised to learn from his grandfather's friend and lawyer Mr. Hamilton (Bill Cobbs) and assistant Miss Hastings (Lee Meriwether) that he's been mentioned in his late grandfather's will. Far from a straightforward gift of cash, land, or stock, Red's bequest comes in the form of a series of mysterious recorded instructions, the first of which requires Jason to hop on a plane for Texas the very next morning without a hint of the trip's purpose or the nature of the gift that awaits him. Dropped into a life of hard physical labor on a ranch in the middle of nowhere, Jason's bad-tempered fury eventually turns to resignation and he finds himself engaged in, and even taking pride in, the first real manual labor he's ever done in his life. Unbeknownst to him, his journey toward claiming the ultimate gift has only just begun. When he returns from Texas, Jason finds his home cleared out, his car confiscated, and instructions to produce one true friend. While Jason is reduced to sleeping in the park, a young child name Emily (Abigail Breslin) and her mother Alexia (Ali Hillis) make his acquaintance and lead him to re-examine his personal prejudices and perceptions of what's truly important in life. Jason's journey of self-discovery continues throughout a series of other trying experiences and, in the end, Grandpa Red's "ultimate gift" of life lessons profoundly and permanently improves the quality of Jason's life. What's more, Jason's new perspective of his place in society has a very positive affect on the larger community. This very powerful film is funny, heartbreaking, and intensely thought-provoking. --Tami Horiuchi

The Ultimate Gift (The Ultimate Series #1)

Christmas, Gift

What would you do to inherit a million dollars? Would you be willing to change your life? Jason Stevens is about to find out in Jim Stovall's The Ultimate Gift. Red Stevens has died, and the older members of his family receive their millions with greedy anticipation. But a different fate awaits young Jason, whom Stevens, his great-uncle, believes may be the last vestige of hope in the family. "Although to date your life seems to be a sorry excuse for anything I would call promising, there does seem to be a spark of something in you that I hope we can fan into a flame. For that reason, I am not making you an instant millionaire." What Stevens does give Jason leads to The Ultimate Gift. Young and old will take this timeless tale to heart.

Numi's Bouquet Bamboo Gift Set with Clear Teapot and Nine Flowering Teas

Christmas, Gift

Packaged in an exotic hand-made dark mahogany bamboo case, this Flowering Gift Set holds a bin of Numi's Bouquet Flowering Tea that is filled with bouquets of tea leaves and Numi's Teahouse glass teapot (420 ml.) through which to observe the blooming tea petals. A simple luxury that heightens the tea experience and makes for a singular conversation piece, this reusable case will have a long-lasting impression on a friend or loved one NOTE: The included teapot does not come with a strainer

Friday, November 14, 2008

Special Gift for Christmas: White Necklace Gift Box with Blue Satin Bow - Very Nice

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See how this beautiful Necklace rests inside this high fashion gift box. The box is high quality, and the jewelry is presented beautifully inside it. It really makes an impression. The first time they see your gift, it will have a wonderful impact. This high quality Gift Box offers that ever-important first impression, which is only backed up by our second-to-none quality jewelry at our unbelievable prices. No regrets.

Special Gift for Christmas: Burt's Bees Bundle of Joy Gift Basket

Christmas, Gift

Burt's Bees Bundle of Joy Gift Basket contains all the essentials to pamper a baby. The set contains Baby Bee Apricot Oil- 1 oz., Baby Bee Buttermilk Lotion- 7 fl. oz, Baby Bee Diaper Ointment- 2 oz., Baby Bee Dusting Powder .14 oz., Baby Bee Shampoo & Wash (Tear Free)- 8 fl. oz, shower cap and baby come. Products are not tested on animals.

"LOVE AND HUGS" SALT and PEPPER SHAKER SET

Christmas, Gift

This product is a unique gift for your Christmas.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Special Gift for Christmas, DVD Movie: Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (50th Birthday Deluxe Remastered Edition) (1966)

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Every who down in Who-ville likes Christmas a lot, but the Grinch who lived just north of Who-ville did NOT! So the cuddly as a cactus Grinch (with termites in his smile and garlic in his soul) tries to wipe out Christmas for the cheerful Who-villains, only to discover: maybe Christmas, he thought doesn't come from as store. Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more! Magnificently narrated by Boris Karloff and animated by cartoon legend Chuck Jones, it's an award-winning Who-roast-beast-feast of a holiday classic!

mazon.com essential video
Accept no substitutes. The 1966 television adaptation of Dr. Seuss' timeless book How the Grinch Stole Christmas!--about an anti-Santa who tries to heist the holiday only to learn a powerful lesson--is a classic in its own right, and looking better than ever in its 50th Birthday Deluxe Edition. (For those doing the math, the 50 years is counting from the book's 1957 publishing date rather than the show's broadcast date.) The most significant improvement is in the digital transfer, cleaning up fuzz and specks and restoring the proper colors to the program. While the awful earlier DVDs showed the Grinch in a mustard-yellow color, this edition restores his proper green gleam. Special features are mostly ported over from the previous DVD--the Horton Hears a Who program, a featurette on the songs, Phil Hartman's special edition version, pencil tests, etc. minus the commentary track--but there is a new 15-minute featurette, "Dr. Seuss and the Grinch: From Whoville to Hollywood." While it starts out as a fluff piece aimed at the younger set (interviews with kids, some rapping), it does provide some interesting information, including interviews with the widows of Theodore Geisel and Chuck Jones and clips of Geisel and Jones' Private Snafu. (No mention of Jim Carrey, however.) --David Horiuchi

Special Gift for Christmas, DVD Movie: It's a Wonderful Life (60th Anniversary Edition) (1947)

Christmas, Gift, DVD, Movie

George Bailey has so many problems he is thinking about ending it all – and it’s Christmas! As the angels discuss George, we see his life in flashback. As George is about to jump from a bridge, he ends up rescuing his guardian angel, Clarence. Clarence then shows George what his town would have looked like if it hadn’t been for all of his good deeds over the years. Will Clarence be able to convince George to return to his family and forget suicide?

Amazon.com essential video
Now perhaps the most beloved American film, It's a Wonderful Life was largely forgotten for years, due to a copyright quirk. Only in the late 1970s did it find its audience through repeated TV showings. Frank Capra's masterwork deserves its status as a feel-good communal event, but it is also one of the most fascinating films in the American cinema, a multilayered work of Dickensian density. George Bailey (played superbly by James Stewart) grows up in the small town of Bedford Falls, dreaming dreams of adventure and travel, but circumstances conspire to keep him enslaved to his home turf. Frustrated by his life, and haunted by an impending scandal, George prepares to commit suicide on Christmas Eve. A heavenly messenger (Henry Travers) arrives to show him a vision: what the world would have been like if George had never been born. The sequence is a vivid depiction of the American Dream gone bad, and probably the wildest thing Capra ever shot (the director's optimistic vision may have darkened during his experiences making military films in World War II). Capra's triumph is to acknowledge the difficulties and disappointments of life, while affirming--in the teary-eyed final reel--his cherished values of friendship and individual achievement. It's a Wonderful Life was not a big hit on its initial release, and it won no Oscars (Capra and Stewart were nominated); but it continues to weave a special magic. --Robert Horton

Special Gift for Christmas, DVD Movie: Miracle on 34th Street (Special Edition) (1947)

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Six year old Susan has doubts childhood's most enduring miracle Santa Clause. Her mother told her the "secret" about Santa a long time ago, so Susan doesn't expect to receive the most important gifts on her Christmas list. But after meeting a special departement stare Santa who's convinced he's the real thing, Susan is given the most precious gift of all - something to believe in.

Amazon.com
The original 1947 version of this Valentine Davies story follows the misadventures of Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) as he gets a job playing Santa Claus at Macy's department store in New York City. Natalie Wood is the little girl who tells him she doesn't believe in Santa, and Maureen O'Hara and John Payne are the couple who help Kris through a trial in which he must prove he's the jolly fellow from the North Pole. A sweet movie and perennial Christmas favorite, this is one of those movies that gets under your skin and must be revisited every so often. --Tom Keogh

Special Gift for Christmas, DVD Movie: The House Without a Christmas Tree (1972)

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After a mother dies, her family appears destined to spend the rest of its days picking up the pieces. In 1940's Nebraska, a sweet and intelligent 10-year-old girl raises the ire of her bitter widower father, who has never forgotten that his wife died while giving birth to their daughter. To illustrate for the girl that life does not come easy, the father bars the family, which also includes his mother, from having a traditional Christmas tree. This yuletide, though, has a happy surprise for this home so desperately in need of holiday cheer.

Amazon.com
The loss of a loved one is never easy and memories often make the holiday season especially difficult. Addie (Lisa Lucas) lost her mother when she was very young and, while she sometimes yearns for her mother, she is a happy well-adjusted ten-year old who wants nothing more than to have a Christmas tree in the living room. Addie's father (Jason Robards) absolutely refuses to have a Christmas tree in the house, but offers no explanation for his stubborn resolve which leads Addie to question his motives and his love for her. It falls to Addie's Grandmother (Mildred Natwick) to explain that her father is still immersed in grief over the loss of his wife and that the memories of Christmases past are simply too painful for him to endure. When Addie wins a tree at school, her father is enraged by both the presence of the tree in his home and the idea of his family accepting charity. Only by opening a line of communication and sharing their feelings and memories with one another can Addie and her father reconcile their differences and begin to understand one another. Set in 1964, this 1972 made-for-television special feels like a stage play with sets and scenery that evoke the essence of an age-gone-by. The message, of course, is timeless. (Ages 5 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

Special Gift for Christmas, Audio CD by Diana Krall: Diana Krall Christmas Songs

Christmas, Gift, Audio CD, Diana Krall

Amazon.com
As the song goes, "Merry Christmas" has already "been said many times, many ways." Diana Krall's Christmas Songs is a worthy--though not particularly unique--addition to the holiday catalog. On it, she excels with an approach mastered long ago: elegant delivery that gives extra polish to a very familiar lineup. Some might find her style frosty at times, but that will come as a relief to those who want their carolers to cut through some of the holiday treacle and create a festive, yet grown-up vibe. And Krall does show off her playful side with little, personal touches. In "Winter Wonderland" she promises to "frolic and play the Canadian way," which should draw smiles from her native land. (That'll mean toasting the holiday with Molson, eh?) Elsewhere, she ends "Jingle Bells" with the girlishly giddy statement, "I'm just crazy about horses." Well…can't argue with that. --Leah Weathersby

Special Gift for Christmas, Audio CD by Michael Buble: Let It Snow [EP]

Christmas, Gift, Audio CD, Michael Buble

This audio CD is a special gift for Christmas. Make your Christmas more special with this gift.

Track Listings
1. Let It Snow
2. The Christmas Song
3. Grown-Up Christmas
4. I'll Be Home For Christmas
5. White Christmas
6. Let It Snow (Live)

Special Gift for Christmas, Audio CD by Sarah McLachlan: Wintersong

Christmas, Gift, Audio CD, Sarah McLachlan

Amazon.com
An album like this could cement Sarah McLachlan as a middle-of-the-road crooner ready for the Andy Williams Christmas Show, but there's more beneath the surface of Wintersong than just Christmas chestnuts, over-roasting on an open fire. Longtime McLachlan producer Pierre Marchand blurs the borders with ambient sound effects, distorted guitars, and subtle echoes. He adds a Mark Isham-esque muted trumpet solo emerging out of reverse echoes on "I'll Be Home for Christmas" as if viewing the song through a distorted mirror. Violins that sound like they're being blown through a Leslie speaker combine unpredictably with a banjo on "O Little Town of Bethlehem." And on the seventh song, McLachlan finally kicks the album into another gear, turning "The First Noël" into a storming entreaty backed by tribal drums and surging low strings. Her voice is like the serene angel amidst the raging storm. I wish McLachlan had taken more chances like this, instead of the subtle framing she employs around melodies that remain true to form. Surprisingly, the more contemporary songs by John Lennon, Joni Mitchell, and Gordon Lightfoot are the least inventive. Her reading of Mitchell's incandescently wistful "River" is overly faithful to the original, and Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" sounds like karaoke, right down to the Spector-esque production and children's choir. But given that Lennon's prayer for peace still remains unanswered, that fidelity could be intentional. Regardless, this is familiar Christmas fare delivered in an intimate and ethereal fashion that will satisfy those who believe in the nostalgic spirit of the season. --John Diliberto

Special Gift for Christmas, Audio CD by Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas

Christmas, Gift, Audio CD, Mariah Carey

Amazon.com
She's been hailed for her multi-octave vocal range--a tool that sometimes detracts from her pop recordings, but actually works quite beautifully in the context of this charming holiday collection. Fans will surely approve of Carey's renditions of slinky secular songs like "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)" and a nicely subdued "All I Want for Christmas Is You." But where she really surprises is in her unadorned delivery of a passel of traditional carols, highlighted by "Silent Night" (which she sings quietly, avoiding the temptation to wail those high notes) and "Jesus, Oh What a Wonderful Child." A must for diehards, and a pleasant surprise for the unconverted. --David Sprague

Track Listings
1. Silent Night - Mariah Carey, Gruber, Franz
2. All I Want for Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey, Afanasieff, Walter
3. O Holy Night - Mariah Carey, Adam, Adolphe
4. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Mariah Carey, Barry, Jeff
5. Miss You Most (At Christmas Time) - Mariah Carey, Afanasieff, Walter
6. Joy to the World - Mariah Carey, Mason, Lowell
7. Jesus Born on This Day - Mariah Carey, Afanasieff, Walter
8. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town - Mariah Carey, Coots, J. Fred
9. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing/Gloria (In Excelsis Deo) - Mariah Carey, Traditional
10. Jesus, Oh What a Wonderful Child - Mariah Carey, Traditional

Special Gift for Christmas, Audio CD: James Taylor at Christmas

Christmas, Gift, Audio CD

Amazon.com
Looking for a smart, never-out-of-style singer who turns in a perfectly solid collection of Christmas songs, including a few surprises? J.T. is your man on James Taylor at Christmas, which is nicely balanced between pop and jazz selections, with more stately hymn-like fare and balladry. Always fine in his charmingly understated voice, Taylor and company try out the old gospel standard "Go Tell It on the Mountain" and the memorable "Some Children See Him." He smoothly cuts through "Winter Wonderland" and "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" with a bit of jazz flavor, and reprises Joni Mitchell's increasingly popular Christmas song (even though it's about getting away from the holiday), "River." One of the album's most satisfying delights is Taylor's funky version of "Jingle Bells," sung in a kind of barroom stomp with the most intriguing phrasing since Barbra Streisand sang it in the '60s. Soulful and bright and moody as well (when Taylor sings "In the Bleak Midwinter," you believe it's indeed rough), there's barely a clinker here. -- Martin Keller

Special Gift for Christmas, Audio CD: Now That's What I Call Christmas!

Christmas, Gift, Audio CD

Amazon.com
The title doesn't lie, even if it does sounds like a hyperbolic pitch from an old late-night cable TV ad. With 36 tracks of various genres spread over two discs, Now That's What I Call Christmas might be the best, most eclectic "value-plus" holiday record ever released, assuming your tastes embrace crooners such as Cole, Crosby, and Como, plus contemporary boy bands such as Boyz II Men, as well as the ubiquitous Britney Spears.

In between there are the sumptuous classics by Bobby Helms, Brenda Lee, the Beach Boys, Elvis, and Burl Ives on disc one, balanced on disc two by more recent standards, including Bruce Springsteen's live version of "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" and John and Yoko's "Happy Xmas (War is Over)." You're not obligated to like everything here, but that's why Santa invented the forward button on your CD player. --Martin Keller

Special Gift for Christmas, Audio CD: A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Original Sound Track Recording Of The CBS Television Special

Christmas, Gift, Audio CD

Amazon.com
The first time you listen to this disc you will undoubtedly be transported directly back to your childhood. Charles Schulz's Peanuts characters will go toe-tapping and funky-dancing through your mind's eye. Play it a few more times, though (ignoring the dialogue snippets, if you can), and you will begin to truly revel in Guaraldi's wonderful, humorous, deep piano playing. You'll hear why he's such an influence on new age ivory tickler George Winston, but you'll also realize that Winston's holiday music never quite sparkles with the underlying passion, and humor, that twinkles in these grooves. Buy it for the nostalgia--keep it because it will remain one of the most enchanting albums in your holiday collection. --Michael Ruby

Track Listings
1. O Tannenbaum - Vince Guaraldi, Traditional
2. What Child Is This? - Vince Guaraldi, Dix, William Chatte
3. My Little Drum
4. Linus and Lucy
5. Christmas Time Is Here
6. Christmas Time Is Here
7. Skating
8. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Vince Guaraldi, Mendelssohn, Felix
9. Christmas Is Coming
10. Für Elise - Vince Guaraldi, Beethoven, Ludwig v
11. The Christmas Song - Vince Guaraldi, Torme, Mel
12. Greensleeves - Vince Guaraldi, Traditional

Special Gift for Christmas, DVD Movie: Christmas Comes to Willow Creek (1987)

Christmas, Gift, DVD, Movie

Review by a customer:

Christmas is a time for miracles

Pete and Ray are brothers who are involved in a long standing feud which started when Ray married Pete's ex-girlfriend. Pete was already upset over his wife leaving and saw this as a double betrayal. Pete's son, Michael, was also hurt at his mother's exit and got into trouble with the police. Christmas provisions have to be delivered to Alaska which means Pete and Ray have to work together. On the way they have to stop to pick up Ray's estranged Wife who is pregnant. On the journey they have to learn to forgive each other because only by working together can they survive the journey. Tom Wopat and John Schneider are excellent as feuding brothers who love each other really. Kim Delaney is perfect as the alienated and pregnant wife. Zachary Ansley is great as the rebellious teenage son. Hoyt Axton is fantastic as their late father's business partner. If you like warm and fuzzy moments then you will love this film. A great film for all the family.