I think my favourite gift from him, however, was the live puppet show he presented for me on my birthday one year, using jokes from a joke book which the puppets told each other, using the back of the couch in the living room as a stage. The whole family was in stitches.

His two older brothers, both musicians, have given their dad and me CDs of their music for Christmas in years past. With modern technology, such recordings are quite easy to produce on home computers, and are certainly unique gifts. Our oldest daughter is an artist and sometimes designs a picture which she either paints by hand or prints using special computer transfer paper onto inexpensive T-shirts, shopping bags or other useable items for her siblings. Some years our youngest daughter is the only one with any spending money at Christmas–she babysits!–so she buys her gifts for giving. It’s OK either way with us.

Here are some recent interesting posts from the MoneyBlogNetwork and beyond: No Credit Needed is reviewing May. Get Rich Slowly gives advice for first-time homebuyers. Consumerism Commentary wants to teach children about investing. AllFinancialMatters …

What a cool program to make your own family coloring books. Is it a cd available to any like-minded consumer?

Playing games by the Christmas tree sounds like a lot of fun and a great memory. My son is also fond of games.

Great ideas!! Thanks.