Every Playboy Ever, On Your Computer

Talk about a "hard" drive...

The perfect Christmas gift for the porn aficionado in your life.  You can now purchase a collector's edition 250GB hard drive containing every issue of Playboy from December 1953 to December 2009. 


No, it's not just the fun parts.  You can still read every issue "for the articles" - exactly as they appeared in print.  It's available for PC or Mac, costs $300, and you can buy it here.

Christmas Ornaments - glass ornaments

Christmas Ornaments - glass ornaments

It's one of the most exciting times during the Christmas season when the Christmas tree is brought home and the decorations start. Glass Christmas ornaments are the ones that are almost always used, even if there are other types, like Victorian ones or crystal ones, which are also used to spruce up the look of the tree. Most families accumulate decorations over the years, and every year some old ones give way to new ones. The idea of decorating Christmas trees started in the early 1800s when fruits and nuts were used as decorations. These, along with the evergreen tree, supposedly reflected the belief that despite the freezing cold, normal life would return in spring.

It all started in Germany

Around the second half of the Nineteenth century, Germans became the first to manufacture ornaments and sell them solely to be used as Christmas decorations. It started at a place called Lauscha, which was, at that time, a hub for glass making. Looking at the possibility of a huge market, these glass manufacturers started making glass Christmas ornaments. The initial shapes were of saints, stars, famous people and animals. The concept picked up fast.
Glass ornaments became very common on Christmas trees. It then became a tradition to hide a green colored glass Christmas ornament, in the shape of a pickle, somewhere in the Christmas tree. Legend has it that it was done so that he most observant child, who found the pickle in the ornament laden Christmas tree, would be rewarded with additional gifts on Christmas day. There are other variations to the story as well. No one knows if these stories have any truth, but the practice of hiding a glass Christmas ornament in the shape of a green pickle continued.

Improved manufacturing process

By the twentieth century, Christmas had become immensely popular and other countries were also making glass ornaments. The number, complexity, variety, shape and size of glass ornaments expanded rapidly. These glass ornaments were handmade and retained pure craftsmanship. However, around 1940, the Corning Company in America started manufacturing glass ornaments with a modified light bulb producing machine. Because of the machine aided manufacturing process, they could produce relatively huge quantities of glass ornaments, compared to the few hundred that the traditional handmade process in Germany could produce. The manufacturing diminished during World War II from lack of raw material. However, after the war, production of glass Christmas decorations started exploding.

Today, glass Christmas ornaments of almost every possible size, shape and color are available in retail. The early days of handcrafted elegance are, of course, gone. It's replaced by machine manufactured ornaments in the millions. However, over the years, the manufacturing process has improved substantially and some of the glass ornaments produced today are amazingly intricate and colorful. You can now find glass ornaments in the shapes of angels, animals, birds, hearts, icicles, musical instruments, Santa Clause, stars and other household items as well.

The glass ornaments remain fairly fragile because of the very thin glass they are built with. Also, the layers of color on the inside and outside could start peeling off after a few years. At the same time, modern manufacturing processes and low cost manufacturing in countries like China has brought the prices down substantially. Simple glazed ball type ornaments are typically available for less than $3 for a box of 8. Ornaments with intricate shapes are more expensive.

Christmas Ornaments - glass ornaments













Christmas Ornaments - glass ornaments

Source: newageworkshop, wrapables, lib.store.yahoo.net, howehouse, albanianshopping, whiteelks, shopategypt, handblownglassworks

Homemade christmas gift ideas

Although the holidays have come and gone this year, I would like to post a blog on the beauty of homemade Christmas gifts. The other day, my little neighbors came over and gave me a Christmas wreath that they made for me in school and finished up at home. It was by far the best gift I had gotten this year because it was something that truly came from their hearts.

If you want to give something special and are looking for homemade Christmas gift ideas, just think about something that will brighten your gift recipient's day and set out to make it. It doesn't have to be anything fancy or overly ornate, just something to show that you care.

Homemade christmas gift ideas

homemade christmas gift ideas

Source: christmas-time, giftideas357, hotgiftideastips, dkimages

Christmas Background

Christmas Background

Christmas Background
Christmas Background
Christmas Background
Christmas Background
Christmas Background
Christmas Background
Christmas Background
Christmas Background
Christmas Background

Source: shutterstock, allthingschristmas, aquarealscreensaver, christmasprofile, myspaceholidaygraphics, costonstock, dreamstime

Christmas Games

Christmas Games

When planning Christmas games for young children, the options are endless. Make sure you provide room to run, do a little planning and the kids are sure to have a good time.

Let's start with a few relay race ideas. Begin with a candy cane relay.

Give each team 4 candy canes (and be sure to have a few more in case some break) and have the child who's running hold the candy canes between their fingers, with the crooked part of the cane hanging over their fingers. But tell them not to use their thumbs. The canes should be just carefully perched between their fingers.

The children run to their teammate, exchange the candy canes (again, only using fingers), and that teammate runs to the other end and does the same.

The game is over when only one team still has candy canes that haven't dropped on the floor.

Another fun Christmas game relay race that kids love is pass the ornament.

In this game, each team gets one ornament (a lightweight, basic thin glass one is fine) and a straw. They must blow through the straw to get the ornament down the line, then the next child blows on their straw to get the ornament back down the line.

Make sure each child has a fresh straw, as you don't want everyone to get sick.

This next simple relay game can be played with just about anything that signifies Christmas. You could have the children pass a Santa hat (perhaps requiring them to wear the hat as they run down the line) or have them wear Christmas socks that they then have to take off and get to the next child during the relay.

"Santa Says" is a fun Christmas game that all children will know how to play because it's just like "Simon Says".

Before playing it, confirm that each child is familiar with "Simon Says" and then create a series of orders from "Santa", such as "Santa says, touch your toes", "Santa says bend your knees" and so on.

Remember to sometimes leave the "Santa says" part off and trick the children. This is always a popular game!

Young children love the "freeze dance" which is often played in preschool and kindergarten. Only in this game, you create a Christmas freeze dance.

Here you play some Christmas music, let the children do a little dance, then when you turn the music off the children must "freeze."

If there will be several sit-down games played at the party, the "freeze dance" is a great way to let the children use up some energy before they have to sit down and focus on the other games.

Young children can play the "clue" Christmas game as long as the questions are kept to their knowledge of various things surrounding the holiday.

The game is played by giving a series of clues about something Christmas related. Keeps giving clues until someone shouts out the answer.

It might go something like this:

Answer: Santa's sleigh
Clue: I'm thinking of something big
Clue: It helps Santa on Christmas Eve
Clue: It holds a lot of presents
Clue: It's very fast

You keep giving clues until the children figure out the answer. Since these are young children, don't give clues that are too difficult or beyond their knowledge.

Kids love toss games, so why not create a snowball toss Christmas game with Frosty's belly?

Get or make a large cardboard cutout of Frosty the Snowman and cut a hole in his stomach. You can create snowballs out of several things.

For example, take plastic bags and put mini marshmallows inside, or use Styrofoam balls. If you use the latter, don't make the children throw the "snowballs" very far since the Styrofoam won't go that far.

Have the children stand a distance back from Frosty (you can determine this depending on the age of the children and space you have available) and have them toss the snowballs into Frosty's tummy.

The first one to get all 3 snowballs in the tummy wins a prize....

Source: allthingschristmas

The Dos and Don'ts of Regifting

How to give gifts with past lives — without getting caught

C'mon, stop being such a goody two-shoes. Everybody's doing it. Well, maybe not everyone, but according to a recent Harris Interactive survey, more than half of us admit to regifting — that is, passing off unwanted gifts as if they were being bestowed for the very first time. For years considered a clear social no-no, regifting is shedding its stigma. Here are some ‘rules of regifting’, and tips on the right way to regift from msnbc.com (by way of The Motley Fool).

The rules of regifting

There are plenty of obvious "tells" that a gift has been resurrected from one of your holidays past. To avoid them...

• Don't confuse "barely used" with "brand-spankin' new": If there are any signs of wear and tear — a broken seal, scratched part, pit stains — the item's a no-go for regifting.


• Do not pass off items that were clearly purchased for you: If it's monogrammed, sorry, you're stuck with it.


• Don't give away anything handmade by someone you know: Handmade items are off the list of possible regiftables for two reasons: First, it was likely given with much more sentimental intentions than, say, a coffee grinder. Second, such gifts tend to be extremely recognizable.


• Don't use different sentimental criteria for regifts: Re-circulating a problem gift just to get it out of your sight is bad form. Same goes for slapping a new bow on an old tchtotchke just to check someone's name off the holiday gift list.


• Don't give unused (or even "lightly loved") gift cards: A gift card with a $43.22 balance is an obvious regift.


• Don't declare "It's vintage!" when it's really just plain bedraggled: Just because it's old doesn't mean it's a cherished collectible.


• Don't regift an obvious giveaway: Skip the office- and trade-show schwag — you know, key chains, coffee mugs, and outerwear with some random company's logo emblazoned upon it. If it was free in the first place, it's worth even less in round two.


• Do not bestow a white elephant re-gift out of spite: Funny, sure. But that flicker of sheer horror on the recipient's face will come back to haunt you.

The right way to regift

Follow these regifting tips to come off like a sentimental big lug during the big reveal.

• Keep track of the flow chart of gifting: There's no bigger horror than returning a gift that was bestowed to you back to its original giver. Avoid this by keeping track of each item's past (formally, on a spreadsheet, if you want to be a regifting pro). In fact, regifting pros suggest that to play it safe, its best to repurpose in an entirely different social circle than the one from which original item was bestowed.


• Make sure all original packaging is intact: Does it pass the shrinkwrap test? If the item originally came hermetically sealed from the factory, it should move up the gift chain in the same condition.


• Triple-check for all telltale regifting signs: Gift tags stuck in the bottom of the box's folds, gift receipts, the whiff of someone else's perfume, an actual picture of someone you know in the frame (and not the standby camera-ready studio family shot) — remove all signs (dust for fingerprints if you must) that the gift has a past. Finally, before you present it, step back and re-evaluate the regift from the recipient's perspective to make sure it passes the test.


• Wrap it like it's new: Repurpose the gift, not the wrapping paper, bow, or heaven forfend, the card.


• Give with good intentions: The sentiment behind your regift should be the same as the thought behind any new gift: You're passing it along because you think the recipient will appreciate it.


• Give it away anyways: If you received something in the past that doesn't pass the regift test, you're not necessarily stuck with it forever. Pass it along without the guise of the "new gift" (minus wrapping paper, bow and card) and give the recipient an easy out (e.g. "I wore this once and was told it made my complexion come off as puce. If you like it — or know someone else who would — it's yours.").


• Finally, we all know that when it comes to gifts, that whole "it's the thought that counts" yarn really doesn't fly with anyone but your parents. For all others, it is all about the gift (though no one will cop to it, at least on the record). So put some thought into your gift — er, regift — and pat yourself on the back for finding it a permanent home.