The Season of Giving

As we are rapidly approaching the Christmas season, where giving is better than receiving… We want to recruit you to our lending team, Team Chamberlain Group, on Kiva, a non-profit website that allows you to lend as little as $25 to a specific low-income entrepreneur in the developing world. You choose who to lend to – whether a baker in Afghanistan, a goat herder in Uganda, a farmer in Peru, a restaurateur in Cambodia, or a tailor in Iraq – and as they repay the loan, you get your money back.

If you join our lending team, we can work together to alleviate poverty. Once you’re a part of the team, you can choose to have a future loan on Kiva “count” towards our team’s impact. The loan is still yours, and repayments still come to you – but you can also choose to have the loan show up in our team’s collective portfolio, so our team’s overall impact will grow!

Check out the Team Chamberlain Group lending team, and learn more about lending teams on Kiva in general, by clicking here: JOIN THE KIVA CHAMBERLAIN TEAM

Thanks for your serious consideration,
Jared & Rebecca Chamberlain

Christmas Tip Part 3 of 3 – 101 Stocking Stuffer Ideas

Here we go….

1. Chocolate – any kind….bars, candy, cookies.
2. Mandarin oranges or exotic fruit such as star fruit
3. Lottery tickets
4. Lipstick – buy a wild shade of red
5. Cozy mittens or gloves
6. Personalized or Christmas print coffee mug or tea cup
7. Tire gauge
8. Picture frames – buy a plain wooden frame and wrap it with Christmas wrap, glue on Christmas ornaments, paint on holly leaves or apply Christmas stickers.
9. Silly Putty – fun for any age!
10. Baseball, golf ball, rubber ball….
11. Night light
12. Christmas ornament – home-made or store-bought
13. Unique kitchen gadget like an egg slicer, grapefruit spoon, garlic press, etc.
14. Deck of cards – search for one with unusual artwork
15. Hair accessories
16. A book or magazine
17. Magnifying glass
18. Gum or penny candy – buy the stuff that takes you back to when you were a kid
19. Potpourri – create your own easy sachet by placing potpourri in a lace handkerchief, gather the kerchief and tie with a silk ribbon
20. Novelty shoelaces
21. Stamp pad and stamps
22. Batteries
23. Decorative wine stopper
24. Journal or diary
25. Modeling clay
26. Touque or a scarf – hand-knit or purchase in a store – you can add your own personal touch to store bought by stitching on ribbon, bows, buttons or beads
27. Yo-yo
28. Home made cookies
29. Wallet or business card holder
30. Travel games
46. Coupons for fast food, or admission to museums or other attractions
32. Underwear or socks – be racy or pedestrian, your choice
33. Candles – and there are so many to choose from
34. Slinky
35. Popcorn seasoning or spices
36. Nail polish
37. Toothbrush
38. Airplane sized bottles of liquor
39. Packets of flavored hot chocolate or cider mix
40. Die cast metal car
41. Stationary or note cards
42. Bath beads, bubble bath or scented soap – make your own or go shopping
43. A copy of the gift recipient’s favorite recipe – you can add some of the ingredients, too
44. Stickers
45. Pencil or pen – try a pen with purple ink, a giant pencil, a fountain pen, a twig pencil, etc.
46. Desk or wall calendar
47. Keychain
48. Soap dish
49. The hottest hot sauce you can find
50. Seeds – try heirloom seeds or native wildflower seeds
51. Fishing lures
52. Glasses case
53. Coloring book
54. Coasters
55. Incense
56. Paper pouches in novelty shapes
57. Craft supplies – paints, brushes, wooden cut-outs, embroidery thread, beads, doll heads, kits, etc.
58. House plant tools or decorative watering can
59. Sports water bottle
60. Vase
61. Mouse pad
62. Exercise bands or hand weights
63. Snow globe
64. Cold mask (the kind you store in the fridge and wrap around your face to relieve aches and stuffiness)
65. Travel mug
66. Photos of the gift recipient as a child
67. Christmas theme costume jewelry
68. A tool – hammer, screw driver, pliers, etc.
69. Harmonica
70. Sewing, knitting, woodworking, needlework patterns
71. Poster
72. Kaleidoscope
73. Decorative bottle opener or cork screw
74. Silly straws
75. Flashlight
76. Address book
77. Cedar balls for keeping closets and drawers fresh
78. Blank diskettes, cassettes, or CD’s
79. Piggy bank
80. Kite
81. Jar of homemade jam or syrup or canned fruit
82. Decorative tea towels or hand towels
83. Hand held calculator
84. Jigsaw puzzle or other puzzle game
85. Tarot cards – they only work if you receive them as a gift!
86. Small wooden trinket box
87. Small stuffed toy
88. Napkin rings
89. Model airplane kit
90. Personal radio
91. Sidewalk chalk
92. Personalized birth chart or horoscope book
93. Thermal lunchbag
94. Sheet music
95. Film for the gift recipient’s camera
96. Gift certificate for fresh flowers
97. Paperweight
98. Fridge magnets
99. Travel maps
100. Long distance calling card
101. Bird Feeder

Have Fun…

Jared & Rebecca Chamberlain
www.ChamberlainGroup.ca
Email Us!

Article Source: www.Craft-Central-Station.com

Christmas Tip Part 2 of 3

Now that it is officially December 1, 2007… Christmas is almost really here now… Here’s the second tip for this holiday season!

Decorating Your Home…

Most people, whether family or visitors, probably spend more time together in the living and dining rooms of your home than any other room. With this in mind, make these rooms focal points for your Christmas decorations.

• Decorate your stairs’ railing
  Hanging swags or other greenery along your stairs’ railing adds a nice touch. Make this arrangement even more decorative by running white or colored lights through the greens.
• Displaying gifts and ornaments
  Ornaments and gifts don’t just belong on and under a tree. Wrap empty boxes with holiday wrapping and bows, and pile them on a table, in corners, or atop shelves. Ornaments can be used in displays, and smaller, attractively wrapped gifts with ornamental ribbons and bows can be placed anywhere that needs that “Martha Stewart” touch.
• Mistletoe
  For flirts and romantics, a sprig of mistletoe in a high-traffic area can keep things interesting.
• Candles
  Place candles on mantles for natural lighting, and turn down adjustable lights to provide more ambient lighting for the proper holiday mood.
  Experiment with candle placement. Clusters of candles on tabletops will draw the eye to a central location; distributing them over the length of a table draws the gaze across the room.
• Paintings/Mirrors
  Use garlands festooned with ribbons and bows to adorn paintings and mirrors.
• Fireplace
  Decorate the hearth with nature’s finest. Arrange boughs of spruce and pine with rosy apples, wine-red cranberries and holly for color.
• Mantle
  Adorn the mantel with groupings of short colorful candles and tall elegant ones surrounded by red berry clusters.
• Walls
  Hang delicate snowflakes from light fixtures and wall sconces. Hang walnut clusters from pretty bows and attach to boughs throughout the house.

Have a Merry Christmas, and may your home be filled with joy an laughter this season…

Regards,

Jared & Rebecca Chamberlain
www.ChamberlainGroup.ca
Email Us!

Article Source: www.celebrating-christmas.com

Christmas Tip Part 1 of 3

Here are some great tips and things to consider as the Christmas Season comes around the corner…

Perhaps you should consider a fake tree… (They are much safer and cleaner)

A Real Tree To Do List:

• A real tree should not lose green needles when you tap it on the ground.
• Cut 1 inch off the trunk to help absorb water.
• Leave the tree outside until ready to decorate.
• The stand should hold at least 1 gal. of water.
• A 6′ tree will use 1 gallon of water every two days.
• Mix a commercial preservative with the water.
• Check the water level every day.
• Secure the tree with wire to keep it from tipping.
• Keep tree away from floor heaters, fire places, or other heat sources.
• Use only UL-listed lights, and no more than 3 strands linked together.
• Use miniature lights–which have cool-burning bulbs.
• Turn off the Christmas lights when you sleep, or if you leave your home for very long.
• Never use candles, even on artificial trees.
• Clean the tree stand to improve the tree’s water intake, use one cap-ful of bleach to a cup of water.
• Dispose of the tree properly.

We purchased our first “fake” tree last year… when both of us grew up with a real tree… and I can honestly say that we will never go back. The ease of care and set up, out weighs the mess any day…

Have a great Holiday Season!

Jared & Rebecca Chamberlain
www.ChamberlainGroup.ca
Email Us!