With only a few more days left until Christmas the last thing you want to be doing is running to the mall, sitting in traffic, and waiting in lines. If you’re looking for those last minute gifts for that co-worker you almost forgot, the party invites you just received, or for your Great Aunt Suzie that just called to say she was popping in for dinner on Christmas day, there’s still hope! Here are a couple quick, inexpensive, last minute gift ideas…

Food is always a favorite and the perfect thing to bring to the party you just got invited to for Saturday night. Try ordering some chocolate covered strawberries, cookies, pretzels or gift baskets from a trusted online site like Edible Arrangements. These delicious treats start at only $25 and can be picked up at the closest store or delivered in just a couple of days. www.ediblearrangements.com

A bottle of wine and a bow is always appreciated as a gift or a holiday party or event. Pick up a bottle of wine at the grocery store or local liquor store on your way to your event is quick and easy. Here’s a list of the top 10 most common wines at a great price www.foodandwine.com/articles/top-holiday-wine-picks

Personalize mugs, ornaments, photo books, and calendars are one of those quick gifts that seems like they took months to come up with. They can be easily created online and can be picked up at your local CVS, Walgreens, or Rite Aid. Just upload your favorite pictures and follow the step by step directions. In most cases you can pick up the next day or even sometimes the same day!

Hopefully these few tips will help make your holiday a little easier and less stressful. Have a safe and happy holiday season!

The Holidays are a wonderful time of year. We spend time traveling, visiting with family and friends. It’s the time of year to make our dogs wear silly Santa hats, antlers and bows. While our four legged family members should be included in all of the festivities, there are a few things to be aware of so that the holidays are fun and safe for everyone.

Here are a few tips to keep your pets safe during the holidays.

Food safety:

• Don’t give your dog scraps from the table or holiday buffet. Cookies and pies, macaroni salads and stuffing,
potato chips and fancy hors d’oeuvres, are inappropriate foods for dogs and may make them sick. Alcohol
and chocolate are toxic for dogs, even in small amounts. Keep unhealthy, sweet treats and seasonal
goodies out of reach. Keep an eye on the holiday table and secure leftovers and garbage to
prevent your dog from foraging among the holiday foods. Holly, mistletoe and poinsettia plants are also
poisonous to dogs.

Entertaining:

• If you host a party, remember that some guests may be uncomfortable around dogs. Your dog may, in turn,
be uncomfortable or frightened around a large group of unfamiliar people. You may want to confine him in a
crate or a room that will not be used by guests. Otherwise, keep him by your side, or with another family
member, to keep him from getting into trouble or underfoot.Remind guests not to feed your dog anything
from the table.

• If traveling, remember to bring his bed and favorite toys. Remember to give your dog plenty of exercise.
Don’t leave your dog outside in the cold for long periods of time. Wind chill makes days colder than actual
temperature readings. Be attentive to your dog’s body temperature, and limit its time outdoors. Remember
that dogs still need plenty of fresh water available even during winter time.

Decorating:

• Both live and artificial tree needles are sharp and indigestible. Keep your tree blocked off (with a playpen or
other “fence”) or in a room that is not accessible to your dog. Tinsel can be dangerous for dogs, it may
obstruct circulation and, if swallowed, block the intestines.

Do not put lights on the lower branches of your tree as they may get very hot and burn your dog.

• Watch out for electrical cords. Pets often try to chew them and get badly shocked or electrocuted so place
them out of reach. Avoid lass ornaments, which break easily and may cut a dog’s feet or mouth. Do not
use edible ornaments, or cranberry or popcorn strings.

Your dog may knock the tree over in an attempt to reach them. Keep other ornaments off the lower
branches; if your dog chews or eats an ornament, he can be made sick by the materials or paint. It is
safest to never leave your dog unattended in the room with tree.

ASPAC Poison Control Center:

• If you think that your pet has consumed something poisonous or dangerous don’t wait to call your vet or
local animal hospital. If you have general questions contact the ASPCA Poison control center at
888-426-4435 or visit http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/.

An odd name for a gift exchange game, the Yankee Swap supposedly derived its name from the Civil War days. It seems that the Yankees and the Confederates at some point swapped prisoners as a sort of game to lighten up the atmosphere, hence the name “Yankee Swap.” How the term was adopted to gift giving is up for speculation.

Here are some tips for Yankee Swap Etiquette…

1.Once you open a gift, you have to keep it where everyone can see it. No trying to hide that sweet snow cone maker under the table!

2.Once you touch a gift from the pile, that’s the one you get. No shaking and weighing the gifts… you’re not picking out a cantaloupe!

3.If you take too long to pick a gift, the group can elect to count down your time limit (which is up to the mob). If time runs out, you get the gift closest to you… and someone will probably throw it at you.

Happy Swapping, Everyone!

Dear Abby has an answer for why it makes sense to rent in her December 9, 2011 column:

DEAR ABBY: I am a divorced, childless, independent and financially secure woman. I live happily in my upscale apartment.
How do I respond to family members, co-workers and friends who constantly ask, “Why don’t you buy a house and quit throwing your money away paying rent?”

I don’t want to buy a house and be tied to a 30-year mortgage. I’m perfectly happy the way things are. What is a proper response to those questions? Saying, “I don’t want to” hasn’t been enough. — HAPPY RENTER IN HOUSTON

DEAR HAPPY RENTER: The responsibilities of home ownership aren’t for everyone, and many individuals have realized it as bills for plumbers, electricians, roofers, insurance and property taxes mounted up. You might mention that to the inquirers, although your response to your well-meaning friends, relatives and co-workers should have been sufficient. A way to change the subject would be to say, “Now, let’s talk about something else.”

Keeping your apartment warm and comfortable this winter doesn’t mean you have to spend more on your utility bills. Reducing your heating needs and controlling your thermostat temperature settings will keep costs down without sacrificing comfort! Heating your apartment will be your biggest energy cost during the winter. Paying attention to just a few details will help you manage your costs.

Here are some tips on how to keep the heat in…

– If you have storm windows, make sure they are completely closed.
– Install covers on window and through-the-wall air conditioners.
– If you have a fireplace, close the damper when you are not using it.
– Pull your shades or close your drapes at night.

How to be green in your apartment:

Everything has gone green these days and I’m hoping that this trend continues as we evolve toward environmentally conscious lifestyles. The great news about going “green” is that it’s so easy to make a few small changes to your personal habits that will have a huge impact on the environment. Apartment living is already a naturally green lifestyle; sharing space and common resources leaves a much smaller carbon footprint than if every person had their own single-family home. Apartment management companies have also made great strides in providing energy-efficient and earth-friendly communities. A great example of this is Princeton Properties’ new website dedicated to demonstrating how much electricity is actually being saved with their solar panels (check it out at http://princetonproperties.powerdash.com/home/). When I thought about making my apartment “greener,” I started with the obvious things like recycling and switching to energy-efficient bulbs. After a quick Google search, I turned up thousands of ways to go green.

Here are just a few simple ways to make your apartment a greener one:

Save Money & Energy:

Interesting Fact: Standby power in the average household consumes 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually. That’s enough energy to power an entire apartment for more than two months!

• Unplug the hidden energy eaters in your apartment: Look at TVs, VCRs, DVD players, cable TV boxes, computers and printers, microwave ovens, cell phone chargers, digital cameras, and anything else that is plugged in. Most electronic equipment, including anything that uses a remote control, is designed to consume energy when it is turned off; that “off” setting is actually a “standby” mode. Unplug everything that you can while it is not being used.

• Swap out incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescent bulbs. CFs use about 66% less energy and last up to 10 times longer.

• Turn down your thermostat by two degrees in the winter and up two degrees in the summer. You’ll save 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide this year!

• Use cold-water washing, which saves 80% on laundry energy.

• Only run full loads in the dishwasher and the laundry machine. You use the same amount of energy to power these machines if you have a 1/2 load or a full one- so wait a couple of days to make sure you have a full load.

• Be careful not to leave the water running when you brush your teeth or wash the dishes.

• Scrape – don’t rinse! When using a dishwasher, pre-rinsing is no longer necessary with today’s technology and detergents. You may be using more water to pre-rinse than the dishwasher uses for a full wash cycle.

• Use less and Recycle more: Fun Fact: Recycling just one aluminum can saves the amount of energy required to run a TV for three hours!

• Seek out your apartment community’s recycling facilities. Even if they aren’t within the apartment community, there will be facilities nearby.

• When you go out for coffee, bring a reusable, insulated mug.

• Many computers, monitors, cell phones and other electronics include toxic materials that should not sit in landfills. There are a ton of companies that will take these items off of your hands. Visit the Environmental Protection Agency (link: http://www.epa.gov/) to find local electronics recyclers.

• Stop getting junk mail – 100 million trees’ worth are sent out each year. Visit http://www.dmachoice.org/MPS/ to opt out of the Direct Marketing Association’s member mailings.

You have to love Suze Orman. She dispenses practical financial advice, often that you often don’t want to hear, but know you should take. Much in the way that your mother told you “eat your broccoli” Suze says “eliminate your credit card debt.” Hard to swallow, but you know she’s right. Aside from the way she addresses callers to her show as “Lovebug” she’s got a lot of good things to say.

We have an affinity for the rental lifestyle in our business, so I was glad to read Ms. Orman’s advice on for renting vs. buying on oprah.com:

4 Signs You Should Rent Instead of Buy a Home

Just because you can buy a home or condo doesn’t mean you should. Here are some instances in which renting makes more sense.

1. You have credit card debt or you have yet to save 10 to 20 percent for a down payment. I know FHA-insured loans allow down payments of just 3.5 percent. But I have a higher bar for you to clear: If you have credit card debt and haven’t saved for a sizable down payment, you are not yet ready to own.

2. You envision moving within five to seven years. When you buy a home, you owe the real estate agent nothing. When you sell, however, you pay the full agent’s fee, which is typically 6 percent. Add in the other costs of closing a sale and the cost of moving, and it’s very possible that leaving your home too soon could eat up close to 10 percent of its sale price. Here’s something else to consider: Depending on where you live, it could still be a year or two before home prices stabilize. And even once they rebound, it’s wise to anticipate average annual increases in line with or slightly ahead of the rate of inflation, or about 3 percent. So if you have to sell a home in fewer than five years or so, the cost of selling may exceed any potential price appreciation during the time you owned.

3. Your calculations show that the cost of renting is a better deal than the cost of buying. The New York Times has a terrific free online calculator that shows how many years you’d need to own before your home “pays off” relative to renting.

4. You don’t really want the responsibilities and risks associated with being a homeowner. There’s absolutely no rule that says you must own. Whatever feels right to you is the right move—as long as you can afford it.