Deck the Halls...or, more appropriately, "Deck this!"

Okay, I have been crazy...C R A Z Y at work and it has now calmed down, FINALLY. From Thanksgiving madness to my husband's aunt dying, to meetings with clients that are clearly the role model and inspiration for George Costanza's parents from Seinfeld, I need an Egg Nog if you know what I mean.

Anyhoo, let's get down to it. I. LOVE. CHRISTMAS. and that's really saying something for someone who is half Jewish. This year, since my husband's sister and her fiance are saving up for a blow out honeymoon and wedding, it was determined that the six of us (husband, his two sisters, me, the brother-in-law and the brother-in-law to be) are all going to do a swap. But here's the twist...under $25 and it has to be funny, unique, clever, useable (this one is hard) and pretty much better than anyone else's present. I added in the "better than anyone else's present" because...really...what's wrong with a little competition, even if it is in my own head?

Here are some of my ideas so far:


This is an emergency escape hood that protects you from smoke inhilation in the event of a fire. Even though the gifts are not supposed to be person specific, this would definitely be for my brother-in-law. They live in Baltimore, and ever since 9-11 he has been shoring up his emergency kits, survival bunkers, and any other "in case of terrorist attack" stuff that might save his family in the event of an all out nuclear winter. The guy seriously bought a 10 gallon bucket for his family to use as a bathroom. Believe me, you would be laughing your ass off at this thought if you knew my sister in law. Please see the previous post on my sisters-in-law and scroll down to the picture. Does she look like the type that would entertain going to the bathroom in a bucket no matter the circumstances? I think not. But I digress...the bottom line is that this special smoke/fire evacuation mask is right up my brother in law's alley.

I also found this:

These are slippers with little lights sticking out the toes. Because if you're honest with yourself, we have all been there before. It's the dead of night, and you hear soemthing downstairs...a burglar perhaps. Someone's got to go check it out. But it's dangerous and you don't want to alert the intruder that you're there. But you need to see where you're going god dammit. If only you had a pair of slippers that could discreetly illunimate upto 5 feet in front of you. Nevermind that eventually, you realize that it's just the neighbor's cat, and not an axe murderer...but still, it could happen. Best to be prepared. Just ask my brother-in-law.

Come to think of it, these slippers would likewise be perfect for him.

Clearly, I am in need of ideas, so I am reaching out to the internets...give me something people. Prove your worth!

Also, I will be decking the halls this weekend. I plan on going "Clark Griswold" on my house. You heard me right, I am going to bedazzle my home so that astronauts can see it from space. My husband doesn't know this yet, so I am going to state ahead of time that we will go from Decking the Halls to decking eachother inside of an hour...