Holiday Guide and Five Winners Book Giveaway!

Grab your favorite book this winter, a cup of hot cocoa, and a blanket to wrap up in.  This is my favorite thing to do when it gets cold outside.  I have a great Holiday Gift recommendation for the blanket.  Have you heard of Affirmawraps?  Well they are amazingly soft and warm fleece wraps with a message on each one.  Some of the messages are affirmations of Faith, Love, Hope and Strength. They come in beautifully vibrant colors.  There are also some beautiful baby blankets and motherhood blankets.  Great ideas for gifts for that special person in your life!  You can order Affirmawraps on their website www.affirmagy.com .  They have a some great Holiday specials going on including a four pack of the Limited Edition Affirmawraps, Joy, Compassion, Inspiration and Peace.

Okay fellow book lovers, I have the perfect gift idea for you!  I actually think you should buy one for yourself for Christmas, or put it on your wish list.  A Life Well Read is the perfect holiday gift for your family and friends, fellow book club members, students as well as being a great gift for birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions. With this practical and easy-to-use journaling aid for book aficionados, you can organize a book collection, add to a book wish list, start a book gift list for friends and keep track of loaned out books and book club events. This modern, mobile and personalized solution for organizing your favorite book content contains everything a book lover would want all in a beautiful keepsake box that fits right on your bookshelf!

You can order A Life Well Read on their website www.alifeunplugged.com.

Here is what’s inside a Life Well Read

• An elegant, premium-quality keepsake box in the shape of a book which fits easily on your bookshelf to keep your personalized impressions for years to come. Share them with family and friends anytime!

• 50 pre-printed note cards to use as bookmarks and also record your “a ha’s!” about your favorite books

• Record your notes and impressions, quotes and page references, your personal rating, where you got the book, book club notes, lending history by title and author.

• 5 pre-printed (and 7 blank) dividers to organize your note cards into a an evolving readers’ journal of your best book content

• (All) My Books, My Favorites, Books I Want, Books On Loan, Books To Give and three additional customizable blank categories for you to define for your own needs. Categorize by title, author and subject.

• 56 elegant bookplates to personalize your books in your own personal library.

• 24 color gift labels to add a personal touch to your gifts of books to friends and family and fellow book club members.

• 3 double-sided gift-giving reminder cards which help you track to who and when you gifted a book

• A classic, heavy weight ballpoint pen which fits neatly into your keepsake box so you are always prepared to capture a lifetime of reading!

As much as I love to hold that wonderful book in my hands as I read sometimes I am just too busy, so I love to listen to audio books. I especially like to listen when I am in the car. MacMillan Audio has a wonderful selection of audio books for you and your children. My youngest is easily distracted when I pop in a great children’s book in the car. Audio books make great gifts for anyone in the family. We have been listening to “The One and Only Shrek” which is read by my favorite Meryl Streep and I have been getting in the Christmas mood with Donna VanLieres Christmas Hope series. The website is very informative and easy to navigate.  You can listen to samples of the audio books and also get an in depth information on the book and even listen to interviews from the authors.  Each audio book page has a recommendation of other titles you might like. You can purchase these great audio books and others at Macmillan audio.

Bookcharming (don’t you love the name!) are darling custom made bookmarks that would make a unique Holiday gift for the bookworm in your life.  Or for yourself!  Also each bookcharm is made with love by a mom and her twin girls.  Another great mom idea!  Let’s support mom products!  You must go look at all the cute charms! There are charms for boys, girls,, the Holidays and much more! I’m going to buy several and keep one for myself!  Here is what she has to say from the website:

It is our pleasure to present to you what we believe to be the best book marks out there!  Our BookCharmers are made with 100% silk thread and hand-chosen beads.  In addition to our pre-made, ready-to-ship book markers, we can custom make a BookCharmer to meet your personal taste!

Being avid book readers, my twin daughters and I just love this style of book-marks, sometimes referred to as “book floss.”  They are light weight, decorative, and always keep your page.  Our family activity of crafting led us to the desire to make these available to other passionate readers, on-line.

Our mission and goal is to also provide a source for book accessories, you can buy bookcharms, chaincharms (for glasses) and other book accessories on their website at www.bookcharming.com

Hachette Book Group wants to send FIVE of my Lovely Readers a Holiday Set of Books! They include some great cookbooks and a fun collection of short stories by the always hilarious David Sedaris!

The Flavor Bible by Karen Page, Andrew Dornenburg
Katie Brown Celebrates by Katie Brown
I Like You by Amy Sedaris
Festivus by Allen Salkin
Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris

For One Entry: Go to any or all of the websites listed above and come back here and tell me which gift or gifts you would like to buy!

FOR SECOND ENTRY: STUMBLE, TWITTER OR SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER (NEW SUBSCRIBERS) AND LINK IT BACK HERE IN A SEPARATE ENTRY.  U.S and Canada only.  Last day to enter is November 30th. I will e-mail the FIVE lucky random winners the next day.  Good Luck Everyone!  Don’t forget to enter my other Holiday Giveaways and come back tomorrow for another one!