Oh dear, Mimi. That's exactly why Kirk posted it over here first. A lot of people don't know about it. (I didn't for the longest time, but never asked!) Above the list of posts/Messages it says On-Topic Discussions [Switch to: Conversations] The conversations is a link "to the other side." I bookmark mine GJ1 and GJ2. Hope that helps, and hope to see you there. A lot of great, off topic discussions, prayer requests, help, etc. Just not the "junk" itself. Keeps this side cleaner for finding junk. Nancy

My personal favorites to give are good quality dish towels and/or a jar of a special local honey. Wine, too. To receive? I always appreciate fine quality dish towels, jars of specialized foods, flowers (mums work for me in the Fall only). A large bunch of sunflowers at this time of year is always nice. Wines. HH: Your recipe sounds wonderful! I've just added it to my personal cookbook and put fig balsamic on my shopping list. I make a very similar recipe except I use baby kale, quinoa and dried cherries with feta and a similar salad dressing. Mtn: thanks again for your gift suggestion last month for my cousin (the author). I had two old photos of our mutual grandparents copied and I framed them in lovely 4x6" silver frames for her. One was taken on their wedding day; the other is of our grandmother at her coming out. Perfect gifts for my cousin! Lynn

I've put some of my more "normal" unusual things on Craigslist and done well with them. Things that I make out of weird items and turn them into furniture, I sold a garden trellis made out of a headboard, etc. It just depends on what kinds of things you have! I owned a consignment shop for years, and while that is a great idea for selling things you don't want...it is kind of hard to get in the door selling things you want to make a profit on. Most consignment stores (at least in our area) have a 60/40 split. They keep 60% of the total sales price (minus tax, delivery, etc.) and you only get 40%, and THEY set the price, not you! I think you would be better off with some of the places that lindasewandsew listed above, depending on what you were trying to sell. Gift boutiques, for unusual items...plant nurseries would be great if you make garden accessories, I have sold handmade jewlery to a "higher-end" used clothing store that we have in town. They didn't charge me consignment rates, since they were different than the clothes the normally sell and they bought outright from me, I set my price, then let them charge what they wanted for them. It worked out really well. Street fairs and festivals work well, but you can lose money on those. I had a "craft fair business" that I ran for 2 years with a friend. We had shows that we did great (we paid on average between $125-$200 for a booth at the bigger shows - and we are in a small midwestern town, so I don't know how the rates compare) and we had shows were we lost alot of money. I remember a few years ago, we did an outdoor show, and it was miserable all weekend. Middle of August and it was 40 degrees and raining the whole time! Needless to say, we were miserable and no one showed up because of the weather, so we barely sold anything! We also did a Christmas show each year for 3 years and some years thing sold and some years they didn't. I specialize in country snowmen. The second year, I sold out all of my snowmen items (I had about 120 items) in the first 4 hours. (I literally had to go home and make snowmen all night, so I would have more the next morning). So, the next year, I was prepared and had 3 times as many, and barely sold any of them! So you just have to prepare yourself. If you do craft fairs, I suggest you hit all the craft fairs in the area for a few months before commiting to one. Talk to the crafters, find out how they are doing and if it is worth buying a booth locally. They are a close knit community and most of them have been doing it for years and know everybody in the local scene. They are usually happy to welcome a new crafter to the group, and they really will give you the scoop on which shows are better than others! If you know any store owners, in stores that you frequent...talk to them first. Most will be willing to help you out and give your stuff a try. If you don't know anyone, start frequenting some local shops and start talking to the owners/employees. Get to know them and find out how they get their things and if they'd be willing to give you a shot. More than likely, you'll be able to find an outlet to sell your goods! Sorry this got so long. I just wanted to share what knowlege I had after running the business' that I have run!

No, I don't buy myself a Christmas present. Which is not to say I don't buy something for myself or the house when I come across a great price while shopping holiday specials. I MAY buy myself a gift this week, but not to wrap and put under the tree. DH and I haven't exchanged gifts on Christmas for a number of years, focusing mostly on children in our lives and my mother then a couple of charities. But I lost an earring in July. My everyday pair that I could wear without removing for weeks at a time, often only taking them out for more special occasions or on my way to have my hair cut and colored (where I don't wear jewelry). They weren't exceptionally valuable, but little white gold hoops with small horizontal baguettes. Now I don't have hoops, I have hoop. Long time jeweler here is retiring first of the year and I don't know the young man who has bought his business. The jeweler has been generous with his trade ins, I may go see if he has what I need on the chance that policy will be changing when the store changes hands.