BUY IT: Let’s face it. Real Christmas trees and real wreaths are a real pain. Sure, they look and smell heavenly. But the needles are a mess — and who wants to keep hauling out the vacuum cleaner? A handy little device, called the Christmas Tree Swiper Brush, restores some cheer to the situation. It’s a handheld cleaning tool that requires no electricity, no batteries. You simply swipe up the fallen needles (or crumbs or pet hair; the swiper works on these too), moving back and forth over the offenders. It works on all surfaces (carpeting and hard flooring) and is easy to slide open and empty. We tried it and give it a thumbs up.
$6.95. 800-423-5487. www.mcnaughtoninc.com
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— Karen Klages
BUY IT: Sitting in their Los Angeles studio, the folks who designed these happy snowflake garden stakes were thinking of two kinds of gardens: color-starved wintry ones (think: our own back yards) and snow-starved sunny ones (think: tragically warm Southern California). For Californians and Floridians, the flakes are kind of the flipside to our pink flamingo. Get it? But for us, the blue flakes are simply bright spots in our barren landscapes. Designed for notNeutral by Frank Clementi of the Los Angeles-based design house Rios Clementi Hale Studios, the Frosty Garden Stakes are the third in a series of seasonal garden stakes that add great design and subtle humor to the garden without taking you across the Too Cute Border.
$38 for set of five small (14 to 15 inches tall) snowflake stakes and one black glove (that is especially suited for picking up six-sided snowflakes), or $38 for set of three large (27 1/2 to 34 inches tall) stakes. Chiasso, 2112 N. Clybourn Ave. 773-244-4100. Or order at www.notneutral.com.
–Elaine Matsushita
BUY IT: Good news for weekend warriors and fans of Fine Homebuilding, the home improvement/construction magazine that comes out 10 times a year and has developed a cult following over the years. There’s now a “2006 Best of Fine Homebuilding” DVD. Actually, it’s the second edition “Best of” DVD, containing 50 percent more information than the first one and including more than 1,000 articles. They’re all written by experts in their trades and span 25-plus years of the magazine’s existence. FH’s editors selected the articles and included “long-lost features” from early issues. Topics range from basic toilet replacement to hip roof construction techniques. Articles are searchable by topic or keyword. Original photos and illustrations are included.
$125, $75 for those who purchased the first edition. Shipping is free if ordered before Dec. 31. 866-288-4167.www.finehomebuilding.com/dvd
— K.K.
FUND IT: Your Yuletide spending, that is. If you’ve got toys, dolls, action figures, trains, guitars and other musical instruments, pocket watches, clocks, stored in the attic or basement that you want to sell, the American Rare Collectibles Association’s National Tour of The Collectibles Roadshow may be your ticket. It will be visiting the Chicago area for the first time Sunday to Tuesday. The ARCA is made up of collectors willing to spend lots of money on their favorite toy, doll, train or musical instrument. These are their top four most desirable collectibles, for which they are willing to pay top dollar, says George McCurley, founder of the tour, now 10 years old. Lamps, jewelry, advertising signs, military-related items, celebrity autographs and memorabilia are also good bets to sell. The way it works is, thousands of collectors, who are dues-paying members of the association, put in their requests to the staff. At the show, staff members will identify for free the value of items you bring to them and are ready to buy the item on the spot if it is what the collectors they represent want. The entire event is free. No admission. It takes place at the Comfort Inn, 135 S. Larkin Ave., Joliet. Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information, call 217-243-6418.
— Mary Daniels, [email protected]
SURF IT: It pays to surf the Web. That is, if you find yourself on www.artfulhome.com, the Web site of The Guild Inc., where one artist-made, blown-glass ornament will be given away every day through Saturday. The ornaments are part of The Guild’s 2006 Holiday Collection. To enter, simply click on the “Ornament-A-Day Giveaway” button and fill in the contest entry. Entrants without e-mail can enter by faxing their name, address, and phone number to 608-257-2690.
— Tran Ha
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