Spending Time Together

According to a recent article in the NYT Americans are spending less money but are spending more time together as a family. So maybe something good will come out of the Great Recession, as some are now calling it.

Are you spending more time together? Are you playing board games? Watching movies at home together? Going to a nearby park? Reading aloud? Going on picnics? Eating more home cooked meals and maybe making them together? Doing crafts projects? Going to a museum? Going to a concert?

These are all ways to spend mroe time together and spend less.

Surviving The Holidays#4 -- Museum Gift Shops

Still wondering about gifts that you need to get for children, adults, friends, parents, grandparents, neighbors, co-workers? An often overlooked and wonderful palce to shop is museum gift shops. They have things from all over the world, unusual and unique items and prices that are across the board from extremely reasonable to on the expensive side. You don't have to be in a big city to have a terrific museum gift shop. When I visited Casper, Wyoming last year I went to (among other places) the Nicolaysen Musuem and they had a wonderful gift shop. So good I bought some things to bring back for friends (and I live next door to New York City). Try your local museum, no matter how large or small and see what they have.

Another good thing about museum gift shops is that they will often have jewelry and other items from local artisans so you have the opportunity to support local craftspeople. The may have boks, stationery and other gift items featuring something local which can be great for gifts for both locals and people far, far away.

If you absolutely don't have a local museum or don't have the time to get someplace many museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and The Boston Museum of Fine arts have websites and you can order and have things sent to you.