Waking up this Monday morning to dark skys, rain, and a cold house this is what I thought of....oh good we will have a White Christmas.  That is something to be thankful for when you live in an area that is typically sunny and warm on Christmas.  I love that feeling "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas"..and today it is 10 days before Christmas. That can be a good thing or one that brings a lot of stress, but it doesn't have to. Here are some ways to Market Yourself for cheap or free......

Last year I wrote about How to Market Yourself with Natures Gifts and I am updating it for this year.

Gifts from Photos

Photos make great Holiday (or anytime) Gifts, and Great Marketing Tools.  Your Clients, Family, Friends, and Just about anyone appreciates Custom Gifts.  You can also make a Gallery at Zazzle and make your own gifts for people to buy, or friends to look at.  My Gallery is Sunset Art Works...and I will be working on it more this year.

• Puzzles- This can be of the Grandkids, Kids, Adults, a Certain Home, anything...
• Mousepads  - customize for anyone that uses a computer, useful and unique
• Calendars - almost any Drug Store can make these if you don't have a Photo Printer, or order online  You can also make your own for downloading good for clients-look at Marti Garaughty's tutorials for making your own Calendars (Art of Marketing You Group)
• Personalized Thank You Cards -  (we all need Thank You Cards, and they can be done inexpensively, yet Professionally) If you're very creative make your own paper too :)
• Stamps- This is a great gift for anyone.....(this is just one of many sites....Oprah recommended this site ) You can even put your logo, Web site, anything to Market Yourself (just make sure if you use words they can be read)  I made Stamps from Zazzle with a picture and REALTOR verbiage on it.

Another Photo Tip:  If you have a Photo Printer you can change the setting and use Watercolor Paper (it's not photo paper) to really get a special print for framing.......play with the settings first. I use this to get a special effect on my Prints.

We all have things in Nature that can be used for a gift.  

 Either a gift to give, or a gift of spending time with kids.  One of my favorites is to look for driftwood, or River Root, and make it into something.  I have made Eagles, Wolves, and other things from  pieces of wood.  Once I walked a river in Europe for over an hour just looking for that one piece of wood that "spoke" to me, that one piece that was going to be my next project.  I finally found it and made a beautiful Eagle....very little was needed as it already looked like one. 

Look at the Santa below on the left, I could see the hat, and see the face so knew this was the piece I wanted. The wood already had the form. This activity is a great one for kids, getting some exercise, and working together or alone. 

Supplies Needed:

• Paint-keep it simple.....this keeps the cost down. I use Acrylics less than $1 a bottle
• Twine if you want to hang something
• Dremel or something to poke a hole if you are making Ornaments
• Xacto Knife- DO NOT let kids use this unsupervised...I don't even let them if I am watching because the first time I used one I cut every single finger and thumb....and it can hurt LOL :)

Now for the Procrastinators and Kids:

• Take those empty Toilet Paper Rolls and either you or a child can write a Poem, letter, or whatever you want.  Kids love to draw pictures. After you're done, roll it up and put it inside the tube....you can also put 3-4 nuts inside if you choose.  Then wrap the tube like an old fashioned candy.....a  unique recycled gift that is personalized for each person. 
• Painted Nuts- After you eat the nuts, Walnuts work best....clean out the inside.  Paint a scene...you will probably have to cut up one of your paint brushes to only have one to 3 hairs.....keep it simple as it is tedious work. Use a Dremel or something to make a hole for hanging and for string use dental floss.   

 Enjoying the Holidays is about Family, Friends, Good Meals and being thankful for what we have.

 Nature has always been the Best Gift of the Season

***Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas***

By: Kathy McGraw CELLing Realty in Riverside County