Do you like handmade items? If so, you’ll want to browse through all the fabulous pieces on ArtFire’s new Christmas in July page. Wondering why you’d want to go handmade for Christmas this year? Well, you’ll be giving a unique gift, you can choose to buy American, Canadian, etc. and you can look for artisans who make lead free, non-toxic items.

Photo: SXC

More of a DIYer? No problem. Head to Handmade News to find out how to make snow globes or check out the many handmade gift ideas that the many talented folks right here at Blisstree have posted, like Chloe’s embroidered card ideas.

Do you plan to go handmade for the holidays this year?

Hope you have a wonderful Independence Day. As you are celebrating the rights and liberties you enjoy because some men decided to stand up for their rights many years ago, please take a moment to think about those who aren’t so fortunate.

Photo: SXC

Not sure what to do? Here are a few ideas:

• You can head to freerice.com and donate some food to people in an underdeveloped nation.
• Grownups can watch a movie like Beyond Rangoon that shows how hard it is to live in a country that doesn’t offer the freedom we have in the US. (This excellent movie starring Patricia Arquette is rated R and is not something I’d recommend for family viewing!)
• Keep an eye on freedom’s progress by visiting a site like Freedom House to see where freedom is being threatened.

How do you help keep freedom alive?

While you are in the kitchen whipping up your world famous potato salad, you don’t want the kids anywhere near the pool, so you need some quick and easy projects to entertain them while you are putting the finishing touches on your family’s Independence Day meal. What about some July 4th coloring sheets or some fun worksheets? Here are some of my favorites:

Photo: SXC

Printables4Kids.com has a cute Happy Birthday USA coloring sheet and a variety of related worksheets.

DLTK-Kids.com has a whole stack of Independence Day printables, including Bingo sheets. (By the way, there were a couple of pop up ads.)

Kaboose has a variety of coloring sheets , including an American Eagle sheet that is sure to appeal to older children.

For older children, you may want to check out Kids Holiday Crafts . The 4th of July craft projects look like they’ll keep kids well entertained for a few minutes!

It can be pretty tough to find the right Christmas gift for a teen. So, when Altec asked me to try out the Orbit MP3 speaker, which retails for $39.95, I said I’d be happy to do so. The Orbit is a very sleek little speaker that is impressively powerful for its small size.

Photo via Altec Lansing

Although it is marketed as an MP3 player speaker, I hooked mine up to my laptop and enjoyed watching Benny & Joon on Hulu. (One of my all time favorite movies.) I usually have trouble listening to movies on my laptop, but, with the speaker, this one came in loud and clear. It wasn’t as awesome as listening to a movie in a media room with surround sound, but the speaker didn’t cost a few thousand dollars, either.

You’re thinking, “Nice, but will that really excite my teen?” right? Well, there’s a special little bonus that makes this a great teen Christmas gift idea - the customizable Skinit skin for your speaker. You can give your teen an Orbit and let him or her customize it later on or create the skin ahead of time and give the skin as part of the gift. I think the custom option is really fun, because your teen can use photos of a favorite pet, best friends or just about anything else to make a unique skin of his or her own.

This skins are under $15, which makes the whole package a bit over $50. Not bad for a techie gift for a teen.

It is July 1st, which means heat and humidity. It is the perfect time to remember cooler weather, so I thought I’d spend the month talking about Christmas. That’s right. Christmas in July!

Before you start thinking I’m out-commercializing commercialism, take a few moments to think about how you felt fighting through crowds of shoppers to look for just the right gift at the last second. You probably were really frustrated and stressed and then overpaid for the gift you finally bought. Did you think about making your own gifts or at least getting your shopping done earlier last year? Then now is the time to start planning your low cost, low stress Christmas.

Photo:SXC

Today, we start with a list of giftees. Decide whether you’re going to try to give gifts to teachers, co-workers and extended family. Once your master gift recipient list has been created, you’ll be able to use it to check off gifts as you make or buy them. This really helps you avoid buying three gifts for one person and completely forgetting to buy even one for another person.

Is your gift list ready? Great! Now, look at it again and think about your budget. Note the amount you want to spend on each person beside his or her name. Add up the numbers. After you regain consciousness, adjust the amounts to end up with a total that doesn’t make you see black spots before your eyes. There you go! You have your holiday gift budget. Now, it is just a matter for keeping your eye out for good sales and carving out enough time to make all the gifts you have ideas for.

I was checking out some of the different events that are going on this year around the 4th of July and was amazed by the variety of things that are happening. When I was a child, it was the parade and then a picnic in the park and fireworks. Now, there are so many more things we can do.

Photo: SXC

One Independence Day event that caught my eye was the Founder’s Favorites Fireworks and Fountains event at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. If you are in the area, it is well worth visiting. The fountains are beautiful even if fireworks aren’t shooting off. With the fireworks, they are breathtaking. The gardens themselves are quite lovely, too. You may remember the Mother’s Day trip we took to Longwood Gardens and all the lovely critters and flowers we saw there. I noticed a few other gardens were having July 4th events, so, if you aren’t in the Pennsylvania area, you may want to check local botanical garden event schedules.

Another event I noticed was the HollyWood Bowl July 4th Fireworks Spectacular. It looks like a lot of concert venues are doing similar shows, so if you like music and fireworks together, check your local venues.

Do you have a favorite July 4th event you attend?

Have you ever had a kid parade on Independence Day? It can be a lot of fun for the kids to do and for the adults to watch. You can just do a small family parade or get the whole neighborhood involved. You can go really low tech and grab a few pots and lids out of the cupboard for instruments for your marching band, but we like to spend time making our own stuff.

Photo: SXC

An empty water bottle and some pebbles, rice, or beans will make a great shaker. For a bit of fun, we toss in confetti bits, little charms and tiny toys in the rice shaker bottles. When they aren’t shaking their bottles to make music, the kids use them as an “I Spy” game. They slowly turn the bottles and see what little things pop into sight.

A piece of rubber, like an opened balloon, can be stretched over the open end of a oatmeal box and secured to make a mini drum.

A few jingle bells, needle and thread and an athletic wrist band can create a low cost version of those jingle bell bracelets we use at story time in the library.

Time for another Sunday buffet. I browsed through Art Fire today and found some really fun 4th of July decorations to share with everyone.

Vintage Keepsake Trunk has a collection of prim bowl fillers that I’d love to use as centerpieces.

Laurel Arts created a very patriotic wind chime made up of red, white and blue stars.

Soo Boo made a colorful wreath that would be the perfect welcoming touch at a front door.

Eclectic Oddities has a beautiful patriotic wall hanging that is anything but odd. I’d love to have it hanging in my home.

Linda Lewis painted some sweet little patriotic placemats that would make any table ready for the 4th in an instant.

Photo via ArtFire.com/Linda Lewis

After all of that “window shopping” I am ready to start decorating for the 4th. I know. I should have been decorating a week or so ago, but I have a hard time letting go of spring and it isn’t summer to me until the Independence Day decorations go up!

When the sun is at its peak and you feel like a boiled lobster, it is time to get out of the heat. You could take a nap or check out the sports channel, but we like to watch a family friendly movie that seems like the perfect fit for a July 4th celebration. (And no, I don’t mean the alien filled Independence Day!) Here are five patriotic movies to inspire you:

Photo via Amazon.com

• National Treasure - If you haven’t seen this Nicholas Cage movie about an adventurer who races to save the Declaration of Independence from the bad guys, nab the secret treasure and get the girl, you’re missing out on a great family movie!
• Mr. Smith Goes to Washington - Who says politicians can’t be honest? Mr. Smith, played by James Stewart, is a man with convictions and an honest nature who puts the Senate in an uproar when he fills a vacant seat.
• Farmer’s Daughter - A farm girl leaves home to be a nurse and ends up setting Washington, DC on its ear with her no nonsense approach to politics. (May only be available in VHS format)
• The Time of Their Lives - Abbott and Costello, ghosts and the Revolutionary War. Need I say more?
• 1776 - Hey, we like musicals and this may not be the best one out there, but it sure is the best Independence Day musical!

July 1st, 2009 is Canada Day, which is when Canada celebrates the fact that Great Britain passed the British North American Act. This act gave Canada the right to have its own federal government. According to Kidz World, Canada Day was called Dominion Day for many years, but the Canadian Parliament decided it liked Canada Day better and voted in a name change.

Photo: SXC

So what do you do on Canada Day? If you’re in Toronto, you would have been heading to Mel Lastman Square to enjoy live music performed by some famous Canadians and to take in some fireworks. Unfortunately, unless a last minute strike agreement comes through, CBC News reports that this event is canceled, along with many other events. So, it’s the Toronto Jazz Festival or a day of family fun in the back yard.