Perfect Presents and Last-Minute Dashes

It’s a white Christmas in the Washington, D.C. metro area – which is relatively rare. Having lived here all my life, I only remember a few, and they all involved blizzard conditions. I remember being a gawky 11 year-old and stepping through knee-deep snow across our front yard to Kathy’s house to play Barbies when suddenly I plunged into a drift so deep that only my head and arms and the yellow Barbie-doll case stuck out.

This snow is photo-perfect--but driving? Impossible. Even now with the roads plowed, perils abound. There’s the black ice. The cars that didn’t scrape the 20 inches of snow off their rooftops, sending the snow flying like a missile onto the cars behind them. The scarcity of parking spaces. The lines at the gas stations.

So, hunkered down with my hot decaf coffee, I finished my Christmas shopping online and found a great website with a few functional funsies for the people on your list with allergies:

The Spoon Sisters has the CUTEST little "Dust Bunny" microfiber dusting mitten. I love the microfiber dust cloths I use at home, but this one was way too cute. He’s (or she’s) machine-washable and one-size-fits-all. Ordered one for my daughter, Brooke, who loves bunnies but hates dust (and dusting – don’t we all).
It’s easy to find plenty of washable and adorable stuffed toys for little ones, but I love this wild and zany book, "Stupid Sock Creatures – Making Quirky Lovable Figures from Cast off Socks." They don’t mention the author’s name in the write-up – but someone really ought to do something about that, because these critters are simply too fun to pass up. And since they're socks, they're washable--which is a must for dust-mite control.

Now, to make sure that dust mites have no interest in orgies (yes, all they do is eat, poop, have sex and babies) the key is to control indoor air humidity. (Get a hygrometer from the hardware store; indoor air humidity should be between 35-50% but no higher.) But to de-nature the body part and fecal matter or little live wires still clinging to life, make sure you wash clothes in a product such as The Ecology Works Anti-Allergen Solution Laundry Detergent. One 40-oz. bottle washes 40 loads and is 100% biodegradable, plant-based and free of perfumes. You can even wash clothes, Stupid Sock Creatures that you make, washable stuffed toys and the Dust Bunny in COLD water! No need to turn up your water heater and gas or electric bills, buy a new washing machine (unless you need one) simply to rid your washables of dust mites. Check it out at http://www.ecologyworks.com/.

If you want these items in time for Christmas, move on it today! Or draw a picture, print out the website page, wrap it in a box and put it under the tree--but these are gifts that can be truly appreciated.

And please have a great time with your family and friends!

Happy Holidays!

By way of disclosure, AANMA does not endorse any products or manufacturers and was not paid to mention the websites or products mentioned in this blog post.