In the last few years, it’s become a fun tradition for me to stuff Jai’s stocking with little gadget/techie items. From Santa USB drives one year to an HDMI cable dangling out of his stocking the next, it’s a lot of fun for me to find little items that will be useful to him. One of my finds this year is CableKeeps, a product from Nice by design. These products are designed to be a combination cable and iPhone holder.

I received “Goldie“, a fun CableKeeps character shaped like a goldfish. (Perfect for aquarium-loving Jai!) The idea is that Goldie provides a holder for your iPhone or iPod plug, allowing you to wrap the cord around its body and prop your phone up on his fins. As someone who often has her iPhone cable dangling on the floor by the nearest outlet, I can see why this is a cool idea!

I also received “Nibbles“, who is designed for iPads. This will be a great little gift for one of my iPad-loving pals!

Goldie and Nibbles retail for $16 each – pick yours up at Nicebydesign.com!

Last year, I blogged about the problem we encountered with vandalism and how we used a D-Link Day/Night Security Camera to fight back. We now own several of these cameras and they have been fantastic, so when we had a chance to test out the newest model, the DCS-933L, we were all over it. It’s nice to have multiple cameras, since we can aim them in a variety of spots around doors and the driveway. These are totally “Plug-and-play” cameras, but because we wanted a more permanent/fixed setup, Jai drilled a hole above the porch so we could run the wire and mount the new DCS-933L camera right above the door. These cameras are intended to be used indoors, but due to the sheltered placement on our porch we think it will be just fine. Here is the view of our porch that this new camera provides:

You know what’s funny? When I pulled up the camera to take this screenshot, I realized that there had been a delivery since there was a package on the porch! So as you can see, this is perfect for monitoring items that get dropped off.

The DCS-933L was as easy as could be to install – there’s not much noticeable difference from the prior Day/Night Network Camera models, although we noticed how well this works with the Wi-Fi – the other cameras are quicker when wired, while this one is just on WiFi and been working very well the whole time.

This would be a wonderful gift for new parents, since the camera can be used as a baby monitor and then turned into a security camera as the child gets older, so it never outlives its usefulness. It would also be perfect for gadget lovers and anyone who is concerned with security or has even experienced theft and vandalism like we have. Because you can access the camera via the web or your mobile device, you don’t have to worry about service fees and can check your cameras whenever you want – perfect for keeping an eye on the house while you’re traveling for the holidays!

The D-Link DCS-933L Day/Night Network Cloud Camera retails for $104.99 and is available on Dlink.com and at retailers such as Best Buy, Amazon and NewEgg.

If you’re looking for a twist on the usual fruity hand lotion gift sets this holiday season, then I have a therapeutic cream to recommend that is the perfect size for Christmas stockings: O’Keeffe’s! This brand offers two intensive creams: O’Keeffe’s Working Hands and O’Keeffe’s Healthy Feet.

Both creams come in a round jar and have a consistency that reminds me of coconut cream. The Working Hands cream has a very slick feel going on, and it has a very dry finish – almost the same sensation as when I wear a matte lipstick, if that makes sense? I’m used to using creams that leave a moisturizing top coat, so I would use this in conjunction with another lotion for comfort. It almost feels a little sticky on my hands after application. As for the skin on my hands, it’s looking good after about a week of sporadic usage; I’m not sure if this is correlation or causation. At times, it seems like this cream can be a bit irritating to my skin, but again, I haven’t used it long enough to tell correlation or causation.

I have also been giving this cream to Jai, since he has been doing a lot of construction and his hands are totally torn up – they feel rough, cracked and splitting. I do think this cream helps his hands so I’ve been encouraging him to use this as much as possible!

Both of us are liking the Healthy Feet cream. I swear by foot lotion as a way to keep my feet soft and looking nice, but I often forget to do it – especially the last few years, when I couldn’t even bend my knees enough to reach my feet without pain! Jai has very, very dry and cracked heels, so he needs this even more than I do. The great thing about these products is that the packaging is very gender-neutral and utilitarian, so they are perfect for everyone from busy moms with dishpan hands to guys that do jobs with heavy labor. And of course, some dads have dishpan hands and some moms pour gravel, so any person who works with their hands or has dry skin could enjoy these!

Visit OKeeffesCompany.com to order online or locate a retailer near you!

One of my favorite things to do during the holidays is watch Christmas specials. I have an eclectic assortment of favorites, but generally speaking I just like to watch holiday-themed episodes of my favorite shows. One classic that I like to pull out is my VHS copy of Alpha’s Magical Christmas , a Mighty Morphin Power Rangers special from when I was a kid, featuring the robot getting the Command Center into the festive spirit. I remember that my mom always thought Alpha was annoying with his constant “Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi”, so I know she must have just loved this full half hour of Alpha singing Christmas carols like, “Deck the halls with boughs of holly, ay-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi!” It’s super cheestastic and makes me super happy! The special is pretty much just Alpha and a group of children singing and decorating a tree, with a small cameo from the Power Rangers at the end.

Well, now I don’t even have to pull out my VCR to watch this, because it’s been included in a new DVD release called Power Rangers Super Samurai: A Christmas Wish. As the name indicates, Alpha has been packaged together with a holiday-themed episode from one of the newest batches of Rangers. I haven’t watched “Super Samurai Stuck on Christmas” yet because it doesn’t feel Christmas-y to be watching this when I still have Halloween stuff in the yard, but I can’t wait until I can bust out a mug of cocoa and curl next to the tree to watch it in December. You guys know I love the Samurai Rangers too, so I can’t wait to see what their Christmas special is going to be like.

Also included on the DVD is an episode of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers called “Forever Friends”, which feels like filler to me since it has absolutely nothing to do with the holidays. Couldn’t they have put I’m Dreaming of a White Ranger on here instead for the Christmas trifecta? Oh well, good thing I own a VHS copy of that too. 😉

Power Rangers Super Samurai: A Christmas Wish is available on retailers such as Amazon for a suggested retail price of $14.98.