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A Hallmark Christmas

December 9th, 2010

Tyler Texas Hallmark StoreChristmas time has come around and Hallmark stores are welcoming the holidays. A quick visit to the different Hallmark locations in Tyler is a must this time of year. Most years I let my children pick out their own special Christmas ornament to put on our Christmas tree. Winnie the Pooh, Charlie Brown, and the Disney Princesses are a big hit this time of year. Kids are not the only ones that will find their favorite ornaments at Hallmark; the Hallmark wall of ornaments have a wide selection of John Deer tractors ornaments, college and professional sports teams ornaments, and the classic “World’s Best Dad” ornaments.

Not only can your tree be covered with Hallmark ornaments, but your house can come alive with the many sounds of Christmas. Dancing snowmen, reindeer, and Santa Clauses singing different Christmas Carols all day long is enough to drive a person insane; but the kids will love it. All year long you can hear a dancing stuffed animal sing Jingle Bells.

Send your Christmas greetings to your friends and family. Hallmark has an extremely large selection of Christmas cards in stores and online. They have many different selections of Christmas cards that talk, record voices, and play music. The have fun pop-up cards that also record voices and play Christmas music. You can also find many different cards for less than a dollar. One of the biggest hits at Hallmark this time of year is the recordable books. Hallmark has different Christmas books that each page records a voice. As you are turning the pages the recordings are being played.

Make your Christmas a Hallmark Christmas with talking cards, talking Christmas tree ornaments, and dancing stuffed animals. Hallmark has many different gifts for your friends and family. Hallmark has many small gifts for fun stocking stuffers. There are great stocking stuffers for college football lovers. You can shop for all of your loved ones at Hallmark and find fun and meaningful gifts.

Christmas shopping for her

December 8th, 2010

Woman Christmas Gift IdeasChristmas shopping for women is made so easy by stores like Wal-Mart. But women get tired of bath soaps and lotion. This Christmas get the women of you life something they will love. Hint to men out there: if the woman in your life never wears the heart shaped pendant that you gave her last year, do not get her another one. Women really want men to know what their likes and tastes are.

Jewelry is always a hit at Christmas, but you have to know where to go and what the women you are buying for likes. Kay Jewelers commercials flood the television this time of year. The open heart necklaces are one of their most advertised pieces of jewelry. People always say that you can not go wrong with getting jewelry, but you can. Kay has many different types of jewelry for all different women. The charm bracelets are a great gift idea; you can make them according to a women’s taste. The charm bracelets can be as extravagant or as plain as you would like.

If the women you are shopping for would rather be sitting in front of a sewing machine or a scrapbook than be decorated in diamonds, Hobby Lobby is the best craft store in Tyler. Their large selection of colorful and fun fabrics and patterns can make a great gift for women that love to sew and create clothing. Hobby Lobby has some of the greatest sales around. Many crafts that she enjoys can be found at Hobby Lobby. They are always having sales for 50%-75% off of many different products. You can completely decorate your home with the large selections of holiday and seasonal ornaments, and decorations. Young girls will love their many different craft ideas just for their age groups, such as jewelry design, kits for decorating rooms, and painting.

If the women you are shopping for would much rather enjoy time with you than a gift, you should buy her a date. Tyler has many great restaurants that can provide a romantic night on the town. Jake’s on the square has a great romantic setting on the roof of the restaurant. Many times Jake’s restaurant has live music. Another great restaurant to have a romantic date is the beautiful Viva Montez. The set up of the beautiful Spanish restaurant gives you and your love one the privacy and intimacy that you would want. One place I highly recommend is the KE Cellars. You can enjoy a great time with wine tasting, cheese and meat trays to compliment your wine and on certain night live music for your entertainment. Plan a date that she will love whether it is eating out, wine tasting, dancing or even shopping.

Kohl’s has only been in Tyler for the last few years but it has quickly become very popular. Kohl’s has many great sales. You can buy for all the women on your shopping list at Kohl’s large store. Get the women in your life a whole new selection of kitchen appliances with the best brand names, such as, the popular Food Network collections. There are many “as seen on TV” products, and many of the products are for sale for a better price than you have seen on television. Kohl’s is having one of there largest sales as a Christmas countdown. Kohl’s has all different products that are perfect for Christmas gifts. They have everything from clothing to frames and house décor.

While you are Christmas shopping for the women in your life this holiday season give a little more thought to what they would use and enjoy rather than running through the seasonal section at Wal-Mart and picking up the five dollar bath soaps and cheap Christmas chocolates.

Christmas shopping for Him

December 8th, 2010

Guy Christmas Gift Ideas 2010Christmas shopping for men can be the hardest thing to do. Good thing that there are store in Tyler that have people that know things about electronics, tools, and hunting supplies, or most women would be more lost than they were before. If you are reading this and just got back from the store from buying a horrible Christmas sweater that you know your husband will never wear, but you will always get mad at him for not wearing, please, do everyone a favor and take it back.

Instead of trying to make your husband’s wardrobe even more embarrassing, get him something he could enjoy, and actually use. Academy has a great selection of gifts for the outdoor-loving man. If your husband loves to camp, you can find all different cooking supplies for the camp fire, sleep bags, tents, cots, and everything he will want to have the most enjoyable camping experience. Many men find fishing and camping as a way to escape their busy life. If you don’t really know what you are shopping for there are plenty of people that are willing to help you find the gifts for that special man. Academy does not only have great Christmas gifts for campers, hunters, and fishermen, but also for the football lover, baseball player, and golfer. If all you have heard from your man has been about the Texas A&M Aggies doing well in football you might want to take a look into Academy’s large selection of college football stuff. Fill his stockings up with anything from shot glasses to pens and pencils with the school’s logo on it. Academy has team t-shirts, jackets, jerseys, and much more. For the sport playing men you can find all different equipment and clothing for many different sports, such as golf, baseball, basketball, and many more.

If the out door life style in no way appeals to the man you are shopping for and you can usually find them in front of a video game or computer, there really is one store for you, Best Buy. I was recently walking through the popular electronic store and I felt more lost than any other store I have gone into. To me the difference between a Mac and a P.C. is determined by the young kid and the balding man on the Mac commercials. When I see something on my husband’s Christmas list like HDMI cables I don’t even know what department to look in, but I got help from the super nerdy employees. If there is a place in Tyler that carries the newest video games, you will be able to find it at Best Buy. I finally got to try out the popular Kinect game for xBox. I am really bad at it. Best Buy is having many different “Bundle and Save” deals. You can get blu-ray players, or video consoles bundled with all different video game accessories that are usually sold separately. If you bought these items separately you will have to pay more than their bundle costs. There is much more than video games and televisions at Best buy. You can get all your electronic needs for your car, your office, and home. They also sell cell phones and accessories for all the popular cell phone such as Droid and the iPhone. Best buy a large selection of computers and if you do not know what is the best selection there is some of the most computer obsessed people to help you.

Something I have realized about men is that they like to get gifts that they need and will use. Tools for men are like the “fall back” gift, if you do not know what else to get him, get tools. Men need tools, and will use them. Maybe they will try out their new tool set on the squeaky door that has been driving you crazy or that shelf that needs to be hung up and you have been staring at for months. Home Depot is a great store to find everything for all men in your life. If he finds enjoyment in his garden, Home Depot has all different beautiful plants and brand name gardening tools. But I would recommend that you kind of know what you are looking for if you are shopping at Home Depot or Lowes in Tyler. It always seems like at these places it is so hard to find help.

So as you are shopping for the men in your life this holiday think about gifts they will use and enjoy.

Memories of Brookshires Grocery Store in Tyler Texas

December 7th, 2010
Downtown Tyler TX Brooksires Grocery Store

Brookshires Grocery in the 1920's

As a  child in the 1950’s, we used to spend the whole Summer with my Grandparents in Tyler.  My Mom grew up there.  I have wonderful memories of Tyler, but part of it is when my Grandparents or Parents would take me and my cousins to shop at Brookshire’s!

Having no air conditioning at their house, we LOVED the cold air and floors there!  Back then we used to go  barefooted, and the cold floor felt WONDERful!  (I don’t know if kids do that now)   Our special treat was to each be able to pick out a comic book if we were good, and my Grandma taught us to each pick out a DIFFERENT one so we could trade and read 3 different ones!

Even though I lived in Brooklyn, NY, and my cousins lived in LA, California, we loved that time of year when we would live as one Family together in my Grandparents’ house on the State Park Highway, and play with our Texas cousins for the whole Summer!!!  What a wonderful world it was for me…to this day, I feel that it was “therapeutic” as I was growing up, and I hope to go back one day.  Cheryl

Brookshires Grocery Store Olden Days

Brookshire's Tyler Texas 1940

Downtown Tyler Square, What Does it Offer?

December 7th, 2010
Downtown Tyler Texas

Tyler Texas Square

The downtown Tyler Texas square used to offer Jack King Jr. screaming “downtown Tyler” but he is no longer there and people would prefer to impersonate him now rather then hear him do that anymore.

But beyond Jack King Jr.’s TV commercial memorable pitch downtown Tyler has quite a bit more to offer. When I go downtown I usually am stopping at Don Juan’s Mexican Restaurant or I am taking my wife on a fancy date to Jake’s.

When going into Jake’s be sure to let the hostess know you want to go sit up on the roof top. If the weather is good the roof top offers the best experience while eating here. The food at Jake’s is very good and they have a finer dinner menu selection to choose from compared to Chili’s or even Outback.

Jake’s offers an experience of local Tyler Texas dining in one of the many old buildings that still have survived the square.

Just about one year ago a few of these old buildings were destroyed in a fire. In fact a remodeled store converted to a coffee shop/ music venue was taken out as well as a law firm and architecture business. This area is now being turned into a park thanks to the generosity of Brookshire’s grocery store company.

When in downtown during Christmas be sure to stretch your legs by walking in the square. The city of Tyler lights up the square with Christmas lights although any sign of a cross, nativity scene and so on is unfortunately missing. Times do change and political correctness is what you will see now during Christmas. The square is still very pretty and enjoyable and worth a stroll around.

The square also offers Tyler Citizens a fun place for kids as the Discovery Science Place is in walking distance. This place provides something along the lines of a interactive science center for kids in the age range of 2 – 9 and will easily take up a good 3 hours if you decide to experience everything there they have to offer.

Christmas Tree in Tyler Texas

Official Tyler Texas Downtown Square Christmas Tree

You can also find the very large First Place building at the Tyler Square. The First Place building houses Regions Bank and offers the best commercial real estate offices in town. Many businesses would not accept anything less than the premier facilities you get in this building.

If you are looking for commercial real estate in Tyler I definitely recommend riding the elevators and checking out the offices in this building first hand. Both the view, looks, and spaciousness in these commercial offices can’t be found anywhere else in Tyler.

Finally consider that the Tyler downtown square has several unique antique shops as well as a few very old traditional churches. You can find Marvin United Methodist Church, First Baptist Church, and Christ Episcopal Church all in downtown Tyler and very close to the square.