Ah, 'tis the season.
Nothing gets the sugar plums dancing in your head like the gift of giving.
But, the last thing you want is for your gifts to send recipients to the return line of the local department stores as soon as the holidays are over. To make sure your presents don't wind up shelved, re-gifted or (gasp) discarded, we did some window-shopping for you to come up with some ideas that offer, well, a homey touch.
Designed to warm the cockles of the hearths of those on your gift list, here are a half dozen suggestions that really hit home.
Follow the instructions to give the statuette a proper burial on the listed property and, sooner than you can say "closed" the Patron Saint of Carpenters, Family Households, Engineers and Workers will bless you with a buyer.
With the 1916 creation of John Lloyd Wright, son of Frank Lloyd Wright, builders can construct their own bank to finance the operation; a log cabin for second home buyers; a farm for those who want to get away from it all, a fort to keep competitors at bay and a jailhouse, for non-occupying speculators who put a crimp in the market.
The sturdy, virtually indestructible wood dollhouses to dream for will require that you rezone a good-sized buffet table top or entertainment stand for a group of diverse residential housing styles. Models include a bungalow starter home, a three-story urban townhome (three feet tall) with a working elevator and a move-up McMansion (more than two feet long).
You'll need a good contractor for the assembly required, so choose one or build an entire neighborhood. Then decorate and improve each home with a host of furnishings and accessories (at an additional cost), including a roof top hot tub for the bungalow; a master bedroom with a sleigh bed for the mansion; a children's room with a bunk bed that's perfect for big families in small spaces; tiny Christmas trees and decorative lights for the holidays; and finally, even little family members who don't have to earn a dime to move in and enjoy these homes.
The foot-high house opens to a little more than two feet in length to reveal four, fully furnished and windowed rooms (bedroom, bath, kitchen and family room) and two residents.
Best of all? In the tradition of many mobile homes, there's no assembly required.
