All I want for Christmas is…a new lawn mower? (11-20-2006)

Are you like many, including me, trying to shed those added pounds from Thanksgiving meals at the shopping malls? All the stores are now brilliantly decorated and playing Christmas carols, but do you have difficulty dealing with the elbow to elbow crowds?

To escape the shopping crowd, head to the lawn and garden sections of your favorite department stores, or visit specialty lawn and garden centers. You will be surprised at the diversity of gift ideas from only a few cents to thousands of dollars even for those having everything. To offer some help I’ll mention a few gift ideas that I would be delighted to receive.

• Gardening and lawn care books are instructional and very enjoyable to relax with
• Gifts such as bird feeders, birdbaths, squirrel feeders, butterfly boxes, birdhouses, etc. will encourage wildlife and add a whole new dimension to the landscape
• Lawn sculpture can be found in every shape, size, color, and range from pink flamingos to elegant bronze statues
• Gifts to indicate weather conditions such as rain gauges, indoor-outdoor thermometers, and barometers are also great to have
• Any gardener is pleased to receive new tools as gifts. Here are a few suggested ideas in various price ranges: pocket knife, electric grass shears, work gloves, pruners, sprinklers, pesticide sprayer, hose reel, lawn rake, garden hoe, shovel, wheel barrow, edger, leaf blower, lawn mower, etc., etc, etc.

The ideas are unlimited and the gifts can last a lifetime. Enjoy your Christmas shopping and if you just can’t resist buying more of these neat gifts than you have people on your shopping list, then let me know and I’ll send you my address.

Published November 20, 2006

Dr. Wayne Wells is an Extension Professor and Turfgrass Specialist. His mailing address is Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, Mail Stop 9555, Mississippi State, MS 39762. wwells@ext.msstate.edu