Shelly Wutke

One of the most challenging things about Holiday shopping is how one gift does not fit all, but if you have a chef on your list this year, you’re in luck. There are tons of great gifts for the budding chef, enthusiastic foodie, or someone you know who takes cooking to a new art form.  

Although I’ve opted for an artificial tree this year, I’m sticking to my plan to make all of my Holiday treats from scratch, and this week I’ve been baking Christmas tarts. Tarts of any type don’t last long in my house, so this year I’ve branched out a bit and made all of the tart recipes I normally do.

This year, there are so many cool gifts for kids and teens that even I’m having a hard time choosing. If you need some ideas, look no further because here are just a few of the great gifts online at Bestbuy.ca right now.

  With any game franchise you’re going to want your game play to get bigger, better, brighter, and more fun with each go around. Skylanders Trap Team – Tablet edition delivers all that and more, and after giving it a good run though using my iPad and the Skylanders Trap Team Tablet Starter Pack, I’d say this is the most engaging Skylanders game yet.

She’s cute isn’t she? Polly is a dachshund/Chihuahua cross, also known as a Doxie. Polly’s safety is the reason why I was pretty excited to test out the Motorola Scout Trainer 100. After using it for a few weeks, I’m pretty sure busy pet owners are going to like it over traditional training classes. Why? In a nutshell, it works.    

Today on Shelly’s Friday Favourites, I’m going to share my favourite sugar cookie recipe with you and show you how easy it is to decorate these cookies. If you get overwhelmed by roll out cookies because they’re too sticky or they don’t turn out right, you’ll love this recipe. The dough is light, fluffy, and rolls out like a dream.

Let me set the scene for you. It’s 8 pm and I get home after a long day chasing small people to see the Cricut Explore has just been delivered to my house. I’ve been asked to test it out and write up a review, and I’ve been looking forward to it because I’ve never tried a Cricut before. Little did I know that my husband and I would be fighting over it and in 5 short days I’d be completely hooked. Read on and find out why everyone needs a Cricut Explore.

Having one or two games in a games room is great, but it’s the extras that convert a spot where you play darts or Ping-Pong into the perfect hang out for the guys or the entire family, and these games room extras make the perfect gifts to put under the tree. With the holidays right around the corner, here are some great gifts for games rooms.

Why make homemade soup when it’s so easy to open up a can and eat within minutes? Really, it all comes down to taste. If you go through the effort of making your own soup base and you let your soup simmer on your stove or in your slow cooker for hours, the flavours of what you’re cooking will practically explode when you eat it. 

Fitness trackers are a great tool for anyone interested in getting the most out of their workout or just adopting some healthy new habits. I’ve tested out a lot of wearable technology and used quite a few different fitness trackers, and although they all have different features that will appeal to a different type of user, the common thread I found with all of them is how incredibly motivating they are. Fitness trackers make great gifts for the holidays too, so if you’d like to choose one for yourself or pick one up to put under the tree this year, here’s a few types you can choose from.