I bought myself a soda and seltzer maker for Christmas and I am happy to report that it works like a charm! I chose the less expensive Fountain Jet Soda Maker model in black and silver at $89.99 and it now adorns my counter top in the kitchen. I use it every day since I drink at least a liter of water on a daily basis. I did find the instructions a little sparse and it took me a while to figure out that the easiest way to screw the empty bottle into the machine is to do it while the machine is tilted outwards at 45 degrees and not on the vertical. Once I had figured out the obvious, I was good to go. The soda maker will have paid for itself in about 2 months, saving me hundreds of dollars every year.

Starting at $89.99 and available at GreenandMore.com

http://www.greenandmore.com/home-soda-pop-seltzer-water-makers.html

Fragrance Free Textile Candles Starting at $18.89

We managed to launch our new line of allergy friendly Imagination candles the week after Christmas. Not the best of timing, but we wanted to make sure that this line of simply beautiful candles did not add any pollution to the room - and our testing team was backed up with new product testing.

I have been depriving myself of candles for years because I did not want to add particulates to any room of my home. When I saw these fragrance free candles and was stunned at their exquisite patterns, achieved by a patented process, I begged our testing team to add them to their schedule. I am pleased to say that they came out with flying colors, and no increase in particulates was detected after several hours of candle burning in a tiny room.

I am especially enchanted at their textile design which has a candle at the bottom of a wax wall, so the light can shine through the pattern. The effect is stunning. My only grumble is that you definitely need a long taper to light the candle. Lighting the candle with a twisted up piece of long paper is NOT the way to go and left a black sooty mark on the candle wall. So now I am informed. But I am also in love. If you like candles or have a loved one who likes candles, these ones are fragrance free and have dozens of patterns to choose from. They would make a great gift to cure someone of the winter blues or for upcoming Mother’s Day. Starting at $18.99.

http://www.allergybuyersclubshopping.com/candles.html

With any purchase of over $150 we will send you a Rechargeable LED kitty flashlight as a Free gift! These flashlights are simply adorable and make a great holiday gift. We even ship it for FREE, - a $25 total value. Offer while we still have supplies of the kitty flash light – but they’re going fast!

http://www.greenandmore.com/greenandmore-blackcat-rechargeable-LED-flashlight.html

When decorating a home, it is often the large pieces that are given the most thought. The simple decorative effects, such as lamps, wall hangings or vases become an afterthought. Once you’ve seen the uniquely stylish, and eco friendly vases offered through GreenandMore.com, these afterthoughts will be brought to the forefront of your mind. Each handcrafted piece will make choosing that “afterthought” a very personal choice. There is a nice selection of eco friendly vases between $20 and $30. Worth taking a look.

Get your friends and family off to a green start with Green Gift Baskets which are very substantial looking and well presented. Choose between an introduction to Green Cleaning supplies for $44.95; or perhaps you know someone with a green thumb who would like the Gardening Basket at $64.95? Or who has just recently had a Baby and could use a Baby Gift Basket at $59.95?.

I have had great success this year in giving magnificent teak cutting boards, either in round or rectangular shapes to our children, who are constantly entertaining their wide circle of friends and family. These Cutting Boards from $17.99 are made of the sapling teak trees thinned out to make room for the larger trees. I would recommend the 14” round one - it is a knockout and makes an unusual gift. On my own personal shopping list is the Soda and Seltzer Maker starting at $89.99 which I have been eying for a long time. I will use it for our office holiday party and then take it off home afterwards! I drink about a liter of mineral water or seltzer every day, so in three months my new seltzer maker will have paid for itself. One of my staff has had one for 10 years, so I reckon I will be saving money and being good to the environment as the same time - no more plastic bottles to recycle.

My sister chose the recycled black wool poppy bag Wool Poppy String Bag at $159.99 for herself on a recent trip from England. It was so pretty and well made that both myself and a girlfriend are getting one as a holiday gift to ourselves and for going to parties with a little purse conveniently dangling from ones wrist, the little Wool Droplet Purse is on my list.

My 17 year old niece on the other hand reports back that her choice of a Recycled License Purse starting at $59.99 has been the subject of great admiration from her friends who think it is very cool, so if you are at a loss on how to please a teenager, here is an idea for you. When I was told we were going to carry a line of purses and travel bags made out of recycled inner tubes I was very skeptical - even though I was told they were quite the rage. However, I have to tell you that the line up of messenger bags Pascal is quite something. Either the Large Messenger Bag (for $234.99) or the Brief Messenger Bags (for $249.99) would be a perfect gift for the man in your life. I would buy one for my husband, but I bought him something similar last year and do not believe in lining up duplicates in his closet - but they are very handsome indeed.

I am also going to spruce up my kitchen with some beautiful Organic Kitchen Towels, $26.99 for a set of three and also give some to my friends as hostess gifts. I am tired of looking at the sorry towels that are hanging in my kitchen right now - time to throw them out. I have also found that my Reuseable Shopping Bags at $24.99 for a set of 4, get left in my car or a myriad of other places, and I never have them to hand when I shop. So both I and my friends are going to get treated to some bags which fold up so small they can be stashed in one’s purse, where they are likely to be found and actually used.

Also for use in the kitchen and entertaining are some very handsome Soapstone Casserole Dish for $110.00 and Soapstone Griddle just $94.99 as well as a Soapstone Wine Holder for $51.00. These are not gifts for your grandmother as they are quite heavy, but soapstone which is a natural substance is naturally stick free, and retains heat or cold for much longer than other materials.

Our grandchildren are getting the cutest little eco friendly Child Back Packs at $48.99 and also our Kitty Crank Flashlights sweet at $14.99. Our LED Torchlights at $59.99 were used with great success by us this summer on our deck provide emergency lighting, and my husband uses one on his walk at night for safety reasons and is known in our community as the “flashlight guy”. These were admired by a good friend, so guess what she gets in their holiday stocking! Another great gadget gift for a grandchild, or even one of those “big kids” in your family who is also a cyclist, is the Hymini solar and wind charger at $49.99 for a cell phone and other small accessories. Just clip this baby onto your bike, go for a bike ride and its little fan whirls around charging itself up like crazy.

We are going on a trip next spring and are taking some travel Soy Memory Foam Pillows starting at $46.99 with us. We have given them to all our kids this year who have given them rave reviews, and use them for the grandchildren to fall asleep on in the car, so we thought we would try some out for ourselves! Also in use around both our house and our kids are Soybean Bathrobes at $118.00. These are the softest bathrobes imaginable and my husband loves to lounge on a Sunday morning in this bathrobe reading the Sunday newspapers and eating his blueberry pancakes.

If the man in your life is a real do-it-yourselfer type then he will appreciate both the Touchless Faucet at $59.99 which is one of those faucets which senses when you hands are underneath and immediately stops when you remove them. The Kill-A-Watt meter for $39.99 which tells you how much electricity each of your appliances is consuming was very popular last year. Also if the guy in your life is an outdoors type, we have some pretty nice rugged Solar Back Packs starting at $129.99 which do double duty as a backpack and for emergency recharging of your cell phone in the wild - just think of how many lives could have been saved in winter accidents if people could only have charged up their cell phones.

When all else fails give a GreenandMore.com Online Gift Certificates. They have some beautiful photographs taken from my safari trip a couple of years back. They come in denominations starting at $25.

Dear Everyone,

At this time of year my husband and some close friends come to me for gift ideas. We have a nice selection on our AllergyBuyersClub.com web site of healthy gifts, and a treasure trove of green, energy saving and natural gifts from our sister site GreenandMore.com which I encourage you to visit if you have not done so yet. Also if you spend over $150 at GreenandMore.com you will get a free gift of a rechargeable cat flashlight which is both adorable and practical.
I would like to remind you that we have just launched a new feature on our product pages at AllergyBuyersClub.com in which you can continue in our tradition by offering detailed and honest reviews to our web site visitors. We have always believed that it helps consumers make educated choices if they know the pluses and minuses of any product before they buy - and it is rare that we ourselves find a perfect product! So if you could add your two cents to our own product reviews that would be splendid!
We prefer reviews which are thoughtful, and sufficiently detailed to help a future customer with their purchasing decisions. It is also preferable to do a balanced review, pointing out both the product’s virtues and vices- although we are not trying to suppress your exuberance or candor!
 

  Mercia Tapping  President  AllergyBuyersClub.com

If you are in need of an air purifier, the Blueair 205C air purifier is packaged with an extra VOC filter, for a savings of $180 and is a wonderful little air cleaner for small rooms. It even comes with a FREE $100 AirPod personal air purifier until Dec 31st - for a total of $280 savings which is an incredible deal. The Blueair 205C is on sale for $249.95. If you need something larger, Blueair is offering a free Airpod with any full size Blueair air purifier purchase, a $100 extra value but again only till December 31st. I happen to be a big Blueair fan and have used their air purifiers in my bedroom since they first launched in the USA.

Also along the air purification line is the new Verilux UV-C Sanitizing Pocket Wand priced at $69.95 which is great for the traveler who likes to make sure that everything in a hotel room is actually sanitary, or the mother for sanitizing her children’s pacifier and toys, as well as those at work for sanitizing door knobs and phones - one of the chief culprits for spreading winter germs. For more Ultra Violet Sanitization Products take a look at our whole department.
 

Keeping dry and a good stocking stuffer is the Eva-Dry Mini Dehumidifier priced at $59.95 or our Digital Hygrometer/Thermometer at $39.95 for measuring the humidity level in your house, which is a must for those allergic to mold or dust mites. My favorite new humidifiers perfect for sinus sufferers are the Air-O-Swiss 7144 Warm & Cool Mist Humidifier priced at $199.95 that I am now using in my summer home where I live at weekends, and the new Germ Guardian Portable Humidifier at $49.95 is a must for the traveler and for the desk top at work. It works like a charm, and the mist is surprisingly powerful. If you have post nasal drip or constant sinusitis, then there is nothing quite like a Grossan Nasal Irrigator priced at $97.00 to clear out sinuses.
 

Great stocking stuffers from our water department are our Water Filter Pitcher at $29.95 which is an exceptionally good one as it filters out more contaminants than others in its class, so your water is safer and just simply tastes better. We also have an extensive choice of Shower Filters and I have always found that they are appreciated by recipients - even more so when you pop in an extra replacement filter. If you have not washed your hair in chlorine free water you are in for a treat! Many people live in areas where the water quality is suspect to say the least, so a good quality counter Water Filter for the kitchen is very reasonably priced. My favorites are the Crown Water Filters at $199.95 or the Fresh Water Works Filter at $49.95. You can not go wrong with either of them.

Last year the staff favorite was our Sheepskin Slippers - so popular with our customers at $59.95, they went out of stock early in the season - so be warned. They are made in Australia at the same factory that makes Ugg, so in addition to being very thick and plush, they have a thick rugged sole which is great for going outdoors in the early morning to get your newspaper. The same factory also makes Baby Sheepskin Booties at $39.95 which have pink and blue laces - totally adorable.

The holidays is always a good time to treat oneself to a bedding makeover, or perhaps do over the bed of an elderly relative who does not realize that their bedding has seen better days. I did over my father’s bed a few months before he passed away earlier this year, and will never forget the smile on his face as he lay back for the first time in his new bedding. I know it gave him pleasure and comfort when there was little else left in his life. If I was doing over a bed, I would start with pillows since most people keep them far too long. Latex Pillows (starting at $84.95) are my own personal favorite as they are dust mite resistant and amazingly comfortable especially when you order them soft - perfect for side sleepers who like to squish up their pillow. My husband loves his Hypodown Pillow since he is allergic to feathers. The fusion of very high quality goose down with a pinch of Syriaca makes for the unique hypoallergenic properties of Hypodown pillows starting at $109.95. We like them soft but many people prefer the medium softness. They also last longer when they are a little bit plumper.
 

A Sheepskin Mattress Cover starting at $159.95 will add a bit of luxury to your mattress, especially if it is too hard and for sheets that are incredibly soft-try Bamboo Sheets at $400 for a complete set, they are really a treat. Personally, I am a fan of having a Silk Duvet Cover and Pillow Cover and it is way to treat myself without going over the top in expense starting at $56 for silk pillow covers. If you live in a warm climate, then a Silk Filled Comforter is simply deliciously light while still being an affordable luxury starting at $150. I use one in summer but in winter I turn to a medium Wool Comforter by Euphoria starting at $325 which is surprisingly lightweight, but keeps me toasty warm even when the furnace failed as it did recently overnight.

When all else fails, and you have left to the last minute then give an AllergyBuyersClub.com online Gift Certificate!

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These backpacks and lunch bags for the juniors in your family are oh-so-cute. Sufficiently so, that they are on my husband’s gift list for his grandchildren. Besides being cute, they are manufactured out of eco friendly materials.

Starting at $38.99.

http://www.greenandmore.com/dabbawalla-kids-back-packs-lunch-bags.html

If there is a baby in your family that is in line for a gift this holiday season, these organic towels with an animal head are totally adorable and very unusual. You will definitely score a hit with these with the baby’s mother.

Just $54.99.

http://www.greenandmore.com/bamboo-hugs-organic-baby-kids-bath-towels.html

Finding the right towel can be tricky. On the one hand, you need a towel which is thick enough to really absorb moisture, but I have also found that top quality thick towels can also be too stiff. So our organic towels I am pleased to say, really hit the right note, as they are ultra soft and absorbent at the same time. I might also say that my opinion is shared by the man of the house for whom organic in a towel is not so important as its softness and absorbency. I wish I could justify throwing out all our other towels and just use these ones as they make using a towel so much more pleasurable. My husband of course will use nothing else - I get to use up the other ones.

Set of 6 Just $129.95.

http://www.greenandmore.com/organic-bath-towels.html

One of the things that I abhor is spending money on some cloud like very lightweight comforter only to have it weighed down by a heavy weight duvet cover. The best way to avoid this is to have a silk duvet cover and shams which is surprisingly affordable. Silk is naturally hypoallergenic and a silk duvet cover is unbelievably light weight. Moreover, I confess that resting one’s head on a silk covered pillow is one of life’s little pleasures. I have owned these silk duvet covers for 4 years, and flouted the manufacturer’s instructions by washing the duvet cover which comes out from my fancy front loading washer with no wrinkles, but it does not have any sheen unless I was to take my iron out of mothballs. Affordable silk sounds like a contradiction, but I think these silk duvet covers are a low priced luxury.

Starting at $289.95.

http://www.allergybuyersclubshopping.com/be-ds-silk-duvet-bamboo.html