Affordable and practical gift ideas

For little kids:  Create and learn with the Peppa Pig Playhouse, Book & DVD - for fans of the British sensation now on Nick Jr TV : the Peppa Pig show with Peppa and all her animal friends.  Avail at Toys R Us. ( www.PeppaPig.com)

Create it yourself: Personalized photo  iPad and smartphone covers, Canvas art work, Photo books and customized greeting cards from CVSPhoto (CVS.com)

Gifts that give back:  Ideal holiday wines from Murphy-Goode Winery in Sonoma, to support Operation Homefront a national non-profit that provides emergency financial assistance to veterans and their families.

Gift of family safety:  the new "intelligent" Worry Free Smoke Alarm from Kidde with a battery that lasts for 10 years! Available at Home Depot and HomeDepot.com

Gift for keeping family connected: The new T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy SIII  smartphone   -- Unlimited data plans, shares video and photos by just touching  phones back-to-back, comes with free preload hit movie of the year, Marvel's The Avengers. (Starts $229.99) /   www.T-Mobile.com