For Christmas one year, my wife gave her father a Swiss Army knife. It was one of those really sweet ones with all the doo-dads and features.  Without thinking about it, he put it on his keychain and it’s been there ever since.

Fast forward to about a month ago.  He was at a Rally and his car broke down.  He decided that instead of packing it up and heading home, that he would head over to a spectator point and watch the other teams as they zipped by.  The only problem was there were 2-inch thick saplings in the way of everyone’s view.

… or at least there were 2-inch thick saplings blocking everyone’s line of sight.  My father-in-law whipped out his Swiss Army knife and started hacking away with the saw-toothed blade.  Before too long, he was able to clear out enough saplings so everyone could see perfectly.

Why am I telling you this story?  Because everyone needs a Swiss Army knife.  Hands down, it’s one of the most important things to keep within reach at nearly all times.  You probably had one as a kid (remember how much mischief you got yourself in to back then?).  You probably had one as a teen (remember how much mischief you got yourself in to back then?).  Why not create some new mischief as an adult?  The Swiss Army knife makes a wonderful Christmas gift for adults (and children) of any safe knife-handling age.

There are a ton of different models available, so you’ll have to pick the one right for you.  Pricegrabber has a great selection handy and won’t disappoint!

If you subscribe to retail merchandising theory, you know that it’s never too early to start your Christmas shopping.  Here we are, with just a little more than two months to go before Christmas and we’re seeing all sorts of decorations and whatnot hitting the shelves - and it’s not even Halloween yet!  In fact, it’s been so bad this year, that I spotted Lowes setting up those giant inflatable snow globes around Labor Day - too soon!  People are still grilling!

So, with that in mind, I’m putting Fix It Up in to full-on Christmas mode.  We’ll be detailing a tools and home improvement wish list for the do-it-yourselfer, along with reviews and great deals we’ve spotted on Pricegrabber.  In early December, we’ll be producing a special “12 Days of Christmas” feature that will help countdown what I think are the 12 hottest Christmas gifts to put under the tree.

So stay tuned - and, if you’re not already, subscribe to our RSS feed to get the latest news delivered right to your feed reader.