Meezer Musings: November 2021
Happy Holidays!

We've reached Thanksgiving! Wishing all Americans a very happy and peaceful weekend with your families and friends.

Thanksgiving is traditionally a time of gratitude, and also a time of reflection. Wherever we are in the world, as our countries continue to strive to understand and control Covid-19, we may be looking back at 2021 with mixed emotions. Relief? Sadness? Anger? Overall, perhaps, not very much joy.

I feel about this year rather like the two kitties in the (very cute!) greetings card below seem to feel about their meal. Thankful for the cat food, but the look on their faces suggests that they might prefer to be dining on a turkey with all the trimmings!

So, after another difficult year we're here with a little fun! Our November Meezer Musings is, as usual, themed around the holiday season, looking at the work of the artists and craftspeople who create seasonal cards, gifts and other products featuring Siamese cats.

I hope you enjoy them - some of them you may have seen before, but many are new and all are festive!

Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot

2021 may have been another year of seeing friends and family sparingly, if at all. If you haven't been able to get together with loved ones and are thinking about writing Christmas cards, here are some you may like.

Siamese artist Suzanne Le Good always has a lovely selection of cards, either in packs of assorted designs (as in the second image below) or in packs of the same design like the one here, of a chocolate point and a blue point eyeing up a Christmas tree decoration - and probably wondering who can bat it first!

Both sets of cards are available in Suzanne's Etsy store. Click the images or links below for further details.

  The ones below come in assorted packs of five cards and feature a range of cats with different point colors, hand-decorated with glitter.

With a 1950s twist, check out these two handmade card designs below from Vintage Images UK. The first features a mischievous, slinky Siamese swatting a glass tree ball. In the second, a pair of Siamese lovers cuddle up for a kiss under the mistletoe.

Take One Tree

After the cards have been written, we'll need a tree. Perhaps you have yours up already? In the art print below, one of artist AmyLyn Bihrle's trademark Siamese cats, a picture of innocence, is 'helping' to add the lights with the assistance of a little mouse friend.

Add Some Sparkle

A tree is nothing without its decorations. There's something magical about Christmas tree ornaments! I always enjoy the Siamese cat-themed ones, and keep an eye out for them. Here are some of my favorites this year.

So cute! They tend to sell out quickly, but the ones below are all still available at the time of writing.

Top and Tail It!

To complete your tree why not add a Siamese tree topper, or a skirt? You may of course have your own 'real live' tree topper if your Meezer is fond of climbing, but otherwise who wouldn't love this little face poking out at the top of the tree?

The cat in the image below isn't Siamese, of course, but there are both seal and blue point Siamese designs available from Oakdene Designs on Etsy.

Alternatively, how about a tree skirt? Reasonably priced and available in several different sizes, this one from Amazon will guarantee you a Siamese cat under the tree on Christmas Day.

Santa Baby

Once your tree is in position and garlanded with its decorations and lights (with or without the help of your Meezers!) you'll need some gifts to put under it.

For the humans in your life, look no further than online store Zazzle where designers and artists showcase their designs on a huge variety of wearable, practical, and just plain fun items.

First up is this stylish and cozy seal point Siamese cat scarf, for those times when you're out and about and not carrying your Meezer around on your shoulders!

Also in the wearables category, how about a Siamese cat wristwatch? This one is designed for kids but the same face design is available on wristwatches for women and men in a variety of surrounds and strap styles, all of which you can see here.

Turning to household items, Siamese cats make an appearance on coffee mugs...

 ... and also in both realistic and abstract form on tote bags.

The final selection in our 'gifts for humans' section is this very appealing jigsaw featuring both a Himalayan and a Siamese cat, who've taken over the computer and seem to be saying 'no work for you today'!

This jigsaw is available in a number of different sizes with the piece count varying from 30 oversize pieces all the way up to a massive 1014 pieces, providing a choice in levels of difficulty. That green background might be tough!

The Most Important Gifts

From gifts for humans we move on to gifts for Meezers because we don't want to forget them, do we? (As if they'd let us!) Here are three toys that caught my eye.

One of the most popular toys of 2020 was the Flippity Fish below, and as it's still available I've kept it in for this year.

It has a four-star score on Amazon, with 51% of purchasers giving it five stars, but among the other half of reviewers opinions are mixed. Some people said their cats loved it, others took no notice of it! If this sounds like your cat's kind of thing, be sure to take a look at a sample of the reviews before buying it.

For something simpler, the ball-roller toy below might fit the bill. It's particularly popular with kittens, but suitable for all ages of cat. The spinning balls will keep active cats busy and engaged, and the toy has a non-slip base to prevent it from turning over. It also seems quite safe with no small parts to get lost or chewed.

Sometimes the simplest toys are the best and 'wand' toys are always popular. Here's one I've seen used by a cat I follow on Twitter (you'd be amazed, or perhaps you wouldn't, by the number of cat accounts on Twitter!)

These teaser wands are good fun and good value - but for something even simpler you could always follow the design and make your own.

Wrapping It All Up

In our final selection we return to AmyLyn Bihrle's work, because of course gifts need to be wrapped! AmyLyn has taken one of her print designs and placed it on wrapping paper, which is a lovely idea.

Tail End ...

And so we come to the end of our 2021 gift guide! I hope it's provided you with some festive fun and enjoyment as we near the end of this year.

There won't be a newsletter next month as I hope and expect that you'll be enjoying the festive season and holidays with your loved ones - human or animal - but I'll be back with more Meezer Musings at the end of January.

So as the last few days of November slip away, I hope you have a wonderful December and a joyful and safe holiday season however you traditionally spend it, and, as always, a very merry Christmas.

Caroline

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