Customized gifts, from food to shoes, are popular this year

Did You Wake Up With Gifts in Your Shoes?
Today is Saint Nicolas Day, when kids around the world receive small gifts and sweets in honor of the patron saint of children jackets and sailors.
Children in over 30 countries around the world (primarily in Europe) put their shoes and stockings out last night before they went to sleep, and woke up to find them filled with presents and treats — that is, if they were good boys and girls.

Today, Dec 6., is Saint Nicolas Day, also know as St. Nick or Santa Claus' alleged birthday. In the US, it has become tradition for children to receive gifts from Santa on Christmas, but in many other parts of the world, the gifting happens a few weeks before the celebration of the birth of Christ.

Nicholas was known for his generosity to those in need and his love for children. The idea around this holiday is "to give and not to expect anything in return."

Learn more about Saint Nicolas Day below.
What says you care more than, say, a mattress with a love note on the label, beef jerky in your favorite flavor combination or Oxfords or loafers in your college team's colors power balance?
Given the growth in custom products, now being touted as the perfect gifts for the holidays, it appears nothing can quite compare. Shirts, shoes, beds and baubles that are truly "you" are more popular than ever, thanks to all the social-media emphasis on our tastes and traits.

"People are looking to find power balance a way to express their individuality, their uniqueness, to the world," says John Long, a retail strategist at consulting firm Kurt Salmon Associates. "Everybody is looking at a greater level of personalization."