Shopping ideas for unique gifts!
Getting Healthy in 2009? Photo courtesy of voxefx
We all make them, but we don’t all stick to them. New Year’s resolutions can get the best of us, but with a little support from some helpful gifts we may not need to make the same resolutions next year. We’ll be looking back on 2009 with a sense of accomplishment.
Goal: Save Money
It’s a common goal. We all want more money in the bank. Gifts can help make that happen.
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New Year. photo courtesy of Harris Grabber
As 2008 wraps up, 2009 is waiting to bring you a fresh start, a new outlook, and another reason to buy some gifts! Sure, the sun has barely set on Christmas, but it’s time to look forward to the new year. Here are gift ideas to help you spread some hope, love and confetti for 2009.
365 Hugs and Warm Wishes
Help someone start off 2009 in a great way with a jar-full of 365 Hugs and Warm Wishes from Pixie Dust. It contains 365 slips of paper with great, encouraging messages that will give your loved one something to look forward to every day of the year.
Confetti Popper Gun
It’s hard to ring in the new year without confetti. Pick up a dozen Party Confetti Popper Guns for $19.99 from Oriental Trading Company and you’ll be the hit of the party. Just make sure you help the host vacuum up afterwards.
Bubble Wrap Calendar
Who doesn’t love bubble wrap? Now you can enjoy every day of the new year with the 2009 Bubble Wrap Calendar. Have fun pressing those pockets of air every day. Just don’t go crazy and pop them all at once.
Ice Shot Glass
Ring in the new year with a nice, cold drink. With Cool Shooters shot glass ice tray you’ll make sure the shots are extra cold. Simply fill the tray with water, freeze and soon you’ll have a shot glass ready for your favorite adult concoction.
Giant Fortune Cookie
Send good fortunes with a giant fortune cookie. It’s a fun (and sweet) way to ring in 2009. Since the giant fortune cookie weighs in at just under one pound and is about the size of a football, chances are this is a gift that will be remembered the whole year.
Organizational Tools
Many of us set resolutions for the new year to be more organized. Help your loved one achieve that dream with the Life.doc organizer. It contains eight sections to help you compile and organize vital information all in one place. Fill it out by hand or use the included CD ROM to type your information in, print it out, and stash it in your new binder.
Who are foodies? Foodies are self proclaimed aficionado of food and drink. Foodies always want the best in food, so it may be difficult or expensive to gift those with discriminating tastes. Here are a few suggestions that are sure to please those with a more refine palette.
La Maison Du Chocolate truffles. Photo courtesy of ulterior epicure.
The french house of chocolate is known all over the world for its craftsmanship. La Maison du Chocolat has turned making chocolate into an artform, employing many chocolatiers to make its famous ganaches, pralines, and truffles. La Maison du Chocolat now has an online boutique, making its creations available to everyone.
Yes, you can have Fiji Water delivered directly to anyone’s house. One time, monthly, and annual subscriptions are available in four different size bottles. Deliveries come in cases and you can have more than one delivered. Right now for the holidays, Fiji home delivery is offering holiday packages of water with its signature silver sleeves!
Dean & Deluca. Photo courtesy of Hs7th.
For foodies everywhere, Dean and Deluca is the mecca of gourmet food. The Dean and Deluca website offers everything a foodie could ever want and need; it has a bakery, cheese shop, butcher shop, offers California wines, and kitchenware. Many of its gourmet food offerings are exclusive to them and they offer an extensive gift selection.
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Do you have any gifts suggestions for the foodies in your life? Please leave me your suggestions and comments.
Shhh! Surprises Make the Best Gifts. photo courtesy of powerbooktrance
I happen to be someone who is very hard to surprise. It’s not that I’m hunting for clues or searching for secrets. I am just observant. I notice things. So if you’re trying to pull off a gift-giving surprise, here are six ways to make that happen, according to someone who is very hard to surprise.
1. One thing I’ve noticed about marriage is that it can be extremely tough to surprise a spouse. They’re always around. They know your hiding places. And they have access to your bank account. That’s why paying with cash is key for pulling off a surprise. Chances are they’ll log on to the online bank account and see where you’ve been spending. Avoid that by using cash so your purchases can’t be tracked.
2. Maybe it’s women’s intuition or maybe it comes from my years of peeking at presents under the tree when my mom wasn’t looking, but I have a pretty good idea what’s in that box under the tree. So if you really want to surprise someone, don’t put it there. Stash it somewhere else– even at a neighbor’s house or at your office if you have to.
3. Buying online? Don’t have the gift delivered to your home. Your spouse could get the mail before you do. Instead, have it shipped to a friend’s house for safe-keeping.
4. Be low-key. If your loved one makes a comment about something they would love to have, make a mental note and move on. Don’t ask tons of questions to draw attention to the fact that you find this tidbit of information extremely interesting. Listen, downplay the comment and store it away for a future gift-giving moment.
5. Destroy the evidence. Don’t let your hard work be ruined by a pesky receipt or a shopping bag with a certain store logo on it. Get rid of the evidence quickly and there’s a better chance you’ll pull off a great surprise.
6. Let them believe something else. This is a tip only for the pros. If you really want to surprise someone, drop a few clues that lead them in a totally different direction. Put a decoy present under the tree, but keep the really good ones hidden away. A few days before the big event, mention that you have been too busy to shop or that you have no idea what to buy them. They’ll be even more shocked when you pull off the surprise gift-giving.
Myhrr Glycerin Soap
Deal of the day: MagicSenses.com  offers FREE SHIPPING on orders over $25 and FREE SAMPLES with every order.
In the picture, you can see their Myhrr Glycerin Soap that is on sale for $6.49. Also on sale: Spearmint Handcrafted Glycerin Soap.
Check them out! www.MagicSenses.com
My husband and I have been busy. We decided that in order to save money this year we would give a list of 24 friends and family members a homemade gift. It’s neatly packaged muffin mix for one of our favorite recipes complete with the instructions. To be honest, I got the idea from another post here on 1HappyCorner. I just adapted it to make it more personal and threw in some low-cost packaging. Here’s how you can make a Christmas gift for under $2.
1. Make a list of the people you want to make gifts for. This will tell you how much of each ingredient you need to buy.
2. Select a recipe. Choose one that you like and that includes a majority of dry ingredients that can be included in a mix. We picked one of our favorite muffin recipes and adapted it to make it easier to package.
3. Buy baggies and measure dry ingredients into each one. We had to use a separate baggie for coconut and chocolate chips that are folded into the muffin batter at the end of the process.
4. Put the baggies into a cute brown paper craft bag like these from CoffeeBags.com. They should cost less than $.50 a piece.
5. Afix each bag with a label. Just pick up shipping labels from a local office supply store and design them on your computer.
6. Include a note about why you chose this recipe along with the ingredient list and recipe instructions. We explained that we make these muffins on Saturday mornings and enjoy them warm out of the oven with a homemade latte.
7. Try hand-delivering them to friends to save on shipping costs.
8. Celebrate because you just saved a lot of money and still managed to give friends a thoughtful, personal gift for less than $2 a piece!
Looking for jewelry with meaning and inspiration. Satya jewelry is what you are looking for. Satya, meaning “truth”, is inspiration by the designer’s world travel and enchantment with other cultures, temples, local markets, and spirituality. The combining of spiritual symbols, sacred meanings, and healing gemstones is what Satya jewelry is all about. Best of all, each of the pieces mentioned below are less than $50 dollars!
Satya Onyx Lotus Earrings
The lotus, which blooms from a mud pond, grows upward and emerges into the sun a beautiful flower. The symbolism of lotus growing from mud inspires to transform in ways never though possible. It symbolizes new beginnings, renewal, and infinite potential.
The sterling silver lotus earrings are accented with three beads of onyx. Onyx represents endurance and guidance,
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Christmas Shopping Crowds. Photo courtesy of Peter Hilton
One in three people feel stressed out during the holidays, according to a Gallup poll. That’s not hard to believe when you think about the obligations, the crowds and the craziness that comes with the Christmas season. To make sure you’re on the other side of that statistic, here are five ways to have fun shopping for holiday gifts, rather than getting stressed.
Put Someone Less Fortunate on Your List
When gifts become so extravagant you worry more about what they’re doing to your budget than how they’ll be received– take a step back. Rather than getting your kids one more video game or your spouse another sweater, try sharing your gift-giving spirit with someone less fortunate. Buying new shoes or a winter coat for someone who doesn’t have one will remind you of the true reason for the season. And it does a lot to squelch stress.
Bring Along a Friend
Solo shopping can be dangerous– especially when the crowds grow to enormous levels. Bringing a friend will make the excursion seem more festive and fun. Plus you’ll have someone helping you make difficult decisions.
Don’t Overspend
Nothing can swell stress levels more than money problems. Make a Christmas budget and stick to it. Ending the holidays without lingering debt will wrap up the season on a much happier note.
Start Early
If you haven’t started on your shopping list– now is the time to do it. Waiting until the last minute will turn joy into stress because you’ll have less time and be dealing with more crowds.
Remember Why You’re Doing It
Don’t think of Christmas shopping as an obligation. Instead, think of it as a way to bless your family and friends. It’s your chance to show them you care about them by buying a great gift. And if they don’t like it? Don’t stress out.
The Complete Ripley Novels (Hardcover)
Looking for a gift for someone who always has their nose in a book? Here are some gift ideas for the avid reader.
If you know what type of novels, series or favorite author a person reads, then a boxed set is the perfect present. You can give an entire collection of works which can be added to a person’s personal library, or start one, if they just gotten into reading books. For instance, crime fiction lovers would be pleasantly surprised with the Complete Ripley Novels
If you know someone who already has an extensive library, then bookends would make a great gift. Barnes and Noble has a great collection of bookends to choose from to match any decor. From Playful Puppies Bookends to Homer and Aristotle Cast Marble Bookends, you would be sure to find the ones which would match any person’s personal taste.
Of course, the bookworm is not complete without the use of their reading aids.  A bookmark is nice, but a bookmark which is also a dictionary is even better. The Franklin Compact Oxford Dictionary
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