It is very well known that exercise and regular physical activity can help you reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. And when it comes to women (like new moms, for example), being fit can help them lose or control their weight loss.

Belly Burner. photo courtesy of Taylor Gifts

Here are some tips to consider when choosing gifts for your loved one:

Start slow!

If your loved one hasn’t done any kind of exercise in a while, they will need to start sloooow… maybe 10 minutes at a time. Stretching, walking around the block, gardening, going up and down the stairs, swimming and dancing are just a few activities they can do to start off their fitness routine. The Belly Burner is a perfect gift idea for those who want to be fit again! It’s very convenient: they can wear it under and over clothing while they are doing their daily activities and it’s even more effective if worn during the daily exercise routine.

Make it easy!

The Ab Flyer. Photo courtesy of Taylor Gifts

Going to the gym is somewhat strenuous on most people, especially on new moms who have to be home with their babies. So, why not bring the gym into their home? The Ab Flyer, for example, makes a great gift for moms who want to tone up their tummies. It is easy to store (folds) and easy to use; it works all the abdominal muscles in a Unique Reverse Arc Motion.

Make it fun!

Routines can be rather boring. However, your gift can change that! You can:
- offer them tickets to the zoo, a craft show or to a dog show so they can walk for at least a couple of hours;
- pay for dancing lessons;
- buy them roller skates or bicycle accessories like a double wall bike rack

Do NOT get discouraged!

Give them a Journal and ask them to write down their goal and reasons; then ask them to keep a record of their milestones. This should keep them motivated.

Pasta Bowl Apron. photo courtesy of She's SO Creative

Today I’d like to introduce you to She’s SO Creative - renowned creators of outrageously clever cards and more witty stuff. I met them at the San Francisco International Gift Fair, last week, and I thought their product was worth mentioning. I hope you do, too!

I particularly like their aprons which make a great birthday, Christmas or hostess gift:

“Pasta Bowl” Apron is packaged in a Parmesan Cheese Container! It literally features a bunch of pasta (Farfalle, Rigatoni, and Rotini) bowling. ($26.50)

French Chicks Apron. photo courtesy of She's SO Creative

“French Chicks” Apron is packaged in a real Egg Carton! It features beret-wearing yellow chicks hanging out, drinking wine and café lattes at Café Le Egg. ($26.50)

“Salad Dressing” Apron is packaged in a take-out Salad Box! It features a salad literally getting dressed: a carrot in pantyhose, a tomato in bra and panties, and lettuce in evening wear and heels. ($26.50)

They also have fun, matching shopping list/notepads ($6.50) and “Witty Wiper” napkins! ($5.50)

ECO-FRIENDLY: Apron packaging is all recycled. And their notepads and napkins are 100% recycled as well and printed with the greenest inks possible.

The products are available nationally via their website She’s SO Creative. Check them out!

Give Homemade Spa Treatments (Photo courtesy of Fing'rs)

Lots of your friends and family members probably love the idea of indulging at a spa– but few have the time or money. Now you can give them the gift of relaxation with these DIY spa gifts. With a few simple ingredients packaged creatively in jars or plastic containers from a craft store, you’ll have a great gift ready to go.

Coffee Body Scrub

Don’t toss out those coffee grounds– put them to good use. Combine two cups of coffee grounds with a half cup of raw sugar or sea salt and a few tablespoons of massage oil for a lovely coffee body scrub that will wash away the dry skin winter leaves behind.

Bath Cookies

Check out SpaIndex.com’s most requested recipe– bath cookies! You’ll bake up something great for your friends and family members to use in their next bath. The recipe is pretty easy and includes many ingredients you probably already have in your fridge or pantry including sea salt, baking soda, cornstarch, oil, and eggs. Combine the ingredients, bake for ten minutes and you’ll have a gift that looks like you picked it up in a fancy spa!

Sugar Coconut Hand Renewal

Winter does a number on our hands often leaving them dry and cracked. Whip up this recipe from Health Magazine and give it away to those who may need a little pampering. The recipe is made up of ingredients like coconut oil, sugar, and lemon juice. Make sure your gift also includes a pair of cotton gloves like these from PrettyLikeMe.com so they can let your mixture work overnight.

At-Home French Manicure

Put together your own French manicure kit that includes cuticle cream, white and pink nail polish and a fancy nail file. Give it to someone who may not have the time or money for regular manicures, but deserves to look their best.

Make Room in Here for Gifts (Photo courtesy of The County Clerk.)

It happens to even the most organized individuals. A birthday is forgotten or a special occasion arrives at life’s busiest moment. Or perhaps a gift shows up during the holidays that you weren’t expecting, so you have nothing to give in return. These are times when a stocked gift closet can be a huge help. It cancels out the need for frantic trips to the mall, trying to find a suitable gift in 15 minutes flat. It eliminates the added stress when work and obligations prevent gift-buying excursions. And it makes awkward moment of being blindsided by a gift with nothing to give in return a thing of the past. Your gift closet doesn’t have to be expensive, extensive or complicated. Here are a few ways to stock a gift closet in your home.

Shop Post-Holiday Sales

Black Friday or the days following Christmas can be great times to pick up extra presents for your gift closet. You’ll find great bargains and slashed price tags. Since the items aren’t for anyone in particular, waiting to hand them out until next year won’t matter.

Think Timeless

Avoid gifts that could get outdated. Make sure there’s not a date on the package or that your gift doesn’t expire. The last thing you want to do is give a gift that is obviously old.

Re-Gift Sparingly

Peggy Post would probably call re-gifting a major faux pas, but come on, we’re in a recession. Just because you don’t like a gift doesn’t mean someone else won’t love it. That being said, if you do stock your gift closet with a few unused gifts make sure you keep track of who they came from so you avoid any monumentally embarrassing moments.

Buy More

Find a great deal on a blanket, serving dish or key chain? Pick up an extra one and stash it in your gift closet. If you like it enough to buy one then someone else will probably appreciate receiving it from you as well.

Support Charity

Stocking your gift closet is a good time to support charities. Is a local organization or neighborhood child selling a product that might work well in your gift closet? You’ll not only support a great cause, but you’ll be better prepared, too.

Find Unisex Items

It may be easier to fill your gift closet with smelly candles or flowery lotions, but remember that you could have a need for a gift for the opposite sex. Be sure to stock items that are fitting for a man or a woman like a book, a game or a gift card to a coffee shop.

Throw in Extras

While you’re at it, make sure your newly stocked gift closet also includes a couple of cards– one for a birthday and an anniversary. Also, make sure there are a few gift bags on hand in case you only have a few seconds to wrap your present.

The all natural fragrances of LAVANILA Laboratories is the world’s first healthy fragrance collection contain no harsh synthetic ingredients.  This collection is 100% healthy and good for you, the vanilla-based scents are infused with powerful antioxidants and active botanical that nourish and conditions with each spray.  Why would they add this to a fragrance? Its because 60% of what you put on our skin is actually absorbed into the bloodstream.  So why not spray something healthy on.  Plus, this makes a great gift for someone who loves fragrances.  Not only would you show them you thought of them, but also you thought of their health by gifting them something natural and goes beyond just making them smell nice!

Lavanila Laboratories The Healthy Fragrance, Pure Vanilla

The Perfect Vanilla

The tender sensuality of fresh Madagascar vanilla and pure tonka bean.  More vanilla bean than vanilla cookie, this superbly clean scent is a must-have for any vanilla addict.

Madagascar Vanilla, Freesia, Heliotrope, Tonka Bean

Price: $56,  1.7 fl oz. (50 ml)

Lavanila Laboratories The Healthy Fragrance, Vanilla Grapefruit

An Uplifting Citrus

Awaken your inner spirits with this luscious blend of sparkling grapefruit, fresh lime and warm cedarwood softened in a base of rich Madagascar vanilla Sweetly seductive and kissed by sunshine, this uniquely crisp scent is destined to be a cult classic.

Grapefruit, Bergamot, Lime, Orange, Cedarwood, Heliotrope, Madagascar Vanilla.

Price: $56,  1.7 fl oz. (50 ml)

Lavanila Laboratories The Healthy Fragrance, Vanilla Blossom

A Wild Floral Bouquet

An exotic blend of crushed orange blossom, rose, jasmine, and karo karounde petals warmed with the richness of nutmeg and Madagascar vanilla.  Dangerously seductive, this flirtatious floral is unexpectedly clean and undoubtedly sophisticated.

Orange Blossom, Rose, Jasmine, Karo Karounde, Osmanthus, Lemon, Nutmeg Madagascar.

Price: $56,  1.7 fl oz. (50 ml)

Lavanila Laboratories The Healthy Fragrance, Vanilla Lavender

A Fresh & Innocent Scent

The clean blend of Spanish Lavender, rose, Violet leaf and rich Madagascar vanilla create a scent that peaceful and serene. It is sure to melt a way the stress of any day!

Spanish Lavender, Rose Absolute, Violet Leaf, Madagascar Vanilla.

Price: $56,  1.7 fl oz. (50 ml)

Lavanila Laboratories The Healthy Fragrance, Vanilla Coconut

Island Escape

This carefree Tropical scent is a blend of young coconut, Tahitian tiare flower, and Madagascar vanilla.  Its a simple blend, yet it transport you instantaneously to the islands. Its paradise found.

Coconut, Tahitian Tiare, Madagascar Vanilla.

Price: $56,  1.7 fl oz. (50 ml)

To find the LAVANILA Laboratories Healthy Fragrance collection and other products offer, check out LAVANILA Laboratories on Beauty.com.

What are these things?! They are the soon to be latest cell phone accessory craze!  Not only do they serve a functional purpose, they spin and light up when you have an incoming call or text, but they also entertain.  They are your next monstrous pet, where you can name and play with for hours.  Check out Moshi Monsters:

Moshi Monsters

Somewhere between cyberspace and Earth a strange race of playful creatures exist. Known as Moshi Monsters, these wacky critters are set to take over your life with their hilarious antics and puzzle-playing shenanigans. But in typically surreal fashion Moshi Monsters have somehow muscled in on the world of mobile phone accessories.

These nifty phone charms contain a Moshi Monster that flashes and spins when a call or text comes in. So far, so nuts. And very handy when you’re in a noisy place or your phone’s in silent mode. You’ll never miss another call.

As if alerting you to incoming calls wasn’t enough, each dome-dwelling critter comes with a unique ‘unlock’ code that gives you exclusive access to the virtual world where Moshi Monsters live and play. And it’s here you can adopt your very own Moshi Monster and get your mitts on a free virtual accessory. See, we told you they were strange!

Once you’ve adopted your Monster you can name it and then nurture it with your brainwaves by playing daily puzzles. Earn enough ‘Rox’ and you can accessorize your Monster, customize its home and even go shopping around the bustling frontier town known as Monstro City. It’s yucktastic!

As well as looking after number one, you can interact with other Moshi Monster owners online, read daily Monster blogs, and send and receive Monster Mail. There’s a whole new world out there and we guarantee you’ll become monstrously obsessed. But what about those crazy MoPod Monsters? Well here’s a quick low-down on the characters set to dangle from mobiles, bags and belt loops across the world:

From L-R: Poppet, Furi, Katsuma, Luvli, Zommer and Diavlo

You get to pick from 6 amazing Moshi Monsters:

Zommers are stitch-picking, drool-licking thingamajigs who are all of a jumble. Rock!

Diavlos are fangtastically mischievous Monsters with cratery heads full of sizzly-fizzly lava. Yow!

Katsumas are super-smooth, but don’t mess or you’ll unleash a flurry of claws, jaws and lightning-fast paws. Rrrrr!

Furis mean well but they’re the grouchiest, slouchiest hairballs in all of Monstro City. Bah!

Luvlis are flutterly amazing with a sprinkling of magical hokery-pokery. It’s enough to give you glittery goosebumps!

Poppets are huggalicious but bashful little cutie pies that just love to boogie. Aww, shucks!

Price: $9.95

Please Note:

Compatible with all GSM networks.
Not compatible with 3G networks,  like Verizon.
Approximately 6cm (H) x 2.3cm (W) x 2.3cm (D)
Requires 2 x L1154 batteries (included)

To buy your Moshi Monster Mopods, check out Firebox.com

If you love the perfume Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker, you’ll love her new trio of scents meant to complement the original fragrance.  The Lovely Collection by Sarah Jessica Parker is a personal collection of three fragrances inspired by lovely moments.  For instance, Dawn is inspired by morning, sunrise and first sunrays, while Twilight is inspired by the evening, by the indefinable moments and indescribable feelings. 

The Lovely Collection by Sarah Jessica Parker makes a great gift to those who are fans of her fragrances, or even to those who want a little more romance in their lives.  Learn more about each of the three new perfumes below to find just the right one to make it the perfect gift:

Dawn by Sarah Jessica Parker

Dawn is a fresh and clean fragrance, inspired by the morning sunrise and first sunrays. Makes a great gift for those who like clean and fresh fragrances.  Dawn is a very inviting scent and a fragrance for making first impressions. Top notes: citrus cocktail, violet leaves, angelica. Middle notes: masdevalia glandulosa, cattleya leopoldiim, cattleya luteola. Bottom notes: Tahitian vanilla, orris, oakmoss, vetiver, translucent musks.

Eau de Parfume Spray 2.5 oz

Price $58

Endless by Sarah Jessica Parker

Endless by Sarah Jessica Parker is a fun floral-fruity fragrance to wear in the daytime.  This fragrance starts off with the combination of pineapple and jasmin, and ends with the subtle notes of sandlewood and musk.  Top notes: pineapple, apple, ivy leaves. Middle notes: clove bud oil, jasmin absolute sambac, Roman chamomile. Bottom notes: oakmoss, patchouli oil Indonesia, sandalwood oil Australia, suede musks.

Eau de Parfume Spray 2.5 oz

Price $58

Twilight by Sarah Jessica Parker

Twilight by Sarah Jessica Parker is a sexy, musky fragrance to wear in the evening. Twilight was designed to be reminiscent of the sweet moments of intimacy and closeness.  This makes a great gift for that special someone in your life. Top notes: bergamot, galbanum, mandarin, pink pepper. Middle notes: peony, jasmine. Bottom notes: amber, sandalwood, incense, musk.

Eau de Parfume Spray 2.5 oz

Price $58

You can find The Lovely Collection by Sarah Jessica Parker at Beauty.com.

Take something mundane in your everyday life and make it standout and extraordinary with chicBuds earphones! For use with all music listening devices or anything that takes a 3.5mm Jack, these blinged out earphones make great gifts for the ipod fanatic, teenager, traveler or anyone who wants to be a little different.

chicBuds Earphones

White chicBuds in Watermelon

chicBuds earphones are retractable, stylish earphones to use with all your music listening devices. The built-in retractor makes using your devices tangle-free and best of all allows for 5 stopping points so you can adjust the length for your use. For instance, the shortest points works best for an ipod on an armband when working out and the longest points works best when using a portable DVD player or portable game player. Available in white or black earphone, chicBuds come in five flavors of nearly 100 genuine Swarovski crystal pieces on each flavor earphone: Blueberry, Grape, Watermelon, Sour Apple, and Marshmallow.

Practical, stylish, convenient, chicBuds earphones are perfect for working out (no tangled cords, adjustable cord length and fastening clip) and are great for traveling.

Men’s Designer Series

Not just for women, chicBuds now offers RockBuds: Earbuds that Rock! These make a great gift for men or anyone who has an inner rock chic in her. Available in 4 designs: Rock Band, Rock Star, Wings Like Eagles, and Green Camo.

Other chicBuds Products

chicBuds offers a wide range of products. The Techie Girl Kit is a retractable USB charge and Sync cable set adorned with Swarovski crystal. Forget bluetooth, and consider PinkTooth, chicBud’s bluetooth compatible wireless headsets adorned with Swarovski Crystals. Visit chicBuds.com for the full range of products available.

Giveaway

chicBuds.com has generously donated a pair of White chicBuds earphones in Watermelon, pictured on top.
Read more…

We mentioned Flingwear.com in our 2009 Valentine’s Gift Guide.

photo courtesy of flingwear.com

From their Press Release:

Women everywhere can look pretty in pink this Valentine’s Day thanks to Flingwear’s newest addition:  Flingz™ (the ultimate thong for women on the go) in cotton candy pink.  Debuting for Fall 2008 with Flingz™ in nude and black, Flingwear Founder & CEO Kathryn Thigpen felt it was time to expand the color range due to excellent customer feedback on comfort, fit, simplicity, and versatility to wear Flingz under any outfit.  What better way than with a pretty, fun, flirty color to get women ready for Valentine’s Day and the Spring season!
Read more…

We mentioned WomensColoring Books.com in our 2009 Valentine’s Gift Guide.

The Color Of Joy. photo courtesy of WomensColoringBooks.com

This gift idea is a gorgeous coloring book for women called THE COLOR OF JOY.  Available online at WomensColoringBooks.com. 

In the month it’s been out it’s gotten amazing feedback from women across the board who have found the site. There are testimonials from customers that you can read to see the response it’s getting.  Many women have ordered one for themselves, and when they actually have it in hand, come back to the site and order more for friends and relatives.

Coloring is the best kept secret out there for stress reduction! Playing with color is deeply relaxing, meditative, incredibly fun (with no artistic skill required), and it’s completely addictive once you start. This book, designed specifically for women has a colorful glossy cover that’s very visually appealing, and beautiful 9×12 inch art tablet sized drawings, with inspirational and sometimes humorous writings to go with the drawings.

A great Valentines Day gift idea for a wife or girlfriend — impress them with how sensitive you are with this unique gift designed for relaxation… Throw in pack of magic markers and it’s like a mini-retreat without leaving home.

Price:    $22.99