Gift Ideas with Creative Thought
A great gift for a wine lover is a membership to a wine of the month club. There are a variety of wine clubs to choose from, so make sure that you choose one that fits your budget.
A membership to a wine of the month club makes a great wedding gift, birthday gift, Christmas gift, Mother’s Day gift… ok, it make a pretty darn good gift for any holiday (as long as the recipient loves wine!).
Mother’s Day is a special day to celebrate mothers and spoil them for a day. When my brothers and I were children we always got up on Mother’s Day and make breakfast (I don’t believe that we ever quite managed to serve it in bed, nor was it the fanciest gourmet meal, but it was the thought that counted).
If you are trying to decide what to get your mother, grandmother of wife for a Mother’s Day gift, here are some gift ideas to get you started:
Hopefully these ideas get you going on planning the perfect gift for Mother’s Day.
We recently added Giving a Couple Money for Their Wedding Gift. What are your thoughts on giving money to newlyweds? Should you give money? How much do you think is appropriate?
This is purely opinion, but I think that this year’s must have Christmas Gift is a netbook. This is a versatile gift that works for all ages (it is an exceptionally great Christmas gift for those hard to please teenagers), male or female (ok, the males may or may not want a pink one, depending on the male…).
Netbooks are more affordable than a standard laptop (they do have their limitations but they are great for surfing the web, chatting with your friends and getting your homework done). They are light and much easier to drag to the local coffee shop over a large bulky laptop.
The key things you want to look at when purchasing a netbook are:
Screen size – make you choose a size that works for you. A standard resolution on the internet these days is 1024 by 800 – so you want to make sure that you have a screen resolution that fits your preferences.
Operating system – the cheaper netbooks tend to run Linux (which is a free system), some run Windows XP and some run Windows 7. Linux may be confusing if you are looking for an easy to use system. I suggest that you spend a little bit more to buy a netbook that runs Windows 7 or at least Windows XP (don’t buy a netbook running Vista, it won’t run well as Vista requires more computing resources than a netbook can support).
Wifi or wireless access – What good is a netbook if it can’t get on the internet? It should come standard, but check just in case.
Hard drive – Netbooks range from 4 GB to 120 GB. Make sure you get at least 60 GB, you will fill up a 4 GB hard drive faster than you can say “hard drive.”
Here are some netbooks you may want to consider as Christmas gifts for 2009:
Please note: The links are Amazon affiliate links, if you make a purchase using the link I do get a small commission (which helps buy me a coffee or two). There are many places to purchase netbooks! So do your research and make your purchase based on who gives you the best price for what you are buying.
MSI Wind
Dell Mini
HP Mini
The majority of companies that make laptops now have netbook versions. Do your research, but a netbook will make a great Christmas gift this year!
A fun Christmas gift that you can give someone is a membership to a club that fits and interest of theirs (wine, chocolate, beer etc.). These clubs offer a “gift that keeps on giving” because the receiver gets a gift for several months rather than just during the holidays.
If you are looking at purchasing a monthly club membership for someone as a Christmas gift this year you may be interested in mix and match 6 gourmet gift clubs and customize your shipping schedule(this is a paid affiliate link that helps to support this blog, if you prefer to use this direct link click here). The six clubs that this company offers are Microbrewed Beer, International Wine, Premium Cigar, Gourmet Cheese, Gourmet Chocolate and Fresh Cut Flower of the Month Clubs.
Gourmet of the month club is offering some select discounts this holiday season:
We all know that men love their gadgets, their toys. But what are their toys in 2009? What are the best gadgets for men? In this article, we’ll explore 10 Christmas gadgets for men. Some are obvious. Others may not have entered your mind.
The number one Christmas gadget for men this year is the Amazon Kindle (Kindle: Amazon’s 6
Men love to have great TV’s and gadget-men like to have the top rated LCD TVs. This Christmas promises to be the Christmas of the LCDs with newer and larger models coming out all the time. From a 52 inch wonder to a small pocket LCD, you can find an LCD TV that he’ll love this Christmas.
Gadget men like to be ahead of the curve. For these men, gift number three is the Roku Digital Video Player. This device lets you download movies from the Internet (Amazon, Netflix, Blockbuster) and watch them on your LCD TV. With this device, you will never need to rent a DVD again.
It’s a stereotypical saying that men never ask for directions. With gift #4, they do not have to. Get the man in your life one of the latest GPS devices and he’ll always know where he is and where he is going. And, today’s portable GPS Navigator also does many other things like locate the nearest Walgreen’s or steakhouse while listening to your favorite music.
Gadget men do not want to watch movies on DVD. This is so old school. Get your man a Blue Ray Disc Player for Christmas 2009. Combined with his new LCD television, he’ll be in viewing heaven.
Gadget men not only need cameras, they need the best cameras. A little cheap digital will not do. The Gadget man needs an SLR camera. These are the ones that allow you to take all kinds of great pictures from any distance. A digital SLR (single lens reflex) will have him taking fantastic pictures that he’ll show all of his friends.
One tech toy that all men must have is an MP3 player. The best MP3 player for the money right now is the iPod Touch. This iPod does everything short of make you breakfast. Look for special deals on this iPod during the holiday season.
A gadget man worth his salt is not confined by a set of headphones. The true gadget man plugs his iPod into a home stereo system that he plays throughout the house. If your man is in need, consider getting him a great home stereo for the holidays.
One of the smallest, coolest devices out there right now is the Flip Video Camcorder. This device fits in the palm of your hand and records hours of video in HD and then easily connects to your TV for inspired viewing.
And finally, as gift number ten, your beloved gadget man needs a Netbook. These are super-small but powerful computers that you can bring anywhere. In this connected world, it may end up being one of his favorite toys.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/gifts-articles/10-christmas-gadgets-for-men-1292041.html
About the Author: Richard Mas
View these gifts and more on the Christmas Gifts for Men page at the Christmas Store Online. The author, Richard Mas, is a retail specialist, technologist, and senior editor at The Christmas Store Online.
Ok, I am going to start out this post with a simple “spoil her rotten” answer to the question on what you should do to celebrate your wife’s birthday. Now that you know you are going to spoil her, let’s talk about how:
Breafast in bed, breakfast on the go, breakfast at all?
Why not start your wife’s birthday off right with a full belly? It could be something as simple as making her a bowl of cereal, brewing her some coffeee and placing a rose next to to it. If you are so inclined you could create a chef’s masterpiece of eggs, bacon, omeletes, whatever her favorite breakfast food is… Remember, it really is the thought that counts here and no matter what you do, big or small, you will start out your wife’s birthday with a smile.
Flowers. Yes, flowers.
Even if she says she doesn’t like flowers, she does. If your wife is working on her birthday you could have flowers delivered to her work or drop off a bouquet yourself. If she has the day off sneak out and get her a bouquet or have them delivered. I am not saying that you have to buy her a super expensive bouquet of long stemmed red roses, but giving your wife flowers on her birthday will help make the day special (and spoil her rotten).
Take your wife to dinner on her birthday.
If you have children arrange a baby sitter and take your wife out to a special dinner together, she deserves it I promise.
Jewelry.
I am not saying that you have to go spend hundreds of dollars on super fancy jewelry, but a nice necklace or bracelet to surprise her on her birthday will make her smile. Whether it is a mother’s necklace, a silver locket or a diamond tennis bracelet a nice piece of jewelry will be a long standing reminder of her birthday celebration.
Also, check out out birthday gift ideas here.
One of my favorite gifts to put together for coworkers, family and friends is homemade bath products. I usually make homemade bath bombs, homemade bath salts, glycerin soap and I crochet some wash clothes (which is actually easier than you may think). 
For packaging I go with a more natural look. I place the bath bombs and bath salts in plastic sandwich bags (not the zip lock ones, or fold over ones, I usually look for the bags that come with ties that are just plain small plastic bags). I leave a few inches to spare at the top and tie the bag with the yarn that I used to make the washcloths or raffia.
Once I have finished the glycerin soap (I usually do the simple melt and pour soaps in some nice molds with a similar scent to what I use for the homemade bath salts and homemade bath bombs) I will simply wrap it up in plastic wrap and tie yarn or raffia around it in a bow.
I then place the soap, bath bombs, bath salts and washcloths in a brown paper lunch sack and tie the top with raffia or yarn making a nice homemade bath collection ready to give away.
Creating a wine gift basket can be almost as much fun as giving it away. Wine gift baskets make a great anniversary gifts, birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, Valentines day gifts and they also make wonderful wedding gifts (for a wedding gift, why not choose a particular wine that matures on the newlyweds anniversary, and include a note about it?)
Of course you want to start with a great bottle of wine, if you know the wine preference of the person that you are giving the gift basket to, start with that kind of wine. If you do not know of a preferred wine, share with them your favorite wine.
Some other great items to include in your wine gift basket are:
For fun you could create a “custom wine label” and wrap it around the bottle of wine (if it is your favorite wine, add a note explaining that it is and why). You could also create a wine gift basket that is based on a country, pairing an Italian wine with Italian cheeses and othe treats from Italy.
Giving gifts does not always have to break the bank. It truly is the thought that counts when giving a gift, never feel pressured to buy something you can’t afford. Spend some time putting together gift ideas that fit the person you are giving them to and choose the gift that matches your budget that you know they will love and appreciate.
Here is my top 10 list of cheap gifts for under $10 to get you started:
Some cheap gift wrapping options include:
Wrap the gift in an inside out brown paper bag and tie with yarn or raffia for a natural, but inexpensive look. Hand write a note on nice paper and place it in an envelope with their name on it, in place of a card.
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Michelle: 
Peggy Farabaugh: 