Tag: presents

Holiday Hostess Gifts

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Image courtesy of Ron Bird / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Despite my passion for gift-giving and shopping (it’s kind of the whole premise for this blog) when it comes to the holidays, hosting and feeding my family and friends takes the cake–literally and figuatively. I love preparing the menu, decorating our house with my husband and kids–well, he watches and directs while we decorate but it’s still really fun–finding a fun activity for guests to break the ice and then pulling it all together. That said, I also visiting family and friends: our annual tradition of going to my aunt’s for Christmas Day, celebrating New Years Eve with my husband at “our” restaurant where we had our wedding reception, watching all the kids and grown-up men get sweaty and hungry playing soccer (or maybe it’s football) on Thanksgiving at my in-law’s.

Whether it’s an established tradition or a new invitation that finds you celebrating in someone else’s home, it’s customary to bring a token of thanks. I’ve written about hostess gifts before, and my “rules of the road” (a bunch of them will work for the holidays too so feel free to check them out again, particularly this one and this one) but these gift ideas focus on unexpected and holiday specific ideas to warm the hearts and homes of your hosts.

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Writing Themed Gifts

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20121114-231601.jpgBefore the in-flux of posts about what to give and what to get kicks into high gear, I thought I’d write about something that doesn’t have to cost very much–gifts about writing. The idea for this came from my son the other night. After a particularly tense evening between him and his sister (and me), my son asked me for a notebook. Just an everyday, lined notebook for him to be able to jot down his thoughts and maybe the occasional doodle. I was so inspired that my digitized nine-year-old wanted such a simple creative outlet for his thoughts that it got me thinking about how some of the sweetest gifts I’ve ever gotten (and given) have been similar.

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What I’m Giving: Electronics & Appliances

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gift_boxes.jpgOne of my very favorite parts of the holidays is (no surprise) the gift shopping. I like to start picking and choosing few months in advance and I’m happy to say I’ve already got a few socked away. Most gifts I purchase are things I already have, love or want…things I can get behind, so to speak. The following are some electronic and appliance items I’m thinking about for this holiday season and I’d love to hear about what you’re pondering in the comments below.

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October Top Toys: Get Holiday Gifting Ready

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20121029-212904.jpgRemember when Holiday shopping started AFTER Thanksgiving? Me too! This year I started getting catalogs and emails after my kids went back to school. Then the panic started–have I been asleep at the shopping wheel, should I be more prepared? Every year it seems we get inundated with Christmas promotions and Chanukah sales earlier and earlier but what this also means is that ultimately people ARE shopping so there is more competition for selection so starting to think about your gift list now is prudent. That’s why I’m dedicating my regular end-of-month toy feature to gifting ideas and thought starters, as always from Amazon.com. Enjoy!

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Unique Gifts for the Love of Your Life

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i_love_you.jpgThe romantic love of my life was born on Halloween so it’s fast approaching. Every year it’s so hard to identify a gift that illustrates how much he means to me… How when he came into my life it debunked (much to my then dismay) all my firmly held beliefs about relationships… How much he taught me by encouraging me rely to on him and that ultimately helped me believe in romantic love again. And when we eventually got married, I never looked back.

There are a few gift lists my hubby has inspired, like this one on baseball and this one on football. But below is a list of intimate gift ideas when you want to give a piece of yourself, and more importantly, when the recipient is ready (and dare I say worthy) to receive such a prize. So it’s fair to say he is the muse for this one as well, but for entirely different reasons. Happy birthday my darling, I’m grateful for the day you were born and that I get to celebrate each passing year with you.

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Must Haves: Your Gift Arsenal

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20121016-003058.jpgMust-haves are powerful things. I didn’t realize how so until the last ten years, give or take a few–I call these the mommy years–but drawing from your go-tos almost always (I did say almost) can make a great gift if you keep it in context. In short, wisdom trumps cute every time especially when it comes to parenting and (pre-wedding) bridal. Here are my must-haves for your perusal and consideration. Feel free to share yours in the comments below as well.

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Gifts For Resetting and Recharging

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© Luchschen | Dreamstime.com

This week was full of emotional highs and lows. A really rough week at work was followed by a fantastic 20th grammar and high school reunion with friends–some I’ve known since third grade. Between saying goodbye to departing colleagues and catching up with old friends, I’ve been on a bit of an emotional roller coaster and so a reset was in order. STAT. It was time to press recharge, even just for a day…ok maybe two…and indulge one or more of these tried and true outlets.

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Gifts That Encourage Courage

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Arsen Kurbanov
“David and Goliath”
152×152 cm, oil on canvas

We all know those four-letter-words that shouldn’t be said, at least not within earshot of our kids, parents, grandparents, in-laws, clergy, teachers… you get my drift. In my experience, the most destructive word of them all isn’t one the aforementioned list at all. Simply said, it’s fear. Fear is crippling, it’s blinding, it makes you believe things that aren’t real and question things that are true. But cheer up, it’s not all doom and gloom.

What is brilliant and not-so-bad about fear is that the opposite doesn’t have to the the absence of it–courage by it’s nature usually means still being afraid, but acting IN SPITE OF IT. So anyone can have courage. It’s an equal opportunity state-of-being that’s completely opt-in. Such great news, right?!? That said, it wouldn’t be Gifting Whisperer without a list so here are gifts that encourage courage and acknowledge when someone you love is finding the fight in spite of fill-in-the-blank. We’ve all been/are/will be there sometime.

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September’s Top Toys: Hot Picks For Fall

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If you’re anything like me, you start holiday shopping in October so get ready for tomorrow…because it is ON. As luck would have it and as I do at the end of every month, I’m rounding up the the top toys — by popularity and rating as tracked by Amazon.com — across a number of categories and I’ve already earmarked a few ideas for my Christmas and Chanukah shopping lists.  Featured below are selections from: action & toy figures, dolls and doll accessories, construction & blocks, arts & craft, outdoor gym & swing sets, learning & educational toys, play vehicles and games. Bear in mind, the prices listed are “List Prices” however, on Amazon you can often find items deeply discounted (many of these featured items are), so make sure to check.

PS – Stay tuned for special Halloween posts coming soon too. Happy Fall!

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Fan Girl Love: Pop Star Gifts

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The Voice and X-Factors debuted their season this week and presumably Idol will soon follow. Other than the singing, what do they all have in common? Former pop star queens making up part of the the judging panels (did anyone notice Britney get announced AFTER Simon last night as the “headliner” and X-F clearly became the Britney Show)–and as a fan I’m hoping they deliver and rule the roost. I’m speaking of course of all of them: Christina Aguilera, Demi Lovato, Britney Spears and Mariah Carey (and perhaps one more TBD). Now full disclosure, a couple years back my husband got this thirtysomething tickets to see Ms. Spears in concert during her Circus Tour so I never lost and all of my teeny-booper mojo– I also feel her Blackout album may be her most brilliant one. Ever. And Ms. Mariah…don’t even get me started. Love her. So I am not a pop hater. Not at all. This list is in reverence and hopefully useful for you and your pop loving recipients.

This is really more of a sidebar, but if you can get your hands on David Cook’s cover of Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby” you’ll be glad you did. Trust.

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