Gift Giving Guy: Gift Ideas & Advice http://www.giftgivingguy.com Mon, 12 Dec 2011 05:00:49 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Gift Giving Guy: Gift Ideas & Advice http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/3ab465414b5423629e595c03d0406398.png?s=48 http://www.giftgivingguy.com Star Wars Tauntaun Sleeping Bag http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/12/star-wars-tauntaun-sleeping-bag.html http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/12/star-wars-tauntaun-sleeping-bag.html#comments Mon, 12 Dec 2011 04:58:41 +0000 Gift Giving Guy http://www.giftgivingguy.com/?p=2280 In 2009, ThinkGeek created a brilliant gift: the Star Wars Tauntuan Sleeping Bag. Imagine your Star Wars fan seeking warmth from the inside of a mounted tauntaun — without the stench — as seen in The Empire Strikes Back. The problem: it was an April Fool’s Joke. You couldn’t really order it from ThinkGeek.

But the masses spoke, blogged, tweeted and emailed, and the prank became a present, thanks to licensing from LucasFilms. You’ll find this plush Tauntaun sleeping bag, with lightsaber zipper pull and printed internal intestines, for $100 at ThinkGeek.

So I knew exactly what to get my Star-Wars-fanatical, five-year-old nephew this year for his birthday. And he loved it. The gift was so well received, his seven-year-old sister cried because she wanted something so great. I didn’t see that coming. But I did believe their father, a devout Star Wars fan, would be driven to tears of joy.

]]> http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/12/star-wars-tauntaun-sleeping-bag.html/feed 0 Scrumdiddlyumptious Chocolate http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/10/chocolate.html http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/10/chocolate.html#comments Sun, 23 Oct 2011 04:56:56 +0000 Gift Giving Guy http://www.giftgivingguy.com/?p=2270 I treated my chocolate-loving wife (and me) to Wonka Exceptionals Scrumdiddlyumptious Chocolate Bars. The 3.5 ounce bar mixes milk chocolate with toffee, crispy cookie and peanuts. Willy Wonka would be proud.

]]> http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/10/chocolate.html/feed 1 Eleventh Anniversary Gifts: Steel and Modern Jewelry http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/10/eleventh-anniversary-gifts-steel-and-modern-jewelry.html http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/10/eleventh-anniversary-gifts-steel-and-modern-jewelry.html#comments Mon, 10 Oct 2011 02:08:10 +0000 Gift Giving Guy http://www.giftgivingguy.com/?p=2262 Our kitchen remodel is almost complete. With new granite countertops, our cloth pot holders won’t do. Fortunately, the traditional anniversary gift for the 11th anniversary is steel. I gave her this stainless steel, daisy-shaped trivet. The trivet also changes its shape to elongate for rectangular pans.

 

The modern gift for the 11th anniversary is fashion jewelry. Nothing satisfies like Tiffany & Co., and she loved this Elsa Peretti Bean bracelet.

]]> http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/10/eleventh-anniversary-gifts-steel-and-modern-jewelry.html/feed 0 Summer Camp Gifts http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/08/summer-camp-gifts.html http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/08/summer-camp-gifts.html#comments Sun, 07 Aug 2011 23:47:27 +0000 Gift Giving Guy http://www.giftgivingguy.com/?p=2247 I never went to summer camp. So I’m living vicariously through my 10-year-old niece. Today she embarks on a week of hiking and horseback riding, campfires and canoeing, and s’mores and swimming. Of course, I wouldn’t know anything about the summer heat, mosquito bites, pouring rain, poison ivy, cabin chores and creaky bunk beds. But I imagine she might feel homesick, so she will receive a summer camp care package from her Uncle Gift Giving Guy and Savvy Auntie (tm). I browsed several sites for summer camp gifts and chose Beyond Bookmarks, which offers the “funner size” of the Camp Life care package for Teens and Tweens. This summer camp gift package includes:

  • Chucknuka Uglydoll in purple
  • Hangman travel game by Magnetic Poetry
  • Waterproof playing cards
  • Carabiner (clip-on) pen
  • 16-ounce water bottle
  • Lip balm with sunscreen
  • Clip flashlight (with batteries included)
  • Mosquito repellent wrist band
  • Glow necklace
  • Water squirting frog toy
  • Beach Safe waterproof storage tube on a lanyard
  • Green bandanna (which doubles as wrapping instead of tissue paper)
  • Fill-in-the-blank thank you note

You can customize your care package with add-on items like an autograph pillowcase with black fabric marker, friendship bracelet kits, binoculars, glow sticks and seek-a-word puzzle books. If you want to treat your camper’s cabin mates, add in a small gift for them when you order the care package. Before you order from Beyond Bookmarks, make sure you have the shipping address and the phone number for the summer camp. If the camp only uses a post office box, select U.S. Postage Service for shipping. (UPS cannot ship to a P.O. box.) If camp is a few weeks away, you can schedule delivery for a future date. Don’t forget to add a personal gift tag message. From your shopping cart, click the red  ”Add Gift Tag Message” button. Type in the “to” and “from” names. You have a 100-character limit on your gift message.

I can’t wait for the letter from camp from our niece.

]]> http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/08/summer-camp-gifts.html/feed 1 A Gift for New Neighbors http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/07/gift-for-new-neighbors.html http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/07/gift-for-new-neighbors.html#comments Mon, 01 Aug 2011 04:58:15 +0000 Gift Giving Guy http://www.giftgivingguy.com/?p=2225 We have two new neighbors, and nothing breaks the ice like a simple gift. My favorite welcome present is a 1.7-ounce jar of Fox Point Seasoning from Penzeys Spices. Moving to a new home often means purging — sometimes clearing out the spice rack — so fresh spices make a welcome gift. This Penzeys jar costs $8 so your neighbor won’t feel beholden.

A flavorful mix of salt, chives, peppercorns, scallions and shallots, Fox Point Seasoning adds zest to chicken, fish, salads and steamed vegetables. I can no longer imagine scrambled eggs without it.

Simply tie a ribbon just under the lid and attach a welcome card with your names signed legibly. Walk over to your new neighbor, introduce yourself and give a neighborly present.

]]> http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/07/gift-for-new-neighbors.html/feed 0 James Bond Gifts for Dad http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/06/james-bond-gifts-fathers-day.html http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/06/james-bond-gifts-fathers-day.html#comments Mon, 20 Jun 2011 02:17:43 +0000 Gift Giving Guy http://www.giftgivingguy.com/?p=2168 When I was kid, James Bond made me clean the basement.

My dad — a Bond movie fan and avid Ian Fleming reader — made 007 movies like Goldfinger our reward for the tough chores. After hours of housework, I’d see Sean Connery on The ABC Sunday Night Movie, edited for TV broadcast.

This Father’s Day, I gave Dad a trio of James Bond gifts.

]]> http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/06/james-bond-gifts-fathers-day.html/feed 0 Tap foursquare for Gift Ideas http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/06/tap-foursquare-for-gift-ideas.html http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/06/tap-foursquare-for-gift-ideas.html#comments Sat, 04 Jun 2011 06:40:52 +0000 Gift Giving Guy http://www.giftgivingguy.com/?p=2105 Are you among the nine million users of foursquare, the leading check-into-places smartphone app? If yes, try using foursquare to find gift hints from your friends check-ins and tips. Launch foursquare, tap the friends icon, then the friend’s name. Notice that foursquare now shows the five most explored categories and top five check-in locations for your friends. These categories and locations can serve as hints for gift ideas.

Start by tapping Mayorships. See where your friend reigns as mayor — the places that she checked in more days than anyone else on foursquare. If your friend is the mayor of the local Trader Joe’s, consider building a Trader Joe’s gift bag.

Next, check out the Most Explored Categories over the last six months. Tap each category, like Coffee Shops, to see the locations. Does he check into five different Starbucks? Load up a Starbucks card as a gift. How about a gift certificate to the Stir Crazy Asian Grill she frequents every month?

Scroll down to see the Top Places your friend has checked in. Maybe she has shopped at Urban Outfitters five times since January. Now you know she’ll appreciate a UO gift card.

Finally, look through your friends’ foursquare Tips and To-Dos. From a tip, I see one of my friends loves yogurt-covered banana chips from the local natural food co-op. Another friend has a to-do item to visit Penzeys Spices.

Use foursquare to turn your friends’ whereabouts and tips into favorite gifts.

Related Post: Gifts for foursquare Fans

]]> http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/06/tap-foursquare-for-gift-ideas.html/feed 2 Oprah’s Favorite Things http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/05/oprahs-favorite-things.html http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/05/oprahs-favorite-things.html#comments Thu, 26 May 2011 04:16:38 +0000 Gift Giving Guy http://www.giftgivingguy.com/?p=2049 Oprah Winfrey loves to give. She graciously signed off today after 25 years of daytime television and nearly a decade of her audience-swooning Favorite Things. The blog Jezebel estimates Oprah gave $23,809,050 worth of products since 2002. Not every gift stood the test of time — like Dell’s Pocket DJ MP3 player and J.Lo’s velour sweatsuit — but most have. Let Oprah be your guide for your next gift.

Automotive

Beauty and Body Care

Beverages

Books and Magazines

Charitable Gifts

Clothing and Accessories

Electronics

Food Favorites

Games

Home and Office Furnishings

Jewelry

Kitchen and Appliances

Movies and Television

Music

Travel

]]> http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/05/oprahs-favorite-things.html/feed 2 What to Give on Towel Day, May 25 http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/05/what-to-give-on-towel-day-may-25.html http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/05/what-to-give-on-towel-day-may-25.html#comments Sun, 22 May 2011 01:49:43 +0000 Gift Giving Guy http://www.giftgivingguy.com/?p=2019 How do I know the world will not end today?

Simple — it’s not Thursday and I’m not clutching my “DON’T PANIC” towel.

You see, the world is supposed to end on a Thursday, demolished by the Vogons to make way for an intergalactic hyperspace bypass. Fans of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy know what I’m talking about. Douglas Adams wrote the hilarious Hitchhiker’s science fiction book series that I loved as a teen.

And if today truly were the End of Days, we’d all miss Towel Day on Wednesday, May 25, 2011. The 10th annual Towel Day honors the late author Douglas Adams and his books. Why a towel?

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has a few things to say on the subject of towels. A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mind-bogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can’t see it, it can’t see you – daft as a brush, but very very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.” — From The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Show your nerd cred with Towel Day gifts for Hitchhiker’s fans.

]]> http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/05/what-to-give-on-towel-day-may-25.html/feed 0 College Gift Finder 2011 http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/05/college-gift-finder-2011.html http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/05/college-gift-finder-2011.html#comments Thu, 19 May 2011 04:43:31 +0000 Gift Giving Guy http://www.giftgivingguy.com/?p=2007 Graduation season is here. If you’re looking for a high school or college graduation gift, try College Gift Finder. You’ll find U.S. college gift sites sorted alphabetically by college name and by state. Consider a classic sweatshirt for your freshman heading to campus or a diploma frame for your deserving college graduate. Express your pride with 2011′s College Gift Finder.

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