Posts Tagged ‘bath+body’

Jul
02
2009

Give Hotel Comfort at Home

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Posted by Gift Giving Guy in gift ideas

Bring hotel luxury to your home. Several major hotels sell their linens, bath robes, shower heads and even the beds online, including Westin. Six years ago, my wife and I stayed at Pittsburgh’s Westin Hotel, home of the Heavenly Bed and the Heavenly Shower. This bed envelops you in sumptuous white cotton comfort: a Simmons pillowtop mattress, five goose-down pillows, three sheets, down blanket, comforter and duvet. The shower features two heads and offers a curved shower curtain rod, giving six more inches of elbow room. I made sure our home bathroom remodel included a similar curved shower rod. (We chose an oil-rubbed bronze version from Inspirations by Moen instead of the Westin brand).

Browse these web sites for hotel comfort gifts for home. High-end linens make a fine second anniversary gift. (Cotton is the traditional anniversary gift.)


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Dec
24
2008

43 Last-second Online Gifts for Women

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Posted by Gift Giving Guy in gift ideas

It’s Christmas Eve, and you just can’t break away from the 24-hour “A Christmas Story” marathon on TBS. But you’re still missing gifts for the women on your holiday shopping list. The calendar worked against us this year: we had five less shopping days than 2007. That’s practically a lost shopping weekend.

The solution: a last-second e-gift card. I’ve compiled a list of 43 e-gift card sites to send online now, noting which e-gift cards allow for online and/or in-store shopping.

  1. Ale in the Mail Wine Club Gift Announcement (online only)

  2. Amazon.com Gift Card (online only)
  3. Ann Taylor E-Gift Certificate (higher-end, polished clothing) or Ann Taylor LOFT E-Gift Certificate (more relaxed styles in an “upper moderate” price range). Online only for both.
  4. Bath & Body Works E-Gift Card (online only)
  5. BedandBreakfast.com Getaway E-mail Gift Card (select B&Bs only)
  6. Bloomingdale’s E-Gift Card (redeem online, from catalog and in stores)
  7. Blue Nile E-mail Gift Certificates (jewelry; online only)
  8. Coldwater Creek E-Gift Card (women’s apparel; redeem online, from catalog and in stores)
  9. Cooking.com E-mail Gift Certificate (online only)
  10. Clinique eGift Card (cosmetics and fragrances; redeem online or by phone — but not in stores)
  11. eBags E-mail Gift Certificate (purses, handbags, backpacks and luggage; online only)
  12. Gardener’s Supply Company E-Gift Card (online only)
  13. Kohls Department Store E-Gift Card (redeem online and in stores)
  14. Lady Foot Locker E-mail Gift Card (redeem online or by phone — but not in stores)
  15. Lands’ End E-Gift Card (apparel; redeem online and in stores)
  16. Lane Bryant E-Gift Card (plus-sized women’s apparel; redeem online and in stores)
  17. Lenox.com e-Gift Certificate (fine china, tableware and collectibles; online only)
  18. Liz Claiborne Online Gift Certificate (women’s apparel; online only)
  19. L.L. Bean E-mail Gift Card (redeem online, by phone, from catalog and in stores and outlets)
  20. Macy’s E-Gift Card (redeem online and in stores)
  21. Magazines.com E-Gift Card (annual magazine subscriptions; online only)
  22. Martha Stewart Crafts E-Gift Card (online only)
  23. Match.com Gift Subscription (online dating subscription; online only)
  24. NetFlix DVD Gift Subscription (online only)
  25. Nieman Marcus Virtual Card (redeem online, by phone and in stores)
  26. Nordstrom Virtual Gift Card (redeem online and in stores)
  27. PajamaGram Electronic Gift Certificates (online only)
  28. REI E-Gift Card (outdoor recreation gear and sporting goods; redeem online, by phone and in stores)
  29. Restaurant.com E-mail or Printed Gift Certificate (select restaurants only)
  30. Saks Fifth Avenue Virtual Gift Card (redeem online and in stores)
  31. Scrapbook.com Electronic Gift Certificate (online only)
  32. Sephora E-Gift Certificate (beauty products; online only)
  33. SpaFinder Gift Certificate with E-mail Announcement (select spas only)
  34. Stella Maternity E-mail Gift Certificate (online only)
  35. Talbots e-Gift Certificate (women’s apparel; redeem online, from catalog and in stores)
  36. Tea Forté E-mail Gift Certificate (gifts for tea lovers; online only)
  37. Uncommon Goods E-mail Gift Certificate (online only)
  38. Victoria’s Secret eGift Card (online only)
  39. Wine Enthusiast E-mail Gift Certificate (online only)
  40. World Market e-Gift Certificate (online only)
  41. Yankee Candle Gift Card (both e-mail and physical gift cards are sent)
  42. Zappos.com Electronic Gift Certificate (shoes; online only)
  43. Zazzle E-mail Gift Certificate (upload images and create custom T-shirts, mugs, posters and more; online only)

While some of these links above may apply to men, I also have a similar list for the guys: Better Than Tube Socks: 21 Last-minute Online Gifts for Guys.


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May
20
2008

Oprah’s Favorite Things for Summer 2008

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Posted by Gift Giving Guy in gift ideas, guy gifts

Warm temperatures, wild audiences. It must be Oprah’s favorite things for summer. Last week, trendsetter Oprah Winfrey gave away her summer must-haves to screaming, ecstatic audience members. Here are highlights from Oprah’s picks, aired May 16, 2008.


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Dec
18
2007

Well-heeled Gifts, Wacky Gifts

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Posted by Gift Giving Guy in gift ideas

Which gift seems more out of place on your wish list? A $5 million endowed Harvard professorship in your own name, or a $16 worth of goat’s milk soaps shaped like human hands? Columnists Dave Barry (The Miami Herald) and Rich Karlgaard (Forbes) offer these ideas and more in their holiday gift guides. One is a bizarre gag list, the other a high-price tag list.

My favorites from Dave Barry’s unusual (but true) holiday gifts:

  • Watermelon Flavored Sigmund Freud Head Lollipops. Schedule a few sessions with your therapist before unwrapping this human-head candy on a stick ($28 for a box of 24).
  • Season Shot. Shotgun pellets made from savory seasonings. No need to pluck your spent ammo from that bird. The food-safe pellets melt in the oven to flavor your fresh-from-the-field poultry (price not available yet).
  • Handsoap. Decorative wash soaps “hand crafted” to resemble tiny human hands (pictured above). “Really quite lovely! (& a little creepy)” proclaims the Handsoap web site ($16 for 10 hands).


Forbes publisher Rich (great name for a wealthy guy) Karlgaard offers these suggestions for the uber-affluent.

  • Get a new 72-foot Hatteras Motor Yacht — or a gently used 80-foot Hatteras Yacht ($5 million and under).
  • Consider an exotic sports car like the 2007 Lamborghini Murciélago LP640. This sports coupe gets 8 miles per gallon, earning the EPA’s least efficient car rating for city driving (base price $313,000).
  • Pay it forward. Send $10,000 cash gifts anonymously to the top five high school teachers in your area ($50,000).
  • Take home a Pioneer 50-inch 1080p flat-panel plasma HDTV ($5,000).
  • Give away $1,000 in tips in $50 increments to the masseur, hotel attendant, the Salvation Army volunteer’s red kettle, and 17 more lucky folks.


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Nov
21
2007

Oprah’s Favorite Things for 2007

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Posted by Gift Giving Guy in gift ideas

Oprah Winfrey unleashed her Favorite Things for 2007, giving away $2 million worth of surprise gifts to a Macon, Georgia audience. She chose to visit and reward Macon, located 90 minutes south of Atlanta, because the city consistently tunes in to her show the most. The big-ticket present was a stainless steel refrigerator with built-in HDTV.

Here is the list of the 20 early Christmas gifts Oprah gave on her show, which aired Nov. 20, 2007.

Bath & Body

Books

Clothing & Accessories

Desserts

DVD/Music CD

Electronics

Games

Green Cleaning

Kitchen & Appliances


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