Gift Giving Guy: Gift Ideas & Advice » books http://www.giftgivingguy.com Mon, 12 Dec 2011 05:00:49 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Gift Giving Guy: Gift Ideas & Advice http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/3ab465414b5423629e595c03d0406398.png?s=48 http://www.giftgivingguy.com 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 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 Valentine’s Day 2011: Photo Book http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/02/valentines-day-2011.html http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/02/valentines-day-2011.html#comments Tue, 15 Feb 2011 05:53:40 +0000 Gift Giving Guy http://www.giftgivingguy.com/?p=1454

How many digital photos do you have of your valentine? Apple makes it easy to turn those JPEGs into wonderful hard-cover or soft-cover books with iPhoto ’11. For Valentine’s Day, I gave my wife a hard-cover, 60-page coffee table book of our wedding photos. If you don’t have a Mac, consider using Shutterfly or Picaboo for your next photo book gift.

And for a twist on chocolates, give your Valentine what my wife gave me: a large tin of Godiva chocolate pretzels.

]]> http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2011/02/valentines-day-2011.html/feed 0 A Few of Her Favorite Things for Christmas 2010 http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2010/12/a-few-of-her-favorite-things-for-christmas-2010.html http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2010/12/a-few-of-her-favorite-things-for-christmas-2010.html#comments Mon, 27 Dec 2010 04:05:15 +0000 Gift Giving Guy http://www.giftgivingguy.com/?p=1358 She prefers no raindrops on her roses; she’s allergic to whiskers on kittens. Still, I know a few of my wife’s favorite things. This Christmas, I reflected on her favorites to inspire my gift choices.

Her Favorite TV Shows:

Her Favorite Singers:

Her Favorite Movies:

Her Favorite Sleepwear:

Her Favorite Jewelry:

And she clearly knows my favorite things from the great Christmas presents I received:

]]> http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2010/12/a-few-of-her-favorite-things-for-christmas-2010.html/feed 0 12 “Of the Month” Gifts http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2010/12/12-of-the-month-gifts.html http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2010/12/12-of-the-month-gifts.html#comments Wed, 08 Dec 2010 04:03:15 +0000 Gift Giving Guy http://www.giftgivingguy.com/?p=1254 Clark Griswold expected a four-figure Christmas bonus. Instead, he got a membership in the Jelly of the Month Club [YouTube video].

While National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation pokes fun at “of the month” clubs, I think Cousin Eddie had it right: “That’s the gift that keeps on giving throughout the entire year.”

Consider giving from these 12 “of the month” clubs.

Omaha Steaks Gourmet Entree of the Month
Give 12 months of mouth-watering meat, from top sirloins in January to prime rib in December.
Jigsaw Java Puzzle of the Month
Choose how many puzzle pieces and how many months (six or 12 months) for a puzzle fan.
ProFlowers Flowers of the Month Club
Send fresh, seasonal flowers to your love every month with ProFlowers.
The Microbrewed Beer of the Month Club
Surprise the beer lover on your gift list with 12 months of 12-pack microbrews.
Stone Creek Coffee of the Month
My favorite coffee addiction, sent in two-pound monthly doses for a year.
12 Months of Netflix
Give a 12-month gift subscription to more than 100,000 movies and TV shows.
Threadless 12 Club
Cool in cotton form. Your giftee receives a dozen creative t-shirts, voted on by the online public.
Tie of the Month Club
The Tie Bar will deliver a dozen ties to your guy over the next year. Choose from traditional, trendy or “trenditional.”
Giftlit Monthly Books
Give 12 month’s worth of the best books for children, teens, men and women as selected by librarians, educators, authors and literary editors.
Popping Through the Months Club
Send a different flavor of popcorn — like chocolate drizzle caramel corn — each month.
Fishing Lure of the Month
Thrill your fishing enthusiast with 12 months of freshwater or saltwater lures.
Forbidden Foods Club
No one can handle a whole year of Zingerman’s forbidden foods. Select three months or six months of dangerous gluttony.
]]> http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2010/12/12-of-the-month-gifts.html/feed 0 Shoptimism and The Perfect Gift http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2010/08/shoptimism-and-the-perfect-gift.html http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2010/08/shoptimism-and-the-perfect-gift.html#comments Sat, 21 Aug 2010 19:57:30 +0000 Gift Giving Guy http://www.giftgivingguy.com/?p=1233 Shopping is an act of hope. Buy a gift and you presume the dollars you spend now you’ll replenish in the future. Despite all of the marketing machinations, shopping helps us fulfill needs: expressing ourselves, being social and having fun. Lee Eisenberg advances these ideas in his book, Shoptimism: Why the American Consumer Will Keep on Buying No Matter What. Like endless options at a mega-mall, this book catalogs hundreds of factoids and presents views from academics, marketing professionals, and consumerism critics.

Here are excerpts from Shoptimism, offering insights on gift giving.

  • “We give gifts ‘coded’ to express ‘positive emotions,’ depending on the occasion. For birthdays, housewarmings, at the end-of-year holidays, we give gifts coded ‘Joy.’ For graduations and retirements, we give gifts coded ‘Pride.’ For hospitalizations and going-away parties, we give gifts coded ‘Hope.’ And on Valentine’s Day, Mother’s and Father’s Day — also at funerals — we give gifts coded ‘Affection.’ And, yes, on all of the above as well as other occasions, we give gifts coded (you can always tell) ‘Obligation.’”
  • “The reasons we bestow gifts, according to respondents: they enable us to express pleasure or show friendship (42 percent); they are means by which we obtain or bestow pleasure (27 percent); because we feel obligated to (15 percent).”
  • “Money — not china or kitchen appliances — has become the wedding gift of choice, a development that the Romantic buyer in me takes as unwelcome news.”
  • “Each of us, on average, spends a couple of thousand dollars a year on gifts, roughly half of it during the ‘Hard Eight,’ that is the eight-week holiday shopping season.”
  • “Lisa is a friend who lives in New York City, a talented novelist, a huge-hearted wife and mom, smart, funny, sardonic, immensely kind…. Everyday shopping leaves her cold…. But there’s one kind of Buy at which Lisa excels, and that’s gifting. I ask Lisa whether she gives gift cards. Yes, turns out she does, but only as birthday presents her kids give to their friends, cards exchangeable for music and books. Otherwise, when Lisa shops for gifts she says she looks for the ‘unexpected.’ Stalking the unexpected requires a lively imagination and a grasp of the quirks of one’s circle of gift getters. It’s ‘an all-year-round, any-kind-of-weather sport,’ she reports. ‘Because the interests and tastes of my friends and family vary, the hunt for great gifts takes me from clothing boutiques to electronics stores, crafts fairs to eBay.’ But where she buys takes a backseat to what she buys. ‘I would like to think that if the presents I purchase are all laid out on a table, unwrapped, the people for whom they were intended would know instantly which presents were theirs.’”
  • “Lisa uncannily reflects what experts say are the keys to gift-giving prowess. [Professor] Russell Belk… says that a quintessential gift satisfies six criteria, which together confirm that Lisa doesn’t just give good gift, she gives perfect gift…”
  • “1. The perfect gift requires us to make an ‘extraordinary sacrifice.’ By ‘sacrifice,’ Belk doesn’t mean that we need to pawn our departed mother’s handmade quilts to help pay for the $7,000 doghouse with an Italian leather armchair (Neiman Marcus offered one in a recent Christmas gift catalog). ‘Sacrifice’ needn’t call for financial sacrifice. In Lisa’s case, sacrifice comes when she puts aside a challenging section of the novel she’s writing to make time to explore an antiques barn, where she once found a 1940s telephone for her daughter, a thoroughly modern adolescent who finds movies and Broadway musicals of that period irresistible.”
  • “2. The giver of a perfect gift wishes ‘solely to please the recipient.’ The perfect gift isn’t one that begs for reciprocation or proclaims that you’re one hell of a big-time spender. The perfect gift, Belk says, is about the recipient, not about you. Lisa gets that. One year she came upon a mourning locket offered on eBay. There was an ‘H’ engraved on it. Lisa’s stepmother’s late beloved dog was named Harry. Lisa bought the piece, placed a picture of Harry inside, and gave it to her stepmother on Christmas morning.”
  • “3. The perfect gift is a ‘luxury.’ By ‘luxury,’ Belk doesn’t mean that the perfect gift need be spattered with VLs [Louis Vuitton] or interlocking Cs [Chanel]. In this context a luxury is anything that isn’t strictly a necessity. To buy and give someone a pair of underwear or a mop and a bucket is thoughtful if the recipient’s in need of them. But gifts such as these don’t exactly communicate that the recipient is in some way extraordinary….”
  • “4. The perfect gift is appropriate to the recipient. All of Lisa’s above-cited gifts qualify as appropriate and then some. As was the canvas tote she once bought for her friend Cathy. On the side were the words ‘It Is Was It Is,’ a phrase that Cathy happens to use inveterately. What can be more appropriate than letting someone know you actually listen to what they say, right down to their asides and throwaway lines?”
  • “5. The perfect gift is ‘surprising.’ If surprise weren’t universally appreciated, Belk says, gift wrap would never have come into being. Surprise is why we love getting presents on days that aren’t birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, Mother’s or Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Grandparents’ Day, or any of the Sell Side-manufactured giving days. Last year Lisa’s daughter Elizabeth performed in a school production of The Sound of Music. While such an occasion doesn’t require a gift, many of us buy unsurprising bouquets for our pint-sized leading ladies and would-be prima ballerinas. Lisa didn’t spring for a bunch of carnations; she bought Elizabeth a pair of glove forms. Why? ‘So I could give her a big hand.’”
  • “6. The perfect gift is one that the recipient desires. Belk says that we don’t have to jump through hoops to give a perfect gift. Santa didn’t get to be Santa by ripping children’s wish lists into shreds. The words ‘It’s just what I always wanted!” are confirmation that you’ve bagged a perfect gift.”

Related Post: Gift Flow, or What Makes a Great Gift

]]> http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2010/08/shoptimism-and-the-perfect-gift.html/feed 1 Selecting Gifts by Personality Quiz http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2009/12/selecting-gifts-by-personality-quiz.html http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2009/12/selecting-gifts-by-personality-quiz.html#comments Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:37:00 +0000 Gift Giving Guy http://giftgivingguy.com/2009/12/selecting-gifts-by-personality-quiz/ Hollywood’s gift bag guru Lash Fary asks three questions to set “personality parameters” before recommending gifts.
  1. Is your giftee young at heart or mature at any age?
  2. Is your recipient traditional or trendy?
  3. Is your relationship with the person that of a close friend or relative, or more of a casual, neighborly nature?

In his book, Fabulous Gifts, Fary suggests quizzes (edited excerpts below) to help you respond to these questions. Keep in mind that your personal knowledge of an individual’s tastes can override these categories.

Question 1: Young at Heart vs. Mature at Any Age?

  1. Do they usually dress up for Halloween?
  2. Do they enjoy telling jokes, making people laugh and playing pranks from time to time?
  3. Is the recipient likely to drop everything for a last-minute weekend trip?
  4. Would they join you for a spur-of-the-moment dinner or movie invitation?
  5. Do they sometimes impulsively buy items they don’t need while shopping at the mall?
  6. Are they likely to join their co-workers for happy hour after work?
  7. Are they likely to have to search for their passport when it’s time to take a trip?
  8. Are they more likely to stop at Starbucks for a latte in the morning than to set the timer on the coffee the night before?
  9. Are they more likely to boldly decorate the bride and groom’s car at a wedding or stay behind to toss the rice or birdseed?

If you answered “yes” to five or more questions, you are shopping for someone who is young at heart, and you may want choose more playful gifts. If “no” for most questions, your giftee is mature at any age, and you will want to consider less whimsical and more practical presents.

Question 2: Traditional vs. Trendy?

  1. Do they think about “other people’s rules” when dressing (e.g., not wearing white after Labor Day or whether a particular color is appropriate for the season)?
  2. Do they avoid tight-fitting clothes?
  3. Do they go to church or temple on a regular basis?
  4. Are they more likely to work around the house on the weekends than to hit the mall with a friend?
  5. Does the recipient listen to either classical or country music?
  6. If female, does she own more flats than stilettos? If male, does he own more neckties than pairs of jeans?
  7. Has the recipient had the same hairstyle for at least five years?
  8. Is the recipient often influenced by family opinions and situations?
  9. Does the recipient own only black and/or brown shoes?

Five or more “yes” answers mean you are seeking a gift for someone traditional. Traditionals tend to like what they know and prefer something familiar. Five or more “no” answers point to a trendy recipient who often lean toward bold colors and design innovations. Gift seekers can take more risks with a trendy giftee.

Question 3: Close vs. Casual Relationship?

  1. Would they be willing to pick you up at the airport during rush hour on a Friday evening?
  2. Do you know their favorite movie, actor or singer?
  3. Can you recall their birthday (or at least birth month) without referring to a calendar?
  4. Would the recipient stop by without calling first?
  5. Do you chat on the phone or exchange e-mail with the recipient at least twice a week?
  6. Do you have the person’s phone number programmed into your cell phone?
  7. Do you have a picture of them somewhere in your house?
  8. Do you socialize (outside of work) at least once a month (or at least talk about doing so)?
  9. Would you leave them alone in your house for the day?

If you said “yes” to at least five questions, you are choosing a gift for someone close, which raises the bar to find a gift that reflects their personal interests. If you said “no” to five or more questions, you have a casual relationship with the recipient. Stick with less personal, tried-and-true presents (e.g., Moleskine travel journal, laptop bag for mobile computing fans, or maybe a coffee gift card).

Gift Profiles

From these three answers, Fary forms eight personality profiles and devotes a chapter of gift ideas for each profile:

  • Young/Traditional/Close
  • Young/Traditional/Casual
  • Young/Trendy/Close
  • Young/Trendy/Casual
  • Mature/Traditional/Close
  • Mature/Traditional/Casual
  • Mature/Trendy/Close
  • Mature/Trendy/Casual

For me, I follow the “Young at Heart/Traditional” profile. My wife fits the “Mature/Traditional/Close” profile. Which profile matches your giftees?

]]> http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2009/12/selecting-gifts-by-personality-quiz.html/feed 0 A Decade of Anniversary Gifts http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2009/12/decade-of-anniversary-gifts.html http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2009/12/decade-of-anniversary-gifts.html#comments Thu, 31 Dec 2009 03:13:00 +0000 Gift Giving Guy http://giftgivingguy.com/2009/12/a-decade-of-anniversary-gifts/ This decade is almost done. As a year 2000 bride and groom, my wife and I exchanged nearly a decade’s worth of anniversary gifts. Most of the time, we followed the traditional anniversary gift themes. To round up the gift count to ten, I’ve included our wedding day gifts.

The Zero Anniversary (Wedding Day)

First Anniversary (Paper is the traditional gift)

Second Anniversary (Cotton is the traditional gift)

Third Anniversary (Leather is the traditional gift)

Fourth Anniversary (Fruit or flowers is the traditional gift)

Fifth Anniversary (Wood is the traditional gift)

Sixth Anniversary (Candy or iron is the traditional gift)

Seventh Anniversary (Wool or copper is the traditional gift — read the blog post)

Eighth Anniversary (Bronze or pottery is the traditional gift —read the blog post)

Ninth Anniversary (Pottery or willow is the traditional gift — read the blog post)

]]> http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2009/12/decade-of-anniversary-gifts.html/feed 0 Nine Days of Gifts for the Ninth Anniversary http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2009/10/nine-days-of-gifts-for-ninth.html http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2009/10/nine-days-of-gifts-for-ninth.html#comments Sun, 01 Nov 2009 03:06:00 +0000 Gift Giving Guy http://giftgivingguy.com/2009/10/nine-days-of-gifts-for-the-ninth-anniversary/ Willow or pottery? Those are the traditional gifts for the ninth anniversary. The only thing that’s made from willow that I could think of is a cricket bat. And I already gave pottery among my gifts last year. (Pottery is also a traditional eighth anniversary gift.) So what to do for gift giving?

Maybe I needed to break from tradition this year — that is, forgo using the traditional wedding gifts as an inspiration. I sought out nine gifts, some small, and gave them across the nine days leading up to our anniversary.

I started brainstorming ideas and searching web sites for nine gifts. To my surprise, I found both willow and pottery among my nine anniversary presents.

At first, I didn’t say anything about these being anniversary gifts. I just left them out for her to discover on the table, the kitchen counter, the coffee table. For a while, the peanut butter and jelly spreader was her favorite. She mock-chastised me for not inventing it myself. (“We could have made millions,” she said.)

But it was the willow painting that stunned her. She admired the dark willow, set against soft, water-colored splashes of brown. This gift was a perfect addition to our home.

]]> http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2009/10/nine-days-of-gifts-for-ninth.html/feed 0