Gift Giving Guy: Gift Ideas & Advice » indulgences 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 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 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 Happy Sweetest Day 2009 http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2009/10/happy-sweetest-day-2009.html http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2009/10/happy-sweetest-day-2009.html#comments Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:26:00 +0000 Gift Giving Guy http://giftgivingguy.com/2009/10/happy-sweetest-day-2009/ It’s Sweetest Day, a regional holiday for sweethearts and a celebration of chocolate and candy. This year, I’m giving my wife gourmet chocolate from FunkyChunky (also on Twitter as @funkychunky).

First, there’s the FunkyChunky Chocolate Bar. Think milk chocolate covered with Oreo chunks, pecans, graham crackers, dried berries and crispy rice. Next, we’ll share FunkyChunky Chocolate Pretzels. These thick pretzels are coated in three kinds of chocolate and swaths of chewy caramel, then topped with chopped pecans.

Be sure to try their other hand-crafted treats, like chocolate popcorn, caramel corn and peanut butter pretzels.

]]> http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2009/10/happy-sweetest-day-2009.html/feed 0 Give Hotel Comfort at Home http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2009/07/give-hotel-comfort-at-home.html http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2009/07/give-hotel-comfort-at-home.html#comments Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:47:00 +0000 Gift Giving Guy http://giftgivingguy.com/2009/07/give-hotel-comfort-at-home/ 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.)

]]> http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2009/07/give-hotel-comfort-at-home.html/feed 0 Father’s Day 2009 http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2009/06/fathers-day-2009.html http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2009/06/fathers-day-2009.html#comments Mon, 22 Jun 2009 03:35:00 +0000 Gift Giving Guy http://giftgivingguy.com/2009/06/fathers-day-2009/ Happy Father’s Day! I hope Dads enjoyed gifts and time with their children today. I sent my dad a Cheryl&Co. bakery gift tower tied with a blue Happy Father’s Day ribbon. The four-tiered baked goods ensemble includes:
  • 18 assorted cookies
  • crunchy chocolate chip cookies
  • fudge brownie minis
  • confection pretzel clusters
  • four slices of cake

Check out Cheryl&Co.’s different bakery gift towers for your next delicious delivered gift.

]]> http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2009/06/fathers-day-2009.html/feed 1 Happy Valentine’s Day 2009 http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2009/02/happy-valentines-day-2009.html http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2009/02/happy-valentines-day-2009.html#comments Sun, 15 Feb 2009 05:33:00 +0000 Gift Giving Guy http://giftgivingguy.com/2009/02/happy-valentines-day-2009/ This year, Cupid gave bottles of wine and ballotins of chocolate. First, I chose the “Mondavi’s Cellar Selection” from Wine Country Gift Baskets. Four bottles of Robert Mondavi wine came in a gift basket stuffed with goodies like cinnamon cashews, bread twists, crackers and spicy snack mix. I’ll admit the sheer green ribbon adorning the basket doesn’t follow the red hues of Valentine’s Day. But the two red wines among the four bottles make up for it.

Next, I gave my wife the best wine opener on the market, Le Creuset Elegance Chrome Lever Model Screwpull. This chrome masterpiece makes opening wine as simple as clamp, press down and pull up. The Screwpull replaces our corkscrew that broke just before hosting a Christmas party last year. With a 10-year warranty, this sommelier’s friend should keep uncorking for some time.

Finally, chocolate is a must for Valentine’s Day. I ordered online a 36-piece ballotin of Candinas chocolates. Candinas follows the Forrest Gump philosophy: “My momma always said, ‘Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.’” Unlike other chocolatiers, you won’t find a map to each Candinas chocolate in the box. Candinas makes different batches of chocolates each day, a delicious chaos that makes a map impossible. These chocolates are heavenly, and we’ve learned to appreciate the mystery. And Candinas makes the chocolate fresh with no preservatives; it’s good for only 10 days. We’re up to the challenge.

]]> http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2009/02/happy-valentines-day-2009.html/feed 0 Gifts for Billionaires: 21 Ultimate Gifts from The Robb Report http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2008/11/gifts-for-billionaires-21-ultimate.html http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2008/11/gifts-for-billionaires-21-ultimate.html#comments Mon, 24 Nov 2008 01:47:00 +0000 Gift Giving Guy http://giftgivingguy.com/2008/11/gifts-for-billionaires-21-ultimate-gifts-from-the-robb-report/ Waiting on a free oil change from my car dealership, I stumbled across the December issue of The Robb Report. I’m more of a Consumer Reports type of guy, so this luxury lifestyle magazine falls far from my bank account balance. But billionaires need gifts too this Christmas. So I read with great interest the cover story, “21 Ultimate Gifts.”
  1. Give one 2009 Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 with a 638-horsepower engine; one 2010 Fisker Karma hybrid sports sedan; a spot in the two-day driving event, The Quail Rally, in California’s Monterey Peninsula; transportation and access to all events during Monterey Car Week; and one week of premium accommodations for two at the Quail Lodge resort in Carmel, California.

    Gift price tag: $1 million.

  2. Make your billionaire the first person in the world to personally own a zeppelin. Customize both the exterior and the interior cabin. Receive zeppelin-pilot training and certification.

    Gift price tag: $17 million or more, depending on customizations.

  3. Join golf legend Greg “The Shark” Norman and two of your friends at Cornerstone Colorado. Includes round-trip private air transportation to Montrose, Colorado. Spend two nights’ lodging at Cornerstone plus a welcome reception and meals, including a dinner with Norman. Enjoy up to 80 cases of Greg Norman Estates Wine through 2014 and selections from Norman’s apparel line over the next five years. Also, receive a set of custom-made MacGregor irons.

    Gift price tag: $750,000.

  4. For the sculpture lover, give the Blue Venus, an 18th-century blue-sapphire statuette of the Roman goddess of love, once owned by Catherine the Great.

    Gift price tag: Price available upon request.

  5. Commission a custom Vacheron Constantin men’s wristwatch, crafted during a five-night trip to Geneva, Switzerland, for two. Receive a full tour of the watchmaking plant and a hand-ons workshop with master watchmakers.

    Gift price tag: $1.4 million.

  6. Have your giftee create a custom single-malt whisky at the Glenmorangie distillery in Tain, Scotland. Visit Missouri’s Ozark Mountains to pick tree wood to make casks with a master distiller. Go to a Kentucky cooperage to learn about cask making. Receive 20 barrels, cellar space and five bottled versions of your whisky for up to 25 years. Take a private jet with three guests to all destinations.

    Gift price tag: $6 million.

  7. Visit all nine of chef Daniel Boulud’s restaurants in New York, Las Vegas, Palm Beach, Vancouver and Beijing via private jet for six guests. Enjoy luxury accommodations, a personal concierge for sightseeing, eight-course meals, and exclusive tours of Boulud’s kitchens.

    Gift price tag: $1.1 million.

  8. Give a 24-karat gold leaf MV Agusta F4RR 312 1078 motorcycle. This ultra-high-performance motorcycle comes from an Italian manufacturer, now owned by Harley Davidson.

    Gift price tag: $150,000.

  9. Give the Picasso painting, Sans Titre (Tête de Jeune Femme), with a tour of the artist’s studio in Antibes, France, now the Musée Picasso. Includes five nights’ accommodations for two in the Hotel du Cap Eden-Roc.

    Gift price tag: $3.5 million.

  10. Jet from New York to Champagne, France with another couple. Stay for three nights as VIP guests at Dom Pérignon‘s Château de Saran. Taste Dom Pérignon’s rarest vintage champagnes. Tour the Champagne region by helicopter and take part in the grape harvest. Each couple receives a dozen bottles of Dom Pérignon, six of them in a Karl Lagerfeld-designed guitar case.

    Gift price tag: $3 million.

  11. Lavish your giftee in a 5,760-square-foot suite at the new Montage Beverly Hills with a housewarming dinner for 12 guests, prepared by Wolfgang Puck. Weekly spa treatments, a private dinner for 14 annually, plus 14 nights each year at Montage Laguna Beach, all through 2020.

    Gift price tag: $36 million.

  12. Give the Cartier Le Ciel mystery clock. The “mystery” comes from the hands of the clock: they appear to float in midair with no connection to the clock’s face.

    Gift price tag: $2.5 million.

  13. Prequalify your giftee with a guest for the Mille Miglia Storica 2009 race parade in Italy. Gives an opportunity to drive or navigate a historic racecar with a dedicated team of mechanics. Travel, admission fees, meals and four-star lodging included.

    Gift price tag: $1 million.

  14. Give a 328-foot yacht designed by Ken Freivokh.

    Gift price tag: Starts at $300 million.

  15. Commission a model railroad masterpiece with four trains and 32 train cars, a 2,500-square-foot layout with landmarks, major cities, and stations on the trains’ routes from New York to Los Angeles, all run from a control center with four flat-screen TVs.

    Gift price tag: $2 million.

  16. Give the ultimate Chanel jewelry experience: a 70-carat necklace with an 8-carat white-diamond center stone and 2,218 smaller diamonds, and a 6-carat ring with 144 white diamonds. Receive two tickets to Chanel’s exclusive fashion show in Paris, a private tour of Coco Chanel’s Paris apartment and dinner at Chanel’s boutique at Place Vendôme.

    Gift price tag: $2.7 million.

  17. Create a custom 33-carat diamond Tibaldi pen with Baccarat case. Travel to Italy first-class and enjoy five-star accommodations, helicopter transport between Florence, Bologna, and Naples, and dinner with the Tibaldi board members.

    Gift price tag: $1 million.

  18. Design a custom-built library in the style of the Vanderbilts’ 19th-century Biltmore estate. Tap the services of library consultant Kinsey Marable and buy 10,000 books to shelve.

    Gift price tag: $7.3 million.

  19. Give eight wooden cabinets designed by David Linley as replicas of Bordeaux’s most celebrated wine châteaux. Each cabinet holds 18 bottles of each château’s finest vintages. Then travel to France for a private tour of each château.

    Gift price tag: $3 million.

  20. Establish a custom-made men’s wardrobe from Bergdorf Goodman: one week’s worth of suits, a topcoat, a tuxedo, footwear, and accessories. Enjoy a trip for two to Italy to select materials with Bergdorf Goodman staff.

    Gift price tag: Starts at $300,000.

  21. Make your giftee the named benefactor of a 15-year program to save the northern white rhinoceros from extinction. Includes a one-week trip to South Africa, with luxury accommodations, meetings with rhino experts and a helicopter flight to follow rhinos through the Rooipoort Nature Reserve.

    Gift price tag: $2.3 million.

]]> http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2008/11/gifts-for-billionaires-21-ultimate.html/feed 0 Sweetest Day is Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008 http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2008/10/sweetest-day-is-saturday-oct-18-2008.html http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2008/10/sweetest-day-is-saturday-oct-18-2008.html#comments Tue, 14 Oct 2008 04:39:00 +0000 Gift Giving Guy http://giftgivingguy.com/2008/10/sweetest-day-is-saturday-oct-18-2008/ If you’re from Detroit, Cleveland or Buffalo, chances are, you know about Sweetest Day. According to Retail Confectioners International, those three U.S. cities top the list celebrating the fall holiday for sweethearts. For me, the day is all about giving chocolate, but flowers and greeting cards are also popular. (Hallmark has 147 varieties of Sweetest Day cards for 2008.)

But let’s get back to chocolate. My wife and I love the smooth, creamy taste and sweet aroma of the confection. Right now, I’m humming “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, imagining that glorious river of chocolate.

We both enjoy chocolate in so many forms: milk chocolate bars, chocolate pretzels, hot chocolate, fudge, dark chocolate, brownies, chocolate mousse, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate muffins, chocolate liqueur (but only the real stuff), chocolate cake, chocolate donuts, s’mores, chocolate truffles, chocolate biscuits, chocolate-covered raisins, chocolate beer, chocolate-dipped strawberries, chocolate malts, and chocolate ice cream (or better yet frozen custard). I just gained three pounds writing that sentence.

Now my wife has discovered a new chocolate taste: Godiva single-serve coffee pods for our Senseo Coffee Machine. Each package (costing about $5.50) holds 16 coffee pods with 100% Arabica coffee beans infused with chocolate goodness. Godiva offers two flavors — Chocolate Crème and Crème Brulee — giving me another reason to wake up on Sweetest Day morning.

]]> http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2008/10/sweetest-day-is-saturday-oct-18-2008.html/feed 0 A Gift for Mom and Newborn http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2008/08/gift-for-mom-and-newborn.html http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2008/08/gift-for-mom-and-newborn.html#comments Tue, 12 Aug 2008 04:44:00 +0000 Gift Giving Guy http://giftgivingguy.com/2008/08/a-gift-for-mom-and-newborn/ With the birth of my niece, I’m an uncle again. My wife and I celebrated the new arrival with a stylish gift for both baby and mom. We visited a local Vera Bradley store, home to an American designer known for its colorfully patterned bags. After some deliberation over the 17 patterns available, we chose the Mod Floral Pink Baby Bag with a matching Cool Keeper for baby bottles. We made sure to get a gift receipt in case the Mod Floral Pink pattern did not delight. Fortunately, my sister-in-law loved the bag and cooler. She had a nondescript freebie from the hospital, so her new baby bag was an indulgent upgrade.

]]> http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2008/08/gift-for-mom-and-newborn.html/feed 0 Host and Guest Gifts http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2008/07/host-and-guest-gifts.html http://www.giftgivingguy.com/2008/07/host-and-guest-gifts.html#comments Sat, 26 Jul 2008 19:17:00 +0000 Gift Giving Guy http://giftgivingguy.com/2008/07/host-and-guest-gifts/ The ancient Greeks called it xenia — the sacred duty of hospitality — often met with an exchange of gifts. Nearly 3,000 years later, this gift exchange is still alive and well in Excelsior, Minnesota. That’s where my wife and I recently stayed with relatives. On our arrival, my sister-in-law gave us a decorative ceramic spoon designed by Rae Dunn. In the guest room, we found a package of Gemmies, chocolate-coated sunflower seeds in 16 brilliant colors from Gourmet Gems.

In thanks for the hospitality, we brought her family a four-jar set of Ethnic Milwaukee spices from Penzeys Spices, which includes:

We also found gifts for our niece and nephew, but I’ll save that for another post.

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