I've noticed about a billion gift idea posts when I've buzzed quickly through my Google reader, so I don't feel toooooo guilty about not doing more gift idea posts. Surely we are all feeding off of each other, right? I thought I'd collect some of the gift idea comments that were left here (I agree with those of you who suggested we shouldn't let good ideas 'die' in the comment box), however, along with some sites and ideas I thought were neat. PLUS a few ideas I've had, and some other posts I've seen that I liked about gift ideas. Maybe if you're still struggling to find a gift for someone, we can fill in the gaps.
Gift Idea Mish Mash!
On the photo gift idea post, we had these comments:
"Another idea we're doing (that we started on my daughter's first birthday but have now migrated it to Christmas gifts) is a photo montage on a DVD for all of our family members. We do it so that each year of each of the kids is broken into a "chapter" on the DVD, and it's just a bunch of photos set in motion to a bunch of songs we've picked out. You can download free photo montage software online and you just plug in the pictures you want to use and wha-la! Everybody loves getting these...especially now that we live long distance. And our kids of course, love to watch themselves on TV as we look back over the years!" --Heather
"We're burning DVDs of our home movies from the year, for the grandparents and great-aunts. Easy as pie. Good idea, Heather, to make it all fancy with music (and free software)!"-- el-e-e
"Thanks to MO Mommy's posting about this, on her site as well as here, I have been inspired to create a book for my (year old) nephew for Christmas. I got my brother to secretly burn me a copy of their photos on DVD and I've sorted through them to find pictures of his grandparents and aunts, uncles and cousins on both sides (we have a small family). On one page is a picture of the relative (either with him or alone) with a caption like "Here's Auntie Chraycee" then on the next page a pic of him doing something (like sitting with a book, or in his highchair with food all over his face) and a positive caption like "Auntie Chraycee loves reading books with Max" or "Auntie Chraycee know that Max will grow up big and strong because he eats his vegetables."
You know, I'm trying to reinforce good behaviors. Only trouble is that I don't have a one year old myself, so am a little short for positive messages........I went with what they have pictures for...
1. helps do chores around the house
2. is kind to animals
3. eats all his dinner/eat veggies
4. enjoys taking his bath
5. knows the value of a good nap
6. is an excellent snuggler
7. loves reading books
8. uses his imagination to invent fun games
9. is brave and ready for adventure
10. plays well with others
11. is always making new friends
12. is a good friend"--Chraycee
Reader Jennifer sent in this fun idea for themed stockings/gifts: "Every year I try to fill my son’s Christmas stockings using some sort of a theme, for example last year was school/office supplies (tape, markers, highlighters, post-it notes, pens, pencils, etc. – and dude, they loved the tape!). They are now seven and nine years old and I was having a hard time thinking of something this year. I’ve finally decided to do gift cards for them. One thing they love to do is shop so I’m collecting five and ten dollar gift cards from places they love to go (McDonald’s, Dairy Queen, Borders, Meijer, Gamestop, etc.) and that will be their stocking stuffers for this year. I may also throw a few dollar lottery scratch off cards in there for kicks.
I was trying to think of how to apply this to adults since we always have those difficult-to-buy-for folks. For my brother-in-law and his wife who recently closed on the purchase of their first home, I’m going to buy some sort of drawer organizer (which I highly recommend for all junk drawers across America) and fill some of those spaces with gift cards from homey type stores (Lowe’s, Bed Bath & Beyond, Target). Gift cards may not be that creative an idea, but I thought this was a creative way to present them."
I liked this list by Princess Nebraska.
SundryBuzz reviews products, and there are some great gift ideas there. Another of Sundry's blogs contains various posts of ideas, as well.
Swistle recently posted a list of reader shops, along with lists of ideas here.
I know I'm leaving about sixty trillion gift idea posts out, so if you have one you want to share, do it! Now!
Now I'm going to list some things that I've thought would be nice gifts for someone, as I've stumbled in and out of stores over the last few weeks. Some of these are things I would love to get myself, but am always too embarrassed to ask for. Or I forget that I would like them until it is too late.
--Magazine subscriptions (I always love getting magazine subscriptions, because I am too cheap/forgetful to buy them for myself--especially the nice arty ones.)
--Tea (I drink a lot of tea. I love good tea. I imagine providing any caffeine addict with a basket of their favorite coffees/teas is NEVER a gifting failure.)
--Digital photo frames
--A gift card to a pet supply store (but only for the way-too-pet-obsessed, like me)
--Art, if you know what sort of art the recipient likes. Including but not limited to: originals, prints, photos, vintage labels, antique postcards or photos, and so on.
--Gift subscription to Netflix
Okay! That was a mish mash, wasn't it? What am I leaving out? What do you have to share with us?
Showing posts with label Gift Ideas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gift Ideas. Show all posts
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Teacher Gifts
Thanks to el-e-e, who put together this post!
An Apple-Free Teacher Appreciation Season
Are you like me, and cheerfully (ahem) check family members and friends off your holiday shopping list… then remember the "incidentals" and "peripherals" very late in December? Like stocking stuffers…great-aunt Susie who's finally coming to dinner this year… and the teacher gifts? OH, the teacher gifts.
I think we can all agree that kids/parents should give whatever they want to a teacher, or shouldn't *have* to give anything if money is tight, or they just don't want to. But it can be a nice gesture -- everyone likes to feel appreciated, right? We've collected a few ideas from around the helpful Internet.
Did you know there's a National PTA? Yikes. Who wants to serve on a committee for that? NOT ME, that's who. But! They have written a handy little article about this very topic.
Reader Kelsey taught elementary school for four years (bless her!) and shared a great list of gifts that will be appreciated and loved (and some that might not). Read carefully -- some good, practical advice here.
Family Fun magazine -- one that we probably all should be reading if we love the High Arts and Crafts -- has a huge collection of ideas, sorted by category. For the Book Lover, For the Desk, etc. There's a funny anecdote about a male teacher who received… well, just go read it. My favorite idea from all of these was a classroom recipe booklet -- each kid contributed a recipe from his/her family, and someone, the willing PTA volunteer no doubt, bound them up neatly. The recipient says she still uses the book -- sounds to me like the perfect gift that really does keep on giving!
A few more helpful links.
An Apple-Free Teacher Appreciation Season
Are you like me, and cheerfully (ahem) check family members and friends off your holiday shopping list… then remember the "incidentals" and "peripherals" very late in December? Like stocking stuffers…great-aunt Susie who's finally coming to dinner this year… and the teacher gifts? OH, the teacher gifts.
I think we can all agree that kids/parents should give whatever they want to a teacher, or shouldn't *have* to give anything if money is tight, or they just don't want to. But it can be a nice gesture -- everyone likes to feel appreciated, right? We've collected a few ideas from around the helpful Internet.
Did you know there's a National PTA? Yikes. Who wants to serve on a committee for that? NOT ME, that's who. But! They have written a handy little article about this very topic.
Reader Kelsey taught elementary school for four years (bless her!) and shared a great list of gifts that will be appreciated and loved (and some that might not). Read carefully -- some good, practical advice here.
Family Fun magazine -- one that we probably all should be reading if we love the High Arts and Crafts -- has a huge collection of ideas, sorted by category. For the Book Lover, For the Desk, etc. There's a funny anecdote about a male teacher who received… well, just go read it. My favorite idea from all of these was a classroom recipe booklet -- each kid contributed a recipe from his/her family, and someone, the willing PTA volunteer no doubt, bound them up neatly. The recipient says she still uses the book -- sounds to me like the perfect gift that really does keep on giving!
A few more helpful links.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Photo Gift Ideas
Okay, here are some AWESOME gift ideas, sent in by MoMommy!
Perfect for grandparents!
This is an easy and cheap (maybe too cheap) gift for grandparents: a "year in retrospect" photo album. You can buy a small album and include photos of your year's major events -- the trip to the zoo, the birthday parties, the Easter bonnets, the day you went sledding at Old Man's Hill... This is also good for out-of-town relatives who can't make it home for the holidays. Or, here's a twist: put together a small "Christmas Day 2007" photo album, with pictures just from that day. If you're really ambitious, you can include little quotes (famous quotes or quotes from the day) along with the photos. Write them out in calligraphy, or just print them up in a pretty font. This is good for any damn day! Like "A Day At The Park," or "A Day Making Cookies," or whatever. Grandparents *love* this stuff.
Perfect for grubby hands!
This is a clever, very cheap idea for toddler-age nieces & nephews -- or even for school-age kids and pre-teens who are into "decorating" their own rooms/walls/bulletin boards. We print extra photos of everyone in the family, cut them out and make collages on construction paper. Then we laminate the sheets and give them to the kiddos. They can carry them around, bend them, drool on them, crumble graham crackers all over them, and the pictures remain unharmed. The kids in our family have always loved looking at photos of people they know. They cherish these sheets (at least for a few months)!
Not necessarily a Christmas gift, but perfect all the same
This is a good gift for a wedding or a housewarming, as well as a unique and inexpensive Christmas idea. Take the recipient's last name (e.g., "Shank"). Go around their/your hometown, preferably to famous sites, and take photos of each letter (e.g., the "S" in the Busch Stadium sign; the "A" in the Gateway Arch in St. Louis). Print them out and put them in a frame with the appropriate number of spots.
And let's all be grateful to el-e-e, who is pretty and helpful and prepped this for posting. I love all of the bloggy help!
Perfect for grandparents!
This is an easy and cheap (maybe too cheap) gift for grandparents: a "year in retrospect" photo album. You can buy a small album and include photos of your year's major events -- the trip to the zoo, the birthday parties, the Easter bonnets, the day you went sledding at Old Man's Hill... This is also good for out-of-town relatives who can't make it home for the holidays. Or, here's a twist: put together a small "Christmas Day 2007" photo album, with pictures just from that day. If you're really ambitious, you can include little quotes (famous quotes or quotes from the day) along with the photos. Write them out in calligraphy, or just print them up in a pretty font. This is good for any damn day! Like "A Day At The Park," or "A Day Making Cookies," or whatever. Grandparents *love* this stuff.
Perfect for grubby hands!
This is a clever, very cheap idea for toddler-age nieces & nephews -- or even for school-age kids and pre-teens who are into "decorating" their own rooms/walls/bulletin boards. We print extra photos of everyone in the family, cut them out and make collages on construction paper. Then we laminate the sheets and give them to the kiddos. They can carry them around, bend them, drool on them, crumble graham crackers all over them, and the pictures remain unharmed. The kids in our family have always loved looking at photos of people they know. They cherish these sheets (at least for a few months)!
Not necessarily a Christmas gift, but perfect all the same
This is a good gift for a wedding or a housewarming, as well as a unique and inexpensive Christmas idea. Take the recipient's last name (e.g., "Shank"). Go around their/your hometown, preferably to famous sites, and take photos of each letter (e.g., the "S" in the Busch Stadium sign; the "A" in the Gateway Arch in St. Louis). Print them out and put them in a frame with the appropriate number of spots.
And let's all be grateful to el-e-e, who is pretty and helpful and prepped this for posting. I love all of the bloggy help!
Friday, November 16, 2007
Push Pins and Caramel Cranberry Bars
Follow up from the last post:
Courtney sent this:
"I just read you post from earlier and I wanted to mention that I've done something similar to make thumb tacks/push pins before. You just get a bunch of push pins and some of those round glass rocks (like the ones that are used in the bottom of flower arrangements and aquariums, etc). Make sure they are flat on one side. On the flat side you glue the picture (either photographs or magazine cutouts will work) PICTURE SIDE DOWN. This will make it so that the picture shows through when you glue the thumb tack to the rock. Obviously you have to use small pictures in order for them to fit on the rock, but they do kind of magnify the picture so it looks really neat on your bulletin board. It's a cool twist to the magnet gift idea. Maybe people could make a set of magnets and push pins to match...?"
And because it's the last weekend before Thanksgiving, perhaps we all need to treat ourselves to another cranberry-licious treat, sent in by Devan.
Caramel Cranberry Bars
Ingredients:
1 package fresh or frozen cranberries, thawed (I used fresh, 14 oz)
1 pkg (8 oz) chopped dates
3/4 cup pecans (I skipped these)
2 TBSP + 1/2 cup sugar divided
2 1/3 cup all purpose flour, divided
2 cups oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup caramel ice cream topping (I used sugar free, about 75% of the
small jar)
In a small bowl, mix together cranberries, dates, 2 TBSP sugar and pecans. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine 2 c flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda and remaining sugar. Stir in butter. Set aside 1 c of mixture for topping. Press remaining mixture into greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the remaining flour in a small bowl. Mix with caramel topping. Set aside. When crust is done, sprinkle cranberry mixture evenly over crust. Drizzle caramel topping over that. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.
She says, "YUM! It's tart! It's sweet! It's crispy and chewy and pretty!" Which sounds quite promising.
What are you guys doing for Thanksgiving this year?
Courtney sent this:
"I just read you post from earlier and I wanted to mention that I've done something similar to make thumb tacks/push pins before. You just get a bunch of push pins and some of those round glass rocks (like the ones that are used in the bottom of flower arrangements and aquariums, etc). Make sure they are flat on one side. On the flat side you glue the picture (either photographs or magazine cutouts will work) PICTURE SIDE DOWN. This will make it so that the picture shows through when you glue the thumb tack to the rock. Obviously you have to use small pictures in order for them to fit on the rock, but they do kind of magnify the picture so it looks really neat on your bulletin board. It's a cool twist to the magnet gift idea. Maybe people could make a set of magnets and push pins to match...?"
And because it's the last weekend before Thanksgiving, perhaps we all need to treat ourselves to another cranberry-licious treat, sent in by Devan.
Caramel Cranberry Bars
Ingredients:
1 package fresh or frozen cranberries, thawed (I used fresh, 14 oz)
1 pkg (8 oz) chopped dates
3/4 cup pecans (I skipped these)
2 TBSP + 1/2 cup sugar divided
2 1/3 cup all purpose flour, divided
2 cups oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup caramel ice cream topping (I used sugar free, about 75% of the
small jar)
In a small bowl, mix together cranberries, dates, 2 TBSP sugar and pecans. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine 2 c flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda and remaining sugar. Stir in butter. Set aside 1 c of mixture for topping. Press remaining mixture into greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the remaining flour in a small bowl. Mix with caramel topping. Set aside. When crust is done, sprinkle cranberry mixture evenly over crust. Drizzle caramel topping over that. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.
She says, "YUM! It's tart! It's sweet! It's crispy and chewy and pretty!" Which sounds quite promising.
What are you guys doing for Thanksgiving this year?
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Magnet Gift Idea
Jen sent in a super fun sounding idea for a gift that kids can help make, specifically one that, as she puts it so well, does not "suck for the recipient". She says, " Suzy Homemaker I am not. I am also not crafty. If Martha Stewart saw me or my house or any of my kitchenware she would need to be rushed immediately by air-ambulance to the nearest hospital to recover from the shock and disgust. HOWEVER... my oldest daughter came home from school one day with the coolest idea ever. She came home with a refrigerator magnet she had made of, be still my heart, Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow. LOVE HIM!
Now this idea SO DIDN'T SUCK enough that I went right out to Michael's and bought the supplies (Mod Podge, mosaic tiles, magnets and foam brushes). My kids made them one afternoon for fun over the summer, and I'm thinking they can each make a set of 4 or 6 (probably 4, I'm lazy like that) for their godmothers for Christmas.
All you do is cut out pictures from magazines, brush a tile with Mod Podge, smooth a picture down, let it dry and then put a coat or two of Mod Podge on top. The you glue a magnet to the back. EASY! The only drawback is the tiles are VERY small, but they had other things at
Michael's that could be used as well, like irregular shaped pieces of "washed glass." Anyway, it's a fun and easy project for the kids AND the end result is pretty cool too. The magnets are good and strong, so they're GREAT for refrigerator magnets."
Okay, more fun ideas like this, anyone?
Now this idea SO DIDN'T SUCK enough that I went right out to Michael's and bought the supplies (Mod Podge, mosaic tiles, magnets and foam brushes). My kids made them one afternoon for fun over the summer, and I'm thinking they can each make a set of 4 or 6 (probably 4, I'm lazy like that) for their godmothers for Christmas.
All you do is cut out pictures from magazines, brush a tile with Mod Podge, smooth a picture down, let it dry and then put a coat or two of Mod Podge on top. The you glue a magnet to the back. EASY! The only drawback is the tiles are VERY small, but they had other things at
Michael's that could be used as well, like irregular shaped pieces of "washed glass." Anyway, it's a fun and easy project for the kids AND the end result is pretty cool too. The magnets are good and strong, so they're GREAT for refrigerator magnets."
Okay, more fun ideas like this, anyone?
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Money Tree
Let's take a little one day hiatus from Halloween Costume Mania, shall we? I have something I'm itching to share:
Because it's never too early to start, here is a nifty gift idea from Leah. She received one of these as a housewarming gift, and loves it. I think it falls neatly under the category of Something to Give Someone Who Has Everything, right? Or under the category of I Have No Idea What to Give to My Boss This Year, or whatever tricky gift-giving category you have. If you're not into Money Trees, this site also has some fun bamboo, tea, and bonsai stuff.
Isn't that fun?
The more I thought about it, the more I loved this idea. Giving plants seems fresh and fun, especially since they are so cheerful and green, and winter is not. It makes me think about branching out from "normal" Christmas gifts. Summery things, which can be found online or on clearance now, would be happy gifts to remind the receiver of the return of spring, yes? (See? I wanted to post this while it still might be possible to find stuff on clearance in garden departments/stores near you. ) I thought about flower pots, wind chimes, gardening tools/gloves, bird feeders, planters.
What do you think? Thoughts about summery Christmas gifts? Ideas? Love it? Hate it? Share!
Because it's never too early to start, here is a nifty gift idea from Leah. She received one of these as a housewarming gift, and loves it. I think it falls neatly under the category of Something to Give Someone Who Has Everything, right? Or under the category of I Have No Idea What to Give to My Boss This Year, or whatever tricky gift-giving category you have. If you're not into Money Trees, this site also has some fun bamboo, tea, and bonsai stuff.
Isn't that fun?
The more I thought about it, the more I loved this idea. Giving plants seems fresh and fun, especially since they are so cheerful and green, and winter is not. It makes me think about branching out from "normal" Christmas gifts. Summery things, which can be found online or on clearance now, would be happy gifts to remind the receiver of the return of spring, yes? (See? I wanted to post this while it still might be possible to find stuff on clearance in garden departments/stores near you. ) I thought about flower pots, wind chimes, gardening tools/gloves, bird feeders, planters.
What do you think? Thoughts about summery Christmas gifts? Ideas? Love it? Hate it? Share!
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