It's Rubbing Off...

For the first time in years, I actually had a small list of things that I wanted for Christmas. I gave my hubby two things that I wanted that he could get me (one of which I ended up taking off because I didn't realize how expensive it was). The number one thing on my list this year was a nice jewelry box.

I've been given a million jewelry boxes over the years from my parents, grandparents, friends, etc. While I loved all of them, they eventually wound up in storage or garage sales. I haven't had an actual jewelry box since I entered adulthood. Most of my jewelry was in a drawer with some necklaces hanging up on a wall thanks to giant push-pins. Very college chic.

So I told the hubs that I wanted a nice jewelry box. I gave him no direction, just that I wanted a nice jewelry box. He was happy that I gave him something tangent he could get me (first time EVER!) and I was happy because I know he has great (albeit expensive!) taste in most things.

He did good :)

It was handmade by an Amish man and is "Heirloom Quality," which, according to hubby, means that it will outlive our grandchildren's grandchildren. It's absolutely gorgeous and it is kind of exciting to think that this gift is one that can be passed down through our family for generations. I always thought about my mom and grandmother's jewelry and passing it down to a daughter or granddaughter one day - but never thought about something I would have that I could pass down!

So there you have it. A history in the making gift that will keep on giving for generations to come. Love it! :)

Apologies.

School has been absolutely overwhelming lately, but rest assured. My Christmas shopping is nearly complete and I have really out-done myself with some of these gifts this year. I'll be adding new updates as soon as possible. Gifts to look forward to:

- Sushi lovers
- Moped lovers
- 80's lovers
- Garden lovers
- Kids at heart

And gifts that keep on giving...for the recipient AND the donor!

A morning cup of coffee...

Snapfish did this very clever marketing move - the week of Mother's Day I began to get emails offering me 50% off Father's Day gifts.

Hook, line and sinker.

I started looking through their "qualified" Father's Day items and saw something I thought my dad just might like.

A photo mug!

Brad's grandmother was given one of them for her 80th birthday and I know she's really enjoyed it. My dad is a devoted morning coffee man and while they have a bazillion and one coffee mugs, I have a feeling this will be the one used daily.

You can put up to I believe 16 pictures on a mug and there's a couple of different sizes of mugs, 11oz-17oz. I went with the 15oz coffee mug (the 17oz is a Latte mug). I took pictures of my brother and I as kids, of my mom and dad, and wedding pictures from both of our weddings...and of course the two grandpuppies! I'm probably going to get a small bag of gourmet coffee to put with it. Even though I'm far away, he can have his coffee with his baby girl every morning!

Oh, and by the way. With my 50% off, even with tax and shipping my total came to $15.35. Normally they start at $16.99. Still not bad, but my 50% off was nice :)

Just a note...

Great gifts come from personalization. I’m not talking about finger painting someone’s name on a jewelry box (although, paint from the right tiny fingers could be quite the treasure!). I like to make things for people. I’m not necessarily crafty, but I am resourceful (and budget-minded!).

Yes, emails from a hundred online companies are annoying. But I have a special email set up just for companies that I want to know what’s going on with. Snapfish, Mpix, Shutterfly and Inkubook are all a few of the printing companies I have used – and I often pit them against each other. Not long ago, I saw that Snapfish was having a pretty awesome sale – 50% off plus free shipping during a limited time frame. Now, I didn’t necessarily need anything at that point…but I thought towards the future. Mother’s Day was coming up on May 8 (there’s still time!) and my best friend’s birthday was coming up on the 14^th. Hmmmm.

I got back from a 10 day Caribbean cruise in March (go ahead, throw something at me, I can take it!). My in-laws bought me an incredibly nice camera for Christmas so I took some amazing pictures while we were in the Caribbean. I decided to turn some of those pictures into notecards for both my mom and my bff (since yes, they DO still write notecards!).

I finished my mom’s gift up yesterday. I got a small plastic bin at Dollar General ($1), a few packs of her favorite spearmint gum and a small bag of Tootsie Rolls (wrapped in a plastic bag JUST in case it gets crazy hot in the mail – don’t want chocolate smudging my notecards!). I’m really happy how it all came out!

I haven't filled my bff's box yet, but I still have some time to find some fun candies or accessory. This is also a really good idea for showers - you know the recipient is going to be writing thank-you notes so take pictures of the happy couple or have a baby-themed photo shoot. You don't have to be a professional photographer to take pretty pictures!

Oh, and a week after I received the notecards, my mom called and asked if I would turn some of my pictures into notecards for her. Talk about knowing someone J

Readin' on up.

Sometimes, simple gifts can be the biggest surprises. What about giving a gift that someone already knows they like?

Brad and I can spend hours in a bookstore. I linger longer in the book section than he does, but he keeps himself quite occupied over in the magazine section. It never ceases to amaze me the volume and variety of magazines available out there.

One year, for Christmas, I decided to give him the gift that keeps on giving – magazine subscriptions. I got him two – one to a surfing magazine and one to a snowboarding magazine.

On the surface, this doesn’t seem that much better than a stinking gift card. They still don’t get to open anything! But that’s easily remedied! Just run out to the closest bookstore, grab the latest issue (if you’re really ambitious, plan in advance and have a couple of months’ worth of issues!), stick them in a box and wrap it up! Something to open and enjoy before their next issue comes!

I also got a magazine subscription for a friend who was getting married a few months later. When I got the subscription, I put it in her future new last name. Just another extra special touch to make it personalized.

Sidenote: Just make sure your gift isn’t something they are already subscribed to! If they are and you really can’t find any other subscription out there that you think they’d like, see if you can renew their subscription for a year or two.

But, really? You can’t find anything interesting to give them???

 

Amazon has THOUSANDS of magazine subscriptions. Just try it. I dare you!

Eco-Friendly and "What Do I Do With This?"

As we all know, random gifts are my favorite. But I’ve been known to be *so* random, that I don’t even fully know what I’m giving someone.

In October, the small town we live in gets invaded by about 40,000 people to this arts& crafts festival they like to call Colorfest. I had some fun at Colorfest and bought quite a few unique Christmas gifts but this one takes the cake. At the time, I hadn’t seen anything like it, but as the months pass, I’ve seen them popping up more and more.

I’ve seen them described as:

-          Cigar holders

-          Spoon holders

-          Cheese & cracker platter

-          Nut holder

-          Gadget bowl

Some I’ve even seen made into recycled windchimes!

I did give one to my dad for Christmas and I think his plan is to hang it on a wall in his “mancave”.

Drink like a camel

I haven’t been slacking…I promise! Once I got the hubby nursed back to health, I got sick. It was eerily similar to his sickness but hopefully I’m on the upswing.

Onward to gift giving!

So there’s this girl who’s probably going to be my sister in law one day. She and I spent a lot of time last summer hiking in the parks close by to our houses with the dogs. Some days were 3 milers, other days were 8+. Just depended on how much we had to talk about J

Regardless of how long we spent out in the wilderness, she always carried a water bottle. I, being married to Mr. Outdoorsman, had bought this little handy dandy thing years ago:

A Camelbak. They come in all sorts of sizes, shapes and colors. If you spend any time outside at all, this thing is one of the most useful, practical gadgets you can possibly have. Fill it with water (and ice if it’s a hot day), strap it to your back and then you are off on whatever adventure you have planned – with the use of both hands! It makes everything easier – kayaking, hiking, biking – anything you can think of!

Not long before Christmas, hubs and I were in good ‘ol REI and I saw Camelbaks on sale. Lightbulb on. She had never complained about carrying a water bottle around, but you could see that it wasn’t exactly convenient. Plus, we’ve talked about trying our hand at some adventure races together (trail running, trail biking and kayaking “triathlons”) and it would obviously be beneficial to have her water strapped to her back.

Happy trails!

Palm trees and coconuts...

I always figured I'd get married one day. I also knew that my parents would generously pay for most, if not all of my special day. And when that day came, I wanted to be able to show them my appreciation.

About 5 years before I actually got married (I was dating the guy I would eventually marry, but I didn't know it at that point), I went on a cruise with his family. Somehow the cruise ship messed up our reservations and to apologize, upgraded all of us (we had a total of like 8 rooms) to balconey suites. Afterwards, I started an unofficial savings account.

You see, balconey suites were expensive. I know my dad, and knew that he's all about the deals. I thought the balconey just made the entire trip. Waking up every morning to see that crystal blue water? It was just amazing. I wanted my parents to experience that.

A few months before the wedding, I contacted a travel agent and explained to her what I wanted to do. Since I didn't know when to actually book the trip for, we decided a gift certificate would be the easiest way to go. I told the travel agent that I didn't care where they went (although I had a few suggestions of places I thought they'd like), my only stipulation was that it had to be a balconey suite.

The night before the wedding, I went into my parents' room and handed them a box. Inside were several cruise books/pamphlets and a gift certificate. I told them it was enough for a week long cruise to most places in the Caribbean.

They were a little "mad" at first but I just told them I had been saving up for this for awhile. Plus, their house had flooded about two months before the wedding so they'd been dealing from all the stress from that. They knew they needed a break anyway.

They loved the trip, it was a well-deserved break for them and it made me happy to be able to give back to my parents, who have given so much to me. They've been great parents and I love to do unexpected things for them because I want them to know how much appreciate them.

Warning: Do not try while hungry...

The economy pretty much stinks these days. Christmas should never be a burden and homemade gifts are no longer the macaroni-necklace, toilet paper roll Christmas tree crafts anymore. It’s super easy to give the illusion of spending a lot of money (although that’s definitely not the expectation) without the cash. Besides, when the recipient finds out you did it yourself, that’s even better!

Got a candy or dessert that is your specialty? Find a cute way to box it up as a gift!

I made these fudgy bon-bons for work a few weeks ago.

They look professional, right? Find some little boxes, wrap some ribbon around it and voila! Instant look of expensive fudge shops but cheap solution in your own kitchen.

Children on your list? Try these chocolate mice!

I think they are just adorable!

Got a tea lover (like myself) on your list? Pomegranate Winter Tea!

Click here for 26 fun little gift-giving-worthy recipes!

Go Team!

As I mentioned a few posts back, my best friend and I exchange Christmas ornaments every year. We try to do something that’s special to that year and this year she got married in August (I talk about weddings and getting married an awful lot, don’t I?).

Concerned that she would get a bazillion “First Christmas” or “Just Married” ornaments, I decided to think how I think best – off the wall.

My bestest graduated from Virginia Tech and her husband from Wake Forest so naturally during any sport season, they have a good natured rivalry going on. I thought it might be fun to play on that a little.

While browsing on Etsy (I’ve mentioned how much I LOVE this site), I found a quilted Virginia Tech ornament that looked like this:

I didn’t see any Wake Forest stuff on the site, but went ahead and emailed the crafter anyway. I explained the situation and asked if she could possibly do some sort of “split household” ornament with VT and WF. She (Donna) responded back and said she’d love to but she hadn’t been able to find any Wake Forest ribbon (which disappointed her greatly considering she was also a WF alumni). She said she’d look around some more and see if she could come across some WF ribbon and she’d let me know.

Fast forward about a month later – she found some! She messaged and asked if I was still interested (absolutely!). I received the ornament a few days later and it was perfect:

I stuck a note in there saying that I hope this ornament will be the butt of many fights (jokingly, of course) to come as to whose team gets to face outward. The reaction?

ALSO, you are the most fantastic gift giver  EVER!  We love the ornament.  It's perfect!  How do you think of these things???

Another satisfied customer!

Rum rum rum!

My husband and I went to St. Lucia for our honeymoon in 2009. It was beautiful, everything was wonderful. They specialize in rum down there so before we left, he bought 4 bottles of St. Lucian rum to bring back. I don’t think he ever intended to actually drink them, but he wanted keepsakes.

Well, all but one bottle made it back to the US. One shattered in my luggage (of course it would be the one in MY luggage), with no hope of salvaging. He was ticked and claimed it was his “favorite” rum that he tried while he was there. Alas, life went on.

This Christmas season, while thinking “outside the box” I remembered this little scenario. Possibly because I got some luggage out that still had the faint scent of rum…but who knows :)

Now, I couldn’t exactly remember the name of this magical rum that was lost. Obviously I couldn’t ask him since that would kind of spoil the whole thing! So I did some research on good ‘ol Google. And I found it. I did remember him saying that the label had the two Piton Mountains on it. Done. A place in New York could ship it to me. $30.

$30 for a honeymoon memory gift I know he wants but he’s forgotten? You betcha.

Timeless

One of the best and easiest ways to make a personalized gift is with a shadow box. It really goes with any occasion.

For example, for our wedding, one of Brad’s aunt made us a shadow box. It has some pretty little decorations, a picture from our save the date cards, and our invitation. She told us she does that for every wedding they go to. It’s also special to us because she and her husband were the ones who drove us from the reception to our hotel (and then off to our after-party!). I didn’t really know this particular aunt and uncle very well before the wedding but they were one of the best parts of the wedding. They shared their words of wisdom and well wishes the whole way to the hotel. We have it hanging in the kitchen now and I think of them and that ride often.

 We got married in the fall, hence the leaves and fallish colors!

Brad’s cousin Tara turns 16 today. When I was in North Carolina last weekend I stopped at  HomeGood’s and found a beautiful shadow box for less than $15. I came home, printed some pictures from the family beach trip we took this summer and bam! Instant personalized gift! I’ve been tossing around putting some little pieces of memorabilia around inside but I’ve been holding off – I want this shadowbox to be something that she can change out the pictures in. Obviously I would never change the pictures in my wedding shadowbox. But for a 16 year old – I don’t want her to feel like I spent SOOO much time on it that she can never change the pictures. This shadowbox is incredibly easy – it came with a few pushpins and the front cover literally just lifts open. I want this shadowbox to be a base but something she can personalize however she wants down the road.

Whether it’s a timeless shadowbox or just a “right now” shadowbox, it’s a great way to personalize a gift if you’re on a limited budget. Mine cost less than $20 (and would have cost closer to $15 if I could have found my flash drive – then I could have printed the pictures at CVS!). 

Cornwho?

I’ve talked before about my hubby – the man who has everything and if he sees something he wants, he gets it before anyone else can. So slowly, I’m learning – sometimes I have to think ahead for him. What’s something he doesn’t know he wants yet?

For his birthday this past July, I started researching a few months earlier. What is something he likes to do that he could do at home? What’s something he’s never mentioned wanting but might want?

So…I took a risk.

I went all out.

I got…

Cornhole boards.

Not just any cornhole boards.

Jack Daniels cornhole boards.

Not just any Jack Daniels cornhole boards.

Matching black and white bags.

And, the big surprise…

Lights that go inside the holes so the game doesn’t stop just because the sun goes down!

Another good gift is the drink holders, but I figured he could always build those on his own if he really wanted them...

Just Because

It’s fun to give gifts “just because.” I think a lot of times they mean more to people because they’re not expected. Sending a “just because” gift shows the person that “hey, I’m thinking about you and wanted to make your day a little brighter.”

I’m pretty notorious for sending flowers. Who says a significant other has to be the one to always send flowers? Are my single friends supposed to just never get flowers until they find a boyfriend? Preposterous. No, it’s not a practical gift. But it does put a smile on someone’s face and remind them they are loved – whether it be family, friend or lover. I don’t tend to use 1-800 Flowers though – I prefer to search local stores wherever my recipient lives and find an arrangement through them. Nothing against the big corporations (Undercover Boss actually gave me some relief that the world might be okay), but it’s always nice to support local businesses when you can.

Think flowers are too cliché? Okay then, how about cookies?

Cookies by Design lets you choose from cookie cakes, cookie baskets, cookie trays…the possibilities go on. Still hooked on the flower idea? You can even send a cookie bouquet.

Starting around $14. Just be prepared – if you send these to a friend’s office, they might not get many of them!!

Cookies too simple? A former employer turned me on to this little jewel:  Shari’s Berries. Chocolate dipped strawberries, chocolate dipped cookies, brownie pops, cupcakes and more. I especially love all the different chocolate designs they use when dipping. If you’re wanting to spend a little to make a wedding shower go a little elegant, they even have wedding berries! Just be prepared because 24 of these beauties go for close to $50. Worth it? Quite possibly!

Everyone you know on a diet? And allergies? No problemo – Edible Arrangements! Beautiful, healthy and even semi-practical! Although I’ve sent Kristi just about all of the above, I chose to send this particular arrangement to her office. She’s a dentist – I thought that was the most appropriate gift to send!

Starting at $24!

The Wheel Keeps a-Spinnin'

Sometimes it's more about the practicality than the novelty.


I had three guestbook attendants at my wedding. One was a cousin - the only cousin I have who is remotely near my age. One was my now brother-in-law's girlfriend and the other was my brother's now-fiance. I wanted to give them something nice, usable, and kind of fall related.


You'll find that I am a rather big Etsy junkie. You can find nearly anything on Etsy and my experiences have always been great. The sellers on Etsy are much easier to negotiate with if you're ordering multiple items and it's easier to change details that don't exactly work. Not really something you can do at major department stores.


Since I got married in October, I wanted something to represent that crisp, "getting colder" season that I love so much. So I found a friend from high school on Etsy who...

Makes beautiful pottery! She had made a mug or two and posted them on her Etsy page and I really loved them.

At first, I was only going to get one mug per attendant because the price was a little steeper than I wanted to pay.

But we started talking and she gave me a deal if I gave them each two (which is what I wanted to do anyway)

So they each got two mugs stuffed with yummy hot chocolate! 


Go to Lovin Designs on Etsy for pottery, jewelry and crotchet goodies.


Also - hot chocolate, tea, coffee, candy...it's so easy to cater to the recipient with something like these mugs. And I don't know about you, but I drink out of a mug at least once a day :)

Dirty Socks and Empty Beer Bottles

My big brother…is a trip.

Seriously. He has this sense of humor that is just hysterical in a quiet sort of way. Sometimes he gets a snark in that you don’t even realize until the next day.

When we get together for Christmas, I never know what to expect.

Take Christmas a few years ago. My family and I (just the four of us) sat around the living room, opening gifts, laughing together, etc.  We’re down to last round of gifts to open…except for my brother’s gifts. My brother, you see, never puts his gifts under the tree until he’s ready for us to open them. Whether he just wants to be super secretive or just not excited about his wrap job is a mystery.

Anyways. It was down to my gift. My brother goes back into his room…comes out…walks over to me…throws me my gift…and I squeal and throw it back.

Why?

It was his dirty sock!!!

Not unlike the real dirty sock

He gets this offended look on his face, like “why would you throw away my gift for you?” He tells me to pick it up and look inside (he claims it’s a clean sock but with guys, can you ever really tell?). I gingerly pick it up, tip it upside down and…an empty beer bottle!

Huhh????

He then goes on to explain that he’s giving me a beer of the month club membership. Okay, NOW I’m okay with what’s going on. The Beer of the Month club is great for anyone who loves more than, say, Bud Light or Miller Lite (and don’t even get me started on Coors Light, ew, gross).  These are random or rare beers…microbrews.

Now for the quick sales pitch (see, I do your homework for you). They start from $20.95 per month up to $68.95 per month for the rare beer club (this does NOT include shipping & handling). If you choose the Original or Variety Beer Club, they’ll receive 4 beers per month and the Rare Beer Club will send 2-6 depending on which tier you choose. You decide how many months you want this gift to last.

I realize not everyone loves random beers the way I do. There’s also a...

Wine of the month club

Cheese of the month club

Chocolate of the month club

I mean, seriously, just google something you like and then put “of the month club” at the end of it and you’ll probably find something interesting. Can’t beat a gift that keeps giving all year round!

That’s one of the secrets of me finding random gifts. Google is my best friend. Embrace it.

PS, in case you're wondering, I did go ahead and give his dirty sock back. It's the thought that counts, big brother...