Personalized Baby Gifts - unique gift for a newborn baby: no one else will be

When it comes to picking up personalized baby gifts, parents and friends of parents tend to go overboard one way or the other. Some people choose personalized baby gifts based on the baby's sex or perceived athletic proclivities. Others buy up initialized hoodies, knitted blankets, customizable teddy bears, and the like. Still others go for the "outrageous" but useless by buying stars, planets, or even a piece of land on the moon for their lucky little ones.

If you want to stray from the beaten path of personalized baby gifts, consider ordering a personalized magazine cover. If you've got a photo of the young whippersnapper, you can easily digitally upload it and create a hilarious and/or moving tribute. Customize your headlines, add thoughtful notes, poetry, song lyrics, bits of advice, or silly goo-goo talk in the headline areas. You can craft the image so that the baby strikes a regal pose or just mess around with the layout and background to get the tone you think would mesh best with your intentions for the keepsake.

You need not have any experience as a graphic designer or editor to give these personalized baby gifts. Simply plop yourself at a computer, toy with the free templates, and let your imagination take you where it will. Unlike other personalized baby gifts - such as toys, clothes, or baby books - your magazine cover will offer a distinct snapshot of the child's earliest weeks on the planet. And, no doubt, when the child grows up, he or she will look back at the gift with intensely curious eyes.

Welcome your baby with brilliance - visit YourCover.com the moment you can  to design an imagination filled, sentimental, memorable and warm magazine cover that will last forever.  Make it a gift for his or her birthday every year thereafter.

Personalized Wedding Favors - plus a centerpiece for your wedding tables

You have your heart set on personalized wedding favor for your guests. But before you place your order, consider an alternative favor idea which will not doubt wow your guests - personalized magazine covers.

Options abound for how to incorporate personalized magazine covers into your ceremony and party. You can make up a bunch of specialized covers (featuring in jokes, memorable pictures, and clever/sentimental thoughts) for your bridesmaids or groomsmen and present these along with the traditional initialized flasks or purses. Alternatively, you could create a fun fake magazine cover of you and your fiance and put these keepsakes on every table, perhaps raffling them off at some point during the ceremony.

If you want to get super fancy and involved, you can further tailor the magazine covers at your tables by incorporating pictures of the people sitting at your tables into the design layout. For instance, let's say that at table 12, you've seated Grandma Estelle and Uncle Ernie. Your magazine centerpiece could feature a picture of you and your fiance on the front and then have fun pictures of you with your Grandma Estelle and Uncle Ernie on the back along with some cute quotations and captions.

Of course, this kind of detail work can be exhausting - particularly if you're in the rough and tumble of planning your own wedding. That said, this unique centerpiece idea is fun to put together and, most importantly, very cost effective. You can put together your personalized wedding favors and centerpieces online over the course of an hour or two, place your order, and get top quality results delivered quickly.

Best of all, unlike other seemingly personalized wedding favors  (such as home-burned CDs of the special couple's favorite songs), your personalized magazine cover can distill the essence of your relationship in a fun, warm, and really humorous way. Include "headlines" teasing the greatest romantic moments in your relationship, or create a top-20 list cataloging your and your fiance's idiosyncrasies. No doubt everyone at the wedding party will love it, and you'll have a keepsake to last a lifetime.

Ease the burden of planning out your favors and centerpieces today - visit YourCover.com for details on how to get started with your magazine cover adventure.

Gift baskets for those special occasions

While gift baskets can be a great way to give presents, they lose some of their charm if you overuse them. However, there are many other basket-like containers that you can use instead, to save the baskets for the really special occasions.

For wine, you can put the wine in a special wine bag, decorated with wine patterns and sealed at the top, although this has the disadvantage of instantly giving away what your present is (although you could always surprise the person by putting some other nice drink in a wine bag!). Wine can also be given in a special presentation box or case, and many expensive ones come with one for this purpose, as do sets of 12 bottles.

Chocolates can be very well presented in a chocolate box, wrapped in wrapping paper with a bow delicately tied on the top – gold wrapping is lovely on chocolates, because of the way it complements the browns. If you are buying chocolate from a confectioner’s, you may be able to get them to wrap it this way for you.

Although it can seem a little clichéd, flowers often work much better in a bouquet than they do in a basket, for the simple reason that a bouquet of flowers can be easily transferred to a vase and kept for longer. Bouquets of flowers also tend to be easier to find than baskets, so you will a wider selection of different kinds of flowers to choose from.

None of this is intended to put you off giving gift baskets – but it’s best to save them for a really special occasion, like moving home, getting a promotion, Easter or birthdays. Good baskets don’t come cheap, and when you do get one, you want to be able to go all-out, not do things in half measures.

Creative Anniversary Gifts - a totally surprising anniversary gift idea

You've been wracking your brain to come up with creative anniversary gifts to express your love and affection for your spouse in a unique way. Whether you're on your paper or diamond anniversary, it can be difficult to summarize the complex admixture of love, passion, camaraderie, and intimacy that defines marriage. It can be particularly vexing to stuff all these complex emotions into a gift that really means something. This is the reason why the vast majority of so called creative anniversary gifts end up either gimmicky or ridiculous or overly ornate and sentimental.

So is there a way out of this anniversary gift conundrum?

Here's an idea that you're guaranteed not to have thought of before - creating a personalized magazine cover for your anniversary. The process is simple, cheap, and wonderfully fun. You can design your magazine cover around photos that you already have, and you can do it in almost total secrecy and thus be able to surprise your honey with a truly unique set of creative anniversary gifts (assuming you also add on something more traditional, like chocolates, jewelry, or dinner out on the town).

Easy to use online personal magazine cover templates can help you produce professional quality results quickly. Best of all, you control the design and content elements, so you can create a tone that truly reflects your dynamic as a couple. If you're silly together, you can dress up a fake magazine cover highlighting each other's idiosyncrasies as bold headlines for the magazine. If you're more sentimental, you can cast your spouse as celebrity royalty and include special poems, lyrics, or meaningful thoughts as headlines, bylines, or photo commentary. The creative stops you can pull out to express your dedication are nearly infinite.

Personalized creative anniversary gifts await you at YourCover.com, the top place to go to dream up and print out your personalized magazine covers.

Creating Ideas For Gift Baskets

Great ideas for gift baskets are not so hard to come by. A little bit of thought, planning and imagination will yield spectacular baskets filled with original and appreciated gifts for anyone on your gift list throughout the year. Whether you are designing your own gift basket or creating a list with pre-made gift baskets in mind, the ideas for gift baskets are never ending.

Thought-filled ideas for gift baskets might seem like a difficult task initially. In reality there are many ways to begin creating ideas for gift baskets that will become a natural choice in future gift giving. Knowing what is interesting to the recipient of any gift is the key to making it personalized and customized. And, even if you are not certain the exact interest, most times you can successfully wing it.

For example, ideas for gift baskets designed for teenaged grandchildren who live far away might encompass just researching what a teenager in general might be interested in. You can begin with general interest items such as music gift cards and headphones. If you are fortunate to know teenagers well enough to narrow the generality into uniquely specific gift ideas that fill a basket, you can come up with a plethora of creative options.

Smiles are in store when ideas for gift baskets are thought out and executed in a way that covers all bases. Baby shower, bridal shower, and anniversary gift baskets are an ideal way to gather similar gifts and present them in an imaginary way. Co-workers and employers alike can be celebrated with very little forethought and a loving heart.

Holiday ideas for gift baskets open up countless ways to celebrate. An ornament hanging from the handle of a decorative basket filled to overflowing with Christmas gifts is just the beginning to a whole array of gift basket ideas. Easter baskets might just be the idea from which ideas for gift baskets originated.

Birthdays are always a great place to practice your ideas for gift basket skills. No matter what age group or what the interest; you can fill a gift basket that is appreciated. For any special female in your life relaxing bath oils, handmade soaps, and perfumed sprays are always a hit. For the younger man on your list you might want to include comic books, Hot Wheel cars, and a bag of water balloons to fill.

Ideas for gift baskets begin and end with the thought of sharing and celebrating. No matter what occasion you are celebrating, it is the thought that truly counts. So trust your instincts and follow your heart to a place where the gift of a gift basket perfectly expresses your thoughtfulness. You will make some one very happy in the process of creating the perfect ideas for gift baskets that land a lasting impression.

Copyright 2005 by D. L. Randolph. All rights reserved.

Sharing Memories In The Twenty-First Century

If there is one thing we all like to do as mothers it is share pictures of our children and tell others how wonderful and angelic they are. That is one of those instinctual "mother" types of things that most of us are guilty of doing from time to time. We break out the new wallet size photograph, or in some cases, the portable brag book that we carry around in our purses, and go on and on to complete strangers about the special qualities found in our children. However, not everyone wants to hear our tales. And often we find ourselves pushing our pictures back down into our bags and feeling forlorn that we aren't with those great kiddies of ours. In today's world, though, there are some even better ways to view images of our children, even when we may be far from home. This involves none of the lugging around of awkward photo albums from years past, and keeps our bags and wallets free from the paper images that we have all become so accustomed to. The next time you are looking for a new way to arrange photographs of your child and to find new ways in which to display these, you should consider a leap into the twenty first century and consider displaying them digitally. There are many different ways that this can be done, with one of the more popular options being the archive photo cd. With the archive photo cd, you are able to have your original prints stored onto a compact disc format. What a brilliant idea! Mothers everywhere will love the idea of carrying this small item around with them and being able to show anyone from the office to the library pictures of her sweet little ones. And the ease of this option is so convenient! Many people can load their digital photos straight from their computer at home onto a disc that you can call your archive photo cd, while others can employ the use of online photo companies who can do this for you for a relatively small fee. The archive photo cd is a HUGE improvement over the dated picture album, and allows you to easily categorize all of your special prints. Creating a digital photo calendar is another fun way to keep memories and prize pictures close by. These make unique gifts for parents, grandparents, and special friends, as all of these folks will love to have pictures of your kids hanging around all year long. All you need to get started are some of your favorite digital prints. From there, there are services online that can help you turn your pictures into a digital photo calendar that you can adore all year long. Digital photo greeting cards can be found in the same realm as the digital photo calendar. Share a funny moment with a friend or family member by using a print of your child greeting them from the card. The digital photo greeting card is an original idea that will be sure to please any loved one. If you have multiple photographs of your children that you just absolutely have to share with others, why not consider having a custom photo yearbook created? With these hardback books, you can typically present multiple photos in a pre-designed fashion that will best showcase your memories. Like the other projects, you must simply pick out your digital prints you wish to include within your custom photo yearbook. After that, it is all about the research. This will involve finding a reputable company to help you organize all of the material which you wish to include. If you would like to get really creative, why not try designing the custom photo yearbook from home? You can either design the cover yourself or let a professional do it for you and then let them bind the finished product that is now your custom photo yearbook for you. We all want to make our memories last a lifetime. With the advent of so many digital tools that we have now at our fingertips, mothers everywhere can breathe easy knowing that there are simpler ways to store those cherished photos to ensure that they are around for many years to come. So be that fabulous mom that you know that you are, and show off all those precious prints of your children, by employing the use of digital prints. You will truly create memories that could be preserved for generations.

Gift Baskets

Title: Gift Baskets Word Count: 339 Summary: One great way to let someone know they are special and being thought of is with the use of gift baskets. Keywords:Gift baskets, flowers, special occasions, love, family, presents, gifts, co-workers, work Article Body: In today's changing world, we find ourselves engulfed in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. To many of us, this leaves very little time to keep in touch with loved ones that may live many miles away, or even only a few miles away. One great way to let someone know they are special and being thought of is with the use of gift baskets. The uses of gift baskets to express ones feelings are endless. Many people send gift baskets during the holidays to let family and friends know that they are being thought of. Maybe a husband wants to pamper his wife on their anniversary with a gift basket of spa goodies. A wife could surprise her husband with a golf themed gift basket. Many times co-workers like to express appreciation for each others' efforts at the work place. A delicious fruit gift basket can be very pleasurable and a very personal gift to give or receive. Deciding what type of gift basket to give is easy. Simply think of what the person you are sending to is interested in! A gift basket can be customized to fit almost any interest or hobby. Another great idea for gift baskets is to follow the seasons. Gardening and sunbathing items and tools for spring and summer. Skin care and moisturizing products along with warm clothing and accessories for fall and winter. The opportunities and ideas for gift baskets are truly endless. They can also express appreciation and or love for the people receiving them. It is easy to get caught up in the day-to-day live activities. Take a few moments to reflect on those special people that you have lost touch with, but mean so much to you. Some great ideas for gift baskets: Themed to Encourage Hobbies Gift Basket Anniversary Gift Basket For an Emotional / Spiritual Boost Gift Basket To rekindle a Romance Gift Basket Thanks to Others Gift Basket (Co-workers) Teacher Gift Basket Baby Gift Basket Holiday Gift Basket Spa Gift Basket House Warming Gift Basket

2nd Anniversary Gifts - Cotton Anniversary Gift Ideas

Almost two years have passed since you both said “I do” and now your 2nd wedding anniversary is coming up, and as so many times before on occasions that etiquette requires the exchanging of gifts, you get stuck in a gift tunnel vision. An example is the spouse who buys flowers for every birthday, anniversary or holiday. Now don’t get me wrong, flowers are great, and so is filet mignon but I don’t want it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Get the point? Mix it up, put a little thought into it. It’s not as hard as you might think and you might even have fun, your spouse will appreciate a gift that shows you put some thought and consideration into its purchase.

Traditionally, cotton is the symbol for the 2nd year wedding anniversary. Cotton symbolizes the sweet and smooth flowing of the couples’ relationship. When the couple celebrates their 2nd year of being together, they are closer to one another. They are sweeter than the last year. Time may change them for the better. It is right to make the cotton the right gift idea suggestion for this wedding anniversary.

Cotton is a durable, versatile and highly flexible material. These are the qualities of the couple in a successful marriage. Moreover, cotton symbolizes great prosperity.

O.K. now we know that we need to put some thought into this gift and it should probably be made of cotton, I can hear you saying “How am I going to find a thoughtful gift made out of cotton?” Well don’t freak out just yet. Through the miracle of internet shopping and speedy home delivery gone are the days of having to settle for what the local stores had to offer, now the world is at your finger tips, literally.

Here’s a few tips to get you started

Personalized cotton wedding throw.

Personalized cotton towels.

Personalized cotton briefs and underwear.

Cotton Roses

Cotton hammock big enough for two.

Embroidered Quilts

Embroidered cotton t-shirts or jackets

Personalized Photo Pillows

Personalized Photo t-shirts

My favorite would have to be the Cotton Roses, why? Simple, the roses say “I love you” and the cotton says you loved your spouse enough to find roses made of cotton. Just do a search for any of the items above on your favorite search engine and you’ll have your perfect gift before you know it.

Next week we’ll tackle the third year wedding anniversary.

Anniversary Gift Shopping - Try Sending Flowers Online

Sending flowers to someone you love is probably the most popular and common practice in a relationship. Almost every relationship or anniversary has a memory that involves flowers. This is because flowers are very easy to find and is a gift that brings a natural smile to anyone’s face. Nature’s masterpiece, that’s what flowers are, they paint the fields and the meadows with their color and fill the air with their fragrance. Now when you present flowers to your special someone, it is like you are giving them a piece of that art. When you send flowers to some one you remind them that they are precious to you and that you see them as one of Mother Nature’s miracles and masterpieces.

The great news is, you could be in a long distance relationship, you could be on a business trip or you’re at your office and you decide to send someone special flowers. All you have to do is go online and search for a site that features online flower delivery. These sites contain pictures of the many bouquets and flower arrangements that they have for online flower delivery. If you decide to order online, you will have the benefit of ordering from online florists that have access to thousands of florists all over the world that can have your order arranged in no time. Online flower delivery is fast, efficient and a great way to send someone flowers. If you order at a designated cut-off time, the flower you ordered may be delivered on the same day.

Check out the different sites that offer online flower delivery. Compare the services they offer and the areas where they can deliver. Some good online flower delivery websites can handle special requests. So when you have finally settled on a site where you want to order online flower delivery there are some things that you may need to get ready. Have your major credit card on hand and ready. Prepare to give out your billing address, your credit card number and expiration date.

Next, pick out the bouquet or flower arrangement that you want to have delivered. Online flower delivery sites have a multitude of pictures that shows the flower arrangements that they do. Browse on through them and see also some accessories such as baskets, figurines, balloons, small stuffed toys that you may want to include in the arrangement. Good online flower delivery sites have descriptions beside the pictures as well as the prices. Once you have decided on which flowers to buy, you can now click the “put in basket” or “buy” button.

You can now put the name of the recipient and the address where you want it to be sent. You can also attach a little message with the flowers you have just purchased. Write down what you want to tell the person to add a little personal touch.
Online flower delivery services are very invaluable and convenient when you want a flower delivered fast to someone. Sites are open 24 hours a day so it does not matter wherever you are in the world, the site will be open regardless of time zones. Reminding someone that you love them, you miss them and you are thinking about them is as easy as 1-2-3 and is just a mouse click away. Check them out now and make someone happy.

10 Great Gift Ideas For Mother's Day

Here are a few great gift ideas for that special mother in your life on Mother’s Day.

10. Weekend Getaway. A weekend retreat to a ski lodge could be great for the mom who needs a weekend to unwind.

9. Digital Camera. For the new mom, this makes a great gift. Children grow up so fast, catching those fleeting moments are important. With scrap booking becoming so popular, digital cameras also make a great gift for the scrapbook lover.

8. Charitable Donation. For the mom who never stops giving, she would be honored to know that a donation was given to her favor charity in her name. This is truly a gift that keeps on giving.

7. Buy a Tree or Star. Have that special mom immortalized for years to come. Have a star named after her or buy a tree in her name. With God’s love that star and tree will be around even if we are not.

6. Night Out. New mothers would surely appreciate a night out of the house with some adult conversation and atmosphere. It's a simple request, yet such a grand gesture for those moms who just want an evening as an adult. This works well with the morning and afternoon spent with the children. That is what Mother's Day is about in the first place.

5. Spa Day. Most mothers I know could use a spa day. Whether her children are at home or have long since moved out, a spa day is great choice. Spa Days range from a whole package of all the goodies like mud baths and lunch or just a half hour of massage

4. Jewelry. A great idea would be give her a pendant with picture of her child/ren in it or a bracelet, ring or necklace with the birthstone/s of children or grandchildren.

3. Gift Baskets. You can find Gift baskets that contain any and everything. There are baskets that are specifically designed for Mother's Day, but other choices include gourmet and fruit baskets, spa bsakets and candle baskets. Many places also make custom baskets.

2. Flowers and Plants. This is the most common of Mother's Day gifts. It’s the obvious choice for that bouquet lover or for a very picky person.

1. The Star Treatment. Being a good mother is the hardest job in the world. Offering that special mom the star treatment for a day is a great gift. Start with allowing her to sleep in. As if that weren't gift enough, breakfast in bed and cleaning the house is just what the mom ordered. Lunch and dinner preparation should be included along with bathing, feeding and dressing the children. Basically don't allow her to left a finger. Supply a good book or time for her to do what she wants. What mother wouldn't want a day to recuperate?

3rd Anniversary Gift - Boy, I'm in Trouble Now

Your third anniversary is coming up and your mind is racing as you browse countless gift ideas, a new pair of shoes, a tie L, flowers, jewelry? Then just like last year and the year before your brain goes into full overload, shuts down and triggers “gift shopping procrastination” till the last minute when in desperation you grab a cheesy scarf or tie depending on the sex of the recipient.

Keeping a marriage for three years can be a tough job. Surpassing every challenge and overcoming obstacles of married life can be quite difficult. Anyone who can reach this milestone should be able to get through finding a thoughtful gift.

What gift are you going to choose for your loved one? In your mind, you probably think it must be expensive, or it must be unique. Well a gift need not always be expensive to be appreciated. Remember the old saying “It is the thought that counts“, While this is very true, we need to clear up one important point, the keyword in that saying is “thought“. This does NOT mean that you “thought” enough to get a gift, but instead refers to the thoughtfulness that went into the choosing of a gift whether it be homemade or outrageously expensive.

Leather is the traditional 3rd year wedding anniversary. Leathers are known to be strong, warm, flexible and durable as well. it has strong qualities like that of the married couple who has stayed together three years. So with that in mind, lets look at some leather gift ideas.

Leather clothing – you should check your spouses’ closet before buying leather clothes. Leather jackets can be appealing to almost everyone.

Leather shoes & bags / handbags – check your spouses’ shoe size before buying new leather shoes, be extra careful in choosing handbags, because wives are choosy when it comes to their accessories. You might want to enlist the help of one of her friends in choosing a gift like this.

Leather wallets – be careful with choosing the wallet for your hubby. Like wives, they can also be meticulous about it.

Leather roses - yes you read that right, and yes they are available, just search leather roses on any search engine.

Leather belts – this is a practical gift. Check out the size of your spouse before buying one.

Leather gloves – there are many type of gloves that you can choose. This is great for areas with cold temperature.

Leather desk accessories – check your spouses’ deck, is it organized? Give him/her a leather desk set to organize his/her desk.

Leather briefcase – this is the right gift for people on the go or for executives and lawyers.

Leather sporting goods - Is your spouse a sports fanatic? Footballs, baseball gloves and a lot of other sports equipment is made from leather.

Leather luggage – plan to have a romantic out of the country trip? Surprise him / her with a new luggage bag.

Next week we’ll cover the fourth wedding anniversary.

Unique Bar Mitzvah Gift Ideas - Forget the $36 check; check out this Bar

Unique Bar Mitzvah gift ideas can easily turn out to be embarrassing, ostentatious, or just plain ridiculous. While Uncle Lenny may have the best intentions in mind when he buys you 18 acres on Mars (18 of course representing the Hebrew word Chai - or "life" - in the Jewish tradition), there are far better unique Bar Mitzvah gift ideas out there. Not all unique Bar Mitzvah gift ideas need to be sappy or silly. In fact, it can be fun, cute, and memorable to order up a personalized magazine cover for the newly minted 13 year old Jewish "adult." You can be funny and pose a photo of the young adolescent on the cover along with headlines which speak to his prowess in sports, fondness for Harry Potter books, love of astronomy or what have you. Indeed, you can shape his "magazine destiny" as it were any way you see fit. Turn him into a homerun slugger, a National Geographic explorer, a brilliant academician, or a glamorous Hollywood actor. You could also turn the tables and offer up the personalized magazine cover as a party favor to friends and relatives who make it to the Bar Mitzvah party. Be aware that you shouldn't make your magazine cover too embarrassing or revealing - some good-natured ribbing is fine, but be aware of the 13 year old's temperament and consult the parents if you think your humorous riffing may be headed "too far." In short, you can tune your magazine cover Bar Mitzvah gift idea to the mood of the occasion and create a fun, unique, family-oriented gift that's sure to be remembered and treasured - and hopefully displayed fondly for years to come. Thinking of abandoning your Chai check for a cool and classy personalized Bar Mitzvah magazine cover? Head to YourCover.com right now to get started.

The Five Best Gifts to Give Your Family

When we think of giving gifts, we usually think of things to buy for people. Yet if you think back on gifts you’ve been given, it might not be the material gifts you received that are foremost in your mind – it might be the kind of gifts that deeply touched your heart and soul. It might be various ways, other than material things, that people expressed their love to you. There are five gifts of love that we can give to our families that can make a huge difference in their lives. THE GIFT OF CARING AND COMPASSION We all yearn to feel cared for, yet many of us withhold caring and compassion for others. A profound gift we can give to our loved ones is to listen with our heart, to understand and accept rather than to judge, and to stay open to learning rather than to protect against being hurt. Think about the last time someone actually listened to you and gave you understanding and acceptance. The feeling of being understood and accepted with caring and compassion is one of the best feelings in the world. Instead of focusing on getting this from others, why not focus on giving it to others? You might be surprised at how wonderful you feel in giving this gift to your family. THE GIFT OF COURAGE One of the best gifts we can give our loved ones is our own courage. This means being having the courage to stand in our truth, to be honest about what we want and don’t want, what we will do and won’t do, what is and what is not acceptable to us. It means having the courage to take good care of ourselves, even if others don’t like it. It means not succumbing to our controlling behaviors that come from fear: anger, withdrawal, compliance, resistance, but instead being honest and above-board about ourselves. It means being willing to face conflict rather than give ourselves up to avoid it. When we have the courage to face conflict and tell the truth, we not only provide our family with a role model for courage, but we provide opportunities for our loved ones to step up to the plate in the face of our truth and learn to be courageous too. THE GIFT OF SERVICE We are on this planet to learn to love ourselves and each other, and to help each other. One of the best gifts we can give our family is to role model this by doing service. Helping others fills the heart and soul in ways that nothing else can. If children do not see their parents doing service and helping others, they may never learn the great joy and fulfillment that comes from giving. One of the best gifts we can give to our family is to provide ways of doing service. THE GIFT OF CREATIVITY All of us are born with various ways of expressing our creativity. Expressing creativity is a profound way of connecting with Spirit, since expressed creativity is a direct expression of Spirit. Providing your family with many ways of expressing their creativity is a great gift. Creativity can be expressed in so many ways – cooking, crafts, building things, music, art, movement, telling stories, writing, humor, photography and video – the possibilities are endless! Creative family projects are especially wonderful in creating family closeness. THE GIFT OF LIGHTNESS OF BEING Lightness of being – fun, joy, laughter, playfulness – is a great gift to give to others. Lightness of being is infectious – our laughter and playfulness can help others take life less seriously and “lighten up.” Lightness of being is one the results of all the other gifts – of caring, courage, service and creativity. When we give these gifts, we feel a wonderful lightness within, the lightness that is the result of fully giving from the heart. Our own lightness of being can bring lightness into our whole family. Children love it when their parents are playful, funloving and joyful. Laughing together as a family is one of the most precious experiences in life. We need to focus of giving these gifts each day, not just during a holiday season or special occasions. These gifts are far more important than any material thing we can buy for someone. In fact, we might not be so focused on material gifts if we frequently give the gift of love – of caring, compassion, courage, service, creativity, and lightness of being.

Fresh Inspirations: As You Like It

Copyright 2006 Melissa Galt

Do you have a useless niche, a room without a reason, an available closet? Transform it into a space with a purpose! No, of course, it doesn’t have to fit anyone else’s definition of useful, only yours, but let’s consider some fresh ideas . . .

Conversation Station: Finding yourself constantly on the phone but tired of using a cell phone or an ear piece? What about having a good old retro rotary dial or even just a normal sized cordless but in a designated niche just for calling? You can create a calling corner, as it were, beneath the stairs or even in a closet that isn’t storing useful goods. Consider adding a small desk complete with your choice of desk accessories, and I mean the good stuff. Go find a divine desk blotter, an old fashioned address book, a card holder, and even an inbox and outbox. It is a mini conversation station and a great way to renew the art of correspondence and keeping in touch.

Tis Better To Give and Give Beautifully: Whenever I have a gift to take I am always running about madly searching for the last bit of wrapping paper, tape, and scissors two minutes before I am to be out the door. How much nicer it would be to have a dedicated space stocked with creative wrapping elements and the room to use them. So consider devising your own gift niche. Even when going to a party and taking a bottle of wine, the presentation counts and so does originality and effort. Sure you can use one of those gift bags, but why not dress it up, personalize it with charms, sequins, notes and more all available at the local party supply store. If you regularly attend baby and bridal showers, anniversary celebrations, birthdays, and corporate shindigs, presents with all the trimmings really make a statement.

Zen for Better Balance: I actually know a couple of clients that have meditation rooms on their wish list, and what a great idea! A space of quiet and calm designed solely to wind down and synthesize the pressures of every day into positive energies for every life. It can include a chaise or day bed, or even just long floor cushions, an étagère with space for soothing elements of inspiration including crystals and scented candles. A mirror to witness your transformation, and a source of relaxing sounds or music are essential. Think of this as creating a way station for better balance and re-energizing.

Of course there are other rooms, niches, and nooks you can create; it depends on what you want. So take a good look around - is your house missing the haven you most want? Make it happen!

Folding Chairs - A Great Gift Idea

As a general rule, people do not think of furniture as a good housewarming gift.  Of course, that is, unless the person receiving the gift are younger and just starting out on their own.  Although this is a reasonable group to gift furniture like folding chairs and a table, many established families also would appreciate a flexible way to increase the seating capacity of their home or backyard. 

Giving a gift to a friend, relative, or loved one is a very kind gesture but can be difficult to the right item.  Finding the prefect gift to give often takes a lot of time and money. If you are in need of a gift for an individual who loves the outdoors then you should consider purchasing a folding chair set for their yard.  Many of these sets are collapsible and allow for easy storage when the outside season is over.

Folding chair sets were first developed to allow for flexible use during informal get togethers.  The original name for these sets were "card" tables.  This was no doubt due to the popular use of folding tables to double as a card table when friends would come over for a visit.  Today, a folding chair and table set are often considered a valuable and important piece of furniture if only because of the great flexibility and ease of use. 

Before selecting a folding chair set, the actual use should be considered.  If it's to be used outside or in weather, a longer lasting. more outdoor type of finish should be considered.  If the gift is for campers, then a smaller stow away type is in order.  Camping chairs are usually multi-foldable to shrink the overall footprint size making it much easier to carry.  If the intent is to give something that can be set up and left in a room, consider the esthetics of the design.  Many folding chair and table sets now use some high quality finished and are quite acceptable doubling as full time game or homework areas.

Folding chairs are generally made using a steel frame with a semi-rigid back and bottom for comfort.  The better quality chairs have a powder coat finish that is hard and will last several years without difficulty.  Be prepared that as with almost anything, you get what you pay for. Be certain to try out the chairs for comfort.  The better quality ones have more back support and more cushioning on the seat.

Once you have made the decision to give a folding chair set as a gift you will need to find an a store who sells them. Since folding chairs are typically a lower cost item, discount stores are a good bet along with larger furniture stores.  Another option is online.  With the rapid growth of online commerce, you will probably be able to find a higher quality chair set at a lower cost on line.  The trade off of course is that you cannot touch or use the chair to check for quality.

Overall, a good quality folding chair set is not only a good investment but can be a great gift for almost anyone.

Gifts And Novelties For Every Event

Kids in particular love little gifts and novelties. Even something as small as a whistle (while it will eventually drive a parent crazy) can be such a fabulous little trinket to a child. For Halloween this year, we gave out candy and one novelty to every child. Almost every single time, the child was more interested in the novelty we handed them than the candy. And since we used whistles among other things, we had immediate feedback on our choice as our entire neighborhood was illuminated with the sound of little ghost whistles up and down the street. These things, particularly because they are surprises, make a kids experience that much more personal and fun. For parties, whether they are holiday parties, birthday parties, housewarming parties, or just a get together, we always have a few novelties on hand for the children who show up. This practice does two things. First, it lets them know that they are welcome in our home. This little ice breaker helps them relax After all, they are usually dressed in their “good” clothes, have received numerous lectures about the behavior that is expected from their parent, and are a little nervous to do the right things in someone elses home. Breaking the ice with a novelty helps them understand that we understand they are children and we dont expect them to be perfect in our home, which often leads to better behavior because their stress level plummets. The second thing this does for them is gives them a distraction and a new way to associate with the adults around them. Adults can be terribly boring. Whether there is just one child in the mix or several, the adults are still terribly boring. But unless the other kids know each other well, it takes a little time for them to feel each other out and engage in their own activity. Younger children still need to be assured that its okay to play while they are at the party. Remember that behavior lecture they received? Remember when they usually get in trouble? Using gifts and novelties as an ice breaker doesnt have to be limited to children. However, when handing out these little gifts or novelties, keep in mind that children under the age of four may very well choke on small items and you need to make sure whatever youre handing out either cant fit into a little mouth or have a separate gift and novelty section for the young children. If youre going to enter the novelty world for adults that attend your parties, you might want to give serious consideration to what youre handing out. Children are easy by comparison because they are truly happy with so little. Adults, on the other hand, tend to have grown past that interested period in their life and now need something a little more exciting than a whistle to feel like they are getting something. You dont have to go very expensive for adult novelties, but you should go creative. If youre making a joke, make sure everyone understands the joke. For years, we had a running joke inside our family about the Budweiser Frogs. At a gathering we had later, Budweiser tee shirts were handed out. The problem was that only half of the individuals there understood the joke, so half the adults thought my parents were trying to give away beer tee shirts as a gift. It didnt hit this particular crowd very well. Novelties and small gifts are perfect little thank you for coming packages. If your event is particularly important, you might want to avoid humor and go for more tasteful selections. However, if youre handing out novelties for a back yard Fourth of July barbeque, its okay to use humor instead. Matching the novelty with the occasion often tends to be the hardest part. People with a strong sense of humor tend to want to stay with humor, even for more formal events. This can be frustrating. People who tend to be more emotional and cater toward their appreciative feelings tend to want to be more upscale in their selection, even for tee shirt and jeans events. Either way, you simply want to try to match the novelty with the event, and the crowd. Be aware of accidentally leaving anyone out of loop, and have tons of fun with it. Once you start exploring the world of novelties, youd be surprised how many choices you actually have.

Personalizing Your Gifts With Flair

When you give a gift of any nature or for any occasion, you want to make it something that the recipient will really like and keep for many years. While you want to put your own personal stamp on the gift so that whomever you give it to will remember you, you do need to make it personal for the gift recipient. A retirement gift for an employee that has given years of service is usually a bracelet or a watch. That in itself is an expensive gift, but when it is engraved with a personal message or Thank You, it makes the gift all that much more memorable. Taking the time to search for the perfect gift shows in the gift itself. When you give clothes to a child at Christmas or for a birthday, the parents are happy. However, the child is probably devastated because he/she wants something to play with. Even though teenagers love to get clothing as gifts, you really do need to know that person well to be able to pick out a style that suits the taste and personality. This is why giving a teenager money as a gift is the best choice because it gives the young person a choice in what he/she wants to buy. Baby showers, wedding showers, weddings, birthdays and anniversaries all offer an opportunity to choose the perfect gift. For many people receiving money in a card says that you couldn't be bothered to take the time to go shopping for a gift. You do have to know the person and take time to reflect on what he/she likes in order to give a gift that will count. Although gift certificates are acceptable, you may be limiting that person to shop at a store that he/she does not like. Jewellery is always a good choice as are candles, ornaments and electronic gadgets. The price of the gift is not important. It is the thought and the actual gift that count the most.

What are Gift Baskets?

Gift Baskets are a popular gift option especially during the holiday season. The basic purpose of a gift basket is to give your fellow friend number of small gifts instead of giving a larger one. Every item in the gift basket is arranged in a container and the entire package is attractively wrapped in cellophane. Each gift basket is designed to create a complete and personal moment for the recipient. The small gifts present in the gift basket are carefully chosen and blended to make a cohesive whole. Gift Baskets are available in different themes. For instance, if you want to gift a gift basket to writer then you can tailor the basket as per the recipient’s interest. You can fill the basket with books, paper, pens, pencils, and dictionary and so on. Similarly if you want to gift the basket to a beautician you can arrange the basket with nail polishes, lipsticks, combs and shampoos, dryer and so on. Gift baskets are not just good ideas for Christmas but also for any other occasion. They create a personalized feeling that anyone would enjoy receiving them. There are three main types of gift basket mainly •Pre-made Gift Basket: A pre made gift basket are attractively wrapped and ready to purchase. This is gift giving at its best. •Create din Store: There are many stores that allow you to decide what gift items should be wrapped in the gift basket. This gives the basket a personal touch while still allowing for a more professional presentation. This is a perfect choice especially when you want to gift a friend with a professional gift. •Homemade Gift Basket: if you want to have a total control over what to put in the gift basket and how it is presented then a home made gift basket would be a perfect choice. Homemade gift basket gives you an opportunity to buy the contents and wrap the basket yourself.