The Ultimate Guide to Great Gifts

August 14, 2008 · Leave a Comment

Patti’s Annual Holiday Guide To Nifty, Outside the Box Gift Ideas

The weather outside may be sizzling, especially if you live in the east, but it’s never too early to start shopping for Christmas and just thinking about Yule time can make you feel cooler. FYI: most of these products come from ideas pitched to me by savvy public relations people who understand that this guide is about exciting, interesting gifts, outside the usual box type items (with a couple of exceptions). Anyhow, one company told me about a personalized baseball bat. Well being an avid Yankee fan and having hit a few balls in my time, I was very excited about it and ordered a bat. It came and dudes and dudettes, it’s soooooo cool. It’s a numbered 125 Louisville Slugger powerized bat with my full name on it along with a Yankee logo. I mean is this a great gift or what. Any baseball enthusiast on your list will love this, male or female,young or old. I’m going to take a photo of us and post it soon. It’s only $57 to $87 at www.sluggergifts.com. And for other sports fans: FantasyFootballSherpa.com provides data-driven, customized advice to fantasy football enthusiasts where league participantsget the gift of winning in their leagues, earning bragging rights. $29.95 a www.FantasyFootballSherpa.com

I found the perfect one-stop on line shopping site, www.cafepress.com. Just received a few things I ordered and am very happy. Got a nifty Jr. Hoodie; a cool t-shirt with a man’s shirt and tie on t he front and a pair of thong undies. There’s lots more on the hip site like mugs, buttons, posters and baby things. Try it you’ll like it and the prices are right, too.

For the videophile/camera buff/UTuber–Run out now and get the latest Mino FlipVideo, this skeek little number may sell out fast. Just got mine and it’s vido-sensational. So easy to use, foolproof, quick transfer to PC, Internet,email and so sexy-looking. Retails for about $179 but the results are priceless. Remember I warned you, get yours now for Christmas gifts or yourself.

Novel Photo Ops–well here’s a novel idea, the 5second slide&store frames designed for folks who love to line their walls with family and friends’ pictures. It’s pretty cool with a special pouch on the back where photos can be stored and then changed at various intervals–like when you break up with you partner LOL–or have a family feud LOL–or actually just want to look a different person or scenery. 5second frames hit the market in October 2008 so look for the product at major retailers or go on line to www.5second.com

For your gardening pals–fashionista gloves from Ethel that make them look chic while they plant, dig and clean the yard. Perfect for toting the Christmas tree in and out and for working with thorny plants. Believe me, they are really cool and only $18 at www.ethelgloves.com

Wine ‘em and dine ‘em– Napa Valley Kitchen — give a set of select Napa Valley wines alongside two delectable cooking rubs and a HALL Flour Sack Tea Towel. The fruit-driven 2005 NAPA VALLEY CABERNET SAUVIGNON with notesof ripe blackberry and cassis and the 2007 NAPA VALLEY SAUVIGNON BLANC comes packaged in a festive red gift box alongside Tulocay’s “Made in Napa Valley” Asian Accents Herb Rub and Mexican Fiesta Rub. $84

Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder, and Pernod Absinthe is just the gift to give this year. For single malt lovers The Glenlivet XXV is just the right drink–smooth, rich and delicious and expensive at $350 for a batch numbered botle. www.theglenlivet.com/XXV.

For gym rats

– Wordlocks that use actual words in lieu of numbers and they look cool, too. One size fits all, too, so you can scratch several people off your list at one time by ordering from: Amazon.com, Target, Walgreens, Sears, or Kmart’s, or check out Wordlock’s Web site at www.wordlock.com. Words are easier to see and more fun to program from and

they make cool stocking stuffers and are available in a range of colors.

Novelties– Okay this is just the thing to bring a smile on Christmas morning, a Johnny-Light that actually lights up with a green glow the toilet bowl at night when the seat is up and turns off when it’s down. Perfect for the hit or missers on your list or mom’s who are potty training, single woman whose boyfriend never puts the seat back down . . . or a working gal who shares a unisex bathroom at the office might all appreciate a Johnny Light (the “teaching” night light). www.johnny-light.com, check out the online video while you’re there. Costs just about $15 with postage, get a bunch for all the guys on your list.

Jet Setters will love mysmartpac personal care carry-on kit that comes with toothpaste, face cleanser,deodorant, razor, hair gel, body lotion and an approved plastic zip top bag. There’s about a 3-4 day supply and it’s much easier than measuring out each cosmetic to pass the security requirements. www.mysmartpac.com

They might also like a Full Spectrum Solutions Dawn Simulator that mimics sunrise and sunset that helps travelers adjust easier in new time zones. It wakes you quietly without abruptly interrupting sleep and comes with a large backlit LCD display with tthe year, month, date, day and time, MP3 Player; optionalalarm, sound soother and is programmable from 10 to 90 minutes on a 7 day program schedule.

For tyke-coons–for those little tykes exhibiting tycoon-like traits, the Money Manger Kit for ages 4-7 is just the thing. The interactive toy offers a 7-step program to teach youngsters the basics of money and increase financial skills. Talk about a Yuppy gift. Anyhow it comes with three books, calculation, posters,job charts and a 3-part bank showing how to save, spend and share. I think today’s tykes know how to spend. Check it out at www.tessyandtab.com/money

For the baseball fan–I’m a big time Yankee fan and never miss a televised game so I love the idea of giving a personalized Louisville Slugger baseball bat as a gift. I just ordered one for myself with my name on it of course. www.sluggergifts.com

Techno gadgets–The shelves are alive this holiday season with all sorts of techno gadgets for your tech-savvy friends and relatives. Just got the hot new

SanDisk Mobile Ultra high-performance card and it’s amazing. The tiny 2 GB flash drive provides accelerated transfer rates of digital files to and from mobile memory cards and computers. It downloads videos, photos, games in a literal ‘flash and increases storage in mobile phones. Perfect for amatuer videographers, it enables fast file transfers to websites, PCs or where ever they want to send them. It’s a must have for gift-giving or personal use.