Procrastinator’s Dream: Our Gift Closet Idea. Last-Minute Gifts Tips“0 Comments”
katia | 5:57 pm | March 10, 2008 | Birthday Gifts, Halloween Gifts, Thanksgiving Gifts, Christmas Gifts, Flowers, Gift Baskets, Chocolate, Gifts, Last Minute Gifts, TheGift.com
Nowadays, our hectic lifestyles can easily lead to gifting emergencies. Who hasn’t forgotten a birthday at least once? What about those unexpected visitor stopped who by with a gift, those moments where you are caught off guard like a that last-minute hostess gift for tonight’s dinner party? You can avoid panic in these situations by keeping a small stash of gifts on hand – and a gift closet offers the perfect solution.Creating a gift closet is an excellent and economical way to deal with last-minute gift emergencies. By keeping a diverse selection of gifts, you will never scramble for a last-minute gift again! In your gift closet, include a wide variety of items, suitable for friends and relatives of all ages, so it allows you to personalize gifts to fit each individuals’ interests and personalities.
Here are some tips for building your own gift closet:
- Do buy gifts out of season. When you see something that a friend or relative would like, buy it and save it for a future gifting occasion. Items such as accessories and jewelry never go out of season.
- Food gifts, such as homemade preserves, fine candies and high-quality vinegars or sauces, make great gifts for almost everyone on your list. And who doesn’t love fine gourmet?
- Gift certificates to book stores, music shops and department stores, or any other store your friends and relatives like are always appropriate. Many people think that a gift certificate lacks originality and creativity, but I am of the opinion that a gift is supposed to put a smile on the person’s face. So, no matter what you are giving, be it his/her favorite perfume or a gift certificate, your objective is to put a smile on their face.
- Don’t forget to include child-specific gifts, such as toys, art supplies or books, in your gift stash.
- Don’t be afraid to recycle a gift – just be sure to attach a note to the item saying who gave it to you, so as to avoid the embarrassment of passing it back to the original giver. But most important, don’t sit on a gift for too long either. It will be an embarassement if you give your friends or relatives a gift you got a year ago.
- Always keep gift bags, paper, tags, ribbon and other wrapping supplies in stock with your stash. We can never have too many of these things.
Go ahead and create your own gift closet. And pad yourself on the back after it. You are probably one in a few who will never be aggravated by a last-minute gift emergency 
Here is one site for great last-minute gifting solution:
Visit 1-800-FLOWERS.COM’s Same-Day Delivery gifts.
It's Slinky! It's Slinky!“1 Comment”
steve | 12:37 am | September 16, 2007 | Christmas Gifts, Gifts for Daughters, Gifts for Nieces, Toys, Gifts for Sons, Gifts for Nephews
In 1943, a naval engineer named Richard James, stationed at the Naval shipyards in Philadelphia, was working on an instrument for the Navy to use on battleships. A spring he was using fell to the ground, and he noticed it kept moving. He told his wife Betty, “I think I can make a toy out of this.”
In 1945, The Slinky debuted at Gimbel’s Department Store in Philadelphia. After a 90 minute demonstration, all 400 Slinkys sold out immediately. James started a company to produce Slinkys in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. Betty James was instrumental in making the company the success it became, including introducing an ad jingle most of us know and love:
“What walks down stairs, alone or in pairs, And makes a slinkity sound?
A spring, a spring, a marvelous thing, Everyone knows it’s Slinky…
It’s Slinky, it’s Slinky, for fun it’s a wonderful toy!
It’s Slinky, it’s Slinky, it’s fun for a girl and a boy!
The Slinky has a storied history. University Physics departments use it to explain wave motion and seismology. In Vietnam it was used as antennae for radio transmitters. In 2001, the Slinky was named the official toy of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Betty James was inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame that same year. The rhythmic sound and feeling of transfering it from hand to hand even makes a great desk accessory for grown-ups (a better way to reduce stress and pass the time than any squeeze ball).
And of course, anywhere there is a kid and a staircase, it is unthinkable not to have a Slinky there too.
In 2005, the Slinky turned 60 years old. Hearthsong, in its Classic Toys collection, has two very special limited edition versions of the Slinky to celebrate. First, the original Slinky, in a replica box of the very first Slinky in the 1940’s. Second, a “bona fido” (shame on you, Hearthsong catalog writers!) replica of the first Slinky Dog.
In the last 60 years, over a quarter billion Slinkys have been sold. I accounted for about 9 of them throughout the 1970s and 1980s, four lost and five tangled beyond repair after countless trips down (and up!) the stairs. I’m all grown up now, but now that I realize that Hearthsong sells it I do plan to go for #10 as soon as I finish writing this.
What a dollhouse should be.“0 Comments”
steve | 8:38 am | September 7, 2007 | Birthday Gifts, Christmas Gifts, Gifts for Daughters, Gifts for Nieces, Toys
I will admit that I very much live up to my title of being a doting uncle. When you’ve got two nieces and a nephew who are bona-fide cutie-patooties, it’s very, very difficult not to be.
So when I went birthday shopping for my niece, Kristi, I wanted to get something really special. Unfortunately, these days, when you walk down any toy store or department store’s aisles, it’s difficult to find toys anymore that really teach old-fashioned values. Barbie’s gotta have her “fashion fever”, her “glam pool” and her “bling bling”. And let’s not start talking about those “Bratz” dolls–I’m no prude, but the “Bratz Babyz Night Out” outfits are enough to make me blush!
That’s what I really love about Hearthsong. When’s the last time you saw a real doll house like this one, made of real wood, not with plastic and lead paint. Check out all the furniture collections, and the happy family all ready to move in.
And the best part about this dollhouse is what it’s missing. A child’s imagination. In a world that’s filled with licensed cartoon characters and shoot-em-up video games, that’s often the one thing that is lost. And I admit, when I see my nieces coming up with their adventures, it makes me feel great (and provides some entertainment–the “dad” eerily share some characteristics with my brother).