It's Not Where You Go, It's Who You're With

In the search for my own "perfect" gifts for the holiday I've come across several excellent options that I'd love to share with you. My personal favorite however? That's easy, it's the special overnight stay.

That's right, pack you and your favorite person's bags, scoop up those pre-purchased tickets and travel to another "new and exciting" town where you both can take in a show then spend the night relaxing away from the stresses that tend to surround you at home.

Here's some ideal locations/activities to consider:

• Take in an Atlantic City concert then spend the night either gambling or resting.
• Skiing by day, cuddling up to a fire by night.
• If location permits hit the Vegas Strip... I'm sure you can think of a plenty of things to do without my help here.
• Broadway is beautiful no matter what time of day, and so are those big city lights!
• Who cares where it's at, go all out for a romantic weekend stay at any luxury hotel. Pop the champagne and spread out the rose petals.
• Plan a trip to the most magical place on earth.
  

P.S. Go ahead, jump on those beds!

Shop Now, Save Later

Hi All! It's been a long time since I've posted anything on this blog, but with the holiday season quickly approaching I thought it was high time I stop by and leave a nice little shopping tip to help you out with as you begin to hit the stores in search of bargains and other exciting discoveries.

Today's tip is focused on taking advantage of store's layaway programs. Many stores such as Walmart, Target and K-Mart offer you the convenience of putting your purchases on hold within the store for a small deposit fee. Then, over the next few weeks, you pay a set amount towards the overall purchase until the items are all paid off. At this point, you will then receive your deposit back.

If for some reason you find that you cannot keep up with your payment plan, the items will be returned to the floor for others to purchase and after a inconvenience fee (and/or the deposit) is taken out, you will receive back all of your payments you've thus far made in full.

Now every store's layout plans vary, so I warn you to check out the exact payment plans, deposit and any additional fees you may have to suffer before taking advantage of your store's layaway. However, with the economy struggling this season, it just might pay to take advantage of this shopping opportunity.

As an additional tip towards savings, consider shopping for bigger ticket items while they're being offered at special sale prices. You then have the opportunity to put them away on hold for a lower price then you might get if you wait till the last minute to make your purchase.

Happy shopping!

Reading Themed Gift Basket

As a devoted patron of Barnes and Nobles, Borders and a slew of other book stores, it's my civic duty to promote literacy within the gift-giving community.

Almost every family has a book worm living amongst them, if not several dozen. For those loved ones who almost always seem to have their nose stuck in the pages of a book, consider the follow gift-giving idea.

Reading Themed Gift Basket

Include:

• A copy of the book you recommend the most
• A copy of a book that the receiver will easily relate to and most likely enjoy
• Generous gift card to the receiver's favorite book store
• Coffee-on-the-go mug
• Hot chocolate and/or coffee packets
• Gummy worms with a sweet note of theme-explanation included

Create Something New Out of Something Old

Looking for some gift-giving inspiration I turned to my Plurk friends for a few innovative ideas. Asking for plurker's "favorite gifts received" I was sent several awesome ideas. I'd like to share one with you today that came from PritchardDesign.

Pritchard was once given earrings made out of her grandfather's cuff links from her mother. This is such a nice way to pass along not just a personal item from her family's past, but also a memory keeper. I bet that every time she puts those earrings on she gives a second's pause to her grandfather's memory.

I just love this idea. I also love how it can be used in other way if you'd like. For instance I've noticed in a few wedding magazines the idea of turning a relatives favorite necklace gem as a bouquet ornament in order to honor them in the bride's own special way.

Have you every received or given anything that was created from something meaningful and older?

Creating Something Yummy

To carry on the wedding theme I seem to have going on here from my last post, I have a fantastic idea for a wedding gift that both Bride and Groom will enjoy! Wish I could take credit for this, but to be honest, I know I read it somewhere quite a while ago, for the life of me though I'm nor sure where at. (If you come across that mysterious article, definitely let me know and I'll credit it here.)

In any case, if you're in a slump about what to purchase the newlyweds and are looking for something unique I suggest the following:

Consider buying a homemade ice cream maker. An ice cream maker will allow the two to come together to do something fun. It's a gift that can work for just the pair, as well as any future family members they may be planning to have. You're sure to be the only one who thought to buy them the gift, which is always a bonus in a world full of duplicate wedding gifts. Also, in the ice bucket you can take it a step further and throw in a few sundae toppings, or even a movie that the couple can watch while enjoying their yummy treat.

Of course, I always recommend that you start with the registry list first if one is available, but if you're looking for a little something unique and memorable that will stand out amidst the towels and cooking utensils I definitely recommend this "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream" gift.

Wedding Favors Everyone Can Enjoy

It's standard practice at weddings for the Bride and Groom to send each guest home with a little something to remember the day by.

These wedding favors can range from the expensive mini-bottle of champagne to less expensive items like water bottles (great for an outdoor wedding). There are a number of great choices to pick from, however, I've found that what a lot of couples are searching for is something unique.

Instead of just weddings themed gifts (think covered in doves, linked rings, or pictures of bells), couples are taking the personalization one step further. Their gifts are reflecting the wedding's theme colors, the couple's personalities or even the location of the wedding itself (ex. flip flops for a beach wedding).

If you're into going green, then there are a variety of options. I suggest you start here. My favorite eco-friendly favor idea is the plantable seed flower card. These come in a variety of colors, shapes and can be personalized with the couple's name and wedding date/location.

Of course there's always the growing in popularity idea of making your wedding favor a donation to your favorite charity. Nothing shows off a caring personality more than helping your guests to give a gift to others.

After pondering a variety of excellent idea, my fiance and I came up with something that would mean a lot to his family. There's nothing wrong with that.

We opted to spend a day or two hard at work in his grandmother's kitchen baking up her famous "galaxy" cookies. These cookies have come to be a much anticipated staple at every big family gathering on his side.

For both of us the best part of this gift idea, isn't just being able to please his family and provide something tasty to each guest, it's also the opportunity to spend some quality time with his grandmother doing something she truly enjoys... baking.

If I'm lucky, maybe we can even include a few of those homemade chocolates that I so adore of hers ;).

Garmin: Getting Me Where I Want to Go

Normally I'm kind of a dud when it comes to new electronics. OK, any electronics. It's not that I don't want to buy them. If I had loads of cash I totally would. I just have a hard time justifying their purpose. In my mind these types of things go out of date so quickly, that, well, why bother?

That was my thought until I met Gertie—my GPS system. (She speaks so I named her... don't judge ;).

With my frequent cross-state travels my parents both thought it would be a worthwhile purchase to buy me a Garmin GPS system in order to get me where I need to go without a massive folding map and/or cell phone constantly at my ear. At the end of the day I'm not that awesome of a driver and this GPS system may just have saved my life already, if not saved me from getting lost multiple times. (I never could fold those darn maps.)

In any case, if you too have a habit of getting lost, awkwardly missing turns, and/or travel to new places frequently, then I would definitely suggest buying one of these bad boys.

Bonus: They have a wide price range and can be quite affordable.

Guys Read On

Alright, here's a girly tip for all of you guys out there...

... it's all in the details.

For instance, if you're planning on giving your significant other a bouquet of flowers I'd recommend you find out what her favorite type of flower is.

If you're planning on going to the traditional route for that next birthday with a present of jewelry consider engraving it with a special message, adding a birthstone or even picking up the gem from your significant others favorite jewelry store.

For a less expensive option consider the good ol' mixed tape/cd. With iTunes' help you can create a perfectly unique CD. Perhaps fill it with songs that make you think of them, or even just create a mix of songs you feel they'd love. As a bonus, create a CD cover with pictures you feel your significant other would enjoy.

Now, don't get me wrong, your favorite person would be perfectly happy to receive any ol' flowers, their eyes will still light up at jewelry and as a music lover myself, I can assure you if they dig discovering new music you could make a mix of any songs and they'd still find delight in the time you put into creating it.

You definitely don't have to go that extra mile for every occasion, but if this gift is meant for something extra-special then I hope these tips help you find a way to add that extra bit of unique.

Color Me Mine: DIY Pottery Options

If you're one of the many of us out there that like to make DIY gift creations, but just aren't sure where to start I've got an excellent gift-creating location for you!

Head to your local Color Me Mine location. They're conveniently located all over the world, so there's a good possibility you'll have one within driving distance from where you live.

The Color Me Mine studio allows you to pick out a piece of blank pottery, choose your own colors and begin creating your own masterpiece. You then leave your chosen piece of artwork at the studio and in about a weeks time you head back to pick up your now kiln fired piece and pay. (What's excellent is that there's something there for pretty much every budget since your total price is reflected by the price of the pottery you originally picked.)

Why paint alone? At the Color Me Mine studios you can arrange to hold parties. They're perfect for kids parties, a night out with the ladies, or even a family gathering (that's what I did :).

As a bride to be I'd love to share with you that Color Me Mine also has bridal registry items, a great space for your shower and reception. You can even go in there and create a few beautiful and unique gifts for your bridal party. Perfection!

Above is the serving tray I painted during my last minute. I hope you have as much fun as I did should you choose to visit.

Enjoy!

Tote Bag Pictures!

As a follow-up post to the "Green and Glamorous" post below, I have pictures!

Liv generously went home and sent me a few pictures of the mentioned bags below so that you can get an idea of what they looked like. I always find huge inspiration from the visual, so I hope this helps you get the ideas flowing.

Enjoy!

"Green" and Glamorous Tote Bags

I’d love to share with you a gift-giving idea that I received from my dear friend Liv. A year or so ago Liv decided that for Christmas she was going to make everyone’s gift. While I’m sure it helped her save money in the long run, I think for her it was more about giving her friends something that she put a lot of time into that was unique and showed both her and their personality.

In any case, she decided to create these fabulous tote bags!

She went to her local craft store (think A.C. Moore or Michaels) and grabbed up a bunch of basic canvas tote bags, as well as a variety of fabric paints, glitters and other applicable details.

According to Liv she spent about 3 days straight during a weekend break painting these bags, turning them into what I consider awesome works of art. Not only were they really cool looking and got tons of compliments on campus, but they were also very fashionable in that they were reusable “green” totes that could be used in various ways.

If you’re interested in making your own tote bags as future gifts but don’t have 3 days to spend on the project, rest easy. In the case of projects like this, the amount of work you want to put into each bag is truly up to you and the design you have in mind. Liv’s bags were incredibly detailed and required many coats of paint. This will not always be the case.

Also, as a bonus idea, consider filling the bags with a few goodies. They could be a new attempt at the old gift baskets. Think DVDs, CDs, candy, or even a few more crafty trinkets (like painted picture frames).

It doesn’t really matter what colors you use or whether or not you decide to fill the bag. What will matter most to the lucky receiver is that the gift was truly a gift from the heart.

Gift Giving Inspiration

I think I just stumbled upon greatness. You know how you’re randomly surfing the web and then BAM a site grabs your attention that meets needs you didn’t even realize you had until just then…. Well, I just found that site.

What’s even better is that I can’t wait to share it with you.

Every once in a while there’s that one person or event that’s just impossible to buy for. You search the web, you rack your brain, you visit this site ;) and you even beg for hints on what to give them, but, alas, the search still continues on.

Well, maybe it doesn’t have to be that difficult. The FindGift.com site has a “wizard” tool that lets you pick who the gift is for, what their age is, and even what the occasion is and then magically displays a page full of options… which you can of course then buy on their site.

No, I didn’t exactly love the options. They were a bit over-priced and at times cheesy; however, as a source of creative inspiration, they were perfect! Yes, the site is jam-packed with various “gift features,” which I’m going to reserve from bragging about here since they didn’t sweep me off my feet, however, I do recommend you check out that Wizard tool.

It may just be the perfect jump-start that your gift-giving brain has been searching for.

Enjoy!

Charitable Donations on Your Wedding Day

The deeper I get into wedding planning the more research I do. I'm constantly on the search for unique ideas that will give my fiance and I's big day some personality and style.

Among the many details, little to big, I've come to realize that the registry is one big deal. Where to register? What to put on the list? How close to the wedding should we begin?

However, my fiance and I have a two and a half year wait till the big day. By then we'll have been living together for a while and just may have almost everything we need to set up house. I doubt we're the only one's that may find themselves in this situation come the big day.

My suggestion? Break from tradition!

Sure you could instead ask politely ask guests to put their gift money towards parts of your honeymoon. There's nothing wrong with that, and it's a perfectly practical idea.

However, why not consider donating your wedding "gifts" to someone else instead? Web sites like I Do Foundation can make this easy to do. Not only can you set up a registry where the money will be donated to a charity of you and your beloveds choosing, but you can also make your guests and part of the giving by leaving them a kind note that a donation has been made in their names as a wedding favor. Sure, a champagne glass or bag of candy is nice, but I can almost guarantee that your guests will feel just as happy, if not more satisfied, to have made a difference for a charity of your choice.

I'm always open to sharing other ways to give forward. So if you have any wedding-themed ideas in mind, definitely let us know!

Support Your Local Artisan

After a truly long break where the existence of this blog hung in the thresholds of indecision, I've decided that it's high time "A Gift from the Heart" return with some fresh content and awesome new gift-giving ideas. So here goes...

While recently plurking, I found an excellent recommendation via a thread started by the fabulously crafty Chellez. It led me to check out the awesome art-filled Etsy. As the tag line reads, it's "Your place to buy & sell all things homemade."

What could be more perfect? Not only are you able to shop for cute handmade trinkets for yourself and others, but you can also sell your own handmade craft gems. While the site primarily features jewelry, definitely don't feel limited by just that category. There are also clothes, decorative pieces of art, etc. I even found a very cute children's finger puppet kit!

I encourage any and all that have a "crafty" side to them.... or just plain treasure handmade items... to stop on by.

* As a bonus, if you're looking for something specific but hard to find, they have a Alchemy section where you can "turn your ideas into reality" by helping both an artisan and yourself out.