Favorite Gift Ideas
Once in a while, you run across something that is so good that you feel you have to buy more than one, so you can give it as a gift to others. Our team is always sharing this kind of "good stuff" information with each other. Here are a few things we have come across that make great gifts....
Dr. Lynda - For X-mas 2 years ago I came across this automatic/no touch hand-soap dispenser for less than $30 at Bed, Bath and Beyond. It was such a cool gift that I bought five or six of them, and one for myself. I gave them at Christmas to the post-man, the baby-sitter, my cleaning lady, and everyone I needed to thank for holding my life together for yet another year. Now we have no mess, clean hands, and it seems to never need filling! You just wave your hand under the little spout and a pre-determined little squirt of soap comes out onto your waiting palm. (needs a battery)
Dr. Lynda - I came across a wireless digital flash memory card that will automatically send the photos on a digital camera to your computer. It's $59.99 on amazon.com. It's called Eye-Fi Share Wireless 2 GB SD Flash Memory Card EYE-Fl-2GB.
Dr. Lynda - For X-mas last year I bought 6 of these "battery organizer and testers ". (and again, gave them for Christmas gifts to the special helpers in my life.) What a cool idea!... It mounts inside a cabinet door, and helps you organize dozens and dozens (all sizes) of batteries. (No more rummaging through drawers, or raiding one toy for another.) It also has a battery tester to know whether that one you find under the couch is still good. What a sanity saver! Under $30 and I think I got it on-line at "Home Improvements".
Carolyn - My husband and I had a neighbor who's dog barked night and day. They were nice folks otherwise and just couldn't control their dog. It was ruining our sleep and any time in our yard the dog would jump constantly barking at a certain spot at the fence between our houses. On a flight to New York I found in the SkyMall magazine a device that lets out an ear piercing sound that only dogs can hear, if they bark within 60 feet of it. Soon the dog learns that it's their barking that sets off this horrible sound and they learn to behave much different. One day I slipped the device into a bush on our side of the fence near their garage and it only took about 3 occasions for the dog to completely change his patterns. We rarely hear a peep from him any more and the nice neighbors are none the wiser.
Heather - I hate the "taste" and feel of drinking my morning coffee or iced tea out of plastic cups. Also, they loose the heat or cold so quickly.
1. I've found a super insulate, beautifully designed, porcelain, double-walled coffee mug at Home Ports. It's large, can be put in the microwave without heating up, and I think it will be my favorite coffee cup for years to come. (I recently broke my only good coffee cup by taking it in the car, one too many times.) This cup has a silicone lid for the car, but again, I hate the taste/feel of sipping on something "plasticy".
2. I've also found a beautiful, large, double-walled Iced Tea Glass that holds the cold. Fits in all my car cup holders. Google: "Bodum 4547 Thermo-Glass Assam double wall insulated glass"
Dr. Lynda - Several years ago we wanted to get my mother a special birthday/Christmas gift so we did some shopping for the PERFECT "grandmother" gift. Boy, did we hit a home run,... we found a large digital picture frame that she keeps on the kitchen counter. We can download up to 30 photos at a time through the internet and periodically she just wanders into the kitchen and SURPRISE!... She'll glance a the frame and there will be 30 new photos scrolling through automatically. It's been a wonderful way for her to stay connected since we live 1000 miles apart. It cost about $125, and has an annual fee of about $100 that my brother and sister split with us.