Jan 7, 2012

After the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays after I overindulged in food and drink, I reluctantly got on the scale and oops had gained 10 pounds…..! So my top new year’s resolutions at the beginning of this new year, was to lose those pesky 10 pounds!!  Undoubtedly, I am not the only one whose new year resolution is to lose weight and start exercising. If you have a person whose Birthday is coming up and need to find a gift for, something weight-loss related could be an ideal gift. Obviously this needs to be a gift for a person you know who has said they want to lose weight. You certainly don’t want to offend anyone here. Some practical gift ideas could include:

If the person likes to exercise, for example, then maybe a gym membership to a national establishment such as LA Fitness or All Sports Clubs would be something they would love. If a yearly membership is too costly, then maybe the down payment and the 1st month’s quota, would be the solution.

Another personalized gift idea is to order as a gift some of the popular prepared meals plans available on the market such as Nutrisystem or Jenny Craig. A couple friend of mine both tried it and they did lose the weight, The boxed pre-prepared meals include a variety of delicious frozen foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner which are shipped to you directly. These diets has been made popular by celebrities that have successfully lost weight publicly. Some notable examples include, Valerie Bertinelli, Maria Carey, Janet Jackson,and Kirstie Alley, among many others. You could give one 28 day meal plan or a partial payment of a plan to jump-start someone’s diet in the new year.

Other ideas include giving meal replacement meals. This entails replacing two meals during the day such as breakfast and lunch, for example, with a delicious shake in vanilla, strawberry or chocolate flavors and eating a sensible and healthy meal for the third meal like dinner. Popular programs include Slim Fast or Herbalife. You could give a month long supply, for example. I’ve tried this and if you like milk shakes, it’s really good. The only drawback is that you get tired of having the same shakes for breakfast and lunch every day and I can’t say I lost too much….

Some people prefer guided weight loss programs which give you more flexibility such as Weight Watchers. In this program, you count the calories of the foods you eat and keep a diary. You can either join the online Weight Watches program, or if you need support, the program which enables you to attend weekly meetings. These are monthly programs so you could pay for the program for a month,or up to 3 months, depending on how much weight they would like to lose. I personally lost 10 pounds on this program over a 1 month period so I can personally vouch for it. However, you really have to be consistent with your food journal and write what you ate for every meal every day.

Other personalized gift options include giving supplements or weight loss aids such as Sensa. Sensa is very popular food additive which involves sprinkling your food with it. It activates your hunger control and thus makes you eat less resulting in weight loss. I tried it but couldn’t remember to sprinkle it on my food everyday so I truly don’t know how effective it really is. Alli is yet another popular weight loss pill that has gained momentum. Although some people complain about some of its side effects, it is deemed to be very effective. I don’t really know anyone who has done it.

Whichever program you decide to give, the key is to find out what motivates the person you will be offering the gift to. Are they into exercise? Do they prefer to eat really well but less, or rather eat of everything but with a lower calorie count or like the flexibility of an independent program such as Weight Watchers? Once you figure that out, you can give the wonderful, personalized gift of weight loss.

Happy New Year and Happy Weight Loss!

 

 

Nov 1, 2011

Teens are possibly the toughest individuals to buy for this holiday season. I should know because I have three of them. Frequently it’s simpler to purchase a gift certificate or just give them money, but personally I favor putting just a little thought into things I buy and quite frequently-but not always- it  is much appreciated. Here are a few of my picks for Christmas 2011 gifts for teens and surprisingly they aren’t all electronic -:

Tablets: Possibly not just a toy, a superb little Tablet is a huge seller this Christmas for Teens. Having the ability to read books, play games, use applications, watch movies online, surf the net and play movies it is really an ideal toy/mini computer for that teen that just loves gadgets. They have recently become more affordable too.

Guitar Hero game: Now this isn’t a brand new game but based upon my kids experience who both had it -and they were girls- they loved it!,

Nerf Guns: The trusty old Nerf gun has existed for a long time but recently has seen a revival, and it has seen the evolution more effective and fun guns. The awesome factor is the fact that it’s not only a secure game for inside, but I’ll usually find my son playing around outdoors (yes doing a bit of exercise) because he and his friends form teams. It not only prevents my son and his friends from overdosing on electronics and video games but encourages team performance in addition to being a very good exercise.

Water Guns: Why on the planet would you need to purchase a summer time toy for the teen at Christmas? Well allow me to be truthful – most teens-especially boys, like my son, are frequently vindictive if this involves getting fun – there’s nothing much better than soaking your closest friend when it’s freezing out. It’s just plain fun. Another advantage is that, again, no electronics!

Music devices - There are a lot of electronic music devices out there. The most popular, of course, being the famous iPod. Nowadays, my son not only listens to music but also is able to download applications and play games.

Computers- If your teen is getting older-and is in 10th-11th, or 12th grade and is heading to college then there’s nothing much better than giving him a laptop or a Mac. My 2 daughters have Macs and they swear by them.They’ve also never had a virus. However, I personally have always had a laptop and prefer it. Laptops are also a lot less expensive and come in all shapes and sizes.

Not every teen like devices: Many teens would also be thrilled to receive a few of the following gifts:

•Board Games – you will find some excellent games, like Monopoly, Risk etc which will always be popular too. Designed games (like Harry Potter games) will be very popular as well.

•Art Supplies – the budding artist will be searching for brushes, canvas along with other important art supplies.

•Clothes – Using the latest clothing trends is frequently extremely important to teens. Whether it’s the most recent designer clothes, or even the best punk clothes, you’re certain to be a hero if you let your child choose their outfits.

•Gift Cards – possibly a very hands off and impersonal approach to take, but it’s most likely simpler to allow your child to choose their very own gift.

•Music & Movies – Not every teens copy music and films, so why wouldn’t you provide them with an iTunes card for Christmas.

•Puzzles – plenty of teens like to challenge their mind, so why wouldn’t you purchase the latest puzzle from Rubik, the traditional Rubik’s cube continues to be popular.

Not to mention, let’s remember that you will find many teens that just need family time, and possibly the opportunity to help others at Christmas!

Oct 16, 2011

Pets are excellent companions.  They cheer you up when you’re in the dumps, help you stay laughing, and adore you regardless of what.  There’s hardly anything more heartwarming than visiting a child that has fallen asleep curled up alongside a puppy.

Pets are one such gift for kids at holidays.  Young puppies and cats at Christmas, baby ducks, chicks and rabbits at Easter time and so on.  What child’s eyes wouldn’t illuminate at the view of a completely new baby animal to keep and hug?  The offers to love, feed and take proper care of the brand new inclusions in the household flow like water.

The creatures are soft, warm and fuzzy gifts for several but all of them develop and in a couple of short months are no more cute little young puppies but large romping woofing dogs; The affectionate little cats have converted into large aloof felines.  The infant ducks and chicks are no more soft and fuzzy, but large, noisy and untidy, and individuals two rabbits, Fred and George switched to be Fred and Georgia!

Pets are really are a long-term commitment and purchasing a dog as a gift ought to be a properly planned and considered move and not made on an impulse.

If you’re honestly hoping to get someone a dog for that holidays (even when it’s not for a kid) make sure it’s something you’d do even when there have been no holiday involved.

Make certain the gift fits.  When the primary responsibility of taking care of your pet will fall to some youthful child you won’t want to buy a dog which will rapidly grow as big as a little pony that the child wouldn’t be able to manage.  You could also wish to make certain you expose your son or daughter to other pets before purchasing a dog. Volunteer to take care of a puppy for a friend or neighbor and make it your child’s main responsibility to take care of it to see if he/she is up to the task.

Bear in mind individuals creatures, like babies, have a price way far above the cost.   Food, leashes, food, collars, water and food bowls, training supplies, food, toys, vet bills, food, licenses and tags, and much more food!

There’s a lot of time that needs to be committed to nearly all pet and the holiday season is not usually a good time to do that.  The hustle and excitement of the houseful of buddies and family might not be the perfect setting for any puppy, kitten, or other youthful animal.  A much better idea may be to chop out an image from the pet you are thinking about and set that inside a card and make certain the kid knows that the moment the holiday season have passed and everything has gone to an ordinary relaxed condition they are able to help choose the latest family member.

Sep 1, 2011

First of all, I own a Kindle and I love it because it is small & lightweight. I bought it so I could buy and read books on the fly and not worry about carrying them around all the time. It is crisp, readable, and comfy for lengthy-term reading. Additionally, there is not a glare problem when you are outside. However, if neither weight nor space is an issue, then there is nothing better than reading an actual paperback, in my opinion.

I also own an iPad but that tablet is a lot more than an electronic book which is basically what I use my Kindle for. It is more of a mini computer. Apart from my books, I have my pictures, my documents, all the applications I have on my iPhone and can do everything on it except make phone calls. I paid $800 with the extra memory and the 3G version but  a freind of mine bought the $400 version with only the Wi-Fi and reduced memory capacity.

The fact is I bought my iPad after my Kindle. Had I bought it before, I probably wouldn’t have a bought a Kindle because it is now redundant. I can read books on my iPad now too, see? So I never use my Kindle

What you need to consider is what the person you are buying the gift for will use it for?  Are they die-hard book lovers?  Then, they’ll most likely prefer the regular Kindle that retails for only $79. Do they want to watch movies, read magazines and books in color and want to surf the net a little bit then why not get them a color e-reader? Consider the new, full-color Amazon Kindle Fire tablet for only $199.

But if they will be reading through e-books with color illustrations and need a mini computer as well, reconsider and buy them the iPad.

 

Jan 15, 2011

The foremost and biggest of the six worst presents ever is to give an item that attempts to provide a subtle hint for how you feel a person needs to change, usually to live up to your standards! Some good examples of these kinds of gifts are things such as books for losing weight fast, a book to help someone who’s losing their memory, or perhaps a book on choosing the best man or woman. For that recipient, all they experience is discomfort and depression – the opposite effect of what you intended.

The 2nd worst present ever given is giving something which shows how little, if any, thought you gave to your gift or person it was intended for. This occurs more frequently than people prefer to admit to, and for this reason it’s # 2 on our list. Some good examples of those gifts could be giving an earring to a person who does not have pierced ears, an ‘I have confidence in Xenu” T-shirt for any Christian, or perhaps a box of chocolates for a diabetic. If you don’t do a little research into the person you will be giving a gift to, then don’t even bother.

The 3rd worst present is the very large coffee table books. The usual train of thought when giving these books would be that the large wrapped item will make the individual a lot happier – but upon opening the book, more often than not the individual is not happy. It might be that they don’t have the space if they live in an apartment or don’t have a coffee table to display it on and it becomes a burden. Books could be a great gift, but don’t forget that in cases like this, regular sized as well as pocket sized books are preferable to extremely huge unless you know the person really well and their living conditions.

The 4th worst present is giving a present to the person which she/he cannot exchange. Everybody wants the recipient to like our gifts, but we cannot guarantee that especially if it is something totally out of sync with the person, or that doesn’t fit. So please, don’t provide a gift from a niche shop out of state that she/he will never be able to exchange. Your gift will probably be recycled.

The fifth worst present ever to give is a recycled present. Maybe we didn’t have time to research and go out and get them a present. 90% of the time, this will be unusable for the person that receives it. After all, didn’t we recycle it? It probably was not useful or attractive to begin with.  If not, we would have kept it. The issue is the immense guilt you are feeling afterwards for doing this. Remember, even products that appear-as in a recycled gift- carry a burden. In this case guilt.

Finally, the sixth worst present ever may be the one in which you purchase the item, really wanting it for yourself; however, you give it to someone else. You figure the recipient won’t need it and will offer back. Please know this: this kind of plan will invariably backfire on you, and it is horrible to begin with! If you would like the product, purchase it for you personally – or else you will be winding up purchasing two when you might have only purchased it once.

Remember the golden rule: Do onto others as you would like them to do unto you! Happy gifting!

Nov 1, 2010

Some very popular gifts that are sure to please anybody on your gift lists are movies, music or books.

Movies can be found everywhere from Blockbuster video rental stores, to Target, Office Max or Office Depot, to Wal-Mart and Walgreen Pharmacies.  You’ll also find movies in supermarkets and convenience stores.  Most of the bigger merchants, like Wal-Mart, have bins of “bargain” listed movies and if you do not mind digging through them you’ll find some great movies at very cheap prices.  If you don’t mind getting “formerly seen” movies you can get some current hits for as little as $8.00 to $10.00.   Although we do not recommend that you give previewed movies as gifts. You should really get new movie or people on your gift list. If you are diligent about searching and experience good timing you will be able get some good new unopened movies from eBay for a small fraction of the price in shops.

If you are unsure of what types of movies the person likes, you can always get a gift certificate.  You can acquire gift certificate for either sales or rentals.  A very nice inexpensive gift basket could consist of a gift certificate for movie rental, a box of microwave popcorn along with a couple of chocolate bars.

Another option is to buy some movie boxed gift sets.  A number of these sets, such as the Lethal Weapon series, comprise the Directors commentaries as well as special scenes which were cut out of the actual movie, interviews with the stars, bloopers along with other interesting information about the behind the scenes of the movie itself.  If you have a John Wayne or Tom Cruise fan in your list, you will find a number of different boxed sets containing all their movies or just put one together.

A lot of the TV shows release entire seasons inside a set format.  Does your partner love watching Hawaii 5-0, CSI NY or The Good Wife? Or the Discovery Channel or even the Learning Channel? Well most likely the shows are available on DVD or Blue Ray and will be the perfect gift.

Exactly the same could be said about music as gifts.  You will find music stores in which the selection is enormous. You only have   to know the person’s taste in performers. But even if you don’t know you can still give them music. Since the launch of the iPod, you can now buy an iTunes gift certificate and they can use it to purchase their favorite tunes for their iPod. You are thus  able to come up with a very nice gift without lots of effort.

As far as books as gifts, you will find an incredible quantity of book stores available, ranging from the small corner book stores to the mega chains. The genres are limitless and include romance, detective books, horror books, westerns, sci-fi, biographies, cook books, training books, children’s books, etc.  You are also not restricted to hard or soft cover books.  You will find audio books on DVD’s and CD’s.  Nowadays you can also find give gift cards to people that have a Kindle, or a Nook, or an iPad so they can read their books electronically. You can buy books on Amazon or even Google nowadays. Book shop and/or books offer you an unlimited array of choices for those on our list that are book lovers. It is truly a one-stop holiday gift shop.