Last Minute Gift Ideas

I think I’m mostly done with all my shopping. Today I shipped out all my gifts to far-off family and friends, for the first time ever not caring about how fast they went out because I planned far enough ahead. Hate me if you will, it’s a good year. And I braved “the winter” to go the post office. I swear to you my tires spun out a bit. I’m all kinds of daring and wintery in the winter we’re having these days.

So are you done? If not and even if you are, I’m gonna give you a few gift ideas. Some I have purchased. Some I plan to purchase. Some I wish someone would purchase for me. Enjoy.

Flip Notes

These little notebooks are nearly perfect. They’re cute and housed in a stylish little metal cover that protects the refillable notepaper inside. The pen holds them closed but when you pull it out, a little spring pops the book open. They come in tons of colors, for all the big boys and girls on your list. I love mine and have given several of them as gifts this year.

Mini Maglites
These mini-mini Maglights caught my eye when a friend’s baby was playing with one in church. They use 2 AAA batteries so they’re lighter than the regular mini-Mag but more powerful than the teeny pocket mag. I think they’re small and light enough to fit nicely in a purse, making them a great gift for your lady friends.

Wooden Legos — AKA “Interlocking Blocks”
I love so many things from Nova Natural but these may be my favorite new toy. I love them because they’re so versatile. The kids make the most amazing things with them, my favorite ever being a series of replicas of battleships from Star Wars with the darkest wood block taking on the role of “Dark Vader”.


Man Cards
These cards are made by a small company who wanted to provide a note card a thoughtful guy wouldn’t feel wimpish using. This has been a problem in our house. Dan will want to write a thank you note and all I have are these sissy girly cards he wouldn’t deign to touch. So I was glad when they sent me a sample for review. I liked them quite a bit but the real test came when Dan needed to write a thank-you card recently and he asked, “Hey, can I use one of those, um, Man Cards you got in the mail.” I’d call that a success.

Inchbug Labels
These are the best for kids. We’ve switched our water bottles over to Sigg and other stainless steel bottles and I hate to write the kids’ names on them with marker but also hate the idea of losing one or getting theirs mixed up with a friends. So when I saw a friend using these at a preschool field trip, I flipped out and ordered them almost immediately. They’re a flexible rubber band with your kid’s name engraved on them to keep track of sippy cups, water bottles and cups in general. You can use them at school, on cups at parties or if you’re Magoo, you can wear them all around the house as bracelets so your mother can never find them when she needs them.

Original Jewelry
I got my mother some of these last year and she loved them. The artist fashions his creations from old silverware. They’re one of the most beautiful forms of recycling I’ve ever seen.

Gingerbread T-Shirt

I love this gingerbread T-shirt from Target. It’s cheap. It’s cute. What more could you want?

This is Me Journal
A while back I reviewed this kids journal and just had to give it one last shout out. It’s wonderful and when the fill it out, it’s a treasure. I think every kid should have one of these… every year.

Magnetic Poetry
I think ever college dorm I ever lived in had these little babies hanging on the fridge, mostly the Shakespeare set. We were English snobs like that. Now that I’m a grown-up mommy, I’m really excited about the First Words version of Magnetic Poetry. I bought it for Laylee to practice reading and writing new and exciting sentences but I think Dan and I have used the set more.


Trader Joes Soaps
Trader Joes has these amazing soaps for a little over $3 a piece. They smell yummy, give a great lather, are completely natural and non-toxic and both my parents mentioned to me separately how much they liked them when they were staying with me recently. Let me repeat. My dad came up to me and commented on how much he liked these soaps. Yeah. They’re that good. Oh, they’re not available online.

Purses from Endless.com
If you’re completely stuck for something to get her (or yourself), rushed for time and loaded with money, go to Endless.com and get her a nice new handbag. The selection is enormous and there’s always free overnight shipping so you can get what you want fast.

Zen Alarm Clock
I read about this clock in Sophie Uliano’s book, Gorgeously Green and I’ve become somewhat obsessed with the idea of waking to the gentle sound of a Tibetan bell chiming. Listen to the description from their website:

“The Zen Alarm Clock’s long-resonating Tibetan bell-like chime makes waking up a beautiful experience ”” its progressive chimes begin your day with grace. When the Clock’s alarm is triggered, the acoustic chime bar is struck just once … 3-1/2 minutes later it strikes again … chime strikes become more frequent over 10 minutes … eventually striking every 5 seconds until shut off (see the chime progression graph, below). As they become more frequent, the gentle chimes will always wake you up ”” your body really doesn’t need to be awakened harshly, with a Zen Clock you’re awakened more gradually and thus more naturally.”

On the site, you can listen to the chimes and pick the tone that’s most pleasing to you. Aaaahhhhh. When next I have a spare $120 lying around, I’m buying myself the digital E Tone model in walnut.

Have you any good gift ideas to share?