Last week, I published the list of my 10 favorite gift ideas. The process of selection was
extremely difficult, and I distinctly remember a point in the afternoon on Friday when I
questioned my sanity for undertaking the task. It felt like choosing between children … how
can you really pick a favorite without upsetting the others? I don’t mean to call my readers
children, I am just searching for an appropriate metaphor to convey my angst. There was so
much creativity and verve and great ideas that it made the task very hard. Maybe it is
because I am so codependent, I don’t know.
Here is an idea for next year … I will compile the list of submissions and let YOU READERS
vote! How is that for taking myself off the hook!
Whining aside, here is the complete list of submissions, broken down in general category of gifts. There
are some really great ideas here, so please do check them out! (And if I inadvertently left
you off and you submitted to the contest, let me know and I will add you!) You can say whatever you want about me, but you can’t deny I have a tremendously diverse and creative group of readers!
Food
- Shop Candy Cartel – Customized candy bouquets! Instead of flowers, the bouquets are
made out of gourmet chocolates and hard candies. Submitted by Kris Francisco.
- Gift Baskets and Beyond – Unique baskets for any occasion. includes gourmet foods, like
crackers, cheeses, cookies, candies, coffees, teas and much more. In addition to the
gourmet foods, I carry many gift items, everything from picture frames, to tea pots, to
candles to plush toys, and much more. Submitted by Rosemarie Cardilla.
- "Energetic 71-year old Jan’s Toffee" – there was not a website with this one, just a
delightful note from Jan which said: "I am an energetic 71 year old that makes this
absolutely delicious almond toffee. So many people have said that I should sell it and
perhaps this is my chance. I am going to send you a heart as I know then you will also
realize how super it is. I have granddaughters that think it would be so much fun to have
their grandma start a business like this and I do also." I got the toffee heart Jan sent and it
was delicious! To order, email Jan Wigen.
Handcrafts and Art
- Voici les violettes – a line of practical, washable handmade items, made with linen and
quality cottons, that can be personalized with hand-embroidered monograms and simple
designs. Clients can even choose their fabric online! Submitted by Christina.
- Village Flutes – Beautiful, handcrafted Native American flutes. These are woodwind
instruments patterned after those that have been crafted by the indigenous peoples of North
America for at least the last couple centuries. Submitted by Jon Norris.
- Visiopoetics: Original oil paintings of poems, flowers, political figures and more are sure
to bring additional vibrancy to the everyday lives of your loved one. Submitted by Katelyn
Sack.
- Craftsbury Kids – It’s all the coolest toys and small business crafters. Really neat stuff!
Submitted by Cecelia Leibovitz.
- Paper Pastiche -Paper Pastiche can help you celebrate a special occasion with unique
albums, journals, and cards. Each handmade, one-of-a-kind product is made from layers of
fine papers or fabrics in different textures with the added dimension of recycled jewelry and
metal scraps found in recycling centers, thrift shops, and flea markets. Submitted by
Maryann Cello.
- Gathering from Sun to Sun – Craft patterns are the original shareware – collectible,
re-useable, affordable fun… In a quality colorfully illustrated 8-page folded leaflet (including
complete cross-stitch instructions) ‘Gathering from Sun to Sun’ gives a basket of symmetry
& sunshine to teachers, crafters, folk art fans, cooks, gardening aficionados, or just anyone
in the mood to join the young & avant-garde. Submitted by Pointefrance.
- Rain Drop Necklace – A
handmade piece of jewelry which was designed for RAINN (they help victims of rape and
incest) – 1/3 of the proceeds are donated to them. Submitted by Helen Makri. - Votive Tapas Sets – Votive Tapas sets, inspired by the delightful Mediterranean repast, are
the perfect way to sample all five fragrances but are also ready for gift giving in a pretty white
box with a clear top and white elastic bow. Votives in tall, elegant frosted glasses are
nestled in fine white shred. Each Votive burns for 15 hours. Contains one of each scent:
Cinnamon Sandalwood, Grapefruit Ylang Ylang, Vanilla Lavender, Lemongrass Fennel,
Coconut Bay Rum. Submitted by Rachel Lane.
- Homeportraits – HomePortraits watercolor painting or pencil
drawings are created just for you or as a one-of-a-kind gift for someone special.
HomePortraits are created using photographs either recent or vintage, digital or paper. If fall
or spring photos are taken, colors can be changed and greenery and flowers can be added.
Submitted by Robin Duty.
Independent Resellers
- Burnlounge – For $29.95, you can give someone
their very own music store! That’s right – a store online where they can legally sell music –
over 2 million titles, and then help support the bands they love. When they sell, they get
BurnReward credits towards music and merchandise – or they can upgrade and begin to
make money from the store. Submitted by Andy Greider.
- 12 Days of Christmas by Arbonne – a daily gift of cosmetics or another
treat for the special woman in your life. Submitted by Leslie Howard.
- Free financial needs analysis from Primerica Financial Services – It is a tool we use to
determine how a family is doing financially: how much debt they’ve got and how to free them
of it; how much (term) life insurance they need, and how on target they are in terms of
retirement and college plans. (no URL, but if you live in the Miami area and are interested,
email viviancrodriguez@gmail.com Submitted by Vivian Rodriguez.
Services
- In Perfect Order Organizing Services – A blend of life coaching
and home and life management tools. These tools are amazing for
helping people who are ready to get into the ring with the morass of life choices that they
have on their plate. Can include coaching or a team of personal organizers who whip you
into shape for the new year! Submitted by Jessica Duquette.
- The Technology Diet – The Technology Diet helps small
businesses who are sick of technology being a pain in the assets. The 8-week
teleconsulting program is limited to groups of 10 so that each participant gets the individual
attention they need to really kick-start breakthough growth in their businesses. Submitted by
Lena West.
- The Sexy Gift Club – a service of gift products that spice up your romantic life. Also
www.makeyoublush.com (this has some rated R or more content, but was started by an
ernest cubicle dweller who says "sadly, i still have to work. but i know that when i go home
i’ll be surrounded by products that make people feel good. that helps me stand the pain.) Submitted by Miller Canning.
- Permanent Eyebrows – They are tattooed and are permanent and they give bald-browed
women the freedom to swim, exercise, and simply touch their forehead without the fear of
wiping them off. Guys love giving this as a gift because one stop and their shopping is done.
In addition this gift gives to the man as well. He longer has to wait while his lady draws
those brows on! Not only that, the woman, every single time she gets ready she will be so
thankful that she received those brows, and who knows where that will lead…..Submitted by
Sharon Rood. (no URL as of publishing time – will update)
- Drum Building Workshops – drums and drum
building workshops, where people come to Vermont for a week and build a drum and take
dance, drumming and yoga classes. Submitted by Talor Stewart.
- A lightening round of laser coaching with Sylvia Warren – The 50-minute laser coaching
session (via telephone) helps your special someone zero in on a major challenge s/he does
not want to struggle with in 2007. Together, we find opportunity and options hidden by the
challenge. This enables your special someone to see and know for sure what next steps
they are inspired to take. (Pam’s bias: Sylvia was my coach for awhile and is an amazingly
wise and inspiring person. I adore her, and think you might too) Submitted by Sylvia Warren.
Software
- Direct Access is a productivity tool for Windows. Type words to launch applications and
insert boiler plate text. It’s a great gift because it offers people the most important asset:
time. Submitted by Andrea Nagar.
- Art Affair – Artist Edition is a software application for artists. It helps them handle the
business side of being an artist. Most artists are not especially proficient at things like
inventory management, costing, pricing, invoicing or all the other things involved in actually
making a living doing what they love. We hope to help them with these tasks and make their
lives a little easier in the process. Submitted by Deborah Miller.
- JibberJobber – a career management toolset that allows you to keep track of
relationships that you develop throughout your career and has a strong emphasis on job
search. Considering the average person changes jobs every 3 – 5 years, JibberJobber is a
great long-term career management tool, and highly complementary to someone that is
becoming an entreprenuer because of the strong relationship emphasis. Submitted by
Jason Alba.
- Bingo Card Creator – Software which creates bingo cards on a PC/Mac from a word list
(you can input your own or use one of the included ones). I originally developed it for
teachers but as it turns out roughly half of my customers use it for other purposes, including
corporate events, playing bingo at an old folk’s home, or Friday night bingo with the kids.
Submitted by Patrick McKenzie.
Miscellaneous Cool Products
- Love’s Gift – Dowloadable ebook for healing the
pain caused by death, divorce or separation. Submitted by Caroline.
- Kettlebell Beginner Lifting Kit –
A kettlebell looks like a bowling ball with a handle on it. It’s a (very) old way of working outthat is slowly but surely coming back to prominence very, very quickly. The press around it
has been amazing. KBC is responsible for implementing kettlebell training in Equinox,
Crunch, New York Sports Clubs, Spectrum, and many, many other gyms around the
country. (Pam’s note: a good step in the eradication of blogfat) Submitted by David
Ganulin.
- Kustom Kanine – Tired of giving Fido the same old dog biscuits or
squeaky toys for the Holidays? Why not give him something that will get him plenty of
attention from friends and family? Custom dog clothing is a great gift for the dog that has
everything or just for a pet that needs to express herself. Coats and hoodies provide cozy
warmth during winter months and tees reduce shedding. Submitted by Katie & Marley.
- The Billable Hour Clocks and Watches – Our
Billable Hour watches and clocks have dials divided into six-minute increments—the same
way lawyers (and many other professionals) bill their time. Many professionals feel like they
are slaves to the billable hour. But how can something that you wear on you wrist or place
on your desk ever take control of your life? A Billable Hour timepiece pokes fun at the mad
scramble to meet billing quotas, and reminds you to use humor to reduce the weight you
afford the billable hour in your professional life. Submitted by Lisa Solomon.
- Olympic Hot Tub – Taking time to relax and take care is one of the
most powerful things any business owner can do to find inspiration to achieve all that is
possible. In fact, Cunningham says many of her loyal and delighted clients call their hot
tubs their "think tanks" because it is while soaking that they get their best business ideas
and the good thinking to see them through. Submitted by Alice Cunningham.
- Affirmawraps – a line of personal affirmation blankets in fleece that
celebrate big ideas such as abundance, love, joy, serenity, courage, strength, and
motherhood. There are even Affirmawraps to celebrate new babies and even the four-legged
friends in our lives. Submitted by Kristen Marie Schurlein.
- Media-Savvy-To-Go tips booklets – two tips booklets
that offer 147 proven, powerful ways to build business and profit from free publicity, along
with lots of useful and free links to additional resources to help them publish their articles,
post their news via free press release distribution services, launch a winning ezine, and so
much more. Submitted by Nancy Juetten
- Snoloha – clothing inspired by a state of mind: "Whether you are
half-way around the world visiting a foreign land, or sitting in your cubicle wishing you were
somewhere else, Snoloha is that place where you feel relaxed, inspired, or energized. In
fact, the official Snoloha definition is “a lifestyle shared by those who live, play, travel,
vacation, and simply enjoy life somewhere between the islands and the arctic.” Submitted by Rod Call.
- Sophie’s Touch – Merchandise created as a reflection of Sophie, a beloved goldendoodle
who passed on too soon. Products include fleece blankets, dog beds with duvets, rope
toys, her collar bandanas etc. We wanted to share our love and Sophie’s spirit with others &
to help us get over our grief of losing her. So, we decided to make more of the things Sophie
loved and see if other pet owners would enjoy them as much as Sophie did. No URL for
ordering yet, but if you are interested, send an email to sophiestouch@centurytel.net,
Submitted by Trena Page, Deloree Burd and Rodie Burd.
- Nice thought-provoking comment for Pam – "My first thought for a gift was something like "A
Holiday Season That Doesn’t Start Until December". Close in the running were "A Holiday
Season Where People Don’t Fight About Whether It’s A Holiday Or Christmas" and
"Freedom From Crass Materialism, If Only For A Day" and even "A Spirit Of Giving That
Lasts After New Years". But then I realized that I am not an entrepreneur, because the
things I think are of value this season I find I cannot give away, let alone sell. Submitted by
Stephen Downes.
- Mugshots – custom cartoons of people’s pets onto bisque
mugs, pet dishes, and treat canisters, or whatever else a customer requests. Then the
bisque gets glazed and fired in a kiln. The finished result is really rockin. Submitted by Terri
Quintal-Walton
- Money, Meaning & Beyond – This book is a fun
and ‘sideways’ look at business and how the simplest things in life can be the key to
business success. (ie: how does your sex life affect your business bottom line? ooo la la 😉
it applies to biz owners at any stage who are looking to breakthrough to the next level of
their business. Submitted by Tina Forsyth.
- Magnolia Branch – Just under ten
dollars, the Magnolia Flower Branch is an imitation flower made of wood. They are a
wonderful gift, because the luscious foliage and position-able bloom petals allow it to fill the
space, above the vase it is placed in. They also carry many earthborn & handmade products
like vases. Submitted by Vincent Wilcox.
—
The story behind this post: I have been trying to finish this since Sunday. It takes a long
time to get the information cutting and pasting from individual email submissions, editing the
description, then creating the hyperlinks. I had been working on it for about 2 1/2 hours last
night (saving every 2 minutes) when all of a sudden I was kicked out of Typepad. When I
logged back in, 2/3rds of the post was gone. It was 1:30am, I was cranky and I almost
cried. Oh well – I am sure there is a lesson somewhere in there, I just wanted to let you
know why it took so dang long to finish this post. I swear, I had plans to publish it earlier!
I really don’t know how my heroine Kathy Sierra has time to write long, brilliant posts with
tons of links and cool custom graphics and still find the time to work and put food on the
table. You amaze me Kathy!
Great tips Pam.Thank you for the information.
Thank you so much Pam for this blog…really it seems very inetresting…..and Harold! thanks for your tip too….
http://www.flowergirldressforless.com
Gourmet Food Gift
Ultimate Gourmet Food Gift Baskets Gift Basket Food Jelly Bea
Maybe you should use a desktop blog editor, like Qumana:
http://www.qumana.com/download.htm
[BTW, I have no interest or investment in Qumana]
—
Thanks so much for the tip Harold! I know I am being silly composing posts solely in Typepad, I just didn’t know how else to do it.
Even if you did have investmetn in Qumana, I wouldn’t care – as long as it works!
I can’t wait to check it out.
All the best,
-Pam
Pam, thanks so much for posting this – it is awesome to read about some of your other readers – ah, if we could only tap into more, like you do. I’m sure you agree that it is so enriching to learn from all of your blog readers – I have learned more from my blogging (dare I say) than I did in my MBA program! (http://www.JibberJobber.com/blog)
Pam,
Social Media Network sounds fun, but I have a training program I was already registered for that night. I’ll have to plan better in 2007! 😉
Cheers,
Mike
Pamela,
Kathy’s secret to productivity is that she’s shirking her “Creating Passionate Users – The Book” duties!
I really enjoyed your 500 word manifesto. It inspired/pushed me to publicly state a semi-secret goal. Thanks (I think)!
Mike
—
I knew it Mike! I figured that Kathy either didn’t sleep or eat, had an evil twin who actually worked for a living, or was neglecting key tasks. Thank God she is human!
And good for you for leaking out your secret plans. If you feel a bit terrified, you are in juicy territory, trust me.
Hope to see you at the Social Media Network mtg next week since you are in AZ … worth a visit, don’t you think?
🙂
-Pam
Thank you for posting this extended list, and for including Visiopoetics, Pam! I love how you have listed by category more of the fantastic submissions you received. That makes it easy and rewarding to read through them, and it really shows the diversity of your audience.
I’ll greatly enjoy finding out more about these creative, entrepreneurial folks on their websites. Your runners-up post was truly a wonderful holiday gift to your readers!