gift idea: reusable shopping bags

Re-usable shopping bags are very hot right now. And I know sometimes I leave the grocery store with a million bags so other people probably don't have enough reusable bags for those big grocery days. And I doubt that the bags they already have are as cute as the one you get for them. :) Plus I use my bags for so much more than just groceries. I always end up forgetting stuff when I pack my suitcase so I end up using all my bags for last minute things I need to take. I also use them to tote my knitting around. I love them. I started out with bagu bags. Then I found envirosax. The downfall with the bagu bags is that they aren't connected to the pouch that they are stored in so then there is a seperate piece to keep track of. Not fun. Also, while they do have alot of vibrant colors, there are no patterns. Envirosax fold up into snaps that are attached to the bag and the patterns are soso cute! They are 8.50 a piece or 37.95 for a pouch of 5. That's 5 great gifts for abot 7.50 each!



for the kids:
oragnic:

and so cute:

Consumable Gifts

One of my favorite gift ideas is consumable gifts. Most of us have more stuff than we need, but who doesn't like an opportunity to go out or learn something new?

Ideas for consumable gifts
-Theater tickets (ballet, symphony, musicals, local theater, movies, childrens theater, etc)

-Classes (dance, cooking, art, karate, etc)

-Season passes (or a 1 time deal) to something (childrens museum, amusement parks, skiing, sports games, etc)

-Magazine subscriptions

-Local produce or milk delivery

Feel free to add other ideas in the comments!

Think outside the Candles also Please!

I know its probably a given, but Candles are also included in this think outside the lotion thing. One thing that I like to do when thinking of what gift to give, is think about what that person is interested in. For example she likes to shop. I imagine that I am her at the store and so instead of getting her what I think she would like, I go to the section that she would go to and I think of an article of clothing she already has, I then try to find something that would complement that Item. It seems to work pretty well for me so far.
Also another tip is that if you think she has too many belts, shoes, purses, etc... She probably doesn't. I take that as a guide to shopping for her, the more shoes she has the more she likes them!
I'm sure most of you know these things already, but seeing as it is the beginning of the holiday season I thought I would share.

ps a cool magnet makes a great gift topper.

Think Outside the Lotion: the explanation

Okay, I know lotion is great, and most of us would be very flaky without it, but I almost always only like it when I buy it myself or if the person buying it for me actually knows my 'smell taste'.(Side note, that sentence is amazingly long). So we will be making a series of posts up until Christmas of present ideas that aren't lotion. Now you may be thinking, Christmas? It's SO far away. But I can't help getting in the spirit early because my side of the family does something called Christmathanks. We combine Christmas and Thanksgiving into one giant holiday so we don't have to fight with anyone about who's going where and seeing what family for the holidays. This way we see our family for Christmathanks and our spouses family for Christmas. We love it! Stay tuned for our first idea...