Holiday Gifts: Unusual Gifts

When find yourself with someone on your holiday gift list who is difficult to buy for, sometimes your best bet is to go for something out of the ordinary. Gifts that work to bring about harmony and peace in the environment are sure to please. From simple gifts of candles, crystals, and CD's that play the soothing sounds of wind, rain and babbling brooks, to salt lamps, singing bowls and Zen sand gardens, the choices are plentiful.

You can choose jewelry made of amber, an organic gemstone that is professed to draw negative energy and turn it to positive energy leading to health and well being. Most people, when they think of amber think of the honey colored or the milky white but amber can also be found in brown, red, blue, black and green. You can also buy gifts of jewelry made out of the crystals for your astrological sign. Chlorite quartz is another healing mineral said to cleanse ones aura and makes a gift that is beautiful to look at.

On the more unusual side would be a gift of a negative ion producing lamp made of salt crystal rock. This rock naturally ionizes the air by releasing negative ions (electronically charged molecules of oxygen) thereby removing things like pollen, dust and animal dander from the air. The core of the piece of salt crystal is hollowed out then a light bulb is placed inside. The resulting heat from the light bulb starts the ions flowing into the air. Even if you aren't interested in the healing qualities of the lamp, you end up with very pretty pieces to display on your dresser or end table.

We all know our moods and our health can be greatly affected by sound. Dissonant , loud sounds cause tension and if too prolonged can cause ill health. Other sounds energize the body and relax the mind. Singing bowls fall into this category. They are made from a mix of metals from the Himalayas, Tibet and India. When you strike and/or rub the bowl with a wooden mallet the multi-octave tones that are produced will relax and heal your mind as well as your body. Hand made bells called Rustic Noah Bells are believed to scare off bad spirits. Hang them near your home for good energy. The beautiful deep tone of the larger bells provides a superb sound to accompany your meditation.

In the Feng Shui shops you will also find a large selection of clothing to wear when meditating, books, videos, prayer flags and lots of different oils to energize the body mind and spirit. You might also be interested in the Chakra Bears. Legend says that when the sun shines through the mist in the Smokey Mountains it forms a beautiful rainbow. Every twenty years this rainbow touches the earth and rainbow Chakra bears are born. Each color has a different purpose. For instance the blue bear will listen with endless patience while the yellow bear's purpose is to make you successful.

Visit a store that specializes in Feng Shui products and you will find gifts of aromatherapy, incense, table top fountains, mirrors and plenty of books to explain the theories behind everything.

By Anders Eriksson,

Don't let gender role define holiday gifts

With Valentine's Day approaching, it might be beneficial to ask ourselves if we are perpetuating stereotypes in the way we choose to celebrate.

The holiday appears in Western culture to be a day for men to spend money to reassure a female partner of their love with a generic expensive gift, frequently jewelry.

The media reinforces the gender typing of this holiday.

Television is currently heavy on the heart-shaped diamond jewelry commercials, with women shown giddily accepting the plunder from their princes. Though I'm sure they're out there, I haven't seen a commercial yet that advertises Valentine's Day gifts for men.

The pop culture notion is that women are insecure and need material proof of their partner's love, or that they are exploiting men for material goods.

Men are shown as not caring for "romance" but perform the rituals begrudgingly, for sex, or to keep their partners from being angry with them.

One would assume The New York Times would be beyond such stereotypes, itself reporting on recent successes regarding women's ascension into politics and the gay rights movement, both permanently changing the landscape which defines the hetero-normative view of this romantic holiday.

It could have taken this opportunity to embrace a more inclusive view. However, The New York Times' TMagazine's newest article on Valentine's Day gift ideas mostly perpetuated stereotypes. While some were more interesting, like a Swiss army knife and a pair of skis, author Alix Browne also suggested a $4,300 heart-shaped diamond necklace.

It's no wonder that men at this time of year feel pressure to dole out a few paychecks to prove their love.

With the requisite lingerie suggestion was the note, "Of course you love her for her, uh, sexy mind." And the film suggestion, a movie called "Seduced and Abandoned," was chosen, apparently, for its "adulterous affairs, staged kidnappings and murders." This movie, Browne writes, "is about as close as you're going to get him to a chick flick."

Real evolved there, Grey Lady.

Greeting card companies, despite making tons of money from Valentine's Day, do not own it, and the heterosexualist and sexist values they espouse do not have to define your experience.

Why not break out of the dominant paradigm and get flowers for your male significant other, if you're a woman? Or genuinely offer to pay for dinner, not just to be cute or novel? Or cook dinner together and not really spend any money? And if you opt to exchange gifts, why not do it with your partner in mind, and get or make them a thoughtful gift that reflects their personality or your relationship with them?

And throw gender roles and posturing in the 50s era wastebasket they belong in. Feelings don't come in pink and blue. If you're gay or don't otherwise feel like you fit the spoiled-woman, dutiful-man mold, celebrate this day however you'd like to.

Let's change this contrived ritual to something beautiful and inclusive, a meaningful observance of shared affection.

Jade Ortego is a senior journalism major from Sweeny.

Lunchtime Snap: The Top Five Gifts This Holiday Season

Cookies and perfume have elbowed out men’s and women apparel from the top 10 list of holiday gifts that Americans are giving this year, according to a new survey released this morning.

In a survey of 1,000 people, some 34.7% listed toys as their number one gift this year, followed by electronics (26.8%), children’s clothes (26.7%), video games (18.1%) and gift cards (12%), according to America’s Research Group, a consumer-research firm based in Charleston, S.C.

The categories of men’s and women’s apparel, which typically make at least the top seven gift items each holiday season, were missing for the first time in six or seven years, says C. Britt Beemer, chief executive of America’s Research Group. Neither category made the list of top 10 this year, in fact — the categories were displaced by cookies and candy, which scored 12.8%, up from under 5% during a similar poll conducted the weekend before Christmas in 2007, and perfume, cologne and fragrances, which scored 13.2%, up from just under 9% last year.

This shift away from giving men’s and women’s apparel has happened partly because parents and adults have said they are cutting back on presents to one other and are instead focusing their gift-giving on children this holiday season. Some 26.7% of those surveyed said children’s clothing was a top gift this year, up from 15.9% in 2007, Mr. Beemer says. It was the first time in the 18 years Mr. Beemer has done the survey that men’s and women’s apparel was not listed as a top five gift item in any of the four weekends leading up to Christmas.

“When you’re concerned about your job, apparel becomes a thing that you don’t have to have,” he says. “When the consumer is struggling, most people feel they have enough apparel to get through a season.”

Clothing also has taken a backseat due to a rise in giving of perfume, cookies and candy, which Mr. Beemer attributes to “the gift-card meltdown.” Consumers are expected to sharply dial back on giving gift cards this season, in part because they have been worried about purchasing a gift card from a retailer only to have it go out of business – only 12% of those Mr. Beemer surveyed this past weekend said they would give gift cards, down from 23.8% in 2007.

“If you’re not going to give a friend, niece or nephew a gift card and you don’t want to give them cash, it’s easy to give them something to eat or call up their mother to ask what’s their favorite fragrance,” he says. “It’s an easy gift to give if you’re not sure what a person really likes.”
Readers, what are the top five gifts you’re giving this year?
– Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan

Wedding Guest’s Gift Giving Guide

by AllGiftBaskets

Wedding RingsOkay, you’ve been invited to a wedding. Now you are probably wondering what to do about a gift. Even though many couples register their gift wish list with local specialty shops or pricey department stores, this does not mean you should feel obligated to select from this list. While it may be a nice gesture to help the couple complete their flatware or china selections, remember — this gift registry is a service brides-to-be use as a means of suggestion. The most thoughtful gifts are those that reflect the giver’s unique expression of well-wishes for a happy marriage. These are the gifts that say “I care”, and are just as welcome, and more often than not, are the ones that will mean the most to the couple.

This is not to say that you must spend two weeks shopping till you drop in search of that perfect gift. On the contrary, with the convenience of online shopping you can browse, select, purchase, and ship a gift to the couple all without leaving home or office. Gift wrapping and the enclosure of personalized gift cards are services that are customarily available for a nominal fee, if not free of charge altogether. Take advantage of time saving, hassle-free shopping!

Some points to keep in mind:

* Gifts should typically not be brought to the wedding, or to the reception, for two reasons. Firstly, because there is generally no security at these functions there is no guarantee that your gift will ever be seen by the couple. Secondly, these are times of celebration and festivity for the bride and groom — bear in mind that gifts are the last thing on any couple’s minds on their wedding day!
* Etiqette says that whether or not you plan on actually attending — it is not only a nice gesture to send a gift anyways, but one that has traditionally come to be expected.
* Remember, just as in any other gifting situation, it is the thought that counts.