17. Never run out of juice for your iPhone

I was super jealous when someone whipped out this cool little gadget. It's an iPhone case that's also an extra battery. The case battery holds an extra charge and you charge it together with your iPhone in it. You get twice as much battery power in one neat little package. I'm totally getting one if I get a new iPhone.

Audience: Anyone with an iPhone.
Benefits: Practical for those hard to shop ahem men in your life.

16. Instant growth spurts with stilts

Every kid wants to be taller so give them an instant growth spurt with a pair of stilts.

15. Adorably Shiny Blings


Note: I hear there might be an upcoming Bling sale in early Dec.

I don't have pierced ears, but I love the idea of these Blings from JoJo Love You. They come in dozens of colors, many sizes and different styles. The possibilities are endless. They're so big and blingy, they're clearly faux which just makes them super fun. I bought my friend Zristen a pair for her birthday and repackaged them in a jewelry box to "trick" her just for kicks. She saw right through my little joke and was delighted with her steel blue blings. There was no way I bought her real multi-carat diamonds for her birthday so the trick wasn't too too cruel. I'll leave the real bling to Zave and Zvy.

Audience: Anyone with pierced ears. Don't forget to check and not assume as I do not have pierced ears.
Benefits: Relatively inexpensive, easy to "version" for a group of friends and get all your shopping done, small and packable

14. Bacon makes everything better

Bacon salt and Baconnaise might sound gross, but it's actually delicious and it's vegetarian for all those bacon loving vegetarians out there. Bacon salt on eggs lends a lovely smoky bacon-y flavor without actual bacon. For a gag gift, you can also buy bacon lip balm and bacon flavored envelopes.

Audience: anyone who likes bacon

Benefit: Friendly for vegetarians

13. Personalized Puzzle Wooden Stool for Kids

We got these for Zhor and Zvy when they turned one. They're personalized wooden stools with chunky puzzle letters that come out of the stool. The folks at Damhorst Toys are awesome. They deliver a really solid product with fast service and they're happy to really personalize things for you. You can even add a nice engraved message on the bottom of the stool. This one's definitely for that special kid in your life since it's a little pricey at around 70 bucks all in. It's a keepsake toy that hopefully their parents won't just throw out because how can you throw anything out with your kid's name on it.

12. Mini file folders perfect for cooks

I bought these mini file folders for Adam's mom one year as a fun stocking stuffer and they were an unexpected hit. She uses them to organize her packed recipe box so she can easily grab her "Thanksgiving" file with all the family favorites like that cherry coke salad jello mold. [For those who like me don't really cook, recipe boxes are these little boxes people keep their handwritten recipes on little index cards.] Also great for organizing anything small like receipts and photos and way cuter than Ziploc bags.

Audience: People with disorganized recipe boxes. People who like to be organized.

Benefit: Pretty inexpensive at $3 for a 5 pack, great stocking stuffer.

11. You can never have enough TRAYS

I'm so serious about my mantra, I have a cabinet stuffed with trays. Adam would say he "doesn't disagree" with my statement, but wouldn't necessarily "agree." He does benefit greatly from my collection especially since we eat almost all of our meals in the living room and trays are super helpful for carting things back and forth from the kitchen. Imagine a world without trays? You'd have to make multiple trips carrying things with your two little hands. What a waste of time and what a bore when there are awesome trays out there to be had

Audience: People who don't want to burn their hands carrying a bowl of soup
Benefit: Everyone could use another tray

10. For Cheese Geeks - Culture [Cheese] Magazine Subscription

I got Adam subscription to Culture two years ago since he claims to be a cheese geek, but even he was a little overwhelmed by the geekiness of this one. Be forewarned, only for the truly geeky and definitely geekier than Adam which is super geeky. Order early and it'll get there on time since they only publish quarterly.

Audience: Super Cheese Geeks
Benefits: Educational with beauty shots of cheese

9. Bent Nail Bottle Opener

Yes, this was last holiday's gift for guys, but it's a good one. The bottle opener actually works really well and the bottle cap securely sticks to the magnet so you'll never hear that clanking metal sound from falling bottle caps and you won't have to search around your floor for it either.

Audience: Anyone who drinks beer or Martinelli's apple cider
Benefits: Super packable and small, widely appealing

8. Teeny Tiny Fresh Sugar Mini Lip Balms

I'm addicted to these tinted lip balms from Fresh. I was having trouble picking between rose and plum at Sephora recently when I found these mini two packs at the checkout a.k.a. "the pocketbook danger zone." For the same price, you get one of each and the price per ounce is a little lower than the full sized version. [Adam would be so proud of me for calculating price per ounce.] Super cute, more variety and a smidge less expensive. Win ^3. It's a fun gift with a broad audience and with two tinted shades in one package, there's no guesswork. Did I mention they're super adorable?

Audience: Girls of all ages.

Benefits: Small packaging, portable, easy to wrap, broadly appealing.

7. Little Hero Capes - enables [pretend] flying

One year, we got all the kids a super hero cape for Christmas. Zess got a purple/pink crown, Zames got a blue/red rocketship and Thor got a green lightening bolt. I wasn't sure if the kids (age 2, 4, and 6) would universally enjoy these capes, but it was a big hit. The kids ripped open their gifts, ran around the yard on adventures and kept their capes on all day. Order early and sit back and watch everyone else stress over their holiday shopping knowing you're going to be a the super hero gift giver to the kids on your list.

Audience: Super hero kids and adults. They make adult capes too.

Benefits: Kid friendly, promotes creative play, custom, easy to pack

6. Vintage pressed glass [plastic] wine goblets

Having cleaned up after shattered glass several times this summer, I was thrilled to find these plastic wine goblets at Target last weekend in the Halloween seasonal section of all places. They're right next to the costumes and plastic pumpkins. I bought the clear ones and I love the hobnail detail and the vintage look. Get thee to Target now and you'll have a great gift for that friend who loves to entertain. At $2.99 a glass, you can gift a set of 6 for under $20.

Audience: people who drink liquids, people who like to entertain without worrying about shattered glass

Benefits: Inexpensive, shatterproof, unexpected

5. Maptotes - less accurate than GPS, but way cooler

These Maptotes are a great for hinting at your friends to come visit you. I've gifted Cambridge Maptotes with a "X" marks the spot for my house, but I'm not sure if the hints actually work. So far, Adam's mom is the only recipient who has actually visited and I'm pretty sure it's not because of the tote bag. They make them for lots of far flung locales, but if you're in the Boston area, look out for the Cambridge version. You can also buy the Somerville Maptote exclusively at Magpie in Davis Square.

Benefits: Lightweight, portable for holiday travel, unique, easy to buy a similarly themed gift for all your friends, just vary the locale.

4. GorillaTorch Flashlight

This nifty hands free flashlight has bendable tripod legs that can stand up and wrap itself around stuff. The feet are super magnetic so you can park spare metal screws and things while you work or you can be like plasticmom and just magnet the light to your fridge or any metal object.

Audience: practical people, people with hobbies in dark places like sheds and basements, outdoorsy people

Benefits: no sizing, everyone can use another flashlight, useful

3. NanoBlock Mini Building Kits

I love Legos and the idea of building fun models, but I gave up my Lego bucket to a well deserving kid a few years back. Since I can't justify cluttering up my home with giant Lego models, these NanoBlock models are great adult compromise. I had a blast building mine last night and the "nano" footprint is perfect for displaying on a windowsill.

Audience: older kids who love Legos, space constrained adults who enjoy light model building activities

Benefits: Under $20 gift, small, easy to wrap.

2. Q-Ba-Maze

We saw this cool marble maze building kit at Stellabella Toys. (The name is terribly hard to pronounce and remember, but it looks fun.) There are three different block pieces you can use to build a marble maze sculpture. Once you build it, you drop a bunch of marbles down the top of the maze and they clink clink through differently based on how you designed it. Break it apart and rebuild infinitely.

Audience: Kids and adults who like building stuff

Benefits: They probably don't already have it and if they do, they can always use more maze parts.

1. "Holla Back, Yo" "I Miss Your Face"

I stopped by Magpie last night for some birthday cards which got me in trouble because they have a ton of cool stuff like these "classy" letterpress note cards from Spoon & Sailor that graciously say "Holla Back Yo" and "I Miss Your Face."

Audience: Irreverent, but polite people who enjoy old fashioned pursuits like letter writing

Benefits: Gets a laugh, but a little classier than a junky gag gift

100 Holiday Gift Ideas

Back in 2003, I marathon blogged about 100 holiday gift ideas. I think I'm up for the challenge again. I'm starting ridiculously early and I'm trying to link up my blog and the Facebook.