The Gift Detective » For Graduation

Members Monday: Cute Gift for English Grad!

The Gift Detective — Mon, 24 May 2010 07:02:23 +0000

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Sleuthing Sunday: Graduation Gift – Recognition

The Gift Detective — Mon, 24 May 2010 06:13:23 +0000

Whether the grad in your life is graduating from high school or college, if you want to show you care about them, you should definitely acknowledge their accomplishment.

In fact, recognition is the best present you can give a graduate. How you recognize them is largely dependent on their personality and your time and budget, but recognizing them, even with a heartfelt card, is something that will let them know how proud you are of them – the best present you can give.

No idea what to get your graduate? Hire me to help! Want to get my help for FREE? No strings attached, it will cost you nothing – all you have to do is fill out a Sleuthing Sunday form.

Happy gifting!

Safety or Surprise?

The Gift Detective — Sun, 17 May 2009 06:45:56 +0000

Are you surprising your sweet sixteen or graduate with a car? Want a fun way to surprise them? You’ve spent the money on a car, why not spend some money for some peace of mind and added safety and purchase a roadside emergency kit such as this one pictured below?

AAA 77 Piece Road Assistance Kit
The catch? Put the keys to the car into a card and place the card inside the kit. When they open the kit they are either going to start squealing with excitement (why else would you give them an emergency kit for a car unless they are getting one?) or they will be a bit puzzled (why the heck would you give them this when they don’t even have a car?). Either way, it will be a priceless moment and once they figure it out you will have one very, very happy (and safer!) driver on your hands.

Happy gifting!

Creative Vado: Pocket-Sized HD Video Camcorder

The Gift Detective — Wed, 13 May 2009 08:23:21 +0000

So, I’ve done an abundance of research on the teeny-tiny wonders that are now available – the pocket-sized HD video camcorders. I read, I watched, I searched and watched and read even more reviews. I sought out the side-by-side comparisons of the top three cameras (the Creative Labs Vado HD, Flip Mino HD and the Kodak Zi6 HD) and I personally chose the Creative Vado but, they are all solid choices, I just found that for my purposes (to record product reviews and interviews for the blog) that the Creative Vado would offer quality and functionality while not breaking the bank and being able to easily be toted everywhere so that I can capture a great gift idea at a moments notice. Mind you, pocket-sized camcorders are not what you want to memorialize a really special occasion (i.e. a wedding) with but they are so light and so small that it gives you the opportunity to capture more of those little moments because you can easily tote it just about anywhere.

Some of the features that I am loving about the Vado:

Really lightweight! I hate lugging around a heavy purse so this is a real bonus.
Rechargeable battery. This means that it is an environmentally friendly option, which I appreciate, as well as not requiring me to buy batteries or a charger. It charges simply by plugging it into your computer.
It comes with everything you need, including a protective case. (I ordered it off of Amazon) This means it really is ready to go! You can hook it up to your television or your computer and watch videos right away. It also comes with video editing software, which I haven’t tried yet so that review s pending, but it gets really high marks so far for quality (for its size) and ease of use.
It is so unbelievably easy to use it is child’s play. Not even setting the time and date is difficult. You can record, watch playback instantaneously or delete with just a touch of a button. The product is so easy to use it doesn’t even come with a manual – it has a really simple sheet that labels the buttons and components and that’s pretty much it.
You get about 2-4 hours of time to record, depending on what setting you are recording in. This means I don’t have to upload video after every recording and can do it when I actually have time and not when I need to create space.

Fear not, you’ll be seeing lots of video from this baby! I specifically chose this so that I could create videos for you – my current camera just wasn’t cutting it (as evidenced by the poor quality video of the Busy Buddy Kibble Nibble post!). I wanted something that would allow more professional videos, I don’t want you guys to be squinting or getting seasick, without breaking the bank and this was the solution.

I think any of these cameras would make a great graduation present, Father’s Day present (men love their gadgets!), baby shower present or wedding present! Memories are precious and having something small and lightweight that actually lets you capture them instead of wishing that you had brought along the camera makes the difference between this and a larger, better quality, more expensive camera. Also, these little guys are pretty unobtrusive so the camera shy can forget that your pointing this at them and you can get more shots of your loved ones without making them feel like they are on “camera.” This is about the size of my cell phone, although even lighter and you are able to turn it on and begin recording with just two buttons so there isn’t a lot of fuss or delay between seeing what you want to record and actually recording.

So, enjoy your memories and have the option to view them again and again with this sweet little camcorder!!!

Happy gifting!

Boston Area Residents: MassArt Spring Sale!

The Gift Detective — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:40:32 +0000

These are the LAST TWO DAYS of the MassArt Spring Sale. I had really wanted to get this blog up sooner but a few obstacles prevented that so run, drive, take the T (green line, Longwood stop) or the #39 bus to 621 Huntington Avenue (the Tower Building) Boston, MA to get your gift on. Don’t be surprised if you want to pick up some things for yourself too – the items are lovely beyond description so I’m just going to post lots of pictures below for you so that you can see for yourself!

Please note that profits from the sales of these items benefit the artists who handcraft them and help support future artists via student scholarships – this is a great opportunity for you to find a gift and give a gift to these talented souls. Visa, Mastercard, cash and checks are all accepted.

If you need additional information, please click here or contact Elizabeth DiCicco at (617)879-7710.

Obviously, if you live in the area and haven’t gotten your mom or spouse a Mother’s Day present – this is a really great opportunity to find it. There is a plentiful selection of gifts – for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, graduations, birthdays, anniversaries or even stocking up early for the holidays. Why not plan ahead?

Happy gifting!

Here are those pics I was talking about – I have tons more, really, and will be posting them on Flickr and linking it back here so check back if you want to see more later today! Better yet, if you live in the area, head on over to the sale!!!