The Gift Detective » Massage

Travel Gifts – Part 3, SPIbelt

The Gift Detective — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:41:45 +0000

Your first thought might be, “That’s a fanny pack!” WAIT! Please read on because this certainly isn’t a fanny pack and I’m going to explain why the SPIbelt ($19.95) is a great gift…

Sleek & Discreet

The SPIbelt (Small, Personal Items belt) is not big or bulky like a fanny pack. In fact, unless you are wearing tight fitting clothes or really low-rise pants, people probably won’t even notice that you are wearing it – it’s profile is that slim.

I don’t want to mislead you though! Just because you’ll be able to carry your gear and still look hot, doesn’t mean you are going to have to sacrifice space. For me, the beauty of the SPIbelt isn’t just it’s discreet size; it stretches while compressing the items so no matter what you stuff in there, you aren’t going to be stuck with a bulky pack! It’s a bit magical and I’m probably going to have to create a YouTube video to do this little gem justice.

What can you fit into a SPIbelt?

My boyfriend was easily able to fit an iPod Touch, cell phone, keys and money into his new SPIbelt (a present for our upcoming trip to Santa Fe) and when strapped it on and you couldn’t see it under his shirt at all! (he was wearing jeans and a polo shirt that fit well but wasn’t tight)

I wear closer fitting clothing – low-rise jeans, yoga pants, etc. – and I packed my cell phone, keys, money and T pass into mine and it so discreet and small that you could barely notice it! (I love the colors that they offer but, if you really want it to be discreet, the black SPIbelt fits the bill!)

Of course, I knew this would be great for two things in particular – travel and exercise – so I strapped on my SPIbelt (with the items listed above in it) and took my dog for a run. Guess what? Not only does it fit all that stuff inside and not make me look like a dork, it also doesn’t bounce. Truly. This will be a much used item in my life when the weather is warmer and I’m wearing exercise clothing that doesn’t have pockets!

Bonus for dog owners: I could slip Isabelle’s leash loop through the belt before buckling it to create a hands free leash!

Alright, so now that I’ve proven how in love I am with this neat little product, I still need to let you know who on your gift list this is a good idea for:

* Men or women who want to travel and sightsee unencumbered - throw in your hotel key, money and ID and off you go!
* Fitness enthusiasts – a lot of exercise clothing is simple, form fitting and WITHOUT POCKETS, so this is a great gift for the runner, walker, biker, etc. that needs to keep some things close without affecting their workout
* Your favorite dog walker – again, warmer weather is coming, which means less pockets and this would be a great way to show your dog walker that you appreciate them by giving them something useful.
* A guy who has overloaded pockets – some guys have an iPod, cell phone, earphones, keys, etc. and no purse to stow all their gear! This is a great gift for that guy doesn’t want to carry a backpack or messenger bag but doesn’t want bulging pockets either.
* Anyone who has to have any medication handy at all times – someone who has diabetes or asthma, for instance, may need to keep insulin or an inhaler close at hand – great way to keep help them keep medication close while still being able to be discreet.

This is a useful gift for many and you can make this gift more personal in several ways. Think about your recipient and your budget and then consider some of these ideas…

Get it in their favorite color or accent color (black with colored zipper).

For a dog walker – enclose a mini-card that has a cash bonus in it or filled with small, useful items like great chapstick or refreshing towelettes.

For a child that needs to have medication with them at all times – give them a stylish way to keep it close at hand, pick a color or pattern that they will love or pick black to help them keep it more discreet – really think about what they would like most. After you pick the perfect belt, put some really fun, age appropriate item in it, a young child may like a small toy while an older child might like their first cell phone!

For the exercise enthusiast, make sure to choose the water and sweat resistant SPIbelt and then proceed to give them great headphones if they like to exercise with tunes, a pedometer, Nike + or something similar that they will love.

Want to give a little luxury? Wrap up an iPod Touch and slip it inside or for your man or woman who works out hard, include a gift certificate to an upscale spa for a massage.

There are so many more possible ways to personalize this! What are some things you would like to find in a SPIbelt if you were to receive this as a gift or things that you might put in it if you were to give it? Leave a comment and let me know!

Happy gifting!

Father’s Day: (or any day!) Hot Stone Massage

The Gift Detective — Wed, 27 May 2009 07:22:14 +0000

Artwork by M. Gauvin - www.matthewgauvin.com

Father’s Day is June 21 this year so it is time to start thinking ahead to that special day, but so many Father’s Day presents will make great gifts at any time of the year because you are celebrating your father or husband, not all fathers. So, this gift should be personal and not some generic “I Love Dad” mug.

I wrote a post a while ago about a Hot Stone Massage Kit. It was a small, simple and inexpensive kit made as an introductory kit for learning about hot stone massage and includes enough small stones to be able to give a foot massage – but I gave info on how to upgrade it a bit and make it back massage ready. Well, I was surfing the net for great gifts to blog about and I found this!

Photo courtesy of The Hunger Site - shop.thehungersite.com

I know from experience how wonderful even an amateur hot stone massage can be (given with love!) and equally how relatively easy it is to give a hot stone massage (again, with lots of love!). Neither my boyfriend, nor I, qualify in any way as a “trained therapist” but we were very careful to heat the stones up to an accurate temperature as suggested by using a bowl, hot water (not boiling), and a digital candy thermometer. I eventually upgraded to a very inexpensive crockpot, set on the lowest setting, but please, please, always check the temperature of the stones before using!!! This is so important as we really don’t want any burns. The mini-kit that I blogged about previously has clear, if simple, directions on how to do this properly and for $6.95 it may be worth the money just for the directions. There are also lots of books, starting at $7.95, available on the topic as well covering everything from the basics to the advanced. If you really want to please your husband this Father’s Day (men – don’t forget, this also makes a great gift for the woman in your life!) or you’re interested in learning more or just learn better with visual and audio cues, you can invest in one of the many DVDs on the subject.

This is a wonderful and very personal gift to give your spouse (husband or wife, no matter the occasion) because you will not only give them the items for the massage but you will need to follow through and give them the massage as well. Hopefully many massages! I find that products like the Basalt Hot Stone Massage Set make giving a massage much more enjoyable and that using different products or techniques even make giving a massage fun instead of feeling like a chore. Since this is such a personal gift that you will be giving in more than one way, you want to make sure that you are willing and wanting to try this! Do not give this gift in hopes that you will be on the receiving end of the massage – sure it could happen – but this should be a selfless gift of your time and energy, not a “hint” of any kind.

This type of gift is also a great for an engagement, wedding or anniversary present too as well as the perfect present for the love of your life at any time of year.

Happy gifting!

P.S. Don’t forget that purchasing a gift from The Hunger Site is like giving more than one gift! The Hunger Site will fund 25 cups of food for each Basalt Hot Stone Massage Set purchased. To learn more about how you help when you make a purchase, visit this link.

Hot Stone Massage

The Gift Detective — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 05:28:58 +0000

Some of the best gifts involve not just a nice present to open, but a present that requires you to do something for the recipient to make it come to life! I gave this Hot Stone Massage Kit to my boyfriend for Christmas two years ago and he still loves it!!!

This kit is under $10 and has just enough stones that are only large enough to do a massage for the hands or feet (his personal favorite) but I bought additional rocks that were large enough for a back massage at my local Target. I found them in the craft and candle section and they were quite inexpensive. The only other real necessity is an accurate thermometer (that’s the one I have) and a bowl, which you probably already own.

How to give this gift? As long as you are giving this gift to someone who enjoys massages and you are willing to lovingly participate in giving the massage part of the gift, you really can’t go wrong. I made this into a bit of a game: I purchased some accessories, since I knew he would want to use this gift a lot, and wrapped them up separately and made him open them one by one. The puzzled look on his face was priceless! When I, gift giver extraordinaire, gave him a slotted spoon, a bowl and a thermometer, he knew something was up but couldn’t quite figure it out. Then I gave him the additional rocks and it was beginning to dawn on him what all the stuff was for, so that when he finally opened the kit he was thrilled. This is just one way to give this but, it is such a nice simple gift that it doesn’t quite matter how you give it, the idea that you will massage your love is what will make them happy!

If you really want to please your recipient, read the instructions and make sure you have everything you need so that when they want to collect on the massage you can use the kit right away.

This is a great gift because you have to give of yourself and your time to make it work well and they get enjoy it over and over again. Just make sure you are in a loving and patient mood and don’t rush through it. It will be a sensational hit!

When I was looking for the link to the hot stone massage kit I also found this DVD that would make a great complimentary gift.