TheGiftWhiz.com

‘Tis the Season —18 Gifts $25 and under

thegiftwhiz — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:45:17 +0000

It’s that time of year again…

Christmas is just around the corner and as you try and decide what to get that special someone, The Gift Whiz has compiled a list of gifts $25 and under. We know economic times are rough and we provide great gifts at low prices, EVERYDAY! Our goal as a business is to provide quality gifts at a reasonable price. We offer Free Standard Shipping when you spend $100 or more. Email us and we will send you a coupon code to save an extra 10% off our low prices.

Happy Holidays and Happy Shopping!

PERSONALIZED BY YOU:
Personalized Door Plaques - $7.99
Autograph Memory Frames - $9.99

JUST FOR DOGS:
Dog Collars - $10.00

Prices below include Personalization of your item!
BACKPACKS:
Cinch Pack - $10.00
Small Backpack - $21.00

LUNCH BOXES:
Snack Square - $17.00
Lunch Box - $19.00

BAGS AND TOTES:
Cosmo Bag - $12.00
Tote Bag - $12.00
Essential Tote Bag - $12.00
Grocery Tote - $13.00
Travel Bag - $22.00
Laundry Bag - $23.00
Medium Duffel Bag - $25.00

JUST FOR BABY:
Bright Terry Bibs - $14.00
Burp Cloths - $19.00
Blankies - $22.00

KIDS ACCESSORIES:
Tri-fold Wallet - $16.00 [Great Stocking Stuffer]

The Graduate—Moving On and Moving Out

thegiftwhiz — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:18:02 +0000

It’s that time of year, school is almost out and graduates everywhere are readying themselves for a life of independence. There is so much to think about when graduating. For those going off to college there is paperwork to be filled out, loans to apply for, summer jobs to attain and a dorm room to decorate. Why not start them off right with some great personalized gifts that will get them organized in style.
Here are some great gift ideas for your grad.

Start their school year off right with a Personalized Laundry Bag
Be sure and order now–these have been our #1 seller for Grads.

8 color choices:
Hot Pink Zebra
Chocolate Giraffe
Lime Polka
Black Polka
Aqua Polka
Chocolate Blooms
Camo
Cadet Grassy Green

Also check out our clearance section for Dopp Kits for the guys.
There are a limited amount left–so shop now!
Lots of other products are on clearance too—shop now for 40% off

Our newest product is called a Travel Bag and is a smaller version of our Dopp Kits. They can also be used as cosmetic bags.

Or how about our Tri-fold Organizer bag –great for organizing just about anything. Also comes with a velcro loop that so you can hang your bag up to display it’s contents. Our Personalized tri-fold organizer bag has three zippered compartments and one large pocket at the bottom. It folds up neatly with velcro closure and ribbon detailed handle. Great for storing jewelry, hair accessories, travel size toiletries and more!

Life in the Parent Lane

thegiftwhiz — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 06:00:59 +0000

There are so many things to learn and do as a parent. Do you ever find it hard to navigate life in the parent lane?

Well do we have news for you. There’s this great site Go City Kids, that has just what you need. It is not only a great resource for the city you currently live in, but if you plan on taking a trip you can also check out your destination city.

Here are just a few of the categories that are available to Browse at Go City Kids:
After School Activities

Childcare

Classes and Lessons

Parks and Playgrounds

Stores

Party Locations

You can even add your own favorite event. See what’s happening in your local city and don’t forget to sign up for a free local events calendar and newsletter.

Be sure and bookmark Go City Kids so you can map out your days in the Parent Lane!

Preparing Your Children for Summer Camp

thegiftwhiz — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:45:37 +0000

APRIL IS #1 MONTH IN U.S. FOR PREPARING CHILDREN FOR SUMMER CAMP

Personalized products make organizing children for summer camp easy and lost items a thing of the past.

All across the United States children from every state will prepare this month for spending time away from home and planning ahead for summer camp. The American Camp Association (ACA) reports that 10 million children attend camp annually, and there are approximately 12,000 camps nationwide. Summer will be here before you know it, and that means kids—and parents—are already gearing up AND packing up for camp.

TheGiftWhiz.com, a unique online gift company based in Washington, introduces a line of personalized, color coordinated, products to keep children of all ages organized at camp while away from home.

Parents are reminded to plan ahead, review packing lists, and most importantly, label everything!

Make a list of the things your child will need to buy and things he/she will need to pack. Your camp will probably send or e-mail you a list of must-have supplies.
Pack things that you want to have with you, but consider leaving anything that’s truly valuable or irreplaceable at home. Monogram your name on most items, and use a permanent marker for the everyday smaller items.
Most IMPORTANT: Make sure your child’s name is on everything they bring to camp! This will help avoid arguments with cabin mates about what items belong to whom, and also help your child’s things get back to you if misplaced.

TheGiftWhiz.com monograms practically EVERY item sold on their site. The website is easy to navigate, and children will enjoy helping Mom or Dad pick out their favorite must-have items. Best of all, the products will continue to be enjoyed long after summer camp ends and throughout the year. The items will come in handy at school, at home, at sleepovers with friends, and even on annual family vacations.

Duffel Bags

•Hold everything but your sleeping bag and pillow

•Colorful and easy to spot yours among many campers

Laundry Bags

•Draw string to keep the dirty stuff sealed up and hanging on a bunk

•Easy for kids to carry with a wide shoulder strap

•Can also be used to carry sleeping bag and pillow

Travel Bags

•Hold toiletries in one convenient place

Totes

•Carry a note pad or Bible to daily camp meetings

•Holds sunscreen, towel and swimsuit cover-up

Towel Wraps

•Keeps you covered and warm after an end-of-day shower

•Easy on Velcro wrap since modesty is important among cabin mates

Camp Stationery

•Stay in touch with friends and family while away from home

•Mom & Dad can self-address the envelop and stamp it

Bring Out the GREEN in Spring

thegiftwhiz — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 02:55:28 +0000

It’s that time of year when a lot of us decide to do a little spring cleaning and possibly organize our garages. It helps that the weather starts to get a little nicer and we want to be outside. Maybe you have an old bicycle that is no longer being used or decide to downsize your comic book collection. No matter the motivation turn your “trash” into “treasure” by recycling your used items for cash or give them to a person in need. Many of you know about the popular auction site Ebay.com, but have you heard of Craigslist.com or Yahoo! Groups? Craigslist.com is a free classified site where you can list just about anything for sale. You list it locally and buyers come to your door and give you cash. The Yahoo! Groups are message boards that are subdivided in to hundreds of categories. There are many groups whose purpose is to trade or give away items… for FREE!! These groups are usually specific to a certain geographic area so that there is no shipping involved. You can click here to go to the Yahoo! Groups homepage and search for one in your area.

So start cleaning and recycle those used items today!

Happy New Year - Family Style

thegiftwhiz — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 07:57:13 +0000

How do you celebrate New Years Eve? Gone are the days of staying out late with friends or attending elaborate parties in fancy hotels. To tell you the truth…I’m glad. We started a tradition about 7 years ago with our kids and their cousins. It started when we babysat for my sister so they could attend a New Years Eve party. We watched the kids and decided that we would stay in for the night and do fun things with the kids. We bought them noisemakers and hats and sparkling cider and counted down to midnight around 8pm. It was a great way to involve them in recognizing another year gone by. The tradition stuck and we have been doing it ever since. We have since relocated to a different part of the country and have become a part of a new community. We have been very fortunate to have made a ton of great friends. This year was our biggest party to date and we hope to grow every year.

So here’s is what you need to make a super fun party for all ages!

Invite your friends and neighbors and have everyone bring an appetizer or dessert. Set up the kids in the garage with tables, chairs, music and some sidewalk chalk to draw on the garage floor. This is a great place for them to hang out play games, talk or start an impromptu game of four square. The kids love having their own space where they can be kids. Have the table filled with goodies for the kids like hot dogs, chips, cookies etc… Plan some games for them to play like musical chairs, pop the balloon with your bottom or pin the tail on the donkey. For more great game ideas check out the websites below.
Party Game Central

Amazing Moms

Make sure you stock up on noisemakers, party hats, confetti poppers, and anything else that you fancy! Your local party store will have tons of ideas for you. For the little kids it is also fun to provide super hero masks and temporary tattoos for the boys and princess hats and costume jewelry for the girls. It’s one more way to involve them in the New Years Celebration.

At 8PM or whatever time you deem appropriate gather in the space you’ve cleared out for the kids. In this case it’s the garage. Hand everyone a glass of sparkling cider [even the kids], noisemakers, confetti poppers and proceed to countdown to the New Year. We try and make as much noise as possible and it is so fun for the kids to celebrate.
Trust me your kids will look forward to it every year.

Family Traditions at Christmas Time

thegiftwhiz — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 08:06:36 +0000

This time of year can be very overwhelming at times. Shopping, attending parties, Christmas cards to post, and the list goes on. Challenge yourself to reflect on traditions you celebrated with your parents and family members and possibly start one with your own family. If you are far away from family reach out to neighbors or friends who are alone for the holidays and form your own traditions.

Here are a few ideas:

Build a Gingerbread House with the kids
Have a Christmas Eve Dinner for your family and friends who are without their extended family in town.

Buy your kids PJ’s that they can open the night before Christmas.

Buy an Advent Calendar and Celebrate Christmas all month long.

Have the kids Make their own Christmas cards to give to friends.

Give a special gift to the family every year. We buy a new board game every year for the family and it’s fun to play on Christmas night.

Buy mini Lego sets and have competitions to see who can build the fastest.

Make or buy a special treat like bread, cookies, candy or cinnamon rolls and deliver them to friends/neighbors on Christmas Eve.

There are so many possibilities to bring your friends and family together. Take time every year to appreciate the ones you love and share the Christmas spirit with them.

The Turkey is gone and the tree is up…now what?

thegiftwhiz — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 06:00:27 +0000

It’s that time of year again. Our bellies are full and our wallets are on their way to being empty. Never fear, Christmas doesn’t have to be a time of stress. If you are tempted to feel overwhelmed during this time of year, take a deep breath and grab a piece of paper and a pen/pencil. Write down everyone you have to buy for including co-workers, teachers, neighbors and of course family. Next to each name, write the amount of money you can spend on them. [Even if it’s only $5] Categorize your list into presents you have to ship, presents you have to hand-deliver and presents that will stay in your house for your immediate family. It is wise to shop for the “need to ship” items first and get those items wrapped, boxed and off to the post office before it gets too close to the actual day of Christmas. Lines are long this time of year at the post office. If you have a scale at home you can print your postage online. If you don’t, you can go after hours when only the Automated Postal Center is open. If your box is too big to fit in the parcel drop, return the next day and simply walk to the front of the line and set it on any open counter. [How easy is that!?!?] Once you have accomplished the task of wrapping and shipping those items get busy with your remaining list.

Do as much shopping as you can online to avoid traffic, lines and general stress and anxiety. For those hard to buy for people on your list, buy a gift card in the amount of your budget and put it inside a cute card with a simple note. Trust me, they would much rather receive something they can use, no matter the amount. For co-workers or neighbors with your smaller gift-buying budget a simple greeting card with a Starbucks or Barnes and Noble gift card will suffice. You could say something catchy in the card like “Thanks A Latte for being my friend” or “I enjoy working with you A Latte”. For the Barnes and Noble gift card you could say “I read your mind and got you this gift card”.

If you are more the Martha Stewart type you can bake them some pumpkin spice bread or fudge and put it in a decorative tin. Check out her website for great ideas on creative gift giving and more.

Creativity can take you a long way during this time of year. Remember it really is the thought that counts. Your friends, neighbors and co-workers don’t expect you to break the bank on buying them gifts.

When it comes to shopping for your spouse/significant other and your kids aquiring a list is a very smart thing. You want to buy at least one thing that they truly want this holiday season. Don’t forget to set a budget for each child and discuss with your spouse or significant other how much you want to spend so that you each have clear expectations of the season. If money is no object, then you should definitely splurge on your spouse or significant other!! I’m thinking diamonds and handbags for the ladies and electronics and tools for the guys.

Most of all this holiday season—have fun! Bake a little, laugh a lot and share the love!

Exercise and Kids

thegiftwhiz — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 05:43:24 +0000

Today obesity in kids is on the rise. Some experts estimate that 15% of kids are overweight and another 15% are at risk. What can we do to encourage our kids to eat right, exercise and make the decisions necessary to become healthy adults. The best way to do this is to set the example for them. When they see you making good decisions they will learn the best way to a healthy lifestyle. Surround them with good food choices. Get them involved in the grocery shopping and preparing the food. Research healthy recipes online together. Living a healthly lifestyle goes beyond our food choices. We must make exercise a part of our daily routine. Family walks after dinner are a good start. You can also get your kids involved in extracurricular activities such as dance, tae kwon do, baseball, basketball, soccer, tennis, track, swimming and many more. Find out what your kids are interested in and then make that activity a part of their lives. There are also many resources available on DVD for at home exercise opportunities. The bottom line, do whatever it takes to get moving!

Check out the exercise video series on Oprah.com by Dr. OZ and The Outline just for Kids by Dr. OZ’s daughter Daphne

Idea: Party Favor for Kids Age 4+

thegiftwhiz — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 04:40:45 +0000

What a great idea! Girls love jewelry and what’s more fun than making your own? We have found a website that has made it all possible.

Jewelry kits for girls age 4 and up. The kits come with more than 100 beads, storage case and easy to follow instructions. There are no additional tools needed. The kits are $5 each.

Visit the Jewelry Just for Her website today for more information and pictures.