For those with sensitive ears

Silence is golden. No one knows that more than people who sleep with people who snore—you know snorers. And even though snoring is a serious health issue, and chronic snorers should contact their physician to learn why they have trouble breathing at night, this gift idea is aimed solely at people who have trouble dealing with the noise of snoring or really any other sound. Some people have really sensitive eardrums so it’s important to try to offer them some insulated cushion so they can indulge in sweet, silent dreams.

Although there are fancy headphones that provide white noise to block out what goes bump in the night (Halloween plug!), for the more economically-minded gift-giver who wants to make a funny point on the cheap, just consider foam earplugs.

Where to go:
Local drug stores carry a selection of different colors. Some people want to look good when they’re sleeping, so some earplug color coordination would not be out of the question. To make sure you get the appropriate selection, also consider checking out online stores.

For the cell phone chatterbox

With the number of people with landlines, who actually use them, going down, there have been more people relying on their cell phones to communicate. Problem is, cell phones aren’t too comfortable because they’re so “conveniently” sized for short talks. Try washing the dishes and chatting about your travel plans or news in the family on your little cell phone without straining your neck. It’s hard to do. To avoid such poor neck health consider the gift of blue tooth—the hands-free add-on to phones.

Blue tooth technology isn’t perfect. For starters, when you’re talking on the phone without actually holding a phone to your face and instead just talking into the air, you can look a little funny. So you have to be confident in your need to speak hands-free while doing something else.

Where to go:
Online, electronics stores, and cell phone retailers.

For the pack rat

In the spirit of full-disclosure, I must admit that I love saving stuff. I can’t really explain it except by saying that there is this little voice inside of my head that speaks up anytime I stand by a garbage can about to drop something inside. For instance, I just bought some new shoes and as I stared there looking at the now empty shoebox, I just couldn’t bring myself to discard it and instead jammed it underneath my bed to serve some future purpose that is currently to be determined. As a pack rat I know the importance of finding space for all these random items that for some reason other pack rats feel is necessary to keep around, and that is why the best gift for these obsessive keepers is the one that embodies function and style: the basket.

Baskets don’t only have to be for picnics or fruit or laundry; now they can hold flip-flops, stickers, an assortment of winter scarves, and whatever else can fit in them. Yet, unlike other containers which, quite simply, can just look like containers and intrude upon the visual appeal of a room, baskets come in a variety of forms and thus blend in or even add to the appearance of a space.

Where to go:
The home section of multi-purpose department stores should be a safe bet. But to view what would most likely be a larger selection of baskets that can serve different purposes and fit with different rooms, specialty stores that focus on organization and outfitting the home is a better option for basket shopping.

The Rectangular Crunch Basket by Umbra®
(Image from The Container Store®, http://www.containerstore.com/)

For the metal allergic prone with no sense of time

As someone who knows someone who’s allergic to metal, it’s no easy task buying the metal allergic prone a timepiece (yes, timepiece…it’s more fun to say than watch). One of the many failed attempts to provide a good-looking and modern timepiece to the person in question resulted in the gift of a plastic watch being called too juvenile. In defense of the timepiece, it was clear plastic, not multi-colored with polka dots and all the other cool things you can do with plastic. Thus, what is someone to do who wants to give the necessity of time keeping without making the gift recipient break out in hives? Instead of putting it on the wrist, put it on a chain.

Pocket watches and even necklace watches are kind of old timey, but it does look cool and it limits the contact with any possible allergy-inciting metal. You can even open up the watch with a tissue or something or even have special watch gloves…why not?

Where to go:
Because pocket and necklace watches are kind of an oddity, you have to pay for that rarity. That’s not to say that there are no inexpensive versions available (keeping in mind that inexpensive is relative) because I saw a precious little ladybug necklace watch online. The key is to be persistent in finding a nice timepiece for the allergic ones in your life: Giving the gift of time takes time.

Silver Tone Ladybug Charm Watch Necklace

by Ks Charming Designs

(Image from Amazon.com)

For those hungry at lunchtime

Not much beats food, not even sleep because a belly full of food can put you to sleep (sleep doesn’t tend to make you hungry). Food always takes center stage. Thus, people love when you give them free food. From baskets of fruit, cheese and crackers, or what have you.

In the same vein, people love gift certificates: it’s free money. Yeah, there’s a limit on how much you can spend. But you can spend it and not see any deduction from your own personal savings.

With two such amazing and highly-coveted gifts, it would be a genius idea to combine them into one super-gift, namely the grocery store gift card. A gift card to the grocery store may not be as flashy and trendy as clothes, gleaming accessories, or super-fast electronics, but it is probably the most practical gift out there and it works for anyone. Unlike restaurant gift cards where it helps to have a sense of what type of food the person likes—and you have to account for her/him wanting to eat with other people and maybe paying for a companion’s meal—the grocery store gift card only has one consideration: is it close enough to where s/he lives? And another great thing, even with rising food prices, your money still tends to go further when buying basic food items than on clothing and of course all the other distractions we invite into our lives.

Where to go:
The grocery store and maybe its online site too.

For the digital shutterbug

I neither like being in photos nor taking them, but I know quite a few people who love their digital cameras and bring them everywhere to capture the most mundane and extraordinary things in their lives. For some, it’s easy just to share the memories by posting the photos on a social networking site and/or an online photo gallery, but to make the photos have more of a permanent and tangible place a picture frame is in order. Some people print out digital photos, but for those who just haven’t gotten around to it, don’t know how to do it, or simply don’t want to spend the money each time there is the option of giving a digital picture frame.

Digital picture frames let you simply connect a camera memory stick and/or a computer with the photos to store and display your vacation memories, artistic pieces, etc. Thus, it’s a great idea for any avid digital camera user.

Where to go:
There are tons of places online to shop around for a decent priced digital picture frame. The frames can cost a nice amount so consider reading any reviews of products you see and have a sense of how many photos you want to store, among other considerations.

For the shoulder bag obsessed:

People with a fashion for passion must have a high threshold for pain. In a nutshell: fashion is pain…and lots of it. Although there are probably some people who would say I am the furthest thing from a fashionable person, there has been at least one occasion when I was fashion forward and led the trend…qualifier: at least in retrospect.

The purse, or as it is now known, the “bag,” is quite the status symbol and for many people the bigger the better. Well, I was rocking the big (book)bag years before it became a symbol for grandeur and whatnot. And as someone who has suffered for fashion (or really in my case education) I can speak from experience that a great way to help out those friends who love shoulder bags is to give the gift of the shoulder pad. Yes, shoulder pad.

Unfortunately the shoulder pad has fallen out of fashion, as painful style has beat comfort clothing once again. While some 1980s clothing trends are making a huge comeback, sadly the shoulder pad was not invited. But honestly, in today’s culture of big bag torture it’s a must-buy gift for people who tote around a little too much.

Where to go:
Much to my shoulders’ chagrin when searching online for shoulder pads the first few sites that pop up were for football shoulder pads. Now athletic padding should definitely hold up to whatever a purse, I’m sorry, a bag, can hold, but even if you’re going retro you still want it to look semi-stylisg. So, fortunately, I found a site that sales shoulder padding for everyday wear. Yay, for happy, healthy shoulders!

Kathleen Kirkwood “Perfectly Natural” Shoulder Pads
(Image from www.laurensilva.com)