Home & Garden Blog » Gifts

It’s not exactly the season of giving yet, but there is never a time to not be bestowing gifts and love on friends and family. And why not take up a campaign for the environment and give everyone gifts that are eco-friendly and will help inspire healthy living? Here are some of the top gift choices and categories from EcoFriendlyGifts.com, a website that aggregates eco-friendly products and gift ideas from other websites and sources, like Amazon.com or Ebay.

Top Choices:

Eco-Friendly Water Bottles: for the active teen or yoga instructor aunt, look for a sustainable durable eco-friendly water bottle. No Nalgenes, which turn out to have a toxic chemical in their plastic. Look for stainless steel or BPA-free products.

Example:

Camelback BPA-Free Better Bottle with Bite Valve from Amazon.com: $17.00

Green Lawnmowers: This is as much a gift to your family as it is to your glutes and calves. Pushing around a basic, green-friendly lawnmower without the help of gas is exhausting! Make it a little easier on yourself with an electic mower:

Example:
Black & Decker LM175 18-Inch 6.5 Amp Electric Mower from Amazon.com: $155.21

Handmade Goods: For your mother-in-law or grandmother, this is a perfect gift: handmade clothing or accessories are gorgeous, unique, and earth-friendly.

Example: 100% Alpaca wool shawl, ‘Heaven’s Gift’ from Novica.com: $79.99

Remember back in the day when you could customize your desktop to have a cyber friend? Sometimes it was a dog, sometimes a cat, sometimes a paperclip, but either way you had a little friend that told you about updates, software, and gave advice and assistance for the programs you were working on. The cyberfriends have been replaced by stark white search boxes, tool bars, and help menus, and the tasks and tools that these cyberfriends provided have been thoroughly covered and replaced. But what about the need to have a little cyber friend? One that you could care for, feed, water and play with, even for a short time (and even if the cyberfriend didn’t necessarily need it. Let’s face it…does a paperclip really need to have a facelift?)

New on the market: Cyberplants! A real, living plant can be attached to your monitor by the flowerpot and cared for at your leisure. The hardy plants come in patented, artificial soil, and need only 1 tablespoon of water every 2-3 months. But think of all the useful and positive agents of a plant accompanying you on cyber surfing journeys. You can choose from a variety of plants for your pot, from a bamboo plant to a mini palm plant. One catch: this plant item is part of a promotional company and can only be purchased in bulk, the minimum being 125 plants, pots and installation materials. So think of this as a clean, low-maintenance way to make your office space into a greener environment, or maybe a present you can give to your friends for years (and years) to come!

Promotional Cyberplant from Iaspromotes.com: $6.80/each for bulk of 125.

Shop for real plants and seeds at Smarter.com.

It’s mid-summer, and that means your camera is probably (hopefully!) over-flowing with fantastic memories from the summer.  You want to start organizing all those memories and printing out those pictures now, because come fall you’re going to be so busy with school, work and stress that organizing the summer photo album will be pushed to the wayside. Smarter.com’s thorough comparison shopping engine features plenty of great discounts on photo albums and frames.  Here are some of the top picks in photo album savings:

CR Gibson Heritage Series, Post Bound Photo Album with Soft Leatherlike Construction & Crocodile Accents with Eight 10” x 12” Magnetic Pages: 27.99

With 8 customizable pages and amble room for 5 more packages of photo and scrapbook refills, this durable and protective photo album is classic in design and preservative in function.

100 page Jumbo Scrapbook 11-3/4 x 14”: $7.99, $15.39 with shipping

Even the most ambitious and well-traveled of families will have difficulty filling up this jumbo-sized album with great designer cover!  Perfect for creating scrapbooks and spreads, big enough for newspaper clippings!  Acid-free and archival safe.

Pioneer Family Memory Album with Textured Cover Mulberry Cover, 12” x 12” Scrapbook: $11.85

Made with textured handmade paper, this album is beautiful and hand-crafted from the inside out.  Includes protectors and post extensions.  Acid-free and archival safe.

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for more affordable photo albums.

I don’t cook and I’ve never had a big family but I love the idea of a big group of family and friends having dinner in a well-set table. Not just at weddings or bar mitzvahs but especially during the holidays. Someday, I’ll cook that big feast for my friends and family to enjoy and they will be wowed with the tableware that’s right there before their eyes. These are my favorites for Christmas:

Williams-Sonoma’s take on the 12 days of Christmas, definitely more chic than a partridge in a pear tree.

The gold makes it holiday-glam. Gold forest plates from Horchow.

I love these nature holiday plates from Target!

The queen of fabulous tableware Rosanna makes the holiday boho chic with their scalloped boho holiday plates.

Well. you have to have some quirky glasses too. These candy cane shot glasses is a fabulous choice.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

As I sit here writing this blog, I feel silly, happy, tired and sentimental all at the same time! I gaze at my daughter across the room thinking back to the days when she was a baby. She’s moving out. Off to her own apartment at 20 years of age. As we talk, my eyes drift behind her to the hope chest that I bought her when she was just 5 years old. It was purchased for her with this exact moment in mind. Filled with trinkets and treasures of the past, it’s hers to pass on to her child someday. Inside, there’s a button taped to a photo of her first day of school. I popped it off of her coat when it didn’t fit anymore. The coat was donated to a child in need but the button and the memory are in that chest. Along with many other memories.

So back to this home and garden blog (Sorry! My mind drifted!). What is homeť all about to you? Should you ask me, It’s all about family and friends. What better gift can you give your loved ones than hopeť? A Hope Chest is a phenomenal and uniquely creative gift to give during this holiday season. Hand write (or print a note in a fancy font) on parchment paper a few ideas for the recipient to fill it with. Start with a memory of your own! Send it to a friend with a child (boys and girls need hope!). Start one for your child (it’s NEVER to late to have hope!) regardless of their age. Grandchildren, friends families, nieces, nephews the list goes on and on! Give the gift of hope this year!

Below are a few deals that I was able to find while searching the internet. Please comment with your ideas or feel free to email me! The best asset we all have is our minds (Some times, anyway! LOL!). Share some ideas with each other! After all, ‘Tis the season! Happy Ho-Ho-Holidays, everyone!

$99.99 at Toys-R-Us $160 at Crooked Acres Crafts

$509.00 at The Furniture Paradise

To shop for more discount furniture, click here.  

Okay saw this, loved it - felt compelled to share. Would make a fabulous gift for design lovers and creative types (like me).

Check out these gorgeous Nocturne and Parisian Gold melamine serving trays from fashion-forward French design studio Atelier LZC are almost too pretty to cover up!

Price - $45.00

(to purchase or check out click any of the links or images)

My friend Kasey recently got married and I was thinking of unique wedding gifts that will stand out from the everyday china and tea sets that people tend to purchase.

I came across this Personalized Beveled Glass Photo Frame from Personal Creations. You’ll make their wedding day memories even more treasured with this gracefully curved frame. It stands on its own, and is meticulously engraved for truly a one-of-a-kind gift. We’ll engrave the invitation in script as shown into the glass to make a cherished keepsake.

Choose from a gold or silver frame. Warning, please enter and review text carefully; item can not be returned once engraved.

Price $49.95

To purchase or shop for the Personal Beveled Wedding Photo Frame, click here.

Mother’s Day is a week from Sunday, so don’t forget to buy Mom a special gift! Roses are classic but a tad expected, I say this year you go with Tulips! They are bright, beautiful and a breathe of fresh air!

Right now at ProFlowers they are offering the featured bouquet for only $19.99!

Plus take advantage of the following floral coupons to save money on your Mother’s Day Flowers:

Save 15% Off at Proflowers (no code required just click the link)

Save 15% Off $39.99 at 1-800 Flowers with coupon code: CPMTN15

Save 15% Off FTD Floral Arrangements (no code required, just click this link)

Flowers aren’t your style, then shop for Discount Mother’s Day gifts at: Best Mother’s Day Discounts  

Still searching for the perfect gift for your Mom? Well so am I! I say we help each other out, here are some great ideas for Mother’s Day. Do you have any gift ideas for me?

Really set the bar high, go personal this year! I think a handwritten note from yours truly saying exactly how you feel about your mother coupled with maybe a family picture or a solo of your beautiful mug would be a great gift for Mom. Shows you care, that your remotely creative and she will treasure the sentiment for years to come.

Personalized Mother’s Day Gift Frame - $24.95

Flowers are a classic! Good for many and most occasions as I like to put it. This Mother’s Day Arrangement from Cheap Flowers is a beautiful and timeless staple. Let’s face it you can’t go wrong with a fragrant and colorful bouquet!

Mother’s Day Arrangement - $55.00

If your mom is anything like mine all you really have to do is send over some sweets for the sweet! Ha! I can’t count how many times I have purchased a gift box of cookies or candies for the woman, yet it never fails to please. Why mess with a good formula! Mrs. Beasleys has a wide variety of gift baskets for Mother’s Day. This particular package serves 8 and contains a delicious assortment of Mrs. Beasley’s famous Mini-Muffins, Cookies, Brownie Bars and our signature chocolate Truffle Cookies, made with Ghirardelli® chocolate. The woven basket is lined with plastic to double as a colorful spring planter.

Mrs. Beasleys Mother’s Day Gift Basket - $49.95

Regardless of what you purchase for Mom this year, I am sure she will love it. Mainly because she loves you!

BONUS:

Check out the slew of Mother’s Day Gift Coupons and Gift Ideas, click here!  

Let’s review this week in Smarter Home & Garden Blog, in case you missed it!

Well first of all its Easter Sunday Week for all you Bunny lovers or religious folks!

Monday started the week off with a bang for everyone who enjoys the green ale! Check out this week’s funny photo of the week that is both frightening and festive. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Great Deals are few and far between, don’t miss this 16 piece discount set from Sango.com...

Let the new spring breeze sweep through your house with discount wood plantation shutters...

Can you believe that these salty egg holders are completely biodegradable, edible and help keep your eggs fresh and non-smelly! I couldn’t either, check out this great design concept…

Last but certainly not least, browse the adorable collection of discount Easter themed napkins, guest towels, tea sets and more at our Easter Deal of the Week!