Fifth Annual Gift Giving Guide
Happy Holidays! It's that time of year again!

So this is my second article of the year. I've now gone to twice a year. Wowzers.. And I really meant to write more, especially after a nice compliment I got on the competition article "Improvement Through Competition".

Yup I really meant to, and then life got and stayed busy.

But now holiday season rolls around and I definitely wanted to write another gift giving guide. So here I am!!!

I took a quick peek back at the previous years gift suggestions. I had listed some ideas for gifts for swing dancers like music, posters, books, magazines, websites, lessons, etc. Lots of great and practical and inexpensive ideas!

This year I wanted to think of something different. I wanted to think of a special theme this year. And I didn't have to look far.

All I had to see is that I wrote TWO articles this year (ONLY TWO!) and realized I could definitely do some research on some time-saving gifts. Things to save time. Things to clear the clutter. Things to organize. Multi-functional things.

Yup, that'd be a good way to go..

Because seeing my two articles, I'm like thinking, "It would have been nice to have more time to write." And then "Hey, what about time saving gifts!" or even "Hey, how about gifts to unclutter your lives more!" (Sheri would like that one).


So voila! This year's theme is multi-functional and/or time saving gifts ... Gifts that buy you time! And a few of course I need to have that swing dance tie in ... so presenting:

"Gifts that buy time ...for your Lindy Hopping friend! (Or Crazy Sysadmin Computer Geek Friend ... that would be me)"

And here we go! Seven of them this year!

7. The Shower Genius Waterproof Notepad
Price Range: $20 to $40



Website Link

A great time saving device! Who doesn't like a nice hot shower? Especially after a night of dancing or a day of workshops or both! But don't you get a lot of good ideas after workshops? Or dancing? Lots of brainstorms? What about all those GREAT CHOREOGRAPHY IDEAS?! So what do you do? You leave the shower, write it down, get back in the shower, get yelled out by wifey for dripping water everywhere not to mention your notes will be illegible from the wet and running ink?

NO MORE!

Introducing the Shower Genius Waterproof Notepad!

Nothing fancy ... just a pad of paper and a pencil. But the paper is made of special material that is waterproof (you can write on it when its submerged in water! A little shower won't hurt it at all)

So start recording all those great dance moves you think of in the shower!

6. The Will Return Practical Joke Clock
Price Range: $10



Website Link

Okay so this doesn't quite buy you time ... but it's almost just as good. Especially if you're in my line of work where people are coming up and bugging you all day for help.

You see, this is an actual WORKING clock. So what do you think about setting it say twenty minutes fast? That way you can take your laptop and work in a conference room, set out the clock, and people will come by and see you will return in, say, 20 minutes. They come back an hour later and see that you will return in ...yup you guessed it .. 20 minutes! They will think they JUST missed you again!

How rad is that? And now you can work without interrupt and really focus and get LOTS of work done!! Or just take a super long lunch to get some dance practice in .. (GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY!!)

GENIUS!!!


5. The SteriPen
Price Range: $100



Website Link

Okay this is kind of cool. We as swing dancers need water ... we CRAVE water. But sometimes the water coming out of the fountain ain't looking that pretty. And come on, do you really trust a water fountain installed outside a bathroom that changes water pressure whenever a toilet flushes?

Well, this small, portable object PURIFIES YOUR WATER! Forget "Don't Drink The Water" signs forever. This handheld water purifier uses UV light to destroy 99.9999% of bacteria and viruses and protozoa and other nasty little things to make your drinking water pure and delicious! Great if you travel for dancing to places where you don't trust the water coming out of the tap... like Los Angeles..(hmmm)



You want to talk about convenience and saving time? This little baby saves you time from lugging around water and even more time since you won't be sick from drinking bad water. Utilize your newfound time to keep dancing, keep rocking, and maybe keep writing website articles!

4. The Bumper Dumper
Price Range: $70



Website Link

Great for when you travel to places for dancing where you may not trust the public bathrooms ... like Los Angeles ..(hmmm).

Trying to drive away to that all-important event or exchange? Or just driving around in LA traffic every night of the week to go dancing in LA or OC? And thereby always getting caught in traffic?

All this is really tough .. especially when you get to the venue and really want to dance but have to hit the bathroom.

WELL NO MORE! No making special rest break stops ... not with the Bumper Dumper! Just pull over and take your break. Or heck if you're caught in super rush hour, the car is probably moving slow enough that your passengers can just head outside for a quick break.



Convenient, ingenious, and a time saver on the road!

3. The Head Spa
Price Range: $50



Website Link

Massage is always good. And now you can get one while dancing!!!

Good for the muscles and the joints. And what about massaging the brain? Don't forget that either. Keep those brainwaves flowing freely to come up with great new moves and be super productive at work!

But sometimes it's hard to make time to go get a massage. And those home massagers can be pretty rough to use sometime, like those chair massagers. What if you want to walk around? You're stuck in that chair.

Well, now there's the Head Spa! Wear it around your head and enjoy acupressure massage simulating the sensation of hundreds of fingers simultaneously massaging your scalp. All the while giving you freedom to get up, walk around, and do whatever!

AND if you're like me and you look good in hats, this is an extra bonus. Look at how stylish this Head Spa looks! Talk about your futuristic fashion statement!


2. Duct Tape Wallet
Price Range: $15



Website Link

Okay, not sure how this would save you time or be multi-functional or how it relates to dancing, but how frickin cool is a wallet made out of duct tape?

Talk about DURABLE!

And come to think about it now, I suppose that would save you time because you'd never have to worry about going and buying a new wallet! Look at that .. rationalization on the fly!


1. The Safe Bedside Table
Price Range: ??




Website Link

Okay you're probably wondering how this saves you time?

Well, first it saves you clutter and gives you peace of mind. Check it out... I keep a big whiffle ball bat behind the bedroom door. You never know when the nasties will invade your home and you'll need protection. But

1) The whiffle ball bat is extra clutter.
2) If some nasties come through the door, are you really going to be able to get to the door and get the bat?

Well, worry no more. Check out the Safe Bedside Table!

Functionally, it's a gorgeous wooden bedside table for you to use. But should an intruder come in, it doubles as a bat AND a shield! So check it:

1) It's not clutter ...it's a bedside table! Functional! Pretty!
2) If the nasties come through the door, your bat and shield are at your bedside table
3) It includes a freaking shield! Hit them but they can't hit you back!!

This is just a prototype by a UK designer. Hopefully he will put it in production soon or you can email him and ask him for a custom made model. Because can you really put a price on your peace of mind?

Plus it's just freaking cool!



That's it for this year!

Don't forget to peruse the previous years (where the gifts are actually what I would call a lot more practical and less silly than this year's list).

Peruse those previous guides here:
2004 Gift Giving Guide (12/27/2004)
2005 Gift Giving Guide (12/11/2005)
2006 Gift Giving Guide (12/12/2006)
2007 Gift Giving Guide (12/19/2007)

Have a great holiday season!!

I can't even begin to tell you how much I love the photoshop job on the second "bumper dumper"
photo...