(this gift certificate was created online, for free, in 5 seconds at IvyJoy.com)

I haven’t posted any new gift ideas in awhile! That’s because (as Ms. Gift mentions) GiftGirl and I recently welcomed GiftBaby to our family!

I’m tired. Very tired. So is GiftGirl.

We have received many, many wonderful gifts from family, friends, co-workers, and even clients!

All of the gifts have been much appreciated, and we are very thankful.

But, the best gifts we have received have been from family and friends who have come to our home and given their time. My mother has come a number of times and helped out with dishes, laundry, making beds, etc. My sister-in-law came over and cleaned our bathrooms and vacuumed! My father, step-mother, and mother-in-law have all come over bearing food! OK, so they bought the food - but they took the time to think about it, pick it up, bring it over, and eat with us. (my sister-in-law, the same one who toiled in the bathrooms cooked a homemade brisket that took 4 hours to cook - yummy!)

If you are trying to figure out what to give to an expecting mother (and dad too), think about giving your time to help them around the house.

Here are some ideas:

• Laundry
• Dishes
• Vacuuming
• Bathrooms (this is truly a gift!)
• Running errands
• Cooking
• Yard work

Or, just a general offer to take care of whatever needs doing

This gift can be given before or after the baby is born. Consider giving someone a homemade gift certificate at the baby shower, bringing it to the hospital, mailing it, e-mailing it, whatever.

Above I mentioned that the gift certificate I created for the image was from IvyJoy.com. Here are some other sites that can also help you create customized gift certificates:

• LastMinute.com
• Regiftable.com
• GiftCardDesigner.com
• MicroSoft Office Gift Certificate Templates

The sites listed above are OK, but not great - so if anyone knows of another website where you can generate a personalized gift certificate, let us know!

Check out this page on our site for additional expectant/new mother gift ideas …

With the graduation season upon us we thought we would create a list of gift ideas for the high school and college graduate. But as you know we don’t just give you regular old ideas here at GiftStumped - we give you unique gift ideas.

We have put together some ideas for creating gift baskets your graduate will not only like but actually use.

For the High School Graduate

Going into college you think you need a ton of stuff. I had everything under the sun my freshman year but by the time I was a senior, I took about about half of that with me. Here are a few gift basket ideas featuring the things your high school grad REALLY needs:

	Laundry Basket - One word…Quarters. Doing laundry while in college can be a huge pain in the rear. I remember searching for quarters in our couch cushions and having to use my roommate’s detergent cause I was too lazy to go to the store. No fun. To create: Buy a laundry basket and fill it with the things you know your grad will need - detergent, dryer sheets, hangers and of course quarters. You may also want to throw in there towels, flip-flops (for the shower) and some bath goods.
	Keep-in-Touch Basket - While traditional letter writing has gone the way of the 8 track it is still nice to send mail every once in a while and your grad may appreciate it. To create: Buy a file folder/organizer and it fill it with stationery, envelopes and stamps. You could also add cards for different occasions (birthdays, just for fun, Christmas, etc). A great personal touch would be getting a matching address book and writing in the addresses and email addresses of loved ones and friends.
	Medicine Basket/Kit - Perhaps some of the most underrated products we as kids take for granted when living at our parents houses are the medicines we use. Need a BandAid? Which size? Cold medicine? Day or night? A medicine kit is a GREAT gift that will definitely be used. To create: Buy a small plastic container (Artbin’s work great) and fill it with the things your grad will need - Advil, Tylenol, Band Aids, Tums, Pepto Bismol, Cold & Flu, cough syrup, etc. Add a gift card to Target or some cash for an additional treat.
	Gift Certificate Basket - Yes, gift certificates aren’t typically unique…but they can be. Create a small basket featuring gift certificates to places like the college bookstore, fast food restaurants and the local grocery store. Fast food was a 2-3x week staple for me and not having to pay made it even better. To create: Get a small basket and fill it with a few gift cards to places you know your grad will go. Buy some candy and snacks to fill the basket.

For the College Graduate

When you graduate and move into your own apartment you realize a few things…Those three plastic plates you used for four years don’t really seem as great as they once did, the one pot you have isn’t conducive to cooking an actual meal and having a matching set of towels for the bathroom is kind of nice. Here are a few gift basket ideas to help the college grad get started in their new life:

	Kitchen Basket - A kitchen basket has endless possibilities. Have you ever walked into Williams-Sonoma? That place is amazing! The kitchen section at Ikea? Plates galore! Get your grad a few things you know they will need - plates, glasses, silverware, dish towels, a couple of pots and pans, tupperware, etc. To create: Buy a laundry basket or something that you know they can use and fill it with some kitchen goods. A great finisher would be a gift card to the local grocery store.
	Food & Drink Basket - Want to know one of the best gifts I have ever receieved? A cooler. A simple cooler that I can take with me camping, to concerts or anywhere else. They are cheap and one of those gifts you don’t realize how much you will use. To create: Buy a cooler from Lowe’s or Wal-Mart and fill it with some food and beverages your grad likes. There are also these personalized party tub coolers that might be a nice touch.
	Cleaning Basket- I didn’t know just how much went into cleaning a small apartment. Don’t get me wrong, I had cleaning chores as a kid but like the medicine, everything I needed was just there. Windex, Pledge, Scrubbing Bubbles, Mr. Clean, the list goes on and on. To create: Get a plastic bin and fill it with cleaning products for your grad. Sponges, dust clothes and paper towels are also a nice addition. If you are feeling crazy consider a Swiffer or vacuum as well.

Well, those are my gift ideas for high school and college graduates and I hope you find them useful. Of course you could always be unoriginal and just give them money…

Update: I came across a couple of other sites with some nice ideas so I thought I would include them.

• Purple Trail
  
• College Candy

I saw not too long ago that Jessica Alba received a diaper cake from her mother (I think) at her baby shower. I’m trying to find the article I read specifically, but all I’ve been able to come up with so far is this picture of an article in People magazine which references the cake in question.

In my research, I also found mention of a Sex and the City episode where Carrie and Samantha give Miranda a diaper cake.

If you want to get your diaper cake from the same, trendy store that Jessica received hers from, check out Intuition’s online shop (the store is located on 10581 W. Pico Blvd. in Los Angeles).

I’m more of a believer of buying from “the little guy” and “good people”, and I was lucky enough to find Belinda Wasser’s Blueberry Babies online, and the diaper cakes she offers:

pink orchids	blue mums

mint green gladiolas	pink safari daisies

For those of you who want to do-it-yourself, check out this tutorial on how to make a diaper cake.

Check out this page on our site for additional gift ideas for expecting moms …

Know someone who can’t find anything in the mess they created for themselves?

Then, a great gift idea is to treat them to a gift certificate for a professional organization session!

There is even a trade association, the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), that can help you locate a professional organizer in your area through their searchable online directory.

Not only can you search for organization consultants by location, you can also search by area of specialty. Some of the specialties that you can use in your search include:

• Closet Design and Installation
• Closet Organizing
• Estate Organizing
• Feng Shui
• Financial/Bookkeeping
• Garages/Attics/Basements
• Garage/Estate Sales
• Home Office
• Kitchens
• Moving/Relocation
• Other Rooms
• Photographs/Memorabilia/Collections
• Time Management

Of course, you can always offer to do it yourself. But, you run the risk of ruining a perfectly good relationship!

Here’s a unique gift idea - help someone start a collection of some kind.

I got this idea initially because I saw that a friend of mine had a really cool collection he was building for himself. He started collecting stock certificates of companies that had either gone bankrupt or were no longer in existence:

Enron	Penn. Railroad Company	Gray Manufacturing Co.

He would buy them on eBay and then frame them. This collection made sense for him because he is a portfolio manager at a financial services firm.

(A train fan might also like this idea if all of the stock certificates were for railroad companies of yesteryear.)

My former brother-in-law had a collection of antique fans:

I have a small collection of antique mini oil lamps. I prefer the copper/brass bottom and glass top, but there are many, many varieties to choose from:

Here are some other ideas for collections:

• Foreign currency
• Vintage advertising prints
• Antique medicine bottles (check out Antique Medicine Bottle Hall of Fame)
• Flags from foreign countries (I have a collection of old Soviet Union flags)
• Chess sets
• Vintage signs
• Candle holders
• Coasters
• Comic books
• Movie posters - vintage or current
• Vintage/Unique T-Shirts

Feel free to share other kinds of collections that would make good gifts…