I have been giving my brother the same gifts for as far back as I can remember - video games, gift cards, clothes, CD’s, money and so on. We have come to the point where we simply tell each other what we want and the idea of gift giving has lost all meaning.

This year I really wanted to give him something different, something fun and more importantly something personal. I started thinking about what he liked and I came up with a great idea. He loves movies. I am good at making gift baskets. So why not a movie gift basket!?!

What You Will Need for a Movie Gift Basket

• 1 Basket - This can be bought at any Target, Wal-Mart or craft store

• Tissue paper & Ribbon

• 2-3 movies - What movies you choose are what really make the basket. For my brother I got him a couple new movies I know he enjoys and one movie we loved watching together as kids. If you are looking to save some money, check out Target’s $9.99 DVDs or Blockbusters 2 for $20 deals on used DVDs.

• Movie Passes/Gift Certificates - You can go two ways on this - buy a movie gift card or buy actual movie tickets. If you are making this for someone who you aren’t going to take to the movies then I’d recommend buying a movie gift card (check out Regal’s ultimate premiere pack ). If you want to actually take the giftee to the movies then buy a couple of movie tickets for a show they want to see.

• Popcorn - A big bucket of popcorn isn’t necessary. Who finishes that anyway? Orville Redenbacher’s movie theater butter microwave popcorn (3 bags) is delicious and fits nicely into the gift basket. I usually remove the packets from the box and put a few individual bags into the basket.

• Candy - What does the person like? For my brother I chose M&M’s, Milk Duds and Junior Mints.

• Soda (or Pop) - Cans and bottles both work but it is important to make sure that they aren’t cold when you put them into the basket. They’ll start to sweat and stick to your tissue paper and it’ll really put a damper (get it? ‘damp’er…sorry) on your gift basket.

Once you have everything you can begin to arrange it. I like to put the tissue paper down, place my movies in the back, sodas on the side and candy, popcorn and movie tickets in the front. Everyone has their own eye so do what looks best to you.

How much does a movie basket cost to make?

The great thing about this is you choose how much you want to spend. A smaller basket costs less because it has less space to fill. You can add as much or as little as you want.

A small basket will probably run you about $30-$40 while a larger one could cost upwards of $75.

Too Lazy to make your own?

There are several companies out there who create gift baskets with movie themes. While they won’t be as personal, they only require a click of the mouse and your credit card number.

• Awesome Creations
• Wooden Crate Creations
• Amazon

What a Girl Wants!

It’s so simple really.

What a girl wants is to be pampered, to be taken care of. How nice would it be to come home to find a romantic setting: Lights dimmed, lit candles, a nice dinner ready to be served with a scrumptious desert such as chocolate covered strawberries with whip cream, Crème Brule or whatever desert you know she loves and only gets on very special occasions. After dinner, the evening continues with an hour long massage. He’s chosen the right scent of oil to heat up and rub all over her while she lay’s in the most comfortable spot surrounded by those lit candles. The mood is just right. The evening continues after the massage, while he and she snuggle on the couch in preparation to watch a movie that he has chosen just for her. After the movie is over, he presents her with a card he has picked out just for her and where he has written down his most intimate thoughts about the woman he loves. Along with the card is another envelope that contains a gift certificate to the local spa, where she can continue to be indulged at a time of her liking.

It is so simple really. What a girls wants is to be shown the effort, to be shown how much she is loved and to have an evening where it’s all about her.

If you have the right girl, she will reciprocate by having an evening that’s just for you.

Shadow Box for Wedding Dress Example Thanks to Heirloom Shadow Box Company: http://www.heirloomshadowboxco.com/

My husband brought this gift idea to my attention (he read this blog post about how to display a wedding dress).

My first thought was, where’s MY wedding dress and why haven’t you framed IT?

The bride-to-be can spend weeks and maybe months trying to find that perfect wedding dress. There is the time and then the expense that goes along with it. The bride wears such an exquisite and beautiful dress only once. It becomes a sentimental part of her existence. Yes, I know there are pictures and video but why not have the dress framed and hung in a special place so that she can pass by it for years to come and get reminded over and over again what a special wedding day she had.

This gift can be given long after the wedding is over. What a grand surprise it would be for your first anniversary, or even a milestone anniversary such as 10 or 25 years. You are sure to WOW her with this one of a kind gift.