(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 …

When I think 4th of July I think beer, fishing, fireworks and smoking a cigar outside.  Nothing better than smoking a nice big stogie while hanging out with your buddies.

Here are four rare cigars you wish you could be lighting up this weekend:

Arturo Fuente Opus X Cigar (Dominican) From Cigars.com “The Fuente OpusX is one of the rarest cigars in the world. It is elusive to almost every smoker because of its limited production…the OpusX has a world-renowned reputation for quality and class. It is full bodied with a rich and robust flavor.”You may be able to find them at various smoke shops or online but they go quick and aren’t cheap. Famous-Smoke.com offers a box of 22 for $750 and Cigar.com offers a small sampler for $150!

Partagas 150 Signature Series “Don Ramon” cigars (Dominican) The Partagas is created by master cigar maker Ramon CiFuentes and was made to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the brand. According to ThompsonCigar.com “this is probably the world’s hardest-to-find cigar”. Prices range from $158 for a box of 5 to $950 for a box of 20.

Punch Rare Corojo Cigars (Honduras) Not as rare as the Partagas but limited due to its rich, reddish wrapper leaves that are only grown in small quantities. According to Cigar-Review.com “Rare Corojo cigars are made with extra rich, dark Sumatra wrapper leaves that are grown in the mountains of Ecuador. The filler is a rich blend of Honduran, Nicaraguan and Dominican tobaccos.” Tinderbox has prices ranging from $98 to $138 for a box of 50.

La Aurora 100 Anos (Dominican) Very rare and pricey, “available to only a small handful of suppliers, the La Aurora 100 Anos is one of the highest rated brands ever made. Each 100 Anos utilizes only tobacco that is grown and rolled in the Dominican Republic…one of the worlds only cigars to use 100% Dominican Tobacco” Only 300,000 were produced and won’t be made again. A box of 25 will run you about $300

A few weeks ago I went over to my friends house to hang out and BBQ.  We bought burgers, sausages, hot dogs and chicken.  We were ready for a feast!

There was one problem, we could not for the life of us get that darned charcoal to light!  It was windy and the matches kept blowing out and the self-lighting charcoal or whatever it was really wasn’t self-lighting.

You know what would have helped?  This crazy 60 Second Charcoal Starter from Hammacher Schlemmer.

“…this is the barbecue starter that ignites charcoal in 60 seconds without requiring the use of lighter fluid, allowing you to start grilling in five minutes. Similar to the heat-focusing technology used in paint-stripping hot-air guns, the charcoal starter emits hot air at 1,290° F, providing a constant, precise flow of heat from the tip of the unit”

The 60 second charcoal grill starter has a lifetime guarantee and even comes with it’s own stand.  It will run you $79.99 but just think…lifetime!

This would make a great gift for that BBQ expert this 4th of July or a really late father’s day gift!

One of my favorite things about being on an airplane is reading the SkyMall magazine. I like to pretend I have a big house and copious amounts of money and then I pick out all of the completely unnecessary things that make up SkyMall.

I also look through it and every time think, ‘Oh man what an awesome idea’. This past weekend was no exception as I found one of the coolest inventions EVER!

A pen that has a recorder, an FM radio, a flash drive and can play MP3s! I would feel like James Bond with that thing!

Here is what SkyMall says about it:

“These multifunction pens digitally record up to 64 hours using a built in microphone. They can also transfer 2 GB of data and play up to 1000 songs in MP3 or WMA format. The CompuFlash mo0del is also an FM radio.”

The pen will only run you $89.99! This would make a great gift for a college student, a co-worker, the salesman in your life or anyone interested in gadgets.

To some, snow globes are those gifts you get and think, “Now what do I do with this?”.  But to others they are fun to collect and can be gazed upon for hours.

While snow globes aren’t exactly unique unto themselves, there are some pretty awesome/hilarious ones that are.

Martin & Munoz have created a line of hand-crafted snow globes featuring scenes you would not typically find in a snow globe.  For instance, the travelers collection contains scenes of a man with a giant spider behind him or a kid being held over a well by one foot.  There is an island scene with people walking on stilts and another of a man being held at gunpoint. They are really quite interesting and make you think about what you are seeing.

They also are limited in numbers and hard to find.  I did come across some at Unica Home but I am not sure of the availability.  A warning, these aren’t your typical snow globes in looks or price.  Each one will run you about $750!  Here are some additional ones: