Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Guest Blogger- Father's Day Post

Three Jewels In My Crown would like to welcome Jen B as today's guest blogger.

Jen is a local girl who grew up in Lindsay, moved away for university and to travel as a nanny, then returned  home to attend grad school. Here she met her husband of 4 years, and they have an 18-month old son, Carson (aka Toad). Jen is also the proud founder of Shop Little Jenny Wren, an Etsy shop where she sells her handmade acessories for mamas and chicks.  Jen loves being a stay at home mom to Carson, teaching online, and everything domestic: cooking, baking, canning/preserving, homekeeping, sewing and crochet. One of her mentors is The Pioneer Woman and she lives vicariously through her. Jen hopes to continue to grow her business in the future and enjoy sharing each moment with Toad.
Take it away Jen B....





It’s my pleasure to be a guest blogger on Three Jewels in My Crown.  As an avid follower, I thought that I would take a stab at sharing some information with Crystal’s readers.

Father’s Day is just around the bend—and although it can be a day to celebrate all the dads in our lives, sometimes it is a daunting task to find an appropriate gift.

Many factors come into play as you are racking your brain to come up with an idea for a Father’s Day gift! Instead of wandering around the local mall aimlessly, I hope to inspire you with some ideas to buy and/or make for your man.

Now that we've established how I’m going to help you, it’s your turn to figure out just what you want.

I’m going to call it High-Low.  Maybe you’ve seen this in the latest issue of Cosmo.  Basically, although designers and inventors come up with products that have a costly price tag—there always seems to be a "knockoff" version that costs much less or a DIY version (which is often more fun!) I’ll show you a bit of both, in a series of categories.

Gadgets
For those of you who like “practical” gifts here are a few ideas:


All men love gadgets.  Don’t ask why. We all have “junk” drawers full of the "things".  It’s basically because if a guy wants something they go ahead and purchase it.  We buy them gadgets because it's pretty much the only thing they don’t have.

High
Gaming Console (Wii, PS2, etc.) or iPod Touch or iPad.
A great gift if you’ve always wanted one yourself.  Buy it for the man in your life and then reap the benefits. Check out these online stores Future Shop, Staples, Best Buy to purchase the above mentioned
They NEVER go on sale, so don’t bother waiting.

Low
Dollar Store or DIY
You’d be surprised what they have at the dollar store!  For example, I saw an iPod carrying case.  This is a really cool thing for storing your memory cards and golfing accessories.

For creative ideas on DIY gadgets you should check out Coolest Gadgets.com 
You can definitely make a DIY gift with gadgets you already have at home.  I’m not sure if you could make up your own gadget but you could definitely modify something to make it a unique gift for you man.
I personally love the coffee cup lamp but check this out!

Food
Ok, so this may sound a bit obvious-everyone needs to eat, right? Well, food can be a great gift to give.  It is practical but I think it deserves its on category.  All men love to eat.  We all know the best way to their heart is through their stomach.

High
Personal Chef or Gourmet Food

Ok, so who wouldn’t want to receive a personal chef as a gift?  If you have the money you could hire a personal chef for a day, a week or even a month to come and cook for your man (Again, you will be the one reaping the benefits of this gift as well)
Visit Hire A Chef online.  I found a local chef who gives cooking lessons, caters dinner parties, organizes of your kitchen and implements meal planning. They don’t give prices.  Most likely, because most people can't afford it.  Otherwise, it may be fun idea for a special dinner!

Gourmet food is everywhere. Sometimes it can be ridiculously priced! For an extraordinary treats try
The Gourmet Food Store.  They have gift packages such as the “Caviar Sampler” for $75 and the 102 year old Basalmic Vinegar for $142. Wow.

Low
DIY Cookbook, Favourite Meal or A Unusual Treat

Obviously, DIY is an easy route for food. 
A few ideas include:
  • First, you could gather your new and/or old favourite recipes and make a cookbook for your man.
  • You could cook his favourite meal or make some coupons that promise you’ll cook his favourite liver and onions (even though you hate it)
  • What about an unusal treat? Why not try chocolate covered bacon!  I was almost sick to my stomach when I looked at the strange list of food on this {site} Caution if you have a weak stomach ICK
Original
If you *must* think of something totally outstanding, here are some very unique, once-in-a-lifetime ideas for gifts.

  • Tickets to  the theatre, concert or sporting event
High
Ticket Master is a "go to" site for purchasing tickets.  You could also try Stub Hub
( a site where people aka "scalpers" sell tickets.  Comes in handy for sold out or hard to find tickets) 

Low:
Pizza Pizza sponsors concerts at the Molson Amphitheatre. The lawn tickets are only $11.11 for some great bands! Tickets availabe {here}

You could also support local talent by checking your newspaper or radio.  Why not attend an event that you might never have tried!


  • Name a Star-Why not name a star in the galaxy after the gift recipient? 

High
Star Registry.com sends you a certificate and claims to only sell one set of rights to each star in the sky.

Low
Make your own certificate. Who cares if you can’t point to  the star more than once. It’s the thought that counts.


  • Buy him a share in the stock market

High
You can actually buy one share of stock for famous companies as a gift. Prices vary but it is legit and you’ll get a certificate to frame. Your man can always sell it later!
Try {this site}

Low
Same as above. Make a certificate that states they now own a share of Playboy. They’ll forget that it’s fake when they think about what to do with that kind of stock!


If All Else Fails....
If you are pressed for time or just lazy http://www.gifts.com/  may be a life saver. This website lists sources for different gifts. It's the mother of all gift serach engines.  It allows you to search by occassion, recipient, personality traits, age, what celebrity dads like and types of gifts (gift cards, food, personalized). How easy is that?


Regardless of what gift you find and/or choose,  always remember that a heartfelt card can go a long way. You can send one online with www.americangreetings.com or buy one at a local store. You can also use free online photo manipulating software such as Picnik or Photobucket to make your own card. 
ou have a few more weeks before Father’s Day, so try to tune in on some clues that your man might be giving you. I’m sure he’ll love whatever you decide to give him!


This year Father's Day is on June 20, which means you  have 10 days left. 
So, start to tune into some clues that your man might be giving you. I’m sure he’ll love whatever you decide to give him!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've actually tried the chocolate covered bacon and it's fabulous. Think chocolate covered peanuts! sweet and savoury! great combo

Paula@One Mom's Corner of the World said...

Some really great ideas! I'm visiting from Blog Hop Friday. I signed up to be a new follower.