As you get older, you start to appreciate certain things more. Some might find solace in a strong investment portfolio, a fulfilling career, or the achievements of their children. Me, I’ve been getting into wine. Now, I don’t mean to say that I’m an expert because I’m nowhere near that title. I just mean that I’ve actually started to like drinking wine, instead of being forced to gulp down a glass with dinner at the holidays. Don’t even try asking me what kind I like because the answer isn’t going to be anything spectacular. I think of wine as falling into two categories: white and red.
It doesn’t matter if you can’t tell the difference between a Pinot Noir and a Shiraz, you can still throw a killer party (hint: just buy both). Because I only just started enjoying wine and am still fairly unsophisticated, I appreciate ridiculous things like the Party Guy Wine Head (Perpetual Kid, $7.99) that liven up the joint. Essentially, this strange looking guy is a wine pourer and stopper all in one. After you open your wine of choice, simply place this party animal on the top of the bottle. Take the party favor out of his mouth to pour your wine and stuff it back in when you’re done.
Yes, I’m completely aware of how insane this item looks. And by insane, I clearly mean insanely awesome. I mean, everyone brings a bottle of wine to a holiday party but how many bring a wine pourer? Exactly.
4 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Dimensions: 3.75″ with .75″ stopper
-Pourer and stopper all in one
-Fits most bottles
-Great hostess gift
-Made of plastic
Have you looked outside today? If you haven’t you could just go online because pretty much everyone is on their social network of choice complaining about the weather. I don’t blame them – it’s pretty miserable outside. Two seconds out there and you’ll be soaked like it was monsoon season. This time of year, once you get cold, it’s hard to warm up unless you’re literally standing in front of a roaring fire (not a luxury most of us have).
With the Pajamas Warming Pouch (Hammacher Schlemmer, $39.95), you can be roasty toasty just about anywhere that has an outlet. Yes, it might seem a little excessive to purchase a pouch to warm your clothes in when you could probably just as easily throw them in the dryer and get the same results. What about when you’re on a business trip? Or maybe you live in an apartment and aren’t lucky enough to have a washer and dryer even in the same building, let alone your own place? Then you’d be begging for this pouch to heat your pjs in just 10 minutes with its integrated heating element that reaches 118º F. The pouch can hold more than just pajamas, including towels, hats, etc. and it folds to half its size for convenient storage.
I’m thinking about keeping one of these next to my bed so I can warm up my robe in the morning before I get out of bed. It would make having to get up for work a hell of a lot easier.
4 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Dimensions: 20″ x 16″ x 2″
-Warms pajamas in 10 minutes
-Integrated heating element reaches 118º F
-Can also accommodate towels, hats, or gloves
-Folds for convenient storage
-Thermal satin interior
-Plush fleece exterior
-Plugs into AC
-Only uses 50 watts of power
Calling all James Bond fans: don’t you wish that gadgets that 007 carts around were actually real? There’s no denying that James Bond is a master spy (not to mention a whiz with the ladies), but do you think he would be all as cool as he is if he didn’t have all that tech savvy helping him out? Let me put it this way – wouldn’t stock in your social status skyrocket if you owned something even as simple as exploding dental floss? I bet it would.
So maybe you can’t own one of James Bond’s actual gadgets, but the Watch Phone (Things You Never Knew Existed, $134.98) comes pretty darn close. It looks like a regular analog wrist watch, and it is, but it’s also a fully functional cell phone. Now, you’re not gonna get all the other doodads like you do with the iPhone or the Droid, but you will get a cell phone attached to your wrist. With the ability to both send and receive calls, the watch works by inserting your SIM card. The watch features six speed dial slots as well as a locking keypad and signal indicator. You can talk for up to six hours using the included hands-free headset.
This would be a totally boss way to thwart some bad guys – they think they’ve rendered you defenseless because they took away your cell phone. Little did they know it was only a decoy and your real phone is on your wrist!
4 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Dimensions: 9.5″ adjustable watch band
-Analog wrist watch that dials and receives phone calls
-Includes watch, watch band, headset earbuds, USB cable, and instructions
-Accepts most SIM cards
-Built in battery, microphone, and speakers
-6 hours talk time
-Up to 120 standby hours
-6 speed dials
-Locking keypad
-Hands free headset
-Signal indicator
-Charges via USB
How many hands do you have? I’ve only got two and, as far as I know, the same goes for most of the population. It’s darn near impossible to carry everything you need for a party or holiday get together in one trip, but who really wants to constantly go back and forth into the kitchen? I’d much rather risk dropping everything than have to make another trip. Yeah, I know it’s stupid, but I know you feel the same way. The worst is when you’re trying to entertain because there’s no way you can successfully carry wineglasses and a bottle of wine without ending up covered in aged grape glass shards.
Luckily, you only need one hand to carry your booze with the Bottle Bouquet Wine Holder (Perpetual Kid, $17.99). Of course, you’ll need a way to get your wine glasses in the room too, which is why this drink caddy has room for both! Simply place a wine bottle upright in the center and up to six empty wine glasses upside down in the outer ring, and you’re all set. You can carry the whole kit and kaboodle by the top of the wine bottle. And if you’re entertaining more than six people, you can just carry another one of these babies in your other hand. Problem solved!
Looking for a unique hostess gift for the holidays? A bottle of booze is always appreciated, so you might as well jazz it up a bit with an accompanying glass holder.
4 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Dimensions: 12″ diameter
-Holds 6 empty wine glasses and 1 wine bottle
-Made of plastic
They say there’s nothing quite like the bond between a child and a parent. I mean, for those first few years of his life, a parent’s main purpose is keeping a child alive. But it’s more than just survival that ties these two together, it’s a kinship. Unfortunately even though most parents would love to never leave their child for a moment, it’s pretty much impossible to be with them 24/7. There are business trips, appointments, and basically everyday life that will get in the way of that. The key is to find a way to be present when you can’t be, well, present.
When you can’t physically be with your child, why not at least lend your voice? The In Your Own Voice Storyteller (Hammacher Schlemmer, $79.95) lets you tuck your child in using just a pen and a book. The pen-shaped voice recorder allows you to record your child’s favorite book for him to listen to later. How it works that each voice recording stored within the pen corresponds to a uniquely coded sticker that when pressed plays that recording. The recorder comes with 600 stickers, 40 of which are preloaded with generic sound effects like a ringing phone, meowing cat, and ticking clock. What’s so great about this recorder is that you can “read” a multitude of your child’s favorite bedtime stories with just the touch of a sticker, even if you’re miles away.
Obviously, you could read to your child over the phone, but that’s clearly not as awesome as this. I mean, you’d both have to have a copy of the book (like he’s not gonna want to see the pictures while you read). And what if you’re traveling to another time zone? It’s a lot easier for everyone this way, trust me.
5 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Dimensions: 6.5″ x 1.5″
-Pen shaped voice recorder
-Attach easy peel stickers to any book’s pages
-Built in memory
-600 uniquely encoded stickers
-40 prerecord sounds stickers
-Uses 2 AAA batteries (not included)
-Ages 3 and up
