Tuesday, November 4, 2008

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE - Teachers, Hosts, Friends & Neighbors

Tastebook Personalized Recipe Book $19.95-34.95
TasteBook is the best place on the web to create personal hardcover cookbooks, easily organize recipes, and share favorite
recipes with friends. Upload your own family recipes or use TasteBook's database of more than 100,000 recipes from major lifestyle magazines and leading recipe websites. Make a memorable holiday gift for your friends and family!




GIVEAWAY
S N A P Design Clutch Purse/Makeup Bag $18 and Coin Purse $16

SNAP Design handbags and accessories are the creations of Michelle Kline, and they are so cool! Constructed from an assortment of colorful vinyl with complimentary fabric lining and design colors, each bag is one of a kind. The handcrafted clutch/makeup bags and coin purses with their decorative top stitching are great on their own or within your everyday handbag. One lucky APISS reader will win a matching set of a clutch purse/makeup bag and coin purse in the olive and light blue combo pictured at left!



Sweet Grass Farm Farmhouse Greenery Home & Body Care Collection $6.95-$29.95 Since we have a fake fir, I cannot get enough of this fresh spruce scent, so different from the sickly sweet synthetic smells sold all over the suburban malls. I swear that the candle smells exactly like a newly cut Christmas tree and made of soy, it lasts much longer than the old gingerbread-mincemeat pie candle thing from the Hallmark store. The dish soap is all natural and completely eliminated the smell of salmon from my kitchen after cooking - quite a feat. The liquid soap and lotion set makes for a gift any dinner party host will be stoked to receive.



GIVEAWAY
Karafe: The Board Game for Wine Enthusiasts $45.99
My husband and I reviewed this game with our wine expert brother and sister in law and had a fabulous time. This is the perfect, easy party plan geared around wine tasting. It's a lot like Monopoly, with each player a vintner trying to best the others through acquiring capital, acres, harvesting, bottling. The questions are fun and include tasting options too. (Wine not included.) Wine can be intimidating, but we had fun learning more the grapes, wines and industry in a creative, inclusive atmosphere. A great gift for the board game and wine lover. One lucky commenter will win their own brand new Karafe board game!



GIVEAWAY
Gourd Birdhouses by Blue Rock Gourds $12
Blue Rock Gourds is a family run indie arts cottage business owned and operated by Cliff & Wendy Overdorf. These handmade gourd birdhouses are true works of art and will be beautiful additions to the birdlover's outdoor sanctuary.
Two lucky commenters will get to choose the $12 gourd birdhouse of their choice!





The Gratitude Cookie $12.95
The Gratitude Cookies reach a new height in butter- or sugar cookie goodness. And with a dozen cookies packaged in an adorable box that elegantly says thank you and keeps their big happy shapes intact, they make every recipient smile. You'll be smiling too when you blissfully hit the hay the night before, rather than staying up late slaving over those cookie platters for those people in your life that deserve a yummy thank you present!




Hope Faith & Gluttony Heavenly Gift Pack $25 & Bars and Nothing But the Bars Gift Pack $35 & Little Cherub Gift Pack $25
Heavenly is right! I have died and gone to gluttony whenever I order these Hope Faith & Gluttony gift packs for friends. Good thing I give them away! The 1 lb. cookie assortment contains chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, sugar with sprinkles in seasonal colors, peanut butter & chocolate chip. Bars and Nothing But the Bars contains a 12 bar sampler of Fudgey Brownies, Butterscotch Blondies, O-Bars, Raspberry, Pecan and Sandunes. The Little Cherub assortment combines both cookies and bars. Each item tastes and looks perfect. Who has time or the willpower to bake?



Tiny Prints Teachers Rule Personal Stationery 25 cards & envelopes $29.75
Teachers rule! These personalized stationery cards from Tiny Prints are the perfect teacher gift! Personalize with your child's teacher's name for a gift that she'll love and wow, actually use! The apple, book worm, ruler and loving hearts are just too cute - both child and teacher will adore.



Seesorgy

See's Candy 2 lb. box $30
As a transplanted Californian there is one holiday food stuff at the top of my covet list: See's Candy. The famous San Francisco company has been making the best American boxed chocolates for almost 90 years. There are no See's shops on the East Coast, to my dismay. Maybe you'll find a cute kiosk at your local mall around the holidays, but for candy this dandy to click-er is quicker.



Tocca_tomato_candle Tocca Sophia Large Candle $36
Spare me the kitchen candles that smell like sticky baked goods or Hello Kitty erasers. Give me an authentic, organic smell that can transport me to an Italian garden via my olfactory system. This candle by Tocca has the aroma of vine-ripened tomatoes and Mediterranean herbs, fresh and pure. It's packaged with a spa aesthetic that's almost too pretty to light. Sure to cheer up the giftee when the February blahs hit.


Fretzels™ by Jill - One Dozen $26, Two Dozen $48
Fretzels are gourmet chocolate-covered pretzels that look and taste like Willy Wonka fantasies. First the pretzels are hand-dipped in milk, white, or dark chocolate and adorned with a variety of candy toppings like Oreo or Reese's crumbs, mini-M&Ms, mint, nutsm toffee...and they taste out of this world.

Mary Kay Body Care Sets in Glistening Winterberry and Creamy Frosted Vanilla both $26
These yummy pampering sets include body spray, body wash and body butter for layering the seasonal scents, and the package is already gift-wrapped inside a cute mesh bag with a gift tag.






GIVEAWAY
Numi Teas Bamboo Flowering Tea Gift Set $39.99
Perfect for the tea lover. Packaged in an exotic hand-made dark bamboo case, this Flowering Gift Set holds a bin of Numi's Bouquet Flowering Tea Leaves and Numi's Teahouse glass teapot. It's a simple luxury that heightens the tea experience and makes for a singular conversation piece, and the reusable bamboo case is a gift in itself. Leave a comment, get a chance to win!




GIVEAWAY & DISCOUNT
Satin Hands® Pampering Set $30
Now you're one step closer to softness. The Satin Hands® Satin Smoothie® Hand Scrub cleanses and exfoliates and the hand creams deeply moisturize. It's an everyday treat for hands to leave them feeling smooth and soft instantly in three easy steps.
Satin Hands® Satin Smoothie® was awarded the 2007 SELF Healthy Beauty award for “Best Hand Scrub." One lucky reader will receive her own Satin Hands Set! All orders receive a 10% discount, and all orders of $40 or more (after the discount) receive a free gift. Enter note in comments section of order: APISS Guide



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