Don’t you hate it when you’re flipping through some fab magazine and you get to the gift guide section and start drooling over gloriously glossy pages filled with unique and delightful gift ideas for your mother/teacher/brother/manicurist/dog-walker… Yes! You think, it’s all laid out for me here within the pages of this magnificent magazine!
And then you check out the price. And, while SOME PEOPLE may be able to spend $100+ on their manicurist’s holiday gift… you, unfortunately, are not one of them.
Your fantasies of having all your gifts figured out early are crushed on the rocks of your budget.
Never fear, little chicken, Absolutely Bananas is HERE! To the RESCUE! With the UNDER-$20 gift-giving guide.
For the woman in your life…
Body Shop bath mits (of COURSE!) are just $7 and could be perfectly paired with the Relaxing Lavendar Body Wash ($13).
Eat Pray Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert. This book is lovely, insightful, and a great read. ($9 at Amazon)
For the man in your life…
Who am I kidding? I have no idea what to get for the men in my life. And under $20? HA HA HA HA HA HA. You’ll have to look elsewhere for tips on THIS.
For the person who already has everything…
GreenDimes.com For $15, this innovative and earth-friendly service promises to get rid of 90% of your friend’s junk mail. Now that’s a gift they’ll love you for.
Subscription to The Week. I love, love, LOVE this magazine. Easily digestible tidbits of news taken from all the major sources delivered to your house ever Saturday to take in with tea. Perfect for the busy person who wants to stay in the know.
For the young-uns…
BYGGA Construction Set from Ikea. I seriously can’t believe that this excellent little kit is only $10. Includes assembly instructions for four different vehicles, and comes in self-contained carrying case! We picked one up this weekend and CJ loves it. I think this would be a great gift for boys AND girls (5 and up)… because hey, everyone can benefit from knowing how to build and take apart stuff!
For the wee ones…
Blabla Zebra Rattle. Oh-so-darling. Oh-so-European. Lead-paint free! What’s not to love?
For kids who are too big for rattles and too small for construction sets…
The Night Pirates, by Peter Harris. SO cute, fun to read, and featuring rough, tough, GIRL pirates. ($12 at Amazon)
***
And no discussion of holiday gifts would be complete without the What were they THINKING?! award for STUPIDEST GIFT IDEA EVER. Which obviously must go to…
(drumroll please)
Victoria Secret
for the 4.5 MILLION dollar
“a one-of-a-kind bra, thong, garter, cuff bracelet, and hair ornament”
“designed with nearly 9,000 diamonds and gemstones”
Seriously? A thong on its own is bad enough, but… diamond-studded? What were they thinking? Clearly these items were designed by men.
I almost WISH I was married to a kabazillionaire who would buy this for me just so I could be the one to say, “I don’t care HOW MUCH MONEY it cost you, I am NOT wearing that!”
***
The discussion of holiday gift ideas is the great idea of Melanie over at Don’t Try this at Home. Go on over and check out other great holiday gift ideas… and feel free to jump in with some of your own!
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xo Jen
November 12, 2007 at 5:01 am
Great list! Mine is up, too, and I do have ideas for men, although I didn’t specify prices in mine.
TM
November 12, 2007 at 5:41 am
Fantastic list! I hadn’t heard of The Week. Great tips. :)
November 12, 2007 at 6:38 am
I want that bra. Bling hound that I am I would pick off all the diamonds and take them to a jeweler and have them make me some nice bling I can wear in respectable places. Like my hands and around my neck and arms. And then I’d tell people, when they comment how lovely my jewelry is, “Thank you! The diamonds are heirloom, I cut them off an old bra…”
November 12, 2007 at 7:00 am
Wait….if we had that much money, I think it would *almost* be fun to say, “Oh, I got diamonds up my @ss for Xmas!”
November 12, 2007 at 7:11 am
That bra is crazy, isn’t it? If they spent that money on a charity instead… sorry, that’s what always goes through my head with crazy things like that.
Anyways, I like that construction set- I’m going to check it out. Thanks for a fun list!
November 12, 2007 at 7:21 am
Have to say I am loving that magazine subscription. Thanks for the idea!
November 12, 2007 at 7:24 am
GIRL pirates?!! Thank you!!!
November 12, 2007 at 7:27 am
I got you covered for men’s gifts under $20. Buy a tie and wear it like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. Add the “How was your day, dear?” and you pretty much have a gift he’ll remember.
November 12, 2007 at 7:36 am
How much am I loving these lists? A LOT! This was a great one. Thanks for participating. I love it when the cool kids come to my house. ;)
I love that little building set. I have a builder that it’s perfect for.
November 12, 2007 at 7:50 am
I love these lists! And having just finished “Eat, Pray, Love” I can second that it’s a fabulous read. In fact, I checked it out of the library and loved it so much, I want my own copy.
November 12, 2007 at 7:52 am
The Victoria Secret Set is seriously nuts… I’d be so worried about having a diamond come off… oops, lost 2k because a diamond popped off my @$$…
November 12, 2007 at 7:58 am
Great ideas! I think my husband would LOVE the greendimes and probbly The Week too!
November 12, 2007 at 8:27 am
great ideas! thanks for helping me out with my Christmas list…i was stumped on some people!
as for the bling bra…ya, i already gots me one of those…i’m wearing it right now! :)
November 12, 2007 at 8:43 am
For some inexplicable reason I am drawn to magazines that claim $100.00 is affordable, what’s up with that? Thanks for the list – great suggestions, I love the Zebra, so cute!
November 12, 2007 at 9:00 am
Oh wow…the little construction set would be perfect for my little guy! The Week sounds great, too. I do love to read. Thanks for the great, affordable suggestions.
November 12, 2007 at 9:08 am
This is a great list! Thanks for the heads-up about The Week.
November 12, 2007 at 9:36 am
Great ideas! Thanks for the info. I never knew about The Week. I’m glad to get the Eat, Pray, Love review, too!
November 12, 2007 at 9:51 am
I was unaware that you are supposed to buy gifs for your manicurist or your dog groomer. Although, being the sahm of three kids, I can’t tell you the last time I saw a manicurist!
And the diamond studded thong..oy vey. That sounds like torture instead of a gift!
This is my first time visiting your blog..love it!
November 12, 2007 at 10:24 am
I heart Body Shop products! I could get those from anyone, anytime and I’d be happy!
November 12, 2007 at 11:05 am
Um… I don’t have enough money to HAVE a manicurist, never mind buying one a holiday gift ;)
Love some of the ideas, though… can’t go wrong with anything from Body Shop, or Body and Bath Works…mmmmm.
November 12, 2007 at 11:43 am
Eat,Pray, Love is a great book. When it first came out, I developed a goofy girl-crush on the author. Her writing style is very down to earth and engaging, and damn it! I want friends like her.
:)
November 12, 2007 at 12:21 pm
Thanks for the fun ideas :) !!
November 12, 2007 at 1:16 pm
Thanks for the great suggestions!
November 12, 2007 at 1:33 pm
Two boxes of fancy truffles at Costco, $10. Four people covered for $20, shazam! Rofl!
November 12, 2007 at 1:40 pm
Right, who want all those diamonds if they can’t show them off.
I suppose you could always wear lo riders so your diamond encrusted thong could be shown off when you bend over…
November 12, 2007 at 7:19 pm
Totally AWESOME idea to give the GreenDimes as a gift! Thanks!
November 12, 2007 at 8:19 pm
I am laughing my butt off!!
This was hysterical!
Thanks for the great ideas!!
I love this post!!
November 12, 2007 at 8:58 pm
Oh yes – under $20 (or even under $10) are my kind of gifts! :) Thanks for all of the great ideas.
November 12, 2007 at 10:40 pm
ONLY 4.5mil? Well hell. Let’s get two.
November 12, 2007 at 10:45 pm
Wow, great list! I just started shopping so this will be very helpful.
November 12, 2007 at 11:03 pm
I love the zebra!! I mean… my son would love the zebra. *blush*
November 13, 2007 at 6:43 am
Wonderful list :)
Jillian
November 13, 2007 at 11:16 am
Great ideas! Thanmks Jenny.
November 13, 2007 at 11:21 am
My guess is they went with the thong design instead of bikini or brief so they could save on diamonds. After all, encasing brief underwear in diamonds would jack the price up. So much so it’d probably be out of most people’s budgets.
So they made it cheaper so more people could afford it.
Of course, this is only a guess.
November 14, 2007 at 9:16 am
hmmm….I think I will take the bra! Yeah, just what I need SHINY BOOBS. LOL!
Great gift ideas and I love that they are 20.00 and under.
Linda
November 19, 2007 at 11:44 am
First of all, I love this list. It’s wonderful. I get so dang tired of all of these expensive things being suggested.
Second of all, The Week is a completely new magazine to me. I had never heard of it, but thanks to you I got it for $5 because I like to be in the Know.
Thirdly, I loved Eat, Pray, Love so much.
For children, especially girls, I’m giving hair accessories from Esty artists.