Cool Giving: Unique Holiday Gifts 2009

Game on! Time for holiday gift buying. Retain your sanity and save gas by finding cool gifts online. We’ve given you a head start with these charmers…

What could be better for you or your Twi-hard partner than a life-sized Edward in your bedroom?

Not much.  Click the link to see one wearable and inexpensive option:  a fabulous Twilight inspired necklace.

Make a statement with these cool modern plates: Power lines? One day they’ll be extinct, and you’ll be able to sell these on ebay to make your million.

Urban living sometimes means proactive living. Keep that fancy-schmancy new stroller your cousin bought from showing up at someone else’s  yard sale. Enter this: a cute (but serious)  lock designed specifically for this purpose.

Winner of most practical personalized gift is the custom postage stamp. Showcase kids, your Mini Cooper, or Fido… deliver your photos to the world.

Useful and über unique is the Threadbare 12-month t-shirt club, where one an artist-designed T-shirt is sent to the recipient each month. Bonus: Cuts down on the need to do laundry! Speaking of clean, stay away from the boring mall bath product stores and buy some real handmade soap. No, really, that’s the name of the website.  It’s real. It’s handmade. It’s soap. What else is there to say, except lather up?

Go ask Alice:  Check out these Alice-in-Wonderland inspired necklaces. You might be tempted to go down the rabbit hole yourself.

Does Alice remind you of book gifts? Then bring on the cheese. No, not the soft, creamy kind you put on crackers — but the kind of cheese that will have you ROTFL:  “co-author” a romance book by supplying names and places relevant to your main squeeze. Then sit back and read aloud together, and ponder how darn easy it is to amuse yourselves! Life is good.

To go with the tear-jerking custom romance book, get your honey (or sneezy brother-in-law or cold-prone granny) personalized Kleenex boxes. Really, I could not make something like this up, even if I tried!

All new parents appreciate eco-friendly products, but where is the fun in that?  Make it a howl by offering the rock ‘n roll baby organic gift set.

Finally, show how good you really are and do good at the same time by sending a charity donation gift card. The recipient gets to choose the organization that’s most meaningful to him or her.  What better way to spread the wealth?

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ParentZing! perk: Free shipping at Lands’ End! No minimum. Enter the Promotion Code FREESHIP and the PIN 1129 in the space provided.

“Baby Mama” Amy Poehler Mamas her Baby

The gestational surrogate star of Baby Mama, Amy Poehler, and funny hubby Will Arnett show off their 5 month old punch line during a stroll in LA. Don’t worry, Big Applers.  The couple resides in NYC, so it’s certain you’ll catch some sightings, too.  Heck, maybe you’ll even see them hangin’ out with Tina Fey and her family. Take THAT, LA!

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copied from Celebrity Baby Blog (click here to see original post):

How cute is he?! Little Archibald ‘Archie’ William Emerson, 5 months, made his public debut in Los Angeles yesterday while on an Easter Sunday stroll with mom and dad. The little guy — who has big baby blue eyes — was cracking up, probably due to his parents’ great jokes! Archie is the first child for actors and comedians Will Arnett, 38, and Amy Poehler, 37, who married in 2003.

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ParentZing Perk: Really, how much Old Navy stuff can you have, anyway? Breathe some new life into your baby or child’s spring wardrobe with fun finds at Cocotier, while saving 15% with the code “TOTS.”

Paul Rudd = Earth Father

Enough with the “Earth mother” bit. Paul Rudd, NYC celebu-papa extraordinaire, plays “Mr. Earth” in this new DVD that teaches the wee ones to be “green” …and gives mommy (or daddy) sumpthin’ purty to gaze at.

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Originally posted (and available for purchase) at the Sesame Workshop website. Click here.

“Elmo turns green in this all new DVD premiere!

Watch as Elmo and Abby pitch in to help Mr. Earth (actor Paul Rudd in a hilariously large costume) host Sesame Street’s first Earth-a-Thon. Mr. Earth teaches Elmo and Abby how “it can be easy being green” by recycling, re-using, and conserving water and energy. Abby, in her desire to help Elmo be more “green”, accidentally turns him the color green and can’t remember how to change him back! Lots of fun ensues as Abby is eventually able to poof Elmo red again. Elmo, Cookie Monster, Rosita and Telly join Mr. Earth in pledging to continue to do “green” things to help our planet because Earth Rocks!”

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You want more Paul Rudd, you say?  Be our guest by clicking here and here.  Want more about muppets? See our interview with muppet and puppet-master John Kennedy here.

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ParentZing! Perk: Get Land’s End free shipping with the following code: RAFT and the PIN 00006785. Expiry 4/7, so hurry!

So Now You’re in Trouble…(Final Valentine’s Day Gift Idea)

No Valentine’s Day Gift, eh? You can still look like you made the effort with, actually, very little effort. We scoured cooks.com for three super easy dessert recipes. And when we say easy, we mean idiot-proof.  You won’t deserve it, but he or she will be impressed.  

Putting $ Where Their Mouth Is (Out of the Box Valentine’s Day Gifts #4-6)

Got a Valentine who’s a do-gooder? Well, he or she wouldn’t want some expensive conspicuous consumption gift, then. So put your money where their mouth is: Check out Donate for Valentines.  From their website:
 

This year on valentines day why not do something different and spend some money on a meaningful cause – one of the many charities doing great work worldwide. The money can go to all sorts of good use and make a long term difference – long after the standard valentines day flowers and chocolates are gone and forgotten.

It’s not to say you can’t do something romantic with your partner – but that can be completely free! Plus both you and your partner can feel good in knowing that you have helped the good cause of your choice.

Remember your donations may be tax deductible, which makes your money go even further.

Happy Holidays from ParentZing!

Take a deep breath and relax. We’ll see you in 2009.

Here’s a resolution for you: This is the year to make your urban. style. parenting. voice heard!

Click on submit and sling some zing our way to share with readers. Or, contact us and send us ideas for what you’d like to see in the new year. Refresh your memory as to what we’re all about.  Have a laugh with (or at) us.

Then go and eat some more delicious holiday cookies. ‘Cuz zinging with us is wayyyy more important (and a whole lot more fun!) than some resolution about joining a stinky ol’ gym.

Thanks for hanging out with us & cheers to you and yours for a Happy New Year,

The Folks @ ParentZing!

Last Minute Gift for Fashionistas

Have friends or family members who splurge on an expensive purse, only to feel guilty the next day? (Or is that YOU I’m talking about?!)

Regardless, every Little Miss Buyer’s Remorse can now have her cake and eat it too with a gift card from Bag, Borrow or Steal. She’ll You’ll have her your choice of 4,000+ handbags, jewelry, and more from big ol’ bucks brands such as Chanel and Louis Vuitton. Rent by the week or by the month. Seriously!

So, it’s not too late to buy that friend, sister, Mom or Aunt yourself a gift that’ll have the whole office abuzz in 2009 about their your apparent promotion that allows them you to buy a new, expensive designer purse every couple of weeks!

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ParentZing! Perk: Put those holiday photos to good use at Shutterfly.  Save 25% off of orders of  $100 or more, 15% off orders $50 to $99.99 and 10% off orders $25 to $49.99. Use code HAPPYHOLIDAYS (expires 12/29/08).

Gifts that Go Up, Up and Away!

Admit it. You’ve never completely lost that desire to be a superhero (or rescued by one).  Well, here’s your chance to satisfy those urges as well as to snag a totally cool holiday gift for your superhero mini-me. We talked to Mariann Stolte, the crafty mom behind LuluBird Boutique. She creates fun and funky personalized superhero capes, the perfect antidote to those boring store-bought costumes and plastic toys.  As Mariann says, at LuluBird Boutique, “only your imagination is the limit!”  

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Q: We love the personalized hero capes that you make for kids. It’s a good thing that you are crafty, because I’m certainly not. Do you really sew each order yourself? How long does it take? (Not that it really matters, because I don’t know how to use a sewing machine anyway and so it’s not like I’m going to attempt it).

A: Well, thank you so much for your kind words. Yes I do sew each one myself. They take about 1 hour start to finish for each cape. I cut out each letter, shadow, symbol and cape piece myself and sew them all. It is so much fun to see the capes when they are done. Some of my clients come up with such great color combos that I would have never thought of.

 

Q: We’re also glad to see that you are making superhero capes for adults. Now you’re talking! Where are the ones for pets? Once you offer those I’ll have my gift list complete for the entire family.  Ok, so people will think we are a little strange when we walk down the street in our capes (dog included) when it’s not Halloween, but we’ll be doing something together as a family and that’s good, right?

A: LOL! Not strange. I always say the family that fights crime together is the family that stays together! We actually make the mini capes for children’s teddy bears, dolls, etc. I have had a few clients purchase them for the pets; we just make the ribbon a bit longer to tie around their necks.

I Heart San Francisco

Each month ParentZing! highlights a different city; this time around City “X” is San Francisco. Our guest poster, Helena, lives in the Noe Valley neighborhood with her spouse and two kids. She tells us why she’ll never leave her heart in San Francisco… because she’s never leaving.

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Yes, it’s expensive. There, I said it. Yet I still love raising my family in San Francisco. 

Besides, there’s a reason it’s so expensive to live here: It’s great, and deep down inside everyone wants to be here, whether they admit it or not.  Read on to see some of the reasons our family loves living here.

Celebrity Parents, Politics…(and Me, Of Course)

Tobey Macguire & his Spidey-spawn, Ruby.

A while back I blathered on and on about how someone came up with a book idea that for all intents and purposes really was mine. I just hadn’t thought of it yet. It’s a collection of stories told by mothers of famous people. You know, what it was like to raise their future stars and starlets.

I took it hard – I could have been interviewing all of those celeb parents, which would have, naturally, thrust me into the homes and lives of the celebrities themselves. In time I would become their friends, allies, and co-stars. It was as easy as A+B = C(elebrities). How the heck had I missed the boat?

And, isn’t one supposed to learn from one’s mistakes?

I guess not, because it’s happened again: Yes, someone else is working on a book that I should have thought of first. Steven J. Ross, Professor of History and chairman of the History Department at USC, winner of this and of that, blah..blah…blah…penned this: Hollywood Left and Right: How Movie Stars Shaped American Politics.

Argh.

The only saving grace is that the title says, “SHAPED politics” as in, past tense. Which means… Dr. Ross, if you need a research assistant to work on the follow up book about current Hollywood celebrities and politics, you know how to reach me.

I’ll need some (ok, a lot) of creative license to do what I d*mn well please. For instance, I’ll want to generate the final list of celebs to be interviewed. I will have set criteria, of course. It’ll include things such as who:

• donates time and money;
• is truly educated about the the causes for which they fight; 
• is among the best looking;
• is most eager to share their wardrobes with me; and
• will land me juicy parts on their EMMY-winning series.

I’ll even be bipartisan in my research, though for this election cycle that might be a liiiiiiiiittle hard. There are seemingly way greater numbers of cool, hunky and/or well-dressed celebrity Papas and Mamas in the Obama camp compared to McCain’s. 

I’m just sayin’.

According to sources out there, I could hang out and interview Obama-supportin’ parents such as Brad Pitt, who is Obama’s cousin. (I’m not lyin’, here!) Others folks I can chat with, to name just a few, include: Ben Harper (who’s married to and has kids with Laura Dern. Just how’d SHE get so, er, *dern* lucky?! See Ben in action by clicking on the video below), Matt Damon (who is being “Bourne” again for a fourth movie, we found out recently), Sarah Jessica Parker (did she officially dump Matthew yet?) and even Spider-Man.  

Oh, right, there’s the Obama email vixon Scarlett Johansson. Now, I don’t think she’s a very good actress. In my opinion she’s a one-trick pony. On top of that, I hear she’s a few fries short of a Happy Meal. On the other hand, she’s likely to have quite a well-stocked wardrobe. Moreover, she just married Ryan Reynolds in a quick & quiet ceremony because, some say, she’s preggers. Maybe I’ll include her as a footnote.

For the McCain chapter of the book I would be able to interview, well, Rip Torn and Sylvester Stallone. Um, er, whooo hooo? And, sheesh, get the straight jacket: There’s Joan Rivers, who spits venom about all the candidates.  

Meet John Kennedy: He Does Muppets, Makes Puppets. And I Don’t.

John Kennedy has been entertaining audiences for over two decades in films, television, and commercials. Any other actor would find huge fame in such a fruitful career, but John has learned that anonymity suits him fine in his job of performing puppets. As an author John has passed on his blueprints to puppetry success in his two puppet making books Puppet Mania and Puppet Planet. 

We interviewed John because, well… who the heck wouldn’t want to? He’s got the coolest job. He gets paid for doing the coolest job. ‘Nuff said.

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Q: Deep down we all want to be puppeteers. Looking back, what were the defining things that actually led you to achieve the goal? (In other words, where the heck did we go so wrong?! And, is it too late for us?)

I spent most of my youth in elementary school developing my voice through my puppets. When I got into junior high I realized that I had become antisocial. I had to reinvent myself through the other thing I knew, music. I joined show choir, jazz band, and in high school won an audition to go to Europe with a singing group. 

It was while I was in France, as our bus traveled over a bridge through a beautiful valley, that I realized that life was too short and I had to follow my true calling of puppetry. I had two music scholarships to college but turned them down when I got back home and started writing to Henson Associates for a job interview right away.

Q: Tell us about some of the characters you’ve played over the 18 years you’ve been a puppeteer, and which ones are your favorites.

The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss was my breakout show. Up until that time I had only been allowed to assist other puppeteers or do background characters. I had heard it is typical within the Muppet organization to train a new cast member for 5 years before being given a character. 

I don’t remember anyone saying to me, “Okay, you’ve put in your five years so you get to perform a character” but the timing did happen to work out that way. For this reason my favorite characters would have to be Horton the Elephant, Norval the Fish, Mr. Knox, Sam-I-Am, and all of the 40 plus characters I performed during the 2 seasons of this series. It was truly a Wubbulous time.

Q: Do you do the voices as well as the puppet movements? (If a puppeteer has to be able to sing then I never had a chance anyway).

Yes! I took all of those voice lessons in high school for that very reason. The latest show I am involved with is called Pajanimals. I get to sing and voice my own character (Apollo, the dog) while also being puppeteer coordinator. That means I get to choreograph the puppets and puppeteers, so those show choir days paid off too.

Brad: Email me & I'll put you in touch with John.

Q: What’s the most exciting thing that ever happened to you because you’re a puppeteer? For example, has Brad Pitt called you (yet) to perform a private show for his kids at the French chateau where he & Angelina live?

That would be cool! I’ve met and worked with a lot of famous people but the most exciting thing I was ever involved with was the press tour for Dinosaurs back in 1991. 

I was cast as an assistant puppeteer on that show and was only doing backup characters until the last day of the first episode when I got to perform the eyes of the baby dinosaur as he was born. After that moment Baby Sinclair became a hit character, largely because of the talents of Kevin Clash, but because I was his assistant I got to go along for his star studded journey into TV history.

Within weeks I found myself riding in limos and flying to NY, Chicago, and LA with all of the stars of ABC.  The Olsen twins, Rosanne Barr, Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis, and James Earl Jones were just a few of the big named stars that I was jetsetting with. I still remember the Olsen Twins, who must have been only 5 or 6 years old, being escorted to the bathroom on the plane.

Julie will get to assist John with his show for the Pitt-Jolie kids. Not fair! Maybe I can go as HER assistant?!

Q: If Brad Pitt calls you to fly to France to perform for his kids, can I come along as a roadie?

That’s the great thing about puppetry. You always need an assistant. My wife, Julie, goes on cruises with me as my assistant while I get paid to do workshops with the kids. What better job can you ask for? The only draw back is spending more money than you make at the tropical locations you get to visit.

Q: How have computers and all the incredible software out there either hurt or helped puppeteering? And what does the future hold for puppeteering?

Puppetry took a hit when computer animation came along. There were a lot of jobs for puppets before then.  I’m currently trying to bend the computer rules to include the ancient art of puppetry. 

My new short film, The Sure Sheep, showcases a new technique I’m developing that gives legs to my puppets.  I perform the characters in front of green and then superimpose computer animated legs on to them. The look is really cool and it leaves people wondering how it is done.