I’ve always loved kitschy little Halloween goodies - for example, I wore my orange pumpkin slippers year-round until they wore out sometime in May. I figure, if it’s adorable enough, why limit it to October? These awesome “Spöka” lights from IKEA definitely fit the bill off “too damned cute to hide down in the basement until next October”.
The pastel ghosties come in three colors (red is tall & skinny; indigo is a medium build; green is short and squat). The light is turned on and off by pressing the ghost’s head, which just adds to the overwhelming cuteness these little Kirby-esque creatures add to your home… and at only $14.99 a pop, you can easily populate your house with enough to become a regular Boo Manor!
Thus far, the Spöka lamps seem to be exclusive to IKEA’s Children’s Lighting department. Let me know if you find them anywhere else!
2007’s
Transformers reincarnation was one of the year’s smash hit movies, and we all took sides. The morally upstanding Autobots, or the scheming & destructive Decepticons? Whichever side you pledged your allegiance to, showcasing your decision has never been easier with these kickass
Transformers Pillows from
Think Geek.Choose from Autobot or Decepticon, or stay neutral and get both… either way, you’ll snuggle your way to victory over the Allspark. Autobot Pillow is approx. 15″ tall; Decepticon Pillow is approx. 17″ tall.
The pillows are $19.99 each and, as far as I know, are exclusive to Think Geek.
disposable gloves
Mix CDs are a super popular gift, and for good reason. They’re deeply personal, custom-tailored to the recipient’s tastes, and show that the giver cares enough to dedicate time and energy to the person who is on the receiving end. But most mix CDs have one glaring problem: they tend to be ugly. Boring, plain, however you want to describe it - a silver disk with nothing but a sharpied “HoLiDaY mIx 2007″ (or worse, a CD-R brand logo) is not cute. There’s no holiday cheer!
Leave it to the masters of cute, Fred Flare, to solve this conundrum. Their holiday-themed CD decorating kit will turn your mixes from blah to brilliant in the blink of an eye. The kit includes a festive assortment of sleeves, labels, and stickers that will make your gift the hit of the season. It’s about time that our solid standby of DIY music got a tinseled-out update.
The kit is available from Fred Flare for $16.95, blank CDs not included.
caribbean cruises
The highly-rated Zune is one of the most coveted items out there this holiday season, and with good reason - it does almost everything. Music, games (the Zune is compatible with your Xbox 360, letting you create your own soundtracks for your favorite games), videos, photos, podcasts, radio - all in the palm of your hand. Adding and sharing media is also a snap with the Zune’s wireless transfer system (you can both download and send files without the need of any sort of cables).The 30GB model holds up to 7,500 songs, or 25,000 pictures, or 100 hours of video. How much does all this goodness cost? Well, it usually retails for $249.99, but
Amazon is currently running a fantastic promo and has them on sale from $133.95 (brown) to $159.95 (white) - yes, that’s an average saving of $100 off. Seriously.
All five colors are currently available at Amazon.
Akavar
If you’re a coffee junkie (or just crazy about sleek kitchen appliances), you MUST try the
Senseo - I have the original model and it’s truly fabulous. Not only does the coffee pod system eliminate messy coffee grounds and make cleanup all but nonexistent, your cup of coffee is produced within thirty seconds. No joke. You can go from “Hmm, coffee would be nice” to sipping a steaming cup of java within a minute! The Senseo produces a smooth, frothy-on-top confection that seriously rivals your local Starbucks.The best part? The Senseo models begin around $65, but if you fill out the survey at
Share Senseo, you can get approved to get your very own Senseo Original shipped to you for a whopping $15.They also include a box of goodies: you get a bag of coffee pods (I got dark roast, but I’m hearing reports of medium roast also being shipped out), steel coffee pod storage canister, five coupons for $20 off a Senseo to give to friends (after all, this giveaway is really an elaborate and awesome marketing campaign), and a random coupon for $1 off any Sara Lee product.
I got my invitation to particpate within three days of filling out the survey, and received my Senseo two days after paying the $15 shipping fee. As you can probably tell, it’s true love.
Visit sharesenseo.com to apply for the $15 offer; if you don’t get invited to participate but still crave a kick-ass coffee maker, you can still get a pretty cool machine-and-goodies package at Amazon for anywhere from $60 (basic black) to $80 (various colors).
baby cribs
