A gift that touched my heart

Four of my "little friends" surprised me with a very special Christmas gift, purchasing a bedkit for a child in Belgaum, India through Sleeping Children around the world.

I was thrilled to know that these four little girls (thanks to their terrific moms) already know the importance of helping others.

The photo shows 1 bedkit that each of the children will be receiving. 4000 children in total received bedkits via the SCAW kit distribution in Belgaum. AMAZING!

The sign in front of "my child" reads: Erin Truax - Christmas 2009 -From Ava, Kyla, Emma and Janessa.

Each bedkit includes a:
towel, sheet, mat/carpet, mosquito net, blankets, cap, water bottle, bowl, plate, glass, raincoat, pillow, pillow cover, school bag, sweater, flip flops, stationery, slate, slate pencil, clothes and a packing bag.

I was so touched when I received the photo in the mail. It was a complete surprise and after reading through the newsletter that accompanies the photo, I was truly moved.

What an excellent gift!

Thank you to my little gift giving friends who not only put a smile on my face, but also one on the face of a little person in Belgaum.

To learn more about Sleeping Children Around the World, visit www.scaw.org

Still smiling -
The Gift Geek

Babies, babies and more babies ... A perfect reason to give a gift!

Congratulations to all of my friends who have had babies over the past couple of weeks -

The Glenfield/Jovic family welcomed Rhys

The Bourgon family welcomed Kiera

The Chambers family welcomed Matthew

The Proudfoot family welcomed Matthew

The Reid/Cansino family welcomed Maeve.

Congratulations to you all ...

Still waiting on my new baby cousin to be born. Thinking of you April and Ryan.

I love babies -
The Gift Geek

Need a teacher gift?

Thanks to my Twitter friend @Karmak1 for directing me to Savvymom.ca

@SavvyMomdotca has some great end of year teacher gifts.

Need an idea? Check out Savvy Mom's suggestions HERE

Of course the personalized stationery is my favourite. Check out Penny People Designs for some of the best personalized stationery I have found.

Yours in gift giving -
The Gift Geek

My new favourite find is e.t. - erin tyner

Everyone now knows that I love ETSY. I now go there first when looking for any gift. I love personalized items, so on a whim I typed my name - "erin" and found the most wonderful photographs by a talented artist named erin tyner (yes- we have the same initials too) that I just had to have. erin's etsy site features her Half Awake series, an ongoing series featuring miniature figures that she prints in two sizes 6"x6" or 8"x8".

What the gift geek thinks you need to know:
Photos come unframed.
Safely package and quick delivery
Great communication with seller
6"x6" - $20 each (printed on 8”x10” matte archival paper
8"x8" - $32 (printed on 8.5”x11” matte archival paper)
Shipping t0 Canada - $5USD
Oh- and you won't be disappointed

I purchased these three:


I plan on framing them similar to how Erin displays them on her site:

There are a variety of minatures photos. I have raved about these photos to my colleagues and friends and everyone agrees that they are just fabulous. One colleague is thinking about purchasing a few for her daughter's bedroom. How fabulous would that look?!

Kudos to erin for her talent and for putting a smile on my face every time I look at the photos. I think I am going to hang the photos above my bed.

If you place an order - make sure you tell erin that the "gift geek" sent you. Don't you think erin would do well at the Toronto One of a Kind Show? I know her photos would make me stop and look!

Keep your gifts unique-
The gift geek

My friend made my day ...

Need a thoughtful and quick gift to send to your friends, check out EAT MY WORDS. After a couple of tough weeks at work, my dear friend Amy sent me a hat box of delicious Lola mini cup cakes from Eat my Words. The pretty flowers on the top makes them look far too good to eat - but my colleagues and I shared.


Their delightfully decorative, and divinely delicious edibles help to raise money and awareness for the Stephen Lewis Foundation, whose tireless efforts on behalf of those in such dire situations warrants all the help we can give.

These cupcakes are a great alternative to flowers and the presentation receives an A++. Thanks to Amy for brightening my day! A couple days later I actually sent a box of these cup cakes to my friend Malia and her husband Vic as a house warming gift. They too enjoyed these cup cakes.

Here is a photo of the box of cup cakes I received. Aren't they fabulous?



Check out Eat My Words for some of their other delicious treats.

Note:

Every mouthful is made with only the finest ingredients. NO preservatives, emulsifiers, lard, or margarine.
Although none of our cakes, cookies or brownies are made with nuts - please be aware that we are not a designated nut free bakery.
Eat My Words treat boxes can be delivered anywhere in the GTA. MonkeyBiz items can be shipped anywhere.

Happy gift giving -
The Gift Geek

Stay warm this winter with this cute neck warmer

First - my apologies for the delay in posting. Like many, this is my busy time at work (my day job), so blogging has had to take a back-seat.

Now to my latest find - KNITS by Caitlin.

I ordered my winter neck warmer from Caitlin after seeing the one she made for my sister. I fell in love with it. I mean, I love scarfs, but Caitlin's neck warmers are even better. They pair practicality with a stylish flare. Think a new take on the "dicky" of the 80's.

Caitlin's presentation is unique and importantly environmentally friendly.


I wanted one of these for my walks to work. The size and shape allows me to pull the neck warmer up over my face and ears on those bitterly cold days.


Once the weather gets a bit colder, I'll update this post with a picture of me wearing it, as these photos don't do this product justice.

If you are interested in purchasing a neck warmer, leave me a comment and I will connect you with KNITS by Caitlin.

Yours in gift giving-
The Gift Geek

The perfect hostess gift?

Today I was posed the question, what is the perfect hostess gift? I think it really depends on the host and their likes and dislikes, but here are a few of my favourites:


1) Attending a summer garden party? Consider this unique gift. Buy three different magazines- magazines that will interest your host or hostess. Buy a basket or container to display each of the magazines. Add some tissue paper and a note card offering a subscription to one of magazines you gifted. Voila! A perfect yet practical gift, that will keep on giving all year.

2) Who doesn't love organic soaps? Check out Homesense for the greatest collection of delicious organic soaps that will make your senses dance and your hostess smile.

3) It isn't the delicious scents that make me love the fragrance lamps by Lampe Berger of Paris, it is their classic bottle designs. They look similar to elegant perfume bottle. Lampe Berger makes it possible to improve air quality and to fragrance it. What hostess wouldn't want one?



4) After falling in love with Paris, I found the nicest kitchen towels with the Eiffel Tower embroidered on them. I also bought a set for my good friend and wrapped them nicely with a ribbon. Although they were only towels, they look classic in my friend's kitchen and she loved them.

5) Stationery - I am obsessed! At my last Friday sushi and wine night with Tara & Amy I brought each of them a box of Kate Spade "circus tent" design stationery. I bought it thinking that the stylish Kate Spade box would look beautiful on their desks. This gift got a lot of smiles.

Be creative, be fun ... make your gift the perfect one!
The Gift Geek
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