I know I’ve been gone for a while. . . let’s call it winter vacation at Gift U. I hope everyone had a great holiday and that you found some great gift ideas here (or elsewhere). What was everyone’s favorite gift to give/receive? I’ll start. . .

I know I’ve mentioned Savor, a popular Etsy soap shop, many, many times, but I simply love soapstress Lisa’s “Creme Fraiche”–whipped soap in a jar available in scrumptious flavors like Blood Orange Granita and Creme Brulee. Lisa’s inventory is constantly changing–you can find a calendar of her upcoming listings here. I bought several mini-sized Creme Fraiche–they are a perfect air-travel appropriate 2 ounces each–for my mother and sister for Chanukah, and they were a big hit. I definitely plan on giving more of these as gifts this year. ($4 for minis, $11 for most 8-ounce jars)

My sister really liked her copy of Here’s the Story: Surviving Marsha Brady and Finding My True Voice by Maureen McCormick ($17.13, Amazon). I’m hoping it will be followed by Pork Chopsh and Applesawce: Peter Brady Speaks Out, but I won’t hold my breath.

As for myself, I think my favorite gift (other than the Toshiba laptop I purchased with my gelt) was the giant ceramic mug I requested at the last minute. If you know someone who always seems to have a mug of tea or coffee or cocoa or Postum or hot Pepsi or whatever floats their boat, a giant mug for oversized beverages are great. (You can find many hand-thrown ones on ETSY; you can also find ceramic mugs at any grocery store, drug store, Target, etc.)

The gift that may have changed my life the most, though, is the Peek my father gave my mother.  The Peek ($79.99)  is a portable device for e-mail, and nothing else–no phone calls, no Internet, no games, no airbags, no espresso maker, no time machine. . . you get the idea. Service costs $19.99 a month. Why has this changed my life? Because now my mother can e-mail me any mundane message she wants, from “I’m heading to the butcher and I hope they have cornish game hens” to “Please e-mail your father to let him know who played Rooster in Annie; also, who played Daddy Warbucks.” (Answers: Tim Curry, and Albert Finney. DUH.)

Please, people. Don’t put this technology in the wrong hands.

In the coming weeks, follow Present Professor as we switch gears to Valentine’s Day, Presidents’ Day, SuperBowl Sunday (ok, some of these aren’t gift-giving holidays, unless you’re a president) as well as great ideas for the everday gift-requisite events in your life. Also look for the return of the giveaway. . . and don’t forget to Ask Present Professor if you need a great gift idea. Have a great 2009!

2. Sock Monkey Slippers ($14.99, Target)

3. Gift Box of 10 Sock Monkey Cards ($25 at Etsy)
Choose from the SockMonkeyCards store’s numerous designs. (If the gift box isn’t available, contact the seller–they will likely relist it for you.)

4. Sock Monkey Dreams: Daily Life at the Red Heel Monkey Shelter ($10.17, Amazon)
Humorous account of the life and times of various sock monkey characters

5. Original Sock Monkey Toy ($14.99 at ThinkGeek)

Be sure to check out the rest of our Gift Lists.

2. Desert Inspirations Ponytail Palm Bonsai Tree ($49.99, FTD.com)
A tiny little tree. Unfortunately, no tiny little coconuts. This is either a really good idea or a terrible, terrible idea. I’m going to go with “entertaining conversation piece.” It’s just this feeling I have.

3. Zingerman’s Superior Scone Sample ($35, Zingerman’s)
Six scones (two each of three different flavors), plus little jars of preserves and honey. ‘Cause, you know, there’s no place like scone.

4. The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss ($29.70, Amazon)
Coffee-table book filled with stunning photos of creatures living six miles below the ocean’s surface. Or, you could buy them a really fancy submarine.

5. A personalized photo book from Snapfish
You pick the prints and the layout, add captions, and Snapfish will deliver a professional-looking book starring your parents’ loved ones. (Hopefully, one of them is you.) Starting at $4.99 with abounding options: a leather-covered 12×12 book, for example, starts at $49.99

Be sure to check out the rest of our Gift Lists.

1. Middle School is Worse Through Meatloaf: A Story Told Through Stuff ($10.18)

2. Cool Stuff Exploded ($16.49)

3. In Your Face 3D: The Best 3-D Book Ever ($13.57)

4. Paper Fashions Fancy ($14.93)
For the aspiring Project Runway champ, your budding fashion designer can use the stencils included with the book to design their winter collection–then bring their art to life with the decorated paper, beads, and sequins. There are even tiny little hangers for preserving each masterpiece. (Not included: Tiny little Next Top Model.)

5. Monsterology: The Complete Book of Monstrous Beasts ($13.59)
Following in the footsteps of previous “ologies” (Pirateology, Dragonology), Monsterology takes readers deep into the fantasy world of griffons, sea serpents, unicorns, and more. Written as a journal of the fictional Dr. Ernest Drake, the book is filled with sketches, maps, observations, and the ology-trademark secret treasure-filled flaps. Readers will find gems, “unicorn mane,” and even textured patches of “monster skin.”

Check out our complete list of Gift Lists here.

1. My Big Pink Book of Everything ($9.99)

I gave this to my 3-year-old niece yesterday, and she exclaimed, upon opening it, “This is just what I’ve been wanting!” I’m pretty sure she’d never even seen the book, but the sentiment was there: she loved it.

2. Stuff on My Cats Presents: Cats A to Z ($6.99)
Pretty self-explanatory. Cats paired with a different item, one for each letter of the alphabet. Because cats really, really love having their pictures taken, especially if you dress them in a sweater first.

3. Goodnight, Gorilla Gift Box ($16.65)
As a clueless zookeeper puts his charges to bed for the night, his primate pal lets them all loose. A hilarious tale with a little plush gorilla for cuddling.

4. Once I Ate a Pie ($12.99)
Beautifully illustrated book of poems told by the point of view of dogs: the chihuahua who can’t understand why everything he owns is so small (when he, of course, is huge), the rescued dog snug in his bed with his owners, and yes, the pug who will eat anything, including pie. All the fun of having a puppy. None of the doo-doo.

5. Jobs People Do ($15.63)
Follow along with Tessa the Teacher, Fred the Firefighter, Vicky the Vet, Daisy the Doctor, Frank the Farmer, and Sam the Chef as they go about their daily work. The stories are fun and engaging and the clay fimo figures are just really cool.

Check out our complete list of Gift Lists here.

2. Eco Dog: Healthy Living for Your Pet by  Corbett Marshall and Jim Deskevich demonstrates the everyday dangers in traditional cleaners and pet products–then shows you how to make your own safe, natural foods, flea treatments, and toys. There’s even instructions to recycle your old sweaters into a felt blanket for Sparky. Here’s an idea: Make one of the recipes from the book (but don’t get it dirty!) to present with the gift.

3. The Green Bible: Understanding the Bible’s Powerful Message for the Earth, $19.99, highlights more than 1,000 verses pertaining to the earth’s beauty and our responsibility to protect it. There are also essays by scholars and religious leaders as well as a “Green Bible Trail Guide.” The bible itself is made from recycled paper, with soy-based ink, and is a New Revised Standard Version of the good book.

4. A gift from Oxfam, the international relief and development organization. For $50, you can donate a lamb or a goat in a friend’s name. Heck, they might even name the goat after your friend. (What you’re really doing is donating the cost of a goat for Oxfam to use as needed, such as training farmers to work with goats or helping women start their own businesses.) Your friend receives a nice card from Oxfam with a coat on it, and never has to clean out a stall. Gift is tax deductible.

5. Organic Monkey Ring Stacker for babies, $32.99 from Toys R Us (and available only online). Made form organic cotton with no chemical treatment.

The coffee brews directly into a travel mug, perfect for those 8:30 classes. Add a pound of coffee to sweeten the deal.

By the way, hearing the term “Brew and Go” totally makes me think of The Sound of Music. You know, in Edelweiss, when Captain Von Trapp sings, “Blossom of snow, may you brew and go? Brew and go forever.” Oh, wait. That was “bloom and grow.” Live and learn. And do click on that Sound of Music link to watch a YouTube video of John Denver and Julie Andrews in a rare duet.

2. iPod Shuffle, $50

Yes, they may already have a bigger, prettier iPod. But these lil’ guys are great for working out and traveling.

3. Darts! Calendar 2009, $10.19

With magnetic darts and 12 different boards (one for each month, see?).

4. The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2008 , $11.20

Collection of news stories, fiction, police blotters, and more hidden gems of writing.

5. Pail of 6 Christmas chocolate-covered fortune cookies, $12.50

Non-Christmas options also available.

2. Star Trek Interactive Tribble, $19.99

3. Santa Dreidel, $4.95

4. Chumps Mini Series Art Toys, $7.95

5. Zombie Haiku book by Ryan Mecum, $9.99 (No, really. It’s an entire zombie story told in Haiku form.)

Then, many of us sort of gave up the paper thing and started doing all of our reading on what 15 years ago was called the information superhighway, until everyone decided that sounded too lame for the new millennium.

But then, we became so addicted to our favorite Web sites, that books were written based on those Web sites, lest we ever face a computer uprising against humanity and can no longer access our precious LOLcats. And we were sort of right back where we started, only now we, like Hannah Montana, have the best of both worlds.

Speaking of LOLcats, those of you who are unfamiliar with these captioned cat photos should scuttle on over to ICanHasCheezburger.com for a dose of of fun. Seriously, who would have thought that obnoxious cats with bad spelling and an insatiable appetite for cheeseburgers could be so adorable? And yet, these LOLcats have morphed into a cultural phenomenon on the level with Pacman Fever and that McDonald’s commercial where the kid has to get through her piano recital or her oppressive parents won’t take her for a cheeseburger. . . why does it always come back to cheeseburgers?

Now in book form: I Can Has Cheezburger?: A LOLcat Colleckshun (Lolcat Colleckshun). Available at Amazon.com ($8, free shipping eligible) and book stores everywhere.

Twilight is also an unrelated Susan Sarandon movie from 1998. This post is not about that movie. Much love to you, Susan.

What was my point? Oh, yes. Twilight: The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion; $11.89 at BarnesandNoble.com and in stores.