Present Professor » featured gifts

Bag Lady

carli — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:19:51 +0000

Green Bee 3-pack Reusable Shopping Bags w/Pouch

$9.99/free shipping eligible at Amazon.com. Accompany with a gift card to Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, or any of the slew of non-hipster grocery stores in the world.

Band in a Bucket, Okay in Berlin

carli — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:27:20 +0000

First Act makes some really nice instruments for the pint-sized Picasso. (That sentence would have made sense if Picasso was a musician and not a painter, but it sounded good.) I’m partial to the Band in a Box, which includes a harmonica, egg shakers, a tambourine, a wooden kazoo, and more.

The kazoo even comes with a 34-page instruction book. Perfect for the aspiring professional Kazooer. Kazooist? Oh, who am I kidding? That’s not a real job.

Band in a Bucket Holiday Edition, $19.99 at Toys R Us.

Also shown: First Act Percussion Pack, $29.99 at Toys R Us.

Zhu Zhu’s Pet-als

carli — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 20:44:59 +0000

If you’re a a parent, you probably know that this year’s unlikely must-have toy is the Zhu Zhu pet imitation hamster, a toy rodent that zooms around in a plastic fun house. The hamsters themselves go for less than $10 in stores–but good luck finding them. Retailers underestimated the popularity of Zhu Zhus and supply has simply not kept up with demand. Compounding the problem, some say, is that third-party sellers on Amazon and Ebay who snatch up inventory and sell it at a huge markup. So, you can have your hamster, but you might pay more than $60 for it. Ditto for the Fun House and the add-on accessories. That’s right. $60. For a toy hamster. For $60, you could buy, like, 10 real hamsters and start your own hamster army.

My suggestion? Be patient. I came across the pets by accident in Target one day; CVS is known to have them from time to time. You’ll get one eventually, even if it’s GASP after December 25.

Now, I don’t usually do giveaways, but these are dire times, and I happen to have 1 Zhu Zhu Pets Fun House. I don’t have a hamster–you’re on your own for that.

How to Enter:

Leave a comment telling me which of the other items on Present Professor you’d like to receive as a gift.

Extra Entries: Do any or all of the following and leave an extra comment for each letting me know:

Follow PresentProf on Twitter and retweet my “I’m giving away a Zhu Zhu pets Fun House” tweet. (If you’re already a follower, just do the retweet.)

Become a fan of “Present Professor” on Facebook.

E-mail me at CarliATpresentprofessor.com and ask me a gift-related question.

Guess the name of the real hamster I had in college. (Hint: She was named after a Buddy Holly song.)

Write a 7,000 word annotated research paper with the topic: Mesocricetus auratus and the Downfall of the Roman Empire.

Open to U.S. residents only. Contest ends at 12:01 a.m., EST, Sunday, December 6

Good luck!

Disclosure: No product nor compensation was provided to me in exchange for this post.

Snag a Zine

carli — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:10:14 +0000

I’m a magazine junkie: the short articles appeal to my equally short attention span, and the variety of subject manner covered provides me with ample conversation fodder, which, coupled with a glass and a half of red wine, reduces my social awkwardness by approximately 70%.

When it comes to choosing magazine subscriptions, I try to adhere to two rules: Cheap is good. Free is better.

Over the past few years, I’ve paid $5 or less for subscriptions to great magazines such as Real Simple, Wired, and Smart Money (which I used as a gift for my father). Spoofee, one of my favorite discount-watching sites, often lists great deals on magazines at sites like ValueMags and DiscountMags. Amazon also has a magazine department and offers some great deals–today I snagged Vegetarian Times for $5. No, I’m not a vegetarian. But I like tempeh enough that, for a fiver, I’m willing to pretend.

One caveat: Because it can take some time for you or your recipient to show up on a magazine’s circulation log, you may wait upwards of two months to receive your first issue. Thankfully, Amazon has ready-to-print certificates to show your loved ones that a year of good reading is on its way.

Welcome Back to Present Professor!

carli — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:14:59 +0000

Admittedly, I took a long sabbatical. But now I’m back, ready to share with you my gift ideas, point you to top deals, and occasionally go off on a tangent about how much I think “Lisa Cuddy” is maybe the best made-up name for a TV character since “Elaine Nardo.”

As in the past, please e-mail me if you have any great gift ideas or NEED great gift ideas.

Nigerian banking scams will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

I’m still working out my presence on Twitter (but you can follow me at PresentProf) and Facebook (become a fan of “Present Professor).

Welcome back to Present Professor! There’s only a bunch of more days that I’m not bothering to count until Christmas. Let the fun begin!

What About Bob the Builder?

carli — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:51:04 +0000

As in, did you know that everyone’s favorite construction cartoon this side of Handy Manny is now the star of his very own stage show? The 90-minute musical extravaganza has an environmental theme and includes Scoop, Dizzy, Lofty and the rest of the gang.

A trip to a live show makes a great gift for a child: The experience will be a memory they won’t soon forget, and you keep yet another toy from clogging your home. To find when Bob the Builder is coming to a city near you, check out this TicketMaster Web site.

And if Bob’s not your thing, there are many other “ticketed” events to that make great gifts, from rock concerts to Broadway shows (Telecharge.com), to ice shows to Monster Truck shows to hockey games to. . . well, you get the idea. Not only does your loved one get treated to live entertainment, but they’ll get to spend some quality time with you. And after all, isn’t that the greatest gift?

And hey, a giveaway! We have two tickets to Bob the Builder Live! Spud’s Big Mess on May 30, 2009 at 2 p.m., at the Beacon Theater in NYC. To enter, leave a comment below and tell us the best live event you’ve ever seen. Good luck!

The sweepstakes has ended. Congratulations to winner Jackie H.!

Heart of Rock ‘N Roll

carli — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 13:57:34 +0000

The difference between a dozen roses and a cookie bouquet? Both are edible, I suppose, but only one is as sweet as your sweetheart.

Prices vary based on number of cookies; $51.99 as pictured. Prices range from $7.25 (one cookie) to $88.99 (12 cookies)

Baby Love, My Baby Love

carli — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 01:20:18 +0000

Your baby may be oblivious to the commercialization of February 14 we call “Valentine’s Day,” but that doesn’t mean she shouldn’t have something soft and smooshy to chew on. Heart rattle from Yellow Label Kids (also available in yellow and blue), $8.99 at Oompa.

It Only Goes To Show What Little People Can Do

carli — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:59:09 +0000

Back in the day, Fisher-Price Little People were actually little. Heck, they were originally made out of wood. And they made Little People versions of Sesame Street characters. And I had to walk 3 miles in the snow uphill (both ways!) just to get to the toy store to buy them.

Over the years, the Little People went through several changes–the current larger folks bear almost no resemblance to the originals, long since abandoned due to choking concerns. But now, Fisher Price has released 50th anniversary Little People sets very much like the originals. . . only not as little. . . ’cause, you know, the choking thing. Available are the farm, schoolhouse, and house set (a Target exclusive). All are portable, providing big on-the-go fun for your little person. (Target, $14.99)

Would You Like to Take a Survey and Maybe Win Some iTunes?

carli — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 02:26:41 +0000

Present Professor is three weeks old–and while we’re in our infancy, we want to find out what our readers are looking for in their three-week-old gift-recommendation Web site. Please click here to take our survey. It’s only ten questions long, because if it were any longer, it would be bothersome, and also we’d have to pay for it. Anyone who answers every question on the survey will be eligible to win a $15 iTunes gift card.

Thank you.