Santa Isn’t The Only One Who Loves Cookies

For those who don’t know me that well and only know that I work with computers for a living would probably think that I enjoy giving techy and geeky presents to friends and family. With all the electronics out there I have to say that the gifts I enjoy giving the most are the ones that come out of my kitchen. The most technology that gets used is the oven and the FoodNetwork searches that I do for new recipes (and my Kitchenaid stand mixer which is one of the best things anyone could have invented). It seems like homemade things are getting harder and harder to find. A good example is the marshmallows I made this year. Yes people, I made marshmallows. The usual response I got of “Why on earth would you MAKE marshmallows?!” when I handed them out with my hot cocoa mix. I know I could buy them but they are just so much better when you make them from scratch. Fun too, actually. It’s really cool to see what sugar does when you cook it to different temperatures. Point being, if you’re having a hard time finding that perfect present this year and Best Buy just isn’t doing it for you, try your hand in the kitchen. It doesn’t have to be something as intricate as marshmallows. Even the recipe on the back of the chocolate chip bag would work, especially if you wrap them in some pretty cellophane with some nice ribbon. If you take some time to make something from the heart I think people will appreciate it more than even a really cool gadget (unless it can enable you to time travel…nothing would beat that!).

Have a Merry Christmas!

PS – Despite the reaction, no one turned down eating the marshmallows. :)

Virtual Dollar Store

It seems even gifts are going the way of the digital revolution in a whole new way. I recently read an article about how popular virtual gifts are becoming. Yep, people are paying money (real money at that, not the virtual kind) to buy things like $1 gifts on Facebook. These gifts include virtual shoes, beer, and accessories…intangible items that you display on your webpage. In less than a year people have bought more than 24 million of these dollar items for their friends and family on Facebook alone (talk about money that could go to charity!). Some gifts on other sites go for $2 or $3. I kind of wonder about these since it seems kind of impersonal to give someone something like this for a big event like a birthday, anniversary, or even Christmas. Webpages come and go, and people go in and out of phases too so there’s no telling if that person will have their webpage in another year or two. I guess coming from someone frugal, spending a dollar or two on a little gif for someone’s Facebook page seems a bit silly when you could spend that same money on something small, or even a cup of coffee at the local coffee shop and spend a few minutes with that person. As virtual gifts become more and more popular, I have the hope that people won’t forget the personal touch when it comes to gift giving.