A shopping blog of cool gift ideas

Growing up with three brothers, you can imagine I was exposed to my fair share of sports games and drinking games. This set of pint glasses for football fans pretty much sums it all up. The rules according to these glasses: rooting for the opposing team is a personal foul, dip fumbles may result in loss of possession, no guest shall intercept another guest's seat and my personal favorite, extra points for getting your own refills. Give these to your favorite Saturday afternoon football host, your college tailgating buddy or to your brother on his birthday.

House Rules Glasses starting at $35

TGIF. You've got your paycheck in hand and we've got a few ideas on how to blow it—on family and friends, of course. But feel free to treat yourself, too. Nothing wrong with a little self-gifting.

For the weekend kickoff: A cotton hammock and a frozen cocktail will reduce your work week stress in a matter of moments so you can celebrate the long weekend.

For your college kid: A Dakine Heli Pack from Moosejaw which comes with a free doctor's note for playing hooky.

For your eco-chic friend: A fun eco-friendly vase made from 100% post consumer recycled glass. (via Great Green Goods)

For a little R&R: A Bliss Girl Uninterrupted Gift Box because it's time to treat yourself or another lucky girl to some relaxing me-time.

For the on-the-go party guy: A pair of flip flops with a bottle opener embedded into the sole so he's ready to crack one open on the beach or at the next tailgate.

For your teen: A Zeno acne zapper which was given away in swag bags at last weekend's Teen Choice Awards. (via The Swagtime Blog) 

Hey guys, if your wife is expecting a baby soon, there's a new trend that you need to know about. When the baby is born, more and more men are giving their wives a piece of jewelry or other splurge to commemorate the occasion. While there are a lot of symbolic mom and baby necklaces and photo bracelets out there, I love the idea of buying jewelry that's more subtly symbolic. Look for a piece with the newborn's birthstone like these sapphire 14kt gold earrings.

For more ideas and to learn about how the trend started, check out our guide to buying push presents. And future moms, have no shame about forwarding this link to your sister so she can forward it on to your husband.

Sapphire Oval-Link Dangle Earrings In 14kt Yellow Gold starting at $150

I gotta believe, that regardless of one's political views and affiliations, the Hillary Nutcracker should universally be accepted as hysterical. Sure there are tons of Bill jokes begging to be typed, but quite possibly the funniest part of the Hillary nutcracker is the highlighted text on the box: "Stainless Steel Thighs!" Great stuff.

And since we're still over a year away from the election, we can only pray for more clever candidate gifts to come down the pike. This gag gift is perfect for that Red or Blue stater who's in-tune politically and has a great sense of humor.

I love traveling to destinations both near and far, especially if I get to stay in cool boutique hotels while exploring the shopping and nightlife that keep the locals busy. Most guidebooks are written for the average traveler who'd be happy hitting all the tourist traps and eating Italian every night—not that there’s anything wrong with that!—but when I open the pages to find something unique or off the beaten path, I can’t find a thing.

The Wallpaper City Guides are the perfect short list of all the hot spots for the traveler who, like me, longs for a little more than mainstream on his or her vacation. Guides like this Wallpaper City Guide Tokyo have saved my trip on more than one occasion and led me to "it" spots I never would have found in my basic guidebook. It's a great bon voyage gift for the design-conscious traveler in your life!

Wallpaper City Guide Tokyo starting at $5

For the irreverent among us, sometimes the best way to make us feel welcome is to hurl a straight-to-the-point remark at us, and what faster way to do that than to lay it out on the front stoop? A perfect housewarming or thank you gift for your beach house host this Labor Day weekend is the Come Back With a Warrant door mat.

It's a great way to make visitors laugh and truly feel welcome—or the visitors with a sense of humor at least! The others might just take one look and back away slowly. But really—if they’re going to get thrown off that easily, it’s probably best they don’t stick around anyway, right??

Come Back with a Warrant Doormat starting at $15.99

If you’re a kid, you can’t go back to elementary school until you have the perfect new lunch tote and I just found the cutest one! The Munchler is super fun for kids. The playful animal designs created by children’s book artist Stephen Savage will make your child the envy of the lunch room crowd.

It’s insulated to keep your kid’s lunch cool from the time you pack it until lunch hour. And because it zips flat, it doubles as an eating surface and it’s really easy to clean. One more awesome thing–when your kid outgrows it, remove the zipper and it’s 100% recycleable, you certainly can’t say the same for traditional clunky plastic boxes!

The Munchler won’t be available until next week, but preorder it now so you have it just in time for the first day of school.

Munchler Lunch Bag starting at $9.99

I can’t claim that I’m much of a cook in my cramped city kitchen, but I do know a quality kitchen gadget when I see one. I’m a big fan of Alessi’s innovative design and functionality, their Parmenide Grater is no exception. It fits perfectly in the palm of your hand and flawlessly catches all the grated cheese in the cellar below.

This grater would be an ideal housewarming or birthday gift for your favorite cook or baker who has an eye for design. If you want to go the extra step, toss some parmesan cheese in the gift bag too.

Parmenide Grater with Cheese Cellar starting at $23

Grandparent's Day is coming up September 9. Need a gift idea to say thanks for being a great Grandmother or Grandfather? A photo collage is one great choice. Whether you go for a cutesy personalized name frame for each of the grandkids or a classy gallery frame, fill them with memorable pics of the whole family and you'll have an instant keepsake.

And if you don't want to go the personalized route, look for a gift based on Grandma's or Grandpa's interests.

Name Frame Photo Collage starting at $24.98 and Wall Frame starting at $32.95

With Labor Day around the corner, you can be sure that cooler air is on the way too. If you're not ready to give up on backyard parties just yet, you need an outdoor fire pit. There's nothing better than chatting by the fire and making s'mores, and it's a must-have as the nighttime temperatures drop. It's a splurge of a gift, but if you're staying at a friend's beach house this weekend, it would be an amazing host or hostess gift. Just think, if the evening air is cool, you can put it to use right away–you'll be the hero. And, it'll help your host keep the parties going strong through the fall season.

Outdoor Copper Fire Pit starting at $399