A shopping blog of cool gift ideas

Most people in the workforce only daydream of playing hooky and hitting the links, but after retirement, there's ample time to swing away. For those people ready to tee off, the Hole in One Golf Bag is a great retirement gift.

Whether they're planning a golf getaway or just spending every afternoon on the green, this gift basket is sure to please. Filled with everything a pro needs like chocolate golf balls, key lime cookies, a sport-top water bottle, collector's mug and more, this golf bag carrier also functions as an insulated cooler. Perfect for those 19th hole refreshments. Snag one for your favorite Country Clubber or the Active Retiree!

Golf Gift Basket - Hole in One Golf Bag starting at $69.99

Experience has shown me there are three kinds of retirees: the volunteer, the hobbyist and the stock watcher. And while a volunteer may have some hobbies, and a hobbyist may volunteer from time to time, at their core, they embrace a set of values that clearly differentiate them from each other.

The stock watcher type will love the StockCast Wireless Stock Market Tracker as a retirement gift. Updated every 15 minutes with easy-to-read numbers and icons clearly showing the gains and losses, the Stock Market Tracker is convenient and reliable…and way more fun than pasting photos in a scrapbook–at least for the stock watcher! 

StockCast Wireless Stock Market Tracker starting at $85

When the world moved away from LPs in favor of the CD, many were saddened by the loss of the 12" x 12" album cover as a piece of art. Well now those nostalgic music lovers have an easy way to display their prized LPs from their collection. The music purist can take their albums out of the crates and easily frame and display cover art in a set of album frames.

You can purchase the frames individually, but I recommend the set of four to create a cool montage of classic LP art. This is a perfect gift for the Music Lover who is <ehem> mature enough to have a prized vinyl collection. Make a note because Father's Day is a great call for this one too.

LP Album Frames (Set of 4) starting at $49.95 

I love my job, but there are definitely times–like this week–when temperatures have dipped into the single digits here in New York that I'd love nothing more than to pack it all in, move to some island in the Caribbean and open a gift shop. Sadly, that idea just isn't practical, and retirement is a long way off for me.

I can, however, live vicariously through some of my family members' retirements as they jet off from one long vacation to another. If you know someone who is also about to embark on the life of leisure, a Monogrammed Leather Passport Case would make a wonderful retirement gift. Just try not to get jealous when they use it on their trip to your fantasy island.

Monogrammed Leather Passport Case starting at $99.50

As a golfer and a Gift Guru, I'm always on the lookout for terrific golf gifts, and I just found my favorite one of the year: the ESPN Golf School experience. With over 50 locations nationwide, this school is geared for everyone from beginners to those who want to fine tune their games.

The golf experience is both helpful and flat out a great deal at the same time. Not only does the recipient get about 6 hours of instruction (with a 6:1 student to teacher ratio), but there's also a $400 gift card from Callaway thrown in. It's the ultimate gift for the country clubber. So with some new skills and fancy new clubs, there will be absolutely no excuses for rounds in the triple digits. And since you can email or print this gift at the very last minute, there's absolutely no excuse not to give this gift on Christmas morning.

ESPN Golf School Starting at $525

For retirement parties, you pretty much have two options. You can either give a personalized commemorative or you can give a gift that’ll get used during all those extra hours available in a work-free day. That’s where this gift comes in. A backyard practice net is the perfect gift for the retiree that plans to better his golf game.

He won’t have to spend his retirement fund on driving range fees and he can make as much noise as he wants when he can’t get his swing right. And I bet once he gets all the mulligans out at home, it’ll be a whole lot easier for him to relax and enjoy himself on the course.

Titan Practice Net starting at $119.98

I just started obsessively TiVo’ing the Travel Channel’s series 1,000 Places to See Before You Die (Thursdays at 9 p.m.). The show is based on the popular book of the same name and follows a couple around the world as they visit a bunch of the amazing spots the author, Patricia Schultz, writes about. I must admit, I’m insanely jealous of the lucky travelers and wish I had the vacation days and cash to follow in their footsteps.

Really there’s only a few times in life when you’ll have the chance to do such a massive string of traveling: if you become independently wealthy (note: buy winning lottery ticket tonight) or when you retire. And since all the retirees I know have a tendency to get bored without work, you might want to give them this book so they have a few good ideas of what to do, or 1,000 to be exact.

1,000 Places to See Before You Die starting at $22.36

Every summer by about this time, either my inflatable raft starts getting a hole or my daughter has decided to permanently perch on my favorite outdoor chair. I definitely need a lounger upgrade and boy have I found it!

The Man’s Best Lounge Chair is genius. It’s got a bunch of cup holders, a canopy shade to block that hot sun, zippered pockets for gear, and it’s made of durable fabric. I’m not letting anyone near this.

And I’m willing to bet that every guy you know who spends time at the beach or a pool would love to stake his claim on one of these. Give it as a birthday gift, to the guy who hosts you for a weekend at the lake, or let your dad spend his retirement relaxing on the open water.

Man’s Best Lounge Chair starting at $198

Check out this cookie: it’s me!

My parents sent a bunch of these to me as a congratulations gift when Gifts.com won the People’s Voice Webby Award. They were a big hit around the office, and the quality of the image is impressive. Our picture here doesn’t really do it justice (no offense Dan T.!).

Corso’s Cookies can print anything on a cookie, as long as the image is in the correct format, so they’re a great way to celebrate all kinds of photo-worthy occasions like birthdays, retirements, and new babies.

Logo Cookie Gift Basket starting at $39.95

If you’re looking for a truly personalized gift, forget monogramming. It’s time to take your personalized gifting to a whole new level with this custom-made comic.

Artist Mark Weber, published in the New York Times and Rolling Stone, will produce an 11″ x 14″ six-pane comic drawn just for you. You have to get your creative juices flowing since you’re responsible for coming up with the text and image ideas, but after that it’s up to the pro to make it look good. So don’t worry if you have zero artistic skills.

It’s a unique idea for anniversaries, birthdays, retirement and any other occasion that lends itself to laughs. In fact, we’ve got our eye on this as a strong contender for Father’s Day.

Custom-Drawn Mark Weber Comic starting at $200