Superstitions: There are a lot of superstitions and legends involving the giving and receiving of gifts. For instance it was at one time considered bad luck to give a pair of scissors or a knife as a gift because it was feared that the act would “cut” the friendship in half. Therefore knives were never given as wedding gifts as it was believed they would lead to a broken marriage.

Also never give anyone a pair of shoes as a Christmas gift because they would make the person you give them to walk away from you. When you give someone a gift of a wallet or purse be sure to put some money into it, even if only a coin, to ward off bad luck. At one time bakers would throw in an extra roll when you bought a dozen as a “gift” in case any of the other rolls were too small. This “gift” became known as the baker’s dozen.

Urban legends: Legends are told as having happened long, long ago whereas urban legends are set in contemporary times and told as having happened to people known either personally to the teller or to someone known by a person the teller knows. The places and names change as they are updated to fit current times and all carry a warning or lesson of some sort. There may even be some truth to the story although the people and places have been changed so many times that it becomes hard to determine what the truth actually was.Â

One such tale recounts a king’s offer of a gift to a famous golfer (sometimes the golfer is named other times he is just “a famous golfer”) who after first declining the gift asks for a golf club only to find to his amazement that the king has bought him an entire golf course.

In several different legends, although the people and circumstances change the story and its warning are the same. A son (nephew, daughter, niece…) is expecting a very expensive gift (car, house, inheritance…) from his father (uncle, aunt…) but receives a bible. In a fit of anger he throws the bible at the giver and leaves not returning until the givers death when he notices the bible from so long ago, opens it and finds the (key to the car, check to the car dealer, will leaving him everything etc.).Â

Then there are the one-up-manship legends. Two or more siblings vie to get the best gift for their mother (houses, cars, jewels) with one going to great expense to get a bird (myna, parrot…) that has been specially trained (to read the bible, sing opera, speak Italian…). The mother politely thanks all (while letting them know their gift wasn’t very practical) then speaks proudly of the child who had the sense to bring her the delicious chicken.

There is also a true story of two brothers who re-gifted the same pair of pants back and forth wrapped in very creative ways, from rolling them into a 3′ long 1″ wide pipe to stuffing them into the glove compartment of a car that they then had crushed and delivered in time for Christmas. The pants went back and forth for 25 years before they finally fell apart.

If you are looking for a gift for someone who isn’t afraid of heights, has a good amount of daredevil in them, and doesn’t find anything wrong with jumping out of a perfectly good airplane, this is one gift that will earn you eternal gratitude.

This is just the holiday gift for that special someone who you know has always wondered how it would feel to just jump out of an airplane, let alone fall 10,000 feet. A single tandem sky dive session will run you an average of about $200.00 which includes instruction that runs about half an hour and one jump.

That is also what makes the tandem jump such a great gift, since it is a one-day event, you get the opportunity to see how much you really enjoy it without investing a lot of time and money learning to dive on your own, then if you complete the jump and find yourself wanting to get back up there and do it again you have the option of signing up for classes where they will teach you everything you need to know from packing your own chute to landing in your target.Â

The tandem jump is done while you are harnessed to a professional diver who helps control the fall. You will undergo on the ground training and perform the jump the same day. You start out taking a plane up to around 10,000 feet. At that point you will jump and free-fall for several thousand feet at approximately 120 miles per hour.  Contrary to what most people think free falling doesn’t make your stomach roll like a roller coaster might. It’s more like floating on a cushion; similar to the feeling of buoyancy you get in the water but to a much greater degree.

After the minute or so of free fall you toss the toggle, which is attached to the pilot chute, into the airstream, deploying the canopy and float to the ground. There is no worry that you will forget or freeze and not open the chute. If you don’t open it when you should the instructor will use hand signals to let you know what you should be doing. If you still don’t react the instructor will deploy the chute. Most schools also have a device that will automatically deploy the chute at a certain point if it hasn’t been manually opened. Now that you are floating downward you have time to relax and enjoy the scenery, while the instructor helps you guide both of you down to the target where thanks to new technology you can make a nice soft landing. Â

This wonderful holiday gift of skydiving will provide you with an entire spectrum of emotion. You start with the anticipation as your plane climbs. Then there is the excitement and adrenaline rush of the jump which is followed by the exhilarating yet tranquil feeling of the descent, ending with the pride and satisfaction of accomplishing something that up until now has only been a pleasant daydream.

All of us have heard at one time or another seller or buyer beware - but in this case, the saying now becomes gifter beware. Many of us give with the best of intentions, but never realize that the gifts we are about to give are truly nightmares - or worse - in disguise. No one ever means to make such a mistake, but these do occur and we are here to help you avoid these mishaps. The following are the six worst gift ideas ever to cross our paths.

The first and biggest of the six worst gift ideas ever to give is the item that tries to give a subtle hint for what you consider a needed change in this person’s life. We think this is a polite way of doing it, but all in all we cause more pain and trouble than it is worth. Some examples of these types of gifts are things like books for losing weight, an audio book on helping someone with their memory, or even a book on finding the right guy or girl. For the recipient, all they experience is you calling them fat, stupid, and unable to meet good people for relationships. The gift causes pain and depression - the opposite of the intention you had for it.

The second of the six worst gift ideas ever given is giving something that shows how little, if any, thought you put into your gift. This happens more often than people like to admit to, and this is why it is number two on our list. Some examples of these gifts would be giving body jewelry to someone who doesn’t even have an ear pierced, an ‘I believe in Xenu” T-shirt for a Christian, or even a box of chocolates for a diabetic. If you truly don’t want to put your heart into giving gifts, then don’t even bother - those you call friends will appreciate it.

The third out of six worst gift ideas ever thought of would be the extremely large books often referred to as coffee table books. The typical thought when giving these books is that the large wrapped item will make the person so much more happy - but upon opening this tome of a book, almost always the person is anything but happy. Books can be a great gift, but remember that in this instance, regular sized or even pocket sized is better than extraordinarily huge.

Fourth of the six worst gift ideas ever attempted is giving a gift that the person has no way to exchange or even be able to give away. We all want the recipient to love our gifts, but we can’t get it right 100 percent of the time. So please, do not give a gift from a specialty shop that does not exist in the recipient’s part of the country unless you know for sure they want this item in question. If you don’t, the person has the potential to be quite angry and disappointed in you and your gift.

Of the six worst gift ideas ever to see the light of day, number five may appear harmless enough, but don’t allow it to fool you. We all forget a holiday or special occasion and find ourselves desperate to come up with a gift. We know we don’t have enough time to go out and purchase something, and making something is out of the question. So we look through what we own and give the special someone a gift we ourselves were given before, or even something we had bought for ourselves. The problem is the immense guilt you feel after the fact for doing so. Remember, even items that at first appear free to give away - there is always a cost.

Finally, the sixth worst gift idea ever is the one where you buy the item, actually wanting it for yourself, but you figure the recipient will not want it and will give it back to you. Please know this: this type of plan will always backfire on you, and is horrible to attempt in the first place! If you want the item, buy it for you - or you will be ending up buying two when you could have only bought it once.

Always remember the golden rule: Buy for others, then buy for you as well. You will both be happy!

Craft gifts are available just about everywhere, from small craft shops to large malls, to state fair craft booths. You can buy them, you can make them yourself or you can give a craft kit and open up a whole new hobby for the people for whom you are buying. There are specific “holiday” themed crafts such as wreaths for Christmas or Halloween, straw scarecrows and corn husk wreaths for Thanksgiving or more general crafts like birdhouses and dollhouses complete with miniature everything, which can also make great holiday gifts.

Ceramics is a relaxing hobby that allows for great creativity and personalization. There is enough in the way of simple projects that even the beginner can put together a beautiful array of holiday gifts. You can start from scratch using poured pieces (green ware); cleaning, painting, firing, glazing and firing again or you can buy pieces that are already cleaned and fired (bisque) paint and glaze them.

There are an almost infinite number of different pieces to choose from. You can make statues, candy dishes, lamps or chess sets. You are really only limited by your imagination. Children love painting on bisque (much easier for a child to work with as it isn’t as easily broken as green ware) Check your local phone book for ceramic shops to find the ones that offer lessons and in no time you’ll be making gifts people will cherish. You can find Santas and pumpkins, turkey platters and figurines of Uncle Sam. You can put together a base topped with several figurines and make it into a night-light or dresser lamp.  In fact you can find something for just about any holiday as well as for other gifting like showers and birthdays or anniversaries.

If you don’t have time or the inclination to make your own there are ceramic pieces for sale in just about every store you go into. There are decorative plates and glasses, vases and jewelry boxes, dolls and figurines. There are all kinds of sets of figurines; storybook characters, wild west towns, the entire cast of Star Wars characters, complete Christmas villages, entire renaissance worlds with castles, wizards, trolls, dragons, kings, queens, knights. The best part about some of these is that you can buy one piece for each holiday building the set slowly or buy it all at once.Â

Other great crafts for holiday gift giving are knitting, crocheting, cross-stitch and sewing.  Scarves, sweaters, potholders, Afghans, dresses, shirts and the list goes on. Change the color and the design and you can have a gift for any holiday. When you knit, crochet, sew or cross-stitch a piece for someone you can personalize it in the colors and styles that you know suits them.Â

You can always hook a rug or pillow. There are complete kits that come with a preprinted canvas the hook and all the yarn you will need or you can buy a piece of canvas and draw your own design, buy a hook and your yarn and you’re good to go.

Is your husband a NASCAR fanatic? Does your girlfriend count the days until it’s time for the Daytona 500? When your child hears the numbers 8, 24 and 48 does he automatically think Dale Earnhardt Jr, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson? Are more than half the products in your home sponsors of a NASCAR team? Are you looking for the perfect gift but just don’t want to buy another T-Shirt, hat or 1/24th scale car?

Give your race fan the thrill of a lifetime with a gift certificate to any one of a dozen race schools. For as little as $100.00 to several thousand dollars you will give a gift that will never be forgotten. Not even Santa could do better!

For the NASCAR fan there is the Richard Petty Driving Experience and the Dale Jarrett Driving Racing Adventure among others. These classes are held on real racetracks in real Cup cars. The Richard Petty Driving Experience holds their classes at tracks like Charlotte, Atlanta, Las Vegas and many others. .

At the Richard Petty Driving Experience the beginner level runs between three and four hundred dollars. For that your speed demon can hop into a race suit, don a helmet climb through the window of a Cup stock car (remember the doors don’t open) and tear around a mile, mile and a half or two mile track for 10 laps. When you arrive, there is a half hour briefing and you are driven around the track while they explain the different driving lines. Then you hop into your car and get ready to go out onto the track.

The instructor is in the lead car with two or three cars behind him each containing one student. Once out on the track, as long as you are keeping up, the instructor will push his car faster (going up to around 165 mph). If any student runs into a problem or just cant keep up with the others another instructor will drive out onto the track and pick them up so the others can continue at a higher speed. After the laps have been completed and you have returned to pit road and left your car you are presented with a print out showing your average lap time, fastest lap and mph for each lap. For a few extra dollars you can also have your picture taken in victory lane. This level is usually required before going on to any of the other levels which increase up to classes that span a whole weekend running more than 80 laps under actual race conditions at night with the other students. .

For those who would really like to know what it feels like but aren’t ready to drive the car themselves each track has a “ride along”. The ride-along usually runs around a hundred dollars and is exactly what it sounds like - you get into a car that has had a passenger seat added with an instructor and take three very quick laps (about 165 mph) around the track. They send two cars out at a time and each one takes its turn passing the other so you can get an idea of how close they drive and how close they come to each other when they pass.

Have non-NASCAR race fans on your gift list? There are also driving schools for top fuel, open wheel, corvettes and just about anything that goes fast!

The holidays are a time to meet up with those you love and to celebrate your precious time together on the planet earth. All of us enjoy getting together with those we enjoy spending time with, and we appreciate the limited time we get to do so. However there is a sad side to our celebrating that many have no idea how to help with.

Every year there are those less fortunate souls who cannot afford to celebrate with their loved one’s. Many of these people don’t even have any loved ones left to visit, and thus they roam the streets alone. So many of us would like to show compassion and kindness to these people, but where do we even begin? How on earth can we make a difference in these people’s lives?

One of the greatest holiday gift idea we can give this holiday season that lasts much more than any game console or new exciting technological gadget is giving of our time. Volunteering at a local church, mission or food bank is a most rewarding experience, and I highly recommend it to all who read this. Watching these lonely, almost lifeless people light up with hope and joy, just because someone who cares and loves them has come into their life, is something amazing to behold.

Serving food and drink to these less fortunate souls is also an amazing holiday gift idea. This can be done at a soup kitchen, but if one does not exist in your city or town, then an alternative would be to make up some simple paper-sack lunches with a juice box, piece of fruit, and a simple sandwich inside. If you are a believer, you could also include a scripture of how God love’s them, even in their time of need. Try this method and watch how blessed you feel when you know you have helped someone out who desperately needed it.

If giving of your time this way is not possible, another holiday gift idea would be to use your talents to create a gift. Making simple scarves and hats are easy patterns to master, whether you knit or crochet with yarn, or even sew with fleece. Another needed item are blankets - you can find several non-profit organizations who will take donations of knit or crochet squares, or even finished quilt blocks, and then their volunteers sew the blocks together to make completed blankets. These blankets are so very needed for these unfortunate people, and your work will be greatly appreciated.

Another item you can make as a holiday gift idea to give away is stuffed animals. Unfortunately there resides several homeless children in this world, barely getting by while surviving with their parents on the streets and off of the trash scraps they find to eat that night. Many of these children are desperate for a compassionate person, and the volunteers who give these handmade teddy-bears will tell you how a child’s eyes open up with renewed hope and life.

Finally, if you are not a talented creator, nor can you give of your time freely, consider helping other organizations such as Christmas Unlimited or Toys for Tots with your money or donated toys and clothing so that the parents who cannot afford to give their children gifts this Christmas will still have a miracle occur and Christmas be saved for their precious children. This can be an ultimate holiday gift idea - I should know. I was once one of these very children!

Often we grieve for our loved ones that have been lost. Sympathy for those who grieve is a natural human emotion. Sympathy cards make the sender feel better about their feelings of sympathy, and the receiver feels better knowing they are not alone. Especially in cases where a spouse, parent, or only sibling is lost, sympathy cards are very important in the grieving process.

Recently, my grandmother lost her last sibling. She is not terribly old herself, not even seventy, but there was thirteen years between her and her next oldest sibling. Because she is the last in her generation to survive, a sympathy card was especially important to her grieving process. A call of sympathy was equally important, because she felt very lonely. Without the sympathy of her family and friends, she would not have handled the sibling’s death nearly as well as she did.

Although sympathy cards are a great way to support our loved ones at the time of death, there are other times when you might send a sympathy card that most people do not think about. Sympathy cards are also good to send people who have gone through any rough time of their lives. Sympathy cards can be sent to those going through a rough divorce or separation. Sympathy cards can also be sent to people going through cancer or other terminal illness.

Some may feel that Get Well cards are more appropriate for those in the hospital. However, family and friends of the person who is terminally ill realize that time is short. Sending a sympathy card to these people supports them in their time of need and lets them know that they are not alone in this trial.

Sympathy cards can also be given to those in the hospital or recently released that have gone through a major accident or surgery. Sympathy can be given to amputee patients to let them know that you support them in their rehabilitation process. Sympathy can also be given to surgery patients who have lost a vital organ or gone through any other type of surgery to let them know that you support them through their recovery process.

There are other times as well that you might send a sympathy card. If someone has an infant or child in serious condition in a hospital, a sympathy card can let them know they are not alone in their concern and worry.

Some sympathy cards are actually humorous. It might seem odd, but there are sympathy cards available that actually make you laugh. These cards are for showing “sympathy” for events such as failing a class, not getting to graduate from a school, flunking a test, getting married, having a baby, getting a job, failing to obtain a promotion, and other “tragic” events that occur in day to day life. These sympathy cards are not designed to so much show support as they are to cheer up the person who has failed to accomplish something, or as a joke as in the case of a marriage or new baby.

No doubt about it, sympathy cards are the best way to show support, love, fun, and cheer to your loved ones in any time of need.

Romance cards are no longer just for Valentine’s Day. Romance cards can be given to your loved one all year round. There are many occasions in which you might want to give someone a romance card. It may be the anniversary of when you met, a short term anniversary, or the anniversary of your first date. You can also give romance cards when you are sorry for something, and include it with flowers. Romance cards are also a great way to let someone know you are interested in romance.

There are many types of romance cards. Some are very sentimental, and include pictures of roses or other flowers, hearts, and fancy borders, and usually include a very heartfelt poem. Other romance cards are funny and romantic, and usually include a light-hearted poem or phrase with a funny cartoon drawing. Some romance cards are sexy in nature, and include pictures of sexy women, or a cartoon drawing, and a message that portrays what the person giving the card would like to happen.

Romance cards are also a great way to cheer up that special someone. It is proven that when someone is “down in the dumps,” receiving a romance card will lift their spirits. It makes us all happy to know that someone loves us, and getting a romance card will always cheer up even the loneliest of people. Romance cards can also be given anonymously, so that the receiver of the romance card doesn’t know who sent it. This gives a sense of mystery, and allows the person sending the romance card the ability to woo their secret love, well, secretly.

Another great time to send someone a romance card is during or just after a pregnancy. Many women do not feel sexy or loved during this time. They only feel tired, worn out, and fat, whether it is true or not. A romance card can lift the spirits of a new mother, and allow them to feel joyous in the new child and the extended family rather than focusing on the negative aspects of late night feedings and baggy clothing. Romance cards are especially important during this time, and all women should receive a romance card from their husband or significant other upon having a child, and periodically thereafter.

Birthdays are another great time to send someone a romance card. Not only does it let them know that you remembered their birthday, but it lets them know how much you love and care about them. A romance card is much better than a simple birthday card, because it expresses your true feelings about the person rather than just saying “Happy Birthday.”

Christmas and New Years are other times that you may want to send someone a romance card. Christmas cards are often informal and impersonal, but a romance card tells someone that the greatest Christmas gift you could receive, you already have in them and their love. New Years is another time that romance cards are well received. Starting the new year with expressing your love for someone through a romance card is a great way to keep that romance going throughout the year.

Really, there isn’t a bad time to give a romance card to that special someone. Whether it is a wife, husband, significant other, girlfriend, boyfriend, or just a romantic interest, romance cards are the only way to go.

Greeting cards are a great way to celebrate any occasion, or just let someone know you are thinking of them. You can find greeting cards for birthdays, anniversaries, missing you, valentines, thinking of you, friendship, mother’s day, father’s day, retirement, thank you, and any other occasion you may think of.

Anniversary greeting cards are very popular. You can find many types of greeting cards for anniversaries. Many anniversary greeting cards are specifically designed for the landmark anniversaries, such as five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty five, thirty, forty, and fifty. There are anniversary greeting cards to wife from husband, to husband from wife, to parents from son or daughter, to grandparents from grandson or granddaughter, and even from niece or nephew to aunts and uncles. There are also funny and sentimental anniversary greeting cards.

Missing you greeting cards are fantastic for friends who are far from each other. You can find funny or sentimental missing you cards for any occasion, whether you are on vacation, or simply live far apart from one another. Missing you greeting cards are also available for lovers, husbands and wives, and other occasions. You can even find missing you greeting cards for people who are in jail or prison, if you go to the right kind of greeting card store.

Valentine’s greeting cards are very popular. You can find valentine’s greeting cards for children to pass out in classes and to friends, valentines to send to grandparents or parents, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, friends and family. There are funny and sentimental valentine’s greeting cards available. Some are even sexy or gratuitous in nature.

Thinking of you and friendship greeting cards are great for letting someone know you care about them. Even if you live in the same town, or even on the same street, you can send a greeting card to someone who is feeling down in the dumps. It is proven that when people get greeting cards in the mail, it raises their spirits and makes them happy to know that someone cares. That is exactly why they have thinking of you and friendship greeting cards! You can get religious, family oriented, friendship, sentimental, or funny friendship and thinking of you greeting cards.

Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are great times for letting your parents, or anyone who has acted like your parents, know how much you care about them by sending them a greeting card. There are greeting cards available for mothers, fathers, uncles, aunts, grandparents, step-fathers, step-mothers, adopted fathers and mothers, and anyone else that might have had a hand in raising you as a child. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day greeting cards are no longer just for mothers and fathers. These greeting cards are for everyone!

Other types of greeting cards include retirement greeting cards, thank you greeting cards, I’m sorry greeting cards, and Get Well greeting cards. You can find funny greeting cards, sentimental greeting cards, sexy greeting cards, or simple greeting cards with just a picture. The best greeting card, anyone will tell you, is one that comes from the heart.

Not many people think about or discuss postcards anymore. Postcards are usually associated with travel. When someone takes a trip, they may say, “I’ll send a postcard.” Postcards are sold in most convenience stores and travel stops and are the lowest cost greeting card one can find.

The low rate on a postcard certainly makes it user friendly for even the lowest budget. Although the postal rates have risen, the postcard is still a mere twenty-four cents a stamp to send. Not a bad price to send a greeting to someone to keep in touch.

Postcards were not created for long, windy letter writers, but for the short notes that get to the point. Whereas you can have room to write quite a bit inside a regular greeting card, the postcard allows for very little, but sometimes a little says a lot!

A normal postcard size is 3-1/2 inches tall by 5 inches long. The card is divided usually on one side, with room for a note on the left and a space for the stamp and address on the other side of the line. The “front” of the card is usually a picture of some sort, such as the state to which the person has traveled. Although cards can be made from several different materials, I’ve even bought a postcard made of what appeared to be copper, with the picture as a 3-D type molded into the card.

Postcards were patented in 1861 by a gentleman in Philadelphia. However, the first in the United States was created in 1893. Printers published this type of greeting card for a penny.

There were eras in which the type of postcards changed. There was a linen era, a photochrome era, and in France, erotic postcards appeared in 1910. The British created cartoon postcards, also known as “saucy” for their humor.
Who knew something as simple as a postcard could be so complex!? There are at least 22 defined postcard terms. There are postcard collectors, postcard publishing houses, postcard books, postcard pals, postcard associations, exchange sites, and web sites all about postcards. You can even create an online postcard, which actually look cute and appealing. There is a company that creates something similar to a postcard, but it has unusual shapes. The company had to get permission to allow these type postcards to go through the mail without an envelope.

There are postcards that include facts, which can be quite impressive. I once bought a postcard with an Indian alphabet listed, which involved pictures with interpretations. Postcards can show miniature maps of an area, which could be helpful.

Postcards are used also to enter contests. Many contests will state that you may enter by putting your name and address and phone number on a postcard to mail to their company, no purchase needed to enter. Of course, you do have to buy your own postcard and stamp! Although, if you enter a contest with a postcard, I would think that would take the “greeting card” definition away from the card. After all, a contest entry isn’t a greeting.