Since the holidays its time for my family to extend the warmest wishes to you and your family. Its been a crazy year when you think about it… lots of mixed emotions of highs and lows and I know that we all share these same trials in our lives.
The most recent trial has to be the stress of getting a good gift for my wife for the holidays.
Like a typical wife – she tells me not to worry it doesnt matter – yahhh theres a bear trap in there. Here my short list of springing your self from that trap and hopefully not end up giving her a vacuum cleaner (although I hear the Kenmore Intuition vacuum is amazing!) and not getting thrown out of the house or hit upside the head with a frying pan.
Studio based Family Portraits – its a solid A+ in any wife’s I want book. Add in some pampering time for her to get ready, maybe a haircut and color the day before for her and really hit a homerun.
As you know my wife is a family photographer really specializing in outdoor candids but you cant take pictures of yourself all that well and sometimes you need to go in to a studio add a backdrop and have a photo session like the one we did at PhotoOpNYC. You know they take good photos when the husband of a photographer is posting their images. The thing with PhotoOpNYC is not only do they take family shots you could easily just do a glamor session for your wife as well there.
A new handbag – its a B in the rating book – B is for bag 😛 now really its kind of done and over played. Also what did you get your own mother if the answer is a BAG then you cant be getting one for your wife too. Clearly the higher the price the better the bag. See what her friends are wearing during these weeks of holiday parties and events and try to notice if she drools over anyone bag or just what brand their wearing. Make sure your wife doesnt already have the same bag cause then you just get in trouble for not noticing her.
A romantic night out – its a A or a B or a C – this one is tricky it really depends – first giving night outs as a gift isnt all that great cause its a reward for both of you (kind of like a gift to yourself) but if the plan is to stay overnight at a hotel its in that A or B range if its just dinner its a B to C range. So any add on to dinner is a solid B depending on the event it could be an A. Dinner and a Movie is a C why cause its just casual. A night out to spark something…. getting dressed up, heading to the hottest place in town, heading out dancing or to a hard to get ticket/broadway show/concert — thats a A it is all smooth and places she wants to go.
New Clothes – its a B in terms of idea – but if you spring for the high end fashions you could easily warm her up to an A 🙂
Last quick tip the rock solid jewelry – its a B in concept and a C or a D if she doesnt like it but here price does matter – if its a diamond the bigger the better.
Welcome to the ninth day out of our 10 days of gifting – Today we have a great set of the Tegu magnetic blocks. These blocks are awesome if you havent been following along @Tegu on twitter you’re missing some really cool handy work as they create custom requests just recently they did a Tegu 12 days of Christmas song which I thought was awesome – you can check it out below.
How do you win it? you can tweet “ I want to win a set of @Tegu Blocks thanks to @dadarocks at http://bit.ly/ggWA42 ” and don’t forget you must follow @dadarocks as well and for an extra entry go to Facebook.com/DaDaRocks and on the wall “ I want to win a Tegu prize pack from DaDaRocks.com ” but you need to come back here and leave a comment that you did it.
Every day at random times we’ll be announcing a giveaway – it’ll only be for 24 hours! Also we’ll be switching up how to enter to win the prize. You may be asked to comment on a facebook post over at http://facebook.com/dadarocks or to post&follow @dadarocks on twitter.com http://twitter.com/dadarocks or you may just have to leave a comment on the thread.
(remember in order to write on the wall you must become a fan!)
Thanks to Tegu for providing this cool prize pack! but sorry this is limited to United States only
Welcome to the eighth day out of our 10 days of gifting – Today we have a create your own prize pack from Zoocchini – so please go to www.zoocchini.com and figure out which Towel, Dinnerwear Set & Plush Friend you’d like to win come back here and leave a comment with your picks… Also if you want some extra entries you can go to Facebook.com/DaDaRocks and on the wall “ I want to win a Zoocchini prize pack from DaDaRocks.com ” or you can tweet “ I want to win a Prize Pack from @zoocchiniNYC thanks to @dadarocks at http://bit.ly/hL16nm ” and don’t forget you must follow @dadarocks as well.
Every day at random times we’ll be announcing a giveaway – it’ll only be for 24 hours! Also we’ll be switching up how to enter to win the prize. You may be asked to comment on a facebook post over at http://facebook.com/dadarocks or to post&follow @dadarocks on twitter.com http://twitter.com/dadarocks or you may just have to leave a comment on the thread.
(remember in order to write on the wall you must become a fan!)
Thanks to Zoocchini for providing this cool prize pack! but sorry this is limited to United States only.
Lionel Trains have been a long standing favorite of mine for the holidays… I grew up going over to a family friend’s house to see their amazing train collection. I mean amazing it took up over 800 square feet of their basement, it was amazing! fast forward to these days when I have a toddler and no desire for him to smash anything collectible or of value. Lionel does a lot of amazing things for the holidays, they’ve gone around and created popup shops in a few select locations.
New York, NY – 1095 Avenue of the Americas at 41st St, New York, NY
Westchester, NY ( Westchester Mall) – 125 Westchester Ave., White Plains, NY
Cherry Hill, NJ (Cherry Hill Mall) – 2000 Rt. 38, Cherry Hill, NJ
Minneapolis, MN (Mall of America) – 60 Broadway St. NE, Minneapolis, MN
Dallas, TX (Trains at North Park) – North Central Expressway at Northwest Highway, Dallas, TX
To sell awesome trains, collectible pieces, tracks, and — wait for it — they’re newest items like the Lionel Little Lines… To me this is the perfect my first train set for any toddler it offers you controls for forwards and backwards. It adds some really nice imagination play items to the mix likes a switch, a crane, and some bridges.
If you’re not lucky enough to live in a local popup shop area check this one out if you use coupon code DADAROCKS (all caps) its good for 10% off sitewide from 11/24-12/6 at lionelstore.com
Lionel’s wide varieties of train sets are great for both the little kids and the little kids at heart.
For ages 2.5 and up there is the Lionel Little Lines ($59.99). This starter train set comes with a snap together track and a simple remote controller for forward and reverse movement making it easy for little hands to operate. Authentic train sounds and details make it a classic Lionel product.
One of Lionel’s many licensed train sets is the Thomas and Friends ($199.99) train set and it is the perfect gift. This exciting TV character themed train set comes with forward, neutral and reverse controls, interchangeable faces for the train, over 10 different track section pieces and an electronic whistle.
The Polar Express movie was a favorite of kids of all ages and now Lionel brings the train to life with The Polar Express Deluxe Playset ($89.99). A four-car train with amazing Polar Express details traveling across a snow covered track making a journey that replicates the one from the movie and book. With curves and ramps and chuffing train sounds, this complete playset is sure to delight the entire family.
There is a kid inside all of us and for the grown ups in the family there is the Pennsylvania Flyer ($229.99), Lionel’s signature train. This starter set features forward, reverse and neutral controls, realistic air whistle, operational headlights, puffing smoke unit, traction tires and classic oval track.
TWO Winners will get Lionel Little Lines Train Playset
How to win it… Contest ends 11:59pm EST. December 7th 2010.
You must comment telling us which train is your favorite (hint: visit lionelstore.com for train names)? please include some method for us to contact you in the comment (twitter or email)
I’m a man (yup, still a card carrying member) and I can tell you we’re pretty simple when it comes to gifts. The simple things like bacon and beer would be enough to make any man happy. This post takes it one step further, we have some simple gifts, some thoughtful gifts, some heartless electronic gifts they may have wanted and always bring a smile to any guys face.
The saying the way to a guys heart is though is stomach isn’t far off, so taking him out for a nice meal or cooking dinner for him (making it kind of special) is a good way to go.
The simple clothing solution is a nice pair of boxer shorts (silk or cotton) doesn’t matter this one is the thought that counts. Additionally some candy goes nice to round this package out.
The next item up is a guy favorite – BEER – so this is a way to serve it super cold and delicious while saving some money. The BeerTender from Heineken and Krups [Link] is an awesome product (no I don’t have one yet, YES, I really want one but really cant justify that much intake of beer) my friend has one and always rubs it in my face. Clearly the thought has to be given if your man drinks Heineken, actually he should pretty much ONLY drink Heineken to get the most usage out of this product.
For those retro lovers, find a record shop and get some classic vinyl records [Link]. Make sure he likes the music, this could be a win for you that you get an album or two that you love as well.
After beer we have technology & toys because I’ve yet to meet a guy that doesn’t love something techie (bright shinny objects we’re putty). Here’s the run down… PlayStation 3 Slim [Link] (newest PS3 on the market) is awesome – also doubles as a Blu-Ray player (HD movies drool!). You could also give a gift card to Apple in hopes of holding out for that new iPad [Link] incase you were sleeping under a rock for the last month its a large ipod touch. You could opt for an Apple iPhone or iPod Touch that you could get most any place.
For the thoughtful husband you could arrange a family portrait (or maybe some boudoir [wikipedia] photos of yourself) of course I’ll plug my wife here – Suzanne Cohen Photography [Link], which is also a gift to yourself since the images will last a lifetime.
For those that need the renewals, every couple of years its nice to get a new wallet. Coach is my brand of choice for men’s wallets [Link], I’ve had mine for years and I’m ready for a refresh. A money clip, just make sure they usually carry cash or have cash (otherwise its a jab) get it personalized with his initials.
Finally the classic for most men is the go to sexy lingerie (for yourself) and some good loving for him.
