Pedz Pedometers
What better way to encourage your youngsters to get moving outside instead of staying on the sofa inside then with Pedz. These easy-to-use and frog-shaped pedometers come in vibrant colors and help children track steps taken and calories burned. Children can create their own online accounts and track progress, play games, set goals and compete with their friends (it’s like Webkinz, but for fitness!). They retail for $12.99 and are available in select stores and online.

Visit My Pedz for other great gift ideas!

Wild Planet Hyper Dash
Hyper Dash is an award-winning fast-paced race course game from Wild Planet that encourages kids to be active and think on their feet. Designed to improve listening, coordination and math skills, this exciting game is easy to set up and is an ideal way to help kids aged six and above to practice addition and subtraction while exercising and having fun. It’s four games in one and costs around $25.

Visit Wild Planet for other great gift ideas!

Continue reading “Holiday Picks from Props & Pans - TOYS!”

Microwave Popcorn Popper
What girl doesn’t like popcorn? Pair this gift with her favorite DVD and you’re set for a date night. You can make popcorn in the microwave without oil using the Catamount MIcrowave Popcorn Popper. Simply fill the bottom of the popper with one layer of kernels, add desired amount of butter into the melting lid, set lid on top of the popper and place in the microwave on high for approximately 2 minutes 45 seconds. The butter lid with strainer melts the butter over your freshly popped corn.

Visit Sur la table for other great gift ideas!

Yoga Toe Socks
If the woman you’re buying for loves Yoga and other floor excercises, then this will be a real treat! The Yoga-Pilates Toe Sox seperate the toes and have a patented non-slip sole - meaning you don’t need a mat. They are a hygenic alternative to going bare foot and they are made with 90% organic cotton. They retail for $13 a pair and come in a variety of colors.

Visit Toe Sox for other great gift ideas!

Continue reading “Holiday Picks from Props & Pans - FOR HER!”

Shower Power
What man doesn’t enjoy being taken care of even if he has to do it himself? How about getting that hard to buy for guy a Signature Mint & Shave Travel Kit from Every Man Jack for the amazing price of $10? It includes face wash, shaving cream, lotion and several items in the travel kit. These are available online and at Target if you want to save the shipping and handling costs. Give him the perfect shave this year!

Visit Every Man Jack for more great gift ideas!

Livestrong
Who hasn’t heard of Livestrong? For the fitness male in your family, the Livestrong edition of Oakley sunglasses are the perfect gift. Oakley has honored Lance Armstrong’s courage with these commemorative Half Jackets ($135) and Radars ($185). Decked with the colors of his foundation logo, this special edition has “LIVESTRONG” laser etched at the bottom corner of its pure PLUTONITE® lens. The Livestrong™ foundation inspires and empowers people affected by cancer, and Oakley is supporting its ongoing mission by donating $20 from each sale of these frames. Right now Oakley is offering free shipping on orders over $50.

Visit Oakley for other great gift ideas!

Continue reading “Holiday Picks from Props & Pans - FOR HIM!”

Click to Play

Who can concentrate on work when all you want to do is play with this optical computer mouse? You can’t ignore the floating rubber ducky splashing around inside the mouse. The Optical Computer Mouse with a fun rubber ducky is fully functional. It works just like a normal mouse with a scroll button and includes a USB plug for all PC and Macs. For $30 this will make a fun, unique gift for all ages.

Visit Uncommon Goods for other great gift ideas.

Illuminating Rotating Universe Globe

Globes used to be for the nerdy, but knowing your geography is back in style. This two-in-one globe rotates all on its own. It actually depicts geographical features and political boundaries. With the lights off, it illuminates from within, showing all 88 constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union. You can lay in bed at night and memorize each of them. Priced at $89.95 you can hold the world on its axis.

Visit Discovery Store for other great gift ideas.

HMDX Audio Speaker-On-The-Go

Who doesn’t need an MP3 carrying case that is cute and small? If they don’t, then make sure to tell them it has built-in speakers and I’m sure they’ll be on board. The speaker is designed to protect your iPod and MP3 players. For the price of $14.99 these make cute stocking stuffers for everyone you know! Plus they offer several fun colors to choose from.

Visit HMDX Audio for other great gift ideas.

Royal Digital Picture Keychain

Everyone has keys, so everyone should have a cool keychain. What better way is there to carry around pictures of your family to show friends than on a digital picture keychain for under $20? This features a 1.5″ LCD display and includes a USB cable and software for easy set-up. Plus it holds up to 70 photo’s! For an even better gift, pre-load the pictures on it for someone!

Visit Bed Bath & Beyond for other great gift ideas.

World’s Simplest Camcorder

Ever wanted to be able to carry a camcorder with you no matter where you go to capture life’s greatest moments? For most people that seems impossible given the bulky recorders and all the equipment that goes along with it. Look at the new Flip Ultra Camcorder which makes recording and sharing videos easy! This camcorder is the size of most small digital cameras and uses 2 AA batteries. It doesn’t need any cords to connect to a computer and makes it easy to share your videos or pictures. All this for under $130 is a deal!

Visit Brookstone for other great gift ideas.

Powermonkey Portable Solar Charger

Have you ever been stuck out in the middle of the ocean without an outlet to charge your iPod? Well just in case this happens to you, this solar powered portable charger takes 6 hours of sunshine and provides 40 hours for your iPod, 96 hours for your cell phone and 48 hours for the PDA in your pocket. For $129.95 you can’t go wrong with planning ahead for life’s little emergencies. I bet those cast-aways on Gilligan’s Island wish they’d gotten one of these for Christmas.

Visit Discovery Store for other great gift ideas.

This week you will find an assortment of gifts that Props & Pans has picked this year. Over the next 6 days you will find several unique and cool ideas for people on your gift list. They will sorted by these categories:

• Gadgets
• For Him
• For Her
• Toys
• Fun Gifts
• For Pets
• For People You Don’t Even Like

To celebrate the official start of the shopping season we have two $100 Visa gift card to giveaway. There is also a $50 and $25 gift card to Kohl’s. To enter you can leave a comment on any of the upcoming gift pick posts about why what you might buy with any of the gift cards. Entries will be accepted through December 14, 2008 at midnight (C.S.T.).

You can receive a second entry by blogging about the contest (linking to it) or adding us to your blogroll. Just e-mail us with a live link or let us know you have it posted on your site. You do not need a blog to enter, just leave us your e-mail address so that we may contact you. As always, it is Props & Pans policy NOT to distribute any information you give us (including your e-mail). Thanks for entering!

They call it a Big Book for a reason and they call her the big “O” for a reason. Apparently, they needed to document all the things that make Oprah happy in one big book called “Oprah’s Big Book of Happiness.” It contains over 366 pages from O Magazine that includes wisdom, wit, advice, interviews and a little inspiration of course!

Personally, I like looking through O Magazine but this was overloaded with information. The content was good and definitely interesting, but I can’t take a 366 page magazine. It was overwhelming. For long-time Oprah fans, this may be just what they wanted. I’m a sideline watcher of her show and not a follower. Certain topics interest me, but many don’t. This would make a great gift for someone who is a loyal fan.

Continue reading “Oprah’s Big Book of Happiness is a Big Bounded Magazine Without Ads”

If you are looking for a nice gift that is unique and quite reasonably priced then look on Celery Street. They have a great variety of items that are intriguing and eco-friendly. I recently came across the Dirt Candles that they sell and was very interested in what type of candle is made from the Earth itself.

You are probably curious, like I was, as to why someone would choose dirt. These candles are formulated from the beginning to the end with natural things. They use a soy wax made with organic ingredients and all natural cotton wicks. There are essential oils that help produce bold, yet comforting scents. Plus they burn for over 60 hours! I choose the Heart Breaker candle which combined berry, rose, thyme, geranium, orange and herbs for a delicious aroma that filled our home.

Besides being friendly to the environment the Dirt Candles are made with full biodegradable products and are soot-less. Even the containers are recycled glass. I’ve noticed many candle-makers are starting to consider things other than scents when producing products.

Continue reading “Dirt Candles Are Pure, Bold and Eco-Friendly - Win One!”

I am one to get fired up when I am wronged, and this time I am beyond fuming mad. Like many Target shoppers last week, I ordered the Britax Marathon Car Seat in the sale color, Granite Grey. Target.com often marks down merchandise and offers free shipping so I was totally on board with the offer to get a great product at a sale price. Assuming they were this color or were overstocked with inventory on it, I took advantage of the clearance price of $42.99 with free shipping. While you can’t put a price tag on the safety of your children, buying this seat at the full price of $279.99 may have prevented parents from choosing to go with the Britax Marathon in any other color from other vendors.

Imagine my disappointment when two days later Target randomly canceled the order. Apparently they made a pricing mistake. While pricing mistakes are bound to happen I find this particular situation hard to believe since the item was listed at $42.99 for 3 days before the error was supposedly “discovered.” Amazon.com also offered these seats on behalf of Target and honored the advertised price, shipped the merchandise and kept their customers loyal.

Continue reading “Target Angers Customers Who Ordered the Britax Marathon Car Seats”

On Flavorpill you will find music, art, fashion and other carefully selected events highlighted in five major U.S. cities: New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Miami and Chicago. You can type in your email address to get the weekly newsletter for the urban area of your choice, and you’ll always know just what to do with your free time.

Better yet if you are traveling to one of the selected cities soon, use this online site to decide where the cool people hang out! Go there now and vote for what city you want Flavorpill to cover next.

Continue reading “Wednesday Website - Flavorpill”

While the name used to be synonymous with the ladies that came door to door peddling makeup, the Avon of today is so much more. I recently received some items from their fashion and accessory line that shattered any preconceived notions I had about Avon.

As a working mom, I’m always looking for fashion forward pieces for my wardrobe that won’t break the bank. I was thrilled when I received Avon’s black Shirred Knit Top. The fabric was soft, cut was extremely flattering, versatile since it can be dressed up or down, washable (always a plus for any mom!), and a bargain for $24.99.

With designs to complement anyone’s personal style, Avon’s jewelry line can add some pizzazz to items already in your closet or bling out your look without breaking the bank. Check out the Crystal Rhinestone Lace Ring on sale for $14.99 which is fun cocktail ring for holiday parties without the fine jewelry price tag.

Continue reading “Avon: Fashion Forward and Not Your Mother’s Makeup Line”