Gift-Giving Ideas

Abstract

HO, HO, HO! It's time for me to offer my seasonal gift-giving suggestions. Technology-wise, it has been a busy year indeed, with all sorts of new gadgets, more convenient devices, more compact devices, and steep declines in price. Before I get to the technology, though, it has been my tradition to make a few suggestions on music CDs and DVDs that make great gifts. popular artist Josh Groban has a new CD, titled Noel. Every review I have read gives it a top rating, and I concur. You can preview the CD tracks at www.amazon.com. Being able to preview music before you purchase it is both prudent and enjoyable. Other new CDs of note include Bruce Springstein's protest album, Magic, and Mark Knopfler's Kill to Get Crimson. At the time I wrote this column, Spring-stein and Groban were number 1 and 2 on Amazon's list of best-selling CDs. This year's can't miss CD is Wonderful World--or any other CD--by Eva Cassidy. This a posthumously produced album that is several years old. In prior seasonal columns, I have recommended Cassidy, who passed away at a very young age--before she became popular. Her versions of the title song and of It Doesn't Matter Anymore are my favorites. About a dozen of Cassidy's albums have been produced, and you can sample them all at amazon.com. My all-time favorite seasonal DVD is the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's The Ghosts of Christmas Eve, which is narrated by and stars Ossie Davis. Neither Trans-Siberian Orchestra nor Mannheim Steamroller have new Christmas DVDs and haven't for a few years. This year, I recommend the DVD A Christmas Celebration 2007, by Celtic Woman. Though the group name is singular, various artists perform. And one final musical suggestion, a DVD that children under 5 will love: Yule Be Wiggling, by the Wiggles. If you give this gift to a preschooler, you might want to leave town immediately before you get trapped. Kids love the Wiggles, but they drive adults crazy. Speaking of gifts for children, I have received a lot of positive feedback from parents who really like Floam, the Play-Doh substitute I've mentioned in a prior column. While I think it is overpriced, it is unique. Several other alternatives to Play-Doh exist, including Aqua Dots. These last are small pieces of what looks like plastic that stick together when sprayed or misted with water. Perhaps the most unusual gift for children that I have seen is, believe it or not, a sewing machine. Montessori Services publishes a catalog called For Small Hands. online version can be seen at www.forsmall hands.com. catalog features all kinds of objects that adults might use, such as a flour sifter, but down-sized for children's smaller hands. sewing machine offered is a real sewing machine made for adults who are into handcrafting small objects. According to the catalog, the $79 machine is appropriate for children 8 and older, but younger children can use it too if they are properly supervised. That would depend on the child, of course. Speaking of catalogs and shopping for children, I repeat my recommendation from years past of Edmund Scientific. You can reach the online version at www. edsci.com. Children of all ages are enthralled by such science toys as gyroscopes, prisms, hand lenses, diffraction gratings, batteries, and bulbs. Children in most elementary schools don't get very much science instruction, so anything a parent can do to help out is likely to be beneficial. This year, I would like to name a Product of the Year. Drum roll ... and the winner is the Flip Video, an all-digital video camera from Pure Digital (www. theflip.com). This diminutive video camera has a list price of $119.99, but I have seen it online for under $100. camera is 4.12 x 2.25 x 1.25 in size and weighs just a few ounces, so it is easy to tuck into a pocket or purse. camera records to its internal memory--not to a tape or disc--so the total recording time is limited to 30 minutes. …