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Archive for the ‘Personalized’ Category
Finding the Perfect Holiday Gift

With the holiday season fast approaching it’s time to start thinking about what gifts you’re going to get for everyone on your list. You want something unique, yet not so unique that it’s just odd. You want something personal, but not so personal as to be awkward. Essentially, you want your gift to stand out and be talked about, but talked about in a good way. Fortunately, those are exactly the kind of gifts you’ll find at thetipsygrape.com. Even the name of the website is worthy of a good conversation.
I stopped by the website because I saw the name and was interested. Once I got there, the personality of the site had me hooked. In no time at all, I had found just the right gift for many of the people on my shopping list. I’m even getting a custom-engraved peppermill with my family name on it for my own kitchen. The site has a wide variety of kitchen items, but as the name implies, thetipsygrape.com focuses mainly on things associated with wine.
The site’s motto is “Because wine is fun” and the website is fun too. They offer all sorts of wine-related glassware, from glasses to decanters. Each can be ordered as is, or with custom engraving. The engraving option is a great choice if someone you know has had a significant event this year – a new house, a new baby, a marriage, winning the fantasy baseball league, or anything that they will want to remember forever. A bottle of wine and a couple of wine glasses engraved with “2008: First Christmas in our New House” makes a thoughtful gift that will get used with fond remembrance every season.
Every year up until now, I have had to spend hours in the crowded shops and malls looking for something, anything to buy for the people on my list. Every year I’ve vowed “never again.” Finally, thanks to thetipsygrape.com, I can keep that vow and this year, I’ll be avoiding the crowds, the lines, and the endless time spent circling parking lots looking for a space. Of course, my sympathies will still be out there with those of you who don’t do your shopping at the thetipsygrape.com.
We all know there is no peace of mind like the peace of mind that comes from knowing you’ve got your holiday shopping out of the way early. When you can rest assured that you selected just the right gift for each person on your list, the only anxiety left is the difficulty you’ll have in waiting for the big day when the gifts are opened. That’s the kind of holiday stress that I can live with.
The Beer Mug of Champions

I belong to a fantasy Baseball league that gets together every year before the season starts to select our teams for the upcoming year. Draft day, as it is known, is filled with good natured trash talking about the likelihood of each team finishing the year in the cellar. The winner of the previous year fully exercises his or her bragging rights in criticizing the strategies of all the other teams. We have talked about trophies for the winning teams for years, but have never actually gotten around to doing anything about it. This year, I’m going to take matters into my own hands.
In case, I didn’t mention it, during the draft day festivities, there is usually a little bit of beer-drinking during the day. So instead of a conventional trophy for the winning team, I have found the perfect alternative. I’m having custom engraved beer glasses made up for each team. The engraving will feature each team’s logo, team name, and the name of the team owner. In addition to a traditional pilsner glass that everyone team will get, last year’s champion will get the championship mug. My idea is that every year, the “Beer Mug of Champions” will be passed to league’s winner until the next champion is crowned the following year.
On draft day, I’ll hand out the team glasses along with great ceremony and some biting one-liners about each team’s mistakes from the previous year. Then, I’ll introduce the “Beer Mug of Champions.” It should be a lot of fun and the start of a great new tradition for our fantasy baseball league. I think it’ll go over much better than an ordinary trophy.
I got the idea from a website called glasswithatwist.com. The website offers all sorts of different glassware from margarita glasses to champagne flutes, and from pitchers to shot glasses. They have a wide variety of glassware to choose from and a number of clever customizable templates. If you don’t find a template you like, you can send them your own clip art file and they will engrave that on the glassware of your choice. The prices are surprisingly low. For the price of plain glassware at most specialty shops, glasswithatwist.com offers custom engraved glasses. There’s even a bulk discount if you buy more than one of a particular design.
If you belong to any fantasy sports league, custom league glasses are an absolute must, and instead of another run of the mill trophy, consider the Championship Mug. Baseball season has barely ended, but I can hardly wait for next year’s fantasy baseball draft day. Finally, the league will have a championship trophy. Of course, it won’t be just any trophy, but if you knew our league, you’d know just how fitting a “Beer Mug of Champions” is.