Unique Gift Ideas for the 21st Century

As a personal growth specialist, I like to think I'm hip. I like to think I am avant garde. I like to think I am on the cutting edge ? despite what everyone else around thinks about me.

I read last year that the growth sector of the future is in healthcare and wellness. So, being the hip, avant garde, cutting edge kind of guy I think I am, I decided I would give very unique and personal healthcare birthday gifts.

For Aunt Marsha, I settled on a facelift. I was so excited, I just couldn't wait to see her face. Either the old one or the new one would do.

"What's this?"

"It's an appointment for a facelift."

"A facelift?

"Yes. Next week."

"An appointment for a facelift? Next week?"

"That's right."

"This can mean one of only two things..."

"What two things, Aunt Marsha?"

"Either you think I am uglier than a bearded manatee with blow torch burns..."

"Oh no, Aunt Marsha. You are as beautiful as a graceful flamingo with blow torch burns."

"...or you foresee me seeking shelter under the witness protection program. What is it you think I saw, and who do you think wants to do me in?"

"Well, when I was ten years old, you saw me scribble all over my brother's baseball cards. I got in a whack of trouble, so I suppose I could be a suspect."

"I somehow doubt I have anything to fear from you, except the threat of receiving another gift. Just what do you think you were thinking?"

"I know you don't need a facelift yet, Aunt Marsha. But someday when you get all old and withered and crumbly and crinkly, a few months from now...BANG!"

When I came to, I remembered a frying pan lunging at me to plant a kiss on my lips.

For my buddy, I settled on a different gift, although still quite unique and personal.

"What?!?"

"Hey, these tickets are very hard to come by. You should be thrilled that I secured an appointment for you."

"But I don't need open heart surgery. My heart is ticking along just fine."

"Sure it is ? right now. But someday you might need open heart surgery, so you might as well take it now and get it over with. That way you'll have it when you need it."

"Open heart surgery isn't something you just take and save for later. You can't place it in a box or in a safe somewhere."

"Whoa, Buddy. Cool your tonsils a moment. I considered getting you a lobotomy, but I worried about wasting my money...you know, in case they didn't find anything. "

Never let it be said that this personal growth specialist doesn't learn from his success. This year I read that the entertainment industry is the growth sector of the future. So, being the hip, avant garde, cutting edge kind of guy I think I am, I decided I would give hip, avant garde, cutting edge entertainment gifts.

I thought about some of my personal favorites. Unfortunately I could not find in the Yellow Pages any singing Gumby balloon-a-grams. I considered getting Aunt Marsha 1,000 self-destructing, ketchup-filled pink flamingo lawn ornaments with pirate hats, but I was not sure how to place them in the apartment corridor. Toenail clippers always bring me hours of entertainment, but I had no idea which of my family members have toe nails.

In the end, I settled on this column. Hey, it's humor, it's personal growth, it's entertainment. And you have to admit that it is unique. I printed a copy out for each of them. And guess what? I think it was a success. Each one opened up their gift, looked at it, looked up at me, looked back at the gift, looked back up at me and said, "Very funny!"

If you don't want to end up like me, why not get your relatives a dog gift or a horse-themed gift or an angel gift from Unique Gift Ideas at: http://www.unique-gift-ideas.ws . They do NOT sell facelifts. After all, people love unique gift ideas, but not quite that unique.

About The Author

The author is freelance writer David Leonhardt.

Sign up for his weekly humor column up at: http://www.TheHappyGuy.com/positive-thinking-free-ezine.html

Or read more personal growth columns at: http://www.TheHappyGuy.com/self-actualization-articles.html.

info@thehappyguy.com

In The News:

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President-elect Barack Obama speaks about the economy, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)AP - President-elect Barack Obama's proposed tax cuts ran into opposition Thursday from senators in his own party who said they wouldn't do much to stimulate the economy or create jobs. Senators from both parties agreed that Congress should do something to stimulate the economy. But Democratic senators emerging from a private meeting of the Senate Finance Committee criticized business and individual tax cuts in Obama's stimulus plan.



President-elect Barack Obama speaks about the economy at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.,  Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)AP - President-elect Barack Obama urged Congress Thursday to work with him "day and night, on weekends if necessary" to approve the largest taxpayer-funded stimulus ever, warning in almost apocalyptic terms that a dire economic future was certain without it.



Fire and smoke is seen from Israeli miltary operations in Gaza City, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. Lebanese militants fired at least three rockets into northern Israel early Thursday, ripping through a crowded nursing home and threatening to open a new front for the Jewish state as it pushed forward with a bloody offensive in the Gaza Strip that has killed nearly 700 people. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)AP - The U.N. suspended aid shipments in the Gaza Strip on Thursday and the Red Cross restricted its convoys after their trucks came under Israeli fire. The threat of a wider conflict arose when militants in Lebanon fired two rockets into northern Israel.



Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff leaves U.S. District court after a bail hearing in New York, Monday, Jan. 5, 2009.  Prosecutors on Monday said Madoff violated bail conditions by mailing about $1 million worth of jewelry and other assets to relatives and should be jailed without bail. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)AP - Prosecutors said Thursday that investigators found 100 signed checks worth $173 million in Bernard Madoff's office desk that he was ready to send out to his closest family and friends at the time of his arrest last month in what is alleged to be largest financial fraud in history.



Audrena Gilbert, center in purple, sister of Oscar Grant is hugged by activist Dereca Blackmon, center, during a protest of the shooting death of Oscar Grant at the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009. Grant was shot and killed by a police officer after an altercation on a BART train station platform in Oakland on New Year's Day.  (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)AP - Heavy police presence greeted Bay Area Rapid Transit commuters Thursday, a day after more than 100 people were arrested in violent protests over the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man by a transit police officer.



Interstate 5 is covered by the flooding Chehalis River Thursday morning, Jan. 8, 2009, in Chehalis, Wash. Rain and high winds lashed Washington state Wednesday, causing widespread avalanches, mudslides, flooding and road closures from rapid snowmelt and the three main highways across the Cascade Range were closed. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)AP - Floods, mudslides and avalanches in the Pacific Northwest kept tens of thousands of people from their homes Thursday, brought freight trains to a standstill and stranded hundreds of trucks along the major highways that link Seattle's busy ports with markets around the country.



AP - Researchers at Cornell University have discovered that Aedes aegypti mosquitoes — the ones that spread diseases like yellow and dengue fever — alter their wing vibrations in a mating signal.

A florist delivery worker carries a wreath of flowers at the entrance to Jumbolair Aviation Estates, where actor John Travolta and his family have a home Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009  near Ocala, Fla. Friends and relatives are expected for a ceremony Thursday to be held for the death of the Travolta's sixteen year old son Jett, who died while in the Bahamas. (AP Photo/Phil Sandlin)AP - John Travolta and his family were expected to host a private memorial service Thursday for their son, 16-year-old Jett Travolta, at their home in a central Florida gated community.



AP - A 60-year-old man has been causing flat tires for two years by tossing roofing nails onto the driveways of people he didn't like, police said Thursday. Michael Delisio, of West Haverstraw, has been charged with harassment, criminal tampering and mischief, said Stony Point police Lt. Peter Quinn.

This Sept. 7, 2007 file photo shows Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz throwing against the Washington Nationals during the first inning of a baseball game at Turner Field in Atlanta. Smoltz has reached a preliminary agreement on a contract with the Boston Red Sox, a stunning end to his long career with the Atlanta Braves. The deal was expected to be finalized later Thursday Jan. 8, 2009.(AP Photo/Gregory Smith, File)AP - After more than two decades with the Atlanta Braves, John Smoltz is likely to finish his stellar career wearing a different uniform. In a stunning end to one of baseball's longest runs, Smoltz reached preliminary agreement on a contract with the Boston Red Sox after failing to work out a deal to return for his 22nd season with the Braves.



President-elect Barack Obama at a news conference in Chicago, December 7, 2008. (Jeff Haynes/Reuters)Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama warned on Thursday that the U.S. economy could stay mired in recession for years without bold action and he urged lawmakers to work day and night to pass a massive stimulus plan.



People taking the Long Island Foreclosure Tour arrive at a foreclosed home for sale in New Hyde Park, New York in this May 17, 2008 file photo. Citigroup could soon agree to principles that would let troubled borrowers save their homes through bankruptcy, sources familiar with the talks said on Thursday, while industry groups are easing their opposition to the plan. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)Reuters - Financial giant Citigroup Inc has agreed to support a controversial rewrite of U.S. bankruptcy law aimed at helping troubled mortgage borrowers, three Democratic senators said on Thursday.



A Palestinian woman looks at her house destroyed after an Israeli air strike in Gaza January 8, 2009. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters)Reuters - Palestinians in the Gaza Strip faced worsening conditions on Thursday after two aid drivers were killed and their U.N. agency halted work, saying staff were at risk from Israeli forces fighting Hamas militants.



A customer shops at a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Rogers, Arkansas, June 5, 2008. (Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters)Reuters - Wal-Mart Stores Inc and other top U.S. retailers delivered disappointing December same-store sales and profit warnings on Thursday, sparking fresh recession concerns that hit stock and currency markets.



Bernard Madoff is escorted from Federal Court in New York January 5, 2009. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)Reuters - Accused swindler Bernard Madoff had signed checks totaling more than $173 million in his office desk ready to be sent out before his arrest, U.S. prosecutors said in court papers on Thursday asking a judge to jail him.



A man works near a pressure gauge at a district heating plant in Skopje January 8, 2009. (Ognen Teofilovski/Reuters)Reuters - Moscow has agreed to deployment of international monitors to oversee the transit of Russian gas to EU states via Ukraine, clearing the way for the resumption of European gas supplies, the Czech EU presidency said.



Reuters - The U.S. nuclear deterrent that kept a tense peace during the Cold War is in danger of losing credibility among allied nations that look to the United States for security, a Pentagon panel said on Thursday.

People walk past the Bank of England in central London, January 8, 2009. (Rob Bodman/Reuters)Reuters - Economic weakness in Europe worsened and disappointing sales from Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, knocked financial markets lower on Thursday, strengthening the case for government stimulus and new rate cuts.



A wounded Palestinian is carried into Gaza City's al-Shifa hospital. The main UN Palestinian relief agency halted work in Gaza on Thursday after a driver was killed and the death toll from Israel's war on Hamas rose to more than 760 after dozens of bodies were found in the rubble.(AFP/Yassr Saymeh)AFP - A UN relief agency halted work in Gaza and protested to Israel on Thursday after an aid worker was killed, while the war death toll rose past 760 after dozens of bodies were found in rubble during a pause in bombing.



A man warms himself near a stove in a bar in the town of Belovo, Bulgaria. EU-sponsored talks collapsed Thursday between Russia and Ukraine on resolving a gas dispute that has cut supplies to Europe in the midst of a bitterly cold winter, with Moscow blamed for the failure.(AFP/Boryana Katsarova)AFP - EU-sponsored talks collapsed Thursday between Russia and Ukraine on resolving a gas dispute that has cut supplies to Europe in the midst of a bitterly cold winter, with Moscow blamed for the failure.




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