THE BEST WAY To Wrap A Gift Card Plus Holiday Gift Hits & Misses

As I sit here, in the midst of an ice storm, during a week in which we really didn't do much, I'm thinking of the gifts my family gave each other for Christmas.  A mere four days later, some are being used and others are already being ignored.  In the spirit of education, let me share them with you. But first, drumroll, please: 

THE BEST WAY TO WRAP A GIFT CARD

The teen, as expected, wanted cash or at least gift cards so he could buy video games.  But how to wrap them?  Hmmmm?  After scrolling Pinterest, which I do anyway like some men scroll porn, I rejected all of the ideas on that site and came up with this nugget of brilliance. 

Behold - THE YARN BALL!

The challenge was to come up with something unique that wouldn't piss the kid off, but would still confuse him so that when he picked up the package, he wouldn't know what was inside.   I grabbed some old yarn (this happens to be fancy stuff I had lying around), bent the cards so they were small, and wrapped them up.  The ball was big enough that he had no clue why I was giving it to him, yet small enough where in less than a minute, he had the gift cards in his hand.  Yep, mom has at least one creative brain cell left!


On to our other gifts...for me, the best one was this purse, the Saygoer Sling Bag Pack Canvas Cross Body Bag with Adjustable Strap.  I needed something that would not only hold my essentials, but my Kindle as well.  This bag is canvas, and it's not sexy, but it is sturdy, ergonomically great, and has a little compartment on the inside, close to my body for ID.  My plan is to Scotchguard it so it's waterproof.  My daughter says it looks like a manpurse.  I told her, "Then don't carry it."  It's mine anyway. 

Philips Norelco Electric Shaver 2100 - We bought this for the teen who always seemed to have a whisker or two lingering after shaving with a disposable razor.  He didn't ask for this unit, but reluctantly admits that he likes it.  The razor shaves him close without ripping any zits off.  I'm hoping it'll last him through college.

And our last hit:  PopSockets: Expanding Stand and Grip for Smartphones and Tablets.  Now, when my daughter wanted this, I thought it was a waste of money.  It's small and sticks onto the back of her phone, allowing for a better grip and is a stand when she wants to use videos.  Yes, it does that, but it's also fun to just pop up and down.  Maybe it's the texture, because it doesn't make a sound.  The price point was about $10 on Amazon, which was cheaper than my local ripoff stores which sell it for $20.  So far, she's loving it. 

Which brings us to the duds of this year. 

Take a look at this piece of crap that was $60 on Amazon and for which  I paid $20 at my local Toys-R-Us.  It's called Fantastic Gymnastics.  It is definitely NOT fantastic.

You're supposed to manipulate the gymnast by pressing the red and yellow buttons.  Unfortunately, the gymnast (who has no face - REALLY DEVELOPERS?  You couldn't spare the money to put an ACTUAL FACE on the person??), rarely lands feet-up, resulting in a frustrated, ticked off kid.  My daughter is swearing she'll play this with her friends, but I know it'll be shoved into a pile in the basement before Spring. 

Now, the next items is a present I bought myself and in theory, it's great.  It's the XY3 3rd Gen Item Finder - Bluetooth Key Finder, Wallet Tracker, Phone Finder, and Lost Item Tracker.  Mom is ALWAYS losing her phone and the kids call it so I can find it.  But what if they're not around?  I mastered finding my keys with a simple Command hook by the door, but the phone is a problem.  XY3 is supposed to FIND YOUR STUFF and do it three-fold.  1.  You have an app on your phone that will tell you where your keys are.  2.  You can use the computer to find your phone and/or keys.  3.  There's a button on the key thingy which you press to find your phone.  Brilliant, right? 

EXCEPT, that while it may indicate where something is, it only shows your address.  It doesn't say, "Hey, Stupid.  Your key are, for some unknown reason,  between the couch cushions along with the Doritos you snuck last night."  I KNOW they're in the house!  I just don't know WHERE!  Nevertheless, finding my keys is easier with XY3 because you just follow the beep to the keys.

Now, finding the phone is where this device craps out.  To test it, I was standing with my keys in one hand and my phone in the other.  I pushed the handy-dandy button on the keys.  No sound.  I did this twice.  Dead.  I contacted customer service.  No reply.  Then I saw it advertised on Facebook and made a comment.  Comments get attention!  The tech magicians worked hard to find a solution, but could not.  They're in the process of replacing the XY3.  I really hope it works out, because I do lose my phone quite often and the techs, through Facebook, again, not via email, seemed really nice. 


If you disagree with any of my opinions, feel free to post.  And stay tuned for more reviews coming up within the next few days.  By the way, you can follow me on Instagram:  @momscrayon.

Thank you for reading!

10 Stocking Stuffers For Your Teenage Boy That He'll LOVE

Every year I rack my brain trying to figure out what to put in the Teen's stocking!  Now that the simple days of Hot Wheels are over, it's much harder anticipating what might please him.  Sure, I could give Junior candy, but he gets enough sweets in the course of a day.  So after much thought, here's my list 10 things my teenage boy will probably find in his stocking come Christmas morning:

What can you put in a teenage boy's stocking that won't make him roll his eyes?

• A $5 Dunkin Donuts gift card. The DD is walkable from school and home. As my son becomes more independent, he likes to go with his friends for a hot chocolate and/or a doughnut every once in a while. And I like the fact that the cards are refillable, so HE can add money when it runs out.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Deodorant and body wash. This is a hint as well as a gift. Teen boys smell...funky. Axe seems to be the brand that all the kids in the locker room are wearing and I have actually smelled it on the boy, so I feel confident he'll actually use it. 
  
  
  
  
  
  

  

  Smelling like Axe is better than smelling like sweat.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
•  A phone charger. For some reason, these disappear around my house, especially now that Little Sister has an iPod Touch. Junior could use another charger that he can hide in his room away from Lily.    
  
  
  
  
• Socks. Sounds lame, right? Except that in my house, NO ONE wants to match socks, so these are somewhat of a commodity around here. White socks are apparently too confusing to match (the tops are different, the lengths are different, etc.). Some novelty socks will be appreciated and are EASY to match. Maybe then he'll stop stealing his little sister's “Hello Kitty” socks (I kid you not)!
  
  
  
  
• Dove Dark Chocolate. If I'm going to give him a little candy, it's going to be the antioxidant-rich dark chocolate he loves. 
  
  

  

  Research says dark chocolate is healthy.  Who am I to argue?

   
• Post-It Notes. Now that he's in high school, the teen goes through these sticky notes like they're water. Giving him his own stash will eliminate a lot of “MOM! WHERE ARE MY POST-IT NOTES?” yelling.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Texting Gloves. He knows he's going to lose at least 5 pair of gloves; I know it's more likely going to be 10. A few of these from our local Dollar Store will go a long way. The trick is to buy them in in the same color so when he loses one, it's no big deal. Again, it should save us some pain this winter.
  
  
  
  

  

  Texting gloves are great for a teenage boy!

  
  
• A Game Stop gift card. Since the kid is living online these days, I know he's going to use this. They're available starting at $10 and I know he's got others left over from birthdays, so alone or put together, he should be able to buy something he wants.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• A “League Of Legends” poster. He plays this with his friends, so I think it's time to take down some of the sports posters the kid hasn't looked at in a year (despite them adorning the walls of his room) and replace at least one with something relevant to him.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  

  Sometimes, I think he lives in a virtual world...

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Hand Sanitizer. Another essential that gets lost  or (thankfully) used up, keychains of this stuff may allow us to dodge a sick day or two.

All of these items are fairly inexpensive, useful and won't clutter his room with stuff I have to dust or things he'll look at once and never pick up again. And if I buy enough of them, it may make my weekly shopping a little easier as well. 

Teens are notoriously capricious, but I think I may earn a smile from my Boy with these items. Santa is being practical this year, Kid! 

 

What's going in YOUR teen boy's stocking?

Three "Do Not Miss" FREE Apps

My Samsung Confuse, errr..Infuse, died the other day without so much as a whimper or a cough. That was fine because I was ready for an upgrade anyway. I wanted the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, but settled for the Note 2 because it was much cheaper. Anyway, while I'm still in the trial period of the phone, I thought I'd try out some new (for me) apps from Google Play Store. For my reviews of child-related apps, please visit www.thegeekparent.com. Note: one of the ways I choose my apps is based on what permissions the manufacturers ask the user to give. For more information on why you MUST care, visit http://thegeekparent.com/is-installing-that-app-compromising-your-privacy.

Here we go:

94 Seconds – In this category word game, you are given one category and one letter to use to discover a word. For example, you're asked to find a mammal that starts with the letter C or a car company that starts with the letter T. Four different jokers are available to aid in finding the right answer or set higher scores. It's a fun game that certainly taught me a few things (who knew that zouk was a fast tempo carnival style of music originating from the Caribbean islands – 94 Seconds gave me the word and then I looked it up). I like the fact that I can race against the clock or play in a more relaxed mode. If you're tired of the standard Boggle and Scrabble-types of word games, this is certainly worth a try.


LifeHacker Reader – For some reason, my beloved news feeder, Newshog, no longer carries one of my favorite websites, LifeHacker (www.lifehacker.com). I was dissatisfied by the permissions required of the direct LifeHacker app, so I found this wonderful fan-made, unofficial app for the tech and lifestyle blog I enjoy so much. Thank goodness, because I was really missing those valuable life hacks!


Paper Artist – This was already installed on the phone, but it is available from the Play Store and Diva and I are having oodles of fun with it. Turn any photo into a work of art using different styles of paper and various techniques including pen and pencil, markers, newsprint, pastels, etc. which you can save or share with friends. Above is a photo that Diva took of our cat and which my daughter altered in a matter of seconds; I then uploaded it to the cloud and emailed it to some friends. Paper Artist is amazingly easy to do and a nice diversion when you don't feel like playing a game. Plus, it does things I could NEVER do (i.e. pencil sketch a portrait of Cosy). This is a great app!


--


Please check back in with me in a day or so for some tips on how to beat those damn ATM fees which are absolutely disgusting. Pardon me while I calm down....

Come on Spring!