A Hodgepoge Of Great Gift Ideas From The Weekend

Normally I do these kind of postings individually, but I thought it might be fun to post a little Monday morning potpourri of great gift finds I happened to discover this weekend. I'm feeling wily and unpredictable like that today. So, here's a few unique ideas I found that I think will be great to suggest to your boss or to use in your own life:

For the tech guru in your life, the incredibly realistic iPhone and Blackberry soaps from a site called Two Eggplants are a fun and surprising gift. The site also sells a bunch of other soaps that look like real things.

If you're in the mood to send someone a food gift, these handmade peanut butter cups that have chunky peanut butter and high quality chocolate in them from Little Laura's Sweets are a great alternative to cookies, brownies or cupcakes. It's always more exciting for the recipient when you send something special and new that they haven't received before.

A gift idea that I happened upon randomly this weekend via Twitter is this great baby delivery bag from Little Stork. It comes in a variety of sizes and has all you need to take to the hospital, so that you can be prepared and not have to do the work of picking out everything to bring with you. I don't have kids, but this would be a great gift to give to a pregnant friend at a shower. I also like that there are a few to choose from in different price ranges.

Not So Typical Gifts For The Mom To Be

Giving typical gifts is easy and painless, but with a tiny bit of effort you can give things that have a bit more fun and whimsy to them that people will really appreciate. It's hard to find fun maternity gifts that have a bit of spirit to them, but over the years I have found a few that I have recommended to various bosses and given to friends that have been big hits. Here's a few I like:

Dear Johnnies Hospital Nightgowns - These are really stylish and comfortable hospital gowns instead of the scary (sometimes butt baring) type from the hospital.

Childish Maternity Clothing - This is a great brand for really stylish and chic maternity clothes for pregnant women. They also have adorable kids clothes with a bit of rocker edge to them. This company was founded by Skye Hoppus (wife of Mark Hoppus of Blink 182 who was once an MTV exec). She also wrote a great book called Rock Star Momma (that's about staying stylish while pregnant) that would be a good add-on to any of these gifts.

If you want to get a cute and reasonably priced diaper bag, I love many of the bags from Skiphop. If you want to go crazy and your budget is totally open this Rebecca Minkoff bag is gorgeous. If you want to get something for the father to be you might consider a bag from Diaper Dudes because they are made especially for dads who don't want to carry around a pink or flowery type bag. The Diaper Dudes bags are stylish and at a really reasonable price point.

Two companies that I love for baby products also make great products for moms as well. Erbaviva is organic/eco-friendly and they make incredible stuff for both baby and mom that's all natural. One item on their site that looks new is this Quease-Ease lipbalm. Also Mustela makes a line of products for the mom to be.

So use one of these ideas or think of something unique on your own that will make the pregnant person you know smile when they get it. I promise the little extra effort will make all the difference.