Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Strange But True Unusual Gifts For You

By: John Smith

Sometimes it can be really difficult to find that perfect gift for someone, but traditional gifts can still make unusual gifts when they have a unique twist to them.

Plants can often be last minute gifts, rather than unusual Christmas gifts, but according to Feng Shui, plants should be a significant part of our environment. The Chinese term Feng Shui means 'wind water' and Feng Shui is about living in harmony with our environment through effective energy flow. Plants bring luck in both the house and office, but there are a couple of important points to consider. Firstly, avoid buying plants with spikes for indoors and secondly they should never be bought for a bathroom as this brings bad luck. According to Hindi traditions, oranges and lemons are thought to ward off the evil eye as well as bring prosperity to a home, so a dwarf orange or lemon tree can be an ideal gift. Chrysanthemums mean strength in life, narcissi and orchids represent elegance and the azalea represents both elegance and wealth. The azalea is also found on a Chinese Yuan (coin), as a true representation of wealth. It's worth noting that there are often plants named after people, for example, the rose "Charlotte" or the geranium "Laura". There are also gifts set for naming a rose, or dedicating a tree.

There are lots of unusual gifts for bathrooms, which you may not think of as gifts straight away. How about a waterproof clock, or the traditional rubber duck? Rubber ducks have been with us for around two hundred years but the yellow rubber duck that we are most familiar with was made famous by Ernie from Sesame Street in the 1970's. For a more unusual bathroom gift it's possible to get rubber ducks in the shape of celebrities, so if someone adores a famous actor, why not get that person as a rubber duck! There are lots of other unusual Christmas hampers that can make bath times fun for people of any age, how about some soap crayons, or a block of vibrating soap?

Outdoors fun for the young or old can be created with a space hopper or a kite. There are sizes and shapes of kites available to suit all budgets. Kites have been around for almost 3000 years and were used as a way in which offerings could be lifted to the Gods. They were also used for testing the wind and measuring distances. A number of Asian countries still carry out "kite fighting" in which people have to snag or cut their opponents kites down and in the Orient, it's believed that the gift of a kite to someone will bring them good luck and happiness. The longest kite in the world is 1034 metres long and in 1670 kite flying was banned in Japan in because too many people were flying kites instead of working! There are also giant outdoor games such as skittles that make unusual gifts for the whole family, while remote control cars remain a funky gift for any age of male. These have been around since the 1960's but for a twist on this, why not buy a remote controlled plane, helicopter, monster truck, or even a remote controlled robot? These are guaranteed to bring out the child in any adult.

For unusual gifts at Christmastime, why not look at traditional European gifts. The German Nutcrackers have their roots in music and literature and remain a popular European gift. Miners traditionally carved German Nutcrackers as a hobby and they often represented political figures, as people could not speak out against the politicians of the day. There are also lots of European Christmas delicacies available nowadays in most supermarkets.

Gift experiences are becoming more and more popular and provide lots of inspiration for unusual gifts. How about a session of aqua sphereing? There are different ways to describe this, including being in a giant hamster ball, or being on the spin cycle in a washing machine! For an even stranger gift experience, how about sending someone ghost hunting? A night can be spent in a haunted location investigating ghostly goings-on. Because the UK contains so many haunted houses and castles it's ideal for a trip into the paranormal.

There are also customised gifts, why not have a t-shirt customised with someone's favourite photo, or, for an extra twist, their favourite phrase or expression. There are many unusual Christmas gifts online out there; you just need to spend a little time seeking out the perfect ones for the special people in your life.

About the Author:
To explore our range of unusual gifts further, please visit our website at http://www.gettingpersonal.co.uk.

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