We’re not Martha Stewart; most craft and recipe books make us feel like total flunkies. The ingredients are usually impossible to find and the projects have more steps than we can even count.
But “Natural Beauty for All Seasons, 250 Simple Recipes and Gift-Giving Ideas for Year-Round Beauty” by Janice Cox (Henry Holt and Co., $16.95) is a book you can truly use and delight in.
Buy it as a gift in itself or use it to make scads of gifts for friends. We’ve made a dozen recipes, including Eggnog Lotion, Lady Godiva Body Scrub (it’s sugar, oil and milk), Banana Hair Conditioner and Whipped Cream Body Mask. This book, available at most bookstores, makes treating your body beautifully a breeze.
Can’t stand the thought of trudging through store after store desperately seeking that perfect gift? Sit back and relax! Unusual mail-order products are virtually at your fingertips. Just call Art Elements at 800-566-6866 for a catalog or info. These items knocked us off our feet (item numbers are listed after each product):
– For the woman who has everything, but can’t get to it because she keeps locking herself out of her house, there’s the charm key bracelet (KB-GR; $21.50 plus shipping and handling). This steel bracelet comes with clanky pewter charms and beads that a house key can tuck in next to quite charmingly.
– Help your co-workers hand out business cards in style with this silver-plated card case (BC-N; $12.50 plus shipping and handling). Because it keeps cards from getting crumpled or torn, it helps send a much better message than “Sorry, I’m a slob.”
The Force is with you: Give those sci-fi-loving, couch-potato loved ones this gift and you’ll never pry the remote out of their hands. The Star Wars Lightsaber Universal Remote Control emits both light and sound effects and is designed to work with almost all brands of TVs, VCRs and cable boxes. Look for it at Sharper Image and Hammacher Schlemmer stores for $44.95.