Subscription Boxes for the Foodie Friend

As a Portland, Oregon native, every one of my friends is a self-proclaimed foodie.  We make weekly trips to local food trucks, cafes, and  various authentic “hole in the wall” restaurants.  I can’t even remember the last time we ate at a national “Cheesecake Factory” type restaurant franchise.  So when my foodie friends’ birthdays come up every month, I think to myself – how can I ‘out-food’ the foodie?

Recently, I found the perfect solution – food subscription boxes!  No matter what food obsession your friend has – whether it be junk or uber-healthy-organic – there’s a box for it!

Every month, your food subscription box service will deliver a box full of various related snacks straight to your friend’s door.  It’s a gift that keeps on giving, and it takes care of picking food for you.

Here are some fun, popular food subscription box options:

Blissmo BREAKbox:

The Blissmo BREAKbox delivers you everyday, “office” food that you can snack on all day – but without the artificial sweeteners and the guilt.  Blissmo allows you to send one mini gift box for $12.49, one regular sized gift box for $24.95, or a 3 month gift membership for $69.95!  There’s also a “blissmo beauty” option, if your friend would prefer toxin-free beauty products instead of food.

Mistobox:

We all know that every group of friends has the one coffee aficionado who only goes to “underground cafes” and scoffs at the sight of a Starbucks logo.  Thanks to Mistobox, the coffee snob friend is no longer impossible to shop for.  Mistobox delivers the country’s best fresh-roasted coffee, and has flexible gifting options. For $15 a month, you can deliver enough coffee to make about 15 cups, for either 1, 3, 6, or 12 months.  For your extra caffeinated friends, you can upgrade your plan by paying $30 a month to give enough coffee to make 30 cups, and you can double the price per month to send coffee twice a month instead of once.  So many options – so much coffee!

Naturebox:

In a world dominated by Oreos, chips, and soda, finding yummy, healthy snacks is shockingly hard, especially for an affordable price. NatureBox, however, will deliver low-calorie, healthy, nutritionist-approved snacks straight to your door every month, making the process of finding healthy snacks way easier.  If you want to give your health-obsessed friend Naturebox, you can choose between 3, 6, and 12 month options.  A 3 month subscription will cost $59.97, but if you choose to give for more months, the cost per month goes down!

KonaKase:

For your active, fit friends, the KonaKase is a great gift that will deliver 7-8 healthy, energy boosting snacks each month.  Think granola bars, but taken to a whole new level. For $15 a month, you can give the KonaKase in 1, 3, 6, or 12 month subscriptions.  Yum!

JuliBox:

Not to be confused with the French beauty box JolieBox, the Juliebox is meant to be given to your classiest, over age 21 friends.  Each month, the Julibox will consist of ingredients to make 2 of 2 different types of cocktails (4 total), including spirits and mixers.  You can pick out of a 1, 3, 6, and 12 month gift subscription, for $40 a month.

Love with Food:

While Love with Food delivers a more random assortment of food every month, the greatest part about this gift is that its more than just a gift for your friend – for every box Love with Food delivers, they also donate a meal to a hungry child.  For as low as $10 a month, you can gift someone a 3, 6, or 12 month subscription – and feed a lot of hungry children at the same time.  Talk about a heart-warming, feel good gift 🙂

Do you have any other favorite food subscription boxes?  Let us know in the comments!

Volcano Bowl

Nothing says PARTY like setting your drink on fire! If you are feeling festive, beachy, or simply want to impress your guests, try these volcano bowls and you won’t be disappointed.

volcano bowl

These bowls can hold up to 32 oz of delicious cocktails of your choice to be shared as communal beverage.  With these 17 inch neon straws, two (or more) people can enjoy the cool fruitiness simultaneously without getting consumed by fire. You can buy these ceramic bowls from Amazon, and yes, they are dishwasher safe.

As far as making the perfect drink goes for a bowl this size, try SummitSip’s recipe,

Volcano Bowl
6 oz grapefruit juice
2 oz lime juice
.75 oz grade A maple syrup
.5 oz simple syrup
3 oz Demerara rum
2 oz Jamaican rum
1 oz gold rum

Shake with lots of crushed ice and pour unstrained into your bowl filled with ice cubes. Add straws, and if appropriate, setup your volcano with 151-proof rum or other high-proof spirit and set it on fire. Dim the lights and carefully avoid the flames as you sip. Hula dancing is optional.

Let’s check out this bad boy in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmO00H66Rlo

This is a fantastic gift for cocktail enthusiasts who love that extra dramatic touch.

Feature image from DrinkStuff.com.

Post image from Binder Of Daemons.

Nifty Little Items

In most long distance relationships, people aren’t really expecting super expensive gifts but that special something to attach their feelings to. And during the search for perfect long distance relationship gifts, I found these nifty little items particularly interesting and heartwarming.

State or Country Heart Mugs

A store on Esty offers these “2 white ceramic mugs customized with two state outlines or country outlines of your choice, hearts on two cities of your choice and a whimsical dotted line connecting them”. Whether you’re busy at work or having breakfast at your kitchen table, it’ll serve as the perfect reminder and your love will grow deeper with every sip of coffee. She even offers further customization so don’t be shy to ask!

nifty little items

 

Keepsake Throw Pillow

Do you have that special event or memory that makes you warm and fuzzy inside every time it comes to mind? Now is your chance to make a visual reminder of that! Take a ticket stub or plane ticket or whatever memorabilia you may have to Kinkos, have them blow it up, print it on a fabric transfer sheet and make a pillow. The idea first comes from WeddingDayPin.com and it has since been Pinned more than two thousand times. It’s a bit on the DIY side so it’ll be extra meaningful if send it as a gift.

nifty little items

 

Relationship Diploma

nifty little items

What’s a better Christmas gift for your sweetheart than the certificate of Love? There are similar templates at DiplomaStore.com. Too reserved for your taste? What about something like this:

nifty little items

And the possibility is endless with a little Photoshopping. It is truly the best way to show what you love about him/her. Just put it on the diploma!

Charity Navigator

When giving to any charity organization, a question that is always at the back of my mind is: just how much of this donation is actually going to the cause? Today, rather than presenting a charitable gift opportunity, we wanted to share a tool for answering this question and finding great charities that efficiently do what they claim they do. Enter: Charity Navigator!

Charity Navigator

What is it?

The mission statement of Charity Navigator, according to their website, is as follows:

“Charity Navigator works to guide intelligent giving. By guiding intelligent giving, we aim to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace, in which givers and the charities they support work in tandem to overcome our nation’s and the world’s most persistent challenges.”

Simply, this means that Charity Navigator allows givers to know how effectively the funds they give are used by different charitable organizations in  hopes of compelling charities to more effectively meet their objectives.

How does it work?

Charity Navigator accomplishes its goal by investigating each charity and evaluating the organization on the qualities of financial health, accountability, and transparency. Each company can receive a maximum of 4 stars and a maximum rating of 70 based on these qualities. The ratings can be viewed on the company’s Charity Navigator page along with statistics that justify the rating.

According to Charity Navigator,

“Our ratings show givers how efficiently we believe a charity will use their support today, how well it has sustained its programs and services over time and their level of commitment to good governance, best practices and openness with information.”

I should also mention that Charity Navigator does not accept funding from any of the charities it rates to keep its evaluations unbiased.

charity navigator

Moving Forward

While it should not be the only measure taken into consideration before funding a charity, Charity Navigator is definitely an important and useful tool to employ when researching charitable giving opportunities. It is certainly one we use here at Charity Gifts and we encourage you to check it out next time you are planning on making a charitable donation.

Community Supported Agriculture Membership

We all love fresh,  locally grown vegetables. But while it’s pleasant to visit your local farmer’s market once in a while, using it for all your grocery needs can be expensive.

If you also have that super eco-friendly foodie in your family, give him or her a whole season of fresh, organic produce and more through community supported agriculture.

Community supported agriculture (CSA) is a mutual agreement between consumers and a farmer that guarantees the farmer a reliable income, and the consumers a share of the farm’s production. Consumers pay in advance for a weekly basket throughout growing season. The baskets usually have enough vegetables, fruits, and even dairy products to feed a family of four, with different options for different size families. There are also options for smaller families. These baskets will be delivered to a local farmer’s market and or any other location that’s convenient for the both of you. Most farmers have multiple delivery locations throughout a metropolitan area. If you’re still not sure what to expect, check out the YouTube video below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-e7asz-XE0

Now, there is some risk to this program – a bad season can mean less produce. However, by supporting your farmer through a rougher season, you may receive a sizable payoff during the better seasons, and also develop a close, personal relationship to the person harvesting your food. Not to mention, you’ll always have fresh, tasty, and nutritious vegetables on your table.

If you don’t have a farm in mind (and the chances are that you don’t), Local Harvest is a good place to start. They have a “living” directory of small farms, farmer’s markets, and other local food sources. While you’re at it, why not look for an organic restaurant near you as well?

 

community supported agriculture

Since this gift is likely to have an impact on your recipient’s lifestyle (or at least their dinner table), it’s a good idea to make sure they have a genuine passion for fresh, organic food. And if that’s the case, a  Community Supported Agriculture Membership will make a perfect experiential gift.

Feature image from Martin Cathrae.

Post image from Cristina.

MicroPlace

The charitable gifting opportunity we will be presenting today is very similar to KIVA, which was the first charitable featured by Charity Gifts, in the sense that it allows its users to essentially make a loan to a small business but with the added feature of expected interest.

The name of this opportunity is Microplace.

MicroPlace

What is it?

According to their website,

“MicroPlace is a brokerage platform where you can invest in companies that are creating a positive social impact in the U.S. and abroad and that offer a financial return to you.”

This means for $20 or more I can fund an organization that is creating real, positive change in its community and possibly earn a return between 0.5% and 4.5% on my investment which I can invest in another company if I so choose. How awesome is that!

microplace Quote

How does it work?

To get started changing the world one investment portfolio at a time, a user creates a MicroPlace brokerage account, looks through the investment opportunities available, which are organized by social causes, location, and financials, selects an investment and investment amount. They’ll then purchase a short-term note through an insurer, an organization carefully selected by MicroPlace, which offers investment opportunity focused on solving a social issue.

Why is it a great gift?

Microplace is such a great charitable gifting opportunity because it is an opportunity that keeps on giving. Not only is the giver likely to get their donation back with interest which can be the fuel for another cause investment but also because the cause invested in is likely to cause a chain of positive events for the community.

Wine and Painting

“Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist when you grow up.”

–Pablo Picasso

So many of us loved drawing when we were kids. The world was full of possibilities, and there’s never a shortage of creativity. But somehow, so many of us lose that artist within us along the way, and most people never pick up a brush again. Thanks to numerous wine and painting franchises that have emerged in recent years, now is your chance to reconnect with that creative self again! You can explore the beauty of color while sipping on your favorite wine. If it sounds like something you might enjoy, track down your local franchise and get in touch with your artistic side. Here’s some example templates that you’ll be able to paint yourself:

Wine and Painting                      Wine and Painting

As you may have noticed, these paintings are simplified and  have helpful outlines to color in, so ZERO painting experience is required! You don’t even have to bring your own paint or brush. Just show up with a bottle of wine, your choice of snack, and let the creative juices flow!  With some simple guiding steps from an instructor, you’ll have a new, self-created piece of art in your living room in no time!

The largest franchise by far is Painting with a Twist, which has 94 locations in the nation. It is a Louisiana-based  business that has a strong presence in the south. There are 10 shops in greater Houston area alone. Some Painting with a Twist locations even offer a free S.O.S. session every month where you can finish the rest of your masterpiece or simply touch it up a bit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Chsl0_ByAs

One of their main competitors is Pinot’s Palette, which offers the same prices- $35 for two hours and $45 for three hours. They both offer gift certificates to which you can add a personal message!

There are other similar franchises, such as Wine and Canvas & Paintnite.

It’s the perfect experiential gift for a date night, a girls’ night out, and even bachelorette parties.

Feature image from Frank Kovalchek.

cocktail bitters

“Bitters are to a cocktail as salt is to soup.”

A bitters is an alcoholic beverage flavored with herbal essences that has a bitter or bittersweet flavor. A couple of drops of bitters will make a huge difference in your cocktail. They are, well, bitter, on their own, but will make every other flavor interesting and multi-dimensional.

For the average beginner cocktail enthusiast, I recommend the Angostura Aromatic Bitters on Amazon.

cocktail bitters

Its unique blend of natural herbs and spices can add flavor to a wide variety of food and drinks.  People have used it on ice cream, fruits, jellies, and sodas. It also brings out the best in your mojitos and will make a wonderful stocking stuffer.

For the more experienced cocktail enthusiast, I recommend going big and getting the Fee Brothers Bar Cocktail Bitters Complete Set. It’s a 12- bottle bitters set that has every flavor imaginable to man.

cocktail bitters

The following review from oldtaku pretty much says it all,

Your flavor options are:
– Fruit: Peach, Lemon, Grapefruit, Cherry, Rhubarb, Cranberry, Orange….
– Other: Mint, Plum, Old Fashioned, Celery, Aztec Chocolate.

The fruit flavors speak for themselves, but the others are more interesting. The mint bitters can add a lot to a simple mojito. Celery works fantastic with tomato juice or bloody mary mix. The plum is very cinnamon-y, and the Old Fashioned is like the plum but with extra heavy spices.

The Aztec Chocolate Bitters aren’t quite as tasty on their own, but work well when paired with a good spiced rum like The Kraken.

Get some bitters – it’ll make your mixoligist’s dreams come true!

Subscription Boxes for Men

Most subscription boxes out there tend to have themes made for women – beauty, clothing, crafts, and so on.  But who says men don’t want a gift every month too?  These boxes make great monthly subscription boxes for every kind of guy:

Bro Box Club:

Price: $14.95/ month (the promotion code ‘GOBROGO’ may get you 50% off)

Intended to be a gift itself, the BroBox is a gesture of love from one bro to another.  On the 5th of every month, a box will be mailed to your bro with products from the best brands and craftsman.  ‘Certified bros’ review all the products in the box.  Though the website doesn’t specifically say, products seem to be related to snacks, energy boosters, gadgets, and personal care.

Subscription Boxes for Men

 

Dollar Shave Club:

Price: $1/month (+S&H), $6/month (S&H included), or $9/month (S&H included)

True to their slogan “Shave Time. Shave money” the Dollar Shave Club is perfect for the thrifty and the lazy.  For $1 a month, you will get shipped 5 cartridges of a basic razor (2 stainless steel blades), for $6 a month, you’ll get 4 cartridges of a 4 stainless steel blade razor (that can also be used by a girlfriend), and for $9 a month, you’ll get 4 cartridges of a fancy, 6 stainless steel blade razor.  You can also add Shave Butter for $8 or ‘Wipes‘ for $4.  Though you technically can’t gift these boxes on a monthly basis, you can order a gift card to get your friend a Dollar Shave Club membership, for $10, $25, $50, $100, or $250.

Subscription Boxes for Men

Bombfell:

Price: Essential: $69, Premium: $129, Luxury: $199 – NOT monthly!

Instead of paying a fixed amount every month, Bombfell mails you a set of clothing every month depending on what you put in your style profile.  You have 10 days to try on the clothes in the box.  Bombfell offers free shipping (both ways) and easy returns – so if you don’t like any of the items, you can send them right back!  You then get billed for the items you keep.  In terms of gifting, a $69 gift card will get him a high quality basic item, whereas the Luxury $199 month will cover premium brands, and even blazers and jackets!

Subscription Boxes for Men

Sidenote: another men’s clothing box, TrunkClub, offers the same service!

Mantry:

Price: $75/month

Comments: You can gift Mantrys in a one, three, or six month subscription. For $75 a month, you’ll receive 6 full-size artisan food products with recipes packaged in a wooden crate.  It’s the perfect gift for your self-proclaimed ‘foodie’ husband or boyfriend.

Subscription Boxes for Men

Urban Cargo:

Price: $17.95 / quarter

Shipped 4 times a year, the Urban Cargo ‘Box of Handsome’ makes the perfect gift for your well-groomed friends. The ‘Box of Handsome’ includes 3-5 samples of premium grooming products (from brands like Kyoku) and $5 store credit.

Subscription Boxes for Men

Curator & Mule:

Price: $60/”season”

Every few months, you’ll get shipped a box with stylish  accessories.  They’ll email you ahead of time before they ship their box, so you can skip a month whenever you want.

Subscription Boxes for Men

Bespoke Post:

Price: $45 / month

For $45 a month, you’ll get a themed box delivered to you that will upgrade your life with lifestyle products, accessories, and seasonal essentials.  You can gift this for 1, 3, or 6 months.

Subscription Boxes for Men

Birchbox Men:

Price: $20/month

Birchbox Women is one of the most popular beauty boxes out there, but men want in on the fun too!  Each Birchbox is filled with high-end grooming and lifestyle samples.  You can gift a Birchbox in 3, 6, and 12 month subscription packages.

Subscription Boxes for Men

 

We hope one of these will make a great last-minute gift for the man in your life!

Romantic Dinner Cruise

Date nights are always fun with good food, good drinks, and good company. But after a while, they can definitely get repetitive.  Ready to take it up a notch? To really spice things up, take your next date on a romantic dinner cruise!

Romantic Dinner Cruise

Dinner cruises are an especially great option for special occasions such as Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, and birthdays.

They usually last 2 to 3 hours. You will sail away peacefully while watching the sunset, enjoy an intimate dinner with your sweetheart, and dance the night away under the moon. Dinners are usually prepared with fresh local seafood.  Some cruise lines even end the night with a firework show! Music options usually ranges from soft jazz to more modern DJ music, so if that matters to you, be sure to ask beforehand.

The best part is, you don’t have to live next to the ocean to enjoy the experience. If you are close to any substantial area of water, chances are there is some kind of cruise dinner. Cloud9Living.com offers a range of cruising options around the country.

You can also include the experience into your traveling itinerary. If it is the ultimate New York experience you’re looking for, be sure to check out this package offered by Viator.com.

Let’s go cruising!

Feature image from Prayitno.

Post image from ayustety.