Tequila!

It's such a cliche: everyone toasts the new year with champagne.  All those fizzy bubbles heading straight up your nose, the silly glass, the instant headache (and you're not even hungover yet). There must be some relief.

How about tequila?  And we're not talking that poison yellow Cuervo crud, either.  Present your New Year's Eve host or hostess with a bottle of Corvo Silver tequila.  First off, it's an excellent "sipping" tequila, so you don't have to worry about shots and salt and limes to suck.  Second, have you ever seen a prettier bottle? Seriously, it looks like a lovely New Year's ice sculpture.  So stylish on a bar.

It's available at fine liquor stores everywhere, for around fifty bucks (just try getting a decent bottle of bubbly for that price).  You can also order online at www.wallyswine.com.

The Two Faces of Time

Sometimes time flies and sometimes it drags.  Time's your friend one minute and your enemy the next.  And never is that more true than once you've had a baby.

The new moms in your life know this well. Baby time moves like a tortoise on Valium, yet

those babies grow up in an instant.  So here's a "baby" present that seems most appropriate for that new mom: two clocks for baby's room.

One angel clock and one devil clock, set exactly how mom wants them.  The angel can show the current time, the devil Bangkok time (or the devilishly fun venue of her choice).  They're both very cute and very affordable.

Spend some time online at www.smakparlour.com and check them out.  Because with this gift, time might really be on your side, after all.

Taurus, Toro, Bull

Another holiday season has just ended.  The candles have burned (maybe at both ends), Santa is taking a much-needed vacation at Club Med, and you're given the needle-strewn task of dismantling the tree and overloading recycling bins all over town with holiday remnants.  But it's not done yet.

You still have New Year's!  And hostess presents!  And yes, while a bottle of booze is always an acceptable gift, it's not the only one to proffer. How about a New Year's bull?

This sweet yet dignified bull bookend fits the year's end perfectly.  It lovingly supports all the novels and cookbooks your hardworking hostess received for the holidays.  It looks beanbaggy and friendly on the shelf.  And it adds that wishful longing for the coming year: a bull market.  You can definitely toast in the New Year to that.

Order him at www.thefutureperfect.com.  He might be a bull, but this gift sure isn't.

Baaaaaaa Humbugs

So it's Christmas Eve-- the zero hour and you're behind.  It's still not too late to give the gift that really will keep on giving.

Gift your yet-to-be-gifted with an e-card and donation from Heifer International.  This excellent non-profit organization gives milk, meat, and wool producing animals to very poor families in third world countries.  The result?  Through production of said milk, meat, and wool, the families earn extra income and nutrition, becoming self-sufficient in the process.

And, it's economical, too.  Heifer gives you tons of choices.  Give a flock of ducks or geese for 20 bucks.  Thirty smackers buys a hive of honeybees (the honey's great for the family, and the bees are just great for the environment).  Or, you can be a big spender and give a goat, a pig, and even a water buffalo.

This is a truly wonderful method of introducing the idea of charitable giving to children in a way they'll understand.  Heifer International sends them an animated card explaining what their gift does for families around the world, and you get to explain the importance of helping people everywhere.

Go to www.heifer.org for more information.  It's a way to give a gift with real staying power.

Ring In Your Sweetie with a Ball and Chain

At this late date, it's probably impossible to get anything shipped in time for Christmas, but what about New Year's?

Ringing in the New Year is a much honored (and hangovered) American tradition.  And you can get extra bonus points by giving your loved one a ring to ring in 2009.

Even better, this is a subtle, stylish, non-engagement type ring, so there will be absolutely no misunderstandings during Auld Lang Syne.  This gold bauble is designed just like one of those ball chains you used to use for your key ring (before key rings became a fashion statement and cost a mint).  And it really lets you know that she is, after all, your ball and chain.

It's also at a pretty decent price point (being, like almost all items on Find a Toad, under $200.  See it in all its glory at www.thisisauto.com.  And then spring for an honorary economy sized bottle of Advil to accompany your New Year's Eve ring of devotion.

Funny Bunny

Or maybe not so funny.  To some, this bunny cookie jar looks menacing and plotting, adding drama wherever he is.  

Here's what makes this bunny so special: as well as being ironic, it's a limited art piece.  

Designed by Japanese artist Momoyo Torimitsu, this bunny is a large scale object specifically intended as a commentary on Japanese small living spaces, a sort of size protest, if you will.  It's also an art multiple, meaning only 1,000 of each color was produced.  So once they're gone, they're gone.  This is perfect for the Japanese anime fan in your life, or a fledgling art collector.

He's also reminiscent, in U.S. circles, of the cult film Donnie Darko (one of my personal favorites).  And, he just looks great hanging around in just about any kitchen, spreading his lapinesque vibe.

You can find him just an online hop, skip, and a jump away at www.cerealart.com.

  

Take This Bag Advice

So I'd kind of sworn I was going to avoid the ubiquitous canvas bags that are so popular for environmental reasons.  You know, all those bags with their self-righteous "I am not a plastic bag" proclamations (often seen in malls stuffed full of plastic junk doomed for the landfill; at least it's all being carried in a politically correct fashion).

I do, however, like these canvas bags.  Emblazoned with a city map of your choice, the bag either proclaims a serious case of tourista or a definite amount of hometown pride.  Either is superior to the "who's the greenest of them all" contest.

Choose from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Manhattan, Brooklyn, or Chicago.  They're only $15, so they're great for a stand alone gift or one stuffed full of biodegradable products.  Or, stuffed full of cans of hairspray and oven cleaner.  Your choice.

Order one at www.creaturesofcomfort.us.