Mary Jean Wall

Perfect Map Gifts

When it comes to buying presents, many people freeze up in fear . They want to find the perfect gift for the recipient– not something that will get a fake smile and be cast aside. They want to find a gift that will be appreciated, remembered, and utilized or enjoyed. The ideal gift would be one that the person didn’t even know they wanted but instantly recognizes as something that can’t live without.

A map or a globe may turn out to be just that gift — if enough care is taken in selecting it.

Shoppers should start by thinking about the interests and background of the friend or family member who would receive the map. Someone with a strong connection to and fond memories of a specific period of their life might love to have a map that reminds them of that time. Think how much a former Peace Corp member would love a framed map of the country in which they served.

Maps can be personalized to make special gifts. This may be as simple as having a Hawaii Wall Map customized with the names of a couple and their wedding date to commemorate their honeymoon. It could also mean spending extra money to have a map made that centers around a specific person — with significant places from their life highlighted. It is also possible to buy a general purpose map and manually note important locations.

An educational map puzzle can be a great gift for a child and an antique map is appropriate for art lovers. In fact, there probably is some type of map that would be the perfect gift for just about anyone.

Shoe Lovers Have Standards

There’s a cartoonish idea of the female shoe horse — a woman who can’t resists buying any pair of shoes that are on sale or look remotely cute. It doesn’t matter if she has anything to wear with the shoes or even has the money to pay for them in her clothing budget. If she sees a shoe, she must buy it.

As with most stereotypes, there are some women who come close to fitting this notion of shoe fiend, but most are more temperate in their love of shoes . They will be attracted to beautiful shoes and perhaps even fall in love with a pair that meets their ideal image of what a shoe can be. However, they won’t give in to every impulse to purchase. Instead they will carefully weigh their actual need or intended use for the shoe along with the price against the seductive pull of it’s physical appearance.

The best shoe shoppers will look consider it a badge of honor that they never pay full price. They will scour shoe sale ads and look for coupons for footwear etc before heading out to buy even a simple pair of sneakers. They know the dates of the seasonal sales at all their favorite shoe stores and may even be on email lists or snail mail lists for announcements and discounts.