10 Creative Gifts for Your Valentine

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11 X-mas Gifts That Can Change Your Life (Or Save Your Ass)

Smiling with the Hario hand grinder. Combine with the AeroPress below, and you can make world-class coffee on an airplane meal tray.

I dislike shopping, but I do love finding the perfect gift.

Finding that gift, though, gets harder with time. Those damn adults seem to already have everything. That includes me.

More salt and pepper shakers? Nah. Alternate versions of the shirts I got last year? No, thank you. In the eternal quest to eliminate clutter, I now give Santa a not-to-buy list instead of a wish list.

If you’re having trouble thinking up killer (in the good sense) gifts, here are 11 goods that deliver.

Prices are estimates, I advise two of them thanks to obsessions (#1 and #10), and all of them have either changed my life or saved my ass. OK, almost all. A few were thrown in purely for fun…

#1 – CLEAR Card – $49 for six months (35%+ off of normal $79)

I first used CLEAR card in 2007. It’s one of my secret weapons, and I never travel without it.

Hate the feeling of arriving at the airport and wondering if the security lines will take 5 minutes or 45 minutes…maybe longer? CLEAR allows you to skip security lines completely at enrolled airports (San Francisco, DFW, Denver, and more).

Now, I am never anxious going to airport. Uber takes 15 minutes from my door to check-in kiosk (eliminating parking), and I know CLEAR can get me through security in 5 minutes or less. Last time I timed myself during SFO rush hour, I was 25 minutes faster than the first-class line and more than an hour faster than the economy line… all with an economy ticket. Gift cards can be e-mailed or printed, and kids under 18 traveling with you go through the CLEAR lane for free.

#2 – Kershaw Ken Onion Leek Serrated Folding Knife with Speed Safe – $39

I have collected knives since taking pack trips through the Teton mountain range as a teenager.

This Kershaw knife with “open-assist” (basically a side-opening switchblade) is the most all-around convenient and useful knife I own. Fixed blade knives are awesome, and I own many, but the balance and utility of this Kershaw blade makes it my go-to default at home or on the road.

Be sure to get it with the serrated edge. Be sure not to leave it in your carry-on luggage. The TSA will make a frowny face otherwise.

#3 – Three Books, Three Eras

The Education of Cyrus (Cyropaedia) by Xenophon –
This was written a few years ago…in the 4th century BC. If you like Seneca or my other philosophical favorites, you’ll like this one. It was introduced to me by Wofford College president Ben Dunlap, one of the best teachers I’ve ever met in my life. For those interested, here’s his unreal Wikipedia entry. He embodies many of the lessons taught in The Education of Cyrus, as is clear in own his TED talk on lifelong learning and passion (the last 5 minutes are gold, if you need to skip around).

Levels of the Game by John McPhee –
John McPhee is probably my favorite non-fiction writer of all-time. He’s written about everything from oranges to hardwood canoes, and he transforms every subject into page-turning fascination. In Levels of the Game, published in 1979, McPhee writes his first book on tennis. I’m not a tennis player, but I loved this short, 149-page book. The critics got it right: “This may be the high point of American sports journalism.” (The New York Times) “McPhee has produced what is probably the best tennis book ever written.” (Life)

The 4-Hour Chef by Some Long Islander –
Writing The 4-Hour Chef changed how I look at learning, passion, and creativity forever. In 2007, if I’d had the contacts I do now, I would have written this book before The 4-Hour Workweek. Accelerated learning is the foundation for everything I enjoy, and it’s the force multiplier for everything in my previous two books.

Sidenote: Have you read The 4-Hour Chef already? If so, kind reader, could you please take 30 seconds and leave an Amazon review here? It’d mean the world to me. I’d love to hit 1,000 for a celebratory drink on 1/1! Also, if you’d like to explore the gear in the first 150 pages of the book, I’ve put it all here.

#4 – Amazon Prime + Roku + Escape to River Cottage – Around $152 ($79/year, $70, $1.99/episode)

I own an Apple TV, but I barely use it. Why?

Simple: An Amazon Prime membership gives me free 2-day shipping on almost everything Amazon.com, as well as 1,000s of free streaming movies and TV shows. To watch them on my TV, I just need the Roku box, which I also bought for my parents. It’s dead simple to use.

The most inspiring and life-affirming TV series I’ve watched using Prime/Roku combo is the British Channel 4's Escape to River Cottage with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. If you’ve ever fantasized about escaping the city to live in the country and live off the land, you will love this series.

#5 – AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker – $32

For this beauty, more than 300 reviewer said something like this: “I have a drip coffee machine, a french press and a Krups espresso maker, and they are all officially retired thanks to the Aeropress.”

If you combine it with a hand grinder and a non-stabby pocket thermometer, you can make the best coffee of your life on a plane flight…on the meal tray of a middle seat. I’m not kidding. Baristas often travel with an AeroPress for this reason exactly, and it takes less time to clean than a butter knife. Winning.

Extra trivia: The AeroPress was invented by the same rogue Stanford mechanical engineer who created the Aerobie toy craze.

#6 – BioTrust Low-Carb Protein Powder – $49.95
(Non-affiliate link)

I am always asked about protein powders, often related to my “30 within 30? recommendation of consuming 30 grams (g) of protein within 30 minutes of waking up. My dad, as one example, went from 5 pounds of average monthly fat loss to 17.85 pounds/month in the first month of adopting this habit.

But what to use?

For the last several months, I’ve used BioTrust low-carb protein powder, and I plan to continue doing so. It contains just 4g net carbs per serving, mixes easily with a spoon, and I find the combination of undenatured whey protein isolate, micellar casein, and other proteins easy to digest but filling enough to act as a (small) meal replacement. This is an unusual combo, and I regularly keep six or so jars at home, and I travel with two jars. During book launch, I used the “30 within 30? rule to sustain immune function while sleeping 2-3 hours per night at hotels around the country.

Be forewarned: I love the product, but like many companies, BioTrust has frequent e-mail follow-up for their related nutritional products. I’m allergic to e-mail and in elimination mode, so I opted out of this.

#7 – WaterPik Ultra Water Flosser – $45

I’ll keep this one short.

I have hated flossing my entire life. Each year, I got a lecture from the dentist, and each year, I’d attempt flossing for 2-3 days and throw in the towel. No longer.

Using the WaterPik in combination with the free Lift app got me to floss consistently for the first time. Now, I look forward to it. Weird.

#8 – Jumpcut – Free

This free download saved my sanity. It is my small gift for you.

As a writer, I cannot tell you how many times I’ve copied something important to the clipboard, gotten distracted, then copied something else…losing hours of work! Damnation! At the very least, such mistakes meant frustration and feeling like a sad keyboard monkey.

Meet Jumpcut.

Jumpcut appears on your toolbar and saves around 40 items you’ve copied to your clipboard. You won’t realize how time-saving (even life-changing) this is until you start using it. There are positive side-effects, too. Know all those temporary text files you use for notetaking for later in the day or whenever? Forgettaboutit — Jumpcut to the rescue. Special thanks to Maneesh Sethi for introducing me to this tool.

#9 – Splurge at The Billionaire Shop -$1,000,000+

Finally, a way for you to shop for your Danish Zenvo ST1 (limited to 15 in the world) online!

Ah, the conveniences of the Internet. No more shlepping down to your local Lamborghini dealership or waiting for helicopter catalogs. You can max out your AMEX black card here with one click, and that perfect X-mas gift will depreciate in 30 minutes more than the value of my current house. Enjoy!

#10 – Quarterly – My 4-Hour Obsession – $100/Quarter

Readers have been asking me for a box of physical goodies for years. So, my Lords and Ladies, I have created one with the start-up Quarterly.

Every three months — 4 times a year — you’ll get a box full of my favorite things, my newest and favorite obsessions. Through my global travels, my guinea pig self-experiments, my extensive product testing, and adventures/misadventures, I’ll find the coolest gems to share with you and pick the best for the box.

Tim Ferriss not your thing? A little too Ferrissy for ya’? Well, then… get off my lawn! But seriously, there are other cool folks to choose from, including Veronica Belmont, Mark Frauenfelder, Tina Roth Eisenberg (swissmiss), Jason Kottke, and Megan Collins. For gifting, you have the option of sending the gift confirmation directly (and immediately) to the recipient, or sending it to yourself so you can print or forward it as you see fit.

#11 – What You Already Have – Priceless

The holiday season shouldn’t be all about stuff. It should be about connecting with others and reconnecting with yourself. Don’t get me wrong: I like toys and encourage you to play. Just don’t get so lost in the X-Box that you skip a proper year-in-review introspection.

Looking back on the year, looking ahead to the next, ask yourself:

- What and who am I grateful for?
- What and who should I be more grateful for?

Remember that if you don’t appreciate what you have now, nothing you get (e.g. house, jet, business, spouse, whatever) will make you happier, much less fulfilled. There’s more to life than increasing its speed and size. Drive both without focus and your life will end up resembling the Exxon Valdez: unwieldy and hard to control.

In the new year, what will you remove from your life? What will you learn and teach? What will you simplify?

Just as I recommend these questions, I’m asking them myself.

Happy holidays, all!

Wishing you and yours the most joyous of holiday seasons,

Tim

Posted on December 20th, 2012

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The No New Gifts Holiday Challenge

Are you ready to participate in the mad shopping frenzy that we partake in every year, not only on Black Friday but all holiday season long?

Are you ready for an incredible burst of spending, for racking up credit card debt, for the stress of buying things for everyone on your list?

Are you ready to consume an insane amount of resources, to have a huge impact on the environment, to work long hours to pay for all that?

Yep, it’s the holiday season again, and with it comes the worst season for consumerism ever.

I say, let’s opt out.

My family and I are issuing a challenge to all my wonderful readers, to the world: The No New Gifts Holiday Challenge.

What is this crazy challenge? It’s simple — follow all these rules:

Buy no new gifts during the holidays.

Wait, whaaat? Don’t fret, there are alternatives:

Make gifts, like crafts or construction type gifts.Bake or cook consumable gifts like cookies.Give the gift of your service — wash cars, give a massage, babysit, clean a house, mow lawns, etc.Buy used gifts at thrift stores.Donate to charity, as a group.Volunteer at a charity together.Have a shared experience together.Create something, together, instead of consuming.Give to others things you don’t need (a good sewing machine, etc.).Find gratitude for what we already have.

Are you in? Take the challenge! It’ll be fun, you’ll save a ton of money, and your family will get creative. Read on.

Many people will scoff, and say they love giving gifts. It’s a tradition, after all!

Well, sure. But new traditions can be made if the old ones aren’t working out. And I’d argue the tradition of buying gifts is broken. Read: The Case Against Buying Gifts.

Do we really want to teach our children that giving is really all about buying? Do we want to teach them that to show love, you must buy something? Do we want to set an example of consumerism instead of creativity? Are we saying that the only way a family or friends can get together is if we spend a crapload of needless money?

No. Let’s be more creative. Let’s create new traditions.

What kind of traditions? What if families got together and played games? Built things? Went outdoors to hike, play games, swim, play in the snow, camp out? What if families taught each other how to make things?

What if families got together to help others? Volunteer at a soup kitchen, help others build houses, clean up a neighborhood? Show that giving can be amazing, but it doesn’t have to involve consumerism.

Get creative. Get healthy. Get constructive. Get compassionate.

I think you know this already, but it’s worth reminding ourselves that when you shop during a sale, you aren’t saving money. You are spending it.

The best way to save money is by not buying at all.

Sure, there are some necessities that we need, but holiday sales are not about necessities. They’re about convincing you that all these TVs, iPads, Kindle Fires, iPods, video game systems, clothes, power tools and more are necessities. You can’t escape buying all this stuff, because it’s Christmas dammit! So come down and save some money, and sign up for store credit while you’re at it.

When retailers offer you a major sale, this is a good time to run in the other direction. They’re trying to trick you into buying something you don’t need. When you see an advertisement for something, anything, it’s a good time to shut off whatever you’re watching, or go to another website. You don’t need it. Opt out of Black Friday, at the very least. (We’ll talk about next year later.)

First, your whole family doesn’t have to do this. Just you. You’ll be an oddball, and some people won’t understand, but you’ll be leading by example. Send them a link to this post, and tell them Leo made you do it. Just because everyone else is doing massive consumerism, doesn’t mean you have to.

Second, don’t be fatalist. Your family might be willing to change, if you at least start the discussion. Again, send a link to this post. Ask them what they think. Challenge them to get creative.

This could save your family thousands of dollars, and be incredibly gratifying in the process. Instead of spending hours of shopping apart from each other, you could be spending hours together, doing things. Celebrate the holidays simply.

Talk about the benefits of changing, and the problems with the way things have been done.

These holidays weren’t always about massive shopping. What did people do before department stores and malls and online retailers? How did they ever survive? Let’s try to remember.

Some friends or family members absolutely won’t join you. That’s OK. You don’t need to force this on anyone.

Remember that everyone will change at their own pace, and not everyone will embrace changes like this. They’ll feel threatened, or criticized. You need to try not to come off as critical of others, but more positive.

Tell them that they are not required to join you, but that you want to do this for your own sanity. You are trying to save money, but mostly you want to move away from consumerism. Ask only that they respect this.

Others might insist on getting you presents. Politely ask that they don’t, but if they do, don’t be ungrateful. It can be awkward — for years I’ve asked family not to buy me presents, only to have some of them buy me stuff anyway. I don’t buy them anything, so it’s weird. But these days I just smile, and say thank you, and appreciate the effort. It’s a long education process, trust me.

In the meantime, you can still suggest starting other traditions, like playing games or going outside or volunteering.

Be patient. Others don’t like to be forced into change, so just be the change you want to see in the world.

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Last Minute Valentine’s Day Gifts That Will Keep You Out of the Doghouse

Nothing says “I forgot about Valentine’s Day” or “I don’t care” like a box of Whitman’s chocolates, a stuffed animal, and a Hallmark card bought from the closest drug store. If you have indeed left things to the last minute, resist the urge to pick out your Valentine’s Day gift at CVS or Walgreens. You’ll thank me later. Instead, look over this list of gift ideas that you could give your loved one this February 14th. They don’t take much time to purchase or plan, but still make it look like you actually gave it at least some forethought.

Microsoft Zune + Zune Pass

If your loved one doesn’t yet have a portable music player, or is in need of an upgrade, this is a perfect gift. Instead of going for the now somewhat clichéd engraved iPod, I recommend looking to Apple’s rival, Microsoft, and their Zune player. While the Zune initially failed to impress the masses as the Apple iPod has, it’s grown up and matured and become a very quality device as Microsoft has paid more attention to fine-tuning things and making it a better experience. The Zune Marketplace, Microsoft’s equivalent of iTunes, is pretty cool. If you really want to go all out, pair your new Zune purchase with 12-month Zune Pass. This will allow the recipient to have access to pretty much all the music the Zune Marketplace offers on rental basis. While you don’t get to keep all of the music, you do get 10 downloads per month included with the Zune pass, and these are yours to keep. The Zune will run you anywhere from $120 to $300+, depending on the model and storage options you choose. The 12-month Zune Pass will run you $150. Customize your purchase and choose your recipient’s favorite color, or pick out a nice cover or case to go along with it, and if you have time install the Zune software on their computer and start downloading all the sappy love songs you want to pre-load for their immediate listening pleasure.

Netflix  Subscription

A subscription to Netflix will allow you to watch an unlimited number of movies and television shows on your TV using a Netflix-enabled device (such as Google TV, Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Roku, Apple TV, etc.). You can also watch them on any computer, your phone (with a Netflix app), and other mobile internet devices. If you pay a little extra, you can also get the standard Netflix by mail service and get DVDs and Blu-Ray discs mailed to your home. You can purchase a Netflix subscription online for a minimum of 3 months or more, and have the option of e-mailing your gift subscription or printing out a certificate. I’d recommend printing out the certificate and including it in a nice card.  It starts at about $8.99 per month. If your recipient does not have a Netflix enabled device, pairing the Netflix subscription with one would be even nicer. Your cheapest option would be a Roku device, which starts at just $59. Best Buy has you covered.

Gourmet Station

Scoring dinner reservations at that ultra cool restaurant you’ve always wanted to try, but haven’t gotten around to checking out might be a bit tricky on Valentine’s Day. Restaurants are notoriously packed on February 14th, and even take-out can be a painful ordeal. Instead of promising to take your love out for a nice meal at another less busy time, point your web browser to www.gourmetstation.com. Had you thought about Valentine’s Day in advance you could have ordered an awesome meal and prepared it on the actual holiday, but you did not so your option at this point is to purchase one for the future. You could select the meal yourself, but why not just purchase a certificate and let your partner decide what they’d like to order. They’ll have fun visiting the website and selecting a delectable meal.

I actually got the classic beef wellington Christmas dinner from Gourmet Station a couple years ago and was extremely impressed. The beef wellington was to die for, and the tomato bisque soup was heavenly. The dessert put the meal over the top. They really make amazing food, and all you have to do is set the table and pop the food in the oven to warm it up. You could opt to order a meal from a similar service, but because I’ve tried Gourmet Station in the past, I highly recommend them.

Opening Day Tickets

Baseball season is just around the corner and Spring Training is about to kick off. Delight the sports fan in your life with tickets to opening day. To acquire the tickets, just head out to your team’s local team shop, usually at a mall or near the ballpark. They’ll print them out for you, and all you have to do is pick up a V-Day card to put them in. If you want to give your gift a little extra punch, you could purchase a new t-shirt, hat, or jacket to pair with the tickets.

The Old Stand-Bys

If your lover is the romantic type, you can pull off the chocolates and flowers. Please though, skip the drug store and at least go to the grocery store where you can likely find something a little higher quality than Whitman’s. Make them swoon even more with a nice poem or a heart-felt message written in your carefully selected card. Later, hit up Redbox to pick out a romantic comedy and order in Chinese and you’ll be set for the evening. Guys, if you’re not yet married or engaged and want to pop the question, doing it in a romantic way could get you out of getting a gift that day entirely.  You’ll just have to promise to take her ring shopping.

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