Christmas is almost upon us and we have few shopping days left. To help you get out and get the gifts you need I have my second shopping guide for some great gift ideas from products I have reviewed or ones that are currently on my to do list. The products I am showcasing here are ones I think are great and I would love to have gotten as gifts, wait, most of them I have but they do make great gifts.
William Bounds is my second set of products I have reviewed with the cook in mind and I just love the products I reviewed for them. They are all quality products and so handy for everyday use that they would make great gifts for the cook or chef in your life.
The Bamboo Pepper Mill from William Bounds Limited is made from the high yield renewable resource bamboo that grows incredibly fast. Bamboo is perfect for use as a wood source as it grows so fast it makes a great resource that is easily replenished. The 8 inch Bamboo Mill is perfect for hard spices like pepper for that special touch to your cooking and meal presentation.
This handsome spice mill will be a unique addition to any table as the mills are made from bamboo in a process of cutting and gluing the pieces together individually for a unique and one of a kind design. No two mills will be the same as the pattern and shapes of each piece of bamboo will be different for each mill.
These Bamboo Mills from William Bounds run from $15 to $25 from their website and are also available from premiere kitchen stores.
The next set of products from William bounds are in the Sili product line of Silicone covered kitchen utensils for the heat resistant properties as well as the non stick coating that is easy to clean.
The Sili V Angled Roaster Rack is great for roasting large roasts, turkeys and other large meats as well as steaks. I roasted my Thanksgiving bird on the roaster rack and was very pleased with the results. I recently roasted some great pork steaks on the rack for some great tasting nicely cooked steaks that turned out very well.
The V Angled Rack is a Silicone covered cooking rack that fits into pans for even roasting so your meat does not burn due to sitting directly on the pan. Cleanup is easy as the rack is totally covered in Silicone for simple washing and heat resistance.
The roaster rack costs $20 from the William Bounds website and goes great with the Sili Sling. The Sili Sling is another roasting tool that makes removing your large turkey or other meats from the pan or roaster easy and quick.
The Sili Sling is a nice size for large birds and has the two easy to hold handles. It was a simple matter of placing the bird on the sling and setting the whole thing on the V Angled Rack for roasting in my roaster. When the bird was done I lifted it out of the roaster using the sling handles with no hot mitts or oven gloves.
The silicone handles were cool enough to grab without any protection which meant I kept complete control when lifting the bird out. I also used a fork to make sure the bird did not tilt out of the sling and it worked so well. It was also very handy when preparing the turkey for roasting as I could hold onto the slippery bird when pulling out the stuff that does not get roasted.
The Sili Sling costs $20 from the William Bounds site and makes a great gift with or without the V Angled Roasting Rack.
The Sili Measuring Cups are another great silicone covered product but is not microwave safe as they do have some stainless steel in them for the handles and to make the cups sturdy. The body of each cup, four in the set, are made with a steel base that creates the handle and extends down to support the bottom of the cup. The rest is made out of silicone that is formed right over the stainless steel base for the non stick and slightly flexible cup.
These cups are great for slightly sticky and slimy stuff like eggs as the eggs do not stick to the sides and are perfect for things like mayonnaise and peanut butter. The cups are flexible and scooping stuff out of them is so very easy because you can get your spatula around all the insides. The Sili Measuring cups cost $20 and a Sili Measuring spoons set at $10 is also available from William Bounds.
The last product from William Bounds I reviewed and would make an excellent gift for the holidays is the Herb Ball. The Herb Ball and smaller version Tea Ball are both similar just different in size. Both the Herb Ball and Tea Ball are a cup shaped stainless steel dome with a silicone cap and a handle running out the top that has a silicone knob. The Herb Ball is great for herbs in soups and stews that you do not want to leave in like bay leaves and thyme sprigs. You can dunk and leave the herb ball in your soup or stew and when time comes to remove them simply lift out and place on the handy silicone rest that doubles as a spoon rest.
The Tea Ball is the same as the Herb Ball only a smaller size that is perfect for a cup of tea. I have used the Herb Ball for tea as well and it worked perfect for two cups of tea in a travel mug. The Herb Ball costs $15 from William Bounds and the Tea Ball costs $10 for some great low cost gifts or even stocking stuffers.
All the William Bounds products can be found at their website, williamboundsltd.com, and can also be found at kitchen specialty stores.
Chefs Choice is a great company for knives and knife sharpeners and I recently reviewed a fantastic knife sharpener station, the Chef's Choice Professional Sharpening Station.
The Sharpening Station comes with a three stage system that you can sharpen knives to a razor edge, my arm is bare from all the hair removal and I know you're not supposed to do that but it does tell you how sharp the station can get a knife. You can use the first stage with the second or third for a regular or steeled edge and receive the knife sharpened edge you want.
The first stage is your diamond abrasive wheel that will last years for sharp knives in your kitchen. That professional edge with small serrations is called a steeled edge and is easy to accomplish with the Professional Sharpening Station stage two as it guides the knife blade along the steel for the perfect angle. The first and third stages will give you a sharp edge and a perfect razor honing to that edge with the third stage stropping wheel. The Chef's Choice Professional Sharpening Station costs about $150 but is worth every penny for the sharpest knives easily and quickly.
You can purchase this great sharpener and others from Chef's Choice at Target and other department stores as well as several online sites. Just Google Chef's Choice for the Professional Sharpening Station or the other product I recently reviewed and really like, the Chef's Choice Cordless Electric Kettle.
The Cordless Electric Kettle may be a bit confusing with the name but it works great. The kettle has the element, on off switch and even a filter all in the kettle itself and the base with the electric cord is separate and connects to the kettle with a protected electrical connection at the bottom. Just lift the kettle for use or filling and set it on the base and the protected connection will connect the element in the bottom of the kettle to the base.
The kettle has an automatic boil setting that turns the kettle off quickly after the water comes to a boil and also shuts off if the kettle boils to a low level. The electric kettle is perfect for making tea or hot chocolate and makes a great stylish present for anyone who wants hot water in a hurry. The 1,500 watt element brings water to a boil in minutes for a quick heating that works great for office or dorm rooms.
I have even seen this in use in a store that sells teas, coffees and candies for heating water for tea samples. The Chef's Choice Cordless Electric Kettle costs about $50 and is also available at Target and other stores as well as several on the internet.
All the Chef's Choice products I have reviewed are high quality and stylish products that I have been happy to review as they have all been great products to use.
Nordic Ware has some great kitchen products is most known for the complete line of Bundt bake ware products but some of the lesser known products are just as fun to review and try out. The Nordic Kettle Smoker Indoor/Outdoor Cooker is an excellent stovetop cooker for that unique treat in cooking.
You simply place about two or three tablespoons of ground smoking woodchips in the bottom and place the drip pan on top of this. The meat or fish, vegetables and even pizza are placed on the Teflon coated rack and the cover even has a hole for a temperature thermometer for accurate smoking.
Set the whole thing on the stove and cook at medium to high heat depending on your stove to keep the temperature inside at 200 to 220 degrees. The meats come out smoky and juicy tender for that perfect smoked flavor without the mess and hassle of a real fire. Cleanup is easy with the drip pan and rack Teflon coated and the entire thing is dishwasher safe and cleans easily.
I have used the Nordic Ware smoker several times for chicken fish and steaks to create that great smoking flavor for fantastic meals. It is easy to do and takes just a little longer than traditional cooking, can't wait to try pizza. Chicken breasts took about a half hour for great tasting apple tinged smoked chicken breasts using the included apple wood chips and the Salmon steaks were fantastic with the hickory smoked chips.
The Nordic Kettle Smoker Indoor/Outdoor Cooker is a great way to enjoy smoked cooking without the hassle of a smoker.You can find the Nordic Ware Kettle Cooker at the Nordic Ware website for $90 and other retail stores that sell Nordic Ware products.
Everyone needs to get their hair cut from time to time and doing this at home saves a lot of money. The days of mom cutting the kids hair are still here and even for that quick trim around the bangs and side burns means a good trimmer or clipper is a must for a decent job.
Two products I have recently reviewed that would make an excellent gift are the Wahl MiniPro Clipper and the Andis Power Fade.
The Wahl MiniPro Clipper kit is perfect for trimming after the big cut and for that grooming in between cuts. I have been using Wahl clippers for years and have been very happy with the smaller clippers. The Wahl brand is a great one with plenty of years of product development for high quality and durable products and the MiniPro Clipper Kit is perfect for home hair cutting.
The MiniPro clipper is perfect with its smaller blade and head and does a great job of trimming up for the great looking hair cut. The size of the head means it can maneuver around your face, under the nose and around the neck for a close and even cut and trim. The clipper is perfect for grooming mustaches and beards and makes a great gift for the man who needs to keep well groomed.
The 13 piece kit comes with the clippers, blade protector, six guards, a barber comb and mustache comb, blade oil, cleaning brush and clipper manual with hair cutting guide. The Wahl MiniPro Clipper set costs about $30 and is available from several retail stores and online sites.
Andis is another great hair trimmer and clipper manufacturer and makes some great hair clippers and trimmers with the recent incorporation or ceramic blades for great sharp cutting and long wear.
A ceramic blade for the cutting edge of the blades means little wear, no clogging and a smoother cut. I have used the clippers for cutting my sons hair, sorry about that, and found the clippers cut very smoothly with no pulling or tugging at all. The blade stays really cool and never gets hot to the touch even after cutting for several minutes. Even though this is under the professional hair care products on the Andis website the cutters would make a great gift for the home hair cutting do it yourselfer.
The Andis Power Fade is perfect for blending and fade cuts but works equally well for any type of hair cut. This powerful clipper does a great job and works extremely well for cutting hair. The Andis Power Fade costs about $80 to $100 and can be found on the internet and at hair salon supply stores.
I looked for the hair guides for my new clippers and received a sound recommendation for the clippers from the store clerk who said many people really like the clippers for the sharpness and smooth cutting.
Both the Wahl MiniPro and the Andis Power Fade are fantastic quality clippers and would be great for home hair cutting and styling.
The Penguin United Wii Pistol and the Wii Zapper are gun accessories for the Wii and offer something unique to shooters on the console gaming system.
The Penguin United Wii Pistol is perfect for use in first person shooters and costs a mere $15 from Penguin United. The pistol fits the Wii remote on top for an easy enhancement to your gaming.
The Wii Pistol works well for games and leaves all the buttons easily accessible for use in any game on the Wii. The pistol brings more to your gaming experience and adds to the fun of the game for quick and easy use of your remote as a pistol or gun. The Wii Pistol allows you to have your Nunchuk in your other hand which I found quite handy for use in several games like Metroid Prime Corruption where you needed to use the Nunchuk for movement and the pistol for pointing using and of course shooting.
Both the Wii Pistol from Penguin United and the Wii Zapper from Nintendo work extremely well in first person shooters on the Wii console. Some may wish to use one over the other due to having the pistol separate from the remote with the Wii Pistol from Penguin United. Some games are better for using the remote and Nunchuk as a complete unit like the Wii Zapper from Nintendo.
The Zelda games are games that the Wii Zapper was designed for and it works great in the ones I have tried it with. For the game Metroid Prime Corruption I really do prefer to have the remote and Nunchuk separate but the Zapper works very well for the Zelda games.
The Wii Zapper holds both the Wii remote and Nunchuk in one unit like a rifle for control of the pistol like remote at the front and the Nunchuk at the stock area of the Zapper. You can use the Zapper with either hand at the front and rear of the device and I was actually surprised when it felt more comfortable to use my left hand to fire with and my right to control the movement.
The Wii Zapper works very well and really gives you the feeling of being more into the game and makes the experience much more fun and exciting. The Wii Zapper comes with the Link's Crossbow Training for a great introduction into the use of the Zapper and a fun trip through levels of shooting with a crossbow. The Wii Zapper and Link's Crossbow Training costs about $20 and is available at many retail stores and online from several sites.
Both the Wii Pistol from Penguin United and the Wii Zapper make a great stocking stuffer and cost very little for the amount of fun and enjoyment they will bring to your little, or big, gamer.
Speaking of gamers Genius manufactures some great computer accessories and the HS-03U USB Gaming Headset with Vibration is the quality headphone and microphone set any gamer would love to have. The HS-03U headset is very comfortable and easy to use, just plug it in and your computer will do all the rest.
It is plug and play simple and works extremely well for that touch of style and really good sound quality. The easy controls on the cord make for simple in game adjustments and the vibration addition adds to your gaming experience with a subtle vibration for louder noises and sounds.
The vibration is not that head beating obvious vibrations like you can get from a subwoofer sitting on a shelf but is very subtle and almost unnoticeable for what it is. You can notice something is missing when you turn it off but it just adds to the experience of sound with a slight vibration or reverb for sound.
The Genius HS-03U USB Headset is the perfect gift for the gamer and everyone else who does not want to hear the game they are currently engrossed in. The Genius HS-03U costs about $40 and is available from many online retailers as well as the Genius web store.
If you are using Windows Vista and need to know more about your computer you need the Big Book of Windows Hacks. This great compilation of Windows XP and Vista hints, tips and hacks helps you make your computer and operating system do what you want it to.
From simple things like adding a new splash screen on startup instead of the Windows loading bar to how to make your network run smoother or run at all. This great book is filled with so many tips and tricks that you will spend weeks just trying out many to see how well they work and to improve your computer.
Many of these tips and hints can be found on the internet and some are ones I have been using for months but this book includes them all in one simple place. The Big Book of Windows Hacks even gives helpful information about the tips and hacks and exactly what you are doing for a better understanding of what you're doing to your system. You learn more when they explain what the hack does and how it affects your computer so you learn more about your computer and Windows as well as making your computer do what you want it to.
There is a whole section on system performance and another on troubleshooting and hardware that will have your computer doing the things you thought it could never do and running smoothly. The Big Book of Windows Hacks is from Preston Galla who has written several help and how to books related to computers. You can purchase this book at several online sites as well as O'Reilly Press for about $35.
We are now getting to the part of my article where the dollar value increases and the thought of how much to spend comes into play.
When it comes to a loved one's safety money is not the first thought and a Personal Protection System from Brite-Strike is just what every person needs who wants the safety and security of knowing they can get help when they need it.
The Lightning Strike Personal Protection System is a Tactical flashlight and audible personal alarm that you can carry anywhere with you for that needed help and attention getting noise and light.
The Personal Alarm is a handy and small alarm that is activated by pulling the lanyard from the alarm. The small alarm is about an inch and a half by an inch and is quite loud when activated. This small alarm can attach to a purse, belt loop or keys with the key chain and is perfect for immediate attention getting during an attack.
The Tactical flashlight is another very useful device for fending off an attacker, it is small and easily carried in the palm of your hand. The flashlight also makes a very good weapon with its tri strike point at the lens end or the two point strike at the button end. The light is the perfect size in your hand and the smaller section at the middle makes a comfortable and no slip gripping area.
If you are in a dark parking lot or other area and are concerned for your welfare the light makes the perfect helper for finding your way just as a regular flashlight. The 65 lumens light will brighten your way and uses only one AA battery. There are two other settings for the flashlight at the quick flip of the switch on the rear of the flashlight.
The on off switch is a rubber covered waterproof switch that has a half on switching for use as a 25 lumen powered flashlight for lower light situations or the strobe effect to temporarily blind any attacker. The full 65 lumens is plenty bright and would blind anyone who looks directly at it, I have tried. But the full strobe with those 65 lumens of powerful light is very annoying and will give you the much needed time and attention getting that can make the difference in an attack.
The strobe flashlight with the alarm will make any attacker think twice about your vulnerability and send help your way from the loud squealing and flashing light. The tactical flashlight makes a fantastic gift as a regular light as it is made from sturdy and high quality aluminum and fully waterproof.
The flashlight is the perfect size for a glove compartment for emergencies or for shop use. It is tough and will not get damaged easily and the carry pouch makes it convenient as well as having a nice lanyard for preventing those drop situations like when working on a car engine.
The Lightning Strike Personal Protection System comes with the Personal Alarm, the carry pouch and the Tactical flashlight with a lanyard for the light. The set comes in a handsome gift box and costs about $70.
The Drill Doctor is the perfect gift for the handyman or do it yourselfer and is a fantastic drill bit sharpener. You can save so much money as well as frustration from a job that this gift makes perfect sense. The complete line of Drill Doctor drill bit sharpeners means you can get the perfect set of features at the right price for your handy person.
The Drill Doctor will sharpen most any drill bit and comes with the added sizes for some of the models. They cost from $50 and are available at many retailers and web sites. The Drill Doctor that I reviewed is the perfect companion for home shops and works so very well.
It is a matter of a few minutes to take a handful of old dull bits and bring new life to them by simply tightening them into the chuck and giving them a few seconds on the diamond abrasive wheel. It really only takes seconds to sharpen bits and will save a lot of money in buying new bits every time you get a dull one. I have handfuls of bits still to sharpen and have not even found all the ones I have been saving just for when I finally did get a Drill Doctor.
You can sharpen bits hundreds of times till they cannot be held in the chuck and the Drill Doctor can even sharpen masonry bits. The Drill Doctor is the perfect tool for any shop, workbench or work site that uses drills and bits.
The final item I am guiding you to purchasing is the Canon PowerShot A720 IS digital camera. Every camera I have purchased has been a Canon and I highly recommend the Canon PowerShot series as an easy to use and high quality line of cameras.
The PowerShot A720 IS is an 8 megapixel digital camera with all the fancy functions of those expensive cameras at a very affordable $240 or so. The A720 has a 6X optical zoom and 4X digital zoom to really get you close to your subject when you can't get there in person and has all the features you would need in a point and shoot camera.
Features that really impress me are the amount of pixels or image quality you get and the great pictures this camera takes. This is the same mega pixels as my sons more expensive SDLR digital camera and has a great range of ISO sensitivities for a broader range of picture types.
The various settings are easy to control and the camera lets you play with things like light balance and exposure for a better picture before any editing. The screen is nice and you get the see through viewer for bright light conditions when you can't see the LCD screen very well.
The Canon PowerShot A720 IS is a great camera and would make a great purchase for a gift. The entire line of Canon PowerShot cameras are fantastic and have many of the features that I like in a camera; uses AA batteries, the easy to use settings and large LCD image with additional view finder.
You cannot go wrong with the Canon PowerShot digital cameras and I really enjoy getting these to review.
I hope I have helped with a few ideas and you can check out more of my articles for ideas of gifts and what I think of the products I have reviewed.
Have a Happy Holidays
Anthony Graham