Looking for a great gift for your spouse, friend, or adult in-laws? Tired of wandering around the mall looking for something that might sort of be appropriate for them, or searching online? Have we got a gift guide for you!

Welcome to the 2008 Tranquil Parent Gift Guide, a collection of recommendations from the Tranquil Parent's blogging team for the best environmentally conscious, healthful, personally enriching, safe, and sensually indulgent gifts, with a few items for your kids sprinkled throughout.

greener

Who says greener products can't be indulgent or fun? These sometimes playful, sometimes decadent, sometimes beautiful, but always environmentally-conscious products take special care to acknowledge and respect the Earth and our role in it.


ReTeez takes old t-shirts destined for the landfill and turns them into various items including their best-selling vintage tote line. Since their products are made from T-shirts they find, the designs on their tote bags come in anything from cartoon characters and music themes to politics and sports and fitness. You'll come across some interesting designs and may just stumble across the perfect one for that person on your gift list. All the other products by ReTeez are hand-crocheted out of t-shirts that have by cut up by hand to produce the "yarn" that makes up their products. The key chains are nice and big, perfect for those who are always losing their keys in their large purse. Other crocheted items include handbags, dog leashes, eye glass holders, pot scrubbies and belts. $20 and up | Buy here

Do you burn your hands depriving yourself of one of those cardboard sleeves when you buy coffee at your local coffee shop? Or take one and feel guilty? Stop doing either with a gorgeous THE SQUEEZE fabric coffee cozy from Etsy crafter dizzlePOP. With dozens of handcrafted styles to choose from and custom options available, you or someone you love can enjoy a less impactful cup of coffee even when you're without a reusable mug. $6.50 | Buy here

IgnaFire Chocolates are fair-trade, unprocessed chocolate pieces of heaven. They are vegan and because they are not tempered, they have a grittier mouth feel than tempered chocolates, but it's a lusciously gritty sensation that must be tasted to be understood. IgnaFire has several flavors of chocolate morsels as well as chocolate for all your hot-cocoa needs this winter. All the packaging of these chocolates (except the shipping boxes) is trash-free - boxes are made of agave pulp, bags are natural cellulose, and descriptive paperwork inside the box is made of potato starch. This is serious chocolate for serious chocolate lovers - and it may even convert some Hershey's fans too. Did I mention these are really, really scrumptious? $9 and up | Buy here

Katherine Anne Confections are beautiful (and tasty) handmade truffles and caramels. They use local and organic ingredients when possible and the boxes are made of fair trade treeless paper. They have unusual flavors like Apple Pie Truffles and Pumpkin Truffles in addition to the more standard fare of Hazelnut and Java. We loved these confections and were pleasantly surprised by both the Apple Pie and Pumpkin truffles. These would make a lovely treat for anyone who loves chocolates and think they've seen it all! $9.50 and up | Buy here


RetroRazor: Weishi's stylish safety razor is a well-balanced, chrome-plated tool that is perfect for beginning wet razor users, with a precision twist-to-open mechanism. Get a closer shave at less cost with minimal environmental impact (you replace only plastic-free metal razor blades). Tested and loved. $27 | Buy here

Bamboo Low Bowl: For the cook in your life or for someone who loves to entertain, the Bamboo Low Bowl is the perfect gift. From the Bambu company, it is made from 100% organically-grown bamboo, a rapidly-renewable resource. It comes in a variety of different colors from a gorgeous chocolate brown to a playful key lime. Serve up a main dish or a plate of cookies. Cleanup is a snap because of its light weight; just keep it out of the dishwasher. $30 | Buy here

Graphic Napkins and Placemats: If you don't yet use cloth napkins and placemats, use these an excuse to green your table. Inspired by vintage fabrics, these cotton napkins and placemats from Feel More Human are perfect for mixing and matching. We love the oversize print on the napkins pared with the repetition on the placemats. And patterned placemats last longer, as stains are much harder to see. Set of four, $30 | Buy here

For the person who loves to make things, a subscription to Ready-Made Magazine will make them giddy. Every issue features a variety of projects including projects reusing commonly found objects from your home and giving them a new life. A recent issues features a chandelier made from plastic hangers, ways to reuse carpet samples, and how to install click-tile flooring. Each issue ends with a "MacGyver challenge" that challenges the readers to come up with a new use for a common object such as an old suitcase, umbrella or CD. The MacGyver in your life will love you for such a thoughtful gift, and the Earth will love you for your renewed spirit of creative reuse. One-year subscription, $12 | Buy here

Purrfect Pet's cat toys are free of PVC, phthalates, pesticides, and harmful dyes, hand-formed from sustainably produced dye-free wool which has only been processed with gentle non-toxic soaps. With or without certified organic catnip. $5-$13 | Review | Buy here

Seda France Bon Chic Soy Candle: Give your candle loving friends a beautiful gift that won’t pollute the air. Traditional wax candles can release toxins into the air as well as soot. 100% soy candles do not release toxins and are a clean-burning alternative made from a renewable resource. Seda France’s Bon Chic Soy Candle comes in a beautiful box, ready to be gifted and has a burn time of 55-60 hours. Choose from Bouganville Sapote, Pink Frangipani Lily, Orange Flower Sumatra, Sugar Blossom Lime, White Cashmere Blossom, or Plum Apricot Leaf. $28 | Buy here

Envirosax Mikado Pouch: Do you have friends or family members that are trying to go green but just need a little encouragement? The Envirosax Mikado Pouch contains five beautifully printed reusable shopping bags that makes bringing your own bags a fashion statement. Each bag can hold up to 44lbs. but rolls up neatly when empty to be stored in to the pouch. Proceeds from Envirosax are used to support conservation groups. $38 | Buy here

The Fair Trade Shopper bag is made by a women's collective in India of natural dyes block printed on cotton. The bag is gorgeous and very soft and would make a lovely eco-shopping bag for taking into department stores or other places where you might not want to use the more "traditional" reuseable bags. It would also make a great gift for college students or teens, and is a really beautiful bag! $18 | Buy here


Artisan Chickens: Made from recycled plastic in rural communities in South Africa, these chickens might inspire your progeny (or yourself) to turn that pile of plastic bags into an object d'art. They're not useful, but they are happy, cheap, and part of the profits from their sale go back to the artists who make them. $18 | Buy here

Let’s Save The Earth game: If you want to make learning about ecology fun for kids and support a mom who created a product focused on making a difference in the world, check out this educational ecology board game. With a cast of characters known as the Eco-Angels and the Schmutzies, players move around the board, planting trees and learning simple actions that everyone can take to contribute to caring for the environment. Parents are sure to learn as much as their kids. $22 | Buy here

The Singer Curvy sewing machine is a user-friendly, entry-level sewing machine from the company that makes sewing machines that last for decades, not years. It features machine-assisted threading for the needle and bobbin, 30 stitch patterns including two buttonhole stitches, and push-button stitch selection. A great gift for the home crafter who celebrates the handmade, the refurbished, and the creatively reconfigured. $289 | Buy here

Have you considered a charitable contribution as a gift for a friend or loved one? Heifer International offers aid to families in the developing world, primarily in the form of livestock - chickens, bees, cattle, goats - in programs designed to help the impoverished achieve sustainable livelihoods. Contributions can be scaled to your ability to give while offering you the opportunity to select what your gift will be used for (a flock of ducks, a colony of bees, a share of a cow) and this easily-grasped impact can be passed on to those in whose name you give - options include customized cards announcing your gift to those you choose to honor with it, which can be downloaded and printed from your own computer or sent on your behalf. (You can build on the idea, too: We have paired Heifer International gifts with very small items for a family member - a share of a sheep with a hand-knitted wool scarf, for example.) $15 and up | Buy here

healthier

Reduce your chemical exposure, improve your personal health, or pass it on to others with our contributors' recommendations of gifts for healthier lifestyles.

For relaxing heat therapy, you could find stranger devices than a Warm Whiskers' animal-themed body wrap, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a more effective one. These 30"-long furry wraps feature twin heating pads with aromatherapy accents that can provide warming relief after two minutes in the microwave. Ideal for stress relief, relaxing sore and tired muscles, and pain management, you'll look forward to snuggling up with your Warm Whiskers wrap as soon as you've given it a try. We also sampled the company's eye pillows and Pocket Critter handwarmers - both would make cute smaller gifts, but the Body Wrap is the real standout here. $42 | Buy here

Ultrasonic aromatherapy diffuser: By releasing essential oils into the home environment, aromatherapy diffusers create a pleasant aroma while cleaning the air in the home, killing germs, and benefiting anyone with sinus or respiratory conditions. The Aromatherapy Diffuser Ultrasonic comes highly recommended and would make a great gift for the person in your life who enjoys creating a healthy, pleasant environment in the home. $75, down from $100 | Buy here

The Yoga Garden Game: By making learning yoga playful, you can encourage children to enjoy the benefits of this relaxing ancient practice. The Yoga Garden Game is a board game that teaches kids yoga while inspiring their imaginations through poses named after plants and animals. Playing the game with your children is also a nice way to move your bodies and burn some energy in the cold of winter. $20 | Buy here

Bosch Mixxo: The Bosch Mixxo is a rechargeable immersion blender that comes with an interchangeable mini food processor. It has a charging station for your counter that holds both the top motor part and the stainless steel immersion stick. It also comes with a pitcher for making smoothies or blending other things and lids for both the pitcher and the food processor bowl. It has a safety lock for blending to protect your fingers. Best of all? It's BPA-free. This is the only food processor - mini or full-sized - that we've found that is BPA-free. $99 | Buy here

Healthy treats gift baskets: If you are looking for a beautiful, unique, and healthy gift basket, visit healthgifts.com and see why we love this company. The site is easy to navigate - simple and clean, much like their products, which are also unique and of a uniformly high quality. This company's customer service is exceptional, to boot - give them a call and they will be glad to assist you in creating your special gift. We have used healthgifts.com for many occasions and the recipients are always impressed! $25 and up | Buy here

Looking for a way to get the kids moving on those cold days? Hullabaloo is your answer. This game has kids spinning, bouncing, and sliding all over the room. Perfect for kids ages four and up (maybe some younger depending on development), the game makes for a great play date or family activity. The new version has a level adjuster, a welcome improvement to an already great game. $16 | Buy here

Unlike most yoga mats, which get sticky, smell like plastic, are dust magnets, and are made of phthalate-containing PVC, Lotuspad yoga mats are made of phthalate-free, super-plush TPE. They come in kid and adult sizes, are biodegradable and recyclable, and after the company sent us one to review last year, we named it one of our 2007 Top Picks and bought two more. (The company also offers excellent yoga mat carry straps.) $42 adult/$28 child | Buy here

Nintendo Wii and Wii Fit: More a gaming revolution than a fad, Nintendo's Wii, when paired with the Wii Fit balance board, blends exercise and gaming to create an addiction your body will thank you for. Paired with regular exercise in more traditional formats, the Wii offers a convenient and above all fun way to improve and maintain your health. Tested, retested, and highly recommended. $400 | Good luck finding one

Essential Oil Home Aromatherapy Sampler Set: Plantlife's sampler set of essential oils (sold alone or with a diffuser) contains many of the basic oils needed for both health and relaxation. These high quality oils are perfect for diffusing in the home, sprinkling in the bath, healing wounds or blending in oil for massage (hint, hint!). With more studies showing the dangers of cold medicines for small children, aromatherapy is an effective alternative treatment for respiratory conditions. Give this set as a gift along with a hand-made coupon for a relaxing aromatherapy foot massage - in the comfort of your own home! $20, down from $33 | Buy here


Paper yoga mat bag: HuggerMugger's attractive yoga mat bag is made from recycled paper. What better place to use recycled materials than for something to tote your favorite mat around in? A great gift for the yogi on your shopping list this season. $27 | Buy here

Move 'N Groove Kids DVD: Looking for something different to give a child ages 3-5? This classroom-based movement video gets kids moving with no gimmicks, developed by teachers to bring the same tenets of creative movement you would see in an enrichment class to your kids at home. It really does get them moving and gooving. Tranquil Parent blogger Sara Lavan is co-creator of this great video! $18 | Buy here.

Therapeutic feeding for malnourished children: Want to share your good fortune with others? Consider this amazing cause for kids in Malawi and Sierra Leone, Africa where 70% of children are malnourished. Project Peanut Butter is a therapeutic feeding program which uses a peanut/dairy/vitamin food which provides a 95% recovery rate (!) for severely malnourished children. Did you know that half of all child deaths worldwide are caused by malnutrition? $15 treats one child | Buy here.

happier

Here's a selection of products of quality to indulge the senses or enliven the surroundings of a friend or loved one.

Please hop into my stocking! This adorable frog tape dispenser cuts the tape with his tongue. This is a stocking stuffer that won't hop off your child's, spouse's, or friend's desk for a long time. He's also available in gold, if your taste runs more bling than tree-frog. $14 | Buy here


The Clover House Olive Oil Dipping Dish designed by Mary Judge is a lovely optical illusion for your table. Fill it with olive oil and the concentric rings make the oil look darker towards the bottom, reminding us of summer swimming holes and topographical maps. $22 and up | Buy here

Il Buco is a NYC restaurant which focuses on Mediterranean influenced fare. Il Buco's beautiful salts, olive oils and vinegars make the perfect gift for the person who has everything or for the person who appreciates the finest things. The Il Buco basalmic vinegar is hands down the best-tasting balsamic we've ever sampled - it offered no acidic note and paired beautifully with the Il Buco olive oil. This indulgence would stand on its own but would also make a wonderful addition to a gift basket. $8 and up | Buy here


Ten Thousand Villages terra cotta ornaments are handcrafted by rural women artisans in Bangladesh. They are brilliantly colored, feel great, and aren't too heavy for even a small tree. The red of the ornaments will contrast and beautifully complement the green of any Christmas tree. $10 | Buy here

The Shoul is a cozy yet attractive shawl that actually stays on your shoulders. Wearable as a wrap, shawl or sash, this lightweight garment folds to store easily in a purse, diaper bag, or carry-on, and comes in red, white, dark brown, black or tan. Tested and found to be very comfortable! $39 | Buy here


A custom-etched Moleskine journal from Modofly is a great place to rejuvenate with a few moments for personal reflection at the beginning or end of your day. "Coffee Steam," shown at left, is perfect for curling up with a cup of your favorite warm beverage and your thoughts. Tested and thoroughly enjoyed. $36 | Buy here

Trivial Pursuit, 25th Anniversary Edition: If you assumed there was no way to improve this classic trivia game, you're in for a surprise. The designers of this game revision managed to make it faster (one of the drawbacks of the classic TP was the way a game could last... and last...) while adding complicating factors like the opportunity for teams or players to challenge each other for the fastest correct response. The game also now features multiple levels of question difficulty, so even the non-trivia buffs have a shot at a right answer every once in a while. $20 | Buy here


It's not Delft, it's dope. This graffiti china might inspire your teenager to volunteer to set the table, or even to invite friends over to dinner. Each piece is made of fine porcelain, with fine tagging to match. I am willing to stake my eyeteeth that this will be heirloom china of the future - it's too brilliant not to become collectible. Get it while it's still available, and you might be able to sell it to pay for some of your retirement. Five-place setting, $100 | Buy here

Wood Toast Puzzle: These handmade utensils double as a puzzle. Toddlers can practice two kinds of spatial reasoning with this lovely, simple wooden puzzle by Betty Bergmark, fitting the pieces together, and fitting the spoon in the mouth. You'll probably want to give them to your child to fit together while waiting for dinner, not after the meal! $28 | Buy here

Mozaniac Picture Puzzles are hard to describe and harder to solve. Paper puzzle pieces overlap each other with notched tabs to create one of several pictures made from the same pieces. A fun distraction and mind stretching exercise for your coffee table or desk. Tested and puzzled over. $8 | Buy here


Loggerhead's Bionic Wrench is a smart and innovative tool that replaces a whole handful of wrenches. Chances are, you know someone who'd love to pack this in a super-compact tool box with a Leatherman and a spool of baling wire. Tested and admired. $27 | Buy here

For the tea lover in your life, consider the lovely Numi's Bouquet Bamboo Gift Set with clear teapot and nine flowering teas. This set includes a nice selection of high-quality flowering teas (environmentally sound as there is no disposable tea bag), a hand-made bamboo case and a small glass teapot that allows you to enjoy the beauty of the tea as it is brewing. Pair the tea set with a nice chocolate bar or a tin of homemade muffins for a scrumptious gift. $20 | Buy here.

The beautiful and sleek knitting needles made by Signature Needle Arts are sure to delight any knitter you know. They are customizable in multiple ways including tip sharpness, size, length, and end cap. They feel sleek and smooth and are wonderful to touch, which as any knitter will tell you is crucial for knitting needles. $28 | Buy here


This handcrafted Garlic Zester made of natural clays and featuring a rough center is a perfect gift for the dinner-party host in your crowd. The rough center works great for zesting garlic to impart a natural garlic flavor into your oil. Perfect for serving with bread as an appetizer or cocktail snack and it makes an interesting conversation piece as well. $15 | Buy here

VAT 19's Talking Photo Album holds 24 photos and you can record 10 second sound bites for each photo included in the album. This is not a digital picture frame - you print out your photos and slip them in the photo sleeves, then record your sound bite. We tested this out on a recent family vacation and the recording worked great. Take it on a vacation with you to remember the sounds of the ocean, record quick wishes from different family members to commemorate a special event, or capture your kids' stories and thoughts for distant grandparents. $25 | Buy here

The Find One Find All keyfinder is the best key/object finder ZRecs found in a head-to-head test of three major brands. Units are sold separately and then programmed to communicate with each other, making the FOFA system expandable while avoiding the broken-piece-hobbles-the-whole-set problem of many such gadgets. The call and response units operated best through various materials we tested systems with, and the response units' chirping is timed to communicate how far away they are from the calling unit. $25 for two key fobs/$13 for flat wallet finder | Review | Buy here

iGo charger system: The iGo Everywhere is a convertible charger system for phones, iPods, digital cameras, and other devices that typically come each with their own charger to lose, mix up, or store forever. The iGo comes with a retractable cord and two power tips, one for a car lighter dock and one for electrical outlets, and you buy tips separately that fit your particular devices. We love this system. You have one main cord and then tips to switch out to power your various devices - phone, iPod, digital camera, and more. Tested and adored. Kit $20 (on sale from $40), tips $10 each | Buy the system/Buy iGo tips

Our favorite spa and bath products of the year, all tested by Tranquil Parent testers. None contain parabens or phthalates:

• Shea Terra Organics Dark Chocolate Cocoa Bean Shea Sugar Scrub: Not This sugar scrub includes real bits of cocoa and is 99% natural and is fair trade and made sustainably in Africa. $16 | Buy here


• Mojito Man Shaving Kit: Prep scrub, shaving gel, moisture spray, and a shaving brush will help any man remember to take the time for daily rituals. Tingly, citrusy, and indulgent. Packaged in a natural reusable gift bag. $30 | Buy here


• Bubble and Bee bath and body products: Bubble and Bee's products smell delightful, use organic ingredients whenever possible. $4-25 | Buy here


• Ola Hawai'i Body Products are so luxurious, you might just forget you're in your own bathtub. The bath soaks are made with authentic, natural Hawaiian ingredients (organic where possible). We recommend the Hawaiian Coconut Tropical Bath Soak but all of their products look wonderful. $14 | Buy here


• Save Your World personal care products would use fair trade practices and organic ingredients and smell fabulous! For each individual Save Your World product you buy, you save one acre of rainforest for a year. So not only do you get clean and fresh using Save Your World products, but you do your part to help the rainforest as well. $14 and up | Buy here


• Use Infinity BathTea Systems to detox or for pain management. The herbal bath salt system comes with a soak, a wash and a cream and you can get a brush for body brushing as well. You can keep your system unscented or add in their wonderful smelling essential oil blends if you want smell in any part of your experience. We enjoyed soaking in our detox bath! $54 for the system | Buy here


• Handmade using certified organic botanicals, fatty acids and essential oils, Pomega5 products are made with pomegranate seed oil. Their moisturizing bar, lotions, and healing cream are all silky smooth and fragrant; a trial pack packaged in a gift bag runs a mere $10. Buy here


• Lotus Moon offers a holistic skin-care line with a nice light repair creme, a very effective makeup remover, and a luscious and soothing foot balm. A sample kit of 10 products would make a nice indulgence for a friend or loved one. $40-$45 | Buy here

safer

Well, we can't cover our blog's themes without a nod to safety, can we? But how many safety-oriented items really make fun gifts? In our book, one.


The CARES Child Aviation Restraint System is a "safety" device we'd recommend as a holiday gift, for a simple reason: It's a major hassle-saver for parents traveling with young children, and perhaps not the kind of thing every parent you know would splurge for themselves. It's the only FAA-approved device for use in an airplane besides a car seat, and offers significant freedom of movement to kids while enhancing their safety, and makes it possible to gate-check car seats instead of lugging them on the plane. A friend or adult child will thank you many times over for introducing them to this great product from KidsFlySafe. $65, from $75 | Review | Buy here