Ah, 'tis the season.
Nothing gets the sugar plums dancing in your head like the gift of giving.
But, the last thing you want is for your gifts to send recipients to the return line of the local department stores as soon as the holidays are over.
To make sure your presents don't wind up shelved, re-gifted or (gasp) discarded, we did some window-shopping for you to come up with some ideas that offer, well, a homey touch.
Designed to warm the cockles of the hearths of those on your gift list, here are a half dozen suggestions that really hit home.
For the motivated home seller who thinks he or she doesn't have a prayer getting that listing sold, a "St. Joseph Home Selling Kit" ($10 to $15), also known as the "Underground Real Estate Agent Kit" comes in two sizes -- small and smaller.
Size, however, doesn't really matter as much as the saint's spiritual ability to move a home like it's the only one for sale.
Follow the instructions to give the statuette a proper burial on the listed property and, sooner than you can say "closed" the Patron Saint of Carpenters, Family Households, Engineers and Workers will bless you with a buyer.
For the home builder on your list who is having a tough time constructing subdivisions, nothing makes it easier to raise a home than a set of traditional "Lincoln Logs" ($12 to $100).
With the 1916 creation of John Lloyd Wright, son of Frank Lloyd Wright, builders can construct their own bank to finance the operation; a log cabin for second home buyers; a farm for those who want to get away from it all, a fort to keep competitors at bay and a jailhouse, for non-occupying speculators who put a crimp in the market.
Don't forget the equity-squandering home owner on your list who has run up so much debt they are "eating their house" via cash-out refis. For them, the perfect gift is Swiss Colony's "Gingerbread House Kit" ($24), which comes with some assembly, but no cooking required. Also a great gift idea for the wanna-be architect with a sweet tooth, the real pre-baked gingerbread pieces are packed with enough gum drops and icing to sweeten any deal.
Speaking of architects, another edition of the world's most popular real estate board game, "Monopoly Game 70th Anniversary Edition" ($40), comes packed in a silver tin full of delight for designers as well as commercial real estate moguls. Those with a penchant for 1930s-inspired graphics can build a fortune in retro style with homes and hotels that come in four different architectural designs.
Everyone on your guest list wants the American Dream especially if it comes without a mortgage or property taxes. Doll houses fill this bill, but your gift recipient will ample real estate in their home to erect HearthSong's "Imagine My Place" ($60 to $180) collection of homes.
The sturdy, virtually indestructible wood dollhouses to dream for will require that you rezone a good-sized buffet table top or entertainment stand for a group of diverse residential housing styles. Models include a bungalow starter home, a three-story urban townhome (three feet tall) with a working elevator and a move-up McMansion (more than two feet long).
You'll need a good contractor for the assembly required, so choose one or build an entire neighborhood. Then decorate and improve each home with a host of furnishings and accessories (at an additional cost), including a roof top hot tub for the bungalow; a master bedroom with a sleigh bed for the mansion; a children's room with a bunk bed that's perfect for big families in small spaces; tiny Christmas trees and decorative lights for the holidays; and finally, even little family members who don't have to earn a dime to move in and enjoy these homes.
For gift recipients who can't get a zoning variance, a "mobile" doll house offers a better fit at only about 160 square inches when closed. Sensational Beginnings' "Folding Dollhouse" ($50) is a modular two-story dollhouse and attached garage/carriage house that's made of the same tough hardwood as the larger "Imagine" collection. However, this cozier model comes with magnetic latches and a carrying handle for kids on the move.
The foot-high house opens to a little more than two feet in length to reveal four, fully furnished and windowed rooms (bedroom, bath, kitchen and family room) and two residents.
Best of all? In the tradition of many mobile homes, there's no assembly required.
Published: November 29, 2006
Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.
 Broderick Perkins parlayed a career in old-school journalism into a
contemporary digital news service that really hits home.
The award-winning consumer journalist, originally from Wilmington, DE, is founder, publisher and executive editor of the bootstrap DeadlineNews Group, a Silicon Valley-based editorial content and consulting service specializing in residential real estate, consumer news and related editorial consulting services.
The DeadlineNews Group includes the Web site, DeadlineNews.Com, offering real estate editorial content and consulting services, and its back shop, the Deadline Newsroom, an open house on news that really hits home.
Perkins obtained his formal journalism education from University of Delaware and a journalism boot camp, the Institute of Journalism Education at the University of California-Berkeley. He went on to 20 years of service as a daily newspaper journalist at the Wilmington, DE News Journal and San Jose, CA Mercury News.
Perkins covered housing on the San Jose Mercury News reporting team which earned a General News Reporting Pulitzer Prize in 1989 for coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake.
He has also produced real estate, consumer and small business content for the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, RealtyTimes.com, Nolo.com, Better Homes and Gardens, the National Association of Realtors, Homestore/Move and Intuit/Quicken among more than three dozen publications.
In addition to managing the DeadlineNews Group, Perkins most recently served as chief editorial consultant for "Nolo's Essential Guide To Buying Your First Home" (Nolo $24.99) and writes real estate television scripts for RealtyTimes.com. |
