Fathers Day Gifts For The Sports Fan

Would your dad rather let the house burn down than move while his favorite team is on the tube? If your dad is a loyal sports fan, then you have plenty of options for great Fathers Day gifts. Personalized jerseys are great, yet we'll tell you where to find other knockout gifts no matter what your dad's passion is.

True fans want to know everything about their favorite sports and teams. That's why sports books, magazine subscriptions, documentary DVDs and movies make terrific Fathers Day gifts. There are tons of sports books out there and all are sure to make a good read.

In addition to books about a sport, you can get autobiographies and biographies about the world's greatest athletes. Documentary DVDs are a great addition to a sports fan's collection because they offer visual insight and sometimes an inside look at what's going on behind the camera and in the locker room.

You don't have to fall back on the same old Fathers Day gifts you've been giving your dad since you were four. To show your love and appreciation, get him something that is meaningful yet still fun.

Even if you can't get your hands on prime playoff tickets, you can still go to games played in the junior leagues. Besides getting the chance to watch his favorite sport, your dad will cherish the time spent with you.

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Finding The Better Fathers Day Gift

Choosing the perfect Fathers Day gift can be an exercise in frustration. What do you get for the guy who has everything? If your dad definitely doesn't need another shirt, power tool or barbecue utensil, then what are your options?

Choosing a Fathers Day gift for the dad who is a sports fan can be a lot of fun. Once you realize how many cool gadgets there are out there, you may end up shopping for yourself! If your dad enjoys a cold one while he watches the game, then perhaps a set of glasses, coolers or a beer dispenser with the logo of his favorite team would be fitting.

On the website www.gifts.com, you can order hilarious gifts for fathers, like a chips 'n dip set shaped like a football helmet and NFL team grill covers. You can even buy a fan stock share!

This year, make a vow to get creative with your Fathers Day gift. Think about things that your dad really enjoys and cater your gift to his tastes. Get him something that he's put off getting for himself or something he'd never splurge on. So long as it is comes from the heart, your Fathers Day present will be a hit.

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Finding Unique Gifts For Fathers Day

Finding just the right Fathers Day gift can be a tough task if your dad's the kind of guy who has everything. This year, forget the tacky tie and think outside the box for a gift that will show your love and appreciation. In this article, we'll suggest some great gifts for fathers that your special dad is sure to love.

Shopping for the outdoorsman for Fathers Day can be a lot of fun. If your dad would love nothing more than to spend Fathers Day fishing, then treat him to a new rod, reel or tackle box packed with interesting lures and gadgets. One great gift is the Penn Captiva series spinning reel.

Depending on the size you choose, prices range from forty to sixty dollars. If your dad has a boat, depth finders will allow him to measures the depth of the water if he's cruising in the shallows. A GPS is also a great gift for boaters, as it allows them to see where they are and what direction they are heading in.

If your dad is an avid golfer, then gifts for his game are bound to be a hit. You can order personalized golf balls, tees and hand towels from sports shops. At www.findgift.com, you can find fun gifts for golfers like a beverage dispenser shaped like a golf club, naughty golf tees, a backyard flagstick and hole, or a stunning personalized crystal driver.

Just by being thoughtful enough to remember how much your dad enjoys this activity, you'll make this Fathers Day something that he'll always remember.

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Tips And Ideas For Fathers Day Activities

Want to do something special this Father's Day but can't come up with any creative ideas? Finding fun Fathers Day activities is easier than you think. With the help of a pencil and a piece of paper, you can plan a memorable event that the whole family can enjoy.

To make Fathers Day special, you should choose activities that are an indulgence for your dad. Make sure that you don't choose an activity that you want to do and hope that he'll enjoy it as well. For instance, take the music loving dad to a concert.

Take the outdoorsman on a family camping trip. You can't beat a Fathers Day golf game. Whatever activity you choose, make a day of it. Treat dad to a great homemade breakfast complete with gourmet coffee or fresh pastries before you head out. After your Fathers Day activities, unwind with one of his favorite movies.

Times are tough, so don't feel that you have to spend a mint on Fathers Day activities. Simple can be lots of fun. Treat dad to a great breakfast, spend the day with him at home doing chores, watching sports, or horsing around in the backyard.

Wrap the day up by cooking a great meal together as a family or having a fun barbecue with unique dishes, like barbecued salmon with sun dried tomatoes, grilled ribs with cranberries and pineapple, or shrimp with orange and ginger sauce. For your loving dad, the best part of the day will be sharing it with you.

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Coffee Shop Helps Meet Customer Demand

Perhaps you have thought about it before but just weren't quite sure that you were ready to own your own coffee house. Well if you love coffee, enjoy getting together with friends and love the opportunity to make new friends, then you already have some of what it takes to start your coffee shop.

This once humble business seems to have become the symbol of the cultural side of business and normally does quite well. There were many reports during 2007 that stated independent coffee house owners were seeing a huge increase in business profits, despite of, or maybe because of, the larger coffee conglomerates. The reasoning is about the cost of these drinks.

Americans continually thirst for these gourmet, flavored coffees and they are obviously willing to pay some very high prices for their java fix. Yet if the coffee shop next door has got pretty much the same thing and it is less expensive then they will almost always get the business. To back up these claims it has been reported that around 90% of those start-ups did succeed and continue to thrive.

Such an enormous customer demand along with the growing popularity of gourmet coffee presents a great opportunity to start your own coffee shop business and generate revenue. There are a wide range of opportunities available allowing you to start big or small.

You can purchase an existing franchise with a proven track record or you can create your own coffee bar.

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Specialty Coffees With Distinct Flavor

Gourmet or specialty coffees are made from beans that have exceptional qualities that come from being grown in the best climate with good soil characteristics. They have a distinct and unique flavor that must be free of taints, faults or other odors.

This coffee must be free from quakers (underdeveloped coffee beans), have no more than five defects in a 350 gram sample and show distinctive attributes, with regard to aroma, after taste and acidity.

The individuals, or artisans, who are authorities on gourmet and specialty coffees tell us that this does not mean that this coffee is special purely because of its brewing method or coffee machine used, such as for espressos or cappuccinos.

It is more of a complete process involving dedication from everyone who comes in contact with the beans; including the planters, harvesters and processors. These high quality coffee beans are roasted in order to release their best flavor potential and then brewed by a set of very high standards.

Different coffee organizations around the world enter their finest coffees during the SCAA Roasters Guild, 3 day Cupping Competition for the chance to be recognized as having the world's best specialty coffees. There are 30 judges who will thoroughly evaluate the taste and aroma of each sample entered in the contest.

Six attributes of each coffee including aroma, taste, fragrance, aftertaste, flavor and body will be evaluated by the judges. The judges however, do not drink coffee mug after coffee mug full of hot coffee. They determine the winner by swirling a tablespoon size portion of coffee over the palate and then spitting it out without swallowing.

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Coffee Maker Is Your Little Helper

Many people love waking up in the morning to the smell of hot coffee brewing and while it may be an option for some, it is more like a necessity to others. This, of course, makes the coffee maker one of man's best inventions and the manufacturers realize this and count on each and every consumer's caffeine addiction to keep making them money; they are always looking for ways to improve this convenient appliance.

For many people, it may be best to have a small capacity machine that will help avoid wasting coffee, in which case a small glass carafe would be best. For families, a larger carafe may be better suited and having a coffee maker that includes a warming plate is perfect for those families that have different schedules so that everyone is able to enjoy a cup of coffee at their convenience.

As with any of your appliances, the coffee maker needs to be taken care of properly to ensure many years of good coffee. Naturally, keeping it clean is the first step and one way of doing that is to run a mixture of water and vinegar through the cycle every so often and then running another cycle of plain water to remove all of the vinegar.

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Caffeine In Coffee

Everyone knows that the beverage industry is truly a money generating enterprise. As such, there are thousands of advertising companies competing to be the one to ply the manufacturers' wares. Of course, coffee is one of these major beverages and just like bottled water, sodas and teas, they are all marketed around at least one main ingredient; caffeine.

Yet often, when dealing in the non-caffeine segment of the market, a consumer may notice that there are several terms that are used to describe the drink including caffeine free, naturally decaffeinated and just plain decaffeinated.

Actually, there is a certain amount of caffeine that is contained naturally in various coffees and teas, so if you really need your cup of coffee or tea to be non-caffeinated, then pay attention to the natural amount of caffeine that is in the product and then find out how the remainder of the caffeine is removed from a specific type or brand.

The results are very interesting if you do an internet search on how coffee is actually decaffeinated. You may find results to be confusing, conflicting and possibly even misleading. Manufacturers do not want to lose out on any of the consumers' money that is spent on beverages.

This can lead to manufactures telling the public whatever they think they want to hear about their product being caffeine free. Try doing a little of your own research on the methods that are used to extract the caffeine content from common beverages and you are very likely to be a lot choosier with your next purchase.

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Your Secret Tools In The Kitchen Are Cooking Utensils

Cooking utensils are essential in any kitchen as they save you time and help prepare your meals more quickly. There are many kitchen utensils one cannot do without. For example, you need a selection of knives that are forever sharp to cut and slice vegetables, meat, fish and bones with little effort. With the right utensils in your kitchen, you can prepare delicious meals in a much shorter time.

When purchasing cooking utensils, it is better to buy the more expensive and better quality ones, as they usually are more reliable and often last longer. Look to purchase a number of the same utensils, so if an important utensil breaks down while you are cooking, then you can replace it with a new one straight away, without having to run out to the shops to find your favourite cooking utensils.

By purchasing the better quality and more reliable kitchen utensils, you know they will last longer and will not suddenly wear out and leave you with unusable utensils while you are in the process of cooking a big dinner for your family and friends. That is why you should look at having more than one of the same type of utensils, to cover for emergencies.

Picture this. You are in the middle of preparing a meal, with some delicious salads, when your vegetable parer breaks in two. Are you going to drop everything and run to a convenience store and hope they have the utensil you need? Not many convenience stores would carry a specialized cooking utensil like a vegetable parer. This is why you should have a second vegetable parer to cover for emergencies.

Just like you would have more than one knife in the kitchen, you should have a number of the same utensils in the kitchen. Especially the ones you cannot do without. You know, the ones that are not sold in convenience stores.

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Maintaining A Healthy Diet With A Daily Food Diary

Daily food diary can help you to keep a record of your allergies to foods and even help maintain your diet. You may have decided to control the amount of fat in your diet and every day you look at the scales and it seems to be increasing all the time. If you write down in a food diary all the food, including snacks you are eating every day, your doctor or dietitian can help guide on which foods are high in fat and how to cut them out to help reduce your weight.

For example, you may be eating too many nuts as a snack food. Nuts can be beneficial in a diet and may help reduce blood sugar levels, but they are high in fat. The advice you receive may be to reduce the amount of nuts you eat during snack time.

Dietitians and nutritionists also recommend the use of a daily food dairy, helping to keep track of the food you are eating. For example, if you are a diabetic, you may need to keep your sugar levels low, and you realise there is a spike in your sugar levels, then you can look in your food diary to find out what caused the sudden increase in sugars in your blood. It may be candy, or a piece of delicious cake that you thought was low GI that caused the sudden increase in sugar levels.

Keeping a record of your daily food intake and any adverse reactions to food, can help you decide which foods to leave out of your diet. For example, if you want to keep your blood sugar levels low, then you should avoid high sugar foods like candy and cakes. When you are cooking and you want to control your sugar levels, then you can look at alternative low sugar ingredients. Instead of baking a normal high sugar cake, bake a low carb cake.

Over a period of time you will realise that by knowing what you are eating, and your reaction to certain types of food, is one of the main benefits of the daily food diary.

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Shopping Online For Mothers Day Gift Ideas

"What moms really want on Mother's Day is some peace and quiet, at least according to a very unscientific e-mail survey of mothers I know. The best gift would be a day off," says mother-of-two Kathy Georgopoulos of Arlington, Massachusetts.

A break from bottle making, butt wiping, toy cleaning and incessant chattering is what most mothers secretly crave, she confides. But, since you can't buy that online, moms are more than willing to accept a weekend getaway or a day at the spa for Mothers Day.

Another option for Mothers Day is to bring the spa home by purchasing a foot spa. At www.drugstore.com, you'll find a nice selection of Homedics home foot spas for $46.99, including "the rejuvenator" with eight shiatsu massage rollers, "the elite," which comes with a remote control and the "bubble spa pro luxury," which has extra foam.

Sometimes you can catch a great sale at www.overstock.com, www.outpost.com or www.amazon.com for as low as $20. Conair, Dr. Scholl's and Homedics are all trustworthy brands to consider as a special gift for mom.

Some mothers say that they'd like you to come with them to the spa for Mothers Day. Many spas have special deals when you come with someone and offer combo package deals with pedicures, manicures and massages that can be purchased for $200 or less.

Or, if you'd prefer, you can save the money and make do-it-yourself face masks and nail painting. There are a number of ways to make Mothers Day special if you're up to the task!

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Celebrating Mothers Day Around The World

In Civil War era America, Mothers Day was intended to be a day of peace and tranquility, a humble recognition of what mothers bring to society. For Julia Ward Howe, this day wasn't about gifts for mother, but rather, a day to call for disarmament, peace and pacifism.

Mothers who lost sons in war would gather together for strength and support. Masses would piously thank mothers for their sacrifices. The history of Mothers Day is a far cry from the sort of commercialism we see today, with Mother Day flowers, cards and gifts commemorating this special day.

Ironically, Anna Jarvis grew to detest the very holiday she helped to create. Hardly nine years after Woodrow Wilson officially declared Mothers Day a national celebration, Mothers Day card sales and profits of Mother Day flowers were skyrocketing.

The National Restaurant Association reports that Mother's Day is the most popular dine-out occasion of the year, even surpassing Valentine's Day. According to IBIS World research, Americans spent $2.6 billion on flowers, $1.53 billion on pampering gifts and $68 million on Mothers Day cards in 2008. The jewelry industry reported that 7.8% of their annual sales come from Mother's Day too.

A number of countries celebrate Mothers Day, although not necessarily on the same day or in the same way. Mothers Day cards and flowers are also popular in the UK, but in Spain it's more of a low-key religious celebration.

In America, the holiday has become a day of gift-giving and supreme pampering. In South Africa, child and mother switch roles. As the child cooks and cleans, the mother sits back and watches her favorite TV shows or has a relaxing bath. In almost every country, the importance of women as procreator and nurturer is celebrated each year.

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Thanking Mum With An Online Happy Mothers Day Card

"Our research shows most people don't want to economize on their mothers," says Carlton Cards manager Susy Miranda. "Although we do offer value cards priced at 99 cents to $1.99, the more elaborate cards consistently outsell them every year." In the store, a Happy Mothers Day greeting card might mean sifting through colors, fonts, graphics and textures.

Yet online, you can choose from videos, music, insert your own photos and decide whether you'd like to print it, mail it, email it or post it online. The versatility and customization allowable with e-cards online has become such a hit that many of the traditional card craftsmen have offered their selection on the internet with flexible annual memberships to service all your card giving needs.

At www.ecards.plaxo.com, you'll find a large selection of professional Happy Mothers Day greetings similar to what you may find in a store. Whether you want pictures of cute animals, funny cartoons, artistic flowers or a personalized creation using your own photo, it's all here.

You can choose the colors, messages and fonts on each card. When you sign up, you'll receive a free 30-day trial and then you may choose whether or not to continue at $19.95/year.

If you just want to wish a "Happy Mothers Day" and you don't want an annual membership, then there are plenty of free e-cards to choose from. There are sixteen free Mothers Day cards at www.egreetings.com, 30 Mothers Day greetings at www.123greetings.com and 13 free cards at www.hallmark.com, for instance.

However, most of the greeting card sites offer free one-month trials, so you can send your card and cancel if you wish; or you may find that subscribing for a year saves you a lot of money on conventional cards and gives you a good excuse to keep in touch with everyone.

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Giving Your Time With Surprising Mother Day Gifts

While you're perusing the seemingly endless selection of Mother Day gifts, you may have a feeling that this is all so been-there-done-that. Flowers, again? Mothers Day brunch was nice but maybe she'd appreciate a little variety.

It's no secret that moms work a lot of unseen magic around the house, so it's a great chance to return the favor and help her out around the house a little. After all, the best gift you can give to someone is your time.

A number of moms have cited "coupon booklets" to be one of their most memorable past Mother Day gifts. You can include "gift certificates" for cleaning, like floor mopping, laundry, dishes, vacuuming or tidying the living room. You can give your mom an "at home spa certificate" for a massage, a pedicure or a manicure.

Many moms love Mothers Day gift ideas that include coupons for a day of errand running, cooking, gardening or babysitting, which are all tasks she could sometimes use a break from. Then there's always that coveted "anything-for-a-day" certificate that let her decide your duties.

Generally, craft ideas are best for younger children. As we get older, particularly in our teen years, services become increasingly more important. Maybe one day we'll be able to afford a trip to the spa for mom, a weekend getaway or a diamond necklace.

Today, the best Mother Day gifts are the thoughtful ones, within your means, that aim to make mother feel special and appreciated. Since moms are constantly guilty of putting the family first, it'll feel nice for you to make her #1.

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Time For Birthdays

All birthdays are cause for celebration. However, many people feel that their 16th birthday was a true milestone to be celebrated with a big birthday bash. Perhaps one reason for this is the fact that it is a "coming of age" birthday celebration.

Many times, this is the age when girls are finally allowed to date and naturally all of the guys are trying to get their driver's license in order to ask a girl out. Of course, with more freedom comes more responsibilities, not something that many teenagers really like but they have to be accepted in order to retain their privileges.

The birthday that is one of the favorites is the 18th birthday, as it is considered the first major step towards adulthood and more freedom. Birthdays for this age are a major milestone and most believe that it should be celebrated in a major way. A huge birthday celebration with all of their friends is a favorite way to commemorate the event.

So what if many people feel that nothing tops the milestone of the 21st birthday? While it is very important and exciting when it comes to birthdays, the 50th has them all topped. Consider the fact that retirement is quite possibly coming soon, hopefully the kids will be out of the house and you will finally have the time to pursue your own interests instead of taking care of everyone else.

So, while some consider the 50th birthday to be "over the hill", perhaps it should be looked at with relish, realizing this is exactly what you have you have been working toward.

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