Holiday Giveaway from Animal Planet

The holidays are expensive and the economy is soggy but Animal Planet is stepping up with a little freebie to brighten your day.

The network that brings us "Living With The Wolfman," which follows British wolf expert Shaun Ellis and his fiance Helen Jeffs actually living like wolves among wolves, is offering one lucky reader a Shaun + Helen first aid kit. Packed with bandages, wraps, tape, scissors, tweezers, ointments and wipes of all kinds, the white plastic case features the program logo along with "Love bites but it doesn't have to hurt...."

This might be just the gift for an accident prone loved one. To win this medical prize package just leave a comment on this post. A winner will be selected at random on December 10.

"Living With the Wolfman" airs Tuesdays at 10:30 PM (ET/PT).

Adventurous Gifts: Volume 2

With the holiday season now officially underway, here are 10 more ideas that go beyond earrings and scarves and into a world of ...well, just about everything and every price range! To see the ideas featured in Adventurous Gifts: Volume 1, click here.

FOR BEGINNING MOUNTAINEERS: For any friend who dreams of climbing the big ones, Cotsworld, a British outdoor retailer, is offering a series of videos for beginning mountaineers. The folks at Adventure Blog said they were, "excellent." You can choose "First Steps on Snow and Ice," "Your First Alpine Ascent," "Climbing Essentials," and "Climbing Hardware."

GIVE AND LET GIVE: This is for your friend whose passion is to make a difference in the world. This gift has three elements: First, a tin of green tea; second, the book "Three Cups of Tea," the true, amazing and inspirational story of Greg Mortensen who has spent the last 15 years building schools (especially for girls) in the most rural areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan; third, a donation to the Central Asia Institute, which funds Mortenson's work. The CAI website will help you print a card saying that you've made a donation in honor of your friend.

ADVENTURES IN GARDENING: Anyone can grow your basic zucchini and tomatoes but for the adventurous gardener there are sooo many more possibilities. Here's one your gardening friends may not have tried yet; mushrooms are available in indoor mushroom kits from Fungi Perfecti.

BAT BOXES: The Organization for Bat Conservation can teach you just about everything you and your giftee want to know about bats. They'll also sell you a nice bat house to attract lots of little flying mammals. If you're handy with a hammer, you can download bat box plans and build your giftee a homemade present or you could use the plans to create a bat box kit. Honestly, I know a lot of kids who would love this.

SEGWAY! LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL: I've said this before but it's worth repeating. Riding a Segway is the most fun you'll have on two wheels. Why not present your giftee with a certificate for a Segway tour of her favorite city. To find a guided tour near you, click here then go to "guided tours" at the very top of the page. You'll find links for cities across the US and around the world.

ROAD RUNNER: For anyone who keeps threatening to start running but needs a little push. How about a book about running and a Road ID. Road ID is a wrist band with an engraved plate that holds emergency contact information. You can choose from a variety of colors and non-wrist styles as well.

EXTREME TREE CLIMBING: Tree Climbers International offers all kinds of things for people who want to branch out from climbing the stuff in the backyard. Visit TCI's store for everything from instructional DVDs including, "Tree Climbing Basics" to books like "Tree Climber's Companion." Use the coupon code HOLIDAY at checkout for a 15% discount. If your giftee is in the Atlanta, GA area, TCI offers beginners' classes as well.

PASSPORT: Starting June 1, 2009, Americans will need passports to travel to Mexico and Canada. Many people want a passport but are intimidated by the paperwork or are too young to handle the process themselves. The gift of time and assistance is a wonderful way to help your giftee make a dream come true. You can help by printing out the paperwork, finding a passport office near you, looking into the passport fees (maybe you can cover the cost, maybe you can only cover the cost of passport photos), taking the giftee to have her passport photo taken and driving her to the passport office.

GET AWAY, FAR...FAR...AWAY: Unusual Hotels of the World lists the most astonishing hotels you've never been too. Click on the icon for underwater, rainforest, igloo, underground/cave, treehouse, etc. and find a selection of hotels ranging from "different" through "wacky" to "wow." Send your giftee on a one-of-a-kind weekend getaway that will never be forgotten.

BUT WAIT! THERE'S SO MUCH MORE: If you haven't seen what you're looking for, visit Discovery Experience and click through their enormous selection of adventurous options. You can make your purchase and Discovery will even provide a gift box. You just can't go wrong here.

*These ideas are meant to inspire you and the sites listed here are starting points for your shopping. This listing is not intended to guarantee any product or service. Consumers are responsible for educating themselves before entering into any kind of agreement with any/all providers.

Image from Dreamstime

Adventurous Gifts: Volume 1

Sweaters and candles are nice but a present that helps make a dream a reality is a true gift. A few years ago, I mentioned to a friend that I wanted to study physics (hey, to each her own). On my birthday, that same friend gave me a copy of Stephen Hawkings' "A Brief History of Time." I loved that book, not only because I wanted to read it but because my friend had helped me do something I had been wanting to do.

Since this site is all about expanding horizons and trying new things, I thought it would be good to assemble a list of outside-the-box gift ideas for your adventurous friends and family. Today's post has 10 suggestions for gifts of new experiences. I think there is a little bit of everything here but I'd like this to be an on-going project. If you have some suggestions for "Adventurous Gifts: Volume 2" let me know.

THE GIFT OF MUSIC: National Geographic Music goes waaaayyy beyond the your top 40 playlist and connects you to music from around the globe. Visiting their homepage, you can search music by artist, region of the world or genre (everything from Aboriginal Traditional to Zydeco) . Whether your friends are fans of Zimbabwe's Thomas Mapfumo or Uzbekistan's Matlubeh, a gift certificate for a world of music is a gift indeed.

HOT AIR BALLOON RIDE: Soaring Adventures of America offers gift certificates for locations around the country. Their site says they're a member of the Better Business Bureau and guarantee 100% satisfaction.

SPA AND BULLDOZER (Excavate and Exfoliate): Dig This, the only place in the country where you can learn to drive heavy equipment for fun is blending the benefits of a soothing facial with the thrill of commanding full-size heavy equipment. The company, partnering with the Steamboat Grand Hotel, offers a package that includes a minimum half-day session at Dig This, two-night stay at the Steamboat Grand Resort Hotel, a 50-minute European facial at the Grand Spa, and daily breakfast at The Cabin Restaurant.

SPA AND CHOCOLATE: The Chocolate Spa at the Hotel Hershey is an experience like no other: Whipped Cocoa Bath, Chocolate Hydrotherapy, Chocolate Bean Polish, Chocolate Sugar Scrub, Chocolate Fondue Wrap, Cocoa Massage... enough said. If Hershey, PA is too far from home, check out SpaFinder.com to find something in your neck of the woods.

BETTER THAN CARRY-OUT: How about an interesting international dish delivered right to your friend's doorstep? Destination Dinners offers recipe kits that share culture through food. Each kit offers pre-measured, hard to find spices, sauces and dried items as well as step-by-step instructions, a shopping list for fresh ingredients and fun facts and trivia about the destination you are "traveling" to. Choose cuisine from Thailand, Bangladesh, Israel, Japan, Jamaica and more.

I'LL DRINK TO THIS: Do you know an adventurous wine lover? Here's a gift that teaches the basics of wine making while it teaches patience. Amazon.com has a do-it-yourself kit for making your own Chianti. The kit comes with all the equipment and ingredients need to get started on a fun new hobby.

PLAY WITH FIRE: Who hasn't been fascinated watching a glass blower practice her craft? An easy way to experience the thrill of working with fire and glass is with a beginning bead making kit. Amazon.com has one that includes everything you need but the gas canister (found in hardware stores) and protective eye ware. Your friends will be making gorgeous mini works of art in no time.

DANCE! DANCE! There are many different styles of dance to choose from but if your giftee is a fan of "Dancing with the Stars," why not start with Arthur Murray Studios. They have franchises around the world, a variety of dance programs and an Internet coupon for a free introductory lesson (at participating locations).

KNIT ONE...Knitting is huge! Everyone is picking up this stress-reducing hobby that generates something you can actually use. Why not get your giftee some needles, a skein of beautiful yarn and link her into the free online tutorials from Lion Brand Yarn.

UH...WHAT? If the giftee has always wanted to speak Italian or Mandarin or Tagalog why not make her dreams a reality with a gift of language. There are many instruction methods and many different price levels. Your options range from classroom instruction with the local community college or Berlitz organization to at-home learning with audio programs like Rosetta Stone. There are actually many at-home programs at many price points so try a Google or Amazon.com search for the desired language.

12/15/08: To find Adventurous Gifts: Volume 2, click here.

*These ideas are meant to inspire you and the sites listed here are starting points for your shopping. This listing is not intended to guarantee any product or service. Consumers are responsible for educating themselves before entering into any kind of agreement with any/all providers.

Image from Dreamstime