Gift ideas for men ...

Hihi friends of Hazelnutt House (",)

Guys are really hard to shop for, don't you agree? 

I have 4 possible gift ideas that you can consider when shopping for a guy. 

I bought this Chill Factor Slushy Maker at FairPrice Xtra.  It usually retails at $19.90 but there was a discount on this item when I was there.  I've seen this item selling at some Cold Storages as well as FairPrice - not every branch carries it though.

You'll need to store the slushy maker into the freezer until it is frozen before you can use it. 
Once frozen, pour in a chilled drink and SQUEEZE!  It's really fun and of coz before I could even slushify the entire cup, my hands were already frozen cold!  It works better if you use a chilled drink (",) There is a thick liquid filled chamber within the cup and when this surrounding chamber is completely frozen, it works its magic on your chilled drink, turning a boring liquid into slushy! 

Comes in 4 different colours. 

I was REALLY skeptical initially, but the product did not disappoint me!

Here's a cup of 7Up slushy (",) ... so many possibilities!  Chocolate milk slushy?  Coke slushy?... Apple juice slushy? Frozen Margarita perhaps?...  endless possibilities (",)

Next up, on the guys' gift list is this SodaStream - 'set the bubbles free' machine. 
The Hubs and I used to buy bottles of sparkling water to fizz up apple or grape juice; turning the juice into sparkling juice.  We hate it that the water becomes flat when we are 3/4 through.

With this SodaStream machine, all you need is a couple of seconds to get yourself a bottle of sparkling water.  The bottle is smaller than the store bought sparkling water, so we use up the carbonated water faster, thus there is lesser chance for the water to go flat on us.  There is an aluminium carbonator in this system and you should be able to use one carbonator to fizz up 60 - 130 litres of water.   

"When the gas in the carbonator finishes, consumers exchange the empty carbonators for a full one, paying only the cost of a gas refill." extracted from sodastream.com . 

This red one costs $168.  The other colours, black and white cost $155.  

I got mine at the Cold Storage at Kallang Leisure Park.  It is also available at Tangs VivoCity, Tangs eStore as well as Takashimaya. 

Third on the list is a compact massager.  I paid $69.90 for it at Giant Hypermarket at Parkway Parade. 

My friend was complaining about lower back aches and I decided to get this for her birthday after trying it out at the store.  She really loves this gift and I am very tempted to get one for myself too (",)

Not only is this compact massager small and light, the rollers really kneads deep into your muscles.  Soothing away your aches and pains.  Did I mention that the rollers heat up too?  Such a soothing touch especially for lower backaches. 

Fourth item on the list is a digital photo frame.  You load the pictures into a memory card and slot it into the digital photo frame and it'll screen the pics that you have loaded.  Good for office table space or on a display shelf at home (",) 

Guys are really hard to shop for IMO... hehee... hope this helped a little (",)

Some gift ideas for ladies - Yankee Candles, Mt. Sapola and a SHELF?

Dearest friends of Hazelnutt House (",) 

Getting gifts for lady friends isn't much of a problem, for me at least.  There are tons of beauty gift boxes to choose from at most malls.  However, if you have friends who aren't exactly into beauty products, this entry might come in handy.  I've three gift ideas as well as a gift card deal from Yankee Candle to share with you.  

Yankee Candle has "buy 4 gift cards at $39.90 each and get the 5th gift card free" deal.  The nice people from Yankee Candle told me that they have this promotion all year round.

In total you spend $159.60 for 5 gift cards. Which means you pay $$31.90 for each card.  

You can make use of each gift card to exchange for, "a Large Jar Candle($39.90), Large Tumbler Candle ($39.90), Large Vase Candle ($45.90) or Jar shade...." (extracted from the clause in the gift card). You do not have to top up the difference if the item cost more than $39.90.

I prefer the tumbler candles as there are two wicks (strong scent when burned) and it is easier for me to stack them up when I need to store them, since the lid is flat.  With the jar candles and their bulbous lids, I am unable to stack them up.

  

Here are the candles that I took home after getting the Buy 4 get 1 free gift card deal.  I decided to cart only 3 home for now and use the other 2 gift cards for later since the gift cards are valid for a year. 

(L) - (R) : Vanilla Cupcake, Fresh Cut Roses and Guava 

The Vanilla Cupcake and Fresh Cut Roses are large tumbler candles and the Guava is a Large Vase candle which retails at a higher price of $45.90.  Therefore, you're definitely get a better deal when you use your gift card  to exchange for these large vase candles.  And nope, you do not need to top up the difference.

You'll find Yankee Candle at these locations.  The buy 4 gift cards and get 1 free deal is only available at Yankee Candle stores and not at the small space that also sells Yankee Candles in Takashimaya.

Here's the gift card...

Please take note of what you can exchange for with the gift card. 

"This gift card can be used to redeem one Reed Diffuser, Large Jar Candle, Large Tumbler Candle, Large Vase Candle or Jar shade...." redeemable at all Yankee Candle stores.

This gift card is valid for a year from Date of Issue.  So you can buy them as gifts or just keep them for yourself to enjoy (",)

Ok, enough on the candles...

Yet another place where you can get something lovely for a girl friend would be at Mt. Sapola. 

picture: herworldplus.com

Check out this Mt. Sapola link for the various locations in Singapore.

I especially like the electric diffuser... it uses an energy saving bulb to heat up the water and essential oils instead of a tea light.  I prefer an electric diffuser to one that uses tea lights coz I am absolutely lazy when it comes to replacing those tiny tea lights.

This is the small electric diffuser which I bought last year and it cost about $70ish.  It comes with the bulb but not the essential oil.

This is the bigger electric diffuser which I got for a friend's new place and it costs somewhere around $110... the peppermint and lemongrass oils are sold seperately.

Now for the final item that I think will bring a smile to a friend who loves loves loves organising.  

It's this Expand A Shelf organiser.  Click here to read more about this expandable shelf. 

Talk to you ladies soon!  

Hope these gift ideas will come in handy (",)