If you’ve received a gift over the holidays that you really dislike, you may consider regifting it. Regifting comes from the infamous Seinfeld episode “The Label Maker” which originally aired in January 1995. Hard to believe it’s been over ten years already. In this episode, Tim Whatley gives Jerry a label maker for Christmas which Elaine had previously given him. Thus Elaine dubs him the regifter. See a video clip here.

Here are a few rules of the road that I found on regiftable.com:

Is the gift regiftable?
Never regift handmade or one-of-a-kind items. Signed books and monogrammed items are off-limits. Do you have to be told not to regift free promotional items? Some gifts that are good candidates for regifting include good (unopened!) bottles of wine, new household items and inexpensive jewelry.

How is the condition?
Only new, unopened gifts in good condition should be considered for regifting. Never give partially used gift cards. Don’t give items that you have owned for a long time. A general rule of thumb: if you have to dust it off, it is not regiftable.

Is this going to work?
Successful regifters use common sense. If you are going to regift, be sure you know who gave you the item, so you don’t return something to the original giver. Only regift items to people who are not likely to see the original giver.

Do you have good intentions?
Don’t just give a gift to give a gift. Be sure that the recipient will appreciate the item. Remember, if you feel that an item is undesirable, the recipient probably will too. If you are regifting simply because you ran out of time, gift cards are simple to obtain and always well received.

How does it look?
When it comes to gift-giving, go for show! While gift bags in good condition can be reused, wrapping paper is a one-time thing. Always spring for a new card or gift tag.

Can you handle it?
If you don’t plan to announce the gift as a regift, ask yourself if you can keep the secret. Never feel guilty about regifting once you’ve done it.

Have you considered your options?
An unwanted gift could be a welcome donation to a charitable organization. It is also an option to suck it up and keep an unwanted gift—after all, it was a gift.

Nothing funnier than a drunk Malcolm Middleton dressed up as a drunk Santa in and around London town. This must be a fairly normal event as most of the people in the video hardly notice or have any reaction to him at all.

In this video, indy rocker Malcolm Middleton puts a holiday spin on his upbeat “We’re all going to die” number. Just add bells, a children’s choir and BANG, you’ve got yourself a holiday classic. He’s pining for the number one Christmas slot on BBC radio one. See the official song site here.

We’re all going to die
We’re all going to die and what if there’s nothing
We’ll all have to face this alone
There’s a when not an if inside everybody
Mortal thoughts like this can make you feel so alone

You’re gonna die, you’re gonna die, you’re gonna die alone
You’re gonna die, you’re gonna die, you’re gonna die alone
All alone.

And what if I don’t become famous posthumously
Maybe my story’s no good
If I can take one possession then it’ll have to be my duvet
When oblivion comes calling it’ll be so cold

You’re gonna die, you’re gonna die, you’re gonna die alone
You’re gonna die, you’re gonna die, you’re gonna die alone
All alone.

When you can’t sleep at night and there’s no one to hold you
Remember I’m going through the same
You’ve got to laugh into the dark
We’re all one in a million
We’re alive, we existed, we took part, in the game.

We’re gonna die, we’re gonna die, we’re gonna die alone
We’re gonna die, we’re gonna die, we’re gonna die alone
We’re gonna die, we’re gonna die, we’re gonna die alone
All alone.

Also see:
www.myspace.com/malcolmmiddleton

The Honda Element Commercials are well done, funny, and simple. Honda reaches out to their key demographic with a BIG “What up?” On the other hand, the Honda Odyssey commercials also reach out to their target demo but without the pizazz.

Check out the mini site:elementandfriends.com Here you’ll be able to play the companion game driving either the EX or SC model. The game is fun to play and addictive. The basic premise is you drive around an island, in an Element of course, looking for the animals from the commercials. When you see one, a talk bubble pops up. You can either speak with them [initiate dialog between the Element and the animal] or play a game. The animals are an interesting bunch.

So, which commercial do you like the best?

Also see:
Forget the Honda Odyssey Viking spot

Faith SFX is a talented beatboxer. It’s great how he grabs regular people of the street and has them beatboxing in no time.

If you have an iPhone, iPod, PDA and are tired of the wire clutter, the Multipot is for you. Italian designers Dante Donegani and Giovanni Lauda have come up with an ingenious method for hiding those unsightly wires. The top lifts from the base and the cords are plugged in underneath. When you place the top back on the base, the cord is fed through a small hole on the top. Your rechargeable device plugs in and lays on top. In addition to being functional, it’s also a super stylish light. Well done.

*Note: Also come in a 110v US version.

Via questodesign

I think it’s great that Starbucks is committed to the environment. Shouldn’t every organization be concerned about it? Of course they should. Okay, sounds great so far. What about this:

Starbucks is committed to reducing our environmental impact through increased use of post-consumer recycled materials. Help us help the planet.

WHAT? Talk about buzzword central. Here’s what they’re really saying “We love the planet. That’s why this sleeve is made of recycled material. We wanted you to know. We want you to know that we’re thinking about the environment, okay?”

Wouldn’t it be easier if they just said “Recycled sleeve” or “We’re smart enough to recycle, you should too.”

Here’s where it gets confusing for me:

First-ever 10% post-consumer fiber cup
60% post-consumer fiber sleeve

HUH? What is that supposed to mean? It’s the first ever post-consumer cup and it’s only 10%? Shouldn’t it at least be 50%. I’m not sure what post-consumer fiber is but I’m not that impressed that it’s only 10%.

This is an interesting line:

Intended for single use only.

Hmmm. I hope they don’t mean use it once then toss it? That wouldn’t be very cool.

Also see:
Jackhole goes to Starbucks
Do Starbucks corporate employees get free coffee?
Akeelah and the Bee and the Starbucks employee

Sure there are a lot of cool iPhone / iPod Touch stands out there. This one is 100% green! Never tested on animals and completely recyclable.
[Hint, it will also work with a $1 bill]

via swissmiss

A very funny rant on non-profits and global warming. Zefrank is funny and quite original. Why don’t they give this guy complete complete control over Saturday Night Live and fire the other writers. Better yet, cancel Saturday Night Live and start “Zefrank Show.”

C’mon Lorne Michaels, it’s time to give someone else a shot!

via zefrank.com

Here’s a funny gift that says “Hey, I know you travel quite a bit and are tired of other people grabbing your luggage.” Nice gift and it’s only $10 bucks.

Identify your luggage from afar with these vivid luggage tags. Featuring refreshing colors, fluorescent plastic zip ties, name and address fields and messages like “careful: my shoes are inside,” these disposable tags are just the cure for jetlag and frequently confused luggage. Sold as a set of six.

Link

The Make: Magazine blog has a nifty little gift idea posted over on their blog. Just think how excited grandpa will be as he hides his glock 9mm in “War and Peace.” I can almost see that big ‘ol smile right now.
Ever since I was a kid I loved anything with a secret compartment. Just remember how effective the secret compartment book worked out in the “The Shawshank Redemption.”

The Honda Odyssey Viking spot isn’t all that cool. Oh yeah, sure I think I’ll buy an Odyssey because it reminds me of the old van culture of the 70s + 80s. But van culture is so much cooler now, right? Nothing says cool better than a Honda mini van.

I know men who are cringing right now at the thought of even owning a mini van. Because they’re probably thinking “Hey, that commercial was pretty cool.” “If I purchase that mini van, I probably won’t feel like a soccer mom driving it.”

Commercials over the years have certainly become more entertaining. Agencies will use bands you never thought would end up in commercials. They use humor as the main hook. They dig deep and deliver a result that has you saying “what the heck was that?” I still haven’t seen anything as cool as the Honda “Cog” spot. It’s nothing short of brilliant. The funny thing is that the commercial is two minutes long and I remembered that it was Honda. How many times do you see a spot and cannot for the life of you remember who it was for. Only in Europe does an agency get to produce something so cool that it becomes an instant classic.

Isn’t it nice when things just work…

After sitting through hours of children’s programing, you almost expect something like this might happen. Let’s face it, a gator can be pretty mean. Dealing with all those singing muppets eventually pushes Gali to the edge.

Gali the Aligator
Here comes Gali the Alligator
He’s a puppet decimator
Little birdies chewed to death
You can smell blood on his breath

Cuddly bunnies live in fear
And he’ll pull off their fluffy ears
Better stay off of his path
You want to escape his wrath

Watch out Barney – you’re next!