Personalized Gifts For Dad

Finding the right gift that shows how much you appreciate your father can be challenging. Treat dad to something he won’t expect. Personalized, humorous, sentimental gifts or touching mementos can be a great way to express your love for dear old Dad.

Picture Gallery

Take a walk down memory lane by giving your Dad a personalized wall gallery that captures special moments with his family. Take the time to find sentimental pictures that show Dad at his best with his children and put them into the frames before you present the gift. This treasure will remind him of great times that he shared with his loved ones.

Humidor and Cigars

Your Dad probably handed out cigars when his children were born. Now is the time for his kin to give him cigars to thank him for all that he has done. Put a smile on his face with a box of freshly, hand-rolled cigars. Present the cigars in a cedar-lined humidor personalized with his initials engraved onto a nickel plaque. Alternatively, you can buy a leather cigar case at Red Envelope that holds cigars up to 7-inches long and personalize it with his initials on it. Round off the present with a zinc alloy butane lighter and a stainless steel end cutter. Now he can sit back, relax, and enjoy a stogie while knowing that his family loves him.

Sports Fan Ideas

Give your sports aficionado an autographed picture of his favorite sports hero for him to display in his office. Or hit a homerun with Dad with officially licensed MLB ballpark novelty cuff links that borrow a piece of history from Wrigley, Fenway, Shea, and other iconic stadiums. Made from salvaged seats, these cuff links enable Dad to own a piece of nostalgia from his favorite team. Finally, consider taking your die-hard sports fan out to the ballpark to watch his favorite team play. Splurge and buy front row seats so that he can see all of the action. If he’s lucky, then maybe one of the players will sweat on him…

Beer Connoisseur

Buy your Dad a round and take him on a microbrew tour at your local brewery so that he can learn more about his favorite beverage. Drink some suds after the visit and tell him how much he means to you. If he a hands-on kind of guy and would like to learn how to brew his own beer, then give him a home brew kit along with a lesson from your local (and respected) beer master. This could be a gift of a lifetime that is full of enjoyment and great beer drinking. A nice touch would to be to add crystal pilsner beer glasses monogrammed with his initials.

Every father is unique. Give a personalized gift for him that he’ll enjoy and that expresses your gratefulness for his influence in your life.

The Historic Moonlight Towers in Austin

Most visitors to Austin notice the unusual streetlights strategically located throughout the city known as the moonlight towers, but most are not aware of the history of the towers. Probably the most well known of the moonlight towers is the one in Zilker Park which is used every year to represent a huge Christmas tree, when it is encircled with multi-colored lights and can be seen from miles away.

There are actually 17 moonlight towers in and around Austin, including the Zilker tower, and these lights have been in use since the late 1800s, when Austin purchased the lights from the city of Detroit. In 1894, 31 used mercury vapor lamps were installed throughout Austin, and at the time, these types of lights were used in many cities across the country, but Austin is the only city still using them today.

The lamps, which are perched atop wrought iron posts, give off a distinctive pinkish-yellow light, and the lamps illuminate a 3000 foot circle of ground. Even thought the lights appear to be one large lamp, they are actually made up of 6 carbon arc lamps, and the lamp poles are actually 165 feet triangular posts made of cast and wrought iron.

The 100 year anniversary of the moonlight towers was celebrated in Zilker Park in 1995, and some of those who attended the anniversary event still have the custom made shirts which were available for purchase at the event, with an original artist’s rendition of the lamps on the front and back of the shirts, including the date of the commemoration of the lights. These shirts are considered collector’s items now, and the lamps themselves are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Most of the moonlight towers are situated in or around the older residential neighborhoods which encircle the downtown area, such as Clarksville, Speedway, Bouldin Creek, and the Zilker Park neighborhoods, but some are actually located in the downtown area itself, such as the one that is located at Guadalupe Street and West 9th. During the time of the 100 year anniversary of the lights, all of them were taken down and restored one at a time and then replaced in their original location, and even though there were originally 31 lamps, there are now only 17 in operation.

Each moonlight tower is held up by a fifteen foot pedestal which is encircled with guy wires and a network of cables, and the lights are changed and maintained by the use of a ladder which is affixed to the towers. Each tower has a commemorative plaque as well, with a brief history of the lights engraved on the plaque. The lights have been in continuous operation for over 100 years, and during that time, the lights have only been turned off twice.

The first time they were turned off was in 1905 when the lights were unlit for week during a dispute between the members of the city council and the Water and Light Commission. The second time they were turned off was in 1973, when the national energy crisis required the city to turn them off to conserve energy.

The moonlight towers are another example of the uniqueness of Austin, as well as Austin’s intention of preserving our heritage and honoring its historical significance. Many people travel to Austin to see the annual lighting of the Zilker Tree, which includes a yearly celebration of the Zilker Moonlight Tower, so be sure to visit Zilker during the holidays and check out the beautiful, tall, lighted tower, which is lit to resemble a tree, or drive through the downtown and surrounding neighborhoods and take a look for yourself at these legendary lights!

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Perfect Wedding Present For Your Best Girlfriend

The special wedding day of your best friend is something that you ought to enjoy too. If you think of the most touching moments in your life, one would be seeing your best friend getting married. Remember not to cry on the wedding day for it may smear off your make-up but aside from this worry, what better gift ideas are there for your best friend.

Since your best friend have her favorite song of course, look for the original CD and have it signed by the artist to serve as your gift. They may appreciate your gift and would not want to smudge off the signature so put it in a plaque or glass box instead.

To give a sense of lightness especially when everyone becomes emotional, a cool funny gift can break the ice. Gifts may come in different forms like gifts for the home, vacation packages, kitchen appliances and more, but only you will know what certain item can make your best friend giggle so look for this instead. Give them a set of roses and chocolates with their names tied on each!

Request a store to personalize two love mugs if they are the type of couple who loves drinking coffee, and this is one practical gift. Tell them why you selected that gift over other things to make it more memorable! You may give the newly weds a set of wood crates where they can organize their gardening tools if they are into gardening! Have the names of the bride and groom carved onto the wood to make it very personalized.

Add a bunch of chocolates with their names on each of the wrappers, there are shops that do this now.

A personal calendar where they can write all their happy moments together or the other events yet to come to their lives is also an ideal wedding gift! Their details can be added on every page of the personal calendar to make it customized with all their tastes and favorite things to do. Their names can be spelled out with different materials for each month such as balloons in the sky or flowers in the garden.

Harrison Fray is a a guru at numerous kinds of big event and couples issues. He can help you to go for the best in cheap groomsmen gifts with incomparable style. Harrison can undoubtedly assist you with deciding the appropriate groomsmen gifts also. Stop by Engraved Gift Creations to find out what Harrison endorses.