Gifting Ideas

Looking for unique gifts for the Baby Boomers in your life?

Gift buying for grown-ups during the holiday season can be a daunting task.  What is the "can't go wrong" gifting idea for those of us who have built a family and no longer find stuffed animals or video games to be quite so appealing? What do your older friends and loved ones want?  These are the questions most of us will ponder, again, this Christmas season.

Here are what Baby Boomers think and feel to lead you to gifting answers:

Baby Boomers' obsession with staying youthful is reflected in the people, places and things with which they choose to surround themselves.  More than 75-percent of Boomers see sports and fitness as a key to staying young.  At least two-thirds of Boomers surveyed use cell phones and Internet to facilitate their active lives.  Nearly two-thirds of Boomers surveyed say their pets keep them young.  Relationships outside the family circle are increasingly important for this generation.  Social activities like parties and drinking rank high.

Here are some tips for aging like fine wine:

Baby Boomers will age differently using hair-dye, cosmetics, and use more extreme measures, such as cosmetic surgery, to keep their bodies in line with feelings of youthfulness.   Their obsession with looking younger is set to collide with the reality of aging.  Aging can't be avoided, but injuries can be.  And doctors say that doesn't mean all avid joggers must hang up their running shoes, or lifelong basketball players must necessarily forgo the neighborhood court -- it's all about exercising smarter.

Exercise Tips: Don't be a "weekend warrior."  People who exercise three to five days a week are at less risk for injury that someone who does nothing all week then goes full throttle on the weekend.  Take lessons, even if you're not a newcomer to a sport.  Proper form and instruction reduce the chance of such injuries as tendonitis or stress fractures.  Invest in good equipment.  Select the proper shoes for your sport, use them only for that sport, and replace them when they lose support or the treads show wear. 

For men: stay well shaven and continuously remove unwanted hair in your eyebrows, nose, ears and between your eyes.

For women: pay careful attention to your hands and wear stylish custom fit gloves in the winter, as your hands show your age faster than any other part of your body.   Enhance thinning eyebrows with a brow brush and powder just a shade lighter than your natural hair color (thicker brows make you look younger).  Replace your bifocals with Bausch & Lomb's SofLens Multifocal contact lenses to look more like a hot mamma than a grandma.  Natural-looking make-up complements your hair and skin tones.  Update your accessories; having modern jewelry helps you look younger.

If you can't find what you're looking for from 64,000 stores and 30 million items online, then you're certainly not going to find it at the mall," said Farhad Mohit, co-founder for shopping site, Shopzilla.com.  Saving customers time and money by sifting through thousands of retail Web sites is what more than a dozen comparison shopping sites do; like providing 50 retailers selling a 37-inch Sharp Aquos liquid crystal display television, with prices ranging from $1,660 to $5,000.