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Chances are you know a teacher who deserves a special thank-you gift, a new neighbor who would love a housewarming gesture, a momma-to-be in need of a shower something or other or maybe a pal who needs a little cheer while recovering from an illness. And chances are you’re completely stuck on what to get these people.

Meet Out of the Blue Delivered — a clever and crafty little company offering gifts for every occasion and life event. Shop around, pick your favorites, and then have them delivered. It’s that easy. And if you want some direction while you peruse this site, here are some of my faves:

• Blackboard coasters — I love, love, love these. First, they’re coasters and blackboards, which means you can write on them with chalk and then wipe them clean. Perfect for nifty little notes and to-do reminders. Second, they’re magnets, so when you’re not using your coasters, just store them on the fridge. Third, you can use them for nameplates at your dinner parties, and they can double as, yep, coasters. Love these.
• An adorable plaque that reads, “Heal” — perfect for a heartfelt get-well wish.
• Hand-made guest book — wouldn’t every bride and groom love this pretty prize?
• Spa warming pillow — throw this cozy number in the microwave for 3 minutes, and then warm all your tired and achy parts.

Your turn — take a tour of this super store, and tell us what you like best.

I know moms and flowers go together pretty well, and you might be thinking of sending your momma a perfectly pretty bouquet of arranged flowers for Mother’s Day this year. But flowers are expensive, and they don’t last very long, and that’s why I suggest you head over to your nearest garden shop and buy a few plants your mom can plop right in her own yard. Hand deliver your favorite picks, and help mom bury them in the dirt. If you don’t live nearby, bundle up a few packets of seeds and some other garden goodies and mail them off to your special girl. Whether you live near or far, mom will get to watch your love grow.

If you’re a mom, or you have a mom, or you love someone else’s mom, then you know how important Mother’s Day is. Sure, we should honor the moms in our lives every day, but I like that there’s one special day set aside for celebration. Kind of like a birthday, where balloons and candles and mounds of gifts are the norm, Mother’s Day should be treated like one big party.

Let’s talk gifts — do you know what you’re getting mom this year? Do you know what you want this year? Between now and the big day — Sunday, May 10, 2009 — I’ll be naming some ideas and sharing them here and over here, at my Breast Cancer blog.

Today, let’s start with something for the foodie mom, the mom who is interested in food but wants to be healthy and maintain her weight too. How about this nifty food scale, which comes in all sorts of colors and is perfect for measuring out that exact one-ounce serving of dark chocolate, which, you know, is actually a healthy daily indulgence — you did know that, right? Makes a good case for buying mom some of the dark stuff too.

If you have school-age children, you’ve probably heard rumblings of upcoming teacher appreciation events. At my kids’ school, a whole week is devoted to thanking our hard-working teachers, and May is the month chosen for the week-long outpouring of cards, gifts and luncheons. Well, tomorrow is May. Seems the right time to start thinking of gift ideas.

Teacher Appreciation Week can be a lot of fun. It can also be stressful. I mean, how exactly do you properly thank someone for teaching your youngsters to sit criss-cross applesauce, color in the lines, cut with scissors, spell, read, write and use good manners? In my opinion, you’ve got to find out a bit about the teacher who deserves the thanks, and then you’ve got to locate resources to help you take action on your findings.

Tip Junkie is just the place. Here, you’ll find amazingly creative ideas for making teacher survival kits, crafty clipboards and initial plaques made out of crayons. Here, you’ll stumble upon ideas for decorating teachers’ doors, putting together personalized journals and presenting plants with gift cards attached. Then there’s Skip to my Lou, where more ideas await you. No excuses for not appreciating your teachers after you shop these three sites.

Oh, and while you’re at it, you might as well get started on Mother’s Day (Sunday, May 10 is the big day)  — perfectly pretty gift ideas right here.

Photo by: Jeff Kubina on flickr