Last week, I promised that Friday Hot Tips would focus on making your holiday gift giving easier. Well, I aim to please, so here’s another tip from me to you. Enjoy!

There are just some people that I hate to shop for, because they have damn near everything. If they don’t have everything, then they have enough cash to get everything if they feel so inclined. These are the folks where I must put on my Creative Gift Giver hat and look for shops, either online or in the real world, that have quirky and fun items. Just now I Googled “unusual gifts” and found UncommonGoods, an online gift store with some of the coolest, most original, and wacky stuff I’ve seen in a long time.

According to their website, UncommonGoods has been around for over 8 years – leave it to me to be slow on the uptake. They’ve gotten a lot of good press for their eclectic collection, ranging from housewares to jewelry to games to office supplies. After poking around on their website, I can see why. This stuff is fun! Here’s a sampling of a few items I particularly liked:

The Take-out Menu Organizer is a binder specifically designed to hold and track menus from your favorite restaurants. I can personally vouch for this item, as someone gave me one for Christmas two years ago. It’s got sheet protectors to hold the menus, several dividers with labels so you can sort the menus by cuisine (American, Italian, Chinese, etc.), and a little pocket with pens and notepads to help you keep track of who wants what (if you’re ordering for a big group) and your experience with the service, delivery time, etc. It’s great for the office – maybe the receptionist would like one so she can free up that drawer full of sticky menus from China Garden and Pepe’s Taco Hut. If you hate to cook, buy a Take-Out Menu Organizer for home to corral all those menus into one handy spot. (I keep mine next to the cookbooks.)

When you’re in the bathroom, how many times have you found yourself frantically trying to remember the symbol for gold, or perhaps uranium? This happens to me all the time. Well, fret no more, fellow chemistry lovers! This colorful Periodic Table Shower Curtain will set you straight. Because no one wants to get their Chemistry 101 book wet in the tub.

Here at The Girl with Moxie, we promote safe healthy sex. As part of our ongoing efforts in this area, we present to you the Condom Caddy, a metal case with saucy retro artwork that can hold three condoms (not included). You can even stash a few Viagra in there too, if necessary.

And for those oenophile ladies in your inner circle, how about getting them some lovely earrings made from recycled wine bottles? The Recycled Wine Bottle Jewelry includes three different styles of earrings, made from either chardonnay, pinot grigio (my personal favorite), or red wine. Not only are you outfitting your favorite wino wine enthusiast in style, you’re also supporting recycling efforts. Good job!

Another very cool thing about this company is their commitment to helping others. Through their Better to Give program, UncommonGoods will donate a portion of every sale to charity. Nice, huh?

There’s a lot of goodies on their website – heck, I could browse it for hours. They have dishes, decorative bowls, cuff links, ties, board games, clocks, bath stuff, kids stuff…and all of it looks just unusual enough that your performance art-loving friend Juanita or your highly eccentric uncle Sylvester would love to receive. Check out UncommonGoods and see what other fun things you can find.