Moonestates Review

We are still having occasional bouts of hot weather, part of the country is being battered by hurricanes, and we haven't even handed out Trick or Treat goodies or voted for our next President yet.  Nevertheless, the holiday season is approaching ... like Armageddon, it is far enough away not to worry about it yet, but it is going to get here sooner or later.  Forewarned is forearmed so here are some gift ideas from a website called Moonestates.com. 

You (or someone you love) can be a real Laird or Lady!

If there was any doubt left that the Scots are a "canny" (clever) lot, this should cancel it out.  In the as yet wild and beautiful northern part of Scotland, there is a place called the Kincavel Estate.  Someone has come up with the idea of selling off this land in square-foot parcels for gifts.  For 30 British Pounds (exchange rate varies from day to day but this would be about $100) you can purchase one of these square foot lots for the Laird or Lady of your life who will receive a lovely gift package containing:  Laird of Kincavel gift announcement certificate, Welcome letter, local map of the area & FAQs, "A Little History of Scotland" hardback book, information about the Estate and surrounding area, map of Scotland showing location of the estate, and a Freepost Registration card which will entitle the gift recipient to a personalized Title Deed with unique Plot Number and Plot Map. 

All of this is earnest and well-meant enough to smack of the adorable, but this a no-kidding legal affair whereby your gift recipient will officially be able to use the title "Laird" (Lord) or "Lady" and even pass the square foot of Scotland on to an heir and travel to Scotland to visit their "land".  My aunt gave me one of these packets last year and I loved it.  We are partly of Scottish descent and it was nice to know that the gang over there are still smart enough to come up with something like this.  In one devastingly brilliant move, someone has figured out a way to not only make a lot of money but also preserve the pristine quality of the place.  Even though a person can buy a bunch of these square foot parcels (for family members, etc.) no one is going to be able to corner enough property to build a Walmart here, not if the Scots have anything to say about it!

Adopt a Vine

You may not be able to afford to give the person you love a whole vineyard but thanks to you, that person can now adopt a vine in the famous Carr Taylor Vineyard in Sussex which will be specially allocated and identified by row and vine number.  I believe them when they say this is a "once in a lifetime opportunity" because probably no one else will ever come up with a gift idea this goofy again.  For 30BP, the adoptive parent will receive a gift pack including:  parchment gift announcement adoption certificate, information and history of the Carr Taylor Vineyard, visiting information including details of how to redeem your free tour, "Little Book of Wine Tips", map of the Vineyard so that you can identify your personally adopted vine, and postage paid registration card.  (Hint: go ahead, throw in a bottle of wine when you present this gift to some lucky person.)  

Name a Rose

Here's a gift that really rocks and is so romantic!  For 20BP, you can have a rose bush officially named in honor of someone you love and registered under that person's name in the Amore Rose Registry.  Your gift recipient will receive a package containing:  presentation box, Intro Letter, unique pack of seeds with unique database number, "How to Grow and Care for Your Rose" booklet (including tips from planting to bush care), a 2007/08 Rose Calendar poster, and a History of the Rose card along with the registration card for your gift recipient to mail in to register his or her rose and receive a personalized certificate to this effect.  (Go the distance and add a bouquet of holiday roses to this gift!)

Name a Box of Chocolates after Somebody

Clearly, sanity has become a slippery slope for whomever dreamed this up but I must say that I am "fetched" with this idea.  For only 30BP, you can give someone with a sweet tooth a chance to order their very own official box of ten luxury handmade chocolates.  There are 42 "high quality delicious" chocolates to choose from, creating 12 billion potential combinations in all.  Your gift recipient's personal selection will be "registered on the Chocolate Foundation's database and that unique selection of chocolates will be named" in their honor.  I can almost guarantee that this is going to take some explaining but on the day of your presentation, the person you love will receive a package containing:  The "Chocolate Foundation" Chocoholics Certificate, full color brochure of the 40 hand-made chocolates to choose from, "History of Chocolate", chocolate recipes, "Chocolate Heaven" book, a bar of Organic Chocolate Soap, and a registration card to use to order his or her own personal chocolate assortment.  (Have a heart and add a pound of favorite chocolates with this gift.)

Moon Estates -- the Ultimate Gift

Finally, here is a gift idea for that hard-to-buy-for person who is either really special (or has been slowly but surely driving you crazy) -- a chance to own a whole acre of real estate on another planet or maybe even the Moon.  If you feel like someone is pulling your leg here, it could very well be Dennis Hope who long ago discovered that  "... according to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty ... no country could claim lunar or other-planetary land but that as a private individual, he could."  This enterprising pioneer "filed his claim with the United Nations and the USA and USSR governments ..." and has been selling the land ever since.  For only 20BP, you can turn over to your gift recipient a Parchment Deed, Property Map, Mineral Rights, Constitution(?), copy of the original Declaration of Ownership, Welcome Letter and Postage Paid Registration Card.  (Getting there to visit his or her land is your gift recipient's problem!)  Here's an idea -- buy a whole bunch of acres on the Moon or another planet and open up a Walmart someday!

I could go on and on but I don't want Armageddon to arrive while you are still reading this review.  Suffice to say that by visiting Moonestates.com, you will find not only details on how to order these gifts but also other great ideas for the person who has everything and who thought they had heard everything until now!