Unique Gifts in the
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Unique gifts UK - Buyagift special occasion and unique gifts UK search site map Hot Links Driving Days Ferrari Driving Super Cars Rally Driving Single Seater Off Roading Mini & Classics Skid, Bike & Learn Famous Venues Silverstone Thruxton Goodwood Knockhill Prestwold Hall Brands Hatch Aintree Rockingham Flying Days Fixed Wing Flights Helicopter Flights Aerobatic Flights Flight Simulators Vintage Flying On The Wind Relaxing Days Style Makeovers Wine Tasting Lifestyle Experiences Cookery Courses Locomotion Spa Breaks Relaxing Spa Days Total Luxury Days Overnight Breaks Out & About Days Out Sky's the limit Family Fun London Eye & Cruises Wet n' Wild Watersports Powerboats Sailing Ultimate Gifts Speed Demons Extreme Pilots Natural Wonders Ultimate Indulgence Other Gifts Out of this World Gadgets Something unique Date to remember Animal Adoptions Adrenalin Fast Movers Something New The Classics Other Activities For Kids Singing / Music Birds of Prey Animal Magic Sport / Leisure Learn How On a budget Sky's the limit Something Special On a budget Sky's the limit Traditional Gifts Helium Balloons Hampers Flowers Wine Cases Champagne Best Sellers Top 10 Driving Top 10 Flying Top 10 Relaxing Top 10 Adrenalin Top 10 Activities Top 10 Gift Ideas Open Vouchers -- Unique Gifts in the UK from Buyagift.co.uk Buyagift offer a wide range of unique gifts available throughout the UK from Ferrari and Rally driving to moon estates and zorbing. Simply browse through our extensive range of unique gifts, pick your ultimate gift, personalise the voucher and then purchase using our 100% secure server. Click here to view our full range of unique gifts in the UK Unique Gifts – What's on offer Unique Gifts for men A keen driving enthusiast has a wide range of choice with our driving days section including Ferrari and rally driving to dragsters and monster trucks. Or if you are after something different we have many unusual gift ideas such as an original Time newspaper on from his day of birth to experiencing the sheer thrill of white water rafting. Unique Gifts for her Whether it's a birthday, anniversary, mother's day or just because she's special you will find many unique gifts in this section. From wine tasting tours and cookery classes to buying an acre of the moon or naming a star after your loved one to show much you really care. Unique gift experiences If youre stuck for ideas for a friend or loved one why not try giving them an experience? From the classics such as bungee jumping, paintball days and sky diving to the more unique experiences such as being a spy or fire fighter for the day. Gift experiences are great presents that are remembered for years to come and we can assist you in finding your perfect experience. If you cannot find the experience you are looking for simply use the search function in the top right hand corner or speak to one of our customer service reps who will be happy to help. Unique traditional gifts If you are not after an activity gift then we have plenty more traditional ones on offer from speciality champagne and wine gift packs to hampers, flowers and wine cases for all tastes. For all of the above and many more unique gifts and experiences click here . Site Map Driving days | Driving experiences | Famous circuits | Activity days | Health spa days | Pamper days | Flying days | Gift ideas | Gifts for him | Gifts for her | Experience days | Gifts | Presents | Christmas gifts | Birthday gifts | Gift experiences | Unusual gifts | Unique gifts | Birthday presents | Birthday gift ideas | Present ideas | Gifts for mum | Gifts for dad | Watersports | Corporate Events | Ferrari driving | Brands Hatch | Silverstone Race Track | Knockhill Race Track | BMW Experiences at Rockingham | Oulton Park | Rally driving | Tank driving | Flying lessons | Ballooning | Hot Air Ballooning | Tiger Moth | Acre of the Moon | Name a star | Archive Newspapers | Old Newspapers | Clay Pigeon Shooting | Record a song | Hamper gifts | Wine online | Beauty makeovers | Zorbing | Birthday newspapers | Christmas gift ideas | Christmas presents | Christmas present ideas | Christmas gifts for Mum | Christmas gifts for Dad | Xmas gifts | Xmas presents | Unique Christmas Gifts | Buyagift misspellings | Steam train experience | Orgasmatron | Thames river cruise | Quad biking | Alton Towers | London Eye | Track Days | Thorpe Park | Pillage Putter | Adopt a Dolphin | Champney's Health Spas | Dancing Lessons | Scuba Diving | Ferarri Driving | Tussauds Days Out | Porsche Driving Experiences | Lamborghini Driving Experiences | Sphereing | Car Racing | Forest Mere Spa Days | Animal Adoptions | Chocolate Making Courses | Bungee Jumping | Silver Rolo | Mig Flight | Legoland | Birds of Prey Days | #
Great Gifts for Kids
Listmania! Great Gifts for Kids Your Store See All 31 Product Categories Your Account | Cart | Wish List | Help Improve Your Recommendations | Your Amazon Home | Your Profile | Learn More Search Amazon.com Books Popular Music Music Downloads Classical Music DVD VHS Apparel Yellow Pages Restaurants Movie Showtimes Toys Baby Computers Video Games Electronics Camera & Photo Software Tools & Hardware Office Products Magazines Sports & Outdoors Outdoor Living Kitchen Jewelry & Watches Beauty Gourmet Food Beta Musical Instruments Health/Personal Care Travel Cell Phones & Service Outlet Auctions zShops Everything Else Scientific Supplies Medical Supplies Indust. Supplies Automotive Home Furnishings Lifestyle Pet Toys Arts & Hobbies Web Search Listmania! Great Gifts for Kids by peppermint-pattie , child at heart E-mail this list to a friend 1. Crazy Legs Bug by Vtech (Toy) Average Customer Review: Offered by: Imaginarium List Price: $19.99 Buy new : $14.98 You Save : $5.01 (25%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours 2. Preschool Math Game: My 1st Brain Quest (Add & Subtract) by University Games (Toy) Average Customer Review: Availability: This item is currently not available. 3. Aquapets: Stinga by Wild Planet (Toy) Offered by: Toys"R"Us List Price: $12.99 Buy new : $9.99 You Save : $3.00 (23%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours 4. VIDEONOW Jr. Color Carry Case - Yellow and Purple by Hasbro (Toy) Availability: This item is currently not available. Customers also shopped for these similar items . 5. Bright Lights Phone by Vtech (Toy) Average Customer Review: Offered by: Imaginarium Buy new : $12.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours 6. Smarty's Workshop by VTech Industries (Toy) Average Customer Review: Availability: This item is currently not available. Customers also shopped for these similar items . 7. Colorforms Games Silly Faces by University Games (Toy) Average Customer Review: Offered by: Toys"R"Us Buy new : $9.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours 8. Spy Truth Detector by Wild Planet (Toy) Average Customer Review: Offered by: Toys"R"Us List Price: $14.99 Buy new : $12.99 You Save : $2.00 (13%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours 9. Wiggles Guitar by Spin Master (Toy) Average Customer Review: Offered by: Toys"R"Us List Price: $16.99 Buy new : $15.99 You Save : $1.00 ( 6%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours 10. Wiggles Beanies in a Tote Bag by SpinMaster (Toy) Availability: This item is currently not available. 11. My First Leapad Book: : Wiggles by LeapFrog (Toy) Average Customer Review: Offered by: Imaginarium Buy new : $12.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours 12. Super Scrabble Board Game by Winning Moves (Toy) Offered by: Toys"R"Us List Price: $29.95 Buy new : $24.99 You Save : $4.96 (17%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours 13. Rubik's Cube Deluxe Edition by Winning Moves (Toy) Average Customer Review: Availability: This item is currently not available. Customers also shopped for these similar items . 14. Baby Annabell by Zapf Creation (Toy) Average Customer Review: Availability: This item is currently not available. Customers also shopped for these similar items . 15. The New BABY Born Doll by Zapf Creation (Toy) Offered by: Toys"R"Us List Price: $49.99 Buy new : $39.99 You Save : $10.00 (20%) Availability: Usually ships in 1 to 2 weeks 16. Rock A Bye Chou Chou Doll by Zapf Creation (Toy) Average Customer Review: Offered by: Toys"R"Us List Price: $39.99 Buy new : $29.99 You Save : $10.00 (25%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours 17. Max and Ruby's Busy Week (Sticker Stories) by Rosemary Wells (Paperback- October 2002) Average Customer Review: List Price: $4.99 Buy new : $4.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Used & new from $3.00 18. I Love My Mommy Because by Laurel Porter-Gaylord, Ashley Wolff (Illustrator) (Board book- March 2004) Average Customer Review: List Price: $6.99 Buy new : $6.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Used & new from $1.64 19. The Fairy Chronicles Book One : Marigold and the Feather of Hope by J.H. Sweet (Paperback) List Price: $12.95 Buy new : $12.95 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Used & new from $11.64 20. Comet in Moominland : Can Moomintroll save his beloved valley? by Tove Jansson (Illustrator), Elizabeth Portch (Translator) (Paperback) Average Customer Review: List Price: $5.95 Buy new : $5.95 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Used & new from $2.39 21. Mr. Potato Head Darth Tater by Hasbro (Toy) Offered by: Toys"R"Us Buy new : $8.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours 22. At the Farm: Play-Doh/Stencil (Hasbro Children's Book Collection) by Mary Man-Kong (Hardcover- November 2003) List Price: $9.95 Buy new : $8.95 You Save : $1.00(10%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Used & new from $1.98 23. Candyland: A Surprise Adventure (Hasbro Children's Book Collection) by Gail Herman, et al (Hardcover- November 2003) List Price: $9.95 Buy new : $9.95 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Used & new from $2.15 24. Party Time: Play-Doh/Stencil (Hasbro Children's Book Collection) by Mary Man-Kong (Hardcover- November 2003) List Price: $9.95 Buy new : $9.95 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Used & new from $1.99 Create your own list! See the Best Lists Top 100 Listmania lists Search Listmania lists More about peppermint-pattie Related Listmania! Add your list Our Busy Kids : A list by Diane Rinaldo, parents Quality Pre-Teen/Early-Teen Books : A list by auroraleigh15, mom and book critic Some of My Favorite Things : A list by salt_water_taffy, I know what I like. Please the Whole Crew : A list by eleanor-and-desiree, friends, aunts, fun people Add your list Related So You'd Like to... Create a guide Learn About Troll Quarter-Moon Parties & Toadstool Rings : A guide by J. H. Sweet, author of The Fairy Chronicles Watch A Video Of Hot Toys In Action! : A guide by Toysrus/Amazon.com, Toyologist Discover Wonder and Magic for Kids : A guide by J. H. Sweet, author of The Fairy Chronicles Discover Secret Gems of Children's Literature : A guide by james_bond_girl, Librarian's Daughter & Book Fiend Become a Spy : A guide by Alexa Green, Experienced Spy become a world-class spy : A guide by J. 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baby gift ideas for
Baby Gift Ideas - Personalized baby gift ideas hand painted for baby birth, baby Baptism, baby Christening, baby Dedication, baby shower. Welcome to Baby Birth Plates & Gifts Hand painted and Personalized baby gift ideas for Newborn Baby, Baby Shower, Baptism, Christening, Dedication & more Please check out our other gift ideas for: Wedding, Graduation, Mother's Day, Grandparents, Birthdays, House Warming, Friends & more. click on the pictures below for a larger view Baby Birth Plates Baptism/Christening Grandma's Angels Wedding Graduation Mother's Day House Warming $35.99 each plate size is 8 1/4 inch diameter **** We accept all major credit cards. **** Your plate will be shipped via US Postal Service 2 day Priority Mail with delivery confirmation within 7 days from the date of your order. Please feel free to join our Mailing List for great new special offers. Contact info for www.birth-plates.com e-mail: noeleenw@aol.com ph: (909)606-4013 cell: (909)210-2844 Testimonials: Awesome....Awesome...Awesome!!!! The plate arrived on Saturday! Made me look like Godmother of the Year on Sunday. Thank you so much!!! Krista I just wanted to say "THANK YOU" for the darling Baptism Plate I ordered AND received on time. The plate came on Saturday, just in time for the Baptism on Sunday! The plate looked adorable, and her Parents loved it too!Great Work! I will definitely keep your website for future needs! Tammy I received the plate this week, and want to thank you for not only the fast shipping and excellent customer service, but the BEAUTIFUL job you did on the plate!!! I am in *awe*, it's truly a fabulous piece of art/work and I am sooo honored to give this as a gift to my Godson at his baptism tomorrow. I can't begin to convey to you how beautiful this plate is! :) Thank you again for everything, I will be back as a customer AND will be referring many of my friends your way. You are superb! :) Regards, AnnaMarie Mondro I cannot tell you how pleased I am with Erin's baptism plate. I'm ECSTATIC!! I can't wait to give it to her. The pictures on your website do not do your work justice :-) I'm so glad I found your website and I'm sharing it with all my friends!! THANK YOU!! Heidi Thank you, Noeleen! My brother and his wife just adore their son's Baptism plate. They were delighted with the handmade details of the card, and the personalized baby bib was an extra treat. Kelly Opdyke I just wanted to let you know I received the plate for Addison today, and I thought it was absolutely beautiful. I wanted to thank you for such wonderful and quick service. You are truly talented, and your work is lovely. Regards, Heather I received the birth plate for Brooke and wanted to extend a thank you. It is beautiful! You did a fantastic job on my order. My mother had one made for me when I was born and I couldnt find the same company she used, so when I found your company and received my order it was nice to know I could carry on the tradition of the birth plate for my daughter. Thank you again for making this special piece of art for my beautiful baby girl. I will keep your card handy for other future gifts. You do great work! God bless you. Kind regards, Jeanette White I just wanted to say how pleased I am with the plate and result. It turned out really well and the parents were thrilled. I will definitely recommend your web site to my friends. Thanks again. Sandra Mendoza I wanted to send a great big THANK YOU for rushing that terrific christening plate to me last week. You did a wonderful job and everyone at the party loved it. My step-daughter is having her first child in November. I definitely plan to get back in touch with you then and get her a new baby girl plate. I just love your work. My sister-in-law is having twins in April. Perhaps I will be back then as well. :-) Thank you again. I'll be in touch soon. Nancy Kane I just wanted to thank you for doing such beautiful work. The christening plate is such a special gift that my relatives will have to remember their son's special day. Thanks again, Jean Smith Today I received the dedication plate you made for my Grandson. I just wanted you to know how thrilled I was. The plate is beautiful. Thank you soooo very much. Sometimes you take a chance on ordering from the web but I will tell everyone and show everyone the plate. Thank you again, Susan Koziol I received my birth plate yesterday and had to let you know how happy I am with it. You are truly a gifted artist. Your work is gorgeous and I couldn't have been more proud to present the plate to my daughter and son-in-law to commemorate my grandson's arrival - and only a week after his arrival ! Your speedy delivery was truly amazing. Thank You - Thank You - Thank You ! Proud Grandma Rose The plate arrived today and we love it. I can't wait to give it to my niece later this month for her baptism. Thank you again. Angie Rains
Creative gifts for golf
Creative gifts for golf enthusiasts: make a golf shadow box You are here: PageWise Home » Sports and Outdoor Products » Creative gifts for golf enthusiasts: make a golf shadow box Creative gifts for golf enthusiasts: make a golf shadow box Whether to commemorate a trip or just the weekend pastime, a shadowbox is a wonderful gift. A guide to making personalized boxes. A themed shadowbox is a wonderful gift for a golf enthusiast and is easy to make. Also, a golf shadowbox lends itself to personalization, guaranteeing a thoughtful gift. Personalization is easy because of the many variants involved in making a shadowbox. In addition to the objects displayed, the box itself, the background, and the position of the trinkets can all be customized to add significance to the gift. For example, if the recipient loves a certain vintage of wine, try using the wooden wine case as the frame. Or, a simple frame from a craft store can be macraméd with clippings from golf magazines or newspaper headlines from golf tournaments. Even an unadorned frame can be chosen to match the recipient's office or study. The background of the shadowbox is also a place to personalize the gift. Scorecards can make a wonderful background - choose the recipient's favorite local golf course or maybe even order a scorecard from Pebble Beach or another famous course. A picture of a favorite golfer, a snapshot from a memorable member-guest tournament, or a postcard from a golf resort can also be background images. If the shadowbox has more of a whimsical feel, faux grass could be a humorous backdrop for a light-hearted golfer. When choosing a background, remember that the objects in the box will significantly cover it, so do not be too disappointed when it is not the centerpiece of the gift. The most important part of creating the shadowbox is selecting the trinkets to include. Again, it is easy to personalize even the most standard golf tokens. A golf ball can be the recipient's favorite brand (most golfers are very loyal to a particular ball), and many golfers add some sort of personal mark to their balls. For example, women may use a dab of nail polish, die-hards may use their golf-ball-initializing gadget, or some may choose to use only a certain color ball. No matter what the variation, the recipient certainly has golf ball preferences that can be included. If the shadowbox is meant to memorialize a golf trip, using that golf club's paraphernalia is another easy way to make the gift special. For instance, golf balls, ball markers, divot-repairers, and many other small items are labeled by golf clubs. Any of these trinkets can signify the trip. If the shadowbox has a more open design (versus smaller compartments), larger items like a golf glove can fit in the frame. Mementos like a golf glove or even the grip portion of an old club can be particularly poignant if the shadowbox is created as a tribute to a parent who golfed. Other ideas for golf trinkets include tees, a spike from a golf cleat, and any sort of item that symbolizes a hole-in-one day (a piece of the shirt worn, the ball itself, etc). Most golfers enjoy the people they meet through golf as much as the sport itself, so tokens that represent golf friends would also be a nice touch: a cigar for the man that always smokes at the 19th hole with his buddies or a playing card for the woman who also plays bridge with her ladies nine-hole group. Lastly, evaluate the significant items chosen to be in the shadow box and decide the best method to display them. If small trinkets dominate the group, consider using the pigeonhole style layout of many small compartments with tokens resting on the shelves. If, however, larger items like golf gloves or a golf club head are in the mix, look towards the open layout where items are pinned or attached to the back of the box. While generic golf gifts abound in malls and catalogs, a golf shadowbox is a tribute to the golf enthusiast. Whether it is to commemorate a trip or just the weekend pastime, a shadowbox is a wonderful gift. Written by Ursula Gross ( See other articles by Ursula Gross. ) « Golf decor: golf themed wall decorations for the bedroom Print This Golf decor: creating a golf themed kids room » © 2005 by PageWise, Inc. DISCLAIMER: PLEASE READ - By printing, downloading, or using you agree to our full terms. Review the full terms off our home page.
Birthday Presents || Special
GDR Souvenirs - Birthday and Anniversary Presents Preface || Introduction || Official Gifts || Gifts to the Party Birthday Presents || Special Items || Site Map Information || Guestbook || Picture galerie Birthday and Anniversary Presents by Andreas Michaelis One might be forgiven for thinking that birthdays, even those that come in round figures, are essentially private or indeed contemplative occasions. Not so, if the birthday boy happens to be the head of a state or Party or is in some other way in the public eye. In that case, a birthday becomes a public event. The guests can no longer be hand-picked, nor the tidal wave of presents averted. Gifts made to GDR leaders, if they were of the right kind, tended to end up in the museum. They included both highly individual pieces and items off the mass production conveyor belts. These souvenirs sometimes commemorated significant social occasions, sometimes insignificant; some were presented by governments, some by ordinary working people; and, while some might be suited to the personality and office of a president, others were given in friendship or comradeship. Along with presents to mark birthdays or other occasions in the lives of the state and Party leaders, there are certain items that were presented by home or foreign givers on particular GDR anniversaries. Most of these, and the oldest too, were left by Wilhelm Pieck at his death. One remarkable for its origins was given to him in Moscow in December 1943: a desktop calendar handcrafted out of wood for the Communist leader by German prisoners of war in the Soviet Union. The red crayon inscription reads: Unity and peace to the German people - Wilhelm Pieck - From antifascist prisoners of war in USSR p.o.w. camp 158. Three presents given to Wilhelm Pieck in Soviet exile in 1936, on his sixtieth birthday, have survived. They were made by Soviet industries, using material from the current production line, and represent a kind of gift that seems to have appeared for the first time in the USSR in the 20s. These presents signalled a deliberate rejection of feudal or bourgeois traditions and a liberation from the material and artistic values of an old societal system then supposed defunct, and their meaning to the recipient lay purely in their symbolic function. Doubtless it would be going too far to suggest that there was an individual artistic style of expression peculiar to socialism as practised in the Communist bloc countries - but it remains true that this kind of characteristic symbolic gift was in evidence in almost every east European country till the late 1980s. The workers at the factory or plant in question would normally be identified as the givers of presents of this sort. Thus Wilhelm Pieck was given a ball-bearing mount by the workforce at the 1st State Ball-Bearing Works, a clock (inevitably) by the workforce at the 2nd State Clock Factory in Moscow and a smoker's set made of cogwheels by the Sergo Orjonikidse Machine Tools Works. In 1954 the workers at Zeulenroda furniture factory took Pieck by surprise when they remembered an anniversary he had probably forgotten himself: in 1894, the President, then an apprentice carpenter, had joined the German Woodworkers' Association, and his fellows in the craft were keen to mark his diamond jubilee as an active member of the trade union movement. On the side of the chest they made to celebrate the occasion is an image of Stalinallee (Stalin Avenue) in East Berlin, which East Germany touted as the premier socialist street in the capital of the GDR. Naturally the Communist bloc had another tradition, first practised in the Soviet Union: the naming of cities, factories, co-operatives, streets and public amenities after prominent Communist personalities, often when they were still alive. A danger was concealed in this kind of honour, however. If a personality fell out of favour, or was downgraded by his successors, the names all had to be changed. Thus cities, works and streets named after Stalin were renamed almost immediately after the 20th congress of the Soviet Communist Party in 1956, and Stalin memorials were toppled. Stalin was dropped from the leadership hall of fame. The boulevard once known as Stalin Avenue became Karl Marx Avenue, which it remains to this day (though the names of other leading Communists have been largely removed following the velvet revolution in eastern Europe). In 1946, for his seventieth birthday, Wilhelm Pieck, then leader of the German Communist Party in the Soviet zone of occupation, was given a number of china figurines and a metal sombrero by the Party's cell in Mexican exile. Rather more useful, no doubt, was a cigarette case embellished with portraits of Lenin and Stalin which he received from Soviet comrades for his seventy-fifth birthday. One motif that recurs insistently in the presents given to him on that birthday and his eightieth is the first of the GDR's five-year plans. It was launched in 1951 and declared over in 1955, ahead of schedule, the targets more than met. Even at that date, the propaganda that accompanied the beginnings of an East German planned economy could be grotesque, and the items that recollect this phase will doubtless tickle many now. It would only be fair, however, to bear in mind that in the first decade of the GDR's history the struggle to fulfil plans was accompanied by a genuine sense of a fresh start, a new and energetic departure - and in this respect it was finally a more honest thing than the ossified, dogmatic planned economy of the 70s and 80s,with its clichés and hot air. Slogans such as Peace - Reconstruction - Prosperity, or the five-year plan emblem together with its motto The key to our success, are eloquent not only of the political vocabulary favoured during the 50s but also of the hopes and longings of the East German people. Among the many activities mounted by the Freie Deutsche Jugend (Free German Youth) was the Wilhelm-Pieck-Campaign , intended to prompt greater effort by the country's young people and the working population in general, to mark the President's eightieth birthday. On this occasion, the apprentices at the Bitterfeld electrochemicals combine gave Pieck a stylish folder containing documents and statements concerning their FDJ group. At their deaths, Pieck and Grotewohl left several hundred folders of this kind, with enough material for a hefty tome, or a feature-length satirical programme. Elsewhere, workers in factories set a good example in cost-cutting. If honorific gifts were produced in series, a given item could be made at a fraction of the cost of an individually-crafted piece. The figure of a muscular miner in a combative attitude, an optimistic expression firmly on his face, was far and away the most frequently given present for Pieck's eightieth birthday. He received numerous gifts from comrades in the Federal Republic too. Most of them were little items with some local connection, such as a figure of Roland from Bremen , or one of Hamburg's typical Hummel figures . The GDR leadership's duties routinely included visits to factories. These visits served primarily to demonstrate the closeness of the state and Party leadership to the working classes. In 1953, Prime Minister Otto Grotewohl visited the Ernst Thälmann Polygraphics Works at Saalfeld. He may have been critical of the work being done by the graphic artists and designers there; at all events, for his sixtieth birthday the following year he was presented with an entire collection of draft designs for new product labels. In the 50s, in addition to the obligatory gift, a leader might be honoured by having a work team (at least) named after him. Long before he officially took over the reins of the state and Party, Walter Ulbricht was so popular that labour collectives bore his name as early as 1953. For his sixtieth birthday, one of his work teams presented him with a desktop set praising his endeavours on behalf of peace, unity, democracy and socialism. Ten years later, as chair of the GDR's Council of State, he received for the first time one of the traditional presents from the Soviet armed forces in Germany - generally bombastic and symbolically top-heavy affairs. That first gift was a model of a Soviet cosmonaut memorial. A present from the Soviet armed forces to Otto Grotewohl has survived too, a figure reaching for the stars and thus symbolizing humanity's unceasing striving after higher things - an allegory that recurs frequently in Communist and socialist iconography. The Honecker era, too, in due course provided the Deutsches Historisches Museum with a number of anniversary presents. The desk set given to Erich Honecker, on his sixtieth birthday, by Lieutenant Colonel Kurkotkin, commander in chief of the Soviet armed forces in Germany, and bearing a personal dedication, particularly intrigues all who see it. The martial character of the set was no doubt intended to convey that the SED First Secretary could count on the massed firepower of the Soviet Union behind him, and thus settle in to a quiet period in power. The composition - typical in approach, given its origin - does in fact include a number of useful items, regardless of its military character and offputting design: a radio, a thermometer in the TV mast, a calendar, and four ball-points disguised as missiles. Ten years later a Soviet-German joint-stock company, SDAG Wismut - which was the last company in East Germany to remain under partial Soviet administration and control (till 1990), because of the uranium it was mining - presented a conversation piece inspired by mining. The bismuth workers, honouring an established tradition, selected a particularly fine mineral sample. The musical box they built into the sample seems never to have been used. On the same occasion, Honecker was presented with a pick by the Senftenberg Brown Coal Combine. It was not to be the last he received in his lengthy career as head of state and Party. It was not only the leaders of state and Party that were given these heavily symbolic presents; the tradition was observed at every level of the state and Party hierarchy. Stasi boss Erich Mielke kept a trophy room, as it were, at his headquarters in Normannenstrasse. Numerous honorifics are now on display there, gifts to Mielke or the ministry on a variety of occasions. Some were passed on to the Stasi ministry's information centre, whence they were made over to the Museum für Deutsche Geschichte in 1990. There are the usual plaques and tapestries, but one of the Stasi ministers birthday presents was a rather unusual model of an electric oven. In the GDR, 7 October was a national holiday, an annual celebration of the establishment of the first German workers' and peasants' state, and the date was marked with a grand parade, a government ceremony, and countless local festivities around the country. And every five years, on jubilee occasions, the state and Party leadership celebrated in lavish style. Leaders from friendly countries, and representatives from around the world, would pay their respects to the GDR. Again, it is the presents made by the Soviet armed forces that are especially striking. The model of the Soviet memorial in Treptow Park, which symbolizes the liberation of Germany from fascism and stresses the role played by the Red Army, was a gift to mark the GDR's silverjubilee in 1974. The outsized helm presented to Honecker on the 35th anniversary by the Schwerin SED regional leaders alluded to the well-worn image of Erich Honecker as the great helmsman of state. The accompanying letter is a gem, sparkling with all the routine phrases that had become de rigueur among the Party leadership echelons. The regional first secretary thanks our dear comrade Erich Honecker for his outstanding personal contribution to the conception and realisation of policies designed to assure the happiness of the people and the safeguarding of peace, and asserts that the people of our region are paying tribute to these fine socialist politics by making greater endeavours than ever before, in every field of society. By the time of the 40th anniversary celebrations, however, a gloomy knowledge of imminent upheaval darkened the leaders' festivities - though surely none of them could suspect at the time that it was to be the GDR's very last birthday.