SOT BACK TO SCHOOL GIFT GUIDE 2021

By Christopher Cussat

September is just around the corner, which means it’s time once again to gear up with the hottest new essentials for back-to-school.

Now that your kids and grandkids are leaving the nest, give your teens what they need to spruce up their new life in college. Whether your child is going into their freshman year or starting graduate school, we have a list of recommended school supplies for their dorm or apartment.

Also, just a special thank you to those of you who also sent in your back-to-school gift ideas and suggestions for 2021. If you’re looking for a gift idea, our picks below feature a wide variety of gift ideas.

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Nora’s Naturals Coffee

For busy college kids, finding easy ways to strengthen your immune system and add an extra dose of energy is a must-have during these crazy, busy times. And what better way to do this than with a healthy cup of coffee!

Nora’s Naturals Coffee is on a mission to support health and wellbeing by sourcing high antioxidant single-origin coffee with tremendous physical and mental health benefits. Their coffee is grown in volcanic soil, rich in silica (essential for collagen production – hello better skin, hair and nails) and packed with antioxidants for brain health and physical health.

Perfect for any busy college kid!

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Power Hub Plus

One thing everyone wants is to keep their tech devices charged and ready to be used! From cell phones and laptops, to Airpods and smart watches, there are MANY devices that need to be plugged in. Power Hub Plus is the most-wanted back to school gift to avoid the low battery blues!

Power Hub Plus charges up to SEVEN tech devices using only ONE wall outlet. That means seven people can charge their phones or other gadgets at the same time. Never miss capturing another special moment!

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Starlette Galleria

Your bridesmaids have walked beside you every step of the way throughout the wedding planning process. From planning showers, to memorable bachelorette weekends, to helping with even the smallest wedding prep tasks, they have really gone above and beyond to help make this whole experience the best it can be for you. 

That is why it is so important to shower your bridesmaids in a little extra love on the big day. While a little thank-you gift for your bridesmaids is not required, it definitely is appreciated and cherished!

Olivia Starling, founder and CEO of jewelry brand Starlette Galleria, strives to highlight the importance of showing your bridesmaids just how much you appreciate their support with everything throughout this process:

Here are Olivia Starling’s top 2 bridesmaid gift ideas that every bride should consider:

#1:Necklaces

Starlette Galleria has the perfect selection of elegant, timeless necklaces that will make not only the bridesmaid outfit look elegant and chic, but will also make any outfit after the big day (for any occasion) look incredible. Made of real sterling silver and plated in rhodium or gold, these necklaces will not tarnish or turn your skin green. 

#2: Earrings

If you want your squad to have a uniform look on the big day, try gifting them matching earrings! Of course you want to find something that they will wear again after the wedding day; So, going with timeless diamond earrings is the perfect move! High-quality Starlette Galleria earrings are a beautiful, affordable and hypoallergenic option. Made with 100% simulated diamond material (AAA CZ), their fanciful, classic designs will have your ladies feeling like royalty every day!

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The Vibe Spray

The Vibe Spray  was created to eliminate the negative energy in your space as well as raise the vibration to positive energy.

Linda Lauren on How it Started: “The first place I looked for answers was an oblong chest that my mom left me after she died. I came across some of her loose-leaf binders, filled with hand-written recipes, protected in plastic see-through sleeves. Some were hers, but many were recipes passed down over the years from family before her. Delectable Italian dishes and pastries filled each page. I flipped through the book and found a paper folded inside one of the plastic sleeves of the binder. I unfolded it and recognized my mother’s beautiful, cursive handwriting.” – Linda Lauren 

“A Positive Recipe – Make something to spray so we can clear the heavy, negative feelings around, and replace that vibe with positive energy! Everyone will be happy. Even the ghosts!” – Frances Gialanella 

The Vibe Spray comes in two sizes, 2oz. and 8oz.

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In Good Taste

With flavors infused from around the world – In Good Taste elevates wine tasting. Take a grape journey around the world one cost friendly sip at a time with In Good Taste. The innovative company offers a variety of unique wines from around the globe in smaller, decorative bottles so you can explore new flavors while discovering your favorite… without needing an entire bottle to decide!

In Good Taste (Starting at $45, available at ingoodtaste.com)

Learn more at www.ingoodtaste.com.

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PATH

Ditch your ordinary water bottle and upgrade with PATH Water ! PATH is an innovative, environmentally-friendly water bottle where you won’t have to give up your grab-and-go stash due to their refillable aluminum bottled water. PATH Water bottles are designed to be refilled and reused infinitely. Brimming with unique features above and beyond industry standards, PATH feels good in hand and even better on the conscience. PATH bottles have 100% endless recyclability with a new bottle made within 60 days!

PATH (Starting at $3, available on drinkpath.com)

Learn more at www.drinkpath.com.

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Goodmylk

Upgrade your morning coffee or smoothie with the latest in plant-based dairy thanks to Goodmylk’s ALL NEW Super Oat and Almond Activated Creamers. This new face in plant-based dairy is changing industry standards and raising the bar on what we should expect from our plant-based dairy. Manufactured themselves in California, these products are made from real food only, minimally processed, nutrient dense and created to pair perfectly with your favorite beverage.

Goodmylk (Starting at $22, available at goodmylk.co)

Learn more at www.goodmylk.co.

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wildwonder

Bubbles with a Boost ! Meet wildwonder–a delicious fruit and super herb infused drink that elevates your gut health, immunity, and mood! Inspired by the Chinese healing tonics of founder Rosa Li’s childhood, wildwonder pairs ancient nutrition with a modern taste to give you gut-healing and immune-boosting superpowers. This delicious drink helps aid digestion, reduce inflammation, prevent disease, and more. This will be your favorite refreshing summer drink with flavors like Guava Rose, Peach Ginger, and Mango Turmeric, and more!

wildwonder (Starting at $48 for a 12 pack, available at drinkwildwonder.com)

Learn more at www.drinkwildwonder.com.

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Aroma Flavor

Enhance any beverage with Aroma Flavors! Say hello to Aroma Flavors – the first of its kind innovation that takes advantage of how your sense of smell can dramatically influence taste. Each label is infused with flavor-enticing aroma molecules that stimulate your olfactory nerve sending flavor signals comparable to taste. Your body naturally inhales with every sip, delivering that perfect hint of fruitiness without any sugars, sweetness, additives, or aftertaste. Simply peel and place on the bottle as close to the nose as possible to enhance your next water, soda, or beer experience! Aroma is the new flavor. 

Aroma Flavor (Starting at $5 for 24 pack, available at aromaflavor.net)

Learn more at www.aromaflavor.net.

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Zoie – Lali

Swap out a hangover for a refreshing glass of Lali – a non-alcoholic wine. Lali is the first still (non- carbonated), alcohol-removed wine in a can. Convenient and portable, it is a true wine experience with less than 0.5% ABV. Made with organic grapes from the sun-kissed vineyards of California. Elegantly served in a goblet or a glass perfect for the beach, picnic, or backyard grilling!

Zoie – Lali (Starting at $24 dollars for 4 pack, available at zoie.com)

Learn more at www.zoie.com.

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Growing Flowers

Step Inside the House of Flowers In the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina, Niki Irving’s boutique flower farm grows specially cut, mountain-fresh flowers with sustainable, natural practices. Now, she brings her organic gardening techniques to your home, helping you grow, harvest, and arrange lush, seasonally-inspired flowers.Turn your flowers from doomed to bloomed. Unlike old-school gardening books, Irving’s beautifully photographed gardening basics book features fun, simple, and engaging know-how enabling you to grow, harvest, and arrange a cutting garden of flowers. An instructional guide to gardening for beginners and those looking to hone their budding botanical skills, Growing Flowers teaches everything from caring for a cut flower garden to making simple-yet-gorgeous flower arrangements and botanical bouquets. An indispensable gardening guide for homebody horticulturists and floral foragers. A flower book with a whimsical twist, Growing Flowers is a go-to reference for those new to herb and flower gardening. Working with Niki, you’ll learn flower arranging techniques using blooms, greenery, and other unexpected elements such as artichokes, vines and berries. In her signature hands-on and homemade style, curious gardeners will learn about tools of the trade, getting down and dirty with dirt, seasonal rotation, starting from seeds and/or seedlings, and more. Inside, you’ll find the confidence to grow your own herbs and flowers as well as:Explanations of soil types and necessary soil preparationsA list of seasonal flowers such as peonies or garden roses for the spring and sunflowers and dahlias for the summer and fallBasic knowledge to create flower bouquets that include home-garden staples like sprigs of greenery and even attractive weeds, Growing Flowers is a wonderful addition to any collection of garden books. If you’re looking for gardening gifts for gardeners or enjoy plant books and flower books like Floret Farms Cut Flower Garden book, Floret Farms A Year in Flowers, or The Flower Gardener’s Bible, then you’ll want to own Growing Flowers.Disclosure: If you buy books linked to their site, they may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.         ISBN: 978-1642505504 Price: $22.95 Available on Amazon or Bookshop

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The Truth About Career Planning and the College Search Process

What Every Parent Needs to Know About College Admissions: How to Prepare Your Child to Succeed in College and Life─With a Step-by Step Planner

#1 New Release in Education Research

Society’s guiding “truths” about higher education are now incorrect. In What Every Parent Needs to Know About College Admissions, Christie Barnes helps parents and students alike cut through the noise and find the best school, which might not always be the most prestigious or expensive one.

College planning re-examined. All economic levels are getting vastly incorrect information for college and career planning, leading to anxiety-ridden youth and crippling student debt. Less affluent students are being led to more expensive options and high achievers feel compelled to apply for college at the most prestigious institutions. But, whether it’s a state school, safety school, or public school―there are other options beside an overpriced private school. It could be, but it might not be.

A guidance counselor for parents. Learn that it’s not just about the “right” college, it’s about the “right fit” college. Using statistics, experts, and multi-factor analysis to clarify what should and should not be a worry in college planning, Barnes helps parents identify better, and often overlooked, options. In this guide, she dissects the top ten parental worries about  how to get into college, including college applications, college admissions, college requirements, and college acceptance.

Inside find:

·         The first comprehensive individualized career and academic planning guide available to parents and teens

·         Details on new innovative programs endorsed by schools, colleges, and HR departments

·         A bonus “Academic Planning Guide”

If you enjoyed books like Launch, Prepared, or Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be, you’ll love What Every Parent Needs to Know About College Admissions.

 

·         Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mango (July 13, 2021)

·         Language ‏ : ‎ English

·         Paperback ‏ : ‎ 370 pages

·         ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1642503150

·         ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1642503159

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Complete Guide to Academic & College Planning for Teens

The College Bound Planner: A Roadmap to Take You From High School to Your First Day of College

The College Bound Planner is your step-by-step comprehensive college planning guide to organize every step of your high school education while preparing smart goals for college.

Get your teens ready now! College may seem far away but thinking ahead and understanding how things work will help your teen prepare. In these uncertain times, parents and students are feeling even more anxious about how to approach college readiness. This book provides advice and guidance starting at freshman year of high school up through senior year. This step-by-step guidance empowers students to take control of their academic futures and thrive, no matter what the future brings.

Develop skills for a lifetime of success. The College Bound Planner helps teens master skills including note taking, studying, test taking, and writing essays and research papers. Being college ready is also about having life skills such as time management, critical thinking, problem solving, decision making, and communication, as well as the discipline and drive needed to succeed. This college planner is the best college planner to get a teen ready for college.

Inside, you’ll find:

·         Academic direction and academic planning tips

·         Good study skills and life habits to set yourself up to succeed

·         Ways to stay organized and how to do proper goal setting

·         Guides to prioritizing your personal goals while participating in extracurriculars

·         How and when to apply for college using proper college planning

·         What to do to get ready for your first day as an undergraduate college student

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mango (August 10, 2021)

Language ‏ : ‎ English

Paperback ‏ : ‎ 178 pages

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1642506044

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1642506044

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Life and Other Shortcomings

Life and Other Shortcomings, by award-winning author and women’s empowerment activist Corie Adjmi, has won another award! The book recently took the gold in the 2021 Independent Book Publishers Association’s Ben Franklin Award in Cover Design in the small format, fiction category and is also a 2021 International Books Award Winner in the Fiction: Short Story category!

Corie Adjmi and “Life and Other Shortcomings” are the recipients of multiple awards, including:  

• 2020 American Fiction Award Winner
• 2020 Best Books Winning-Finalist 
• 2021 IBPA: Ben Franklin Award Winner
• 2021 International Books Award Winner

Adjmi harnesses the power and relatability of storytelling to help empower women in all areas of life in her award-winning book, Life and Other Shortcomings, with the cover creatively designed by designer Lindsey Cleworth. 

This book illustrates the stories of 12 women, all on a different path in life, with one common overarching theme: the beauty, honesty and compelling nature of the female experience and what it means to be a woman. Through each character’s intimate journey, specific truths are revealed about what it means to be a woman—in a relationship with another person, in a particular culture and era—and how these conditions ultimately affect her relationship with herself. The stories as a whole depict patriarchy, showing what still might be, but certainly what was, for some women in this country before the #MeToo movement.

Life and Other Shortcomings is available on Amazon in Kindle or paperback format.

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The Recruit’s Playbook: A 4-Year Guide to College Football Recruitment for High School Athletes (Guide to Winning a Football Scholarship)

The Definitive Guide to Football Recruiting

#1 New Release in Teen & Young Adult Football, Fitness & Exercise, School & Education, and Mindfulness & Meditation

This all-in-one game plan for young football players in search of a collegiate scholarship takes a deep dive into demystifying the football recruiting process.

Your play-by-play guide to scoring big. The Recruit’s Playbook is written to help guide preteens and teenage boys through their journey from high school football to college football. As an alumni NFL draft pick turned D1 college football coach, author Larry Hart utilizes his vast knowledge of the sport to help guide you through 9th to 12th grade, highlighting what to do and when to do it. It is one of the first college football books of its kind, aimed to help high school athletes navigate college football recruiting. Through clear and effective information that is easy to follow, The Recruit’s Playbook helps high school athletes each step of the way.

Be the best athlete you can be. Coach Hart offers a holistic approach to being a top athlete and prospect. From setting goals effectively, prioritizing academic skills, self-advocacy, asking the right questions, building your brand, establishing an online presence, overcoming adversity, and “pro tips”―this playbook has you covered.

Also find:

·         An exclusive look into the football recruiting process

·         Practical tips on how to balance an increasingly demanding teenage life

·         Expert advice on how to be a standout NCAA football recruiting prospect