Great Gifts for Soap Opera Lovers

For many people, men and women, soap operas are a casual foray into �Another World', a fun way to spend an afternoon with �All My Children', and see your �Guiding Light', all with a flick of the remote control. Soap operas are almost always on during the day, hours some people have to be behind the desk or at the office, but with these gifts for the soap opera lover in your life, they can enjoy the fantasy anytime, and with a few of the gifts - any place!

Mini AM/FM/TV Band Radio - A little bit larger than a package of gum (Orbit gum) and weighing in at just 1 ¾ ounces, this radio has all the same features of larger radios but fits neatly in a shirt pocket. As small and convenient as the radio is, it�has �sound that is clear and not staticky for AM, FM, and television bands. It even has quality deep range audio because of a built-in bass boost. The radio from Hammacher Schlemmer, (about $60) online at http://www.hammacher.com, �stores 20 preset stations (including 5 TV audio!) I really like this radio for all its cool features, and my soap opera fan friends love it for the discreet little very functioning ear buds that come with it. A couple of my friends even listen to the soaps at work, and so far (knock on wood) their bosses haven't noticed a thing!

Radio Shack has several models of portable TV, most are color TVs, and the model I prefer for travel is a little color TV less than 2 ½ inches across the screen, but it is definitely easy to slip into my backpack pocket, or for closer to home, a purse or pocket. A soap opera fan could probably even set this TV on their desk, next to the computer, and no one would even notice, at least until they screamed out "Oh my gosh! I can't believe she is sneaking around to meet HIM!"� At just over 3 inches by 5 inches, I think this TV gives amazing reception. It runs about 4 hours on AA batteries, and has an earphone jack, for discreet soap viewing. Radio Shack, (around $80) at http://www.radioshack.com.��

A subscription to Soap Opera Digest and/or Soap Opera Weekly - for your soap opera fans who would rather not risk their livelihood by watching or listening to soaps at work, there are a couple options that are inexpensive and last a whole year! Soap Opera Weekly recently had an issue featuring Zach and Kendall from All My Children (definitely two hotties in �soapdom'! One of the great things about these fan mags is that your soap opera fan can easily review and stay up to date, without having to spend a lot of time rewinding and playing VHS tapes. According to the web site, these two publications have a combined readership of 9.1 MILLION readers, so they must be doing something right! You can get gift subscriptions at http://soapoperadigest.com, and while you are there, email the links to your soap fan friends for the weekly newsletters; these have contests, prizes and news about every soap on television.

A larger gift, but one that could be a gift to the whole family, is TIVO, the television recording receiver. With TIVO, you can set it to automatically record all your favorite television shows, and then play them back at your leisure! TIVO service has a great search service included in your subscription, that will allow you to easily find all your favorite shows, and the coolest thing is, you can set it to record for weeks at a time - great for vacation time! With up to 80 hours of recording time, and the ability to speed through those pesky commercials, TIVO is a bargain for the whole family. Tivo, (from $20 per month), http://www.tivo.com. �

There are many small gifts, stocking stuffers and �just because' treats for soap opera fans in your life. Get a three pack of blank VHS tapes, if your soap fan records �the old fashioned way'. Take a look at Café Press, online catalogs of various merchant's logo wear, easily searchable at http://www.cafepress.com.�You can get your soap opera fan a coffee mug, book bag (who has time to read when there are soaps on the television!), shirts and tank tops, and other items to tuck into your soap opera fan gift basket. Most of all, have fun finding just the right gifts for this holiday season.