Christmas Wish List: Stocking Stuffers Edition!

           Duh, everybody loves to open extravagant gifts on Christmas morning. But, what about those little knickknacks that you get as you dump out your stocking? Sometimes the smallest things can be the best gifts! Candy and socks aside, here are some great stocking stuffer ideas with your athlete in mind:

·        Nike Phone Cases- want a phone case that defines who your athlete is? The Iphone cases by Nike are just the thing as they come in several different designs that range from the classic swoosh to their slogan of “Just Do It”.

·        Headbands- Every athlete with long hair understands the struggle of hair constantly flying into their face. You can check out my Headbands, Headbands, and more Headbands post to get my opinion on which ones are the best. The Skylar Diggins Headbands that tie in the back a quickly rising in popularity amongst girl athletes!

·        Sunglasses- Especially for those who are baseball and softball players, you can go wrong with a new pair of shades. Oakley is a popular sunglasses brand amongst athletes, and they can be a little bit pricey, but you are getting your bang-for-your-buck as they are of great quality.

·        Water bottles- An athlete must have an endless supply of these bad-boys, so what is adding one more to their “collection” going to do? You can go with the classic style of the Gatorade bottles, the Polar Bottle Sport which is great for insulation, or the CamelBak Eddy. Whichever one you choose, you can’t go wrong!

           I hope my quick and simple ideas for stocking stuffers will help you as you go out on some last minute shopping quests. I wish you the merriest of holidays and hope you spend some great time with family and friends!

Beats by Dr. Dre takeover the Sports World

            It’s two hours before the biggest game, meet, match, or race of your life. Thousands have filled the stands to witness the feat you and your teammates are about to accomplish. Focus is the number one priority. Some may find focus in prayer, others in absolute silence. I know for me, I find my focus while listening to music. I block out the world, get my mind right, and picture my teammates and I hoisting up the trophy, victorious, after a hard fought battle.
           Listening to music. It’s an escape for people. If you watch athletes in pre-game, many are walking around with headphones on, listening to their number one playlist to get them prepared and poised to fight out for a win. But, it’s not just any headphones you see athletes wearing, it’s the Beats headphones by Dr. Dre that thousands of athletes wear as they focus on the task ahead.
           Beats by Dr. Dre offer many different styles and colors of music accessories to fit your needs. For headphones there are the Studio, Solo/Solo2, Mixr, and Pro with the option for wireless for certain styles. For earbuds there are powerbeats/powerbeats2, urbeats, and tour. All of these different headphones and earbuds are offered in numerous different colors as well. Also each pair of headphones come with a carrying case too.

Different Color Options for the Solo Beats headphones by Dr. Dre

          I myself own a pair of the original Solo headphones in white and I love them. I like how the design is very sleek and simple. I personally like the Solo headphones better than the Studio because I think the Studio ones seem a little bulky, but a friend of mine has a pair and she loves them. I think that what makes Beats headphones so great is that they do a great job at doing their job of blocking out all other noise and playing the desired music clearly. I know that when I have my Beats headphone on, I can clearly hear the background parts of songs that aren’t easily heard when listening to the same song on the radio. Also if somebody were to call my name while I had these headphones on, there is probably a 99.9% chance I wouldn’t be able to hear them, which means the headphones are doing their job of blocking out other noises to make a great listening experience.
         Some may say that Beats headphones are a status symbol. I mean they first became big when athletes and celebrities such as Michael Phelps and Justin Bieber were seen wearing them 24/7. Also usually when something is defined as a status symbol, they usually cost a high price, which is true with beats headphones that can range anywhere from $150-$400. But, I don’t think that the price has anything to do with a status symbol. I think the price reflects the great quality of headphones that the customer is buying.
       In my own experiences, I would rate Beats by Dr. Dre at a quality of 5 stars. They are by far the best headphones I have ever used and they are durable as well (not like Iphones that will break the first time you drop them lol). So if you are a person who loves music, but wants to listen to it with better quality and volume, I would definitely recommend you check out Beats by Dr. Dre.

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Christmas Wish List: Part 3 (Last Minute Ideas!)

            OMG Christmas is literally days away and I couldn’t be more excited! I guess for me at this point, the number one thing on my Christmas wish list is for a white Christmas because here in the Midwest, it feels as if it is still fall with the 40⁰F weather and little to no snow. But for those of you who are looking to do some last minute shopping for your special athlete, here are some quick ideas on easy gifts to surprise them with on Christmas Day!
           In one of my previous posts, Fall Apparel Part 1: Nike Jackets, I mentioned the Nike Half-Zip jacket. Even though it’s a little bit colder in the winter and these jackets probably won’t keep you warm enough in below freezing temperatures, I still think it is a great gift because it is something that you can wear year round, whether under a heavy winter coat or over a tank top on a breezy summer night. Also if you want to make this half-zip jacket extra special for your athlete, it would be cool to get their team logo or name embroidered on the chest area of the jacket. I know my high school basketball did this with our half-zips and it was really popular amongst the players. I was jealous I didn’t get one, so this was one of the big things I asked for on my own Christmas wish list.
          Another really simple and easy Christmas idea for your special athlete would be a baseball hat. Lids offers numerous different styles of caps in any sports team imaginable, from the classic fitted hat all the way to bucket hats which seem to be all the rage with this year’s generation of teenage boys. Lids also offers the option to customize your own hat, but at this point in time with Christmas days away, it could be a time crunch, but it is still a great option! You honestly can’t go wrong with getting your special athlete a hat. Just make sure you get their favorite team, not their rival’s hat otherwise it could end up being the worst gift they receive, and we wouldn’t want that!
          For any other last minute Christmas ideas for your athlete I would recommend checking out Finish Line's 2014 Gift Guide. What I really like about it is that they have what seems to be a never ending list of awesome sportswear from all different sorts of sports brands. I hope my Christmas Wish List posts over the past few weeks have given you some great ideas, and stay tuned as I will be releasing a Christmas Wish List Stocking Stuffers Edition before the holidays end!