Valentine's Day Gifts, Small-Business Style

The only thing worse than forgetting to buy a Valentine's Day present is buying the same tired gifts year after year. Seriously, boys and girls, nobody ever needs to receive a Whitman's Sampler Heart again.

Thanks to this list of unique items from some of America's most creative entrepreneurs, it's not too late to save yourself.

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Comments

[hottingers]

08:26 PM on 02/13/2012

Richard_Gere_wants_a_sugar_glider.

[hildegard]

08:02 PM on 02/13/2012

Please don't by anyone -- or yourself -- a sugar glider. They look adorable, but they will live a miserable life as a pet. They sleep all day and are awake all night. Extremely intelligent and active, they will feel terribly alone and depressed in a cage as you sleep. It is cruel. You cannot let them have the run of the house. They are so small (more like 4 inches long) that they can get lost, hurt or killed in your house. And they live about 10+ years, so your commitment is a long one.

[blackwednesday]

08:00 PM on 02/13/2012

Sugar-Gliders are horrid little creatures and make terrible pets. Horrid as "pets". They're sweet natured, but they take a HUGE amount to care, that most people can't give. I mean, having a day job is almost abusive to them because they need SO MUCH care.

Add to that, the international trade in them is very similar to puppy-mills. They're really better off living in their own hemisphere.

People: They're incredibly cute for a while, but you WILL REGRET IT if you get one.
Also, you'd better get used to fruit flies...no way to clean 24/7 to prevent them.

Seriously, be kind to Sugar-Gliders by NOT encouraging their import/breeding in the U.S.

[Popaluma]

07:47 PM on 02/13/2012

Sugar gliders are Australian/New Guinea native animals and belong where they naturally occur - basically, where it's warm and there are sufficient eucalypt forests to feed from.

They are one of the most snatched and traded of animals in the illegal international pet trade. Stealing indigenous animals and removing them to an alien environment is cruel besides being a criminal act in this part of the world.

The theft and international trade and sale of native animals from anywhere is a more lucrative racket than international drug smuggling. Australia spends a vast amount of money each year in efforts to prevent the theft of its indigenous fauna. The majority die in horrific conditions before they reach their intended markets, too.

I am astonished that the Huffington Post would implicitly endorse such appalling practices.

[AlaskanWannaB]

07:44 PM on 02/13/2012

I love the Redneck glasses.

[Caroleeena]

07:44 PM on 02/13/2012

A sugar glider is not an appropriate pet. That's like giving someone a child. Also, they are not happy in captivity. I run an exotic animal hospital and I can tell you, they get grumpy and often violent with age. Also, they are up all night so unless you are home and up all night also, a sugar glider is a terrible fit.

[silverwing]

07:28 PM on 02/13/2012

I'm glad plenty of other people condemned the stupid sugar glider idea - I'm tired and this saves me the hassle of typing out my response.

Suffice it to say: sugar gliders are wild animals. Not only should they be left in the wild, the very notion of giving an animal as a gift is an appalling one.

The rest of this list swung between "tacky" and "for the 1% only". Makes me glad to be sing... le, so there's that.

[Chip Common]

07:17 PM on 02/13/2012

Sugar Glider, FTW! Who made this list, Dwight Shrute?

[Edward Standley]

07:15 PM on 02/13/2012

Is it just me, or do most of these seem like pretty tasteless, unromantic "gifts".

[firstep]

07:10 PM on 02/13/2012

The sugar glider was for click value only.

[silverwing]

07:29 PM on 02/13/2012

I hope so. Not sure what they were thinking with any of these entries, to be honest. The train thing would be cool, but most of the others are just tacky.

[eilish]

07:02 PM on 02/13/2012

One thing I forgot to mention about the sugar glider? They only come in mated pairs or they will die.

[eilish]

06:59 PM on 02/13/2012

Let me tell you about the cute little sugar glider. He is a handful and requires a lot of attention. Most owners I know are usually at home.

The sugar glider requires a large cage with lots and lots of toys for stimulation. It's also best if you can dedicate an entire room - say a bath you're not using much if you shut off water to the toilet due to drowning danger - for his & her own personal use.

Expect to be up at night because sugar gliders are nocturnal. They're also noisy and messy. They throw food, urine & feces around while in the cage. Most breeders recommend you buy a shower curtain to hang between the wall and the cage for easy cleanup.

Sugar gliders are curious and sometimes crabby. If there's somewhere to escape this little fella is going to find it. They can get excited and bite, and I've noticed that children do make them a bit nervous.

You have to fix trays of special fresh food - but you can use ice cube trays and freeze a few weeks at a time.

Other than that, cutest little pets ever.

[DW Arnold]

10:55 PM on 02/13/2012

I have 5 of them. Great pets, hand tamed. Feed them some fruit and play with them for a couple hours in the evening, then they play in their cage, 20 feet from my bed. They do not keep me up, they only crab if annoyed. They are the softest creatures you will ever pet. I also guarantee you they get the best care and fresh fruits. They are a great pet for myself.

[eilish]

11:23 PM on 02/13/2012

My daughter has two and I swear they're more exhausting than the two year old baby and he could be a textbook example of hyper. I love playing with them and so on, but when I take care of them for her I wanna hire a glider sitter part time.

Bella is kind of crabby but she seems very happy with Lugo overall. I dunno, maybe the kids make them crazy. They are very 'active' children.

[nanreikkkkkkk]

06:44 PM on 02/13/2012

PLEASE DO NOT BUY A SUGAR GLIDER FOR VALENTINES DAY! IF YOU DO NOT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THEM, IT WILL BE A HORRIBLE MISTAKE. YOU NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING, HOW TO TAKE CARE OF THEM, ETC. SAVE A GLIDER, DON'T BUY ONE....... A Glider Owner & rescuer

[freili]

06:28 PM on 02/13/2012

Not available in CA, HI, AK, PA and MA because, apparently, those states hate cuteness

WHO WROTE THIS?
I am in HI ( Hawaii) and we have ..thank god....strict laws against importing exotic, potential pests.
Nothing to do with cuteness............some people think snakes are adorable.

[3Nox]

08:35 PM on 02/13/2012

Clearly a fourteen year old wrote it!

[freili]

06:23 PM on 02/13/2012

No Sugar Glider or Puppy nor any other pet..................

PLEASE

many, if not most will end up at the Humane Society or will be abandoned.