Flight Check
Routehappy.com allows users to compare those oh-so-critical aspects of a plane trip, including in-seat power, Wi-Fi, on-time statistics, entertainment, passenger ratings and more.
Ice Cream Revisited
House-made artisan ice creams were named one of the National Restaurant Association’s top culinary trends for 2013. Try Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams for one-of-a-kind flavors such as goat cheese with red cherries, Queen City cayenne or Buckeye State. Cost: $12 per pint. jenis.com
Chocolate Romance
Theo Chocolate’s Aphrodisiac Confection Collection includes eight ganache confections in unique flavors including licorice, cinnamon, fig fennel, tequila lime, dulce de leche and ginger. Cost: $17.60 per collection of eight pieces. theochocolate.com
Sustainable Sweets
Endangered Species Chocolates sources its cacao from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms and donates 10 percent of its earnings to nonprofit wildlife conservation groups. Cost: from $1.99 per bar; pictured are bulk smooth milk chocolate squares, $44.99 for 160 pieces. chocolatebar.com
Rice Krispie Sticks
New York City-based Abigail Kirsch Catering pops a Rice Krispie treat on a stick and smothers the square with crushed graham crackers, mini marshmallows and milk chocolate. Ask your catering contact to create similar treats. abigailkirsch.com
Sweet Delivery
Hot Blondie Bakery makes full-size and miniature baked treats that are perfect for gifting. Signature items include several varieties of blondies and brownies. Or, go for the “crunchies,” brittle-like confections covered in crumbled toppings like Heath Bar. Cost, from $18. Custom flavors and packaging available for corporate gifting. (212) 777-0779; shop.hotblondiesbakery.com
Dust Buster
Zopid’s mini desktop vacuum cleaner is perfectly sized to suck up crumbs and dust hiding between keyboard keys. The trim, battery-operated design can be stashed in a desk drawer. Cost: about $11. zopid.com
Recommended Quaffs
Likelii.com is a website that will recommend new wines based on your current favorites. Bottles can be purchased directly from the site; orders of more than $100 ship free. likelii.com
Vintages Galore
Amazon Wine offers deals on more than 42,000 types of red, white, sparkling, and dessert wines. Shipping currently is available to 14 states; up to six bottles can be shipped for a flat fee of $9.99. amazon.com/wine
Portable Closet
If your venue does not have coat check, consider renting the Chex digital, ticketless system for holding guests’ outerwear. Cost is based on size of group and location/length of event. coatchex.com
Worldly Pillow Gifts
These three mini journals, covered in beautifully illustrated maps of New York, Paris, and London, make delightful pillow gifts. Cost: $14.95 per pack of three. papress.com
Low-Cost Centerpiece
Chereese Jervis-Hill, president of Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.-based Events to Remember, recommends using rose petals in lieu of whole flowers. For a recent event, she used petals, candelabras and votive candles for centerpieces that cost less than $35 per table. EventsRemember.com