Back by popular demand, Excel Rain Man is smackin you upside the head with another amazing Holiday Gift Guide!
During this holiday season, it is important to remember, that regardless of race, creed or political party, there is one thing that ties us all together. Could it be our desire for world peace? Or perhaps our love of bearded home invaders or multi-day candle lighting rituals? No, good friends the driving holiday spirit that can warm the coldest heart and bring Obama-niacs and Palin-istas together is our unadulterated love for one thing… AWESOME PRESENTS!!!

The Excel Rain Man 2010 Gift Guide spreadsheet will help you determine what pimpin’ presents to procure for your rents, kiddos, spouse, coworkers, hater boss, and most importantly what to put on your own wish list! And this year our extra special gift guide is focused on something very near and dear to my Excel Rain Heart… SMALL BUSINESS!!

Now before you start to worry that this gift guide is going to be full of hemp necklaces and homemade granola, rest assured, we have something for everyone in here…
Hot Clothes… no doubt!
Electronics… of course!
Lingerie… no problem!
Fresh blondies… check!

Fresh blondies in lingerie… maybe next year
Many of our favorite small biz shops are also offering special Excel Rain Man discounts for the Holiday season! Oh, by the way, did we mention that this amazing 2010 Gift Guide is FREE?!?
The FREE Excel Rain Man Holiday 2010 Gift Guide can be found in the Tips & Tricks section of www.ExcelRainMan.com.

Please forward this Excel Rain Knowledge to your friends and colleagues!

Don’t forget to become a fan of Excel Rain Man on facebook and follow us on Twitter.
1. Small Biz Love
In addition to spreadsheeting holiday cheer and showcasing our EXCEL-lent skillz, we are also spreading our love for small businesses.

In the 2010 Gift Guide, we have included many small business options for where these presents can be purchased. It is our hope and strong recommendation that you will give these independently owned shops your hard earned holiday dough. Even if you can’t visit the actual retail locations, please call or visit their website and have them ship to you. If this isn’t an option either, we still encourage you to support small business in your area.

Some of our Excel Rain Friends who have hooked you up with sweet discounts are:
Alana Norell Jewelry Designs – earthy, chill pieces that are always in style for those of us who want something unique

Chelsea Market Baskets – delicious and unique gourmet food products from around the world and around the block

Hot Blondies – the official blondie of Excel Rain Man

Hyde Yoga – go-to yoga gear for chillin’ and practicin’

Jen Guarnieri – get your Namaste on with one of NYC’s premier yoga instructors

k*ritt – uniquely designed, handcrafted pieces to turn any outfit into a head-turning look

Kula Yoga Project – best hipster yoga in NYC and now in Brooklyn

Lock and Mane – online luxury hair products with genius gift baskets

Marisa Perry – hottest jewelry boutique in NY

Surprise Industries – the place to get your personalized adventure on

Waist Deep Card Games – card game for golfers

Zakkerz – genius product to protect your pant hems when commuting

All of the details on the discounts and amazing gifts can obviously be found in the 2010 Gift Guide!

Check out this year’s 2010 Gift Guide to see some of our other Excel Rain Friends including:

Agloves
AC Gears
Alexander West
Balloon Saloon
Bangally African Art Inc.
Bird Dog Bay
Boomerang Toys
Broadway Panhandler
Callie’s Biscuits
CHUCKiES
Coastal Maine Popcorn
Donna Wilson
Doodle Doo’s
Duncan Quinn
Ice Qube
Jack’s Coffee
Jeffrey’s Grocery
Kidlandia
Le Vigne
Market Table
MXYPLYZYK
New York Golf Center
Newly Wish
Peanut Butter & Co.
Pet Dreams
Satay Junction
Shanti Shack
Smathers and Branson
Stoopher & Boots
Texas Tamale Company

If you know of a great gift offered by a small biz, please let us know the details and we would be happy to add them to the list.

We dedicate this Newsletter to all of the small and new businesses out there.

2. Gift Guide
The Excel Rain Team is pleased to present you with our free 2010 Gift Guide. There are 2 worksheets included in the Gift Guide:

– Database worksheet
– Where to Purchase worksheet

The Database worksheet serves as the gift guide. We recommend maneuvering through this worksheet with basic filtering* techniques to drill down to the “best gift(s)” for “that special person.”

Anyhoo… A few things to note about the columns in the Database worksheet are as follows:

Types: Columns A-B
These are the key filtering categories that will help you sift through the data-love in no time. We recommend that you first filter on Type 1 (Activities, Entertainment, Food, Clothing etc.), as it is broader than Type 2 (Yoga, Games, Restaurant, Shoes etc.).

Cost: Column C
$: under 50
$$: 50-100
$$$: 100-200
$$$$: 100-200
$$$$+: 300+
Various: Various

The price range depends on the model or quantity of the gift. For gifts that have various sizes r quantities available, we have indicated the start price for the gift. In some instances, you may find a gift in the range above or below the one indicated, but this should be pretty close. The $$$$+ does not go drastically above $300 and in most cases, these are big family tech gifts.

Age: Columns D-G
Baby/Toddler: newborn to 4
Kiddo: 5 to 10
Teen: 11 to 17
Adult: 18 and older

Again, there are some gifts that may apply not apply to an entire age range. Whether or not you let your kiddo play Scrabble for money is up to you… In the Excel Rain Household, either bring your piggy bank, or step off! In the immortal words of Chad Ochocinco, “Child please.”

Gender: Columns H-I
This is self explanatory folks. Please note that most of our gifts are applicable for both Men and Women!

Computer image: Column J
These are items that can be found online… For those of you who cannot get out of the cubicle and are looking to reduce your carbon footprint!

Airplane image: Column K
These are gifts that can typically be found in airports, for those of you who were too busy to get your shopping done ahead of time. These items can be found @ InMotion, Brookstone, Wireless Express and those amazing Tech Vending machines… Not sure what they are called, but I love them. Please note that many Airport Vendors are not small businesses, so we highly recommend purchasing your gifts before you get to the airport!

House image: Column L
Small businesses!!! Whether it is the product itself OR the store offering the product, this symbol lets you know that a bad-ass small business is involved… and you know how much I heart small businesses.

Flower image: Column M
This indicates potential stocking stuffers.

?: Column N
This indicates White Elephant / Secret Santa gifts.

Item: Column O
Contains the item name… duh.

Vendor/Brand: Column P
This is the maker of the item & potentially the place to purchase it.

Where to Purchase: Column Q
We have included a link to the gift or potential places to purchase the gift. As always, we encourage you to help the bookstore down the street before getting your Wal-Mart on, but for the sake of ease we have included places (some big, some small) where you can find these gifts.

Comments: Column R
Why this gift rocks!!!

Shipping: Column S
Indicates where we have found deals on shipping

Discount/Discount Code: Columns T-U
Because many of these businesses love them some spreadsheets, we have indicated where a business is offering a special discount! As most of us are lovers of discounts, feel free to filter on this Column on either (nonblanks) or select all but the (blanks)… depending on your version of Excel

The 2010 Gift Guide can be downloaded for FREE from the Tips & Tricks section at ExcelRainMan.com.

Did I lose you at “filtering”? Here is the catch, if you are unfamiliar with this aspect of Excel, you may need to quickly reference one of the FREE filtering lessons that are posted in the Tips & Tricks section of www.ExcelRainMan.com. These include classic titles such as “Gift Guide Filter PC 03”, “Gift Guide Filter PC 07” and the always-popular “Gift Guide Filter Mac 08” (older Mac versions can use this as well). I promise it’s super-easy AND you won’t need to feel guilty about procrastinating anymore as everyone’s boss wants them to brush up on their Excel Rain Knowledge… right?

If you still need a little help, but do not have a Private Tutorial in your budget, feel free to download our Getting Started Video Tutorials available for both PC (2007 version or Excel) and Mac (2008 version or Excel). Each tutorial is typically $5 and includes a couple of lessons and supporting Excel documents. As a holiday treat and because we love Small Business Saturday, the Getting Started Video Tutorials are FREE (till the end of the year) and all other Tips & Tricks and Video Tutorials are 15% off. Just enter SBS15 at checkout.

As always, if you want Excel Rain Man to simply do your work for you… Submit a Request and we will take that drab Excel work off your desk!

Happy Holidays!

Until next time,
Jen Portland

The Excel Rain Diva 🙂