Love Be Thy Name

As painful as it is to admit it, I'm going to share with you my boyfriend's favorite Christmas gift from last year:


Yes--a trash can. But not just any trashcan! An automatic trashcan. Sigh. And I can't even claim credit for coming up with the idea because my mother got it for him. Imagine all your relatives calling and your loved one exclaiming, "I got this really cool trash can!"

At first, this seemed like the most lazy invention ever. But it's actually very convenient and I can't imagine life without my stainless steal companion. The only draw backs are:

• Visiting children love to play with it (but on a positive note this does distract from the toilet bowel)
• Your dog just might figure out how to use it
• You will find yourself standing impatiently next to trashcans everywhere wondering in exasperation why they don't open
  

Mine came from Costco, but they have them on Amazon, too. I can't vouch for its longevity (a complaint in some of reviews) since our is obviously just under a year old but it will be a sad sad day when it finally dies and "AutoTrash 2.0" will quickly take its place. It does make a whirring noise and in high traffic areas it can be obnoxious. The boyfriend hates figuring out how to put the bag in but I think that is a small price to pay for "service."

Ideal Gift For: Your gadget loving Uncle and your gadget hating Mother. And the college kid in your life. ***Husbands, this is not a suitable romantic gift for your wife unless you normally buy her floormats.