• Personalized Wine Glasses
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• Personalized Wine Glass

When compiling a list of the most beloved board games of all time, Monopoly always ranks high. Monopoly is the classic game of bootstrapping- starting with very little and building your wealth one rental property at a time.

Monopoly can trace its history all the way back to 1904, when Lizzie Magie was granted a patent on a game called “The Landlord’s Game”. Magie developed the game as a simple way to explain the concept of rentals to landlords and tenants and how it benefited both sides. By 1935, several variations of the game were being played and Parker Brothers purchased the rights to several of them, including Magie’s.

New editions of the game began to appear quickly, including a Commonwealth version featuring London, England as the city rather than the United States’ Atlantic City, New Jersey. Sales of Monopoly skyrocketed worldwide.

In 1998, Hasbro, who purchased Parker Brothers, announced that there would be a new Monopoly game token for the first time since the 1950’s. Monopoly lovers were allowed to vote on whether the new piece should be a biplane, a piggy bank, and a sack of money. Votes were recorded by phone call, a special website, and through FAO Schwartz stores. The clear winner was the sack of money and it has been included in Monopoly games since.

Over the years, there have been many versions of the game produced. There are dozens of localized versions in several languages where Atlantic City has been replaced. There are also official licensed versions representing various events, movies or themes.

The Star Wars version of Monopoly has been one of the highest selling of these spin offs. Two versions were produced, one highlighting the original trilogy and the second featuring all six movies. All of the properties represent locations from the movies that will be familiar to most Star Wars enthusiasts.

Monopoly has also produced a Disney version of the game, in which, instead of houses and hotels, cottages and castles are featured. The most popular Disney characters make an appearance, including Snow White, Lady and the Tramp, Dumbo, and Pinocchio.

A newer, though unofficial, version of Monopoly that is a popular gift for wine enthusiasts is Wine-opoly. With this version, players collect bunches of grapes, buy various wines and trade them for decanters. Not only does this version retain the original fun of Monopoly, the back of each deed contains interesting facts and descriptions of each wine. Even expert wine connoisseurs can learn something new. In Wine-opoly, players can choose their token from a collection of wine-related items including a carafe, cheese, wine bottle, wine glass, or cork).

Monopoly will continue to evolve and multiply to appeal to new audiences who are ultimately attracted by turning a little money into a lot, whether by dealing in rental properties, alien cities, fictional forests, or even wine. New versions mean more players and more opportunities to give an old classic as a memorable gift.

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• Personalized Beer Glasses

R.W. Douglas, in his book A History of Glassmaking, tells us that the word glass was derived from the Roman term glesum and that the Romans had a large glass factory located in Germany. They often used glass panes to cover the windows of public baths to keep drafts out while still allowing light to come in. The Romans also used glass vessels to for liquids on the dinner table. In fact, glassware use for this purpose dates back to somewhere between 1500 and 800 B.C. in Egypt and Phoenicia. Those first glass pieces were made of primitive soda lime glass.

Until quite recently in historical terms, most glassware was produced by skilled artisans and each piece was crafted by hand. We see many medieval etchings of glass blowers working alongside their fiery furnaces to craft bottles and bowls for the nobility. Some pieces were formed by pouring the molten glass into a pre-formed mold until it cools and hardens in its new shape. Cast pieces often required post processing to remove surface imperfections and bring the piece to its final smooth surface and clarity.

The process of making and forming glass has evolved greatly since those early days. Today, identical pieces of glass table ware are made by the tens of thousands or even millions in high tech factories. These pieces are removed from molding machines in their finished form with no more than a good cleaning required before use on the dinner table.

Because of its impermeable nature, glass is often used to store liquids such as milk or wine to keep air from getting in and causing the liquid to spoil. The structural strength of glass makes it ideal for carbonated liquids which may be under pressure within the container. The beauty of glass and the variety of colors and finishes that can be applied have made it a favorite of artists for thousands of years.

Among archaeological digs, glass implements and pieces of art often survive through the ages and reveal something about the ancient cultures that created them. It is the beauty and everlasting nature of glass that makes it perfect for the modern keepsake as well. Etched champagne flutes are often used as gifts from the bride and groom for the wedding party to thank them for their participation and to provide a lasting memory of the event.

Modern companies such as Glass with a Twist, use the latest technologies to etch words or images into many different types of glassware for their customers. Laser etching provides sharply detailed etchings with fine edges. Because the lasers are guided by computer, the patterns are perfectly repeatable and identical etchings can be made for bulk orders for larger events. Despite the modern techniques used in place of the ancient artisans, modern etched glassware can be beautifully made. With the new techniques, even customized glassware can be made inexpensively enough to allow everyday use although because of their special significance, many choose to keep them as display pieces.