7. For the Dad Who's Always Changing Bulbs: Forever Lights Guess who forgot to turn out the lights last night? If your dad is a light bulb martyr, always complaining about having to get on a ladder to change burned-out bulbs, his whining is about to end. Enluxled.com has introduced a new light bulb that will burn for 50,000 hours. You can leave it on eight hours a day for 20 years and it will still be shining. The bulb is based on LED technology, making it similar to the sort of bulb found in traffic lights, but uses about the same amount of electricity as ordinary household lights. Popular Science magazine recently named the Enlux Floodlight as one of the top 10 tech innovations for 2004. At $79 a bulb, the Enlux Floodlight isn't cheap. But look on the bright side: Turn it off once in a while and it has an excellent chance of outliving everyone in your family, even your kids. So when it finally burns out, it'll be someone else's problem. 8. For the Kid Who Never Calls Home: A Virtual Phone Number The one question nobody wants to hear on a family holiday: "Why don't you call more often?" College kids are always good with coming up with excuses. The easiest: No money for long-distance calls. Indeed, if you're going to school far away from home, phone bills can add up. But here's a way for parents to remove that excuse — get a broadband phone service and create what's known as a "virtual phone number" in whatever area code you want. Let's say you live in New York (area code 212) and your kid goes to school in Miami (area code 305). You can set up your kid with a broadband telephone (that's a phone that connects via the Internet) and a 212 number. This way, you and your child can call each other all you want, without racking up long-distance bills. Vonage offers broadband phone service with virtual numbers for less than $25 a month, and holiday gift certificates are available. Indeed, in the age of the Internet, kids will have to come up with better excuses not to call home. Of course, they can always hit up mom and dad for a better computer and a better Internet service. Without those things, a broadband phone won't work. Either way, the message home is the same: Send money. 9. For the Frustrated Golfer: A Glass Putter Is dad throwing his golf clubs again? It's not your place to tell him to grow up. Here's something even better — a handmade glass golf club, a conversation piece that really works. Pros such as Gary Murphy and Derek Snowdon have made glass putters very trendy, and they were approved by the United States Golf Association last year for tournament play. OneAtATime.com offers a club crafted from cobalt blue glass. The $198 putter is said to rank up there with traditional metal equipment, and can be custom-made to order for various lengths and for lefty players. Your dad might be shattered if his game doesn't improve, but the club probably won't. It's highly durable, and it's just too beautiful to bash against the greens, no matter how easy a shot he's blown. --

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