Over the last few years, many people have had to face some very difficult situations in their day to day life – and experts agree that one of the best ways of dealing with stress is with a healthy dose of humor – the gift of seeing the funny side of things.

So, there has never been a more perfect time to use humor as a way of expressing yourself when it comes to gift giving. Whether you are choosing a present for a birthday, anniversary or retirement, consider a gag gift as an excellent gift selection.

Before you decide on which gag gift to offer, it is worth remembering that not all gag gifts are created equal. In the last decades, many of these types of gifts were mainly about sexual innuendo, bodily functions or alcohol, fortunately, the times have changed and while gag gifts of this nature may still exist, they have also been replaced, in many cases, by gag gifts that are both more thoughtful and practical – while remaining funny and sarcastic. Fortunately, gag gifts have escalated to the "next level" which makes them a wonderful, clever and original idea.

However, remember a few guidelines when choosing these great gag gifts. Always do some "homework" on the person who will be receiving the gift. Are they history buffs? How about offering them an historic newspaper with what happened on the day they were born? Are they sports fans? Consider offering them a "ballpark" pen made of 100% wood from demolished stadiums or one of the many fine sports gifts offered by the esteemed newspaper The New York Times.

Are they into CSI and Law and Order and consider their crime solving skills to be amazing! Then a crime scene towel (complete with chalk outline of a murdered body) is a great way to go. Owning 1 square inch of land in every state would be a very cool idea for that corporate guy who is finally retiring! (It makes a great gag gift for office retirement party.) And for all those retiring baby boomers – how about some personalized and commemorative stamps showing their own faces – they will be immortalized forever and your image can travel around the world just like a regular US postage stamp. (Yes, the USPS will actually create postage stamps with your image on it…or any image, and it’ll be actual U.S. postage.

One of the joys of offering a gag gift is the fact that you can really take advantage of the opportunity and think "outside the box" dare to be different when it comes to gift giving, not to the mention the fact that choosing these types of gag gifts are such fun!

The only limitation is your own imagination – so go with it.