Starfish Thank You Gifts

Here is a cute idea to tie in a starfish theme to your thank you gifts.

At Adjoa's wedding, she gave a beautiful starfish bottle topper from Weddingstar. This story was printed and included with each one...

Once a man was walking along a beach. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. Off in the distance he could see a person going back and forth between the surf's edge and and the beach. Back and forth this person went. As the man approached he could see that there were hundreds of starfish stranded on the sand as the result of the natural action of the tide. The man was stuck by the the apparent futility of the task. There were far too many starfish. Many of them were sure to perish. As he approached the person continued the task of picking up starfish one by one and throwing them into the surf.

As he came up to the person he said, "You must be crazy. There are thousands of miles of beach covered with starfish. You can't possibly make a difference." The person looked at the man. He then stooped down and pick up one more starfish and threw it back into the ocean. He turned back to the man and said, "It sure made a difference to that one!"

Mini Ox Carts

Coffee put Costa Rica on the map, long before eco-tourism or canopy tours. Getting the beans from the plantations high in the mountains to the coastal ports was a hairy journey, through jungles, along steep hills and muddy dirt paths. And the mode of transport? Wooden carts pulled by two trained oxen. Even to this day, farmers throughout the country use ox-carts daily and there are various festivals throughout the year honoring these beasts of burden and their drivers.

The carts are handpainted in Sarchi, an artisan town in the Central Valley just outside of San Jose, using designs that have become as integral to Tico culture as gallo pinto and salsa Lizano. Everything from bridges to benches have been painted to mimic the oxcarts and if you have a chance to pass through Sarchi, it's definitely worth the visit to watch the painters at their craft.

What better memento from a wedding in Costa Rica than a miniature version of these brightly painted carts? Each one is handmade and painted with the same attention to detail as their full-grown counterparts. Fill them with a small bag of coffee and you have a very unique and very Tico guest gift! Prices start at $13 each.