Mel's Shopping Diary
Don’t look a Gifting Suite in the Mouth
January 14, 2008I realized I never blogged about the insane Celeb-Baby-Gifting-Fest I went to the other day. First off, it was fabulous!! So many good things, and lots of stuff I’ll be writing about in the future. (Products that is!) Who were the celebs? Seriously the gifting was so insane the celebs took a back seat! But here’s who was there that I saw: Bridget Moynahan! Looking fabulous but also a little out of it and maybe a little pissed off? Does she always look a little pissed off these days? But then, wouldn’t you be if your boyfriend of four years leaves you when you are pregnant for Gisele??? I was standing in line behind Bridget at the check-in and EVERYONE behind the desk was making a HUGE fuss--lots of security guys talking into their walkie talkies and going “Bridget is HERE! You are not READY!” Hilarious.
She was pretty much the only big star that I saw. Here are some little stars: Harry from Sex and the City! Remember the bald guy who was Charlotte’s husband? Well he was there with his family, cute wife, cute baby. They got TONS of stuff. (You know all the gifting suites are according to your fame rank, right? The more famous you are, the more you get. Well, since there weren’t that many celebs, Harry (I don’t know his real name) got tons of stuff. In fact, they needed a hotel cart and a bellboy to haul away the loot. And they packed it all into his tiny little Prius. That’s Hollywood for you. Their poor baby was squished in the backseat with all the free stuff!
Another star: The little kid from Pushing Daisies! I don’t watch this show so I was just wondering why everyone was kissing up to some ten year old boy. Another star: Gary from Boston Legal! He plays the transsexual black receptionist on the show and is hilarious. Gary is a co-parent at my daughter’s preschool and has a great sense of humor about all this. I’m pleased to report he had so much stuff (even more than Harry from Sex and the City) and when he saw mine and my sister’s loot (considerably less than the celebs but a decent haul for a journo and her sis!) and wondered why we didn’t partake of everything, we told him “Gary! We don’t have the right wristband!” And he laughed and offered his. The celebs got a red wristband and their own minder who walked them through all the suites and made sure they got everything. Everyone else has to fend for themselves.
Gifting suites are kind of...well, they make some people feel bad because of the “ranking”. It’s VERY naked. It’s like the rank calls I write about in The Ashleys. If you’re famous, you get more stuff. If you’re press, you also get a lot of stuff. If you’re just a plus-one, well, they hand you a box of plastic sunglasses and that’s it. Some of my friends hate going to gifting suites. They think it’s a measure of your self-worth. (Even your publication is ranked!) But really: it’s all about marketing. They give to the celebs because then they can say, So-and-So was HERE, and now owns one of my stuff. It’s free publicity for them. So it’s not really a gift although it looks like it. It’s just PR, which is just business, and something you can’t take personally.
I don’t take anything personally...I just enjoy getting free stuff!
Tomorrow I am traveling to New York and I hope if you are in the tri-state area or somewhere nearby you will come see me! Check on the Events link to see where I’ll be.
xoxo
Mel
On January 15, 2008 at 5:05 pm, Alii had this to say:
Sounds like you had loads of fun.
Who doesn’t adore getting free stuff?
On January 15, 2008 at 7:12 pm, Abby had this to say:
Melissa! I haven’t commented you in forever! That’s how high school is, I guess--it just takes the time from you. I can’t wait to be famous. Gifting suites sound amazing. I hope you got great stuff.
And yay, you’re coming to Holmdel in three days!
Hopefully I can go.
It’s a little farther from my house. [Howell is closer! 
]
*crosses fingers*
Can’t wait to buy the Ashleys. :]
<3 Abby
On January 16, 2008 at 3:28 pm, Kiimberlyy had this to say:
Free stuff?! Note to self: Get famous, get preggors.
Haha! Just joking, but sounds like a lot of fun!
Can’t wait for the next Blue Bloods!
<3
On January 17, 2008 at 12:02 am, Pianegonda had this to say:
can i get free stuff too?
On January 17, 2008 at 5:26 pm, Brittany had this to say:
THAT SOUNDS LIKE IT WAS FUN !!!!!!!!!!!
BUT I AGREE WITH YOUR FRIENDS YOU DONT NEED GIFTS TO KNOW YOUR FABULOUS THEY JUST ADD ON TO IT LOL ITS ALWAYS NICE TO GET A GIFT HEY WHERE IM FROM YOU TAKE WHAT YOU GET ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU CANT AFORD TO GET IT YOUR SELF THATS HOW I SEE IT :]
~ BRITTANY ~
On January 19, 2008 at 5:46 pm, Merriam had this to say:
that sounds like alot of fun i think gettinf free stuff is awesome!!!!!
On January 22, 2008 at 2:30 am, Trang had this to say:
HI!
This is my first ever comment on your site! I am soo sorry if I’m not posting this in the right place or something. Well I just started reading your books and I absolutely LOVE them! I totally fell in love with Angels on Sunset Boulevard, so I started picking up the other books written by you, too.
I just finished Blue Bloods yesterday and I haven’t gotten to read Masquerade yet. =( I plan on buying it tomorrow though. Anyway, I just wanted to say how much I LOVE your books. I love the Au Pair series, too, buy I’m totally bummed that there are only five in the series.
Thanks for reading this super long comment! I so totally love your books! I can’t wait for Revelations and mostly for THE STRIP! Oh one quick question: will that just be a sequel or will it be a series? Thank you!
<33 Trang
On January 22, 2008 at 5:40 pm, destiny had this to say:
wow!..free stuff...who wouldn’t want that?..:]
yeah well have a safe trip..i live in new york.
can’t wait for the next blue bloods..im addicted.
lol
On January 15, 2008 at 2:10 pm, Andrea De Vera had this to say:
NIce! I want to be able to go to New York one day. HOpe you have fun!:)