A cross between Chia Pets and those engraved rice grains that kids wear around their necks at the beach, these Message plants may be the next ubiquitous booth item at malls everywhere, possibly taking over both the bonsai market and the mini bamboo market all in one fell swoop. The recipient of this gift just has to open the container lid, water it, place it in a sunny spot and then watch it germinate for a week to ten days. When the leaves come out, there's your loving message. Sells for $9.95 on the Message Plant website.

I'd be scared to death to get one of these as a gift. I might nurture it and watch it grow only to wake up one morning to a message that says, "You need therapy."

Alternatively, if you have $1,250 to spend on personalized botanical printing, you can get this Flower Printer from Compact Impact and print your message of love, corporate logo, holiday greetings or whatever directly on delicate flower petals.