With the holiday season upon us many people are already taking into consideration what gifts to buy for family and friends. Some people are super easy to buy for, others are next to impossible. I have a few people on my holiday shopping list who are really difficult to buy for.
Years ago my husband gave me a gift that I thought was very thoughtful and super sweet. He had a star named after me (“Kimberly”) from the International Star Registry. It came with a big, beautiful certificate that let me know the star was named after me and what the coordinates were in the night sky.
Sadly my certificate was packed away when we were planning on selling our condo. We had to remove things off our wall (personal photos, artwork) at the suggestion of our real estate agent. We had to eliminate all personal effects so that the potential buyers could picture their stuff on the walls. My certificate from the International Star Registry was packed away and we have no idea what boxes everything is in. There must but about 100 boxes in my father’s basement (where we moved our stuff to). One day I hope to find it so I can hang it back up again.
I had always considered having a star named after my husband some day. I thought it would be nice to hang both certificates up together and getting a star map and circling where both stars are and hang that up next to them.
Thanks to Blog Meets Brands and the International Star Registry I was finally able to see my idea come to life.
I was able to name a star on the International Star Registry for my husband. I thought it was going to a complex thing to do – after all, you are naming a star. Surprisingly it was super easy to do. I think the hardest part was coming up with the star name.
I wasn’t sure if I could name the star after my husband (first and last name) or if I could do a nickname and some numbers that have significance to us. I’m thrilled that I was able to name the star after him (first and last name) as well as tack on the special numbers I wanted on it. I was even able to customize the date to make it even more personal. I opted to use the date October 18, 2014. That was the date of our 18th wedding anniversary (18 years on the 18th of October). I thought that was a great date to use. I have said it a few times that we’ll never again have an 18th anniversary on the 18th of the month. It’s a once in a life time kind of thing.
After you name your star and pick a date for it you get to select what kind of product you want. You can simply get the certificate for $54 (unframed). That is what my husband gave me years ago. Or you can get other packages. They range in price from $54 (unframed certificate) to $489 (heirloom starter kit).
For my review I received the deluxe package which included the certificate (unframed) and a star chart that shows where the star I named is located in the cosmos. This is similar to what I had thought about doing years ago (having both stars circled on a star map).
The certificate looks like this (I have blocked out the personal information).
The framed print (the star as seen from space) looks like this.
I tried to take my own photo of the framed print but I couldn’t get a decent enough picture (the image of me taking the photo kept coming up). It’s beautiful in person. I love the black frame and white mat. It really makes the photo “pop”.
It’s hard to tell from my photo, but it’s an image of a couple of constellations with the star that I had named for my husband circled in red (it’s in the center of the image over to the left above the glare from the ceiling fan lights).
My husband LOVED his gift. He was thrilled and had to hang up the framed print right away (it’s in our dining room). We haven’t hung up the certificate yet because we have to find a frame for it and he wanted to wait until we can find mine so that we can hang the side by site. He also wants to find out the coordinates of my star to see if he can purchase the same framed print (above) so that we can hang the four things together. I think that would look pretty cool as a grouped collection on our wall.
The International Star Registry has been naming stars dignitaries, celebrities and people like you and I since 1979.
Please note that you are not actually purchasing a star. No one has the right to sell a star. No one actually owns a star. With the International Star Registry it’s more like you are “adopting” a star.
Your named star is not recognized by astronomers, but your named star will appear in a book the company publishes called Your Place in the Cosmos © which lists the stars that have been named thus far.
Whether you are looking for a gift for a hard to buy for person, or you want to give your sweetheart something special, why not name a star after them.
For more information please visit www.StarRegistry.com. You can also find them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google+.
What do you think about this idea of naming a star? Is is a gift you would love to receive? Would you give this as a gift? Feel free to share your thoughts.
Kimberly
*I received a free product sample in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.