Item: The Sound of Music

Price: $14.99

Where to Buy: Amazon

Review: One of the most thrilling moments of my life? Boarding the van for a "Sound of Music" tour in Salzburg, Austria. Rare was the trivia that our tour guide imparted that I didn't already know.

"The Sound of Music" has been one of my favorite movies since around junior high. I even went through a phase when I watched the three-hour flick nearly every Wednesday night for several months while my parents and sister went to town and I had the house to myself.

While I don't watch it nearly every week nowadays, I do manage to squeeze in a viewing every year or two. I'll be the first to admit that some of the songs are more than a bit cheesy (The hills are alive? C'mon.), but I still can't resist the romance, the optimism and Maria's good nature. The movie was one of the major reasons I studied German in high school and eventually majored in it in college.

"The Sound of Music" not only makes a great gift for any woman who like movie musicals, but also it is a perfect introduction to classic movies for the young and uninitiated.

Oh, and the least magical moment of that "Sound of Music" tour? Walking into *the* church where Maria and Captain von Trapp married in the film and seeing a real wedding in progress-- while some Shania Twain song in German was being piped through the speakers. I never imagined that you solved a problem like Maria with Shania Twain.

Image from: Amazon