Just back from vacation, I open my mail to find… a microwave oven! Not exactly a working microwave, this is a cardboard microwave that contains host of recipes for making my own Chex Mix. I haven’t had time to try any of the recipes, nor can I really write about Chex cereals, but I have to say that I love the creative ideas behind press kits such as these. The oven has a hologram on the face that “shows” me what’s cooking, and buttons to push: Make, Enjoy.

Earlier this month, I got in the mail a single fork with a cork on the end. On the cork was printed the word: Sonoma. It was a promotion for the 2008 Sonoma Wine Country Weekend, an event that raised nealry $1.6 million for charities this year alone.

Another fun kit was the pink squeeze-pig from the National Pork Board. I got three of these — hence the three little piggies that keep me company at my desk.

Less fun were the two press kits that arrived from Children’s Choice — empty food trays. The trays are promoting a really good thing — the new compostable, biodegradable, GMO-free trays being used to contain kid lunches. But they missed the fun boat for sure.