Sometimes finding a gift for someone you know well can be tough. Today's gift issue came from Bronwyn of Mackay:

"Tomorrow is my Mother-in-law's birthday and I haven't got a clue as to what to get her. She lives in a rented unit, so she doesn't have a great deal of space. She will be turning 61, so she is pretty well set up. My Mother-in-law is a diabetic, so food (and chocolate) is out of the question. She loves gardening, but doesn't have a garden." Bronwyn, Mackay.

There are a couple of options that come to mind and I bounced these off Bronwyn. Firstly, is the option of flowers. Most women love to receive flowers and birthdays, births, anniversaries, graduation and Christmas are great occasions to give them. Unfortunately, unless they are artificial, their shelf life is limited - but they are a lovely luxury that should be appreciated!

Another option is to give a mini DIY garden. I offer a small version through Hamperific called "Green thumb" that includes a hanging basket with some herbs, gardening gloves and a spade. The gift recipient can pot their plants up and have lovely fresh herbs close to hand. I suggested to Bronwyn she might like to go one step further and purchase two troughs and a selection of herbs for one of them and some pretty flowering plants for the other. Then her Mother-in-law can create her own mini garden to suit her location. And if she ever has to move she can take them with her.

Finally I enquired about the recipient's hobbies, one of which happens to be reading. It would be wonderful to purchase a great read for the recipient, but as once learnt with my uncle, you never always know if they have read the book! So, I suggested a gift voucher from a good quality bookshop. You could also purchase a gift voucher for one of the department stores where they often have the latest releases at discounted prices, but the selection doesn't seem to be as large as a bookshop.

Some people don't like to give gift vouchers as they say they aren't personal enough. In some cases I would agree, but not always. Personally I love gift vouchers because I can find something I like and this gift option suited Bronwyn as she knew she couldn't go wrong with a gift voucher from a bookshop. Team the voucher up with a great card and present with a huge smile!

Kirsty

Different cultures around the world celebrate different birthday milestones. In South America a girl's 15th birthday is usually a grand affair with plenty of tradition thrown in for good measure. Huge cakes that rival weddings, plenty of beautiful gifts and proud parents ready to see their daughter start their journey into "almost" adulthood.

In Australia we tend to make a fuss of the 18th, 21st and then each decade birthday with some traditional gifts such as keys, glasses and the right to vote being given.

Todays gift question came from Tanya* who asks:

"I have a 16 year old daughter, and want to give her a gift experience package for her birthday. What would be a really good gift experience present for her?"

It seems to me that Tanya has already thought long and hard about what to get her daughter for her birthday and has suggested an experience, which is a fantastic idea for a milestone birthday.

Red Balloon Days is an Australian company that specialises in gift experiences. Some potential ideas for a soon to be 16 year old might include:
*a horse riding trip
*hot air balloon ride with breakfast
*laser skirmish session with some friends

They offer plenty of choice and there is something for just about everyone's taste and budget.

Alternatively Tanya could also suggest taking her daughter and a couple of her closest friends out to a fancy restaurant to celebrate. Get them all to dress up in their formal dresses, hire a limo and meet them there. The experience suggests maturity and elegance that most 16 year old girls would love.

*Name changed for privacy

Today's gift quandary comes from Jan who each year finds it hard to find something unique for a birthday gift for her boss who happens to be a doctor:

"In the past the girls and I from work always have to really think hard about what to buy our boss for his birthday, I mean he's a Doctor, so he has just everything he wants. For his last birthday he got wine, chocolates and theatre tickets, and he seemed to be happy with them." Jan, Mackay

But if you are like Jan, then each year you usually want to get something a little different, even if the last gift went down well! And I have to agree, who wouldn't be happy with wine, chocolate and theatre tickets?

So what to do? Bearing in mind that Jan shares the cost of the gift with the other people at her work, so this is a great opportunity to pull together and get something that you might not be able to afford on your own.

The first thing that comes to mind is a beautiful pen. If there is one thing that stands out to me about office professionals, it is usually what they write with. While in Brisbane I visited one of the most beautiful shops I have ever seen, The Pen Shoppe. Here is one gorgeous collection of writing implements that are for all budgets - ranging from the regular ol' Bic to the "Stars of Egypt", a sterling silver handcrafted fountain pen with matching inkwell and timber case (for a mere $4,595).

Ok, so Jan and her colleagues may not want to be in debt for the rest of their working careers to purchase such a pen, but their range is impressive. Fountain and ball point pens are available and they even have the refills.

The next option for a present for Jan's boss is to order some custom made cupcakes from Clare at Cupcake Caboodle who would create some delicious themed cupcakes and deliver to your workplace. Clare can create just about anything on top of cupcakes and she even has different flavours to choose from.

Finally a third option is a glass/crystal name plate for the office. Choose between a desk plate or one that can be mounted on the door or wall, this is another great gift for an office professional which can be ordered through most trophy houses.

Well Jan, I hope this has given you some unique ideas for your boss' birthday!

Kirsty

Clare contacted me not so long ago about a gift for her friend located in Melbourne:

"Help! A very good friend of mine is having a birthday soon and I need a gift... As she is watching what she eats I don't want to get chocolates and she has sensitive skin, so would like to avoid beauty products. As a Mother of three she really deserves something nice, so any help you could provide would be great!" Clare, Rural View

Ok, so a couple of things came to mind straight away for gift ideas.

Firstly Wheelie Designs are a funky new company that are designing wheelie bin stickers for those hard to buy for people. They come in so many different designs and you can even custom make them! They package the stickers in cool tubes ready for postage Australia-wide and are easy to apply to your clean wheelie bin... Price range is about $45 postage included and can be ordered through Hamperific.

Secondly I suggested that as Clare's friend lives in Melbourne maybe she could purchase a gift card from Gold Class Cinemas at the Crown Casino. Here you can watch the movie of your choice while having a meal, a couple of drinks and all while chilling out in the nice cinema chairs. Prices for gift cards start at $30 and go up to $150.

The third option was a set of salad servers - and not just any old salad servers either! Available from Hamperific these servers have exquisitely beaded handles and can be custom ordered in a variety of colours. Each set is packaged in a box and wrapped with ribbons and comes complete with a card for the special occasion. Including postage to Melbourne the set is valued at $50.

After receiving the three options Clare decided that she would like to treat her friend to the salad servers. Wrapped in cellophane for protection on the journey they were sent off and received in approximately 4 days. So what was the verdict? Find out in the next post where we hear Clare's feedback....