The other day I was conversing with a friend of mine through Facebook when she mentioned that she hadn’t organised her Father’s Day gift for her Dad in Darwin. This happened to be on the Friday before Father’s Day and she was in Sydney, so unless she personally flew the gift to her Dad, there was no way she would have been able to get him something for his special day. Or was there?

It made me realise that there are many people in the same boat and a couple of months back I was in a similar dilemma with my lovely cousin, Alison. It was to be her birthday on the weekend and even if I had sent the gift early in the week, it still would have gotten there late thanks to their show day holiday on the Friday (I had been caught out the year before).

So what do you do? Well, I had a brain wave with my cousin and this is a little trick you can do in situations – especially if the gift recipient is in another state!

Firstly you need to think. Think about what they would like and where you would buy it from if you were there with them. In my case I wanted to get Alison a candle for her new home when she gets married next year. In all honesty I could have sent the gift and had her receive it late, but I truly detest paying unnecessary postage, so I found another way….

An outdoor candle and holder was on my wishlist for Alison. Next I had to think about where to get it from… One of my all time favourite shops in Darwin is Dusk.

If you love candles then check them out online for a store near you, or if like me you don’t have one locally, you can just drool with envy and prepare a mega shopping list for when you do visit a shop one day (the closest one for me would be Brisbane!).

A Google search will most likely give you ideas as to the types of shops you will be looking for, or if you already have a franchise in mind, look at their store locator page.

Now, I knew that this shop was in Darwin, but you will need to check and see if the shop (where your gift is) is close by to your gift recipient. Then you will need to research that shop’s phone number and give them a call. Most stores will process your order over the phone (providing you have a credit card) and many will even wrap it for your recipient ready for collection if you mention it is a gift.

And that is the one catch… your gift recipient will, in most cases, need to pick up their gift from the store where you have purchased it. Some, I might add, may have delivery options, so ask when you are placing your order.

Finally, give your beloved friend or relative a birthday call and tell them they have a gift waiting for collection. Make sure you give them the right shop location and put it under their name. If you are really organised, then you can prepare a card and send it with instructions on how to get to the shop with cryptic clues – or you can just tell them!

So there you go – when you get stuck and need to get a gift in a hurry, think local to your gift recipient and order over the phone! Never a late gift again….

I saw this great shirt on Eco Manifesto yesterday and decided that it would make a great gift for a guy. Which brings me to the question of do you buy clothes for gifts? I have two answers for this question – no and yes.

My great Aunt Clytie (who is sadly not with us any more) was renowned for buying clothes for me for my birthday. Amazingly she got my size right and more often than not she picked things that weren’t run of the mill, fad clothes. I still have quite a few of the items she bought me and today still get compliments on them – the gorgeous black lace shirt that I wear as a light overshirt, the white satin blouse with beautiful blue metallic flowers (have to see to understand). There was only a rare occasion when Clytie would get something that didn’t quite suit or was a bit “old” for me.

Buying clothes for gifts can be tricky. Style and taste is such a personal thing and it can all go pear shaped when trying to get it right:

Size - Buying the wrong size for starters can be insulting if you get the item too small or too big. Unfortunately even with so called “standard sizes” there can be a huge variance between brands and styles.

Colour – Choosing the right colour for someone else can be a bit of a dilemma even if you get white, because there are some people who honestly can’t wear it well. The same goes for other neutrals including grey, navy blue and brown.

Style – Unless you have impeccable taste and have watched every episode of Trinny and Susannah or been to fashion school you may be stepping on your gift recipient’s toes by buying them that funky short skirt or glittered gold top. People’s perceptions of their body image can vary with reality considerably, so they may not feel like they can show their “chunky thighs” in the skirt you thought would set off their best assets…

As a general rule I prefer not to recommend clothes for gifts. But! They say rules are meant to be broken and I have indeed bought clothes as gifts. So when is it ok to buy clothes for gifts?

My younger cousin Alison is worse than me at trying to control her wardrobe! She is very much up to date with current trends and styles and she wears what she knows suits her style and age and skin tones. By analysing what she wears and what colours she prefers I have been able to purchase clothes that I think she would like. But, I do one thing that I believe should be a rule when giving clothes as gifts - always include the receipt!

So, back to the question of do you buy clothes for gifts? My advice would be to think carefully about it and ask yourself if you are willing to include the receipt which ultimately shows how much you paid for the item? If not, I would recommend giving a gift voucher instead. If you are sending it interstate, ensure they actually have the shop in their city or town! This allows them to buy what they like, when they like in whatever colour and style they like. Hopefully a win-win situation!