Hi there! Yes I am back… and I apologise for my delay in the anniversary posts, but thanks to a malicious little hacker I have been offline trying to sort out my computer. Anyway, several hundred $ later and I am back doing what I love to do – gifts!

Ok, so putting aside anniversary gifts for a moment (these will resume after Christmas now) let’s put a little attention on Christmas. Yep, only 17 days to go, in case you were in denial.

I have just read an article about Christmas and I personally struggle each year trying not to get caught up in the materialistic side of it all. Besides being downright expensive it can be stressful trying to find the right gift for the right person.

Well today is part 1 of 2 parts on gifts under $40 just in time for Christmas. And lots of them can be done online, so you can stay well away from the shops and the madness that normally represents Christmas (unless you really love crowds and lack of parking!!).

Wheelie Designs – This fabulous company creates wheelie bin stickers for EVERYONE. Go on, check out their site and I dare you to find one sticker you don’t like! They make them in Queensland and ship Australia wide and until Christmas they have FREE postage. At just $34.95 for a 240L size sticker, they are a unique and original idea that will be a hit with your recipient (providing they have a bin!).

Perfect for: the person who has everything, eg Dads, Uncles, Cousins, Families.

Soaps – And not just any soaps either. Aroma Beauty soaps are the BEST that I have used. Organic, handmade and divine, these soaps are beautiful for using in the shower, not putting in the drawer. Jan has created an extensive selection of flavours that really do smell good enough to eat. My personal favourites are the Choc Mint, Bubble and Squeak, Juice bar – ok, all of them! Jan offers two flat rates for shipping: under $23 and it is only $7.50 express, or over $23 and it is $10 express. My tip: buy up quite a few to save your postage… you can then have several gifts sorted in one hit as everyone has to have a bath or shower, right?

Perfect for: Mum, Grandma, Dad (yes, men are catered for too!), your pet Dog (Jan has dog soap and a rinse that pooch will love), Sisters, Sister in laws, Aunts.


Diary or Calendar – The Australian Conservation Foundation have created two gorgeous products for 2010, a calendar and diary featuring stunning photographs. They are both made from 100% recycled paper too, so they are an eco-friendly gift idea at just $21.95 (plus P & H) for the diary and $24.95 (plus P & H) for the calendar. The ACF have gone the extra step and put in all the public holidays, school term dates and in the diary, tips for having a greener home and lifestyle.

Perfect for: Anyone that likes to be organised. Grandparents and Parents love to have calendars when they can keep track of birthdays and special occasions. Brothers, Sisters, Bosses, Employees, Families.

Chocolate – For every Chocoholic you know, this year is going to be special! Bianca from Coastal Chocolates makes wonderful chocolate bark which she can post straight to the recipient’s door! With flavours like Rocky Road (delish!!), Caramel Marble, Cookies and Cream, Peppermint and more, I think she has it covered! Prices start at $13.95 for the bark with a flat rate of $12 express postage.

Perfect for: Mum, Dad, Grandparents, Families, Bosses, Employees, anyone who loves chocolate!

Craft ideas – So on your list there is someone who loves craft. They might be real scrapaholics (that is they love scrapbooking) or love to knit, bake or sew. I recommend that you check out some books relating to their craft. Or you can always purchase a gift voucher to their favourite shop. If you go with the book idea, make sure you hold on to receipts, just in case they already have it and need to swap. Prices for books or vouchers vary from shop to shop, but if it is a book you are after may I recommend checking out Fishpond. I love this site and often buy my books from here especially when they also offer FREE shipping for orders over $49. Their book selection is huge and they have just about every genre covered (not just crafts).

Perfect for: Mum, Dad, Aunt, Uncle, Grandparents, Friends, Bosses, Employees, Sisters and Sister in Laws.


I hope this has given you a few ideas about gifts for your loved ones, but if not, stay tuned for the second installment on Christmas gifts.

Do you have someone really, really hard to buy for? Drop me a line and let’s see if I can give you some personalised ideas.

Happy giving!

Well a mighty big congratulations on your 10th year anniversary. That’s a decade of togetherness!


So how do you celebrate such a momentous occasion? According to tradition with tin or aluminum. For him I found the coolest aluminum shoes… Check out Zazzle where your man could be one hip dude in these!

Or if he is into cycling then a new aluminum frame bike could be just the gift for him. Team his new bike up with a helmet, shoes or a new pair of sunnies for a great anniversary gift.

Similarly tin really doesn’t hold a lot of appeal for me as far as an anniversary gift idea goes. I mean, 10 years and all you get is tin? Well, let’s think about this a little more…


Using the name tin and thinking a little more laterally I could suggest a trip to Tin Can Bay in Queensland. Especially if you love fishing. Even for the weekend a stay at one of the B&Bs would be lovely just to get away from it all.

Moving on to the modern approach is diamond jewelry. Now we are talking! I probably don’t need to suggest where you might be able to get some lovely ideas... any jewelry shop assistant will be more than happy to help. But gentlemen, if you really and I mean seriously want to impress – try Tiffany’s.

Remember, this is the lovely lass that has spent the last 10 years sharing your life with you. Make it really special!


Ladies, if you are looking for something special for hubby, take a look at this ring. Now it does say that it is a wedding ring, but he doesn’t have to know that!

If you are considering a trip to celebrate, might I suggest Kununurra in Western Australia where the stunning Argyle diamond mine is based. Then you can pick out your own diamond and have it set. This will prove to be one memorable experience!

Flower of choice for 10 years is the Sweet Pea. These are really pretty little flowers and your local florist may or may not have them in store. If you are organised and are well ahead of time, you could source some seeds and plant them to flower in time for your anniversary. Or you could skip the planting and whisk your beloved away to Sweet Pea Cottage in the Blue Mountains!

Yes, it is true that for this anniversary I have made not one or two, but three suggestions for getaways. And why not? It is a decade that you have spent together so go and make the most of it!

Good luck and enjoy!

Ok, so today I was going to post the 10th year anniversary gift ideas... well I am going to postpone that particular post to another day (so come back to visit). The reason for this postponement?

Today is Friday the 13th. Woohoo. But did you also know that it is World Kindness Day?

Now, this is a topic I feel very strongly about, because in all honesty I believe we need more kindness in our everyday lives. I am really lucky that within my business I get to share the kindness with other people in the form of delivering gifts. I love to see the genuine look of surprise and happiness when people get something they weren't expecting.

So here is my question to you: "Why do we have to wait for a special occasion to show kindness?"

My simple answer is that we don't! We can do kindness everyday and it doesn't have to be expensive gift giving either.

To celebrate today I baked 2 dozen muffins to take to my son's school. I also printed out 2 dozen suggestions of things the kids could do to show kindness.


The suggestions included:
*Walk your dog or someone else's
*Pay a compliment
*Talk to your neighbour
*Include someone into your conversation
*Lend a hand
*Do something nice for someone else

Now, I don't know if the kids took too much notice of the little notes that I handed out with each muffin, even with the teacher asking them to take the time to look at them and READ what they say.

I do know this - 18 out of 20 kids said thank you without being prompted and 3 came up to me after the bell had rung and told me that they were really good muffins. Funnily enough only 1 of the notes I wrote said "Pay a compliment".

At the end of the day if they remember for 1 moment that Stefan's Mum came to school and gave us a muffin for no reason, then I am happy. Hopefully they will share the kindness.

Do a random act of kindness, it will make you feel soooo good....

This gift quandary comes from Rebecca who asks: "How can I transform an old photo into a creative birthday gift?"

There are quite a few companies that are offering a printing service on to different mediums including Officeworks and Harvey Norman. Regular camera shops and even some chemists are also places to think about when wanting to transform a simple pic into something very special.

For around $50 you can have your very own personalised cushion cover! Check out Imaage Photo Giftworks' online shop who can print them for you and send them to you direct - very clever!

What about if you have an old photo that is not digital? This can be remedied by scanning the picture to your computer and saving it as a JPEG file. As long as the resolution of the image is high you should be able to get away with it.

If in doubt contact your local photo centre (as mentioned above) and seek their advice.

Good luck!

Remember one of the greatest ever movie scenes with the lovely Patrick Swayze (may he rest in peace) and Demi Moore in Ghost? Talk about making pottery sexy! Is there a local art council or artist who offers pottery classes?






Hollyhock is the flower alternative for this year’s anniversary. Admittedly I didn’t know much about this flower (although I thought they might have been poisonous), so researching them was educational! I found out that you can purchase seeds through a mail order nursery and that they can grow up to 3 metres!

Hello once again for the next installment of anniversary gift ideas. These last couple of weeks the traditional and modern themes have been interesting and this week’s themes are just as interesting!

The 8th year anniversary traditional theme is bronze or pottery and at first glance I have found some beautiful bronze fountains from South Australia. One of these beauties would make a fantastic talking point for your garden and I think I might be putting an order in for my anniversary!

Australian Bronze is another company who creates pieces of art in their foundry in NSW. Each piece is custom made for their clients, so if you have something in mind it might be worth checking them out.

Bendigo Pottery has an online store that offers an interesting range of pottery items if you prefer the alternative traditional theme. This would especially suit a household that has a country theme or for something a little more modern, check out Cool Pottery.

Speaking of modern themes, the 8th anniversary modern theme is linen or lace. Josie Baker is an Australian designer who uses hand woven textiles to create some wonderful linen collections for the bedroom.

Linen (and cotton) is a wonderful material to use in bed linen because they are natural and breathe better than their polyester counterparts. These gorgeous fabrics tend to be longer lasting an wearing too!

Lace was a little more of a challenge this week. I could find numerous online stores offering what I would call “erotic” lace clothing, which may be a style you were after, but certainly wasn’t the one I was looking for!

In all honesty some of the sites were offering all but nothing with a hefty pricetag! Anyway, what I had in mind was a little more meek and mild. Conservative maybe, but you can wear this little beauty outside of the bedroom...

Now you might think that no man is ever going to wear lace… and you would probably be pretty right. But why not think a little laterally here and get him a pair of “lace up” shoes?

Now as far as this year’s flower is concerned – good luck! I don’t know of any florist that stocks the Cat’s Tail flower, but you might do better at a nursery to buy the actual plant.

I remember my aunty used to have one of these plants in her garden and we used to steal the flowers to brush against our cheeks, they were that soft.

To know what you are looking for check out this image.

Good luck!