Unusual Gifts

I recently received an email from a GiftChooser follower who was on the hunt for a fabulous gift idea for his wife’s birthday.

Fed up with buying the usual restaurant meals, flowers, chocolates etc… he wanted more of an unusual gift.

Holland & Barrett

Website: www.hollandandbarrett.com

A healthy Pick ’n’ Mix? And one that will definitely be cheaper than Woolworth’s last bag of Pick ’n’ Mix (which sold for a staggering £14,500!)

People always want to look and feel good, so buying presents from a health and well-being shop such as Holland & Barrett isn’t such a bizarre idea as it may first appear.

£19.99 at Gone Digging

As the credit crunch continues biting, everyone is starting to watch what they spend. Unfortunately people still have birthdays, so buying a gift that they’ll be able to enjoy time and time again is one of the best kinds of presents to get.

As we start to cut back on eating out, it’s clear that the dinner party is coming back into fashion.

£29.95 at Prezzybox.com

If you happen to have a best mate, wife, husband or partner who has vowed to give up smoking as one of their New Years resolutions, then this electronic cigarette will make the perfect birthday gift to help them give up their habit.

Do you have friends and family on your list who have everything they want anyway? Then what is the point of buying a present they don’t want, need or like?

Not everybody wants to spend their hard earned money on unwanted christmas gifts. So more people are turning to meaningful gifts and cards for their seasonal giving.

Kate Gary is a designer and artist in the UK. She crafts and creates a quirky and eclectic range of loveable characters then uses them to embellish a variety of her handcrafted products.

They make truly unusual gifts for people as they are handmade in such a limited number.

£12.99 at The Present Finder

Agony Aunt at Giftchooser recently got a query from a Julia who is stuck for gift ideas for a school friend.

She asks Agony Aunt:

We are doing a secret santa at school, and I don’t know what to get my 13 year old friend. She’s not exactly picky, but I want to get her something unusual. she likes ice-cream, chocolate, cows and pink, she’s a girly girl. She is also quite funny and likes jokes and humour. Please help as I am really stuck.

From now on you don’t just have to simply write and send a card – you can actually say your card!

It’s a brilliant way to make your greetings card that little bit special and extra personal. Welcome to the future of greeting messages.

Yummy competition for those with a sweet tooth courtesy of MessageMuffins.com

Message Muffins have a mission in the world – to make life scrummier for everyone. And to spread the word and get everyone trying out these delicious delicacies, they are offering you a chance to win a box of tempting treats.

We are looking for people on the search for an unusual gift idea; those that are hard to buy for, families and even workplaces to have a go at winning one of the 4 gift boxes up for grabs.

All you have to do to enter is email the answer to an easy peasy question:

£19.95 at ParamountZone

Is this the ultimate pulling t-shirt? Well maybe a crowd-pulling one! I think this is the most fantastic item of clothing I have seen in a long time (well since the T-equalizer, similar to the i-cushion).

You can probably guess what it does – but keep going to find out more…

Ingenious gift for green fingered gardeners courtesy of www.Sandedge.com

Sandedge are offering a truly unique gardening prize in our latest competition. Bringing wheelbarrows well and truly into the 21st century, this marvellous invention is a folding wheelbarrow.

Not only does it fold up flat so it can be stored in even the smallest gardens, but it can also come with this unique carrot design unlike the boring green metal wheelbarrows of yesteryear.

We have 10 copies of The Pet Poets Club book up for grabs courtesy of petpoetsclub.com

The Pet Poets Club book: Volume 1 contains over 34 poems from all your favourite animals: dogs, cats, birds, goldfish, mice and a whole host of other pets. Read about the trials and tribulations of Fifi the Showbiz Chihuahua or Pugsy Malone, The Dogfather.

It’s quirky, humourous and beautifully designed with a spectacular array of colour photographs and graphics. Amazingly over 13,000 copies of this book have been sold so far, making it one of the biggest selling poetry books of the last year!

These books will make the ideal christmas present for pet lovers of any age!

To enter the competition, all you have to do is answer a very easy question:

Jacaranda Blue

Website: jacarandablue.co.uk

You know it’s going to be a good week when you find an online gift shop worth shouting about. For gifts that are handcrafted, fairly traded and distinctly different visit Jacaranda Blue for the shopping experience of the century.

This gem of a site will make sure you are never stuck for gift ideas. Find presents for the men and women in your life – whatever their age. Yes, babies and kids are also included.

My Gift Idea of the week is very inventive and a must for all ladies to have.

They are being promoted as a comfy way to wear shoes at the end of a long party night out, but I think these would come in very handy at plenty of other times too. Maybe after a long day shopping or when you have to stand for long periods of time – at a wedding for instance.

Bizzy Balloons

Website: www.bizzyballoons.co.uk

My new website of the week is Bizzy Balloons. The name for this online shop says it all – a one stop balloon shop, busy with ideas for presents to suit plenty of occasions.

If you find you are stuck for a gift idea to congratulate somebody on passing their driving test or celebrating your nephews christening, a balloon gift isn’t as silly as it sounds – in fact they are really rather fun!