GoodThinking99.com

There is one week to go until Valentines Day and I’m betting most people haven’t settled on just what to get their partner this year. Flowers are too predictable, Chocolates too unhealthy, Tiffany’s- there’s a recession people!

To help you in your hour of need, we’ve done a search of online stores that have packed a discount ahead of Valentine’s Day, and will still provide shipping to make sure you don’t get into trouble on Saturday.

Amazon have up to a whopping 60% off selected jewelery for your special someone.
Digital Frames Direct have their biggest Valentine’s sale to keep it personal and cheap.
Le Beau lingerie have 50% off everything until February 11. Nice and Naughty!
JeweleryBoxx has 50% of selected lines and a range of inspiring ideas for him and her.
The Perfume Shop has a number of fragrances nicely discounted.
PrezzyBox.com have up to 50% off items and a pretty great range of unique Valentine’s ideas.
Truprint has a discount code of LOVE09 for 20% off a personalised photo gift.
Viva Box has 25% off selected experience boxes. For her there’s a fragrance box available, and for him a BBQ box.

Leave us a comment if you come across any other discounts that may just save a marriage or two!

If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, chances are you can’t feel your feet right now thanks to temperatures in the negative. This is the perfect chance to warm up your Valentine with some heartwarming and footwarming gift ideas. Add a small box of chocolates and a gift card and you’ve got yourself a nice Valentine’s gift package for your beloved!

Check out some hot ideas below which are more personal and much cheaper than a diamond encrusted necklace.

Hot Dog

This fido won’t come when you call but he will sit on your girlfriend’s freezing toes so she doesn’t have to put them on you. The Hot Dog is fully microwavable, as he is stuffed full of wheat grains. He’s both practical and really rather cute and will be cherished by any girl in the Winter months.

Price: £14.99 / USD$21.89
Source: needapresent.com

Heart Mini Water Bottle

Everyone loves the toasty feel of a traditional water bottle, and this one comes with the Valentine’s seal. The Heart Mini Water Bottle comes with a little jacket with (you guessed it) a heart on it. Aww! It’s also slightly smaller than an average-sized water bottle, making it perfect for traveling or sitting on the couch with.

Price:£5.99 / USD$8.75
Source: thegadgetroom.com

Cozy Feet Microwavable Foot Warmers

These plush slippers may not exactly be Prada material, but they’re a life saver in Winter. Simply throw them in the microwave for a few seconds and say goodbye to icy toes. These slippers even have non-slip soles so will keep you upright on a wet bathroom floor.

Price: £14.99 / USD$21.89
Source: thegadgetshop.com

Valentine’s day has become so commercialised that it’s easy to forget the basic celebration of being in love with someone. All girls know that it’s the small things that count in life, so we’ve found some ideas that will let her know you’re really a thoughtful kind of guy.

For girls, these ideas work based on the premise that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Oh and for both sexes- these ideas are inexpensive, so you don’t need to take out a loan to let your partner know that you love them!

Breakfast

Why not start the day on the right foot by making a special breakfast for your loved one. This sounds like a very uninspired idea, so to keep it in theme, we’ve found some helping tools to make this breakfast a memorable one.

Mood Message Toast from findmeagift.com allows you to imprint her toast with a love message which is bound to make her smile. To accompany the toast, a heart-shaped fried egg will complete the Valentine’s breakfast, and if your partner is the type to like tomato sauce with eggs (a phenomenon that I am yet to understand) the red colour scheme will also fit in nicely!

If your partner has more of a sweet tooth, the heart shaped frying pan is also perfect for making pancakes. The necessary pan can be found at Amazon.

If you’re looking for a unique way to present a small gift like a piece of jewelery, buy a small box of cereal. How is this better than an old-fashioned ring box? Well open the cereal box from the bottom end and place your gift in amongst the cereal like a free toy you used to get as a kid. Remember how excited you were to be the first one to open the packet? If your partner is a romantic at heart, they’ll love this little bit of detail.

Go with any of these ideas and by 9am you’ll be in their good books for months!

Dinner

The traditional Valentines celebration is going out for a nice dinner, but that gets expensive and if you’ve left it a bit late (which I suspect you have if you’re reading an article on Valentines gift ideas so close to the big day) you won’t get a reservation anywhere- including your local pub.

If you’re facing this dilemma why not make a nice dinner at home? This is also a good idea if you’ve got kids, so they don’t feel left out of the celebration. You don’t need to be Gordon Ramsay to do this, and no doubt she’ll be touched at the idea that you’re going to do the cooking tonight.

To make dinner “Valentined”, a quick google search will find you some heart shaped pasta to serve. You can either make a delicious creamy sauce or serve it as a side to grilled chicken and salad. The Pasta Shoppe has some white and pink dyed heart shaped pasta that would be fantastic with a basic tomato and basil sauce. For some interesting pasta recipes check out If I Had To Pick Five and My Famous Recipe.

For desert, why not roll  up your sleeves in the kitchen for 15 minutes and make some heart shaped cookies? Once they’re in the oven, you can relax with a glass of wine and spend the next 30 minutes reminding her that the delicious baking smell in the house is a result of your handiwork. Popular home made cookie recipes can be found on Erin Cooks and The Cookie Blog.

These simple home cooking ideas will make Valentine’s Day special without having to bend to the will of the media and fork out for expensive jewelery or a trip to Paris. And really, what better way to spend the day of love than by eating wonderful food with your loved one?

If you’re gift hunting for a person who has everything, why not get them something that only Brad Pitt has enough of- newspaper coverage. Their 15 minutes of fame won’t be as wide-spread as would be their face on the front page of the BBC site, but it’s not far off!

The UK website inthepaper.co.uk or its US counterpart inthepaper.com will get your friend on the front page of “The Daily” with an announcement that they have been chosen to play the lead in new James Bond film, or something equally outrageously believable.

If you’re friend isn’t the biggest movie buff, they can also be “Abducted by Aliens”, and you can even add your very own picture. The photoshop opportunities are endless…

To order a paper, you simply need to fill in the fields with your friend’s details, choose the article you wish them to appear in, add a photo (if you wish) and you’ll have a gift that you can be guaranteed no one else will bring to the party.

This gift can be as funny or romantic as you want, so if you’re stuck for a Valentine’s Day idea this year and don’t want to go down the fluffy bunny route, get them in the headlines instead.

Christmas is over so you think you can rest easy on the presents front right? Well, not always. If a birthday isn’t around the corner then an anniversary certainly is. Even if it’s your 1st, 10th or 40th year together, the best way to make an impression is with something a bit more than flowers or a cuddly toy.

Here we’ve compiled the top five interesting anniversary gifts to make sure you get extra kudos tonight!

A Romantic Cruise for Two

Gifts don’t always have to be ‘things’ as such, with our first idea giving you both an experience to (hopefully) remember. A couples cruise is a great idea as it’s not over-girly and is romantic enough to be an anniversary present rather than a birthday or Christmas gift.

Some websites to start you off are:
Australia: Coffee Cruise for Two, Sydney Harbour AUD$190
UK: Thames Dinner Cruise for Two, London £145.83
USA: Dinner Cruise for Two, California, New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington DC, Philadelphia & Texas USD$175

Sex Board Game

Nothing says “I love you” like… well… sex. This is truly a gift to be given between couples and let’s be honest, you get something out of this too! Games include Lust- The Game and The Sex Game which is about exchanging romantic ideas and will turn your home into a sexual playground- you may never look at the TV in the same way again.

Available from:
Australia: Lust- The Game from Gifts Australia, AUD$39.95
UK: 1000 Sex Games from Amazon, £8.99
USA: The Sex Game from Simply for Lovers, USD$16.98

A Star

No, we’re not suggesting you get him Angelina Jolie for your second anniversary (or else there may not be a third…). If you can’t find the perfect anniversary gift on this planet, perhaps it’s time to widen your search area a bit. Naming a star is a fun gift, but also romantic in that it will afford you some time star-gazing to try to find exactly which star you bought the rights to.

The International Star Registry will send you your certificate and other astronomical bits for prices starting from:

Australia: AUD$77.30
UK: £36.90
USA: USD$54.00

A Vineyard Experience

We’re back on to the experience gift idea, but that’s because it allows you both to spend more time together which in itself is a bit of a gift with everyone’s hectic lifestyles. A vineyard experience is a bit different and quite a bit more romantic than a beer brewery tour.

Many experiences come with lunch included, which would make for a relaxing way to spend your special day.

Available from:
Australia: Wine Tasting in the Margaret River- Half Day, Western Australia AUD$70
UK: Vineyard Tour and Wine Tasting for Two, Haywards Heath, West Sussex £73
USA: Picnic at the Vineyard, Atlanta, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Houston, New York, San Fransisco, Los Angeles USD$95

A Chocolate Photograph

If your other half has ever chided you for not being imaginative, then this gift will sweeten them up. Yes everybody gives chocolates on anniversaries, but these tasty treats are different as they can feature a photo of whatever you want on them. Bite into a piccy of the two of you to really savour the moment!

Available from:
Australia: Groovy Chocolate AUD$18.14
UK: Eat Your Words, £25.00
USA: Kustom Konfections USD$14.99

I may seem to be going on a bit about ways to save money this Christmas, but with lots of people getting to grips with financial woes recently, there’s a reason I’m playing Scrooge’s advocate.

If you’re doing the big family Christmas this year, one way to keep your gift-giving kudos but still keep your cash in your wallet is to give gifts to family units instead of individual family members. The only challenge with this idea is to find something not only family-friendly, but also interests mum, dad, bro, sis, dog etc.

For a bit of inspiration, here is our choice of Top Five gifts for the family:

Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture 2nd Edition

Who doesn’t like a good game of Trivial Pursuit? Well if you’re playing the version that was made before you were even born, you may find it a bit on the boring side.

This Pop Culture 2nd edition has been updated with a DVD that allows players to view TV clips, songs, commercials and movie scenes from pop culture. And seeing as the main topic is based on the idea of “popular”, kids will even have a fighting chance.

Priced at $34.89 (£23.60) from Amazon

Photo Hooks

What family doesn’t spend the first five minutes of arriving home from any outing, squabbling about where to hang their soggy coat? If you know of some people who aren’t exactly the happy, easy-going Brady Bunch, these Photo Hooks will end future arguments and keep life on the fun side.

Everyone just needs to fit a passport-sized picture of themselves into their particular frame and from then onwards every coat/hat/scarf has its very own place.

Priced at $17.00 (£11.50) from Generate Design

Digital Photo Frame

This is a great idea to capture all of those family moments and even to scroll through everyone’s individual bits of fame. Both parents and kids will have fun choosing which pictures they can cycle through and everyone can decide on new piccies for different times of the year- you can have a Christmas theme, a 21st birthday dedication, a Summer theme, etc. etc.

There are many digital photo frames on the market which will cater to all price ranges. This particular one is from Alura Tek and features a 7″ widescreen hi-resolution panel so as not to distort images. It plays both photo & video files, and has built in speakers and a remote.

Priced at $92.99 (£63.00) from eCost.com

Memory Journal

These Memory Journals are a great way for family members to get to know each other a bit more while they learn about their ancestry. Let’s face it- in some families this is really the only thing that everyone has in common.

The books features questions to prompt memories and stories that may otherwise be forgotten one day, and in the end you’ll have a nice family heirloom to pass down. You can even stick your own photo in the cover to complete this personalised book.

Priced from $9.00 (£6.00) from Linkages & Shoestrings

Candy Bar Fun Cake

When all else fails, head for some chocolate! Any chocolate mix or food hamper would work well as a gift for the whole family, but this Candy Bar Fun Cake takes the… cake.

Made entirely from a range of chocolate bars, everyone can take their pick when this is served after the roast turkey this year. Alternatively you could try to make your own version of this which may be necessary if someone is on a special diet.

Priced at $39.95 (£27.10) from FindGift.com

The festive season is always exciting, but the credit card bill afterwards is the hangover after the party. One way to watch what you spend but still get into the spirit of the season is to give personalised, hand-made gifts instead of forking out money for something that the recipient probably has anyway (who doesn’t have 3 copies of the same CD/ book in their collection?).

Making your own presents doesn’t mean you have to sit in a dark corner and develop your knitting skills. There are some easy yet funky ideas for DIY presents, and they all involve the one thing that everyone has a soft-spot for: food.

Check out our list of Top Five DIY gift ideas that will save you money but still make an impact under the tree this year.

Home Bake Muffin Mix

Everyone loves the homely feel of fresh baked goods. The trouble is finding the time to bake something from scratch. By giving someone this handmade Christmas Muffin Mix, they will have almost everything they need to keep the Christmas pud going well into the new year.

By mixing the dry ingredients of any muffin recipe in a stylish jar and topping it with a festive ribbon, you’ll have Christmas wrapped up for friends and colleagues at work. All they will need to do is add milk and eggs and then pop their creations into the oven. The best part is, the main ingredient of your gift, flour, is dirt cheap!

Print out the recipe in a gift-tag size and attach it to the ribbon, so there’s no excuse for them not to have a sweet treat the next time you pop over for a visit. One specific dry-ingredient muffin recipe idea can be found at BBCGoodFood.

Photo Source: BBCGoodFood

Home Made Desert Sauce

Another gift idea for those with a sweet tooth is to present them with a bottle of your very own home made desert sauce for them to drizzle on ice cream, pancakes or anything else that would benefit from a touch of your sweetness! If you’re feeling generous, you can even give a few bottles of mixed flavours.

Sugary ideas include: chocolate sauce, butterscotch sauce, caramel sauce, strawberry sauce or variations on a theme, such as choc-mint sauce.

This gift idea requires minimal effort and recipes are easily doubled or tripled so everyone in your extended family can benefit from your handiwork. Again, a nice bottle with a bit of ribbon will make this personalised gift presentable.

One easy chocolate sauce recipe can be found on the LA Times Website.

Photo Source: LA Times

Cookies

We couldn’t bypass this obvious candidate for a DIY food gift! Cookies are easy and cheap to make and a little cookie dough goes a long way. You can even make your home-baked cookies a bit on the small side so that a double-batch of dough will make up to 30 or 40 cookies, enough for everyone in your immediate friendship circle.

Wrap your cookies in colourful paper to complete the gift, or fill a small gift box with them. There are thousands of cookie recipes on the net which you can search for. Interesting flavours include: choc-mint cookies, peanutbutter cookies, apricot and hazelnut cookies, or my personal favourite: passionfruit shortbread cookies as pictured!

Photo Source: About.com

Hot Chocolate Mix

If you’re not the kind of person who enjoys spending some time in the kitchen slaving away at the oven and you know your friends aren’t either, a home made dry hot chocolate mix may be the way to keep your gift costs down and not have to do any serious washing-up!

Again, there are numerous recipes for DIY hot chocolate out there so inspiration shouldn’t be a problem. Add your own personalised touch of a few cinnamon sticks or mini marshmallows, and you have a very cute gift that will keep people warm through the freezing months.

We’ve tried and tested the creamy hot chocolate mix in a jar from Recipezaar and can recommend it as a definite winner for even the biggest chocoholic.

Photo source: Recipezaar

Home Made Dips

Not everyone has a sweet tooth, and for all you salt-lovers out there, there’s a DIY Christmas gift idea as well. Making your own dips is a piece of (savoury) cake.

To present your mix of dips, you can buy cheap plastic bowls in bright colours and cover with clear plastic and, again, that essential nice length of ribbon.

Various dips that your gift recipient could pair with chips, biscuits or vegetable sticks include: blue cheese dip, red salmon dip, basil and feta cheese dip and the ever faithful, guacamole.

TheDailyGreen has an “ultimate” guacamole recipe that will get any party started.

Photo Source: TheDailyGreen

If you have any other ideas for cheap, foodie gifts, leave us a comment!

I came across a gift shop like no other today, and thought it only fitting to share it with you in the run-up to Christmas. The official SPAM website has a plethora of gift ideas for that one person in your family or group of friends that can’t get enough of the army ration that is SPAM.

Personally, “spiced ham” is not my thing, but even I would appreciate receiving a SPAM wine charm to mark my glass of fine champagne that I’d have with my processed meat.

The gift range includes a SPAM Three Legged Pig ($5), a life-size SPAM costume ($65), SPAM can earrings ($12), various articles of SPAM clothing and even a SPAMTA Bear so you can start them young.

All this and more is available from the SPAM Gift Store. If you know someone who would balk at the thought of owning a mere SPAM souvenir instead of the real thing, there is also a range of SPAM flavors to choose from.

These include:SPAM Garlic, SPAM Cheese, SPAM Hot and Spicy, SPAM Hickory Smoked, and if there’s not enough pork in normal SPAM for you, there’s SPAM Bacon.

Not just found in your inbox, SPAM can just keep on giving…

Source: the official SPAM site

Everyone has an iPod now- they’ve become so normal. So what better way to make your friend more unique than Michael Jackson, than by giving them ear phones in the un-orthodox shape of lady bugs?

Or if that’s a bit too girly, there are the gross-out flies which would satisfy every boy’s lifelong desire to stick an insect in their ear.

The Ear Bud range also includes pigs and ducks for the more rural-minded of your acquaintances.

Each set of ear buds is fully compatible with devices that have a standard 3.5mm headphone socket, so most iPod devices would still be listenable through your duck.

At just $15 (£10.20) a pop, you’ll be gift wrapping a set for your friend and opening one for yourself!

Available from: fredflare.com

What do you get the man that has everything? Why a brand new gadget of course! Nothing lights up a big kid’s eyes like something with flashy lights and a remote control.

Check out our top five list of gadgets and toys for guys of all ages.

Voice Command iPod Controller

This gadget is perfect for the music lover and the control freak. Changing songs on your iPod by sliding your finger along a screen is so yesterday. The Voice Command iPod Controller is a hands-free way to go from Kid Rock to Frank Sinatra just by speaking your mind. You can even change volume just by saying “volume up”, or “volume down”

Price: $89.95 (£58.47) from Hammacher Schlemmer

Micro Spy Remote

This universal remote will let you take control of any TV in your vicinity- imagine the power you wield! It will control functions including the volume, channel, mute, and turning it on or off. If you don’t want to watch that rerun of The Simpsons again when everyone else does, you now have the power to make the veto vote.

Price: $8.99 (£6.05) from Thinkgeek

7Up Diversion Can Safe

We should all be quite particular about our security, and this gift is a novel way to hide a spare set of keys, emergency money, expensive heirloom. It has a secret compartment so that you can store away anything valuable, though watch where you “hide” it, as a 7up can in the back of your bedroom closet is a bit of a giveaway- stick it in the freezer!

Price: $9.99 (£6.70) from Amazon

Houdini Automotive Escape Tool

This is for every guy out there who thinks he’s a bit of a MacGyver. This gadget is perfect for the adventure enthusiast as it could very well save someone’s life. The Houdini tool will help you or someone else out when their car window needs to be broken to pull them out of an accident. It will also cut someone out of their seatbelt, and has an emergency flashlight and safety whistle.

Price: $24.95 (£16.80) from Houdini

Sommelier’s Wine Chiller

There’s nothing worse than a party getting into full swing only to find that you’ve run out of cold wine and champagne to serve your guests. The Sommelier’s Wine Chiller will step in at every social gathering to cool or warm any type of wine to its optimal temperature. To use, just select your wine from the database of 26 red, white, and champagne wines and the chiller will automatically bring the bottle to the recommended temperature for the best possible palette, bouquet, and overall wine-drinking experience.

Price: $99.95 (£67.30) from Brookstone

« Older Entries