According to a new survey on group gift practices by Samsung, about eight in 10 people (83% women, 75% men) have contributed money with friends and/or family to purchase a gift together for someone else. Of these, half have group-gifted more than once and expect to do so again during the holiday season later this year.

Most people contribute to group gifts to buy something that on its own is super-expensive (we all chipped in for my sister Kirsten’s enormous, mountaineer-quality pram) or something that the person really wants (which is rarely only $50). 

The most popular group gifts are baby gifts (26%), (this is where Samsung comes in) consumer electronics (23%), travel (6%) and home appliances (5%).

And hey, one or two really decent presents are better than a slew of stuff you’re gonna regift (only joking)! This Christmas, according to the survey, nearly 60% said they would prefer to receive one or two more expensive gifts rather than several moderately priced gifts.

The most popular gift-giving occasions in which people choose to group gift include birthdays (42%), baby showers (37%), Christmas (31%) and weddings/engagement (30%). More than two thirds of consumers who group gift do it for their immediate family, while a smaller number of people pool resources for gifts to their co-workers, boss, close friends and extended family members.

Curiously, the survey found that 84% of those earning more than $75,000 have group gifted in the past compared to just 71% of people earning less than $30,000. You’d kinda think it would be the other way around.

Keen to get others together to buy you a decent gift? You might want to try Wishing Well where you can create a registry for friends and family to chip in for gifts for your wedding, birthday, or baby shower. 

What are other websites that offer this service ? Let us know with your comments!

Well, if you needed any proof that gift certificates are equivalent to cash and should be treasured as such, thieves broke into a nail salon in Amherst, Massachussetts and stole $US3,000 in cash and manicure/pedicure gift certificates.

Police are grooming the salon for fingerprints and when they catch these light-fingered burglars red-handed, hope to file (geddit?) charges.

Did you know about 27% of people who get gift certificates and gift cards don’t redeem them? That’s a lot of wasted money and effort on behalf of the person who bought them the voucher.

I can think of only one gift certificate I didn’t use and it was for a pedicure at the local beauty salon. Unfortunately my birthday is in winter and I just didn’t fancy freezing my toes off in flip-flops for four hours to keep my OPI polish free of woolly sock prints! So I let it lapse. Arghhh. Boy, did I feel bad (and my toes didn’t look too great either).

So, what you do about gift certificates that can be unsuitable?

1. Contact the retailer or website in plenty of time before the certificate expires to ask if you can swap it for another item of the same or lesser value (I could have used it towards a luxurious facial, but it didn’t occur to me at the time).

2. Regift it to someone else. (Ah, not to state the obvious, but you can really only get away with this by regifting gift cards and pre-printed gift certificates without your name on it.)

3. Sell it on eBay – there are plenty of people flogging unwanted gift certificates for a little cash on the side (Aunt Mary might be a bit upset, however).

4. Donate the gift certificate to a registered charity.

5.  Redeem the gift certificate so it doesn’t expire and offer the resulting manicure booking/jewellery/movie tickets/tacky lingerie etc as a door prize for a business networking function or as part of an auction line-up for a community raffle. Costs you nothing and ensures it’s not entirely wasted.

Are you into astrology? Let us know and you could win one of 20 x (30-35 page) LoveStars email reports from www.itsinthestarsonline.com  worth $29 each! Simply complete our quick astrology survey and describe in 25 words or less the most accurate astrological prediction you’ve ever had.

MAKE SURE you add your name and email address to be contacted if you win!

BONUS: Provide your name and email address (for prize contact purposes ony) and you’ll also receive a discount code giving you 10% off any astrology report from It’s In The Stars valid until 31 December 2009.

Simply visit http://tinyurl.com/ox736h to fill in the survey!

Survey closes 31 August 2009.

Got a Leo birthday coming up? Make ‘em feel special or you could feel a size 8 Christian Louboutin heel on your rear end. Yes, they need to feel worshipped so picking up a cheap bunch of cellophane-wrapped, wilting daisies from the petrol station – or God forbid, forgetting their birthday altogether! – Just Won’t Do.

They never tire of pampering so give them a gift certificate for a luxury beauty salon, a facial or if you’re stretched financially (and only if you know they know you’re short of dosh), a tube of those John Frieda Brilliant Blonde/Brunette shampoos and conditioners (about $15 each).

They really do like mirrors – the bigger, the better of course – but if you really can’t bear to feed their ego more than necessary, you could always give them one of those small mirrored jewel/cufflink boxes.

At heart, they need to feel special. When others ask what they received, they need to be able to say what amazing, wonderful, generous things they got to feel good about themselves. If you don’t spoil them, as far as they’re concerned, you just don’t care. If your gift has “boastability” value, they’ll be very happy. They love romance so anything that helps them feel they’re one-half of a loving Golden Couple (from a weekend away together to a heartfelt keepsake about your first date, for example) makes them light up with joy.

Personalised gifts probably appeal to Leos more than any other Sun sign (well, maybe they’re on par with Aries). Give them a Warholesque photo of themselves, their name on a necklace, letters spelling out their name, their name embroidered on a blanket, jewellery using their birthstone (peridot), a romance novel with them as one-half of the starring couple, the front page of the newspaper on their day of birth – you get the idea.

They also love entertainment. Could you spring for concert tickets, a book of movie vouchers, a night out to the theatre or art gallery (bonus points if it’s opening night)? Gold Class cinema nights out with a bunch of friends appeal to their love of a good time as do tickets to stylish food and wine festivals.

If you can think of them as rock chicks/gods who just haven’t been discovered yet that could give you ideas, too. Glamour wins hands-down every time. These are not the people for whom you can give regifted items. They don’t appreciate being given a card telling them that their present has been a donation of a pet goat for a Third World country. They also want it properly wrapped. So yes, these are high-maintenance folks but it makes them so happy to feel that you care that it’s worth the extra effort. Plus, they tend to make a big fuss of you on your birthday (hoping that of course, you will reciprocate).

One of the more intriguing offers I’ve seen is this wonderful win-win idea to help charities benefit from people giving their time and to help fill hotels which are still suffering thanks to the GFC.

Donate 8 hours (one day) of your valuable time to community service and you can receive a complimentary night (or 50% off) your room at 53 Sage hotels across the US. Some of these hotels under the Sage banner include Marriott, Sheraton, and the Hilton Garden Inn.

The charity needs to be a registered 501(c)3 non profit organization but hey – a free night! That could be great as as add-on or as part of a special anniversary, birthday or engagement gift.

The offer ends 20 December 2009.

Even though July is apparently the least popular month for getting engaged, there are two beautiful dates this month for proposing to your beloved.

On Sunday 26 July, the Moon (feelings, emotions) enters Libra (the sign of relationships and marriage). All that day and the next she is accompanied by the lovely planetary energies of Venus (the Goddess of Love) in Gemini (communication) trining Jupiter (luck, abundance, generosity and joy) in Aquarius (friends and group activities). These beautiful aspects make it easy to communicate how much you love each other and enjoy the friendship that underlines your relationship. So if you want to get engaged, this is one of the loveliest aspects on which to propose (as the answer will surely be yes)!

On Monday 27 July, Venus then trines Neptune (glamour, compassion, sweetness, soul connections) also in Aquarius. Neptune aspects make it easy to make you feel like you met your soulmate. If you somehow didn’t get around to getting engaged on Sunday, proposing on the Monday or even into Tuesday lunchtime is equally star-blessed.

If you’re already married you can take this time to really enjoy connecting all over again with your partner (maybe renew your vows?), while singles could be delighted to discover that someone who they’ve thought of as “just a friend” has been right for them all along.

Still too early to propose? Check out these romantic dates for the rest of 2009.

I’ve banged on before about knowing where to save money when gift shopping (I prefer to buy my gift wrapping paper in bulk), but I think the best innovative, environmentally friendly gift wrap ideas have something in common with the gift or its category, and often, can even make up part of the gift itself.

Saving on having to pay for wrapping also particularly appeals to the earth signs (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) for financial reasons, the greenies (Aquarius) so they can save the earth, the more-inventive ones so they can show off what clever clogs they are (Gemini) and also, let’s face it, the plain old lazy lot who want to waste as little time gift wrapping as possible (Aries, Sagittarius).

For example, for a kitchen tea gift, wrap it in a teatowel, a tablecloth, a table runner or slide it inside an oven mitt.

For a baby gift, tie up your gifts inside a muslin swaddling cloth, an embroidered blanket or slip it inside a rolled-up romper suit.

Dealing with a fashion fan? Put their shirt/sweater/jewellery etc inside a glamour-brand shoebox, a hatbox, a Tiffany box (that’ll do their head in!) or wrap it inside a scarf.

For a car “nut”, why not slip their present into a rolled up windscreen shade or car seat cover.

Young kids actually often prefer the box to the gift itself but why not place whatever you’re giving them in a cute toy box or stacking cube?

Know a geek? Why not give them some new software, snugly presented in a sexy laptop sleeve.

Pet owners might be thrilled to see little toys for their Fido, nestled within a doggie doona.

Obviously there are many more ways you could present your gift than in traditional gift wrapping paper. What are some non-traditional gift wrapping ideas you’d suggest?

Not every Sun sign is gleeful at getting a silly gag gift for their birthday, some are downright disappointed and disgusted that you could get it so wrong!

Aries have a very healthy ego so while they hate to be made to look stoopid, they (and Leos) do like to be seen as heroes. A fake Oscar-type statue for the “Best…” would appeal as would superhero outfits, James Bond type gadgets and stuff that appeals to the child in them.

Taureans lurrve food and this is one area where you could have fun (with them). They have an “earthy” approach to life so if you combine one of their favourite foods – chocolate – in the shape of their favourite umm, bodily organs, you could be onto a winner. Libras would be quietly appalled, however.

Geminis and Sagittarians have low attention spans and love silly, frankly childish birthday gifts, especially ones which startle others, eg whoopee cushions, stink bombs etc.

Cancerians are most likely to be very upset if it’s tasteless as they’re such sensitive little souls, but don’t mind gentle humour, especially if it’s got a cute connection with home and family. Fridge stickers, embroidered pillows with cute sayings are well-received.

Neither Virgos nor Capricorns are famous for slapping their thighs upon receiving gag gifts, unfortunately. Since they’re so work-obsessed, office gags can amuse Virgos (slightly). Money-related gags can sometimes tickle Capricornian funny bones, but only if they’ve got a couple of Sagittarius planets in their chart!

Librans are completely freaked out by fake vomit, replica poo and so on (whereas that doesn’t faze the Scorpios one bit). If it’s a gag, it has to be tasteful. Hard, I know! Scorpios also like rather naughty, sexy gag gifts as they like being seen as complete sex maniacs.

Aquarians love electronic gizmos and things that shock others. Anything faintly Star Trek-y or out of this world or that appeals to their love of humanity could work.

Pisces swing from extreme bad taste to high ‘n’ mighty puritanicalism. It depends on their mood. Since they’re famed for their uh, drinking, gags which celebrate this particular vice can amuse them. Pisces also rules illusion, so magic tricks can work their ahem, magic, too.

In very exciting gift news, It’s In The Stars has teamed up with Australia’s leading online florist, Roses Only to create a stunning gift to take their breath away!

If you’ve got an anniversary, birthday, Christmas, engagement, wedding or important romantic gift occasion, you can now give your partner a box of beautiful long-stemmed roses from Roses Only with a boxed gift certificate for a beautifully designed, hardcover, 30-35 page LoveStars report!

And if you’ve got a baby shower, a christening, naming ceremony or want to delight a new parent, you can surprise them with a box of long-stemmed roses with a boxed gift certificate for a beautifully designed, hardcover 45-50 page BabyStars report!

Note: deliveries currently for Sydney and Melbourne only. Please contact Roses Only to request other locations.