If one of your favourite people is a Capricorn, make an extra fuss of them!

They suffer the double whammy of having their birthday around Christmas (when you-know-who tends to forget to stuff a little extra something in his sack for them), and the hangover territory of New Year’s Eve and Day. Plus, if you live in the southern hemisphere, it’s summer so many people are away for your birthday.

These guys are modest, but surprisingly sentimental so please don’t forget their day or “double-up” on their birthday and Christmas gifts!

The archetypcal Cappie is ambititous and keen to climb that career ladder (just think of Alex P. Keaton from Family Ties). They want to look classy, elegant and capable. If you can give them something that has a little cache to it, so much the better. They’re not into bling like Leos and they’re not mad ego-maniacs like many Aries, but they do want to be taken seriously.

Secretly (OK, sometimes openly) snobbish, they just want the very best. They prefer classics to anything trendy and natural fibres to sticky, scratchy polysters. They secretly like fabulous items that make them feel like an old-fashioned millionaire, like smoking jackets, velvet slippers, cashmere coats, real ivory jewellery, vintage accessories, bankers’ green glass reading lamps and Monopoly!

Antiques can have enormous charm for these guys – they just adore the craftsmanship and beauty of the object. If your budget doesn’t run to antique furniture, perhaps antique objet d’art, jewellery, homewares or industrial items could appeal. Capricorn Prime Minister Paul Keating used to collect French clocks, for example, but many Cappies have a collection of some sort.

Many Capricorns often have a very clear path in mind ie finish university (while doing summer internships), work at a blue-chip company for several years, get posted overseas, complete an MBA, launch their own business then sell it out at IPO – or something similar.

Even Gen Y Capricorns have a healthy respect for learning from their superiors and putting in the hard yards. Inspire them with tomes of those super-successful entrepreneurs who made it – and cautionary tales of those who didn’t. They love to hobknob with industry VIPs – could you pay for a year’s airline lounge membership if they’re about to travel overseas?

They’re well-known for taking a long-term view of wealth-building. Perhaps they’d enjoy an investment course or a subscription to Money magazine?

Some of them don’t want to draw any attention to themselves and dress on the boring side. A stylist might give them some practical tips on how they could stylish and presentable. Many Capricorns can look too old for their years so if you know them really well, perhaps a really good moisturiser or classy sunblock wouldn’t go astray…

They want to feel special but don’t want you to spend a lot of money either. This is one sign who doesn’t mind receiving a regifted item – nor hesitate to give it either. They appreciate thriftiness and cleverness so if you (or they) can get a tax deduction, or use frequent flyer points to cash it in for a gift, so much the better.

Most of them are hugely sentimental about their partners. A personalised gift about them as a couple will always work.

Note: Jupiter will be going into their solar third house of communication on 18 January. While they’re not known for being early adopters of technology, if you spring for a new iPhone, laptop, printer or other business-type gizmo, that would be fine with them this year. On the communication theme, they also might appreciate you paying for them to attend a media presentation or public speaking course. Anything that helps them raise their profile – professionally of course – is fine with them.

I knew gift certificates were popular!

County sheriffs in Compton, Los Angeles have run their very popular Gifts for Guns program again, where they offer gun-slingers supermarket gift certificates in return for their weapons, no questions asked.

The county sheriffs expected they’d get some interest, but one man in Compton turned up with 58 guns (count ‘em, people) including small handguns and some assault weapons (which the police say are typically used in armed robberies), earning himself several thousand dollars worth of supermarket gift certificates.

“That should feed someone for a year”, said one of the sidearm Santas.

The Gifts for Guns program which took 232 guns off the streets in this latest promotion, has helped to reduce crime and homicides since it was introduced. Over 5,000 guns have been handed in.

I’d love to know if the man brought the 58 guns in recyclable shopping bags (they’d be too heavy for the plastic ones)…

Even if I say so myself, most of my family think of me as a pretty good gift-giver – but I still don’t get it right all the time even now, so I’ll be heading back to the store for a refund like everyone else.

Here are some typical gift-giving mistakes which I and others can make all too easily.

1. They’ve already got it. I gave my mother a softcover version of Paul Bangay’s garden design book, The Balanced Garden for Christmas.  Ordinarily she would be thrilled, but I gave her the same book for Mother’s Day in hardcover. I have no idea how I forgot that but I think a gift-giving diary is in order (for me).

2. They’ve had enough of it. Years ago I made the mistake of giving my sister matching bra and knicker sets for two birthdays running. She must have been sick of them because she topped that by giving me a book of Leunig cartoons for three Christmases in a row (and I prefer The Far Side).

3. It’s the wrong size (too big). Mum gave me a fun costume ring from Diva but since my fingers are somewhat smaller than Mike Tyson’s, it’s not gonna fit unless I secure it with duct tape.

4. It’s the wrong size (too small). Boyfriends are especially guilty of this. One skirt I received for a Christmas gift was a size 8, which I haven’t been since I was about eight.

5. It’s supposedly the wrong size. Since my very health-conscious grandmother passed away last year, my 95-year-old grandfather has been indulging in bacon and eggs for breakfast EVERY DAY for oh, the last 16 months. Needless to say, he’s gone up a few clothing sizes. I gave him a pair of smart Sportscraft tailored men’s shorts in navy (size 112cm – their biggest, which Mum advised was his new trouser size – he used to be 97cm). He took one look at them and scoffed, “They’re fat men’s shorts – I wouldn’t fit those.”

6. Their tastes change. This is particularly dangerous with children, pre-teens, teenagers and twentysomethings. However, you can safely assume that everyone’s favourite cash colour is green.

If you’ve got a friend or family member who owns their own business, and they’re about to celebrate their birthday, AND you’d like to give them something that would really help them generate revenue and/or word-of-mouth referrals, this might be just the thing! 

CertificateBuddy allows individuals and businesses to create an unlimited number of gift certificates per month, with an unlimited certificate value, for just $50/year.

Especially for new and/or micro-businesses, this is a wonderful gift to give your friend! Just imagine, using all of the designs available, and the website’s unique alphamumeric code generator, they can create and print separate, trackable gift certificates to give their clients.

These could be used for anyone from an auto shop, providing $20 off your next service for your car, to a vet, offering a gift certificate towards your pet’s desexing treatment or whatever. Beauty salons are particularly good at this, offering their clients gift certificates on their birthdays. (I know I always take advantage of mine.)

CertificateBuddy makes it easy to track which gift certificates have been redeemed which means you can analyse whether you get better responses to a Valentines Day or Fathers Day campaign, for example.

It can cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars to ask your web developer to create an alphanumeric code generator for your business. This is one way to test how it performs. And hey, there’s nothing to stop you from purchasing the Premium account ($50/year – you can create 3 gift certificates per month for free) to create the codes and using them with your own logo on a professional print run.

Thumbs up for a fantastic, help-your-mate-in-business-for-his-or-her-birthday-gift.

Gift wrapping can cost a bomb so I usually buy a 100-sheet pack of glossy gold cellophane from the local florist wholesaler which is perfect for birthday and Christmas gifts.

But there are heaps of materials around your home which can wrap – or at least contain – your gifts (temporarily if you really must have the ”wrapping” back). What about:

1. Road map – highlight the towns they’ve travelled to

2. Magazine cover – get ‘em wondering what are the 10 ways you can please a woman?!

3. Calendar – whether it’s a cheesy pin-up or a cutesy puppy pic, they’re usually large enough to do the trick

4. Takeaway menu – fun idea for your favourite pizza/Chinese/Thai  takeaway food fan,  even wittier if it’s wrapping the latest Nigella Lawson/Gordon Ramsay/Stephanie Alexander cookbook

5. Bed valance/duvet cover- its sheer size can hold a very large present without using sheets and sheets of wrapping paper…

6. Shoebox – hopefully they won’t be expecting a pair of Manolo Blahniks inside – better use your EasySteps one to reduce expectations…

7. Tablecloth – again, this is nice and large and looks great tied up with some raffia string and is ideal for homeware items

8. Newspaper – broadsheets are best as they’re bigger. Try and pick a page with the juiciest gossip

9. Old Globite suitcase - most people seem to have one of these in the garage or attic somewhere. It’s a cute container for guidebooks, travel items etc if you’re giving a gift to a friend or family member about to go off on a long holiday somewhere

10. Cooler bag – ideal for that bottle of chilled champagne or pre-made, frozen home-cooked meals.

If any of your friends or family members have lost their job recently and/or been struggling financially, you can be sure that they aren’t worried about having the latest gizmo for Christmas (or at all)! Some of them may be freaking out about being able to pay their rent, but they’ll never let you know.

One of the best gifts you can give them is a hand in the regular expenses that eat away at savings. Here’s 10 practical gift ideas to get you started that they could appreciate very much.

1. Food basket – create a hamper for them from the supermarket. Gather essentials like dry pasta, sauces, tomato paste, canned tuna, rice, olive oil and so on for a household staples basket. For those are who are somewhat less strapped, you might create an entertainer’s hamper made with crackers, smoked salmon, dips, brie, and gourmet chips. Place it in a simple cane basket from the $2 shop and voila!

2. Baby essentials – babies cost an absolute fortune with the youngest ones needing 8-10 fresh nappies A DAY. Your local bulk warehouse might have some good specials on a bulk buy that you could give them to help out.

3. Bus/train pass – if they have to use public transport, they might appreciate a couple of weekly passes.

4. Dry cleaning – I always think of Will Smith’s character in The Pursuit of Happyness, carrying around his clothing in a dry cleaning bag as he worked by day in the stock broking company and lived by night in the homeless men’s shelter. Help them keep their clothes looking good as people with little or no money can find it hard to justify dry cleaning costs.

5. Automotive services – not being a “car person”, when I’ve been broke, I must admit that I haven’t made servicing my car my top priority. If you’re concerned that they can’t pay for their car to be serviced, a gift card might come in very handy.

6. Stationery – if they’ve got kids or teenagers, sooner or later they’ll have to stock up on pens, paper, folders, toner, memory sticks. This can take care of some of that. Or they might want to use it to print or bind their CV or portfolio for interviews.

7. Shoe repairs – running around going for job interviews can burn a lot of shoe leather. Check if their local shoe repairer has gift certificates.

8. Entertainment – everyone needs a break. The Entertainment Book gives them a book full of entertainment options – movies, restaurants, attractions etc – with discounts to make it easier for them to enjoy.

9. Manicure – interviewers will be giving them the once-over during their “grilling”. A manicure makes anyone look well-groomed and it’s a treat they may have cut back on.

10. Electricity/gas/water – utility bills are set to rise in 2010 and again, they are one of the hardest things to pay for by someone on a tight budget. Their utility provider might provide gift certificates to help you put some money towards their bill.

Even though I run an astrology website, I’m the first to admit that I’m not much of a techie. And this week my laptop died (temporarily) but was resuscitated with the computer guys saying I had to back it up on a hard drive. “Um,” I said, “I don’t have a hard drive.” The withering look on their faces was enough for me to go out and get a Seagate with 1 terabyte of storage from Officeworks that day (and the guys there said hard drives are quite popular as a Christmas gift – who woulda thunk it?)

Anyway, it must be techie week. This same week I got yet another reminder from 3 that my post-paid 24-month contract was up for renewal but what made me act (and yes, I chose an iPhone but unfortunately had to say sayonara to the very nice people at 3 as they don’t stock them) was the subject heading something along the lines of “Your free upgrade offer ends 15 January”.

As it would happen, 15 January is when Mercury, the planet of communication and transport goes direct after a three-week retrograde period starting on Boxing Day (26 December).

Buying any items that have some technical aspect to them during Mercury retrograde virtually ensures you will need to get them repaired or refunded. Mercury affects PDAs, Blackberries, Bluetooths, iPods, mobiles, laptops, desktops, hard drives, scanners, printers, fax machines – almost anything that has a chip in it.

If it’s not the product itself, you can mishear the quote (“That’s $1,100 – not $700″) or buy the wrong size, colour or specifications.

Online shoppers have to double-check everything! You could enter and pay for the wrong item/size/colour, select the wrong shipping option, postcode or misspell your email address – which is even worse if you’re buying someone an electronic gift certificate. So you gotta take care.

My tip is: buy anything vaguely technical before 26 December or wait until 15 January 2010. You can start your research – just don’t sign on the credit card line. Oh – and keep your receipts!

Ever bought something at full price and then gnashed your teeeth when it goes on sale mere days later?

If you love Gap’s clothing range AND you live in Vancouver, BC, Canada, you’ll be happy to know that you can join a the Sprize program which refunds you the difference if the price drops within 45 days of your purchase.

So if you spot a fantastic chunky cable knit for your brother’s birthday let say, you can use the Sprize money towards future Gap purchases. Those clever clogs know how to keep you coming back! Just think, this program might even fund your gift budget…

A survey of 9,929 US consumers found that the average shopper had done less than half of their Christmas gift shopping as of 12 December. (Have you finished yours?)

Showing we’re a little less organised than last year, the survey by the National Retail Federation found the average shopper had done only 46.7% of their shopping by the end of the second week of December, compared to 47.1% in 2008 – and it was the lowest level since 2004 (back in the good ol’ days when people planned ahead). Thirty-five percent planned to finish their shopping by Saturday 19 December.

The analysts think that shoppers are waiting for last-minute bargains at the department stores and online. Unfortunately, the things you want the bargains for are rarely the things on sale!

The survey also found that a further 42 million people hadn’t even started their shopping as of 12 December which means, oh, complete bedlam at the mall next week. That is, unless they’re taking advantage of Free Shipping Day (17 December)?

I hope so! There’s a “challenging” Sun conjunct Pluto aspect on 24 December, which suggests everyone might get more than a little nasty then as they battle with lack of co-operation, excessive bullying, and control and power issues (sounds like Christmas to me). Count to ten if you feel things are getting out of control, such as other customers abusing sales staff (or vice versa). There could be waaaaaaay too many “”I saw it first!” type punch-ups going on at the mall.

Ever bid on eBay and been infuriated that your bid has been automatically topped by someone else? It’s human nature to bid higher to beat them.

Here’s a newish website which turns that practice on its head by letting you say what you’ll pay, and having sellers send you offers which you can ignore, accept or negotiate.

Aroxo is a UK website which seems to centre around most  electrical items - electronics, home audio & video, computing, gaming and kitchen and home appliances, many of which would be great for gifts, such as MP3 players or sat nav units (but most, really, for yourself).

You find what you want, list the price you’re willing to pay (which certainly helps with budgeting), and the sellers will come to you with offers. It’s rather like eBay’s Want It Now service which for some reason the auction giant has buried deep within their website.

And the Buzz section lists the latest items available for sale and the newest video reviews.