Whether it’s Christmas, someone’s birthday, a new baby or an engagement gift, there’s always something you can find at a local market that makes a great gift.

Here’s 7 reasons I think shopping at a local market (complete with the cute awning) is great:

1. Support your local community – you’re helping someone in your neighbourhood make a living – and they’ll spend most of that money in your area, too, benefitting everyone.

2. Good for your environment - if they’re locally made artisan goods, there’s less carbon nonsense being accumulated via petrol and packaging for shipping. If it’s close enough that you can walk there and leave the car behind, bonus points.

3. Unique – you’re likely to find products that you won’t see anywhere else – certainly not stacked to the ceiling in Toys ‘R’ Us or Target.

4. Discovery/being in the know - ever heard about those hot clothing designers who started off selling their wares at local markets? How cool would you feel knowing you were there, helping support them from the start of their stellar career?

5. Lower costs means lower prices – market stalls cost from $40 and the money they save on renting a shop means they can keep prices lower which makes it affordable for you.

6. Personal contact – in today’s pre-packaged world, it is charming and delightful to direct meet the people who (hand)make the items you’re handing cash over for.

7. Fun – the markets are a day out in themselves. There’s always something new every week and the chance to pick up something amazing that you’ll know they just love.

Why do you like shopping at local markets for gifts?

One of the most agonising questions is how much is the right amount to spend on that all important wedding gift, not to mention the shower and engagement gifts.

Well fear not, here’s a Wedding Etiquette Survival Guide that solves all of these vexing conundrums and more.

The handy, easy-to-follow table suggests appropriate amounts to spend on family members, best friends, friends, and, apparently at the bottom of the evolutionary ladder, acquaintances and colleagues. One-night-stands don’t get a look in.

The site also provides useful tips regarding other potentially difficult or delicate areas, such as the dreaded gift registry, which can often turn out to be a veritable Venus flytrap of social mores and expectations. Get in early for best pick of the gifts in your price range, the site suggests.

It’s also perfectly acceptable to “group gift” provided you spend the same amount you would have invested individually and that everyone contributes the same amount. Answers to tricky questions like these are worth their weight in kitchen appliances.

Creativity with your gifting also gets a tick. In other words, don’t be afraid to buy those kitsch flying ceramic ducks if the happy couple has a sense of humour that will appreciate it.

Bonus points if the gift is unwrapped in front of everyone else.

eBay fans, at last there’s a loyalty scheme especially for you!

From now on, any gifts you buy for others will offer you more than the fist-pumping “Yes!” when you’ve outbid the other contestants (sorry, customers).

Introducing the eBay Bucks rewards program, which has been slowly gestating in the cyber womb since April last year.

To qualify, you need to: 1. Purchase a qualifying item. 2. Pay using PayPal (also owned by eBay). (and you knew this was coming…) 3. Be an American customer.

If you tick these three boxes, you’ll be rewarded with a 2% kickback in the form of eBay Bucks, which will accumulate quarterly. You’ll then be issued a statement telling you how many you’ve got up your sleeve to use for other eBay purchases you make over the next 30 days. Rather like cyber tokens.

These eBay Bucks are automatically generated by any qualifying purchase, all the way up to a maximum of $500 per quarter. Some shopping categories lie outside the program, such as classifieds and real estate, but most items the average person is likely to be hunting for will come with the 2% kickback.

No doubt eBay will monitor the program to see how it fares in The Land Of The Free, with a possible eye on expansion to the international market. But for the time being, only the program will only apply in America. Watch this space for updates.

In the second part of this two-part post on baby shower gifts, here’s 25 more gift ideas when you don’t know the baby’s gender ahead of time. Some of these items are so reasonably priced, you could pick up a few to make a little gift hamper of your own…

1. If you don’t know whether your friend will be using cloth or disposable nappies, err on the side of caution and give her a wet bag (great for travelling) or swim nappies from Superior Posteriors
2. What mum doesn’t want to be like a movie star, with her tummy snapping back into shape mere seconds(OK, weeks!) after the birth? Help her along with a Bellyco belly wrap
3. Perfect for the handmade brigade, babies will love shaking the organic cotton owl-like “monster” rattle from Made It
4. Let them create a mug, mousepad or more from the tiny hand- and foot-prints of their newborn with BellyArt’s inkless printing system
5. Nudey!Rudey! in New Zealand makes a range of modern cloth nappies in cloth or organic cotton and bamboo velour designed to save families money and reduce their carbon footprint
6. While they’ll need to be a little older to use it, toddlers will love playing with the colourful wooden xylophone from EcoToys
7. Make your mum-to-be feel attractive in hospital with a striking jungle-print hospital gown from Designer Mamas
8. Mummah makes a range of clever packs for mothers-to-be, from Pregnancy through to Delivery and Hospital packs that contain everything a brand-new mum could need
9. If you want to pamper her a little, why not give her a designer gift box packed with goodies for mother and child from Pamper Boxes
10. Give her a voucher for an Inky Feet experience where her child’s footprints can be turned into a framed work of art
11. Lavender is well-known as a restful and calming essential oil. Spray the lavender water from Pure Earth Noosa in your baby’s room to give him or her a restful sleep
12. A Milkooler holder keeps milk cold or warm for longer and it’s easy for babies to hold, too
13. Snuggle Pods from Lila and May make it easy to bundle your baby up in his or her bassinette, cot or pram – my favourite gender-neutral print is Owl Friends Flannel
14. The Chickadee Bathtime Baby Gift Set from DigiGifts features a white hand towel and facewasher with “Baby” embroidered in yellow and a fun yellow duck bath glove, two vegetable baby soaps and a toy rubber ducky
15. Give her an Elm baby sling from Beep Beep Slings (see picture) made for Daddy to easily carry his baby around to give Mum a break
16. Aromababy has a clever Nappy Change Time pack which includes a toiletry bag, padded nappy change mat, clear zip bag, bath gel, moisturising nappy cream, barrier balm and baby lotion
17. If she’s going to use eco-friendly disposable nappies, she’ll still need to throw them away which is where Eco Disposal Bags from Naty come in handy – great for cleaning up your doggie’s doo-doos on your daily walk, too
18. At some point your favourite yummy mummy will want a night out with her baby daddy. If she’s arranging a babysitter, this laminated Babysitter Planner from Corporate Mums can be updated with your child’s routines and anything else you tend to scribble down on a piece of paper
19. Produced excess breast milk or pureed endless pumpkin – and don’t want it to go to waste? Qubies makes a clever ice-cube contained designed to separate liquids into 30ml baby-size portions.
20. A child who wants to put his or her clothes away? Any mother would kiss you for making that job so easy! And perhaps you can with these extremely cute wooden animal coat hangers from Twiggi in your choice of five bright colours (pick ‘em all, I say)
21. The beautiful illustrated stationery from Note Couture includes invitations, notepads, address labels, to do lists and and correspondence cards – so adorable!
22. Eventually, her baby will transition from a bottle to drinking from a cup (and oh, back to drinking out a bottle when he or she is at uni, but that’s another story). With a Sophie the Giraffe Non-Spill Sippy Cup from Your Cheeky Monkey, her little one will be intrigued to see a tiny Sophie the Giraffe at the bottom of her cup…
23. You might consider booking a babysitter for her from Expect A Star so she can enjoy a rare night out with her partner
24. Pamper your pretty mama with a hair, face or beauty package at Yummy Mummys – one of Sydney’s few beauty salons with a creche!
25. Make her baby’s nursery magical with a gift voucher for children’s bedroom decor from Treehouse

Has one of your friends become pregnant but refuses to find out and/or tell you the baby’s gender? One of my good friends has so she’s getting red, lemon, lilac and green-coloured items – but I thought there had to be more to ambiguous gifts than colour…

Since you can’t rely on the old-standby of something blue or pink, you have to be more ingenious! Here’s the first in a two-part post on baby shower gifts when you don’t know if your friend is having a baby boy or girl.

1. Ergococoon – these neutral-coloured “cocoons” make it super-easy to wrap your baby up at night – no more having to learn origami!
2. Ninky Bear Honey Pots – an adorable neutral-coloured ”honey pot” made of a cloth nappy, washcloth, handtowel and bear
3. Babies don’t breast-feed forever, so when it’s time to start solids, your mum-to-be will need a Starting Solids Baby Feeding Kit
4. Start them on the path to literacy early with these handy Big Alphabet Wall Stickers
5. Add some fun to the never-ending chore of bottle-washing with the Boon Grass Drying Rack
6. Focus on mum with a boxed delivery of some sparkling pinot noir chardonnay, a teddy bear, Belgian chocolate and fruit
7.  Inspire the expecting couple with a delightful framed Family Rules print that can go in the nursery, hall, kitchen or loungeroom
8. Give a trio of the best-known nursery ryhmes – Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Mary Had a Little Lamb and Baa Baa Black Sheep as framed prints to learn by heart on those long nights ahead!
9. A classic gift for AC/DC fans, these instrumental lullabies will have Dad happily head-banging away when baby can’t sleep (check out The Beatles, Bob Marley, U2, Nirvana, Pink Floyd and about 10 other famous bands)
10. A gorgeous owl-print cot quilt and twin bibs in neutral colours makes a pretty baby shower gift
11. Wondering how to get them to eat their veggies once they start solids? Toddlers love Fred Food Face!
12. 30 brain-training ideas and life-changing steps make it easier for her to go from pregnancy to the baby’s first three months
13.  Give your new mum a cute baby rattle in the shape of a guitar to encourage her baby to be musically inclined 
14. Buy a teddy bear from OCF to ensure every child with cancer has the chance to grow up and enjoy life
15. They won’t be in it for long, but this vibrantly-coloured designer Land and Sea Bassinet Blanket is a keeper!
16. Protect their new baby’s delicate skin with a Beautiful Baby Gift Pack containing organic skincare products
17. Look after mum too with a Baby Concepts New Mum Pack containing organic lotion, belly oil, facewasher, body wash, and nappy bag
18. Keep track of when baby (or mum!) last slept or ate with a green Itzbeen timer (and you could use it for time-outs for older kids, too)
19. A Baby Bliss DVD helps new mothers to stimulate their baby’s digestive, respiratory and muscular systems through baby yoga
20. The fun survival pack from Giftboxology contains a Forgetmenot shopping list stationery set to combat “baby brain”, rum balls, macadamia nuts, and soap and botty butter for the baby
21. Let your new mum know all about her baby’s personality and potential. Give her a BabyStars gift certificate that she can redeem once the baby’s born for a luxury hardcover 45-50 page astrology report
22. Relieve her backache with a gift certificate for a wonderful Ripples Pregnancy Massage in northern NSW, QLD and VIC
23. Keep baby as snug as a bug in a rug with a Lambykins superfine pure merino cot blanket in an on-trend rich raspberry with winter white stripe
24. She will love you for making it so easy to get out and about with her Shopping Caddy that holds everything for a baby’s outing
25. If you’d like to give her something for herself, this stunning black wrap-around organic cotton maternity dress is incredibly flattering pre- and post-pregnancy!

Next post – 25 more baby shower gift ideas, part 2

Dog owners, here’s a treat… and if you’re friends or family with someone who’s mad about their mutt, never again will you be short of gift ideas on birthdays, anniversaries and other special events that require gifts. Here’s a whole doggie-bag full of ideas.

 The Fido Factor is a free service for dog owners who want to know the best dog-friendly establishments around town. It also supports homeless animals and provides information on pet services.

Based in San Francisco, most of the dog-friendly services listed are located there (currently almost 1,000) but Fido Factor has recently expanded into some other US cities, too. Nonetheless, no matter where you live, if you love dogs, there’s still loads of useful information on the site.

Fido Factor is involved in a lot of dog-oriented community activities and events, some of them with names like Hollywoof Movie Night, Bay Woof Party at the Stray Bar and (my personal fave) Halloween Yappy Hour at Bloomingdale’s. Who’d have thunk there was so much going on for dogs?

And on the ‘Bark Blog’ (no, I promise I’m not making it up) you can find out the most dog-friendly airline in the US.

You could splurge on a professional pet photography package as a treat for your favourite furry friend or give a human friend a fun birthday, Christmas or even Valentine’s Day gift of a dog-friendly weekend at a hotel/resort/spa that allows dogs.

People without pets tend to overlook other people’s furry companions when they’re trying to come up with gift ideas, but the Fido Factor certainly helps you to think outside of the box. Or should that be doghouse? With currently about 100 million dog owners in the world, there’s plenty of scope and a sure-fire market for some serious dog-oriented gift-giving.

I can really see this appealing to Sagittarians!

What? How can it be? Will cyber life ever be the same again? Facebook is giving its virtual gift shop the flick on 1 August 2010. How will the cyber economy ever cope with this momentous decision? (And more importantly, how will it affect cyber interest rates?)

After that date, those ubiquitous fake cupcakes will be nothing more than a warm fuzzy memory and a few virtual crumbs on your screen, although there are no doubt many people out there who will be glad to see the back of this annoying tradition.

Is Facebook attempting to plant a foot in the real world – say it can’t be so! - turning its attention to third party credits, which in turn may mean real gifts that you can actually touch, and even make practical use of.

As inside estimates put the income generated by the gift shop somewhere in the neighbourhood of $10 million, it also begs the question, why kill off the virtual goose that lays the real golden egg? Does Facebook know something we don’t?

Ever received a few $20 or $30 gift cards to a particular store and thought, “excellent! I’ll use them all on the one thing!”?

While you can usually combine gift cards towards purchases in bricks-and-mortar stores in the mall, it is far less common that you can do this with online shopping.

In short: many retailers’ payment systems don’t accept multiple gift cards. Since most gift cards have a fairly modest limit on them, so it may seem like a good idea to combine one with another form of payment, such as a credit card, for an individual purchase.

And if you don’t use them right away, until 22 August (when new gift card laws come in), you could be shocked to find that your Visa or MasterCard pre-loaded gift card value has been nibbled away by monthly administration fees.

Make sure your gift recipient can pay using multiple gift cards by confirming with the retailer before you purchase a gift card from them in the first place or at least check their FAQ section. And beware: requesting a refund of a gift card from the issuer usually attracts a fee, while others are not refundable at all.

Everyone lurrves cash gifts but did you know they can be tax-free in some instances? With a little careful homework and forethought, you can really help your family get ahead financially, and not just by simply handing over the moolah.

In the United States, for example, the estate tax was repealed late last year for 12 months, but the gift tax is still applicable for anyone who gives away more than $1 million in cash or assets over their lifetime. This gift tax currently sits at 35% and varies from country to country.

However, there are still many simple ways to benefit family members without incurring the wrath of the IRS, which can often include having to pay the tax, plus interest and penalties. Cash gifts up to a certain amount are still tax-free in many countries.

Take advantage of cash gifts
In the US, a person can give up to $13,000 in cash per person per fiscal year without incurring the gift tax. For married couples, the figure doubles to $26,000. This is a great way to help a young couple save for a home deposit, or to pay for their wedding. If your rich American grandparents give you cash and you’re under 21, it has to go into a custodial account, not to your parents or Mum and Dad will get hit with the gift tax.

Use cash for college
In the US, depositing funds in the Section 529 education savings plan allows you to give money without attracting the gift tax. This reduces, or in some cases eliminates, expenses relating to college and tertiary education. Funds in these accounts are tax-free and can also be withdrawn tax-free. You can even provide a lump sum of $65,000 as long as you file a gift tax return that treats the cash as if it had been spread over five years (as if)!

Happy hospital!
Medical bills in the US are astronomical and someone has to pay. The US government would be thrilled if it were you. So you can pay for someone’s medical or dental expenses (directly to the service provider), rather than simply reimbursing the recipient later. This category of tax-free gifting even covers things like health insurance premiums, orthodontia, home-care attendants and home alterations such as ramps and railings that are for medical reasons.

Be a loan shark (only kidding!)
Even something as basic as lending money to family members can be an effective way of gifting funds in a tax-free environment, although the lender must charge the official minimum interest rate at the time. This helps the lender avoid having to pay the gift tax (as well as deepening and strengthening family bonds). You know, making them an offer they can’t refuse…

Safe as houses
The fifth option that provides financial assistance to family members is to buy a house and let them live in it rent-free. This is another classic example of helping them financially benefit, not by actually giving them money but the opposite: removing an otherwise unavoidable expense. This kind of arrangement is acceptable to the IRS, especially if it is considered to be “at will”, which means in theory that the occupants can be evicted at any time. Making one or more of the occupants a part-owner strengthens the validity of the arrangement.

While France ranked as the most visited country in 2009, the United States of America came in at a close second place.

With the US now well and truly in the clement throes of early summer and annual July 4th celebrations just around the corner, another regular spike of visitors to that country is imminent.

However, it seems that the US isn’t as generous as France when it comes to goods that may be imported without incurring customs duty. Visitors over the age of 21 (four years more than France’s age requirement) can import cigarettes (200), cigars (100) or smoking tobacco (2kg), only one litre of alcoholic beverage, and gifts or articles worth no more than US$100 (you’d probably get a better price buying something there), and not gift-wrapped. (Hmmm, special. Not!)

Gold coins, medals and bullion, items that used to be prohibited, can now be imported, except from (embargoed countries) Afghanistan, Cuba, Iran, Libya and Sudan.

The items that are either banned from the US or can only be imported under strict licence is formidable. Many of them are prohibited simply on safety grounds and as such, are unsurprising, such as narcotics and dangerous drugs (unless accompanied by a doctor’s certificate), firearms and ammunition, hazardous articles such as fireworks and toxic materials, meat and poultry products, dairy products and eggs.

However, there are also many items that are more intriguing such as absinthe, Cuban cigars (bought from anywhere – bad luck if you’re staying with Donald Trump as a guest!), dog and cat fur, Haitian souvenirs made from leather and any import from those aforementioned embargoed countries. There is also a regulation prohibiting more than one article (per 30 days) that bears a counterfeit or ambiguously similar logo to trademarked and copyrighted articles.

If you want to bring them something cheap (under $100), that has no risk of copyright infringement, that leaves out buying a lot of fake-name luxury brand goodies from Asia! And unfortunately, you can buy just about everything cheaper in the US so there’s no point buying them clothing, or books (which are also heavy to carry).

Solution: visit your favourite gift website and see if they offer free shipping worldwide as that could solve the problem for you…