Do you have an upcoming anniversary, birthday, bridal shower, enagement, hen’s party or wedding that you’d like to delight someone with a romantic gift?
 
For a strictly limited time, you can buy an attractively boxed $99 LoveStars gift certificate for just $59 through Daily Deals!
 
Sign up with http://www.dynamicrewards.com.au/dailydeals/sydney (or enter your city) to receive this amazing Daily Deal.
 
Daily Deals work on group buying. A minimum number of people opt to buy the Daily Deal and once they reach that number, everyone gets the Daily Deal. Twittering, Facebooking, blogging or passing it on to your friends helps you reach that number.
 
After you buy your $59 boxed LoveStars gift certificate through the Daily Deal, Ill email you for your mailing address to send it to you (expiry 31 October 2010 or later).
 
You simply redeem your gift certificate at www.itsinthestarsonline.com for your own luxury hardcover 30-35 page LoveStars report delivered worldwide by Express Post.
 
Don’t delay – visit http://www.dynamicrewards.com.au/dailydeals/sydney now!

Love to shop? If you and your partner become the Face of LoveStars at www.itsinthestarsonline.com, you could win a $AUD500 gift card to the retailer of your choice (or hey, 5 x $100 gift cards to 5 retailers – your call!) simply by entering the Be the Face of LoveStars photo competition.

Have a friend or family member take a high resolution (300dpi) colour shot  or two of you and your partner happily reading your hardcover LoveStars astrology report together.

If you win, you’ll receive the $AUD500 gift card. If you’re one of 5 x runners-up, you’ll win back the cost of your hardcover LoveStars report (from $89), credited to your Visa or Mastercard credit card.

LoveStars reports make ideal personalised gifts for couples for anniversaries, birthdays, Christmas, engagements, Valentines Day and weddings. These 30-35 page reports help any couple – newly dating or married for ages – (re)discover the magic in their relationship.

The Be the Face of LoveStars photo competition finishes 31 August 2010.

Receiving something which is totally customised and personalised for you is a huge thrill and when it’s handmade with craftmanship and love, it’s even more treasured.

However, many people don’t realise how far ahead they have to plan to get handmade gifts personalised if they’re ordering them online until they check the delivery information section, at which point they get pretty disappointed they’ve left it too late.

At a bare minimum, you need to allow at least 2 weeks delivery for many handmade personalised items, but there are some which are so painstakingly hand-crafted that you need to order them out at least 16 weeks prior to the anniversary, birthday, christening, Christmas, engagement, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day or wedding that you’re giving them for.

While it of course depends enormously on the online retailer, companies which specialise only in machine-made personalisation of items (you know, the ones that people often use for corporate gift solutions) tend to produce these much faster. Clue: the fastest suppliers tend to let you see what the finished item looks like in real-time online with your images, copy or letters.

If you see the adjective “handmade” anywhere in the product description, it’s a sure bet it’s going to take longer. Of course, you’ll need to add even extra time if your order is coming from overseas. Plus, if you need it urgently, you may have to pay a premium to receive it in time.

Here’s a rough guide to personalisation methods by hand and how long they can take (depending on the sophistication and product turnover of the online retailer) from the quickest to the longest.

Handframed, personalised prints/certificates – 1-8 weeks
Handcrafted personalised jewellery -1-6 weeks
Handknitted personalised baby clothing and accessories - 2-6 weeks
Handpainted personalised furniture - 2-8 weeks
Handbuilt custom-made furniture - 4-10 weeks
Handsewn personalised quilts  – 6-12 weeks
Handcarved stoneworks – 8-12 weeks
Hand-embroidered blankets - 10-16 weeks

Did you know firstborn children get all the expensive gifts (and most of all is spent on them by their aunts and uncles) - and people give cheaper gifts to the second and third child, but they usually end up giving a gift to the oldest child as well?

I’ve found a fun range of personalised gifts which could be perfect for that all-important first baby! If it’s going to be too much of a stretch to buy it on your own, why not organise a group gift and share the expense?

Jewellery & accessories
There are quite a few personalised baby gifts you can give of jewellery to the mother and/or child. One of them are the hand-engraved Rings of Love on which you have the baby’s name hand-engraved in sterling silver from $230. Another sterling silver piece is the Vine Adoration bracelet from Artful Home which lets you personalise the interior with the name and the exterior with up to 15 words for a special message, from $185.

And if you prefer necklaces, celebrities such as Katherine Heigl love Isabelle Grace for their silver necklaces which can be personalised with your child’s name and birth date for $150. If your new mum is pretty fashion-conscious, she’ll love having the chance to customise her baby’s diaper bag! 1154 Lill Studio lets you make bags that are so pretty you’ll want to use it long after your baby’s toilet-trained. My favourite design is $196.

Decor
If you want to give them something personalised that will last for decades, a beautiful Rosie Hippo handmade oak toy box personalised with your child’s name and illustrations for each letter (eg an apple for A and so on) is something your family would keep forever. From $375. If you want artwork which won’t look babyish once they’re out of the nursery, check out the contemporary wall art panels at Numsi. They combine cool colours and, unusually, black and white images of animals not commonly “profiled’ such an ostrich, or the very pretty tufted deer. The largest one retails for $128 but smaller sizes are available.

If you’re keen on giving them something contemporary yet cute, the Kutelights nightlights features cool-to-the-touch lights which illuminate a bunny, dog, giraffe, cat, polar bear or three other animals when switched on. From $125. Perfect for your brand-new princess is the “Once Upon a FairyTale” artwork of a horse-drawn carriage from Artistic Sensations which can incorporate your little girl’s name. From $148. 

If your new mum loves bling and is partial to Faberge egg-style trinkets, she’ll love Gifts That Give’s Jay Strongwater’s tiny enamel baby carriage photo frame which features Swarovski crystals and silver trim for $550. And the coolest children’s rocking chairs I have ever seen are the ones for kids aged 3-10 years at What She Buys. Costing just $109.95, this could make a great gift for the eldest when their siblings are born. I especially love the funky pirate version for boys.

About your baby
Are your friends still trying to work out what to call their unborn child? An analysis and consultation with name expert Kerri Hopkins who’s been profiled on Good Morning America could help them know what personality attributes their child could have by calling them Apple, Suri or Shiloh, for example. A full consultation and report costs $189.95.

Or why not create a Welcome to the World book for the new baby? Mad Moon creates beautiful hardcover 15-page books that contain up to 15 photos and copy based on a 10-point questionnaire that are perfect for new parents. From $175.

It’s fascinating knowing what happened the day your child was born and now you can have a time capsule keepsake containing their name, birthdate, photo within a news front page of the day with the framed, commemorative Daily Portrait from Milson Road for $165.

Keep a permanent slideshow of your baby with Video Birth Announcements. You simjply upload up to 30 photos and pick a theme and they turn it into a movie with a website link you can give to friends. No more wasted photo printing! From $149.

To let everyone know you’ve finally delivered a healthy baby, you can’t go past the beautiful birth announcements by Minted. My favourite design allows you to upload your child’s photo and name with a pack of 50 customised birth announcement cards from $110.

And of course, you might want to consider giving them a keepsake of a hardcover 45-50 page BabyStars astrology report all about their child for them to enjoy forever, printed on thick 100gsm premium paper for $109.

It’s In The Stars is seeking a new couple to Be the Face of LoveStars for 2010: could it be you and your partner?

You could win a $AUD500 gift card to spend at your favourite retailer, or one of 5 x BabyStars boxed gift certificates worth $109 each to redeem for your own BabyStars report or to give your favourite new parent for their new baby or as a unique christening gift.

LoveStars reports make ideal personalised gifts for an anniversary, birthday, engagement, Valentine’s Day or wedding and yes, you will need to have one of your own (or borrow a friend’s LoveStars report) to take part.

Set up your camera timer so you can take a great shot of you and your partner enjoying reading your LoveStars report - maybe you’re wearing your wedding outfit, curled up on the sofa, or in a hammock!

For your chance to win, you’ll need to email at least one shot in low resolution (72dpi) and high resolution (300dpi).

Click here for more details. Competition closes 31 March 2010.

A new Valentines Day gifts survey has found that while many women receive flowers, what they really want is a romantic weekend away or a personalised gift from their partner.

The online survey by It’s In The Stars found that what women wanted to receive for Valentine’s Day was a weekend away (30.4%), a romantic personalised gift (22.9%) or jewellery (17.6%).

What they’re actually getting are flowers (41.9%), chocolate (14.7%) and personalised gifts (11.0%). While 3.6% had received lingerie, not one woman wanted it as a Valentine’s Day gift.

Of the three age groups, Generation X (31-43 years) was the most likely to receive flowers (55.8%), while Gen Y women (18-30 years) got the personalised romantic gifts (19.0%) and Baby Boomer women recieved chocolate (17.9%).

I’d say that men might get the raw end of the bargain on 14 February as 82.4% of all women spent less than $100 on their last Valentine’s Day gift!

Gen X women are the most likely to spend under $50 (43.1%) but also over $200 (12.1%). Gen Ys stump up for gifts $101-$200 (13.3%) while Baby Boomer women prefer to spend $51-$100 (46.3%).

The top five locations where women bought their Valentine’s Day gifts were department stores (27.0%), specialty/personalised gift websites (16.8%), big box retailer eg Target (13.9%), boutique/specialty stores (10.9%), and supermarket/grocery stores (7.3%).

Women living in rural/regional areas were twice as likely as city girls to buy Valentine’s Day gifts online from a specialty/personalised gift website (25.6% vs 12.1%).

Just over half (52.3%) of all respondents would give their partner a gift certificate for Valentine’s Day.

And finally, the Sun sign voted as the best Valentine’s Day gift-giver was an equal tie between Cancer and Pisces (12.2% each), with Gemini and Aquarius in second place (10.0% each) and followed by Taurus (9.3%).

Aries men are the least likely to have have given a great Valentine’s Day gift (5.0%).

Too many people complain that manners have gone out the window but one crafty (and seemingly thoughtful) way to get them to send you (and others) a thank you card for their anniversary, birthday, christening, Christmas, engagement, housewarming, new baby or wedding gift is creating personalised stamps with their faces on them! 

Get a sweet shot of their littlest member to join the family, of the couple looking super glamorous or maybe it’s your favourite one of yourself that was taken years ago when you weighed less and had more hair. Who cares!

You can order them from Royal Mail in the UK from just GBP7.58 for 10 stamps, from Australia Post for $AUD24.00 for 20 stamps and from Zazzle for the United States Postal Services from $US18.95 for 20 stamps.

You can now even put your logo in there so a sheet of these could be a great gift idea for a friend or family member who’s just begun their own company!

Now that our credit card bills are about to arrive(!), January is a great month to have that discussion about money, spending, saving and issues such as gift-giving with your partner. On Friday 22 January there will be a very helpful Venus trine Saturn aspect.

Venus rules love, money and possessions aka gifts, while Saturn rules responsibility, thriftiness, planning and caution. When these guys make a beautiful trine, it is the PERFECT time to discuss gift-giving and a workaround that will please both parties.

Saturn is the Headmaster of the zodiac on a good day and so he treats everything as a lesson or exam to be mastered.

“Gift-giving is incredibly important to me as it lets me show my love and appreciation for others. You would rather save the money for our future.” Discuss.

Alrighty then. On 22 January, why not tackle the gift-giving issue in alphabetical order.

1. Anniversary gifts. Unless you’re a newlywed, most couples stop giving each other traditional anniversary gifts after the first three years and then prefer to go away for the weekend (which, ironically, is more expensive). If it’s not your first, second or third, and it’s not a big milestone like a 10th, 15th, 20th or whatever, perhaps you can agree to have a nice dinner instead. (Obviously you want to agree on this so you can be around to discuss anniversary gift-giving all over again next year.)

2. Birthday gifts. I realised that I’ll be buying a minimum of 19 birthday gifts per year which frankly horrified even me so if you have a partner (and he makes you buy all the gifts for his family, too), you could be up for a lot of gifts.  First make a list of each person you like to give at least one birthday gift to. Multiply that by a modest $50 to get your total. Once you’ve picked yourself off the floor, you may want to put a couple of rules in place. Perhaps you give only gifts to those friends you see at least once a month, and send cards to those you see less often. Or you replace gifts for friends with dinner at your home? Keep in mind that birthdays are the gift occasion where people are most likely to give personalised gifts so it’s worth planning ahead when there’s a special promotion on and to put away ahead of their birthday.

3. Christening gifts. These won’t happen every year thank goodness but you might decide to give gifts only if you live in the same city or base it on your closeness to the child.

4.  Christmas gifts. The Big Kahuna. For your own family you might discuss replacing what you spend on Christmas gifts with the equivalent on a family holiday, or lots of little things for one big-ticket item. Buying gifts only when they’re on sale. Or doing a Kris Kringle. Or setting up a Chrisco account. Or perhaps having a garage sale or selling stuff on eBay to finance Christmas gifts ie you don’t use your savings.

5. Engagement gifts. Again, these won’t happen every year but the woman will get engaged faster if she’s Generation X.

6. Fathers Day gifts. Can you take both Dads out to lunch on the same day to make a family affair and make that the gift? If you have to cut back on gifts somewhere, Father’s Day is the gift-giving occasion least likely to upset your father.

7. Mothers Day gifts. Hmmm, a lot more fuss is necessary here… She is your mum, after all.

8. New baby gifts. Work colleagues spend less per person when they contribute to a group gift whereas family and friends spend more on new baby gifts! Perhaps what gifts the new mother really needs are not cute hanging mobiles…

9. Valentines Day gifts. Will you feel upset if he overlooks it? What was your favourite Valentines Day gift? Did you get what you really wanted? Would you want it again? What about taking a raincheck for the following weekend when the flowers and chocolates/jewellery/lingerie/perfume boxed sets are reduced?

10. Wedding gifts. Again, weddings don’t necessarily happen every year although I did have three in six weeks one year. Are you going to faithfully stick to their registry or will you give them something that is very “them” but not listed? You do have up to one year to give them a wedding gift – at which point you can start the discussion all over again.

People love receiving personalised gifts as it makes them feel special and cherished.

But unless you have a rough idea of what the item’s going to look like, you can worry that you’ve got the spelling right, ticked the right colour or even the correct size.

There are quite a few websites now which provide real-time personalisation so that you can see a mock-up of what your completed gift would look like. Here’s some of my favourites:

American Medical ID – great for family members who may have a serious condition, you can “engrave” in real-time a necklace or bracelet from 14kt, 10kt, sterling silver or stainless steel, and it has engraving samples and tips so you know what to add. If your mum or grandmother is a Cancer, this might stop them worrying.

Just for fun, create a magazine cover with their photo, the theme (ie wedding, anniversary, new baby) and magazine-style headlines ie “6 Things You Never Knew About Samantha and John” or whatever. Perfect for Aries and Leos.

If you really know their favourite colours for their lips, eyes, nails and blush, you can custom-blend cosmetics for them, even including the colour intensity and exras like shimmering glitter for nail polish. Even better, you can send in your old, discontinued favourite lipstick or nail polish etc and get them to colour-match it for you! A lovely gift idea for Taureans and Librans.

One of the most imaginative customised gift websites I’ve ever seen is Shapeways which lets you create 3D printing of your designs. You could have the words of a favourite poem, for example, laser-cut into a candle-holder or into cool napkin rings which would have to be one of the most amazing Valentines Day, anniversary or wedding gifts ever!

Hardcover photo books are not really that new now but Pixable lets you select your photos from Facebook, Flickr or your computer, upload AND receive them within 3 days! Great for Geminis.

For the aviation buff who has nearly everything, you can order a customised airline cart (yes, the trolleys that the hosties roll down the aircraft aisle) from Alcarts in one of 10 colours. Ideal for those with their own plane(!), this storage item is also an original conversation piece as you serve food and beverages in your office, garage, patio, shop or kitchen. I can see this appealing to Aquarians and Sagittarians!

Everyone loves their own name! A cute gift for a new baby or perhaps a housewarming gift is letter art photography by Alphabet Photography. Each “letter” is a photo of an everyday object (such as a door handle) that resembles the letter of the alphabet. A sweet gift for a Pisces as is this one from GrowShow which lets you upload photos in chronological order so you can see the development of your child over time. It also has interlocking photo frames so you can add to them as your child gets older.

Love to theme a party all the way through? Now you can personalise your disposable party plates with photos, text and colour for anniversaries, birthdays, Halloween, with a fun service from Hallmark. I see this being particularly popular for children’s parties!

Candles are always popular with women and now you can customise them with Lumnique, packaged in a nice rectangular glass jar. Select the intention ie peace, love etc, the colour and from 72 fragrances, ranging from the traditional, such as rose, to the frankly unusual, such as Hansel and Gretel (which I’m guessing must smell like gingerbread)!

If you’re looking for a gift with a difference for your favourite health freak, look no further. Now you can customise your own energy bars (chewy, oaty, cripsy), add fruits, nuts and sweets (ranging from chocolate chips to maple syrup), and even fibre or other nutrients, all the while seeing the nutritional panel adjust in real time for sugar, fat, carbohydrate etc. And to cap it off, you can even have your name on the packaging – how cool is that?! I’m going to order some from Element Bars for my Virgo sister!

Most people are familiar with the Successories framed prints in gift shops full of inspirational photos and sayings. Now you can customise your own, using their gallery of images but adding your own message. I think a subversive-style message (ie a straight picture and a sarcastic message) could really amuse a Scorpio, and maybe some Capricorns…

I love the mobile phone covers by GelaSkins – they’re amazing! From manga cartoons to Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, you’re sure to find something amazing here. Most importantly, you can upload your own photos, message and designs to cover covers for your mobile, iPod, laptop, gaming device or Kindle which would impress even the hardest-to-please teen.

If you find clothes hard to fit and you’re forever getting items altered, you might like to check out the customised outfits at April Marin. They make a small range of pretty, tailor-made dresses, allowing you to customise the lengths and widths of everything important!

Does your favourite friend or family member post particularly witty bon mots on Twitter? Did you know that Tweetbookz now lets you create high-quality books containing Tweets from any Twitter account? It might be a lovely gift for a small business owner! 

And last, but certainly not least, I was entranced by Princess Chic which enables you to build your own pair of shoes! From classic stilettos and platform pumps to ballet flats and high-heeled sandals, you can select your material from leather, satin, suede, snake, croc or fish skins, from 17 colours and sizes from 5-11.

Everyone knows someone who already has everything you could possibly buy (my grandfather is one of these guys).

It’s hard to impress them, they don’t want more “stuff”, but if they do, only the most expensive will do, thanks.

But it’s unlikely they’ve got around to purchasing a domain name in their own name. This cool UK site, Mr Site, offers you a Dotcom in a Matchbox which has to be one of the best and most appropriate personalised Christmas or birthday gifts you can buy for people in the UK (only there, I’m afraid).

Available for just GBP9.99  for a year, they can buy a domain in their own name, their nickname or maybe their “porn” name (you know, the name of your first pet and street you lived on as a child – mine’s Sooty Williams) or you might opt to buy them a website solution for quite a bit more.

It’s sure to impress anyone – even your favourite surly teen!