After profiling eWrapz in my post of 20 March 2010 about eco-friendly gift wrapping, the very lovely Erin has contacted me with an exclusive offer for Gifts By The Stars readers!

Just in time for Mother’s Day (though of course you could be a clever cookie and stock up for the year for upcoming baby, birthday, christening, Christmas, Father’s Day, housewarming, wedding gifts etc!), you can save 40% off the cost of individual eWrapz until Mother’s Day (Sunday 9 May 2010).

Enter the promotional code GBTS1 at checkout to knock 40% off your purchase. Erin said customers can purchase as many individual eWrapz within the one transaction but please note there is a limit of one transaction per IP address.

Not a problemo! Do all your gift wrapping shopping in one go (it’s a bit of a hassle having to hunt for internet cafes, anyway)!

If you read my post on how to work out whether you’re saving on that special offer, you’ll know you save big time on a percentage discount, especially if you spend over $100, doing as many purchases as posssible in one transaction. 

Thanks Erin!

Did you buy any of the top 24 gifts listed for 2009 for an anniversary, birthday, christening, Christmas, engagement, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, new baby, Valentine’s Day or wedding gift? I bet you did!

According to consumer insights company Unity Marketing, they were:

1 (46%). Books (I gave one each as a Christmas prezzie and a thank-you gift for Dad, to Mum for Mother’s Day, and to nephew Sol for his birthday but I’m sure I gave many more!)
2 (36%). Chocolate – boxed or pick-your-own (hmmm – does that count buying them for yourself?)
4 (28%). Men’s clothing (to brother David for his birthday)
5 (26%). Bath and body soaps and lotions
6 (24%). Toys including action figures, building sets, sports toys, vehicles
7 (22%). Games/puzzles
8 (22%). Children’s clothing (for niece Camille, and nephews Lachie and Sol for Christmas)
9 (20%). Candles and/or candle accessories
10 (19%). Flowers, plants and /or garden accessories including bouquets
11 (17%). Wine and/or wine tasting gifts
12. (16%) Gift baskets including cookies, snacks, fruit, candy, wine (I gave this to Audra for her housewarming)
13 (15%). Video/DVDs (I gave a boxed set of the Marx Bros to my grandfather for Christmas)
14 (15%). Fragrance/perfume
15 (15%). Electronic games such as Wii
16 (14%). Women’s accessories eg handbags, belts, wallets, scarves, shawls
17 (14%). Coffe and tea gifts
18 (14%). MP3 players, iPods and personal audio devices
19 (13%). Plush/stuffed animals
20 (13%) Teenage clothing (I wonder if so few were bought because we’re afraid of getting it wrong?!)
21 (13%). Dining/restaurant experience
22 (12%) Liquors and spirits (I gave someone champagne…)
23 (12%) Gift card – discount department stores and mass merchants eg WalMart, Target etc (I’m surprised this was so far down the list but Mum got one for Mother’s Day and stepmother Jo for her birthday although it was really a gift voucher)
24. (12%) Baby/infants’ clothing including booties and hats (I got a personalised one made for niece Camille for Christmas – she was running a bit late being born though so it really became her birth-day present).

I’d love to know where personalised gifts came in on the list… As well as homewares that all of us seem to be asked to buy on wedding gift registry lists!

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.

It’s In The Stars turns 3 years old this month so help us celebrate our birthday festival until 19 December!

You’ll save $19 on BabyStars reports which are ideal if you, your sister, best friend or daughter is having a baby or a christening soon – or if you’re seeking a beautiful keepsake gift for Christmas!
 
A BabyStars report is a fascinating look at any little one aged from 0-12 years, using just their name, birthdate, time and location, providing easy-to-understand astrology insights. It’s perfect for picking up and reading in sections at a time and you’ll be astonished at how incredibly accurate it is!
 
Printed on high quality 100gsm premium paper, BabyStars reports make the ideal keepsake for christenings, naming ceremonies or as a fun primer for any new or experienced parent.

And you’ll save $19 off your LoveStars report - which is the ideal personalised gift whether you’re in a new relationship, recently become engaged or you’ve been happily married for ages – for anniversaries, birthdays, Christmas, engagements, Valentines Day and weddings.
 
You can curl up together to read the fun, fascinating and incredibly accurate insights about each other and your relationship and smiling, “Yes, you DO do that!”. All you need are your names, birthdates, times and locations.
 
Printed on luxurious-feeling 100gsm premium paper, your LoveStars report will be one of the most-read books in your home!
 
Hurry! Our 3rd birthday promotion ends Saturday 19 December!

Pre-Christmas overseas delivery order deadline: Wednesday 16 December
Pre-Christmas Australian delivery order deadline: Monday 21 December
 
BabyStars Birthtime Known (45-50 pages) – reduced from $99 to $80
BabyStars Birthtime Not Known (30-35 pages) - reduced from $89 to $70
LoveStars Birthtime Known (30-35 pages) – reduced from $89 to $70
LoveStars Birthtime Not Known (15-20 pages) – reduced from $79 to $60
 
I look forward to delighting you with your own report very soon!

Forbes ran a great story about a company which has tapped into people’s concern about people in Third World countries being paid fairly for their work. Ten Thousand Villages works with over 130 artisan groups in 38 countries who make fair trade jewellery, home decor, gifts, clothing and other items and is considered one of the largest companies in this field (it netted $US24 million in sales in 2009, up from $US10 million in 2000). In addittion to its website, it also has bricks-and-mortar stores in upscale neighbourhoods to reach the affluent gift-buyer.

There are a lot of fantastic fair trade websites out there! Here is a not-exhaustive list of 44 other fair trade websites (let me know about others!) that you might like to know about for truly unusual anniversary, birthday, christening, Christmas, engagement, housewarming, Valentines Day and wedding gifts that will help to support artisans in developing countries..

These ones feature artisans’ works from a number of countries
Pachacuti (I want their amethyst & blue topaz necklace), A Better Footprint (little boys will love the recycled cans made into toy cars), Global Goods Partners (how cute is their hot pink dog collar?!) Global Sister Goods (make Christmas an international affair with their Zulu nativity set), Serrv (I’m loving their Neela bright blue ceramic tile towel hooks), World Next Door (I love their Zulusports brightly coloured bracelets), World of Good (created by eBay), Trade As One (see their sweet children’s elephant puzzle), Manos de Madres (my niece would love their dresses), Gifts With Humanity (the Tree of Life wall art made from recycled oil drums is very now), Five Accessories, Fair Trade Marketplace, One World Projects (you’ve gotta see their gift baskets!), Global Exchange Store (check out their ingenious baby pumice stone feet), Pangea Collection (intricate artisan jewellery), World Shoppe (check out their pretty greeting cards from Bangladesh), Generation Wonder (your little girl might like their pink heart purse), and Brindabella Baby.

Central & South America
Ecobre of Mexico makes beautiful hand-hammered copper items, including unique copper kitchen sinks), Pueblito (it sells a range of South American jewellery including a striking seed necklace), Propueblo (their banana husk tissue box from Ecuador could make a great housewarming gift), Mayan Hands (check out the purple chenille shawl), Maya Works (the children’s backpacks are great value), Shop Mayu (see their beautiful alpaca throws), Partners for Just Trade (they’ve got some fun animal pillows in Spanish – great for kids), Inca Kids (check out their handknitted cupcakes), Kusikuy (Bolivia and Peru), Basura Bags (they make amazingly colourful bags and totes from 100% chip packets in Honduras – quite striking and a cool way to clean up the streets).

Africa
Shea Yeleen, Baskets of Africa (stunning grass baskets), Bridge for Africa (I’m loving their cool telephone wire baskets), Suubi(hope) (check out their particularly funky t-shirts), Indego Africa (be a geek with a conscience using their laptop sleeve made in Rwanda), Rwanda Baskets, Leakey Collection (eye-catching necklaces made by the Maasi in Kenya), and Tropical Items (out-of-the-ordinary raffia hats made in Madagascar).

Asia
Rupalee (fantastic Christmas decorations), Tilonia (lovely cotton tablecloths), Mata Traders (great accessories and clothing from India), Orijyn (Laos silver and silks), Wear Gianna (from India, Laos and Thailand), and Brag Bags (which makes beautiful bags in Vietnam – my favourite is the overnight bag).

There are also some others you might like to visit, including Make Piece (which sells pretty jewellery made by African-American women living below the poverty line in Washington DC), Shanti Boutique (see their Buddhist jewellery), and Taraluna (which has a variety of fair trade items, including a wooden earring stand made in India).

If you’re thinking of buying someone a vaguely techie gift for their birthday (or even putting something away for them for Christmas), please don’t buy it during Mercury retrograde!

Mercury retrograde happens about three times a year for three weeks each time. Mercury rules communication and transport so when you buy items that have some technical aspect to them, it’s more than likely you 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.

And if you buy something during Mercury retrograde, you’ll probably get a chip too, on your shoulder! Mercury retrograde purchases can turn out to be lemons, having missing components, incomplete instructions (oh, for God’s sake, don’t start putting something together from Ikea, you’ll get divorced!), items that you almost immediately lose or break, or which are just the Wrong Thing Entirely.

If it’s not the product itself, when you shop you can mishear what the salesperson quoted (“That’s $1,100 – not $700, Madam”) or buy the wrong size or colour (my friend Jane’s husband Jim is colourblind so he’s banned from shopping for clothes for the kids, Jane and himself).

If you go online shopping you must 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.

Mercury retrograde next happens from 6-29 September 2009, 26 December-15 January 2010, and then from 17 April-11 May 2010.

Ifyou have to buy gifts for an anniversary, birthday, christening, Christmas, engagement, Fathers Day (6 September for Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and PNG), Mothers Day (for most countries, 9 May 2010), new baby or wedding, either buy the gifts well head of those dates or give them an IOU for a belated gift so they don’t get a techie “turkey”. If there’s one time you just gotta keep that receipt, Mercury retrograde is it!

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!

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.

The latest personalized gifts survey results are in! A new survey by It’s In The Stars on personalized gifts has found the following:

* The top 5 most popular gift occasions on which to give a personalized gift are birthdays, christenings, new babies, anniversaries and Mothers Day

* Jewellery, day of birth and art items are the 3 most popular types of personalized gifts

* The top 3 ways to personalize a gift are by name, day of birth and photography

* Most personalized gifts are given to partners, friends and children

* About 40% of personalized gifts are bought online with Gen Xers the most likely to buy from personalized gift websites

* Most people spend $50 or less on personalized gifts – Baby Boomers spend the most

* Over 60% have given two or more personalized gifts in the last year

* Most people would wait up to 7 days to get something personalized AND delivered to them or the recipient

* Gen Ys are the most likely to make use of a gift wrapping service and to give a gift certificate so the recipient could select their own personalized gift

* Cancerians and Taureans tie as the best gift-givers, voted as the Sun signs known for giving gifts that delight the recipient

For more details visit http://www.itsinthestarsonline.com/verve/_resources/personalized-gifts-survey-findings.pdf

Draw a Venn diagram of all the people you know, with you at the centre. It would probably look like a flower with all your friends, clients, colleagues, relatives, sport team members, golf buddies, church friends etc as the little petals you know.

So there’s gonna be some groups of people who’ll just never meet your other people – right? Fantastic!

When you’re the only common denominator, if you give them a gift, they’ll be none the wiser if you also happened to give that exact same thing to someone else, such as for a christening, housewarming or 21st.

If so, you might want to consider buying gifts in bulk! Simply type in “bulk lot” on eBay and you’ll be amazed what you can find.

Are a few of your girlfriends having babies all at the same time? Come pre-armed to those baby showers with a babysuit, socks, singlets or little shoes.

Got endless kids’ parties that you have to come bearing gifts? You’ll find sets of little girls’ fairy style necklaces, Lego sets and kids’ books for a steal.

Is it coming up to housewarming season? Buy a bulk lot of beeswax pillar candles, serving platters or magazine baskets.

Have you got more kitchen teas and bridal showers than you can poke a stick at? Save money with bulk purchases of tea towels, cooking utensils or coffee table books.

Are you alarmed at the number of 16th, 18th or 21st birthday gifts you’re expected to buy for your nieces, neighbours and daughters of work colleagues? You can buy Pandora beads in bulk to start them off with their own bracelets.

Even if you don’t like the idea of buying bulk, did you know you can buy giftwrap in bulk? An average sheet at the newsagent costs about $4.95 but if you buy it from a florist wholesaler (which sells a sea of retail supplies including paper, candles, baskets, silk flowers and so on), you could buy about 100 sheets of gloss wrap, cellophane, tissue paper or that funny reconstituted paper for around $29 – or about $0.29 per sheet. With the money you’ll save on gifts, you’ll be wrapt.