Ever felt a bit down and went straight for foods and other items that are old favourites? And on holidays when you were raring to go you were in the mood to try something something new?

US psychologists have confirmed that people  prefer items which are tried-and-true that they’re already familiar with (this is not the same thing as items that are regifted, though!) when they’re feeling depressed and that they seek novelty and excitement when they’re happy. In fact, familiar experiences and products are boring when people are in a fantastic mood…

University of California, San Diego psychology professor Piotr Winkielman found that the value of familiarity depends on the context. Familiarity infers safety which is ideal when people feel upset (”comfort” foods like chocolate for break-ups, anyone?) but the same-old, same-old becomes borning when all is going well.

In terms of gifts, this means you need to pay careful attention to the mood and the circumstances of the person receiving the gift.

Anniversary gifts - generally a wedding anniversary is a happy time - give them something unusual to spark some excitement!

Bereavement gifts - this is when you turn up with soup, food, a favourite CD or book - no surprises are appreciated.

Birthday gifts - ooooh…. This depends if it’s a birthday they’re looking forward to (which is generally every birthday for people aged under 21) in which case give ‘em some novelty, but if it’s a “milestone”, they might be a bit upset about the perceived passing of time - give them something familiar…

Christmas gifts - even if it never turns out the way you expect, nearly everyone looks forward to Christmas. Novelty works when people are happy which is why Kris Kringles can be a hit (finding all those weird things under $20).

Engagement gifts - again, give them something fun and new to look forward to.

New baby gifts - this depends… Is it a long-awaited first child? Baby gifts that are really unique are ideal. But what about a couple who’ve just discovered they’re about to have twins (and they already have a child or two)? If they’re feeling stressed about the expense and extra responsibility, perhaps you should choose something they already know and like. Like money.

Valentine’s Day gifts - get fresh by keeping it fresh. Nothing makes a romance get boring faster than the same-old flower and chocolate routine.

Wedding gifts - this is traditionally a  very happy time so gifts that are out of the ordinary would be great. Then again if you’re Liz Taylor and you’re marrying yet again, you can add to your place settings.

If you spend more than a few hours a week online, your time could earn you free gift cards that could cover someone’s anniversary, baby, birthday, Christmas, Mother’s Day or housewarming gift.

If you live in Canada, the UK or US (sadly it’s restricted to those three countries so far or I would sign up in a flash), you can sign up for free with Swagbucks.

You earn gift cards - and plenty of other merchandise which could be good to cross off certain gift-giving obligations (such as those endless children’s birthday parties for example!) - simply for surfing the net.

After registering, you install a Swagbucks toolbar at the top of your screen. It will give you results from Google and Ask.com which will periodically allocate you a certain digital dollar value per search. You can also earn SwagBucks by referring friends to join, filling out polls, shopping in the Swagbucks mall and recycling mobile phones.

What do you give your wife for Christmas and her 30th birthday who you’ve scorned publicly and worldwide?

If you’re Tiger Woods, you give your deeply unimpressed wife Elin Nordegren a cool $300 million in cash so she can buy hereself a little something. Hell - you could buy an entire department store chain with that.

By Valentine’s Day he would have been emptying his bank account faster than his little Capricorn Sun could have handled thanks to his dwindling sponsorships, so he “economised” with a $3 million customised sport boat for Elin, called um, Solitude so she could go diving, which is her favourite sport.

Mother’s Day is just around the corner. I’d love to see what he comes up with then. I honestly don’t think he can buy his way (or his wife back) out of this one…

Now that Valentine’s Day has passed, the roadside rose vendors have disappeared, the black velvet jewellery boxes have been stashed away in the vaults and those ENORMOUS white teddy bears have been put away somewhere (where on earth do they fit - and more importantly why on earth would anyone buy one?), some couples may be reassessing their relationships.

One cheery little infidelity expert from New York, Ruth Houston, has come out to suggest a number of ways to tell if your partner cheated on Valentine’s Day. I think in fact this could also include Christmas Day based on what she says.

1. “Discovered” gifts disappear
Remember the awful scene in Love, Actually when Emma Thompson opens the little white box containing the gold heart necklace, thinking that’s what her husband Alan Rickman has bought for her for Christmas? And then she gets a pathetic Joni Mitchell CD while the flirty skank at work gets the expensive necklace? If you find something “gift-y” before Valentine’s Day and then don’t get it, ask some questions…

2. Receipts for same, identical, or non-received gifts
Paper trails undo presidents, criminals and cheating partners alike. If you find a receipt for say TWO identical lingerie sets but receive only one, someone has the other set (and at best, your husband likes dressing up).

Got chocolate? But the receipt was for a bracelet? Uh-oh.

Does the hotel or restaurant receipt say 13 February but you KNOW you were in bed alone with a cold and your partner had a business meeting interstate? Right. On a Saturday night. Did you know that Ruth nicknames 13 February as Mistress Day???

3. Thank note, email or text
If your spouse or partner has received or sent a thank-you message for a gift you know nothing about, them’s warning bells…And hey, especially if they’re normally an ungrateful sod.

4.  Oh honey, I’ve had this for years
Many women (and some men) avoid discussions about their spending habits but protesting, “”Oh, this old thing? I’ve had it for years!” and rely on their partner being oblivious so they can get away with maxing out their credit card. But if it’s a particularly nice piece of jewellery, beautiful underwear or even flowers that are waaaay more elaborate than what he/she normally buys turn up just after Valentine’s Day, look out.

It might be innocent (like, you’re such a bad gift-giver that they decided to indulge themselves - and if they did, that’s a clue they’re at least disappointed with your effort this Valentine’s Day/Christmas) or not. Check.

5. Who you gonna call?
If you’re really suspicious check your phone bill or your partner’s outgoing calls/texts on Valentine’s Day. Those made very early in the morning or last thing at night are possible signs.

If you have two or more of these infidelity clues, well, as Ruth’s clients might say, “Houston, we have a problem.”

A very clever quantity surveyor in Ireland has created a gift card with Mastercard that helps the lucky recipient to pay utility bills which can include gas, electricity, water, garbage removal, phone, mobile and television.

Rory McGuigan had received one pay cutback too many in 2008 when he realised that he didn’t have much cash to pay for Christmas presents - but that he would still have to stump up for utilities.

His Utilize gift card allows the gift-giver to put anything on it between 25 and 250 euros. Corporates such as Dell are using it as incentives. It’s obviously a great gift to give any new couple getting married while parents can ensure that their kids will pay their bills with it rather than trusting them with cash which can all-too-temptingly be spent on partying and clothes.

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!

Thinking of giving money to a charity? You might be better off donating directly.

The sheer cost of administering a gift card program means very few charities produce their own specific gift card. Many of them do have an online facility for you to donate straight to their website and even produce  an electronic receipt and thank you message that you can enclose in your birthday Christmas/ engagement/ wedding card for whomever you’re buying it.

America’s largest non-profit organisation, United Way sells gift cards, while Goodwill has stores across the states, but no national gift card program.

There are four major organisations in the US which let you pick your own charity - Charity Choice, JustGive.org, Network for Good and Tisbest. If you decide to use one of these Big Four, keep in mind that:

* some of your donation gets chipped away in administration and transaction fees

* not all organisations transfer the monies to their charities right away; some pay quarterly

* they don’t last indefinitely: Network for Good’s gift cards expire within 6 months.

* only you, as the gift-card-giver, get the tax break - not the recipient who actually selects the charity

Gift card prices range from $1.49 for Tisbest to $5 for the three others. Charity Choice has 100 charities while Network for Good lists an astonishing 1.8 million charities (who knew there were that many?). Network for Good includes its handling fee within its $5 purchase fee but admin costs range from 3% for card-processing for JustGive to Charity Choice’s $1.85 transaction fee per card, 5% admin fee and 3% credit card transaction fee.

A post-Christmas spending survey confirms what most of us already know by looking at our credit card balances: we overspent on Christmas gifts.

The US Consumer Reports survey found that consumers planned to spend an average $699 on Christmas gifts but this was blown out to $811, with about one in five spending over $1,000 on gifts.

Almost half (47%) of the consumers were very naughty, using their credit cards to buy some or all of their gifts. And since credit cards feel like magic money(!), they spent more, too, with an average Christmas gift expenditure of $896. Those who lived in households earning over $100K spent a whopping $1,570 on their credit cards.

While 40% plan to settle their Christmas gift credit card debt by the end of January, one in five won’t pay it off until March with 9% expecting to pay it off in full by June.

As you can probably guess, I didn’t spend $1,000 on gifts - probably closer to about $350 - but then I like buying Christmas and birthday gifts all year long as it’s fun AND it lessens the expense in December.

If you plan to spend $1,000 on Christmas (and/or birthday) gifts this year, remember that you need to put away about $83.33 a month every month until December (or buy gifts to that value every month when you see something great on sale).

If you’re one of the 19% of consumers who received a dud Christmas present (and you’ve managed to get hold of the receipt), you’d better get cracking if you want to return them for a refund!

While some stores will allow refunds up to a year later, many will refund goods brought in their original packaging (hmmm - how often does that happen!?) and tags up to the end of January.

Other stores won’t give you a refund at all but merely an exchange or credit for something else in their store. According to the US National Retail Federation, American retailers took back an estimated $17 billion of unwanted gifts. What’s more, 17% of retailers have tightened their return policies.

If you can’t get cash and you really don’t like the item nor feel you could regift it to another, think carefully how you could use the credit note to “purchase” another gift which will save you spending your own money. You could always select one of the items there for Valentines Day, your anniversary, birthday, Mothers Day or even for Christmas 2010.

OK, well I guess this appeals to the nerd in me but I love a list!

Considering we’re just two weeks into 2010, and it’s oh, 49 weeks to Christmas, now is a great time to set up a gift fact file on your friends and family. You can use it for anniversaries, birthdays, Valentines, graduations, housewarmings, weddings too.

So what are some of the things you should take note of, ask or discuss so you give them someone perfect (or close to it)?

1. Favourite colours. My younger nephew loves red, the older one goes for green while my niece is a sucker for pink. Makes it easy knowing this when it comes to cute t-shirts etc. Same goes for adults. My brother thinks pink and purple (not worn together) are completely gay. My stepmother won’t wear anything with a floral print, thinking she looks like a sofa. Dad is mad on chocolate brown and navy. Easy. Make a note of what colours they love to wear (and particularly the ones they look good in ie don’t forget it is your chance to help them wear something that suits them and stops hurting your eyes). Hint: it can be an insight into their favourite decorating colours, too.

2. Favourite metals. No, I’m not talking about Black Sabbath! If you’re giving jewellery, think back to whether you’ve ever seen them wear silver. Do they prefer yellow gold to rose gold? In home decor, are they a silver-frame kinda girl or do they go for brushed steel? It’s not just the metal, it’s the way it is finished that can make all the difference between a dud and a great gift.

3. Favourite decor. If your little niece’s bedroom is pink gingham, her mother is not going to appreciate something batik. Do they like French provincial? Then they won’t appreciate anything that belongs in an architect’s office. If they mention they’re buying new furniture, ask a bit more. Have their tastes changed? Are they buying more of the same style? A white mohair throw won’t suit people with kids. A gift certificate for more storage accessories (Howards Storage World is great) will suit almost anyone.

4. Size. Kids under 15 years old change rapidly. If you’re buying clothing or shoe sizes, ask within 2 weeks of buying and giving it to them. You never know when they’re going to have one of those crazy growth spurts. If you’re planning on giving your girlfriend or best friend lingerie, if you live together check the sizing on her underwear on washing day. Some brands, like Country Road and Sportscraft, are known for vanity sizing so if she’s really a 14, she’ll be delighted to fit into their 12. Sneakers tend to be one half-size bigger. I’m normally an 8 1/2 but need a 9 for trainers.

5. Fragrance. Mum has no sense of smell so I get all her perfume gifts. Jo is allergic to anything not made with essential oils. Kirsten doesn’t wear it. Next time they smell particularly good, ask them what they’re wearing. You could always give them the soap or moisturiser that goes with that fragrance. Know they like spicy style perfumes but still afraid to guess? You could always give them berry-scented candles or pot pourri.

6. Flowers. My stepmother loves violets. My sister-in-law is partial to camellias. I love oriental lillies. My grandfather however associates lillies with death and can’t bear them. In fact the only flowers he has in the house are silk ones which are getting awfully dusty. Check if they have allergies!

7. Foods. A homemade dish can be ideal if you know what they love to eat. My sister is vegetarian. David swears he won’t eat quiche. Audra prefers savoury snacks and strong coffee while Kate has a real sweet tooth and prefers herbal tea. Caz hates pate while our pregnant neighbour can’t eat brie right now and Jo is allergic to peanuts. If your best friend only likes green M&Ms for example, they sell packets of M&Ms in red and green colours at Christmas. Pick out the red ones, wrap the rest in a cellophane bag and there you have a very sweet (literally!) gift.

8. Music. Are they into their iPod or do they prefer vinyl? Are they fans of one era or do they have wider musical tastes? An iTunes card might suit some people while others would prefer the CD soundtrack of that really cool movie you saw together.

9. Hobbies. Do they like outdoorsy, camping type weekends? Do they potter around market stalls looking for antique objets d’art they can pick up for a song? What about gardening? Or doll collecting? What hobby would they do if they had more time? How do they like to see themselves (everyone has a fantasy version).

10. Books. The first clue is: if they picked up the newpaper on the weekend - what section would they flip to first? The business section? They might prefer the latest book on wealth creation or on creating your own business. Hollywood gossip? Juicy, unauthorised biographies could be the ticket. Those who flip to the home & garden part could appreciate a beautiful coffee table book on New York/Paris/Tuscan/Thai/Scandinavian living etc. Do they read their stars religiously? What about giving them an astrology report for Valentine’s Day? If they just like reading the news, what about the latest Guinness Book of Records or a Life picture book.  The travel section? Indulge them with an Eyewitness Guide or a Lonely Planet on their favourite city/country/continent.