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.

On Sunday 14 February, there will be millions of happy couples gazing adoringly into each others’ eyes, and whispering sweet nothings. There will also be several hundred thousand others thinking, “How can I get out of this mess?”

With this in mind, I’m going to suggest Valentine’s Day gift ideas when you want to celebrate your love, and when you just want to kick them to the curb.

Flowers - OK, now you already know that most women get flowers but don’t really want them… 
Love ‘em: If you insist on spending waaaaaay too much on a bouquet (and paying through the nose for Sunday delivery) AND you know she really does love them, see The Flower Man where they will be more than happy to separate you from a week’s mortgage payment.
Loathe ‘em: wait til 5pm on Sunday evening, and when you pull it into the petrol station, pick up a wilted bunch of sad-looking daisies in cheap cellophane reduced to clear, shove it in her hands and say, “There!”. That ought to do it.

Chocolate - Again, this didn’t rate too highly as what women wanted (especially for Baby Boomers).
Love ‘em: Look for a chocolate shop where the glass-fronted counters display individual chocolates with fantastic dustings of confectionary sugar, sprinkles and truffle powder, sugar fruit decorations on silver trays and mouth-watering descriptions of each flavour, and the shop assistant is wearing white gloves so as not to disturb the gloss of the chocolates, and use your credit card with the biggest limit.
Loathe ‘em: Give your soon-to-be-dumped partner a box of Cadbury Roses reduced on sale, that you’ve already opened and eaten your favourite creme centers, just leaving the tacky toffee chews.

Jewellery - This was the third most-wanted gift in the Valentine’s Day survey.
Love ‘em: Want to make her really happy - and your wife? Go see the helpful people at Tiffany, Harry Winston, or Fairfax & Roberts and select the biggest carat diamond ring you can afford so you can propose on Valentine’s Day (hopefully with more success than Ashton Kutcher in the Valentine’s Day movie). Already married? Visit the same stores and see what amazing necklace, earrings or bracelet they can help you find for her.
Loathe ‘em: If you’re planning on breaking up with her, you give her a cheap friendship ring, some generic gold-plated necklace or a bangle you picked up in a $2 shop.

Perfume - Hmmm, this can smack of I’ve-got-to-run-into-the-department-store-to-buy-something-anything!
Love ‘em: Hunt down that discontinued perfume she’s wailed isn’t made anymore if she’s mourning the loss of a favourite (eBay could help). Or buy the pricey parfum version of her favourite scent. Eau de toilette is the cheap version and it doesn’t last as long.
Loathe ‘em: A can of Impulse body spray should do the trick.

Lingerie - eeek! Be very careful here! No-one wanted lingerie even though a few women got it.
Love ‘em: Don’t buy her anything that looks vaguely like a hooker on Halloween would wear ie red and black. Lace, or broderie anglaise in white or pale pink tones is less about sex and more about making her feel pretty (which does make her feel sexy). Please check her size from her underwear drawer. Women can’t bear receiving something too small - or too large with this type of very body-conscious gift.
Loathe ‘em: Well you can really go to town here and give her some of the nastiest polyester underwear around. Something that looks like it’s been bought in a shop favoured by men in raincoats should appall her enough to know it’s never gonna work.

Meal/picnic - this was pretty popular!
Love ‘em: Book a cosy table for two at a beautiful restaurant she’s been longing to dine at where she gets the chance to really dress up, the music and lighting is low and the waiters give seamless service. Book a taxi so you can toast to your relationship over a bottle of champagne.
Loathe ‘em: Make sure the takeaway cafe has at least one chipped laminated table you can sit at while you wait for your greasy order along with the local tattooed bikies. Bonus points if it has eye-wateringly bright fluorescent lighting, tiled floors to increase the noise and slipping factor, and a really basic menu (”Steak with chips”) with spelling mistakes in plastic sleeves.

Romantic personalised gift - this was the second-most wished-for Valentine’s Day gift.
Love ‘em: Give her something special that’s about her (first) or your relationship (second). It needs to be something she can keep and enjoy, and that features her name (and hopefully yours, too), birthdate, or photo. It also needs to have good “boast factor” so she can enjoy showing it off to her friends.
Loathe ‘em: I don’t think anyone would create anything personalised for someone they wanted to dump or they’d be sending mixed messages.

Weekend away - hurray! This was THE most wished-for Valentine’s Day gift.
Love ‘em: Whisk her away somewhere special where she can relax, feel pampered and have plenty of time to enjoy being with you. Whether it’s an island resort, a cosy, antique-filled B&B, a Love Boat-style cruise, a health spa or a fancy city hotel, a romantic getaway will win you major points!
Loathe ‘em: Tell them you’ve booked a weekend away at a resort. With someone else.

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!

Last year, one of my customers bought a LoveStars report for her Australian soldier boyfriend in Iraq - and she said one of the reasons she bought it was because it was all about them as a couple and it was light to mail to him.

So it got me thinking about this Valentines Day. If your partner is in the armed forces in Iraq, Afghanistan or elsewhere in the Middle East, you’ll be wanting to send him or her something that’s suitable (ie pornography of any kind is banned) and also lightweight so it doesn’t cost you a fortune shipping it there! And also something that can make it in time.

There are a number of websites that specialise in presents for those in the military, but here’s 30 gift ideas which could make ideal Valentines Day gifts for your solider boy (or girl)…

Practical Valentines Day gifts
Everyone needs new clothes from time to time and these Bad Booty Wear underpants will hopefully encourage your man not to keep his antique, holey jocks! Cool meat-tray packaging too. Since it’s winter there, some cosy thermal underwear could go down a treat while some men might appreciate military-themed cufflinks. If they get the time for a swim, female officers might like the modest swimwear by HydroChic. Since the war ain’t for sissies, you might find some cool items in the Black Helmet Apparel’s (just the name sounds like tough-guy clothing) website, for them to wear on their days off. Some men might like the new Remington personal groomer with all the attachments for pesky poking-out hair, while the ladies could appreciate the world’s first collagen-infused skin moisturiser (disguised as a candle) which warms the room and softens their skin.

Thoughtful Valentines Day gifts
If they love taking photos and videos, give them the X Shot camera extender so they can finally be in the shot with their buddies! Combat Ready Balm soothes dried-out skin at the end of a tough day. The Porta Pocket lets them carry around their MP3 player or mobile on their days off. If you’d like to give them to chance to buy what they want, give them a gift card to Gift Card Mall which gives them the choice of more than 350 gift cards. I love the frangipani-print portable speakers by Sonoma Living Green which plug into any Mp3 player. Chocolate could melt on the way there but a Tortuga rum cake (with only 0.05% rum content) in that cool pirate-y packaging could make their day. Pewter heart-shaped charms are sweet and light to send. Heart-shaped cookies are a yummy thought. Motomail makes it easy for friends and family members of Marines to write a letter that is downloaded, printed and delivered within 24 hours.

Personalised Valentines Day gifts
If you’re quick, you may be able to order a pretty customised nightgown for your lady. If you want them to “see” you last thing at night, send them a photo night light with a favourite 3×5 photo already it. When they switch it on it illuminates with their image. If your man loves the idea of custom-made shirts, why not get something made for him at Shirts My Way, and send it to him with your love? And if “it’s in your kiss”, send him a cute Kiss Kanvas printed with your own lip-shaped kiss. Who doesn’t love all the amazing flavours at Jelly Belly? If you know his or her favourite flavour (I love watermelon), you can customise a tin just for them, even adding your photo of you two on the lid. Keep everyone close in their thoughts with a customised cover photo book. Or give them a rechargeable USB drive keyring that holds 60 digital photos. Get a dialogue going with fascinating conversation-starters in the Between Me and You relationship keepsake journals. And send ‘em a Valentines Day card with your photo printed on it.

Entertaining Valentines Day gifts
An iTunes card will let them download their favourite songs of course while these cute heart-shaped ear-buds for their iPod are adorable! Does she get time to bake cakes? She might love this super-inexpensive diamond ring-shaped cake tin if you’re engaged. but if they like reading, there are so many books to choose from - Reporting for Doodie (a fun story of a grandmother looking after her grandson while her daughter and son-in-law went off to fight), The Commuter Marriage: Keep Your Relationship Close While You’re Far Apart (which says it all, really), and You’re My Guy Because (which is full of witty reasons you love him).

What Valentines Day gifts are you going to send?

Three in four homebuyers receive nada, zip, nothing at all from their real estate agents as a thank you for shelling HUNDREDS of thousands of dollars, but more than six in 10 homebuyers would use them again and recommend them to others looking to buy a home if they did.

The Real Estate Agents Gifts Survey conducted online by It’s In The Stars found that if you want that bottle of champagne to celebrate your massive purchase, you’ll be much more likely to receive it once you’ve bought oh, three homes or more.

Overall, only 26% of homebuyers received a gift from their real estate agent with the first homebuyers the least likely to receive anything. Ironically of course, if you kept them sweet from the start, they might recommend to their friends who are in the market for a house, consider you for their second, third and holidays homes…but no.

Homebuyers were instead more likely to receive gifts the more homes they had bought. Of the 38% who had bought one home, only 37% of those had received a gift. This rose to 43% for the 23% who had bought two homes, and to 51% to the 39% who had bought three homes or more.

Wine or champagne is the most gift most given (31%), followed by food hampers (13%), flowers and plants (11%), homewares (10%), promotional items thoughtfully including the real estate agency’s logo and personalised gifts for the homebuyer and/or their family (9% each) and gift certificates (8%).

Of those who did receive gifts, 53% said they cost under $50, 26% estimated $50-$100, 16% guessed $100-$200 while only a lucky 5% received gifts valued at over $200.

So - who’s more generous? Boutique firms or the major franchises? Seventy percent of respondents used a major franchise, 22% a boutique firm while 8% dealt directly with the vendor. I was surprised to discover that homeowners were more likely to receive a gift from a major franchise  than a boutique firm (47% vs 34%).

The major franchises were more likely than the boutique agencies to give gifts under $50 (58% vs 50%) but none of the boutiques gave gifts worth over $200 while the 8% of the franchise agents did. Smaller agencies were much more likely than the franchises to spend a mid-price range of $50-$200 (50% vs 32%).

While it is obviously better for the agent to give something rather than nothing at all, if he or she chooses the gift wisely, it could be worth hundreds of thousands of commission in referrals.

The survey found 81% of homeowners would tell their friends, family and colleagues what gift/s they received, 63% would use that agency again when they next bought a house, and 61% would recommend them to others in the house-hunting market if their real estate agent gave them a thank-you gift.

What’s the best Valentines Day gift you ever received? The second-best? Third place? And where did you buy it? And who’s the best Sun sign at giving romantic Valentines Day gifts? Will it be a tie between Taurus and Cancer again, who were voted the equal best personalised gift-givers?

Take part in a fun, quick ( it will take less than 2 minutes to complete) survey and you could win one of 5 x LoveStars boxed gift certificates (worth $89 each)!

The Valentines Day Gifts Survey closes 7 February 2010. Good luck!

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.

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.