Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Gift Shopping Online - Making The Best Of It

Gift shopping online has never been easier and better. The first part of this article highlights the advantages of shopping online and the second part discusses some tips on how to make the best out of your online search.

Why Shop Online?

1) Shopping online saves time, expensive gas and money. Some companies do not charge sales tax for out of state sales, but there may be use tax implication.

2) The best part of online shopping is that you don't have to leave the comfort of your own home. No more roaming around crowded stores, malls or wait in long checkout queue.

3) It may be hard to resist impulse buy if you are wandering around in the stores. With online shopping the urge is reduced because your search or purchase is usually more focused.

4) You can shop online anytime and anywhere as long as you have access to the internet.

5) One advantage of shopping online is if you are buying a gift for someone abroad. You can buy online from a local vendor and have the gift shipped to the recipient without you going through the trouble of sending it yourself.

6) Many online stores offer very quick dispatch or delivery. Many offer next day delivery. Therefore, last minute shoppers can shop with ease.

Starting Your Search - Making The Best Out of Your Online Gift Shopping

1) You may already have a store in mind but if you are starting your search, there are various ways where a search may begin. Firstly, if you know what gift you would like to buy, a search by "product" can be done. Try to be as specific or narrow your search to produce the best results. For example if you are searching for a Kodak 8" digital frame, type in the full description (including model if you know it) instead of just digital frames. If you are looking for a gift to be delivered in the UK, include the words “for UK delivery” in your search. This will narrow your results tremendously. Also, look at the domain or url of the listed websites. Those that end in .com may be US located websites and they may not deliver to the UK. It is best to pick sites that end in .co.uk to speed up your search.

You may also search by “occasion” such as “Mother’s Day” or by “theme” such as “funny birthday presents for boyfriend”

2) Make use of online shopping tools offered by these shopping sites to enhance your gift search. Popular tools include Gift Wizard which will help you find products from some given criteria’s (age, interests etc..); Price Comparisons are useful; Wish List and Events Reminder are also value added tools; Many customers find Product Reviews and Testimonials helpful.

3) Look for companies with favorable Returns Policy and quick dispatch or delivery. 30 days back guaranteed and shipping within 24 hours are usually expected and reasonable conditions for many online stores.

4) Also important is the ability to contact the store readily. A store that offers a telephone contact number will boost customer confidence.

Happy Online Shopping!

Visit MyRedPacket.com for some great birthday gift ideas

Monday, May 5, 2008

Eco-friendly and Outdoor Gifts For The Summer

Buying gifts and receiving presents happen all year round but for that special occasion that falls in the summer why not consider a gift that is Eco-friendly or can be enjoyed outside. Here are some of my favorites.

Solar Educational Toys
These are great gifts you can buy for children as well as adults depending on the level of difficulty and skills required to assemble the toy. These toys are powered by sunlight. In today's climate of environmental awareness these solar powered toys and kits are not only great fun, but also introduce children of all ages to the concept of renewable energy and demonstrate alternative energy principles. No batteries and tools are to assemble the toy.

Solar Gadgets
If you have a housewarming coming up, consider these cool solar friendly gadgets. I like the Sun and Moon Jar. By day these jars are ordinary looking jam jars but at night these jars will glow either a soothing yellow (sun jar) or blue (moon jar). So how does it work? The idea is to leave the jar either outside, near the window exposed to sunlight, to collect energy from the sun throughout the day via the solar cell. When it turns dark, the jar gives a warm ambient and relaxing glow. It’s a feel good factor for the ecologist in you and not to mention a money saving device so out with the candles and in with the jar! You can even actually store your essential items in it.

Other useful eco-friendly gadgets are solar charging devices for cell phones and other electronic accessories.

RC Flying Toys
Remote controlled toys such as helicopters and planes are great outdoor toys for both adults and children. These toys are usually equipped with pre-installed two channel proportional infra red control system and integral Lithium Polymer flight battery which will provide flights of approximately 8-12 minutes or more between charges. The battery can be recharged in less than half an hour. These toys are great fun and can be enjoyed in the back yard, garden or even the park. It is something that both the parent and child can do together.

Slingshot Flying Toys
These are fantastic toys and inexpensive. The soft toy comes in various animal characters such as monkey, pig and frog. When hoisted in the air they make hilarious noises such as screeching monkey noises, oiking noises and in the case of the frog croaking sounds. It is really quite entertaining. A great indoor as well as outdoor gift in the park, the yard or garden

Active toys
The sun is out and the weather is warm, your kids will no doubt love to play outdoors as much as they can. The Strap On Flashing Glider Shoes or heelys are great gift items for children and kids. Unlike traditional roller skates these wheels strap onto your existing running shoes! They are adjustable, to fit almost any size shoe/trainer and have flashing lights on the wheels when you skate around. The great advantage of these are that you can at least get a few years of use out of these without the worry of growing out of your traditional heelys. Not only are they fun your kids will sure get some exercise out of it!

Visit www.MyRedPacket.com for more toys and games ideas

Popular Novelty and Gadget Gifts as Birthday Presents

It is without doubt that we are spoilt for choices when it comes to choosing a birthday gift for a boyfriend, husband, girlfriend, wife or children. The vast array of new toys, clothes, and jewelry available is enough to make you scratch your head. However, one category of gifts that is becoming increasing popular is novelty and gadget gifts. It appears that there is an appetite for something that is a bit out off the ordinary, quirky and fun.

Below are just some of the best selling gadget gifts for birthdays.

Finger Drums
This miniature life-like finger drums set is a very popular birthday gift for the boys. It comes fully equipped with large and small tom-tom, bass drum with miniature foot pedal, snare and cymbal, nothing short of the real thing. This desktop drum kit has both a record and a freestyle function so you can either drum away or sit listen to the catchy tune of the demo.

T-Equalizer T-Shirt
The sound activated T-Equalizer shirt appeals to both children and adults alike. Even the ladies can now enjoy the new TQ Heart design which is stylish and figure hugging. These electro-luminescent design T-shirts have an EQ panel connected to a battery pack and is sound activated. Each Equalizer bar reacts differently depending on sound frequency. The makers of these fantastic shirts have also introduced the wi-fi detector shirts which will pick up wi-fi hotspots. The glowing bars on the front of the shirt dynamically change as the surrounding wi-fi signal strength fluctuates. Even if you are not a gadget fan, you’ll no doubt agree that these are genius inventions.

Gelli Baff
If you are looking for something that is unusual, fun and guaranteed to be loved by all kids, Gelli Baff is the gift to buy. Gelli Baff is the award-winning product from the UK that turns bath water into jelly. Gelli baff is a harmless powder which holds 400 times its own weight in water. A similar substance is used in disposable nappies. The dissolver sachet contains pure table salt, the same as you put on your chips! For those who are worried about disposing of this goo down the drain, the dissolver turns the jelly back to liquid for easy disposal down the drain.

Flying Alarm Clock
This is one of those gifts that your receiver is either going to love or hate. Whatever the reaction you can't deny the interesting and funny appeal of this gadget. When the alarm sounds the propeller is launched up into the air & flies around the room. To turn off the alarm you'll have to get up, find it & return it to the base. If this won't get you out of bed, then nothing will!

Tyvek Wallets
As more people join the environmentally friendly band wagon, the demand for interesting “green” novelty products have also attracted much interests. One extremely popular product is the Tyvek Wallets. Made of Tyvek, 25% recyled material, these wallets are themselves recyclable. They are expandable, strong, lightweight and thin, not to mention stylish. Numerous designs are available to cater for different tastes. The Tyvek wallet is also water resistant and will protect against the humidity in your pocket which destroys leather. This is truly an eco-friendly novelty wallet!

There are many more interesting gadget gifts to offer if you are prepared to search around. Be specific with your search and focus on shopping sites that offer "gadget gifts" and "novelties".

For more great birthday gift ideas visit Birthday Gifts and Presents

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Mother's Day Gift – Gift Ideas To Suit All Mothers

Every Mother's Day gift is special whether it is lavish and expensive or small and not so expensive. The one important factor is the thought that goes into picking out a gift that mom will love and appreciate. In this article I would like to recommend some Mother’s Day gifts that are suitable for mom taking into considering age, interests and personality.

If you have a large purse string, you can shower mom with expensive jewelry, clothes and electronic products. However, for those on a small budget, there are many inexpensive gifts that one can consider. If a digital camera is out of your budget, an affordable gift is the digital photo keychain. To make it even more special you can download some of mom’s favorite pictures onto the keychain before presenting the gift to her. Imagine the instant surprise and thrill she’ll have when the gift is opened.

For mothers who have everything, a quirky, unusual gift can be unique and special. The Eggling, an award winning product, makes a great Mother's Day gift. The Eggling is a grow it yourself eggplant. It is an eggshell made of white porous ceramic and comes with a terra cotta tray and seed pack of either herbs or flowers. The Eggling is available in different herbs and flowers such as basil, cactus or even lavender so there should be something to match her interest. Along a similar line, the Magic Message Egg is a pretty interesting novelty. Once cracked and watered it sprouts a bean displaying the 3 famous letter word "I love you". Quite a genius invention! This will certainly put a smile on mom's face.

For practical mothers, a gift for the home is ideal but I am not referring to your ordinary kitchen utensil or cutlery. Be a little different with your home gift ideas. Gifts such as Mood Glow Candles are interesting and different. Another unique gift is the award winning Sun Jar. This is a jar that collects sunlight by day and glows by night. It is truly an eco-friendly product that recharges from sunlight - the perfect gift to brighten up your mother's day. Ok, for something more down to earth, home decor items such as candles and vases need not be ordinary. Contemporary mango wood candle holders and vases made in Thailand can be both stylish and interesting.

For busy mothers, perhaps something to help her relax and de-stress would be welcomed. Bath pearls that change colors can add a touch of spa therapy and create a total relaxing atmosphere in the bathroom. Aromatherapy gift sets are also popular, especially ones with therapeutic relaxing ingredients. Last but not least in this category is a gift that needs to be tried to be appreciated. It is the highly effective Head Trip Therapeutic Massager. It is specifically designed to stimulate your nerve endings and massage acupressure points on your scalp, temples and neck, sending you to total relaxation.

Personalized gifts have grown very popular over the years. There is nothing more personal and unique than a personalized newspaper headline gift. You create your own headline which is then printed by hand onto authentic newsprint. It is created to look like the front page of a newspaper. You can make the headline as original, funny or serious as you like.

On the subject of funny gifts one can choose from a vast array of gifts from gadgets to toys. Popular wind up toys such as the Racing Grannies and Boxing Grannies are one of my favorites. These wind ups are extremely hilarious and make a great novelty gift for mothers and grandmothers who appreciate the humor.

Finally, for those who's Mother lives afar the following gift is something very special and guaranteed to touch mom's heart. The Keepsounds Message Box allows you to record a special message for mom which can be stored, listened and treasured for years to come.

Happy Mother’s Day!

For more gift ideas visit the Mother's Day section of www.MyRedPacket.com

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Funny and Novelty Valentine’s Gift Ideas. Add Some Fun to Your Valentine's Day

When we think of valentine's gifts we tend to think of romantic dinners, flowers, chocolates and gifts of love and so forth. If you have showered your partner with these gifts every year, why not be different this year and give him or her something unexpected and funny which is sure to make them laugh and remember for many years to come. The gifts I would like to recommend are inexpensive and can be enjoyed by both men and women.

Valentine's Day Love-O-Meter
This is a fun little gadget that both you and your partner can have fun playing together. Press your fingers on the buttons and the Love-o-meter will dig into the depths of your heart and reveal your feelings. Of course this is no fortune teller, but it is an entertaining gizmo.

Body Pens
If you are planning on a romantic dinner, why not have some 'desert' with body pens afterwards. The pens come in chocolate and strawberry flavors and are a sensual way to indulge your sweet tooth! Express your love by creating fun messages that are for your partner’s eyes only.

T-Equalizer Shirts
If you plan to celebrate Valentine's Day with some music and dancing, the T-equalizer shirts are a great way to get noticed. Available in both male and female styles, these electro-luminescent design T-shirts have an EQ panel connected to a battery pack and is sound activated.

Candy Bra and Candy G-String
Who would have thought that those delicious necklace sweets that we all used to love as kids would come back to haunt us in the most irresistible way! Your boyfriend or husband will enjoy eating away these childhood favorite candy sweets. The irresistible, edible, candy underwear is the perfect way to end a romantic candlelight dinner.

Personal Newspaper Headlines and Personalized Book Cover
If you want to give something truly personal, this is the perfect gift. There's simply nothing like a personalized gift that says, "This was made just for me." Personal Newspaper Headlines provide exactly that - your own words, unique and personalized, printed by hand onto authentic newsprint on an antique printing press. Your personalized gift newspaper is printed on both sides, filled with fun articles and pictures everyone can enjoy. The idea is to make your personal headline funny. Alternatively, you can create a funny personalized book cover with one of the following 2 titles “Everything I Know About…….” Or “How I Became the World's Greatest…….”
The book cover also includes blank pages which your partner can use as a note book or diary.

Digital Photo Frame and Digital Photo Keyring
These gifts per ser are not considered funny. However, you can make this fun and meaningful by downloading a collection of humorous photos before giving the gift to your partner. This is a great way to cheer your loved up when he or she is having a stressful or bad day at work. A browse through these pictures is enough to make anyone smile.

For more great ideas click Valentine’s and Romantic Gifts

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Thoughtful Valentine Gifts for Boyfriend Girlfriend and Husband Wife

Valentines gifts are, generally, associated with romantic gifts. Men usually (well hopefully) shower their women with jewelry, chocolates and flowers. Men love to receive gifts that serve a useful purpose or appeal to their interests. In addition to this, I believe that picking a thoughtful gift that you and your partner can both enjoy and share is meaningful and embraces the notion of love and appreciation for each other. In this article, I would like to recommend my 6 favorite valentine's gifts that are suitable for both men and women.

Bath Pearls and Mood Glow Candles
These are perfect gifts to wind down and relax after a long and stressful day at work. It is an opportunity to relax in the bath surrounded by colored glowing bath pearls and burning mood color candles. It is sure to get you in the mood for true relaxation and enjoyment. The bath pearl lights have a silvery, pearlescent shell and are shaped like a pearl with two sensors located on the base of each pearl. When the sensors come into contact with water, the soothing light show begins and phase through five different colors. Similarly, mood glow candles change numerous colors emitting a relaxing glow.

Head and Body Trip Massagers
For total relaxation, why not take turns massaging each other from head to toe with the amazing Head and Body Trip Massagers. Specifically designed to stimulate your nerve endings and massage acupressure points on various parts of the body, the Head and Body Trip Massagers are sure to send shivers and quivers from head to toe.



Sterling Silver Love Hearts
We all remember one of our childhood favorites – pink candy Love Heart sweets. We all remember going through the packet and picking out our favorite love message? Brings back those warm fuzzy feelings doesn't it? Now you can spread the love with this grown up version of the classic romantic candy. Neatly packed in a simple box, this perfect replica of the classic sweet is the perfect token of affection. Made of sterling silver and hallmarked with the three precious words 'I LOVE YOU' making it perfect to give to the love of your life. They can carry it round everywhere with them as a constant reminder of your love. It's perfect to give to men or women.


Chocolate and Strawberry Body Paint
This relatively inexpensive yet effective gift is a great way to add some fun on Valentine's day. The Body Pen is an erotic and sensual way to indulge your sweet tooth! Express your love by creating fun messages that are for your partner's eyes only. Body chocolate and strawberry body paint make a great gift for your romantic partner.

Digital Photo Frame and Digital Photo Keychain
Giving a digital photo frame or digital keychain may not seem like a very romantic gift. However, you can make this thoughtful and special by downloading some of your favorite pictures onto the keychain or frame before giving it to her or him. Imagine the smile on your partner's face when he or she opens the gift and is greeted by a beautiful picture!

Jellephish Mood Lamp
This is one of the best pieces of contemporary ambient lighting that I've seen. The Lamp flashes numerous shades, ideal for setting the mood or providing a relaxing atmosphere with its mood changing colors for a night of love and romance.There are endless choices when it comes to picking the right Valentine's gift for your loved one. The recommendations I have provided in this article are gifts that you would buy for your partner. They are even suitable for a special or best friend who you simply want to show him or her that you are thinking of them on Valentine's day.

Toys and Games for Kids - Favorite Gifts of 2007

With 2007 now behind us I thought it would be a great idea to reflect on some of last year’s best selling gifts for children. These gifts were particularly hot during the Christmas season, but I believe they will continue to be favorite gift items for birthdays and special occasions. Here are the top 5 best sellers.

Floating Duck Radio
All kids love rubber ducks or bath toys. This floating duck is no ordinary duck, it is also a radio with two frequencies – AM and FM. The frequencies and channels can be adjusted by twisting the duck’s tail. The radio switches on and off by turning the duck’s head clockwise and anti-clockwise. This is truly an ingenious way to keep your kids entertained in the bath and for the adult to enjoy their favorite radio station at the same time. It is an inexpensive gift with amazing sound quality.

Remote Controlled Bumper Cars
I remember loving these bumper car rides at the amusement park and now you can enjoy them in the comfort of your own home! Imagine all the fun without the knocks and bangs that you would experience behind the wheel. These remote control bumper cars race along a smooth surface. The realistic movements of the cars make crazy turns in an attempt to hit one of their opponent's 3 sensors. Hit all 3 to disable the opponent’s car and win the game.

Sudoku Sudocube
Certain 3D puzzles were extremely popular over the Christmas season. The Sudocube was a best seller. It combines the challenge of the popular sudoku puzzle and the fun of a rubik’s design. The sudocube is not only fun, it is also educational and a great way to stimulate and motivate both kids and adults alike.

Slingshot Flying Monkey and Frog
These relatively inexpensive and fun toys were best sellers all year round. There must be something about screaming monkeys and frogs making croaking noises when hoisted in the air! Whatever the reason, the slingshot flying monkey and frog are absolutely hilarious, fun and a must have. The flying monkey is dressed mysteriously in a cape and mask just like a super hero. Both the frog and monkey can fly and travel 50 feet – just put two fingers in the hand pockets, pull back it’s strong elastic arms and let go.

Gelli Baff
Imported from the UK and currently not available anywhere in the US except at MyRedPacket.com is the award winning Gelli Baff! Kids simply can't get enough of Gelli Baff. Simply run your bath 2 or 3 inches deep, turn off the tap, add Gelli Baff and watch in amazement as your boring bath water magically turns into a fun thick goo!

For a greater selection of toys and games check out Gifts For Children

Friday, January 4, 2008

Best Selling Birthday Gadget Gifts and Novelties for Men

With 2007 now behind us I thought it would be a great idea to reflect on some of last year’s best selling gifts. Many of these will continue to be favorite gift items for birthdays, anniversary and special occasions. Here are the top 5 best sellers.

Finger Drums
These Finger Drums were a big hit among kids and adults alike. Whether you are a drummer, music lover, or musician, you will get the thrill from banging away on this set of miniature but genuinely life-like finger sized drum. The super finger-sensitive tiny drums include large and small tom-tom, bass drum with miniature foot pedal, snare and cymbal, so there's nothing missing. For something as compact as this, the drum like quality is pretty amazing. The Finger Drums make a great birthday gift for the person who simply enjoy a bit of fun and entertainment.



Duck Shooting Gallery
Duck Shooting Gallery is a replica of the beloved carnival game that provides hours of fun for people of all ages. The interactive carnival barker will guide you through the contest. It is fully automated with a conveyor carrying the targets past the cross hairs, accompanying music and sound effects and a wireless infrared pistol. A hit will knock over a duck, and register on the game's LCD display. Each duck down scores you 10 points. Play against the clock to beat your best score in one minute or select continuous play for hours of duck shooting fun. You can choose between fast and slow modes of play which makes it ideal for novices and marksmen alike. The Duck Shoot Game is ideal at social and family gatherings as it will keep your guests entertained for hours!

Racing and Boxing Grannies
These novelty wind up toys continue to amaze and amuse. The Wind Up Grannies are not only hilarious looking they are great fun to play with. Wind them up and watch them race against each other in their match stick legs. Those who are looking for more action will like the Boxing Grannies. Dressed in full boxing gear, with red gloves and silky shorts, they are not to be reckoned with! To play, simply press the button and watch these mean Granny machines throw some well-aimed punches at their opponent. The winner will be the first player to knock their Granny out for the count!


Tyvek Wallets
A fat wallet usually indicates a rich wallet, but nowadays the trend is to go with thinner and easy to carry wallets. The classic novelty Tyvek wallet is the way to go. Made of Tyvek, it feels like paper but it is actually made of thousands of long plastic fibers creating a surface that is both light weight and durable. The Tyvek wallet is also water resistant and will protect against the humidity in your pocket which destroys leather. With various stylish designs (the most popular being the Par Avion design), Tyvek wallets are trendy must have accessories for the modern guy! Being super light and thin, they can fit nicely inside a pocket or bag.
Personalized Football and Baseball Books
Football and Baseball are the Nation’s 2 most favorite sports so it is not surprising that these gifts were hugely popular. This unique New York Times personalized Football or Baseball Book holds historical news reports of your favorite team. The book is presented in Burgundy, gold embossed with your recipients's name. It contains 85 to 200 pages of wonderful insight into your favorite team: their history, the high and lows, the inside stories, the gossip. This is truly a great gift for the football or baseball fan.
For a great selection of cool novelty gifts for men, visit http://www.myredpacket.com/