Christmas Gifts Help

The squishy mesh ball is a another super low cost Christmas gift idea that is highly addictive and loved by just about everyone (except the odd person who thinks they’re disgusting!).

A perfect stocking filler for the kids, Secret Santa for the office or just a stress release toy for yourself (go on, you deserve it!).

Firstly take a look at this seemingly dull, ordinary-looking Christmas gift idea…

Then take a look at the little video I put together of this Christmas gift idea so you can see what all the fuss is about

The magic bunny is one of those Christmas gifts you have to try really to appreciate and I’m still trying to get a suitable video of it in the hope that you can experience it here.

Basically the rabbit is just a small rubber model. It’s the wheel that does the magic.

In this optical illusion you spin the wheel while staring it for around 30 seconds, then you quickly switch your vision to something else - such as the rabbit.

You’ll magically see it growing in size infront of your own eyes! It’s such a weird yet exciting feeling! As I say it works with anything - you can make your hand grow, a pen, anything you like.

For under a fiver this is one of my favourite toys around at the moment and once you’ve seen it you’ll be amazed! Wait for the whole family to have a go!

The one thing I would say is that the smallest children don’t seem to understand how to use it so I would say from age 6 or 7 upwards personally - with no upper age-limit!

Introducing a great fun yet super-cheap unusual gift idea for Xmas - a wind-up bucking donkey. Available for just a couple of quid these donkeys come in a range of colours (meaning races are possible), are tough and great fun - suitable for people of all ages.

I tried to make you a video to show you how great they are but wow they’re hard to get in film they move so quickly. I hope this one is OK - it’s the best of about 10 different attempts to get one hopping across the shot!

I have set up a Squidoo page all about unusual gifts for Xmas incase it’s of any use to you. I’ll be updating it regularly.

Experience days rock - there’s no two ways about it and I personally have started to spend more and more time selecting “experiences” as presents as much as things.

I like the idea of paying for someone to do something completely new - something that will give them a real buzz and something to talk about for years afterwards.

Gliding is just such an activity.

I actually had this experience bought for me so I experienced it first hand. It was last summer that we went along to the airfield in Bedford from where I would be taking the flight.

After a briefing, my instructor and I got ourselves ready. Parachute on. Strapped in firmly and we were ready to go.

There are two ways to launch a glider - by winch or by towing it behind a plane. The winch is the cheaper option and that’s what I had. It was quite nerve wracking watching the cable getting shorter and shorter as the winch pulled in the slack then suddenly *SNAP* and we were rocketing across the grass and then taking straight off.

It;s probably an exaduation to it felt like we went from stationary to about 60 miles per hour and a 45 degree angle into the air in about the time it takes to blink! It felt like being shot out of a cannon - and not in a good way! I actually lost my stomach at take off and thought I was going to be sick but luckily we quickly levels out and I regained my composure.

Once up (and stomach calm) it was the most amazing thing. It felt like being in a big bubble, floating in the air because while we were going fast, it felt like we were just gliding along. Far below me I had the most amazing views of the countryside and managed to take a few pictures along the way.

The instructor was very friendly and patient and showed me the basic controls before letting me in charge for a few minutes.

Then after around 20 minutes in the air we drifted down to land - which couldn’t have been much smoother or more pleasant - a nice surprise after the take off!

So how was it, all in all? The answer is it was amazing. Something completely different (thank you Annabel!) and well worth a try. I’d just suggest the tow launch rather than the winch if you’re considering giving it a try

Choosing the “perfect” gift is a hard task indeed but you’ll find the better you know the person, the easier the process becomes. When you know someone really well and spend time with them they will inadvertantly mention how much they like this thing or that when you’re out shopping. They’ll show you things in magazines. They’ll see things on TV. And all you have to do is to keep your eyes and ears open for all the hints you could possibly need.

Also, when its someone you know well, you have a good idea about what they already have. There’s nothing worse than coming up with a slamdunk idea for a Christmas present, only to find out they already have it.

Using these two sources (or a friend or family member who is even closer to the person than you are) you should stand a good chance of picking out a great Christmas present.

The only real challenge here is the person who doesn’t seem to need or want anything. They’re completely satisfied with life, seem to have no hobbies you can use for ideas etc.

In that case, perhaps consider one of the multi-use experience vouchers available today. Just choose a broad cetgory like “relaxation” and the person will then be able to select from a range of prepaid activites whether it’s a massage, painting class, visit to a posh garden etc. It allows you to buy them something that covers a broad spectrum of possibilities and let’s them pick the ideal option from the list.

What could be better? A sort of “choose your own present” get-out clause!

My girlfriend loves the buzz of driving cars. She’s always loved the idea of car racing, rally driving and the like (what a tomboy, eh?!) so for her birthday last year I arranged to take her on a skid pan. We personally went to Castle Combe and it was a good day.

The participants were split up into groups of 3 and there wer 2 cars available - a rear-wheel drive and a front-wheel drive. The pattern was as follows:

1) Training on what to do
2) Get into the car
3) 2 or 3 laps round the course
4) Change driver
5) Once all drivers are done, change to the other car
6) Repeat as per 3) and 4)
7) when complete, go back to 1 and learn new skill then go out and try it

So part of the fun is not only are you loearning new driving skills by actually going out and trying it, but there’s also the team spirit or working with a few others and also the fun of being driven round if you’re not actually doing the driving. In that way, the fun keeps on going unlike some experiences where you’d have to stand around and wait for other people to go round.

The track was boring to look at, but great fun to drive round apparently (I was a spectator) - and they kept spraying it with oil and water to keep it slippery.

So who would this suit? Pretty much anyone who can drive and doesn’t mind making a wally of themselves. Because lets be honest, it’s highly likely you’ll lose control and spin the car or drive into something! If that’s your idea of fun, sign up today!

If you haven’t yet heard of the coke geyser you must have been living under a rock! Welcome to what is possibly the coolest, most fun (and messy) Christmas gift around and at a price that makes it a perfect stocking filler!

Firstly I’ll describe the coke geyser, then we’ll get to the real fun bit and I’ll show you a few videos.

The coke geyser is a small plastic tube with a pin in it that with attach to the top of a standard bottle of coke. What you do is put a few of the Mentos mints (provided in the pack) in the tube, attach it to the top of an open Diet Coke bottle (must be diet coke), then pull the pin and run.

As you pull the pin out, the mints drop into the coke, and what could be described as an explosion, eruption - or geyser - erupts out of the top.

Be careful where you play with this as the geyser goes high and you may well cause damage to grass and plants so best to play with this in a wide open space. Also, of course, this isn’t suitable for small children due to the literally “explosive nature” of it.

I’ve heard the reason this works is that the chemical reaction between the mentos and coke causes thousands of air bubbles to form rapidly in the Diet Coke bottle. As there isn’t enough space for all that air and coke together, it literally blows the coke out of the top.

OK, here are a few select videos specially for you to enjoy. Go on, I dare you to watch them and *then* tell me you don’t want one…

The magic garden is a larger, more complex version of magic tree. It is of course slightly more expensive as a result and I personally found it actually quite a challenge to set up!

There were so many different pieces of green cardboard that need to be jammed into the base (in exactly the right place) that bits kept on popping out and having to be popped back in again. I felt like I needed 6 arms but eventually we managed to get it all together, added the magic liquid and waited.

Within a few hours the slightest hint of coloured crystals were showing but by the next morning it looked amazing!

Not just the trees but the grass and so on. Even the mountain in the background had “snow” on it!

Well worth the trouble of setting it up but small children will need help to put it together plus supervision when it comes to the “magic liquid”.

Here’s the snap we took of ours last year before we began this site:

The magic tree is a great fun yet very low cost Christmas gift. Perfect as a stocking filler or small additional present, the box contains 2 pieces of cardboard, a stand and some magic liquid.

What you do is set up the tree by slotting the two pieces of card together, popping it onto the base and filling up the base with the liquid.

At this stage I’ll be honest - it looks pretty dull.

But be patient.

Over a few hours the tips of the magic Christmas tree will start to “blossom” with coloured crystals turning in an amazingly colourful display.

It’s quite amazing to see and for such a low cost I think it offers great value for money.

Here’s our own magic tree to you can see what it looks like when it’s all “sprouted”:

If they haven’t got one, every child seems to want a mobile phone for their Christmas gift. And if they’ve already got one, they probably want a newer one.

Now while mobile phones are never going to be a cheap present, there are two possible ways to look at this situation. Firstly the negative side of they could get bullied via text at school as happens sometimes. They could lose the phone or it could get stolen at school. They could run up huge bills if you put them on contract and so on.

Equally, if put on a pay as go phone with a strict monthly budget it might be an ideal way to ensure your child is able to contact you at all times in the case of an emergency. It gives you a chance to teach your child about budgeting their credit and them a chance to earn your trust in terms of what they do with the phone.

It really is your decision but here are 3 tips if you *do* decide to go ahead with buying a mobile phone as a Christmas gift…

1) Go Pay As You Talk

Don’t even give your child the opportunity to rack up huge bills because - let’s be honest here - most will take it even if they know better. I have heard of £400+ bills in a month caused by a teenager with a contract mobile phone. By paying for credit in advance it limits spending.

2) Decide On A Budget

Decide in advance how much you will be topping up each month for your child - or whether you’re expecting them to pay for credit out of their own pocket money. And remember - an extra fiver of credit for doing well in a test or cleaning a bedroom can work wonders

3) Let Them Pick It

Children are fussy and unfortunately as smart and talented as you are, you don’t know what’s cool at school right now. So deicde how much you’re willing to spend, then take the child in to the shop or let them look online so they can choose their own phone. Yes, it takes away the surprise and some of the magic but you don’t want to be going out on boxing day trying to swap it.

Bonus Tip: if you *do* decide to choose it yourself I can offer you two tips from my days in mobile phone sales - firstly young girls love pink phones, and secondly teenagers love Sony Ericsson phones.