Only 27 days to go.

Well the countdown is now on. When you can say the days in numbers not weeks you know it’s close. My Christmas list is out this week and hopefully has some useful ideas on gifts for some of those who you have to buy for!

I’ve scoured the shops, gone over my past great pressies to bring you a list that will help you at this mad time of year.

I have put them into sections to make it easier when you are searching for that someone special.

I will also keep posting more items over the next few weeks with any other great finds.

Women

Paula Ryan Toilet and Cosmetic Bags

Just a great basic for any women. Lovely gift to give a friend.

Available: Farmers Stores, Kirks, Smith and Caughey, Ballentynes Christchurch and Selected Pharmacies

Price: There is now a huge range to choose from depending on style and size.

Sparkles by Louise Bagshawe and Glamour by Louise Bagshawe

If you are looking for an easy summer read then don’t look past Louise Bagshawe, she wrote Sparkles in 2006 and was quickly followed by Glamour in 2007. Sparkles is by far my favorite but both are great gifts and a good idea for the holidays.

Available: All leading bookstores

Price:$ (Paperback Edition)

Deluxe Chocolate Fountain

The perfect gadget has finally arrived - its delicious, exotic and totally extravagant! Dipping morsels in a fountain of free flowing chocolate lets you indulge your chocolate senses beyond your wildest dreams!

Price: $89.95

Available: www.iwanthat.co.nz

Men

V8 Kiwis- New Zealanders Making it Big in Touring Cars

This came out in 2006 but is still one of my husbands favorite books. If any men you are buying for are captivated by the smell of petrol or the thundering noise and excitement of the V8 Supercar championship, then this is a great book for them.

Available: All leading bookstores

Price: $49.95

Garmin Nuvi GPS

I was very popular with this gift for my husbands birthday this year. The Garmin Nuvi GPS is small and easy to transport, has a touch screen and is extremely easy to use. He just puts it in his laptop bag when he is driving out of town. There are now new updated models available that you can choose from but they are slightly more expensive. We love this one and it’s really useful.

Available: Dick Smith Electronics

Price: $559.00

Top Gear - Anthems CD

This has been quoted as the best ever CD for Driving and it does appear that it is very good. The first of the two CD’s has the likes of Queen, Meat Loaf, Motorhead, Deep Purple just to name a few. The second CD is clearly catering for the slightly more hip and groovy market with Coldplay, Oasis, Blur and many more. A great stocking filler.

Available: The Warehouse and all major CD stores

Price: $22.95 The Warehouse, $29.95 CD Stores

Remote Control Golf Infred-a-Ball

Golf - a good walk ruined, unless of course you have a remote-controlled golf ball, and then it’s hilarious.

Price: $49.95

Available: www.iwantthat.co.nz

Ipod Touch

I have wanted one of these since the first day I saw them. I have two male friends who own them and think they are fantastic. At only .8cm thin they were voted Tone Magazine’s Gold Award, you wont disappoint with this as a gift.

Available: All major stores which sell Ipod’s

Price: 8GB $479, 16GB $649

Life on the Edge by Richard Hammond

Anyone who has ever watched Top Gear will know who Richard Hammond is, and his latest book could be his best yet, with a very honest portrayal of his life as a petrol head. He also recounts his high speed accident which nearly killed him last year. Great summer read.

Available: All leading book sellers

Price: $39.99 (Paperplus have a special $29.95)

Boxer Shorts

Another very reasonable stocking filler are these boxer shorts I found at the Warehouse, and yes these really are a bargain, at only $7.90. They are your standard satin boxer shorts available in a huge colour range and the reason why I like them, other than the price, is what’s written on them. You can definitely have a bit of fun with these, the pair I bought had on them ‘I’M LIKE A SUPER HERO EXCEPT WITHOUT THE SUPER POWERS’. I have a friend who is just perfect for these and some of the others had me laughing so hard that the man standing by came over to see what I was laughing at! Some of the other messages are I HAVE ISSUES and IN CASE OF EMERGENCY PULL DOWN. Very funny.

Available: The Warehouse

Price: $7.90

Lightning Revenge Reaction Game

This is the ultimate in our range of reaction games.
Be the first to press the trigger switch when the light goes from red to green, if you’re the slowest person to react you’ll receive a shock.

Price: $47.90 from JayCar Electronics

A similar device is also available from The Warehouse $34.95

General

Bon Jovi Lost Highway Tour

The long wait is over - Bon Jovi is coming to New Zealand! One of the most successful, multi-award winning rock acts formed in the 80’s and still touring today, will play at Christchurch’s AMI Stadium on Sunday, January 27 to what will be a sold out audience.

Price: $125 to $265

Available: www.ticketek.co.nz

Flight Experience

Fly a 737. So realistic, airline pilots use it for practice. A great experience for anyone with even a remote interest in flying. Also great for the private pilot who wants to experience flying a Passenger Jet.

Price: Packages from $125

Available: www.flightexperience.co.nz

Bernzomatic Area Heater - Stainless Steel

The latest thing in Patio Heaters. These have much more style than the traditional ones and are more efficient. All this style and efficiency does come at a price though.

Price: $1,099.99

Available: BBQ Factory

Gourmet Meats to Your Door

A great alternative to the usual Christmas Hampers. Great selection big range of prices.

www.gourmetdirect.com

Children

Kidz Cam

Digital Camera.

Fantastic idea for all junior photographers.

Available: Toy World

Price: $49.95

High School Musical Sing It for Playstation 2

Become The Star!

Take to the stage and become a High School Musical karaoke superstar!

All the songs from both movies!

Price: $59.99

Buzz Junior Monster Rumble for Playstation 2

Following on from the hugely fun Buzz Junior Jungle Party this game is fun for all ages. My 6 year old daughter and 66 year old mother both love it.

Price: $54.99

Available: any stores stocking Play Stations

Grab-It

Make the kids work for their sweets. Use the controls to move the claw and try to capture a sweet. Irritatingly difficult.

A great gift when you are buying one present for a family.

Price: $39.95

Available: The Warehouse

  A magazine subscription is always a great gift for anyone and especially for those who have everything! As with most magazine subscriptions there are fortnightly or monthly options and you can buy six months or a one year subscription - so it’s the gift that keeps on giving.

I have been an avid buyer for years of magazines and books about your home, interior design or anything related to how we live. I have taken to buying the Australian House and Garden Magazine due to the lack of good magazines here.

I recently picked up a copy of Your Home and Garden Magazine and was very impressed. I know they have been going through a re-vamp over the last year or so and I can say that it has paid off.

The layout is great, the articles are easy to read and the houses they are now profiling seem to be of a much better quality than in previous years. There is a reference section at the back of the magazine on ‘where to buy it’ so if you see something you like you know where to get it! The food section is done by Julie Biuso, with easy to follow recipes and lots of other really helpful information on gardening, planning that perfect Christmas day and much more.

Now is a very good time to buy subscriptions as they are offering really good deals before Christmas - offer ends December 21, 2007.

The December issue is particularly good with a Christmas theme. It has recipes, great gift ideas, not to mention you get to see some really beautiful homes all decorated for Christmas. I have given this 3.5 stars because I still don’t think it’s as good as the Australian House and Garden Magazine, but is still worth reading.

Hot tip: A gift subscription is really a great gift but only if the magazine suits the person you are giving it too.

Product: Your Home and Garden Magazine

Price: Christmas special $44.00(12issues) Save 50%

Available: www.magshop.co.nz or 0800 624 746 and quote M712YHGX

  She’s considered to be the best in the business. Make-up artist to the stars and the one to go to for all you ever wanted to know regarding make-up. Bobbi Brown for more than twenty five years has been the leading authority on women’s make-up and beauty. She is particularly passionate about wanting us all to look and feel prettier, more confident about who we are, whilst playing to our strengths.

Now for her fiftieth birthday she has written a book that she says redefines beauty for women in their forties, fifties and beyond. This book has useful tips, showing how skincare, make-up, nutrition, fitness and style can solve many of the issues we face today. But if you are expecting to look like Elle McPherson in two weeks you maybe a little disappointed.

Bobbi shows you how a make-up facelift works and has tested the newest beauty treatments available on the market. What makes this book particularly useful are the before and after shots and how this completely changes how you look.

This is a great book to keep on your shelves to refer back to, I am already looking into some of the treatments she has used. Her books are always a little on the pricey side but well worth it and great for someone who falls into the age bracket the book is targeted at. Just remember to make sure they fall into the age bracket or what would be a thoughtful gift might turn out to be a not so great pressie!

I have two of her other books which are great to read, well presented and I often refer back to them for inspiration. So try to think of them as investment books rather than a one off read.

Product: Bobbi Brown Living Beauty

Price:$

Available: Borders, Whitcoulls and all Bobbi Brown make-up counters

  Last Christmas my daughter begged, pleaded actually, you know that - pleeease Mummy I must have him. I really want him, I don’t want anything else just TJ Bear pleeease. My six year old had seen him on TV and was besotted with this funny, animated talking teddy bear.

So TJ Bear was bought for Christmas to the delight of a little girl who carried him around for the Christmas holidays, talked to him, played with him and listened to all of his stories. She was very happy with TJ and he was exactly how she had imagined him to be. His ears, eyes, mouth and nose move, and his arms even gesture as he tells his story. He is a story telling friend that sings songs and asks you questions while he is telling you about one of his latest adventures.

Of course in true child like style each story aims to help build life skills by teaching a lesson. It may be about your first day at school, being scared of the dark or how to deal with a little brother or sister.

Simply play the cartridges in TJ’s backpack and read along. Each cartridge comes with a fully illustrated and easy to follow book and some with accessories like a torch and a camera. Kids can take the cartridges in and out themselves without fear of damage as TJ is very robust and has a good rating for durability on Amazon.

You can add to TJ’s story telling time by buying additional 24 page storybooks which are sold separately. TJ would definitely be a great gift for a child over the age of three, so they can carry him around, as he is a little heavier than normal teddy bears.

T J Bear would be a welcome addition to anyone’s family.

Product: T J Bear

Available: Toy World Farmers

  Do you want to know what Santa Claus does? How exactly does he manage it?

I am often asked questions by my two daughters, how does Santa manage to get to all the girls and boys around the world? How can they make so many toys and who are the special people that help Santa? Why can’t we see him?

Well I have found the book, to answer all those important questions and then some. All you ever wanted to know about Santa and how he actually does it.

What is Christmas day like at the North Pole and what is it that Santa and Mrs Claus do when the Christmas party at the North Pole is finally in full swing? Where does the name Saint Nicholas come from?

Delve into the enchantment of Christmas to discover some of Santa’s best kept secrets, from his hidden house at the North Pole to his amazing sleigh and the power of magic that really can help reindeer learn to fly. Meet the most important person in Santa’s life - Mrs Claus - and the army of elves who work so hard to make Christmas such a special time of year.

Did you know that Santa’s sleigh is fully equipped with Stealth Shock Absorbers and Silencer Skids that allow Santa to make quiet and gentle roof top landings where necessary?

The pictures are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen and the writing is just a delight. Also included are useful pieces of information about the North Pole and the Arctic, why we have Christmas trees and how is real snow made.

This is truly a magical book which will remain on my bookshelf for the rest of my life and I am very certain it is one you will never tire of pulling out year after year.

Santa Claus includes:

holiday gift tags

an authentic naughty but nice list

Mrs Claus’s very own cookie recipe

a double gatefold look inside Santa’s workshop

Santa’s route map ………and much much more

Product: Santa Claus written by Rod Green

Available: all major bookstores

Price: $34.99