10th Day's Gift - Shontelle in your ear

I'm bringing the modern island sounds your way, via Shontelle. The Bajan songstress is THE lady on the music scene these days...

More than flexing her vocal muscles on her debut album, Shontelligence, the singer songwriter brings a pure Soca/Dancehall/Pop vibe across the set; the single Tee Shirt is a sure hit!

Available on ITunes for about $8.00, it's the kind of gift that'll suit the music lover on your list.

L.M.N. Harris

7th Day's Gift - A Kiss, or two...

A kiss is just a kiss... Right? So untrue! A kiss did Jesus in, after all! And for the one you love, a kiss is the ultimate prelude to all sorts of delightful moments.

And although this Smooches Hankie from Canadian artiste Avril Loreti does seem a tad 'secret affair', it's still a novel way to send some sweet nothings to your darling.

And at $16.00, you'll want to kiss yourself for saving a few pennies AND getting a great gift.

L.M.N. Harris.

3rd Day of Christmas - Styled up like a doll.

I loved, loved, loved playing with dolls. Rag dolls, Barbie dolls, baby dolls, and even the paper ones. So imagine my glee when I happened upon these rather chic paper dolls online!

Fashioned with the classic looks of Christian Dior & Chanel, these vintage paper doll books contain the images that style dreams are made of. It's also cool, because it's a tangible thing, and not one of those eerie-looking virtual world avatars...

So I thought that whilst some of the fashionable folk couldn't care a fig for child's play, and would rather prefer the clothes, they could at least day dream about raiding dolly's closet.

To gaze upon, and own dolly's classic designer outfits will only run you about $7.00, whilst getting the actual pieces will probably drain your entire account, savings, insurance and the pennies you've placed under the mattress.

Just the kind of gift for a budding fashionista....

2nd Day of Christmas - What's with the box?

On this, the 2nd Day of Christmas countdown, we're opening the door to creativity with the ultimate gift, in my opinion.

How many times have you heard of people bought the most tricked out, expensive gift for a kid, only to have the child eventually chuck it away in favour of the box it came in?

Yes, today's gift is just a cardboard box. But think of the possibilities! Illustrated above are two interesting things that can be made from a simple cardboard box - a mobile doll house, and some household appliances. For the boys, you can fashion out some cars, planes, swords and whatever else you fancy.

The beauty of the box, is that it's very, very inexpensive, and it yields a variety of possibilities. You can buy the plain, smooth ones online for under $10.00, or you can get used ones from the grocery or hardware for free.

The trick will come in encouraging your child to be open to playing with a cardboard, non-flashy toy. But once they see that you can doodle on it, cut shapes into it, join it to other boxes and such, they should more than go for it. I mean, isn't that a rather cute, cardboard stove?!

L.M.N. Harris.