Difficult to buy for: because the perception can be there is nothing you can get them. This can be down to huge personal wealth on their behalf, or just because they are very fussy/difficult/old. Or all three at the same time. So these are our top tips for this difficult bunch: 1. Get personal. Remember all those photos hidden in the loft? Get them made into beautiful photobooks, or canvases, even a mousemat. You can’t beat the memories you made together for raising a smile. Or go further back. Are there photos of previous generations hidden away? Bring them back to life, before the photos disappear. Maybe get an old photo restored. There are lots of people doing this kind of thing, from personal experience I prefer Photobox. 2. Make a wish come true. Is there something they have...

In North Wales bog snorkeling, though neither big nor serious, has become a cult event.In Qatar, though, I have never heard of anyone mangrove swamp snorkeling and we received some strange looks as we descended from the jetty into the shallow water of Al Thakira.The water did not come up much above our knees, and was murky with the rich silt generated from the mangroves. We saw only sand and mud and the occasional pale coloured fish until we reached the edge of the mangroves.Then the thick roots of the grey mangrove started to protrude up from the water until we had to propel ourselves along by grasping the suprisingly rough roots and pulling ourselves along on them, scratching our exposed legs in the process.As we neared the trees, the gentle late afternoon light was blocked out by roots...

Treat her to a day, or longer, at a blissful spa of either her choice or yours.  With Spa Finder you can either book her somewhere in particular, or buy her a gift voucher that can be redeemed at a huge number of places, both in the UK and overseas. In fact, lets not be sexist here as ladies, there is nothing to stop you ordering this as a gift for the man in your life. Or as something to do together. With the huge range of spas on offer, from indulgent to active, there truly is something for everyone. Right now you can get free delivery through until 9 November, so have a look, there is a whole load of beautiful places to choose...

I’ve written about this before, but there was a discussion on Radio 4 this morning about how doing things even when times are bad can make you feel better. And if you want an ultimate feel good trip for not much cash, then how about some bargain tickets for The Sound of Music? Well, Discount Theatre currently have £35 tickets for the show for just £10! £10! Imagine, all that running through the hills to the sound of music, looking for the lonely goatherd and do ray me’ing for just £10 each. Yes it’s sugary sweet and not exactly challenging, but it’s a fabulous escape from reality for a couple of hours. No financial crisis, no Jonathan Ross, just Maria and the nuns and some cute children. What are you waiting...

I spent yesterday afternoon with David Tennant, and it was everything I had hoped it would be. Before you call the Sun, I shared him with my husband, my friend, her husband and several hundred other people.  This was Hamlet, brought to life in all its mad, gory wonder, and it was fabulous. Most unlike us, we were very organised and bought our tickets a year ago when public booking opened. And they were £30 each very well spent. There was never a temptation to sell them, although they are going for silly sums (if you are desperate Get Me In have tickets, but they are well into 3 figures for any performance, either at Stratford or when it transfers to London). So, this is not meant as theatrical review of the production (it was brilliant in all aspects: every member of the cast, the...

Got to love Radio 4. Except first thing in the morning, when it seems like a stream of gloom at the moment (apart from a moment today about what the moon was made of). If we listened to all of it, then there is no denying a dropping of mood, an increase in worry, heightened stress levels. Leave them to it I say. Here, the sun is shining, it’s a crisp autumn day and this is the good news spin on what’s going on: 1. With the pound dropping, you won’t have to listen to friends brag about their immense bargains from their Christmas shopping trip to New York. Not this year, darlings! I would head to the nearest outlet mall, as retailers will have more and more stock to try and recoup some money on. Expect bigger queues than normal at Bicester. 2. It’s autumn, it’s...

Lets face it, the last few weeks have been stressful. Even if you don’t work in high finance, and haven’t got a clue what they’ve been on about, then all the doom and gloom has just made it seem very stressful. I’m adding to that gremlins in the CMS system that plague me trying to get new content up (hello gremlins, Christmas is coming, everyone will still go into present meltdown soon, get off my case!!), two and a half weeks away from home, late nights and bad hotel food, and it’s all a bit too much. So, if your loved one is having a tough time of it, here’s our suggestions on things you could do: 1) As Dr T will tell you, it’s very easy to destress me: one large shepherd’s pie, a large glass of rose, a trashy film and an early night, and...

Well, not the way I do it anyway! I’m in rehearsals for a show and my twenty second routine shows that I really was born with two left feet and no sense of rhythm! Still, like millions of others, I shall be glued to the screen for the real return of Strictly Come Dancing tonight. And like many others, I’ll still harbour a secret desire to get up there and have a go! I’m told the cha cha is the easiest, and I guess the least embarrassing route is to get a DVD and try it at home. With the curtains shut! Alternatively a number of the gift experience companies offer dance gifts, which might make a great present if your loved one always says they want to try it. Just bear in mind you will probably have to go to! BuyaGift do an Introductory Dance Experience for two, which is...

The big celebration of all things organic kicks off today, and if you’re near Bristol, you could head for the Soil Association’s Organic Food Festival, which is on today and tomorrow. That’s my kind of festival! Should you not want to brave the weather (and we do feel for those suffering the awful effects of yesterday’s weather) and you want to treat the green god or goddess in your life, then these are our top choices for all kinds of organic stuff, food or otherwise: 1) Abel and Cole have a huge selection of organic produce available, selected from over 120 British farms for fresh produce plus small bakers, jam makers, honey collectors and wine makers, to name but a few. You could take the worry out of thinking about your fruit and veg for the week with a box...

Come on, we’re all completely fed up now! Surely that’s enough rain? Is there anyone still with a hosepipe ban on? I’m seriously considering not going to the horse trials at Burghley this weekend. Of course I was looking forward to the shopping, eating and drinking, but then I can stay here and do all that in the warm and dry! Or I could just throw on the wellies, the coat, the brolly… and say what the heck. I love the huge numbers of wellies to choose from at Fred’s, but think they should stock some funky umbrellas too! That said, I quite fancy the kid’s Monster Umbrella, it kind of reflects my mood about the weather. I remember on my first trip to New York I came across a shop called For Ducks (as in nice weather for I assume) which sold nothing but...

I’ve always thought that one of the benefits of where we live would be that I could get to the Burghley Horse Trials. Not that I’m very horsey, but it’s one of those country event that could be fun. At least once in a lifetime. So as we’ve now been here 5 years, we’ve decided this could be the year we go. Of course, we’ve made our minds up way too late to get seats in the Grandstand for the showjumping, so will just have to settle for a day of eating, drinking and shopping. So, not a bad day then! If you live in the are, you’ll be able to check out the Joules new autumn collection before you buy it. It is available online now, and as always there are great new wellies. Not sure if Rupert Bear inspired these, but they are my funky welly of choice...

The Bank Holiday is coming, and all the retailers seem to be gearing up to offer us big discounts, offers and incentives to get on and shop. No particular order, but here’s my roundup: 1. From 22nd to 25 August, you can get 10% off at Confetti. No minimum spend, use code BHOL808. Perfect for those planning weddings, and looking to save pounds where possible. 2. Venture Portraits are offering a one hour studio session with a complimentary framed 7×5 image for £25 instead of £145. Buying one of these vouchers is a great gift for anytime, but particularly to mark big occasions. 3. Jessops are offering 5% off all camcorders for the Bank Holiday weekend, with no exclusions. Click here, and the discount will automatically be applied. 4. John Lewis have a wide range of offers for...

Well, they keep saying it’s going to be really sunny this Bank Holiday weekend, so lots of us will no doubt head for the beach. And what better activity than building a sandcastle? And if you look around you on any beach, and observe the sandcastles being built, then I can guarantee that in pretty much every case building operations are being directed by a man. Put a man on the beach and he comes over all Frank Gehry. Dr T was living out his sandcastle fantasies recently on the beach in St Malo, thanks to the 3D Sand Castle Kit he’s been dreaming about since not buying it last year when he saw it(sadly, can’t find a source for these in the UK). It’s one heck of a kit, it’s even got instructions not to mention clips and levers! I think we could have left him...

Lets face it, this has been a bad August. Even on the back of last August, which was hardly sparkling. Or sunny.  I’ve had my hols and seen plenty of sun, and even I’m ready to run/fly/cycle away again. Here’s some things that might help either persuade you to take off, or make the getting away easier: 1. Ducti do some of the most robust wallets and passport holders around, not to mention have some serious looking luggage on their site which would handle all that Terminal 5 could throw at it. And they’ve obviously decided that you need to get away, as they are offering 15% off across the site right now with code DD1. And even better discounts available as you can get 25% off all the Caribee stuff on the site. Enter Sheila for girls stuff, and Bruce for the guys....

The Hairy Bakers did not disappoint, and I can see sales of breadmakers and flour shooting up overnight! If you’re serious about flour I would check out The Flour Bin, who have over 40 different flours available. When I interviewed Cath from the Discontented Housewife blog, she reckoned the only breadmaker worth having was the Panasonic Bread Bakery, and I’m certainly looking at one of these for one the kitchen is finished. Although seriously thinking about the Tefal Electric Jam Maker, particularly now I’ve discovered that it makes rice pudding as well. Decisions, decisions. I think that this could be swung by the thought of the onion and beer bread…I’ll keep you posted. Looking forward to the inevitable recipe book...

As part of my holiday reading, I read a review of Jason Zweig’s Your Money and Your Brain. What I found really interesting was his research that says it’s not how much money you have that makes you happy, but how you spend it.  He says that buying stuff give you a momentary buzz, but that investing in experiences, like great trips and holidays, has a more lasting effect on your happiness. Of course, shopping gives you an immediate buzz that planning a trip doesn’t. However, a splurge on a great holiday, and the more novel the better, provides you and your travelling companion(s) with years of running jokes, shared memories and, possibly, great photos too. And if you want a great, novel experience without travelling to the ends of the earth, then I recommend a trip to...

Well, it seems like everyone is talking us into recession, whether or not we want to go! So, in preparation for us all having to tighten our belts, lock up our wallets and eat up our leftovers, these are my top 5 ideas for frugal gifts that only scrimp on cost, not style. 1.  Go homemade. If you put homemade into the search box of any online bookstore, you’ll come up with a list of 100s of books on different things you could make at home (although probably you could leave the DIY submachine gun manual there). So with a bit of advance prep, you could be treating your friends and family to everything from homemade jams to biscuits, books to jewellery. I love the idea of a homemade biography, which is one of the books I came across. And River Cottage have a brand new book out on...

Oh, I’ve given up counting the time, as it’s so close now. And so everyone is hoping the tennis doesn’t over-run, nor that there is a power cut. And oh how the theories have flown around the net about what might happen next! I particularly like the Donna as Time Lord theory, the Rose Going Over to the Dark Side theory, and the possibility of the reappearance of the Master. As long as it’s John Simm. Oh, now there’s a theory we haven’t had. Here’s one from me. All the time travelling ends up back in 1973, John plays the Master and Sam Tyler, and cue the gene genie, Gene Hunt strides out and has serious words with the Daleks. Not to mention knocks nine bells out of them! I think it’s time to break out the “you’re surrounded by...

More jam and a bit of mild swearing actually. Which might be a WI meeting, but I still consider myself too young to find out. Just. Anyway, our lovely builders, bless them, had managed to turn off the freezer on Friday night, and we didn’t discover it till this morning. Which is going to leave us with some interesting dinner choices tonight and tomorrow. And left me with a whole load of soft fruit defrosting. I had forgotten there is something really relaxing about creating jam, about producing something to last all winter out of not much more than fruit and sugar. I had forgotten how much I drooled over the recipes in Mes Confitures, which certainly took you beyond the regular raspberry or strawberry types of jam. So I was inspired to throw in these rapidly defrosting dog ends of...

How much am I looking forward to tomorrow? I am spending all day in a bathrobe, unless I decide to manage a few lengths of the pool. And possibly I’ll get dressed in time for champagne and strawberries at the end of the day. Or at least by the time I have to drive home. Yes, I am retreating to Eden Hall for a day’s pampering, and can’t wait! If you think your loved one might be in need of some R&R pampering and chill out time, but not sure where to start, then I would try Spa Finders, as you can either buy them days at a particular spa, or gift vouchers that can be redeemed all around the world. I mean we could all hope for gift vouchers to cover a trip to the Maldives, but quite happy with Newark tomorrow! Virgin Experiences and Red Letter Days do some great gifts...

After my post yesterday on trends for this credit-crunching Christmas, I came across this article in my inbox today about wrapping gifts with fabric. Now, this appeals to my sense of frugality, as well as recycling items that might otherwise just get dumped, not to mention my sense of aesthetics. This is an age old skill in Japan, where the presentation is almost more important than the gift. I’m quite tempted to buy a copy of Gift Wrapping with Textiles, as it might give me some good ideas on how to get rid of the pile of old fabric that’s been in the corner for ages! Otherwise, it’s back to the Financial Times as wrapping...

Delighted to see that Hugh made the money he needed to take his chicken welfare resolution to the Tesco AGM. Like we said, every little did...

These days have a nasty habit of creeping up on you! With just over a week to go, you really need to get your skates on if you want something delivering. Otherwise, you’ll be braving the great British high street next Saturday or Sunday! So, all the online dealers are busy putting in extra offers, or rolling out new products. Here’s our essential 7 for all kind of Dads. 1. For active outdoor Dads We’d go over to Pedlars, who can always be relied on for good outdoor living gifts that are a bit unusual, always stylish and pretty useful too. This Meal Kit is ideal for outdoors, even on the water, where it will float if dropped overboard! 2. For connoisseur Dads Drinkstuff have divided their gifts into two categories: Daddy Cool and Daddy Drool! There’s some great...