App Animation

Spent most of yesterday creating an animation from screen-grabs of our mobile version...

Hoping this should get the 'ease of use' across.

Buy Less this Xmas

If you're anything like me, right about now you're thinking about what to get people for Christmas. Although buying presents is meant to be about the joy of finding a really thoughtful gift that shows how much you care...

...somehow the reality is often a last-minute panic, and gifts that minutes after being received, have already been mentally assigned to the charity shop, or worse.

Instead of giving something that might be unwanted, how about giving a homemade present this year? There’s something about knowing the person has put in all that effort to give you something unique, that's difficult to beat. And it’s not so hard to make good gifts either.

Here's some ideas: Sloe gin (buy gin, pick sloes, combine - pour into a recycled glass bottle ... job done!); sugar body-scrubs in old jars with labels you’ve designed; a photo book; an mp3 mix tape – anything you can think of really. For some alternative inspiration, Max McMurdo from Kirstie's Fill Your House for Free shares his Xmas upcycling ideas on Nigel's eco store blog

And for presents that you do buy, buy vintage (on ebay), buy handmade (on etsy), buy something that people will love, that's resourceful and that doesn’t cost the earth.

About the author
Nigel from Nigel's Eco Store is passionate about reducing our household energy use.


See all GiftGen's 'making' gift ideas here.

House nameplate - Great gift for a couple

As the name suggests, The House Nameplate Company produce high quality house nameplates. As you can see from the photo, they have lots of styles, made with various materials. You personalise them with your own text, which you enter using their really cool online design tool. You can play around with font faces, text size, nameplate shape, and material. They make a great gift idea for a couple - Perhaps as a Wedding present or anniversary present. Of course it doesn't have to be for a couple, and would make an unusual retirement gift for instance.
Visit housenameplate.co.uk and give their tool a whirl!

The ultimate gift - the gift of life.

Please consider giving blood this winter season...

Our iPhone & iPad app gets an upgrade!

We've just released Version 1.1 of our iPhone & iPad App to the itunes app store. It's ois7 compatible and in-line with most apps, it now works in portrait orientation as well as landscape (after feedback from users). In order to achieve this we’ve had to use icons for the genders, like you’d find on a toilet door!

Click here to visit the app store page

Download it now, so you'll have it in your pocket when you're panicking about presents for the big 'C' (don't like mentioning it before December!). It accesses GiftGen's main website database of over 3,700 gift ideas, so you should find something for everyone.

Valentines Gift Idea - Digital Photo Frame Keyring

A digital photo frame keyring would make a fantastic valentines gift idea, and they can now be bought for under a tenner. For that extra special touch you could even pre-load it with photos of you and your loved one (or just photos of yourself if you prefer)

Here's some search links to a few websites that sell them FOR UNDER £10...

• FIND-ME-A-GIFT.CO.UK - digital photo frame keyring
  
  
• AMAZON.CO.UK - digital photo frame keyring

We've launched a FREE Android app.

Having launched the iPhone app last year, we thought it should be Android’s turn this year.

So we've now launched the GiftGen Andriod App, (just in time for Christmas) and it's FREE!

See here for the full press release

Personalised Bobble Tassel Hat

Teenagers can be very tough to buy for (will you accidentally get them something that's just gone out of favour with the younger generation), and so when we came across these Personalised Bobble Tassel Hats from thepresentfinder, we thought we'd immediately add them to our gift database. They currently seem to be exclusive to thepresentfinder.co.uk. The photo here shows them with a name on. But perhaps think outside the box, and maybe request a nickname, a saying they like...

gonedigging.co.uk - Personalised gifts

If you're after a personalised gift then gonedigging.co.uk is the place to head. They not only have the usual suspects like mugs, and pens, but also engraved items, personalised wine, spoof newspapers, football books, personalised jigsaws and more. Their site is well organised, allowing you to see their offering by occasion, recipent or price.

Here a a few direct links to some of their recipient pages...

• Babies
• Girls
• Boys
• Teenagers
• Mum
• Dad
• Couples
• Grandparents

Light up Colour Changing beachball

Another great gift for the festival goer - A light up beach ball that changes color on each bounce!