Coffee or Tea - What's Your Preference?

Nothing beats a hot cup of tea. Whether you like to drink it accompanied by warm scones with jam and cream, a crumpet with butter and honey or a couple of shortbread biscuits on the side, the results are the same! Instant relaxation and satisfaction, especially when it is enjoyed with friends.

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.”

- C.S. Lewis

For lovers of afternoon tea, it doesn't get any better than this!

Afternoon Tea Hamper - $100 (including delivery)

Fans of afternoon tea will love this delectable selection. Not only does the Afternoon Tea Hamper include a bottle of champagne, meringue moments and black forest delights, you also get three different types of tea: Earl Grey, Assam and Green Tea and Lemon Myrtle.

And for those who like coffee, well, we have something just as decadent!

Coffee and Cookies Gift Hamper - $85 (including delivery)

The Coffee and Cookies Gift Hamper provides all you need for an enjoyable afternoon tea. Included is a French Press coffee plunger, a bag of gourmet coffee, two mugs and a box of cranberry and coconut cookies. Just bring the milk and sugar, and you have all you could ever need to make coffee time special. Shipped directly to your door in a neat little gift box - this is one gift they will love!

“I'd rather take coffee than compliments just now.” 

- Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

Coffee or tea, what is your preference?

Top Sellers Flying Off The Shelf

Well things are starting to get a little busier and our elves are packing up the gifts in preparation for the Christmas orders. I love this time of year!

So what's been popular this month?

Big Chocolate Box - $49 including postage

Well it's hardly a surprise is it. Our one kilo box of chocolates is popular with all age groups - and no, you don't have to share if you don't want to! Contents vary but generally include M&M's, Freckles, Clinkers, chocolate bullets, chocolate buds, Cobbers, Fantales, Turkish delight, Jaffas and Smarties.

Little Sweetie Gift Hamper - $50 including delivery

This one kilo gift hamper includes five different kinds of lollies to tempt and delight. It is delivered in fabulous and fun packaging with a personalised gift tag if necessary. No wonder this has been popular!

Nibbles For Everyone - $50 including delivery

You guys definitely have great taste. This hamper includes a chocolate assortment, savoury bites, pretzels, grissini, shortbread and chocolate mint leaves. What a treat!

Medium Sweet Tooth Gift Box - $29 including delivery

This little gift is one of my favourites. It holds half a kilo of mixed lollies and chocolates to enjoy and share. The chocolate and lolly assortment includes Smarties, Jelly Babies, Snakes, Raspberries, Musk Sticks, Chicos, Frogs and Peanut Clusters. Our Just Lollies selection comes a very close second.

Bon Appetit Gift Hamper - $145 including delivery

A number of our recipients have been very fortunate to have received this fantastic Bon Appetit Gift Hamper. It includes an assortment of products that will look great in any kitchen. Gifts include Maggie Beer Olive Oil, Cabernet Paste, Madura Chai Tea, Vivani Organic Orange Chocolate, Bonjour de France Brie!

Five Fun Champagne Cocktails

Christmas is a fun time when you can pull out all the stops when it comes to food and drink. Instead of drinking champagne neat, why not consider some of these luxurious cocktails. Won’t your guests be surprised?

Mimosa

One of the most popular champagne cocktails is simply to add orange juice and a dash of triple sec or Grand Marnier. Perfect for breakfast or brunch on Christmas morning or any lazy Sunday morning for that matter.

Stoli-Bolli

Fans of Ab Fab will know the Stoli-Bolli well, which is basically vodka added to champagne to give it that extra punch. One ounce of vodka is all you need and it looks absolutely fabulous garnished with a strawberry.

Poinsettia

This one is ideal for Christmas due to the festive colour from the cranberry juice. Mix the juice with Cointreau and champagne for that special Christmas cocktail. You can make this to preference but generally aim for equal parts champagne and cranberry juice (3 ounces) with ½ ounce of Cointreau.

Classic Cocktail

Soak a sugar cube in angostura bitters. Fill a glass with champagne and add the sugar cube. An oldie but still definitely a goodie. This recipe has been around since the 1800s.

Lavender Champagne

The great thing about this recipe is that the sugar water keeps for about one month. Dissolve ½ cup sugar in an equal amount of boiling water. Add a teaspoon dried lavender, stir, then let cool. Strain the lavender and then keep in fridge. When ready to serve, add 1½ teaspoons syrup to about 6 ounces of champagne.

All I Want For Christmas...

The Christmas orders have started to come in – both the corporate and the regular gift orders and it is such a fun time for us. And busy – did we mention busy. Here are some other meanings that we connect with this colourful time of year.

C is for Chocolate

And we have lots of it. From hot chocolate hampers to delicious hampers filled with just chocolate, you can definitely cater for all those sweet tooths in your life with our extensive array of chocolate gifts. One of the best things is that we also offer lots of new products around Christmas time to add some variety to your gift giving. So, keep checking back regularly for more ideas.

H is for Hampers

But we don’t just have chocolate hampers. We have wine hampers, cooking hampers, lolly hampers, coffee hampers and more. The variety of our gifts is what makes browsing our gifts so fun. Beer hampers, scotch hampers, port hampers, non-alcoholic hampers – the most challenging thing is deciding on which hamper to buy.

R is for Rosé

Such a lovely drop to consume before and after Christmas. It’s not white, and it’s not red! Rosé is pink in tone, and is great for barbecues and get-togethers. Many of our gift hampers such as our Gourmet Picnic Hamper features a bottle of Rosé and it is ideal for a summertime drop. Especially when it arrives with so many other goodies as well!

I is for Italian food

I love Australia’s multiculturism and the fact that we can enjoy such a variety of food wherever we go. I personally love Italian food and am so glad we have such beautiful gifts in store to represent its culinary influences on our great country. Check out our Italian Homemade Pasta Hamper, Pizza Perfection Hamper and Homemade Pizza Gift Hamper.

S is for Special

This is how our gifts make people feel when they arrive. All of our hampers feature so many wonderful treats that it is hard to contain the glee when they are opened. This is our favourite part of the job – seeing and hearing the reactions when our hampers grace the doorsteps of those all over Australia. We can’t help but feel a bit like the jolly old man himself.

T is for Tea

Christmas is a time for a meetups and what better way to spend it than over a cup of tea. We even have an Afternoon Tea Hamper to honour the early British traditions of afternoon and morning tea. Whether you want to chat with friends and family, there is no better time of year to catch up with those near and dear.

M is for Merry

A merry holiday is guaranteed with many of our champagne, wine and beer hampers. It doesn’t matter whether you are into international beers or cider, or a bottle of red wine or white wine, the choice is yours. Many of our beer and wine gifts also come with a selection of delicious snacks and treat which will ensure they are a guaranteed winner.

A is for Any Time

Online shopping means you can shop any time of the day or night. You can order your Christmas gifts at your convenience, and they can be delivered as close to the 25^th December as possible to ensure they arrive on time. There are no last-minute shopping sprees – you can be as organised as you need to be and find time to relax and hang out with your loved ones.

S is for Sweet

While we do have many savoury gifts, the popular ones tend to be our sweeter gifts. The lolly and chocolate boxes have been shopper favourites ever since we opened our doors all those years ago. Our gifts are still the quirky alternative to flowers, which makes our shoppers come back time and time again. For that, we are incredibly grateful.

What's New On Our Shelves at Rainbow Designs

It's an exciting time of year - the stores are getting busier, summer is almost here and we get new gifts on our shelves to please the Christmas shoppers. So what's new? Are you ready to be wowed!

For starters we have the Festive Treats Gift Hamper. For $90 including postage, your recipient of choice will get brandy glaze, rosemary lavash, plum pudding, chocolate covered macadamia, three berry jam and handmade cookies. This is one of my favourite gifts, particularly the white choc chip macadamia handmade cookies. Delicious!

Next is the Christmas Cheer Gift Hamper which is indeed full of the Christmas spirit. For $190, including postage you get a bottle of Brut, olive and herb antipasto, berry jam, brandy sauce, cookies, apricots in mango liqueur, panaforte, plum pudding, shortbread, lemon butter and more. Imagine their surprise when they open this delightful gift on Christmas morning.

It's definitely not Christmas without the bubbles. The Christmas Bubbles Gift Hamper costs only $50 including postage and features a bottle of Brut, some chocolates and a plum pudding. For those spending Christmas alone or need some cheering up, this gift will do it. Show them you care with this gift hamper wherever in Australia they may be.

For those looking for some wine and treats, this is it! For $125 including postage your loved ones will receive a bottle of red and a bottle of white, lavash, beetroot relish, chocolates, rum balls, quince paste and plums in port. A stylish and deserving gift if ever there was one!

Which one do you like the most?