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?

I Don't Want To Panic You, But...

...Did you know that Christmas is just 9 Mondays away. That literally gives you 8 weeks between now and then to do your Christmas shopping.

Shh, don't tell anyway but I haven't started either.

If it is your intention to order from Rainbow Gifts (first, let me say what wonderful taste you have), you can order at any time to help with budgeting. We will just make a note of your order and send it out closer to the date.

So you might want to start browsing our range of delicious and delectable gifts and choose the ones you think your uncle, brother, sister and mother may like. And don't forget to order a special little gift for yourself to pop under the tree!

Here are some of our recommendations:

Big Sweet Tooth Gift

When you cannot decide between chocolate and lollies, the Big Sweet Tooth Gift wins every time. There is no choice. Just a delicious mix of candy to suit all tastes - one whole kilo's worth in fact.

Homemade Ice-cream Hamper

Well, it is summer after all and who doesn't love the taste of ice-cream on a hot day. Learn how to make professional quality ice-cream from the comfort of your own home.

Brut and Chocolates Hamper

Crystal glasses, bottle of Brut, chocolate - doesn't this gift just scream Christmas. It all comes nicely presented in this gorgeous gift box - perfect for gift giving!

Popcorn Hamper

Set up the popcorn maker just in time for those outdoor movie sessions. With delicious popcorn recipes and an array of flavourings and toppings, this gift is one that everyone will love.

It's Christmas Carol Time

With only two weeks to go until Christmas, I can say without a doubt that the Christmas carol season has started. Wherever you go at this time of year it is inevitable that some store will have the carols playing. And for most towns, the official caroling season has started with "Carols By Candlelight" being held in the majority of towns around Australia.

I certainly don't mind Christmas carols as it is a great way to really get into the festive season and share in the spirit of Christmas.

What is your favourite Christmas carol? Some like the more traditional carols while others opt for the more up-tempo pop versions. CD sales for Michael Buble, Kelly Clarkson and Susan Boyle soar as people are snapping up the albums to impress friends and family.

December is such an enjoyable month especially with the Christmas parties and gift giving involved. We love being part of Christmas as we get to share in the Christmas spirit when we send our delicious gifts all over Australia. Our large Rudolph Gift Box has been sent to Darwin, Hobart and everywhere in between it seems.

Don't forget that we will be closed from Tuesday 17 December until 6 January 2014 so make sure you get your order in before then.

And while many of our gifts have sold out due to their popularity, we still have quite a variety on offer. Choose from a Christmas Lolly Jar for the kids or a Moet Christmas Hamper for mum and dad. And needless to say the Rocky Road Christmas Tin has been snapped up like there has been no tomorrow - what great taste you all seem to have. Yum - rocky road!!

We hope you are making the most of the silliness and fun that December allows and we wish you a delicious and magical Christmas.

December Traditions

I love December for many reasons, not only because of summer and Christmas (although they are both pretty awesome!) but for the traditions which families recreate year after year.

• Do you start decorating on the same day each year or put your tree up on a specific day?
• Do you use specific decorations or have a special way in which you decorate?
• Do you drive around the neighbourhood to view the Christmas lights and decorations?
• Does the elf on the shelf appear to monitor your children's behaviour?
• Do you attend your local "Carols By Candlelight" concert every year?
• Do you use an advent calendar in your house?
• Do you have a Christmas CD which makes an appearance every December?
• Do you leave out milk and cookies for Santa?
• Do you hang stockings in your house?
• Do you donate a gift or your time to a particular charity each year?
• Do you bake traditional Christmas cookies or treats to share with your family?

These are just some of the traditions which families enjoy and experience together each year creating great memories and traditions to pass on to future generations.

And some of you have even added Rainbow Designs into the mix as part of your traditions for which we are very grateful.  We have many customers who order a gift box or two of lollies or chocolates each year as a special way to treat their family and friends.

Do you have any particular traditions which you or your family participate in every December?  Please share as we would love to hear from you.

The Calm Before The Storm

November for me has always been a strange month; it is the calm before the Christmas storm so to speak.

It is however in reality, a great time for me to get organised and mentally prepare for the busy weeks ahead. I am able to plan, restock and deal with the increased number of customer service enquiries which grace my doorstep.

While orders are still coming in, generally November for retailers is nowhere near as hectic as December - in particular the last couple of weeks prior to Christmas.

For me the last week before Christmas is actually extremely pleasant as I am officially on holiday - Rainbow Designs' Christmas cut-off date is the 17 December.  If we left it any later, there would be a lot of unhappy campers amongst us as the orders would not be guaranteed to arrive before Christmas Day.  As it is, the postal workers and courier companies are already working overtime in preparation for the festive holiday.

So today I thought I would share with you two new products which are available for the Christmas season.

The first is our Nuts About Christmas Hamper.  It comes already packed in a gift box and includes Christmas blend coffee, macadamia nut fudge, honey roasted cashews, a brownie bite and a pack of organic licorice.  Delicious, right?

The second gift is our Santa's Puppy Pack.  It features an adorable Joyce & Co puppy dog, Freckleberry chocolate Christmas tree and 20 chocolate baubles.  Imagine the surprise on Christmas morning when they open that one.  Again it comes already packaged in a lovely gift hamper box for ease.

I hope that this time of year is not proving to be too stressful for you.  We aim to take the stress out of Christmas with our delicious range of gifts and hampers, so if we can help you in way, just give us a shout!

Christmas Sneak Peek

As Christmas is only 9 weeks away, we thought we would give you a sneak peek of what we have on our website so you can start creating your wishlist and working on your budget.

We love our reindeer at Rainbow Designs and have three gorgeous gifts featuring a reindeer (or two) in some shape or form.  Our favourite is the Reindeer Delivery pack for $55 which features a cute reindeer plush toy along with candy canes and chocolate stars.

Rocky Road seems to be very popular at any time of year so we know our Rocky Road Christmas Tin adorned with (you guessed it) reindeer is going to be a bestseller at only $50.

And the It's Christmas tin at $45 featuring some very lovable reindeer and a delicious array of malt balls, festive coloured freckles, chocolate coated peanuts and everyone's favourite, the good 'ole Jaffa, will have you wishing you ordered one for yourself.

If you are planning a Christmas party, whether at work or at home, no Christmas table will be complete without the Rosey Apple Xmas Gift featuring 25 (yes 25!) Rosey Apple Lollipops.  And what's even sweeter is that it will only set you back $30.

And of course it's not Christmas without our Penguin Sweet Tooth Gift Box for $41, chock a block full of mixed lollies and chocolates.

The Be Merry gift pack features a very practical over-sized taupe mug, chocolate baubles, a gingerbread star and a fabric star ornament.  At $40, this gift is perfect for those "hard to buy for" work colleagues and family members.

All Christmas gifts are available to order from November 2013 and all of the prices mentioned above include delivery charges.

We hope you enjoyed our sneak peek and we look forward to receiving your Christmas orders.  We anticipate the little elves at Rainbow Designs are going to be very busy this year.

Relying on Others

We all have to rely on others whether it be the bus driver to get the kids to school, the phone company to connect your phone and internet, couriers to deliver your parcels, the bank to process your pay......it's part of life. What we have to make sure we don't do is to rely on a single person or business without any backup plan if they let us down. Unfortunately I haven't done it with my business and am now racing around madly trying to find an alternative company to help me. Frustrating and inconvenient to say the least BUT I should have had a backup plan!

With Christmas fast approaching this is the last thing I need to have to worry about - finding a new supplier. It means that I'll have to rush in and possibly use a company I haven't before and not really know if they're reliable or if their products are of great quality. This week will be all about finding a replacement as I don't think my current supplier is worth the hassles of dealing with, as disappointing as that is because I loved the products I was getting from them (when they ever had stock - which is the WHOLE issue of needing to change).

So, a bit of advice, DO NOT RELY ON SOMEONE without having alternatives to go to. Follow up on enquiries often with your current suppliers etc and don't just assume they're doing 'their thing' because if you leave it and then find out they haven't done what you thought they were doing it can leave you in a bit of a bind!

Time for a coffee and maybe an M&M or two!

Have a great day and remember to eat some lollies!

Jacqui
Rainbow Designs - you CAN rely on us :-)