Advantages of Online Shopping at Christmas Time

Christmas is just 18 days away and there are only three more weekends to complete that Christmas shopping. Although at this time of year, shopping online is definitely preferential to visiting the malls.

No crowds

As pretty as they look all decked out with their festive decorations, I much prefer to avoid the crowds. Of course, visiting a store or two is a necessity at this time of year, but if I can skip it is as much as possible then all the better.

No Christmas carols

As much as I like to hear the odd Christmas carol, I don’t want to hear them all the time. There is nothing worse than listening to 3 hours of carols only to find that they are stuck in your head, and you cannot get to sleep without humming Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer to lull you to sleep.

No holiday traffic

Online shopping means no traffic jams. As everyone is heading in the direction of the nearest mall or store, I like to go in the opposite direction, away from the gridlocked traffic. I’m all about the peace and quiet at the end of a busy year.

No long checkout queues

You have spent an hour or two picking out the right gift only to find that the checkout is a mile long. Online shopping allows you to view it up close and personal via the images without the queue. Sounds great, doesn’t it?

You can compare prices

You can quickly compare prices when you are shopping online. This is a great way to enable you to save money. Comparing prices at a mall may mean walking from one end to the other and back again, and with all that foot traffic, well let’s just say you want to avoid that as much as possible.

Shop at your convenience

If you want to shop at 3 am in the comfort of your pajamas, then you can. You don’t have to wait until the store opens; you can do it 24/7 at your convenience. And you can do it while sipping a cup of coffee and munching on chocolate. Nothing beats it!

If you are ordering online, then it is best to order earlier rather than later as you want your gifts to arrive in plenty of time. There is nothing worse than ordering something and then finding out it is not going to get there until after the big day! So if you want to order, shop today or tomorrow or as soon as you can. 

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.

Fun Gifts For Kids (Of All Ages)

Admittedly many of our gifts are for adults. We have an interesting range of kitchen hampers and a few gift hampers which contain wine, beer and cider. But let's not forget the kids.

We also have a fun range of gifts which are suitable for kids - and the best bit, you get to share in their enjoyment of the gift. After all, you don't want them to consume too much sugar, and that is where the help of mum and dad come in, right?

While you may not be keen to give them a whopping 1 kg box of chocolate or lollies, unless you intend to snack while they are sleeping, we have some smaller gifts which are just as wonderful.

Just Chocolates

500 grams of chocolates is enough to win anyone's heart. This half kilo box of chocolate is jam packed with jaffas, chocolate bullets, turkish delight, smarties, m&ms and more...

Just Lollies

For those who prefer lollies over chocolate, this half kilo box is divine. It features jelly babies, snakes, strawberries and creams, gummi bears, jelly beans, frogs and more...

Medium Sweet Tooth Gift Box

The Medium Sweet Tooth Gift Box offers the best of both worlds - a selection of lollies and chocolates. You get a delightful half kilo of fantales, snakes, smarties, turkish delight, chicos, peanut clusters and more...

Just To Say - Bulk Orders

If you are planning an event or gathering with lots of kids, then our Just To Say gift pack is ideal. You need a minimum of twenty 500 gram grab boxes which will be filled with a high-quality selection of lollies, chocolates or a combination of the two. Just select your option when you are ordering.

Happiness In A Lolly Tin

If our new Happiness In A Lolly Tin had a soundtrack it would go something like this:

"Because I'm happy
Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof
Because I'm happy
Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth
Because I'm happy
Clap along if you know what happiness is to you
Because I'm happy
Clap along if you feel like that's what you wanna do"

Of course I can't take credit for these lyrics - that credit would go to the extremely talented Pharrell Williams but you get what I am saying. I can imagine this tin dancing around to the tune - lollies jumping up and down in the excitement of being featured in such a wonderful gift.

The happy flower tin seems to have a jolly personality all of its own - the goodies inside seem to be just an added bonus.

If you have not heard the song recently, know that once you start singing it, it is one of those tunes that can get stuck in your head for days. Much like our gifts. One lolly is never enough and you will soon find yourself reaching out for another and another...but you aren't alone. We admit to having the same problem with all of our delicious chocolate and lolly gifts.

And just because I am feeling happy I am going to share the fun soundtrack with you. Hope you have a happy (and lolly filled) day.

Seven Deadly Sins

Our Seven Deadly Sins gift box is one of the new kids on the block in terms of our gifts; but let's be clear about this - we aren't selling a mixed box of wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy and gluttony.  Our Seven Deadly Sins gift box refers to seven individual round containers, each filled with lollies or chocolates of your choice.  While our boxes may create a little bit of pride or envy, we like to think that overall they create feelings of happiness, well-being and a willingness to share with loved ones if necessary.

Choose your 7 selections from 31 delicious choices - what will you choose; that's always the hardest part in my opinion.  Gummi Bears, Chicos, Freckles, Jaffas, Raspberries, Smarties, F1 Race Cars...just a few of our delicious options.

If dad has a sweet tooth then this might be a good choice for him for Father's Day.  He can choose a box for each day of the week as a treat after work, or save them all for a weekend celebration to accompany his favourite ale or beer.

I like the fact that our chocolate and lolly gifts are a little bit naughty and a lot nice, don't you?

If you specifically like to pick your own mix we have a variety of gifts under this category.  In addition to the Seven Deadly Sins Gift Hamper mentioned above, we also carry a 1kg or a half kilo mix of lollies and chocolates in a reusable gift box, as well as a Cravings Overdrive mix (1.8kg) presented in a reusable pink Sweetie Tin (pictured above).

Choose the size of the gift you want, pick your favourites and order.  As easy as 1, 2 and 3.

Sweets For My Sweet

"Sweets for my sweet, sugar for my honey

Your first sweet kiss thrilled me so

Sweets for my sweet, sugar for my honey

I'll never ever let you go"

- Sweets For My Sweet, Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman

When it comes to your sweetheart, it is always a great time to buy them a little something.  It doesn't need to be a particular occasion - when was the last time you got them a "just because" gift?

We have lots of great gift ideas for that special someone - don't wait for Valentine's Day or their birthday, today is a great day to show them how wonderful or respected they are.  Or you could order a gift and keep it hidden until the day deserves a little pick-me-up; we all definitely need those from time to time.

What do I recommend?  Well that's a tough question, however I am happy to share some of my particular favourites which have created many a special moment for our customers.

Love You More Than Chocolate

There is no denying how you feel with our Love You More Than Chocolate gift.  Choose from your choice of lollies or chocolates to accompany our cute teddy bear.

Big Chocolate Box

Our Big Chocolate Box is one of the most popular gifts we have on offer and is perfect for cuddling up on the sofa and watching your favourite sports game or a movie on a Friday evening. 

Because You're Sweet

The name says it all!  A scrumptious mix of chocolates, fudge, rocky road, gems and party mix all housed in a practical cake tin which you can use over and over again.

These are of course just some of our suggestions.  Browse our extensive list of lolly and chocolate gifts that will suit that special someone.  We have licorice, fudge, rocky road, gluten free and many others to choose from.

Our sweet range from Rainbow Designs is just another way to show "I Love You".

Facebook Fun

We have been having a lot of fun on our Facebook page over the last week or so trying to determine which candy is the preferred favourite over another; you might just be surprised by the results. 

M&M's vs Jaffas

Winner:  M&M's

M&M's vs Smarties

Winner:  M&M's

Licorice Bullets vs Freckles

Winner:  Licorice Bullets

Licorice Bullets vs Fantales

Winner:  Votes are still coming in but it looks like Licorice Bullets will be the overall winner

Some lollies seem to be extremely popular regardless of which other lolly they are up against.  M&M's and Licorice Bullets are two of my favourites and it seems I am not alone in this opinion.

If you do have a preferred favourite candy whether it be Licorice Bullets, M&Ms or some other delicious choice, we have a Craving - Pick Your Mix gift allowing you to select only your personal favourites, one kilo of them to be exact.  You can choose from 46 different candy selections and it will come packaged in a reusable gift box just for you or a friend (or both if you plan to share).

Perfect for the fussiest of individuals and for those who crave a particular lolly over another.  You can imagine their surprise when they open this gift - whether it be 1kg of Red and Green Frogs or 1kg of Chicos and Milk Bottles - you know it will definitely be appreciated.

What would go in your Pick Your Mix selection?

Back To Business

Well the Christmas wine disappeared in a flash and the gifts were opened.  Then the New Year wine disappeared just as quick and we celebrated the start of 2014.  And in between we enjoyed our downtime and spent the holiday doing as very little as possible.  We hope you too managed to find some time to relax and unwind.  What did you get up to?

Today however we are back to business as usual.  And a good thing really as I was starting to experience withdrawal symptoms from Rainbow Designs or maybe that was just the reduction in chocolate talking!  Either way I am glad to be back.

Our Christmas gifts may have been retired but we still have plenty of quality lolly and chocolate gift boxes on offer.  Take our ever popular Big Sweet Tooth Gift Box as an example.  A drooly 1kg (that's right!) of lollies and chocolates all presented in a hamper style white noodle box.

Or for the little sweetie we have the Little Sweetie Gift Hamper which features white chocolate raspberry bullets, snakes, mini meringue bursts, jelly beans, party mix, giant lollipop and aniseed rock candy.

And one of most popular gifts from last year is still available - our Fudge It gift set; three types of scrumptious fudge presented in three delightful tins to use even when the fudge is gone.

Even though I thoroughly enjoyed my holidays I can't help but feel they went by very quickly...before I know it we will be talking Valentine's Day.

Last Chance To Purchase Your Christmas Gifts

What a fantastic year it has been and I must admit that I will be enjoying a cold one come Tuesday afternoon when we shut up shop until the 6 January. And I must say well deserved it will be too - phew - what a week it has been!

On Thursday last week, we shipped out 220 gifts to destinations all over Australia - our Big Lolly Box high on the popularity list.  And the rest of the week wasn't far behind in terms of popularity.

Have you ordered your gifts yet?  Don't forget we will be closing tomorrow at midday so we recommend ordering your gift now so there are no issues and you don't miss the deadline.  We would hate for your recipients to go without.

Here are a couple of last minute recommendations:

It's Christmas Chocolate Tin
Rudolph Sweet Tooth Gift Box
Nuts About Christmas
Rosey Apple Xmas Gift
Rudolph's Delight Hamper

If you have ordered, or even received a gift, we would be extremely grateful if you would take the time to review our services on WOMO.  Thanks to the reviews already received, Rainbow Designs won a 2103 Service Award for which we are very proud.  We try very hard to offer quality customer service at all times and are extremely proud of our service history.

"Every time I purchase from Rainbow Designs I'm always impressed by how quick my order is sent. The family and friends to receive the gifts are really surprised and delighted by their gift." - Nicole

"Excellent communication - I was kept up to date with the entire order and delivery progress the whole way. Super quick delivery. Faultless! Will definitely use again!" - Christina

To all of our customers - past, present and future - we sincerely hope you have a wonderful Christmas and magical New Year spent with those you love.  We look forward to helping you with your gift giving in 2014.

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.

7 Weeks Until Christmas

Alright...I said it...don't shoot the messenger!

Christmas is not that far away (sorry!) particularly when you take into account that last orders will be taken 17 December 2013 and even earlier for corporate orders, 11 December 2013 which is essentially only 5 weeks away.

But I would like to add that many of you are already very organised when it comes to your Christmas shopping.  Corporate orders are starting to come in and we have had a number of enquiries from expats abroad asking about sending gifts to their loved ones back in Australia.

Way to go - I am very impressed as I know I am behind in my personal Christmas shopping - so hats off to you!  I also know that my friends and family love receiving gifts from Rainbow Designs so that always makes shopping a little bit easier especially when I often leave things to the last minute.

Are you the same?  Do you tend to be a last minute shopper or are you a person who is very organised and stockpiles gifts throughout the year?  We are all very different when it comes to our shopping habits but one thing we all have in common is that we want to ensure that our gifts reach our loved ones safe and sound and give them as much enjoyment as possible.

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.

When The Postman Rings

I love the sound of the doorbell ringing alerting me to the fact that a parcel has been delivered.  The anticipation of opening the parcel and seeing the contents inside is very exciting, particularly when I am not expecting anything.

Magnify that feeling by at least 20 and you can understand how I feel when the new stock arrives for Rainbow Designs.  In this case it is not just one small box, but a number of really large boxes full of delicious treats and gorgeous packaging, and that thrill, even after all these years is still there.

As I am opening the boxes, I can imagine packaging the goods up for those that order and seeing the smiles on the faces of those who will receive them.  We take pride in our products and our packaging and do our utmost to ensure that our customers are 100% happy.  Just check out or reviews on WOMO to see what some of our customers have to say. 

I enjoy this time of year as it means that even more parcels are being delivered to our door than usual to cater for the festive season ahead.  Christmas gives us the opportunity to be more creative and elaborate with our packaging – I mean who doesn’t like penguins frolicking in the snow and I know that our three Japanese inspired fudge tins are going to be very popular.

While I do love to receive gifts (I mean who doesn’t!), the pleasure of giving (even as a store owner) definitely beats the satisfaction of receiving a gift – every time!

Honesty

It's so quiet today I'm not sure why I got out of bed! Swings and Roundabouts lately. The last few weeks, come to think of it it's been the last few months, it's been refreshingly busy - I've sprung out of bed (well maybe not 'sprung'!) at 6.30am excited for what the day would bring. There's been lots of fabulous orders, customer enquiries, corporate Christmas quote requests and it just felt like the upward momentum had finally hit Rainbow Designs this year - hooray!

Queue today and zilch - the momentum appears to have stopped, dead. WHY?????

I'm getting close to just giving up, then only problem is Port Macq doesn't have many job opportunities for me. Although, it would probably be cheaper to close Rainbow Designs than to keep it going at the moment - my latest tax return tells me that. woo to the hoo.

I'm trying to stay positive, really I am, but sometimes...........................it it hard. (and my stupid computer does not help things!)

I've ordered some, hopefully fabulous, new packing and really looking forward to its arrival! There's a few Christmas themed gift boxes (well tins actually) as well as a couple of 'everyday' gift packaging and a 'love' themed tin (it's heart shaped and looks fabbo!) and I found my Easter 'russian egg' tins that I use to have and that were so popular but then the supplier stopped stocking - they're back baby!! I'm not getting ahead of myself though and won't order them just yet, let's see what Christmas brings first!

Today was meant to be sunny and 28degrees but I think it's taken a leaf out of my book and is grey and miserable looking :-) Doesn't do much for my mood that's for sure. BUT chin up, onwards and upwards.

I've cranked the music and am forcing (!) myself to stay positive and (sort of) focused.

Time for some lollies (have you had your quota today??)

What doesn't kill you makes you strong,

Jacqui

(wishing she was here)

 

ps: have you written a review about Rainbow Designs yet? You can do it here or here!

Father's Day is fast approaching!

Another year is flying by, don't they all?? I can't quite believe that Father's Day is only 2 weeks away - I'm sure we just finished Easter!! Sometimes I can't keep up with the speed of the weeks and other times I wish the days would go faster (weekend anyone??)!



We've got a fabulous variety of gifts this year at Rainbow Designs with 'dad' in mind - think licorice, beer, big box of chocolates (all for him!), more beer and even lager and cider if he is that way inclined!

 



Our yummy range of gifts from Port Macquarie can be ordered up until Wednesday 28 August to ensure delivery is made before Sunday, 1 September and our gorgeous gift hampers from Brisbane and Melbourne need to be ordered by Monday 26 August - the earlier the better really!

 



Remember, deliveries are not made on the weekend so all orders will be delivered the week leading up to Father's Day - it's up to your dad whether he has the will power or not to not open it until Sunday!

 



Gifts start at $19...............so there is NO reason to not send your dad something! He deserves it! Just quietly, I think my dear old dad will be getting boring old socks (he can have all the chocolates he wants just about anytime he wants with me close by!) but don't do that to your poor old dad!!! :-)

Take care and don't forget to eat some lollies,

Jacqui