Not your usual...

Greeting Cards from Moo

2008-07-17T10:36:00.005+01:00

Moo offer a service that can be as unusual as you want it to be. Their business is printing and you can design your own cards and have them printed for just £12.99 for ten. That includes envelopes too.

Moo have a simple range of six products - greeting cards, notecards, business cards, mini cards, postcards and stickers. Their funky, easy-to-use website will guide you around the whole process where you can choose to upload your own photos from your computer or an online application such as Facebook, Flickr and a number of others. Alternatively, you can choose from a range of ready-made designs.

The prices are amazingly reasonable. 100 mini-cards will set you back just £9.99 and they come beautifully packaged in their own funky box. If that's not enough, Moo also sell a range of accessories to go with them.

What are you waiting for? Time to get creative!

www.moo.com

Hotel Chocolat

2008-07-11T16:01:00.006+01:00

This is definitely not your usual chocolate. I first came across Hotel Chocolat on an impromptu visit to Milton Keynes and was instantly very angry with myself for not finding this wonderful company earlier.

It was the chocolate slabs that drew me in. These are not your usual bars of chocolate. They're not divided into squares like a standard bar, making you feel that to eat more than a row would be far too greedy. Oh no. These are huge, whole slabs of chocolate that you can gnaw on to your heart's content. Bliss.

Now I'm a total chocaholic and this is my idea of heaven. Rather romantic too - perfect to nibble together on a cosy night in. The slabs come in loads of mouthwatering flavours such as rocky road, cookies & caramel, strawberry meringue and chilli & orange.

If that's not enough for you, Hotel Chocolat have a huge range of other chocolate goodies to choose from, all made from exceptionally good cocoa and packaged beautifully. All their products make ideal gifts and are a lot more unusual than a standard box of chocolates.

My favourites include the dipping adventure for two - 2 tubs of chocolate, a variety of scrumptious dippers, bamboo dipping tongs and a survival guide to dipping - the perfect present for a chocaholic couple, and their liquid chocolate (for drinking) is to die for.

Cure your watering mouth and go there now - Hotel Chocolat

A farmyard in your backyard

2008-07-10T17:42:00.005+01:00

This is such fun... the ultimate house for your chickens, rabbits or guinea pigs.

Omlet make funky, bright, stylish and practical homes for your outdoor family members and provide all the advice to go with them.

With the cost of food rising and people increasingly worried about animal welfare, it is the perfect time to consider having your own egg producers in your back garden. Omlet will not only sell you a chicken house, they will also sell you the chickens to go in it, their feed, runs and roosting bars, as well as a host of fun chicken-related accessories.

Omlet also offer 'hen parties', courses located all over the country to teach you how to take care of your new feathered friends.

If you're not quite ready for poultry though, Omlet also make the same colourful houses for your rabbits and guinea pigs. They'll certainly put a smile on your face.

www.omlet.co.uk

A personal chef for just £6.79 per day!

2008-07-10T16:41:00.010+01:00

Can you imagine having your own personal chef for just £6.79 per day? And if that's not enough, one that cooks healthy meals geared to helping you to lose weight!

This is exactly what Diet Chef does. You get a healthy hamper of breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks delivered to your door, with ready counted calories and low GI ingredients to help you lose weight while feeling full after every meal.

It sounds like the perfect solution for our busy lifestyles these days. The cost is amazingly reasonable too, less than £50 per week, which is probably the amount you'd spend on your food shopping anyway.

You can start with just a seven day package and if you're not completely satisfied, Diet Chef will give you your money back. Sounds pretty good to me.

www.dietchef.co.uk

Isango!

2008-07-09T17:20:00.007+01:00

Not your usual travel company, Isango! offers trips and experiences to enjoy while you're away.

Their colourful website lists activities by type or by location and includes unusual pursuits such as hunting for the Northern Lights in Reykjavik, a tour of the Maestrani chocolate factory in Zurich and a visit to an orangutan sanctuary in Borneo.

The activities take place all over the world and there is something for everyone to enjoy, with categories including relaxation & romance, seniors and out of the ordinary.

The site itself is really inspirational and you'll find yourself planning at least next year's holiday if not holidays for the next decade.

Prices are really reasonable and there is something to suit every budget from activities that cost less than a tenner.

It's the perfect wedding gift to give the happy couple to enjoy on their honeymoon or if you are the bride and groom, why not select some of your favourite experiences for your gift list.

www.isango.com

Oasis Tents

2008-07-08T17:11:00.004+01:00

If you've got a wedding or a party coming up and want to get that real wow factor, Oasis Tents are your people.

We hired their services for our wedding and it completely made the day. Oasis hire arabian style tents and linings to fit large marquees along with all the furnishings you need to create a sumptous atmosphere.

We divided our marquee into two areas so that we had a cosy bar area with rugs, floor cushions, low ottoman seating and brass coffee tables for a real chill out zone. It was a total hit with all our guests. Oasis supply the arabian carpets and lanterns too and if you really want to go for it, the can supply hookah pipes, palm trees, screens and even camels!

For smaller events, Oasis can supply beautiful bedouin tents, complete with their luxurious interiors to create a sumptuous, intimate atmosphere.

The prices are remarkably reasonable and the service is amazing.

Create your oasis - www.oasistents.co.uk

Sweet Dreams

2008-07-08T16:26:00.006+01:00

Bored of the usual boring old sweets you get in newsagents these days? Reminiscing about the sweet shops of old where a wizened old Grandad fetched your gobstoppers from an enormous glass jar?

Look no further. Chocolate Buttons has the answer. I've just spent ages looking through their site, remembering the times when we used to jump off the school bus into the sweetshop.

They've got bags of Cola Cubes, Pear Drops, Rhubarb and Custard, Sherbet Lemons and all your old favourites. If you remember the eighties, there's Jawbreakers, Fruit Salad, Double Dips, Parma Violets, Rainbow Drops and much more.

The best bet though, if you're looking for a nostalgic gift or catering for an eighties party(!) is the mega nostalgic gift pack. Just £24.95 for a huge selection of candies to set you reminiscing for weeks.

www.chocolatebuttons.co.uk

Four Sisters Inns

2008-07-08T16:01:00.006+01:00

If you're heading to California soon (I strongly suggest it) you just have to stay at a Four Sisters Inn.

These definitely aren't your usual hotels.

Started in 1976 when four sisters opened up their home to visitors, this small chain of exquisite hotels have a unique formula to make you feel like a VIP guest in a cosy home.

Each hotel has an individual, traditional style with exceptionally friendly service and those little extra touches that really make your stay.

When have you ever been to a hotel that has free homebaked cookies available at all hours, a teddy bear on each bed to cuddle through the night and complimentary wine and hors d'oeuvres every evening? The Four Sisters Inns have all this and so much more.

With hotels in the most beautiful areas of California to choose from, you just have to give them a try.

www.foursisters.com