Gifts with purchase: when are they good value?

Were you one of those who rushed into David Jones’ wildly successful gifts with purchase (GWP) last year?

And you just had to buy a whole line of Clinique products twice in a year for its semiannual GWP, despite the fact that you have more cosmetic products than you really need, right?

There’s no questioning that since Estee Lauder, a saleswoman and businesswoman who started the idea of GWP in 1953, these beauty gifts have become a staple promo of cosmetic brands.

But do these gifts really end up being used anyway? And in times of economic uncertainty like these, are they still something we should look forward to? Do we really need the bonus bag, or the fragrance samples, or summer tote bags?

It depends. While I wouldn’t give a friend a sample-size perfume for her birthday, a tote bag can make a great hostess gift or can be very handy if you’re travelling on holidays!

However, the concept of gifts with purchase extends far beyond cosmetics. You might get a gift card with your purchase if you spent over a certain amount, or perhaps an additional pair of socks. Always think first: who can I give this to and for what occasion? It’s always worth having a small gift drawer at home!

Five decades have spanned since the concept of GWP was introduced by cosmetic brands and the fact is, several other marketing strategies have caught up.

For one, online cosmetic stores dole out free gifts and samples routinely. You can easily get a miniature or travel-size version of your favorite cosmetic product in Priceline stores. There are also at least a online dozen discount stores offering the makeup and lipstick products you love using.

To put it simply, the value of going into your favorite makeup store, stocking up on cosmetic products, and happily leaving with your new gift is diminishing. With significantly less effort and money, we can get the same gifts in other ways.

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Consumers spend more on mums for Mother’s Day than on lovers for Valentine’s Day

The National Retail Federation has discovered that the average consumer spends $126 on gifts for their lovers on Valentine’s Day and $141 on gifts for their mothers on Mother’s Day.

This shows that while consumers are spending a large enough amount for their lovers on Valentine’s Day to begin with, they are even willing to spend more for their mums.

In fact, aside from spending generously on gifts on Mother’s Day, most people also buy gifts for both their mothers AND their lovers on Valentine’s Day.

Of course, money shouldn’t be the only determining factor of how much we value and care for our moms. For all you know, a pricey gift is nothing compared to a day of bonding with them. And I’d be willing to bet that much of this average $141 is in fact, a lunch with the family at a fancy restaurant…

Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day are the two of the biggest retail spending holidays in the year. What you are getting your mum this Mother’s Day?

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Krystel S, Bellmere, QLD

Loved the personalised touch and the fact that even though I was emailing the info, the responses and answers I got were very warm and genuine.

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Couples spent more on wedding receptions in 2011 than in 2010

The economy has had its highs and lows for the past few years, but there’s one thing it can’t change: weddings.

The Wedding Report just released a comparative survey of some wedding trends last 2011 and 2010—and the results show that the total average wedding spending in 2011 ($25,631) decreased by 3.4% compared to 2010 ($26,542).

Couples halved their spend on gifts for attendants (bridesmaids, those in the wedding party etc), spending an average total of only $100 instead of the $196 in 2010, and $103 rather than the previous $148 on gifts for their parents. They also spent 21.4% less ($206 vs $262) on favours or bonboniere for guests.

Less money was spent on engagement announcements as well, with only $96 from $150. This is probably thanks to couples using facebook and email – rather than printed – announcements. Wedding invitations, however, only experienced a slight drop of $231 from $255.

They spent less on hair, make-up, manicures/pedicures, flowers, printed reception menus and table names, limo rental, tuxedos, music and the wedding rings, but more on the wedding dress ($1,166 over $1,053)

When it comes to documenting the wedding memories though, couples don’t scrimp.  From $296, an average of $335 was spent on digital or photo CDs/DVDs. Also, spending on engagement sessions increased from $335 to $422—a 26% increase.

Wedding couples are also more open to the idea of hiring a fulltime planner—in fact, from $2,491 in 2010, $3,482 on average was spend on a full service planner. This 39.8% increase obviously means that couples are willing to put their trust in their wedding in the more capable hands of experts.

They also spent far more on making the day special with more money allocated to the ceremony and reception locations, reception bar tab, food, location, and wedding cake.

So while they made some cutbacks, it looks like there are some wedding costs bridal couples simply can’t or won’t scrimp on.

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The 20 US gift cards that most retain their value

GiftCardGranny.com recently revealed which American gift cards that retain their value the best from having the highest resale value and the highest resale and the best discount deals.

Whether you’re reselling gift cards or just wanting to get the most out of your purchases, here are 20 brands you might want to consider.

Food
Bojangles’ – Famous for its chicken and biscuits, you might want to give the place a try with your discount card.
Dave & Buster’s – This all-American place for food and entertainment will be worth every dollar of your gift card.
Fuddruckers – Famous for their burgers and steaks, this fast food restaurant gives one of the best values for gift cards.
Pei Wei – If you’re craving Chinese takeout, your Pei Wei gift card will come in handy.
Boston Market – A place for home-cooked meals, this restaurant honors discount and coupon specials.
TGI Friday’s – Eating out doesn’t have to be totally expensive, as there are top value gift cards that you can use for TGIF.

Shopping
Albertson’s – At a time when grocery goods are soaring high, there are gift cards that can help you keep your budget in check.
Walmart – Hardly surprising is the fact that Walmart made it to this list, with its various gift card deals.
Target – Gift cards for this store will take you far with its wide selection of items.
Dell – Gift cards for electronics are usually hard to find, but Dell’s your go-to place for that.

Clothing
Piperlime – This place is teeming with clothing, shoes and accessories for women, men and kids.
Abercrombie & Fitch – Known for its outdoor and casual clothing, you might find the perfect gift here with your gift card.

Lifestyle
Frontier Airlines – Considered as one of the low-cost airline companies in the US,  your gift card is key to one of its 80 destinations in the US, Mexico, and Costa Rica.
Athleta – For specialized sports clothing, Athleta is the run-to place with your gift card.
Speedway Motors – Gift cards and car parts may sound unusual together, but Speedway Motors offers some of the most amazing deals on gift cards.
PGA Superstore – You can get golf clubs and accessories for a discount with gift cards from this store.
Cabela’s – Planning an outdoor experience with your family can be much less inexpensive if you use gift cards for this retailer.

Gas
Gulf Oil – Surprisingly enough there are gift cards that can help soften the blow of increasing gas prices.
Exxon – Like Gulf Oil, Exxon offers top value for its gift cards on oil products.

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Swedish Wrapp Facebook gift card app coming to USA

Thanks to Facebook, a lot more people remember and actually greet you on your birthday than before.

But did you know that your Facebook well-wishers can actually get you a thing or two for your special day?

That’s what Swedish company Wrapp has pioneered: it’s an app for giving gift cards in Facebook.

With its fairly recent start in mid-September last year and a sizable $5.5 million grant from the founder of Skype, Wrapp is ready to dominate the gift card market of Facebook.

Originally offered in Sweden, Wrapp is about to enter the US this first quarter of 2012. The guys over at Wrapp think it’s just about the perfect time for gift cards to enter social networking sites, considering the popularity of digital gift cards.

To get Wrapp to work, you sign up through your Android or iPhone. Once signed up, you will be alerted as to which friends will be celebrating their birthdays for the coming days and you can then send them gift cards from the participating retailers.

Users don’t get to choose the retailer of gift cards. Instead, each retailer has a specific target based on their gender, age, and other social demographics. The retailer’s information will then be matched to your friend’s profile, to make sure that the gift card will fit the celebrant’s interests.

Although there are a fair number of social gift card apps in Facebook already, what sets Wrapp apart is quite important: a mix of free and paid gift cards. Believe it or not, there is still such a thing as free gift cards!

Another distinct feature of Wrapp is that the gift card will be posted on the celebrant’s wall. Other friends can then pool in to increase the value of the gift card.

How cool is that?!

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5 gift ideas for retirees

There’s one group of people who can be difficult looking searching for the right gift, and that’s birthday gifts for retirees. It seems that they have anything they could possibly want in life, material or otherwise!

1. You might want to give them a book entitled The Longevity Project: Surprising Discoveries for Health and Long Life from the Landmark Eight-Decade Study. Authored by Howard Friedman and Leslie Martin, the book discusses exciting new discoveries about living a long life.

2. What’s a favorite toy they used to love when they were young? Perhaps it’s time to surprise them with some of their most exciting memories with toys ranging from yo-yos, the hula hoop, Monopoly, or a jigsaw puzzle.

3. Make them smile with a CD of their well-loved songs. Even the well-established nursery rhymes will work, and enjoy how they teach their grandchildren these seminal classics.

4. Did they ever mention anything about trying something new? A class or a new activity? Think long and hard, then buy them a gift certificate or pay for that new activity as a gift!

5. Give them a ticket to a new play, circus, musical, or concern in town. Share the experience with them; they’d surely love to spend time with you!

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7 tips to include your dog in your wedding

When your pooch is part of your family, you may want to include him or her on your wedding festivities.

True, including your pet in the wedding is not easy, but can be done if you follow these seven tips:

1. Make sure your pet’s personality is suitable
Some pets can be aggressive around too many people and might even mark their territory in the venue. Eeek! If this is the case, you might want to consider other options, such as having them take part in the engagement photos or the prenup video instead.

2. Talk it out with the wedding planners
Before making rash decisions, you might want to get the opinion of the people who will be organizing everything on the celebration day itself. Are the wedding planners capable of handling any incidents that might be caused by your pet? Humped guests? Weeing on the chairs? Running off with the cake?

3. Ask for permission from the venue owners
Whether you hold the ceremonies in the church or in the hotel, you better ask the proper authorities if pets are allowed—or if a special exception can be made just this once.

4, Get a pet-sitter
Making sure the wedding planners know that the pets will be at the wedding isn’t quite enough; you have to hire somebody who will exclusively look after your pet—preferably your trusted pet-sitter.

5. Get your pet a wedding-appropriate outfit
This simply means that your pet should blend in with the wedding motif! This is easily the most exciting part of including your pet in the wedding, right?

6. Prepare your pet for the wedding
Just like all the other wedding participants, your pet has to be ready for the wedding—from walking down the aisle to greeting the onlookers during the reception. These are things your pet can learn from consistent practice.

7. Have a back-up plan in mind
Things should go perfectly well if you plan ahead of time, but leave a chance for mistakes and make sure you’re prepared for them by having a plan “B”.

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California lets you get the leftover cash in your gift card

The following story is great news for California residents as well as if you’re travelling to LA, San Francisco or the Napa Valley!

If you have leftover cash in your gift card and you’re unwilling to spend a few extra dollars on top of your gift card’s value to use it up, you can always exercise your right under California’s gift card law.

The law, enacted in 2008, gives you the right to ask for the cash equivalent of your gift card if less than $10 is left on it.

There are certain limitations to this right, though. The law doesn’t apply to gift cards that are based on credit cards like MasterCard, American Express and Visa, nor on promotional gift cards.

However, this is a much better alternative than spending extra just to use up your gift card value or letting the leftover amount expire, especially if you’re shopping on holidays in California!

In case a retailer refuses to give you your money back, you can call the Consumer Protection hotline on 619-533-5600.

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Pisces babies born 19 February to 20 March 2012

What’s your little Pisces baby like? Find out?

Babies born 19-26 February are highly sensitive creatures with Neptune, their ruler, newly arrived in Pisces for the first time in living history. As this mystical planet conjuncts the Sun on 19 February and the New Moon on 21 February (northern hemisphere) or 22 February (southern hemisphere), their highly attuned psychic antenna is switched on, all the time. They will really need time out to relax as they soak up so much energy from others. Speaking of energy, a Mercury opposite Mars aspect on 23 February doesn’t make them shy, but it might make them passive-aggressive. They swing between being gently-spoken to being surprisingly harshly critical and even as a baby, they may occasionally have a Nanna-style tantrum. At the end of this week is a lovely Sun sextile Jupiter aspect which gives them plenty of opportunities to make money, especially if it helps others.

Those born 27 February to 4 March are keen to transform the world for the better, thanks to Sun sextile Pluto on 28 February, and if they’re born earlier in the week, they’ll receive some of the Midas touch of the week prior’s Sun-Jupiter aspect. This group includes the rare Leap Year kids with birthdays on 29 February where, officially, they turn one in four years’ time! Magically, they can nominate whichever date nearby suits them for their “other” birthdays. This week’s Sun opposite Mars babies have real leadership ability, once they have harnessed their impatience and direction as well as an occasionally crippling sense of inferiority, thanks to the Venus opposite Saturn aspect on 4 March. They see the end game but will need your help to understand how to help others. They may well be attracted to older partners; most of them will take love very seriously, which makes them unlikely to have casual relationships, preferring one long-term companion.

You’ll think your baby born 5-11 March could read from birth! They’re likely to be this month’s earliest talkers with an intellectually bold and brilliant Mercury conjunct Uranus in Aries on 5 March, making them think – and speak – at a million miles an hour. They may show an early interest in aviation, astrology, astronomy, physics, science or technology. While all of them are sweethearts, with a lovely Venus sextile Neptune on 6 March which blesses them romantically and makes them incredibly kind and gentle with others, those born at the start of this week will have the Venus-Saturn aspect deepening their sensitivity to rejection. Teach them to “let go” when the time comes. There are no other major aspects this week other than the Full Moon on 8 March which will give those born on this day some challenges with clarifying their goals in life.

Some of the most charismatic children ever could be born 12-20 March this year. The week starts with a big-scale Jupiter trine Pluto trine on 12 March which is the type of aspect made for benevolent powerbrokers. Then 13 March features an incredibly moving Venus trine Pluto aspect which is the stuff of romantic novels. Your kids will know when they have met The One – and it could be at a surprisingly young age. The action-packed 14 March has Venus conjunct Jupiter, Venus trine Mars, Mars trine Jupiter and Mars trine Pluto which is just an extraordinary planetary line-up. They are blessed with incredible luck, charm, sex appeal, drive, tenacity, money-making ability and ambition. Since others will have to struggle hard to enjoy what they take for granted, as a result, they could be upset by others’ envy. You might want to read them the fairy tales where the heroes and heroines who are the most blessed by good fortune must also be the most humble.

Find out much more about your child with a 50-page BabyStars astrology report. Order one now and you’ll be reading about him or her in a couple of days. Is your sister or daughter nearly due? Send her a luxury baby gift basket including a BabyStars gift certificate!

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Google gives gift cards for your web surfing information

In an attempt to have in-depth information on the web surfing activity of its users, Google launched a new program called Screenwise.

Launched on 14 February 2012 (when everybody was preoccupied looking for Valentine’s Day gifts), the program will gather information beyond what Google normally gets from users of its products—in exchange of gift cards.

By subscribing to the new program, users need to add a browser extension that will allow Google to find out what sites they visit and how they are used.

According to Google, with this information, they can improve their products and ultimately improve the experience of their users.

And the trade-off for allowing Google to look deeper into your online life? Google’s partner, Knowledge Networks is giving as much as $25 worth of Amazon gift cards for participants of the program for up to 3 months.

When signing up and installing the extension app, you immediately get an upfront bonus of $5. You then get an additional $5 gift card for every month you stay in the program.

In order to qualify for the program, you have to be at least 13 years old and must have a Google account. You should also use your Google Chrome browser whenever using the Internet.

Another more exclusive version of this program, available only for existing members of Knowledge Networks, has also been launched.

Subscribers will have a “data collector” box installed in their home internet device to have a more extensive measure of their Internet activity.

This program is only available for the first 2,500 subscribers, so you better sign up now before the slots are filled!

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Giftopia is the latest universal gift registry website

There are specialized registry websites for weddings, birthdays, and baby showers, but have you ever come across a simple and easy gift registry that’s ideal for all occasions?

This is the idea that inspired Randy Bird, a social entrepreneur, back in Christmas 2010, to create Giftopia.

Just a year after it was launched, Giftopia, one of the fastest growing gift registries online, allows users to create an online gift registry profile that can be connected with their friends’ and family’s profiles.

Giftopia is not unlike Facebook, where users network for a purpose: to create an accessible and personalized gift registry. But unlike Facebook, you only have a network with which you can regularly exchange gifts—your friends, cousins, kids, nephews, nieces, uncles, parents, and even your grandparents!

To join Giftopia, sign up with your own password or connect  your Facebook profile to the site. Once you complete your profile, you can start adding your gift suggestions or even add in suggestions of your friends and family. The site is accessible in any smartphone, too.

Users can include their favorite styles, brands, and colors in their profile. This way, friends can easily track what you want when a special event is about to come up. Or take a picture of what you want and post it in your profile. Because the site also supports bar code scanning, you only need to scan the product’s code and have it automatically posted to your profile.

For more formal events, such as a wedding, there’s a private function that is accessible only to people who will be going to the event.

Another feature allows you to change the “gift status” to let your friends know if you have received the gift which you previously posted.

Try signing up for the site—who knows, you might even be able to get a gift card or a discount for a gift you’re planning to buy!

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Create your own personalised Visa or MasterCard GiftCard

Gift cards in themselves are quite boring gifts actually – in fact, they’re effectively cash allotted to a certain store or type of card.

So Giftcards.com has created a new feature, Create A Card.

This allows you to create your own personalized Visa or MasterCard gift card, complete with a greeting card.

All you need is a 640 pixels x 480 pixels photo that the gift recipient will love (one of you? Or one of them?), and their card is good to go.

By buying a virtual gift, you can send an electronic gift card and have it emailed to your loved one. You can even add in an e-greeting to complete the gift card recipient’s day.

You can also have your friends and family pool in for a group gift. By pooling in contributions to a single gift card, the gift recipient will get a Visa or MasterCard with an amount higher than usual. Each contributor gets to send a personalized message, too.

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Wantful lets recipients choose the gifts they want

No matter how much effort you put into looking for the perfect gift for a loved one, sometimes it’s just not what the recipient needs at the moment.

Wantful, a new service, aims to redefine gift-giving by making it a joint effort of both the giver and the recipient.

Based in San Francisco and New York, Wantful will help gift givers make more conscientious decisions when it comes to picking gifts.  It basically acts as a middleman between the giver and the recipient, ultimately enriching the gift-giving experience.

The gift giver answers questions regarding the recipient’s preferences and personality. They estimate how much they’re willing to spend, ranging from $30 to $500.

Once the gift giver makes his choice, Wantful takes over and puts together a collection of products. These products come from sought after brands and designers—all of them rare and one of a kind.

The collection of products is then put together in a printed gift book made of high grade quality paper. It will be sent by mail or Facebook to the recipient.

The recipient can then choose a gift from the array of products, making him an active participant in the entire process. Once the recipient makes a choice, the gift will be delivered directly to his home.

This process accommodates both the choice of the recipient and the effort of the giver in looking for the perfect gift.

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Facebook birthday wishes: a social tradition or a faux pas?

Since you created your Facebook account and publicly displayed your birthday, how many more people have been sending you wishes on the day?

For sure, you’ve been receiving at least a hundred more greetings—depending on the scope and breadth of your Facebook network of course!

With Facebook, greeting on a friend’s wall has been a common practice. All it takes, after all, is a few minutes (even seconds!) of clicking on a person’s name and writing on the wall a few words of greetings.

Because it’s been around for quite a while, Facebook birthday greetings have ripened into a social tradition for some people. Without these short greetings flooding in on one’s wall, their birthday celebration simply isn’t complete.

Individually, these greetings don’t have much valuable content—but their quantity is enough to give a person the importance they deserve on their birthday.

For others though, Facebook greetings have only resulted in lack of effort. Most people won’t bother to send a thoughtful email or personally appear at a party, because there’s the social website offers a much easier and less personal outlet.

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Free belated Valentine’s Day photo shoot in Melbourne, 3 March 2012

Would you like to have a professionally styled photo of you and your partner?

It’s In The Stars seeks an attractive couple aged 25-39 for a corporate photo shoot in Melbourne to be shot giving each other its gift certificates and reading its luxury reports.

Before the shoot, you will both receive a FREE relaxing styling session with professional grooming for him and full make-up and hairstyling for her.

You will have up to three hair, make-up and wardrobe changes to reflect such gift occasions such as an anniversary, engagement, wedding, Christmas, birthday, and Mother’s Day.

You will receive a total of $200 credit towards your portraits (of you two) for you to keep, plus a $99 gift voucher to use towards any of our gifts.

The photo shoot will take place at a bayside Melbourne photo shoot from 9am-1pm, Saturday 3rd March 2012.

If this is of interest, please email It’s In The Stars for more information.

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Even gift website owners’ partners muck up Valentine’s Day

There’s not a woman alive who hasn’t had at least one Valentine’s Day ruined by her partner who forgot or was too busy to buy her a gift or just “didn’t agree with” the concept. Or who got her terrible presents.

I have had a bunch of wilted carnations from a service station (with no card) thrown over my front fence from my then boyfriend at 17, a packet of bright red fake long fingernails from a boyfriend who thought they’d make me look better (at 19), another who went all out and bought me a silver triple Russian wedding ring after I’d admired a friend’s at 23 (well, he turned out to be gay, unfortunately), the next who screamed at me that we lived together and why should he bother with all that crap at 25, and then a range of boyfriends with whom I never made it to Valentine’s Day with.

So I was very, very surprised that my Aries partner, who is the man of my dreams in so many ways – I checked(!) didn’t get me a gift. And just for some background, he works in retail management so he SEES the Valentine’s Day stock coming in.

1. He was going to buy me a bottle of Bailey’s. Now what girl wouldn’t thrill to a bottle of Irish cream… But I have an allergy at the moment preventing me from drinking alcohol. But I’m sure he wouldn’t have let it go to waste (see number 2).

2. He was then going to buy me a box of chocolates. Well, I can’t eat those either right now and he knows I want to lose a few kilos. Then again, he demolished my move-in gift from him of a giant box of Maltesers when I went interstate for a few days so maybe they really would have been for him.

3. He was then going to buy me flowers. But my mother stayed with us last week for a few days and arranged for a courier delivery of peonies so he said that ruined that idea.

4. Both of them went to the local Westfields shopping centre for a few errands (one of which surely had to be buying my present?!) for two and a half hours. I thought for sure he’d be coming home with lingerie or jewellery for me, but no.

5. He knows I run a website creating beautiful gift keepsakes for couples and parents so he knows I like things I can keep.

So he was mortified when I gave him his gift, which was a bottle of Johnnie Walker and inside, folded around the neck of the bottle, was a RedBalloon gift voucher for a flying lesson he’s always wanted. He did give me a a really lovely card though.

Anyway, we are going shopping for jewellery this Saturday. I love you, sweetheart.

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Why 14 March is wonderful for getting engaged, married and loved up

There are some deeply romantic planetary line-ups which are too wonderful not to share with those who are keen to propose or set a wedding date – or at least have the first date of their dreams.

And I want you circle Wednesday 14 March 2012. Coming a month after Valentine’s Day, THIS is the day when Cupid runs riot, getting people to fall in love with each other, find Mr or Ms Right or to put a ring on it.

First off, Venus (the planet of love and beauty) is in Taurus, one of the two signs (the other is Libra) she rules. She’s at home here, feeling sensual, cuddly, and warmly all-woman, indulging you with good food, wine, music, sex, fragrance, candles and total utter five-sense enjoyment.

She’s joined here today by Jupiter, also in Taurus, who expands everything he touches. This is a forget-the-diet day for sure, as you feed each other chocolate-dipped strawberries, drink fine French champagne and listen to soft romantic background music. Your pleasure is guaranteed.

She also teams up with her zodiac lover, Action Man Mars in perfectionistic Virgo. He’s  keen to get everything just perfect to make you feel comfortable.

Mars trines Jupiter, ensuring that whatever plans you make together are well-thought-out, concrete and have the sturdy foundation to survive the toughest moments.

Mars also trines powerful Pluto in pillar-of-society Capricorn which will give both of you drive, ambiton, intensity and endurance – you two can move mountains together!

The day prior on 13 March, Venus trines Pluto, giving you intense desire for each other, and an unswerving ability to make great wealth in business and/or via investments.

And one day before that on 12 March, in an aspect which will make its impact on dates at least a week either side, Jupiter trines Pluto, rewarding you with taking challenging yet carefully considered risks to grow your resources. You may well travel together for work – but you’ll definitely love getting away for holidays together, with dirty weekends a favourite!

And lastly you have Moon in Sagittarius. There’s never a dull moment at your home, with a stream of interstate and overseas guests to entertain and by entertained by.

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6 important tips before closing your baby registry

It’s hard to get over the excitement of completing your baby registry when you’re still pregnant.

You can easily get overwhelmed by all the choices, and end up putting whatever you see in the list!

By the time the baby arrives, half the things in the list don’t fit the baby or aren’t appropriate for the gender.

You’re going to need a backup plan—and that’s why you need to do these six things before finalizing the baby registry.

1. Be familiar with the store’s baby registry policy
Before choosing a particular baby store, make sure you know what the store’s close-out policies, processes, and procedures are. How long will the store keep your list on file? Are there any discounts and benefits that you can use? Some stores keep your file for as long as six months after your due date; this is important because the store may let you know if there are any savings you can get for the products in your list.

2. Know the return policy
While one of the advantages of a baby gift registry is that you are supposed to avoid the issue of receiving duplicate baby gifts, if this does happen, what will you do with extra rattle or half the dozen booties? Don’t make the mistake of not knowing the return period of the store and either get a replacement or a merchandise credit.

3. Buy the conversion kit now
Your baby may currently be tiny enough to fit (and sleep!) in your handbag but you should buy the conversion parts for your crib now. For one, the brand and style for your crib may no longer be in the store by the time you decide to convert the crib. Also, it’s never a bad idea to plan ahead of time. If you decide not to purchase the conversion kit now though, make sure that you get all the information you need, especially until how long the conversion kits for your crib model will be sold.

4. Consider adding items you didn’t think you’d need – or just for fun
There’s things you may have left off your baby gift registry because you didn’t think you’d need them. A few examples are mesh netting, nappy disposal bags and bibs with scoops. Check forums and talk to other mothers about such items before finalizing your baby registry. What about a baby astrology report to read about your little one? Or a restaurant gift card for you and your partner to have a rare – and much-needed – date night?

5. Don’t fret about stocking up
There are certain essential items, such as nappies, baby soap, and wipes that you’ll go through in a flash. Include items that don’t have expiration dates and don’t be shy about putting dozens of them in your registry.

6. Include things for when your baby is no longer a baby
The expenses don’t stop when they become a toddler. What about planning ahead for children’s cutlery, a car booster seat or a potty step?

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