The Slanket was 2009′s best selling present by a merry mile if you judge ‘best selling present’ by what sold out very quickly indeed.  The Slanket was virtually sold out by the beginning of December with just Prezziesplus able to take pre-orders with new stock arriving.

Well, the good news is that online stores seem to be better prepared this Christmas with most stores still in stock of the precious Slanket – as well as the Kids’ Slanket.  But, be warned, that could change very quickly indeed as the Festive Season gets underway and online shopping ramps up in advance of Christmas.

For those that don’t know (and it’s hard to believe that anyone doesn ‘t know) The Slanket is a warm, cuddly blanket with sleeves available in lots of different colours – Dark Limoge Blue, Alaskan Blue, Hunter Green, Lavender Pink, Ruby, Purple, Chocolate, Cream and Beige.  The Slanket is completely unisex and there’s also a kid version to that’s smaller and cheaper.  Lots and lots of stores are now stocking the Slanket and the way to get the best price is to use a price comparison service – click here to search for the best price for The Slanket online.

As mentioned above, there’s also a kids’ version which is slightly smaller – click here for the Kids’ Slanket.

And there’s yet another innovation for Christmas  – the Double Slanket. That’s right, it’s double the size, double the fun and, of course, has 4 sleeves instead of 2 for getting all warm and cuddly with whoever you choose to share your Slanket with – click here for the Double Slanket.

If your Valentine is a keen gardener then a subscription to the Royal Horticultral Society may be the perfect Valentine’s Day present this year.  An RHS Gift membership costs just £49 and includes access to over 140 RHS recommended gardens as well as reduced price entry to the big events such as the Chelsea Flower Show, Hampton Court Palace Flower Show and the Tatton Park flower show.  Members also receive FREE the monthly magazine The Garden which retails at £4.25.

The monthly magazine includes gardening advice, access to seeds harvested from RHS gardens, reduced price tickets to special RHS events, workshops and demonstrations as well as special information on more than 4,500 plants.

Membership to the Royal Horticultural Society is perfect for either male or female gardeners with the annual flower shows the cornerstone of the Society.  These include the Chelsea Flower Show (May19-23), Cardiff Flower Show (April 17-19), Hampton Court Flower Show (July 7-12) and Tatton Park Flower Show (July 22-26).  You can buy tickets for any of these shows as a special Valentine’s Day present here.

RHS membership can be purchased for just £49 here.

Are you stuck for an ideal gift for Valentines Day and trying to move away from the norm or the traditional gift of flowers or Chocolates?  Or perhaps you’d like a present that’s slightly different to supplement some red roses.  Red Letter Days has a fabulous selection of experience days gifts for Valentines Day that can either be enjoyed alone or as a couple.

These range from pamper days, tea for two at Fortnum and Mason, wine tasting, spa days and a trip on the London Eye to dance workshops, hot air ballooning, a champagne flight trip over London, cocktail mixing or a massage treatment for two.  You name it and the chances are that Red Letter Days has the unusual gift covered – and it’s the true diversity of the experiences that make them ideal Valentines Day gifts.

And, as you may have gathered, the experiences and days out are not just limited to gifts for ladies or couples.  They can also serve up the high octane experience for guys such as Aston Martin or Ferrari driving, flying a glider, scuba diving with sharks, an SAS theme experince or even the ultimate men’s wet shave.  How’s that for a selection of truly unusual gifts.

Check out Red Letter Days’ fabulous range of unusual and luxury Valentines Day Gifts here 

I hope all the guys out there are prepared and have a good idea what they’re buying their loved ones this Valentines Day.  I learnt many years ago that you either forget or don’t take Valentines Day seriously as a guy at your peril.  Having said that, the range of choices for men on what to get their ladies is pretty vast – from flowers and chocolates to romantic breaks away and jewellery.  The conundrum of what a lady should buy her man is somewhat more complicated…
Some opt for flowers although I’ve seen many a guy cringe as a dozen red roses arrives at work (some may call me unromantic I guess) – but the fact remains that some men don’t particularly like receiving slushy gifts or flowers.  So what else is there?

Well, the choice is actually pretty huge and with a little imagination, there are som,e really great gifts that a lady can buy.   are becoming more and popular.  These come in all shapes and sizes from the high octane powerboating to satisfying a petrol head boyfriend or husband a la true Top Gear style.  But there are also some great personalised gifts that you can buy that may be more to your taste.

Getting Personal has just launched its range of Valentines Day gifts for men and there are some really innovative choices on offer such as engraved cufflinks, personalised champagne,a range of personalised calendars as well as lots and lots of different sports related gifts.  I could be wrong but this may just go down a whole lot better than a dozen red roses.  And, of course, you may get a nice dinner out of it too!!

Prezzybox should have approximately 100 slankets for sale tomorrow (December 18)  This is the good news from Prezzybox for those still looking for one for Christmas.  However, these will sell out very, very fast.

Keep checking their website and also be prepared to take any colour available.  They should have some of every colour going on sale but they have slightly more of the Limoges Blue Slanket.

The Slanket has become the ‘must have’ item this Christmas and online stores have simply not been able to keep up with demand.  Prezzybox is the only online store with any stock left.  The delay in getting remaining stock live on their website has been the need to fulfill back orders that were guaranteed for Christmas.

Be lucky and keep checking their website during the day.  I doubt the remaining stock will last more than an hour when it goes live.  Slankets ordered will arrive for Christmas thanks to Prezzybox’s distribution system.  The Slanket costs just £34.95 at Prezzybox – delivery is just £3.95.

Here are the direct links to the Slankets at Prezzybox:

Lavender Pink Slanket

Limoges Blue Slanket

Ruby Wine Slanket

Hunter Green Slanket

Chocolate Brown Slanket

I thought I’d bring you yet another Slanket stock update as I know there are still people trying to get one of these for Christmas.  This product has undoubtedly been an unprecedented success – but the upshot is that it’s been very hard to get hold of for those that weren’t ‘early birds’ on this.  However, the good news is that it’s still available if you know where to look.

Presents for Men has stock remaining on the Limoges Blue Slanket  ONLY.  Hurry as this won’t last long.

Prezzybox (as we reported last week) will have stock of The Slanket available on its site very soon.  How many and of which colour remains to be seen.  I am hoping that they will let me know today and I will post the information as soon as possible.  Keep checking their site here.

Prezziesplus has now been wiped out of The Slanket until January now but they do have stock of the Kids Slanket still available.

The Slanket is in stock at Presents for Men.  They have 2 colours currently in stock – these are the Limoges Blue Slanket and the Ruby Wine Slanket.  Once again, expect this stock to dwindle very fast as the weekend approaches – and stock may not last past the weekend.  Stock numbers are unconfirmed as I’m writing this but their website confirms that it is in stock.

The Slanket at Presents for Men is priced at £34.99 – which is pretty much the standard price for this item.

Be lucky and be quick if you want a Slanket for Christmas.  Click here for The Slanket at Presents for Men.

Maplin has extended its 3 for 2 offer on toys until Christmas Eve – although you’ll obviously need to order before then to be sure of delivery for Christmas.

They have a great new section setup for the offer which includes very neat presents such as remote controlled helicopters, remote controlled planes, remote controlled cars, motorised trikes, Meccano and even a usb piano!! They really do have some great gifts.  Click here for the Maplin website. 

There are lots of other offers too that have been announced today:

Barratts sale starts Monday – click here

New Savile Row discount codes – click here

New Screwfix Direct discount code – click here

Kitbag new Sporting Gifts – click here

Gluv footwear discount codes including 30% off everything – click here

Flowers Direct new discount codes – click here

Cloggs new discount codes – click here

UK Soccershop FREE shorts offer – click here

Urban Retro new discount codes – click here

John Lewis new offers and price reductions – click here

Burton 20% off everything – click here

Digiat Direct FREE 3-year warranty on all Plasma and LCD TVs – click here

It’s hurry, hurry, hurry if you want a Slanket for Christmas.  Prezziesplus has sent us its stock update again this afternoon.

They’ve only got stock left of the Limoge Blue Slanket and Hunter Green Slanket for adults.  All other adult Slankets have now sold out.  But they do have more stock of the Kids Slanket.  Prezziesplus has 8 of the Hunter Green and 60 of the Limoge Blue in adult sizes.  So get any orders in today – click here to order.

Prezziesplus does have stock of the Kids Slanket but this isn’t expected to last much past the weekend, if at all.  They have 43 of the Limoge Blue, 49 Ruby,  72 Hunter Green and 36 of the Pink Kids Slanket.  Click here to order a Kids Slanket at Prezziesplus.

As mentioned previously, Prezzybox should be getting more stock in so keep checking their website.  Click here for The Slanket at Prezzybox.  It is saying ‘Sold Out’ at the moment but this will hopefully update very soon.

Experience days are becoming more and more popular as presents and gifts.  Once firmly in the domain of corporate gifts, business like Red Letter Days and Virgin Experience Days have given them mass market appeal.

The great thing about experience days as gifts (dare I say it) is that all it takes is a couple of minutes and a PC to arrange!!  No visit to the High Street necessary.  I visited my local High Steet for the first time in ages today and I was truly shocked at the lack of choice and competitive pricing available – God bless the internet!

Experience days make great gifts for Christmas as well as birthdays and Valentines Day and the choice of what to do has grown significantly in recent years.  They also make great last-minute presents if you’re stuck for an idea.  Virgin Experience Days has very recently re-vamped its Top 10 (ish) experience gifts and I thought I’d share these with you.  They cost much less than you might think too with eexperience day gifts available from around £40.  Hopefully, they will help someone mulling over that ‘hard to buy for’ person:

• Aston Martin Thrill - drive an Aston Martin just like James Bond
• High Speed Ride - does exactly what it says on the tin
• Flying Lesson - fly a light aircraft
• Supercar Thrill - more speed
• Deluxe makeover - one for the ladies from makeover professionals
• Relaxation Day for 2 - a ‘pamper day’
• Harness Sphereing for 2 - roll downhill in a 12-foot inflatable sphere
• Emirates Stadium Tour - see Arsenal’s great new stadium from the inside
• Theatre and Dinner for 2 - dinner and tickets for a top West End show
• Classic Lunch Cruise and London Eye - see London from 2 contrasting views
• Zapcat Powerboating for 2 - fun on the waves
• Design your own perfume masterclass - create your own perfume or cologne
• Aqua Sphereing Special Offer - like the traditional sphereing but in 30 litres of water!!
• Body Christmas Flying - the ultimate in wind tunnels

These experiences make great gifts and are sure to give someone the time of their lives.  Enjoy!!