If you want to escape from the traditional and you want to surprise someone then why not send a balloon in a box, which you can send with your personal message or anonymously. The large box arrives and when opened out floats a huge balloon with Happy Birthday or Good Luck (or whatever occasion you're aiming at) printed on it. Clever and colourful they're a very good gift idea.

Sky Hi balloons will deliver anything from a single balloon in a box with your message to a huge bouquet of balloons. Having sent balloons over the past few years to my children and various (young) friends I know that they're always a great success and although quite expensive if you'd normally just send a card, they do make a really good statement. You’ll find balloons here for just about every type of occasion.

Go to their ‘Buy Online’ section and order your books of stamps here (or your Special Editions, ready stamped envelopes or personalized stamps). You do have to order quite a lot of stamps but it’s the easiest way if you’re going to be posting a lot of mail in the near future. Alternatively download ‘SmartStamp’, which allows you to print your postage directly onto your envelopes from your own printer.

There are more than enough cards here for whenever you might need them and they'll personalise them for you and send them out within 24 hours. A very good site, quick and easy to get round with some excellent cards for birthdays where you can change the name and date to that of the recipient and they really are very funny (provided you want funny) there’s everything else as well. They also offer a very good and reliable service. One of the best card sites.

Here you can order a card for a wide selection of occasions, to be sent to you to send to the recipient or for Clinton to personalise on your behalf. You can also use their reminder service for future birthdays and anniversaries. It’s quite an attractive and unusual website, with links to other gift websites on the home page and information about who did what on the day you’ve chosen to visit the site. There’s actually so much going on on the home page you may have difficulty finding the cards, but persevere.

On this site there are some lovely cards for every single type of occasion plus thank-you cards and luxury Christmas cards, advent calendars and stocking fillers (for girls). You can also order your personalised Christmas cards here and if you buy ten or more cards shipping is free. When you’re ordering your Christmas cards you can buy books of Christmas stamps at the checkout. Now why didn’t someone else think of that?

Give something fun and different the next time you want to say ‘thank-you’, ‘happy birthday’ or congratulations and send a gorgeous tin of wonderfully iced biscuits from Biscuiteers. There’s the Bootilicious Shoes tin, the Oodles of Poodles tin and the Creepy Crawlies tin, and the biscuits are all as you might imagine. Also buy from them biscuit cards as an alternative to paper ones and choose from Christmas trees, ‘Hot Pants’, Flowers, ‘Home Sweet Home’ and more.