We're sure many of you leave Christmas shopping to the very last minute, and that's completely okay, because you're not alone - that's why many shopping centres do that 24hr shopping special a few days before the 25th. There could be a number of reasons why you have left Christmas shopping until the final week and a bit, one of which could be that you just don't know what to choose; there's a lot out there. To help, we bring you a variety of ideas to consider from the lush gift right down to the bargain. We've also thrown in some food and drink products we think would be nice just for the big day after everyone is done unwrapping their shiny new toys.
MUSIC BOOKS
Australia's Year in Music 2014
Published by Heath Media (who bring you the AU review and The Iris)
Releasing just in time for Christmas, Australia's Year in Music: 2014 Edition takes us from Summer through to Spring, with close to 200 pages of photos and prose looking back at the 12 months of live music in Australia from 1 November 2013 until 31 October 2014.
Photos from 12 of Australia's finest photographers are featured in the book, capturing the best artists from Australia and around the world, including:
Megan Washington, The Delta Riggs, Kingswood, Bluejuice, The 1975, Lorde, The Used, The Jezabels, Violent Soho, Sticky Fingers, Flight Facilities, DZ Deathrays, Something For Kate, You Am I, POND, Tame Impala, Thelma Plum, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Velociraptor, The Griswolds, Bonjah, Dallas Frasca, Calling All Cars, Kanye West, Bodyjar, Horrorshow, Art vs Science, Passenger, Charles Bradley a special dedication to Gwar's Oderus Ungerus and over a hundred more from concerts around the country.
Pre-orders are now available here (http://www.australiasyearinmusic.com/) with the book being made available in softcover ($65 pre-order price) and hardcover ($79 pre-order price).
Bulk discounts are available and publisher Heath Media are also offering special dedication pages for companies wishing to buy for their employees as a Christmas gift. The first run of books - produced in collaboration with print on demand service Blurb - are due to arrive on December 9th.
The British Pop Invasion: How British Music Conquered The World in the 1960s
Edited by Penrith born Alan Whiticker
One particular release to recognise this moment in time is the 300+ page coffee table book The British Pop Invasion: How British Music Conquered The World in the 1960s. Edited by Penrith born Alan Whiticker, the stunning book, published by New Holland in "Paddedback" format, includes some 400 rare Daily Mirror images, some never seen, others unused for decades, alongside prose and descriptions telling the story of British Pop Music from the time of The Beatles onwards. The Rolling Stones take huge focus in the book as well, while bands like The Animals, Gerry & The Pacemakers, The Who, The Kinks and Herman's Hermits go on to show just how many influential British bands became world famous in a relatively short amount of time.
The design of the book is stellar, and though fans of the genre probably aren't going to take away much new from the book in terms of its information, it does serve as a fascinating timeline that emphasises just how important that moment in 1964 was, not just for the Beatles, but for the scene emerging from Britain in general. And there really are some amazing photos in there. An excellent Christmas gift for any fans of the genre. The book retails for $49.95.
The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics
By Alan Aldridge
The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics by Alan Aldridge has just seen a re-release in softcover format. Originally released in 1969, the book takes us through the lyrics of the group, accompanied by illustrations and photographs from Aldridge himself, a group of his contemporarys (Ralph Steadman, Ethan Russell, David Hockney and Charles Bragg to name but a few) and some fans. Having not been through the book before, it's a creative journey through a different sort of musical interpretation. How does one recreate the feel, the themes and the spirit of a track through a single image? The new release is through Omnibus Press and its 224 pages retail for $39.95.
ALCOHOL
You can't even go wrong when giving a sightly bottle of spirits for a gift, on any occasion. Christmas should be no exception. Here's six spirits we think will work particularly well this Christmas.
Adrmiral Venon's Old J Spiced Rum
RRP - $39.99
Dan Murphys - www.danmurphys.com.au
Compass Gift box - Talisker 10 year old 700ml with 2 glasses
RRP $ 79.99
Dan Murphys - www.danmurphys.com.au
Vintage Cellars - www.vintagecellars.com.au
1st Choice - www.1stchoice.com.au
Johnnie Walker Blue Label 700ml with 2 glasses gift pack
RRP $ 235.00
Dan Murphys - www.danmurphys.com.au
Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve 700ml gift pack
RRP $89.99
Dan Murphys - www.danmurphys.com.au
Jack Daniels Single Barrel Holiday Select (Limited Edition)
RRP $159.00
MyBottleShop.com.au - http://www.mybottleshop.com.au/product/jack-daniels-single-barrel-holida...
Bearded Lady Bourbon
RRP $24.99
sippify - https://www.sippify.com.au/taxonomy/term/28/field_range/102
The Royal Wine Experience
Are you looking for the perfect Christmas gift? Beat the last minute rush and hop online to purchase a gift voucher to the Sydney Royal Wine Experience. Whether you are a lover of wine keen to taste the latest medal-winning drops or looking to spend a great afternoon with friends, the Sydney Royal Wine Experience is the perfect gift this Christmas. Guests will have the opportunity to sample from over 1,000 featured wines from around Australia, including the newly-awarded Gold, Silver and Bronze medal and trophy-winning wines from the 2015 Macquarie Group Sydney Royal Wine Show. A generous selection of award-winning produce from the Sydney Royal Fine Food and Cheese & Dairy Produce Shows, including medal-winning hams, dips, olives, cheese and bread, will also be on offer for grazing. For those keen to learn more about their favourite wines, tours led by industry experts are available as are food and wine matching tours and the opportunity to ‘meet and greet’ medal-winning producers. Special group discounts are available when you purchase four or more tickets. For more information, or to purchase tickets, head to www.sydneyroyal.com.au/wineexperience
JEWELRY
Giving jewelry as a gift may seem a little monotonous, but it's one of the most gifted for a reason. Jewelers juliesandlau.com have a pretty attractive range and prices which won't make you feel sick. Here's two we think are particularly valuable.
Purple Quartz Ear Hangers (RRP $345) or Aqua Quartz Ear Hangers (RRP $325) from
www.juliesandlau.com
CHOCOLATE
The gift of chocolate may not last long, but it's a comforting necessity during the silly season, where things can easily get a bit out of hand. This is a first aid kit for your soul, use it wisely.
Max Brenner's Sparkles Gift Set (RRP $53.30)
Presented in a keepsake gift tin, including White Chocolate Bar filled with hazelnut cream and wafer flakes; Caramelised Pecans rolled in rich praline cream and fine cocoa powder; Milk Chocolate thins with popping candy; Milk Chocolate Cubes filled with praline cream and hazelnut bits.
Ferrero Rocher's Golden Gallery Range
Ferrero Rocher is adding a touch of gold this Christmas with two brand new, exquisitely crafted products, lovingly made in time for the festive season. Chocolate enthusiasts can prepare to revel in delight as Ferrero introduces its most exclusive chocolate box yet, alongside a hanging Christmas tree treat, set to bring a taste of luxury to whole family. Try the Golden Gallery chocolate box. The brand new Golden Gallery chocolate box showcases the very best of the Ferrero Rocher chocolate collection and introduces four exclusive new additions, including:
Tenderly white – A whole hazelnut surrounded by creamy hazelnut filling and wrapped in a delicate white chocolate coating.
Manderly – A crunchy whole almond wrapped in a creamy filling and delicately encased in a unique hazelnut and meringue shell.
Tenderly Nougat – Delicious nougat surrounding a crunchy whole hazelnut, wrapped in a milk chocolate coating.
Cappuccino – A delicate and unique combination of creamy cappuccino filling, surrounded by crisp wafer shell and a coffee and chocolate coating.
Also available is the new Ferrero Rocher Star. The perfect little Christmas gift or stocking filler, the brand new Ferrero Rocher Star guarantees to make Christmas tree decorating that extra bit special this year. The perfectly formed golden star-shaped casket features three classic Ferrero Rocher pralines and makes an elegant, yet edible addition to any Christmas tree.
LIVE MUSIC
The anticipated Twilight at Taronga seems like the best bet if we're going for a gig that suits any age. Send a friend, family member or co-worker along to a unique pop-up live music venue that offers a 180-degree harbour view from a natural ampitheatre, delicious hampers by renowned chef Giovanni Pilu, and the event's most modern and eclectic program yet for it's 20th anniversary edition (including Bernard Fanning, Sarah Blasko, Rufus Wainwright, Dan Sultan, and Something for Kate).
Twilight at Taronga runs each Friday and Saturday night from Friday 30th January through to Saturday 21st March. For more information, visit http://twilightattaronga.org.au/
TECH
Huawei Ascend Y550 4G (Australia's most affordable 4G smart phone)
RRP $99 (includes 3 months free Spotify Premium access and a free $40 Cap Starter Pack with 2GB data)
Vodafone have recently announced that one of this country's most affordable 4G LTE smartphones will be available for all just in time for Christmas. The Huawei Ascend Y550 is a wallet-friendly 4G Android smartphone and when paired with an active recharge, it is equipped to take advantage of Vodafone’s lightning-fast 4G speeds. With a solid functional design, the Huawei Ascend Y550 has all the basics covered, including a 5MP main camera and 2MP front-facing camera, a large 4.5’ screen and a Quad core Processor backed by 1GB of RAM.
Vodafone 4G is available in selected areas of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Gold Coast, Canberra, Newcastle, Wollongong, and Hobart. See vodafone.com.au/coverage for more
Wireless Speakers
With brands starting to get creative with Bluetooth tech, it's never been a better time to start looking into wireless speakers. We think these two offer up some of the best value this Christmas:
Samsung M3 Multiroom Speakers
RRP $269
On it's own, an M3 is a very valuable piece of technology, furthered by it's smart design. It would fit in well with the interior of a chic, colourful home, with the speaker coming in either black or white. The top is glossy and can attract fingerprints fairly easily, but it's able to be cleaned with a dry tissue resorting the look quite easily. The power-versus-size element is a great achievement for Samsung, and surpasses many similarly sized speakers. The price tag is $269, so buying multiple speakers may seem like a bit much though we can see it being well worth the investment based on how powerful just one speaker is.
http://www.theaureview.com/games/competitions/win-a-samsung-m3-multiroom...
http://www.theaureview.com/games/technology/samsung-m3-multiroom-speaker
UE Boom
RRP $199
It’s all about making music more social given the recent advancements in the way people discover music, and by playing around with my own UE Boom, I definitely see the value in it. The battery life is impressive for something its size, bragging up to 15 hours on the rechargeable internal battery. With two 1.5 inch, full-range drivers, and two 2-inch passive radiators, the UE Boom gives a very clean and crisp sound, which sounds fantastic no matter which genre you happen to be playing. I tested it out with hip-hop, electronica, dubstep, rock, and even metal and remained impressed.
http://www.theaureview.com/reviews/lifestyle-review-ultimate-ears-presen...