Loot has to be one of my favourite homeware stores. It has an exotic feel, with imported and local…read moreproducts and is a bit artsy with really unique prints, canvases and greeting cards. They have some beautiful decorations for every room in your house like clocks, candles, ornaments and paintings, plus a great range of gifts for different occasions. There are colours and different scents and textures when you walk in and I never know quite where to start or what to look at first. Fortunately, whoever designed the store obviously planned for this because without realising it, there is a very obviously laid out pathway around the store to follow as you look from one display to the next. There are a few different styles, many of them Asian or Indonesian influenced and a light beach or summer feel.

I hate buying presents for people when I know they want for nothing. A lot of my friends with…read moredisposable incomes usually buy what they want when they see it making Christmas and birthday presents unnecessary. As a result, I've taken to buying gifts from Oxfam. Oxfam is a not-for-profit organisation who works with people from developing countries to overcome poverty. One of their strategies is to enable the villagers to use local resources to make products which are sold through Oxfam stores. These products include interesting musical instruments, chocolates, coffees, traditional art, jewellery and cookware. Profit from sales are returned to the villages to assist with development. They also have these fantastic gift ideas where you can buy a family in a developing country a goat, chicken or even mosquito nets. The gifts start at $10 and make a great Christmas card as well. This year I've purchased a gorgeous piglet for a mere $30 -a bargain in any currency. So the next time you're stuck on a present idea, forget the platter or scented candle. Head to Oxfam and buy someone a pig.

From the owner: Oxfam Shop is a passionate supporter of fair trade and deals on a fair trade basis with 60 fair…read moretrade organisations around the world, who support thousands of producers including Indigenous Australians. Through fair trade we are part of a global movement calling for an end to unfair trade practices. Fair trade empowers disadvantaged communities by paying them fair and stable prices for their work, helping them to gain the skills they need to develop their business, and giving them access to world markets.

Those who are fans of owls will instantly fall in love with this shop - it's filled with decorative…read moreowls of all shapes and sizes. And it's not even an aviary. This place stocks lots of gifts and present ideas as well as home decorations. There are the usual suspects - women and men's jewellery, birthday cards, wrapping paper, ornaments and teddy bears for the kiddies. The staff are lovely - we were instantly greeted and asked if we were in need of any assistance (pretty rare in most places). Worth popping into if you're in need of a birthday present.

I'm a staunch believer in compartmentalisation. I even compartmentalise my vegetables and refuse to…read moreeat tossed salads. Therefore, you would think that Howards Storage World is my kind of place but sadly, this overpriced, disingenuous brand does nothing for me. Even if it's a case of function over design, they're still charging an arm and a foot for functionality. Take their overpriced coathangers as an example. I can just buy a standard pack from Kmart. Wine racks ? Bunnings or Ikea. Shower caddies ? Bunnings again. Jars and bottles for the kitchen? Ikea wins hands down. On my last visit, I did see an innovative stacking, transparent shoebox system which would have been perfect for a shoe fiend like me. But it was pricy - I'd much rather buy an extra pair of shoes for the same amount.

The ingenuity of the products Howard's carries is not in question; it's their prices that leave you…read morewondering and for this reason it gets marked down. I found myself browsing for quite a while but only walked out with a couple of $7 towel rails. You can pick up some cheap and nifty nick knacks that would make great Xmas stocking fillers but I tend to agree with other reviewers that outlets like Ikea and Bunnings probably offer better value for money, although Bunnings does not carry the same extensive space saving range of products.