Singing Valentines are excellent surprise/fun gifts that come by email. They are based on a clever idea by the people at HappyBirthdayToYou.com, who make singing email birthday cards customized with your name and message.

Just click on the link to experience a Singing Valentine. The song starts right away and you’ll hear the place for your recipient’s name. In addition, you get to write a message, as long or as short as you like, to be included in the ecard.

Same Day Delivery is featured, the card should be out within hours. And it’s very affordable. You can purchase an individual card, or save money by purchasing a “pass” to quickly get customized cards in the future.

Who on your list would be surprised and delighted by a Singing Valentine? It’s a wonderful way to “say I Love You in a song”.

Custom Prepaid Gift Cards lend a personal touch to something everyone wants (money!), but can sometimes seem like a cold and distant gift. These prepaid cards come in Visa and MasterCard versions and are available in amounts between $20.00 and $200.00. What makes them different is the ability to choose the picture on the card, with your recipient’s name and even a brief message embossed right into the plastic.

There are hundreds of ready-made card designs you can choose from online, and this can be a timesaver. But when only your own picture will do, a bit of extra effort can produce that absolutely perfect gift.
Here’s how to do it.

1. Choose your photo.
a. It must be a big photo, at least 850 x 540. The photo must be in .jpg .png or .gif format, and reside somewhere on your computer.

b. Be sure to use a clear photo. Trying to scale one up from a small image will make it blurry. Images taken with a phone or blown up from a thumbnail may print fuzzy.

c. Try to pick a subject that will not be obstructed by the printing on the card. You’ll be able to preview your work and check this.

d. Last but not least, know the path (on your computer) to your photo.

2. Go to the upload page, choose the Create a Card tab, and upload your photo.

3. Once your photo is uploaded, you can see it previewed in the outline of the gift card.

Now you can position your photo by clicking and dragging, or clicking in a corner to resize it larger or smaller. There is also an Image Guidelines section underneath the photo where you can “nudge” it a small distance at a time.

4. Once you are satisfied with your design, click the I Am Done button.

Now you’ll get to customize the card with the recipient’s name and a short embossed message. It’s only 16 characters or so, so you may have to squeeze a little. There will be a preview copy of the card so you can check your work before going on.

5. When you’re finished with your photo, click through to the next page where you get to specify names, choose options and write a personal message.

And you’ve created your card! Now you’ll head to checkout and finish ordering.

A Custom Gift Card takes 1 to 3 business days to make, and then it is sent to your recipient by postal mail. Figure 1 to 2 weeks until the gift card arrives. This isn’t much to ask for a “custom masterpiece” and may not be a problem.

But suppose you need the gift faster than that? Suppose it would be polite, necessary, or even in the best interests of your health not to wait that long? In that case, go to Lastminute-gifts.com and send a Gift Announcement with a custom message. You can tell your recipient exactly what’s coming or leave it a surprise. However you choose to announce your gift, you have let them know that a gift is on the way and you haven’t forgotten.

You might also want to consider a Virtual Gift Card.

Want to wish someone a happy birthday - perhaps today? Flowers are the perfect same-day gift, but suppose you’d like something a little more unique?

A flower birthday cake is a flower arrangement shaped like a birthday cake. No matter how good they look, these “cakes” won’t wreck any diets because they are not edible. Each is actually a fresh flower arrangement designed to look like a cake. Often they come with bows, decorations and candles included.

Birthday Cake flowers come in a wide variety of designs and colors. Very attractive arrangements come in a choice of bright or pastel colors. There is a “Lemon” flower cake, a pink one, designs featuring a lovely large rose as the centerpiece, and several cupcake styles. There’s even an “Over the Hill” birthday cake - white with black trimmings and candles. Yet another birthday cake flower arrangement comes as a Smiley Face.

With this variety of arrangements available for same-day delivery, or delivery any day you like, it’s easy to delight your recipient with one of these “delicious” zero-calorie treats. A flower Birthday cake is a unique way to say “Happy Birthday” to a friend or loved one.

A VirtualGift is a virtual prepaid Visa Card. You can use it like a Visa card to order online or by phone. You can’t use it in stores because there’s no physical card to “swipe” through card readers; however, the Virtual Card is available in hours instead of a week or two.
If your recipient does lots of phone or online shopping this could be the perfect last-minute gift.

Turning a VirtualGift Card into a last-minute gift is easy. During the ordering process, you’ll get to choose a suitable eCard for your recipient. The necessary information needed to use the Virtual Card is included along with your greeting.

VirtualGifts arrive quickly, but not instantly. Orders go through manual processing so eCards are only sent during business hours.

According to Giftcards.com, “Orders placed after 5pm eastern time on Sunday through 5pm eastern time on Friday are typically processed within 24 hours. Orders placed after 5pm eastern time on Friday through 5pm eastern time on Sunday could take 48-72 hours for processing.”

So if the occasion demands a gift right now, head for Lastminute-Gifts.com and get a Gift Announcement. You can tell your recipient what’s coming or keep it a surprise… the point is, you’ve let them know a gift is on the way and that they are in your thoughts.

You might also want to consider Custom Prepaid Gift Cards.

For the seventh year, members of the Garritan community are offering a free Christmas album, complete with cover and and label artwork. You can play it directly for your own holiday listening, or download and burn it to disk. Cover artwork is included for you to download, print out and insert in jewel cases for the ultimate in “frugal” holiday giving. The mp3s and downloads are available on the Garritan Community Christmas page.

The music on the album wasn’t created by mighty orchestras and celestial choirs but by individual people working on their computers with Garritan Personal Orchestra software.

The Personal Orchestra software sounds realistic enough that, unless there are musicians in the family, nobody will be the wiser. And if you know a musician, student or hobbyist who would love to have their own orchestra, go over to the Garritan site and check it out. The software is reasonably priced, available for Mac and Windows and ready for instant download. For someone with musical training, here’s an “instant gift” that could really make their Christmas.

For the rest of us, it’s great to be able to enjoy yet another Christmas CD compliments of Garritan.

Lastminute-Gifts.com has many gift ideas available within 24 hours throughout the United States and Canada. When it comes to the rest of the world however, really fast gift delivery has been a problem. Many products simply are not available outside the US, and items which ship worldwide must go by an international carrier. This is expensive and time-consuming, but there hasn’t an alternative.

Now there may be a solution. A site called Gifts n Ideas has teamed up with local shops in 184 countries. With this network in place, they can deliver gifts for you same day, overnight, or as fast as that that country’s transportation structure will allow.

Gifts n Ideas also offers service in the US and Canada but it is not impressive; prices aren’t competitive here. However, the other 180+ countries is where they shine. Using local establishments saves a lot of shipping, and the time savings can’t be duplicated.

There are a few countries where no local connection is available. In that case Gifts n Ideas uses an international carrier and the time and shipping advantages go away. But you are saved the inconvenience of having to ship internationally yourself.

When looking at delivery schedules, time on much of the planet is hours ahead of time zones in North America. It’s very possible that in the country of your choice, “tomorrow is today” - what looks like next-day shipping is actually same day shipping. In the description, look for the words “hand delivered” - that could be a tip-off to fast local shipping.

If you have a gift that’s that need to go outside the United States, it’s worth checking into Gifts n Ideas. They may have exactly what you need, when you need it.

Once again, members of the Garritan community are offering a Christmas album, complete with cover and and label artwork absolutely free. You can download it for your own holiday listening, or burn it to disks, print out the artwork, and present it for the ultimate in cheapskate holiday giving. Unless there are musicians in the family, nobody will be the wiser. The downloads are available at http://www.garritan.com .

The music on the album wasn’t created by huge orchestras and mighty choruses, but by individual people working on their computer or laptop with Garritan Personal Orchestra software. This is available for Mac and Windows and ready for instant download. If you know a musician, student or hobbyist who would love to have their own orchestra, go over to the Garritan site and check it out - this could be an excellent last-minute gift idea.
For the rest of us, it’s great to be able to enjoy another collection of Christmas music from Garritan.

Amazon.com offers Guaranteed Accelerated Delivery dates on selected items when you choose One - day or Two day Express shipping. This includes thousands of products that you can easily get overnight … if you know what to look for.

In fact, they are so confident that they can deliver your order in time that they guarantee it. When you place a qualifying order, Amazon prioritizes it to ship right away and automatically refunds the shipping costs if they miss the delivery date.

The trick is identifying eligible products. In order to do that, look for the “Want it delivered...” message that displays a delivery date and shipping option. This message lets you know that Guaranteed Accelerated Delivery is available for the item.

In addition to choosing eligible products, Amazon advises taking the following steps to ensure a successful order:
• Choose a shipping speed (one and two day delivery dates appear in green)
• Choose an eligible shipping address
• If your order contains other ineligible items, check the split shipment box
• Place your order before the deadline displayed on the product detail page

One more thing - make sure arrangements are made to take delivery of the package if necessary. If your shipment requires a signature or appointment, for instance, be sure someone is there.

This covers the basics of Amazon’s Guaranteed Accelerated Delivery service. If you have more questions about this feature, check the Amazon help pages for details.

With Accelerated Delivery comes Accelerated Shipping Prices. Amazon is a bit reluctant about showing them, but currently they display your new total price in red at the top of the page. You’d save quite a bit if the order could take a few days to arrive, and Amazon will let you change shipping preferences very easily. But if it can’t wait, their shipping prices are reasonable. And when time is of the essence, getting that order could be well worth the price.

Did you ever see the greatest sweatshirt design on someone walking by in the mall… but you can’t find it anywhere?

Or the coffee  mug you saw a catalog which would be perfect for for Aunt Gladys… but it costs a fortune?

Or you’d just love to give something very personalized and special, but have no idea how to put it together?

Cafe Press has an answer to all the above.  This web site allows you to design custom T-shirts and and personalized gifts, then have them made and delivered fast.

How much time do you have for designing custom Christmas gifts? Here is Cafe Press’ 2009 holiday shipping schedule:

Shipping Method:   Order By:
Economy:                       11:59 p.m. (EST) Sunday, December 13
Standard:                        11:59 p.m. (EST) Tuesday, December 15
Premium:                        11:59 p.m. (EST) Sunday, December 20
1 Day:                               Noon (EST) Monday, December 21

Cafe Press doesn’t have a Speed Feature ( a method of getting your gift delivered or announced within 24 hours).  So if your custom creation won’t get there in time, use our  Gift Announcements to let them know their gift is on the way.

Do you have sports fans on your gift list? Finding gifts for these people can be a challenge. And a last-minute gift can really be an issue, especially if the sports fan lives in a different part of the country.

FansEdge is a website that can make gift-giving much easier. Dedicated to licensed team sports products, they have a huge inventory of gift ideas for nearly any sports fan you can think of.

FansEdge also has a Quickship service. If the item you’re looking at has the QuickShip logo, it’s available to ship out today (M-F) when you order by 5:00 PM Eastern time.

In case you have a few days to spare before the order must arrive, FansEdge has a great 4.99 shipping fee on any size order. But if it can’t wait, express shipping fees are reasonable and well worth the price of having it in your (or their) hands tomorrow.

Here’s a list of the sports FansEdge  covers. And as a service to the Sports-Challenged like myself, I’ve also included what those acronyms mean!

NFL = National Football League
MLB = Major League Baseball
NBA = National Basketball Association
NHL = National Hockey League
NCAA = National College Athletic Association
NASCAR = National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing
AFL = American Football League.

In addition to all the acronyms, FansEdge also covers
Golf, Boxing, Tennis, Soccer, and Minor League Basketball.