Father’s Day is a little over a week away, which means that there is still time to order some great gifts for dad. Even if you are listening to our podcast a couple of days before Father’s Day, we’ve got some tips for gifts that will get to dad in time while not breaking your bank.

Show Notes:

• Electronics and Gadgets are still some of the most popular gifts for Father’s Day. You can get them quickly by using Amazon Prime or shopping online somewhere like Best Buy and picking up in-store. Roku is big in addition to Kindles. If you have a little more time, Paul’s TV has some amazing deals on televisions. Vann’s is also a good choice for a wide variety of gifts and great customer service.
• If dad is into gaming, check out Gamestop for some good deals on games.
• You can’t go wrong with food and drink gifts. Omaha Steaks is a favorite for most dads and you will get the most bang for your buck if you order one of the packages and meet the minimum for free shipping. Spend the extra money on food rather than FedEx. (Get our latest Omaha Steaks free shipping deal)
• Popcorn is popular and there are a wide variety of merchants to choose from depending on what you want to spend. Some of our favorites are Popcorn Factory, Popcornopolis, Dale and Thomas, and Garrett Popcorn.
• Coffees of Hawaii is a little more exotic for the coffee-drinking dad. Choose from one-time purchase or a coffee delivery service. (Sunshine Rewards has a limited time cash back increase plus Coffees of Hawaii coupons)
• Two of Ashleigh’s favorites are Harry & David and My Wines Direct. Both are featuring specials right now for Father’s Day.
• If dad is into sports, Football Fanatics does 3-day shipping on all of their orders for $4.99. Their merchandise is not limited to football, and you can find professional as well as college teams.
• Event tickets are great if he loves live sports. Plus, you are creating an experience or a memory out of the gift. Many of the merchants are not working with cash back or coupon sites anymore so it is harder to get “deals” but if you watch eBay, StubHub, and Ticket Liquidators frequently you might get lucky.

Don’t forget that you can get cash back and coupons from Sunshine Rewards for almost all of the merchants that we talked about in the podcast.

Tricia’s on vacation most of the rest of the month so watch for the next podcast in early July. Unbelievably, we will already be looking at back to school purchases.

(Find us online: Tricia Meyer and Ashleigh Ball of Sunshine Rewards)

Mother’s Day is less than a week away but it is not too late to order terrific Mother’s Day gifts and have them arrive on time. Ashleigh and I shared our first podcast today to chat about our favorite options for last minute Mother’s Day gifts.

Show Notes:

• Flowers are obviously one of the first things that people think of for mom. Be sure that you understand the difference between flowers that are delivered via carrier and those that are same day delivery by local florists. Both are still available with plenty of time for delivery. Early delivery may be cheaper. Consider mixed bouquets or tulips rather than standard roses. (Get 1-800-FLOWERS coupons)
• Food and drinks are great for the moms who have everything. Mrs. Prindables has some great deals right now (Tricia’s favorite) including free shipping on select items. Another great choice is wine. You can get Cellars Wine Club deals plus they deliver to Indiana (and most other states). Other merchants mentioned: Harry & David, Fairytale Brownies, Cheryls, David’s Cookies.
• Jewelry is another standard choice but you can go traditional or bold with spring colors. Be sure to use Ice.com coupons or MyJewelryBox.com coupons because they can save you 20-25% off and both guarantee delivery by Mother’s Day still.
• Are gift certificates an appropriate gift for mom? They might be depending on the mom. If you do choose one, be sure that it is tailored specifically to her tastes so that she knows that you put some thought into it. Merchants mentioned: GiftCertificates.com, SpaWish, Spa Finder.

Don’t forget to check for coupons as well as cashback at all of the merchants above at Sunshine Rewards.

Show Notes:

* First we talked about graduation party supplies and all of the cute items out right now. One of our favorites was the personalized banner. For as little as $8, you can get banners with the graduate’s name. Check out sites like Shindigz and Pinatas.com for tableware, banners, and decor. Oriental Trading Company has cute favors.
* Next we talked about the “commemorative gift category.” Some gifts serve the main purpose of remembering the particular occasion. Get a personalized item that the graduate will keep forever. One of our favorites for those is Things Remembered.
* Lastly, we talked about gifts that will help the graduate in their “next step” in life. These really have to be tailored to the age of the graduate and what they are doing after they graduate. A nice laptop bag or even luggage would be great at the high school or college age. Also think about all of the things they might use in a college dorm or apartment. Bean bag chairs would be perfect!

Check out the entire Graduation Shopping category for even more ideas.

Mother’s Day is May 9, and we are two moms who know the perfect gifts at the best prices. We shopped around to find some great gift ideas in different categories.

Show Notes:

• Traditional Gifts: candy, flowers, cookies, perfume, and jewelry. Some interesting ideas this year included (Cindy’s favorite) ThePerfumeSpot.com, the planters at 1-800-Flowers (after Tricia saw them on Undercover Boss), Corso’s Cookies, chocolate covered strawberries at CC Berries, Mother’s jewelry from Limoges.com, and treats from Hannah’s Caramel Apples.
• Cool Gifts for Cool Moms: Customized gifts from A Gift Personalized, affordable and “funky cute” (in the words of Jillian) jewelry from Emitations, Zip It bags, spring nail polish from Sephora, tea makers from Teavana, and wine collections from MyWinesDirect.
• Mom Who Has Everything: Custom print from Canvas Press, stationery from Expressionery, and food from Gourmet Station.
• We touched on a lot of the coupons and sales that you can jump on for most of the above if you shop soon. You should be able to find them all at Sunshine Rewards as well as most other coupon sites.

January went by so quickly that this was our first podcast of the year. Just in time for February, we decided to review Valentine’s Day merchants. Cindy led most of the podcast because she has been knee-deep in planning Valentine’s Day promotions for some of our websites.

Show notes:

* Quick recap of Affiliate Summit and some of the benefits of attending this year.
* Flowers always work for Valentine’s Day and 1-800-Flowers has a lot of different options. Be sure to understand the difference between having your flowers delivered by FedEx and those delivered by local florists.
* Bath & Body Works and The Perfume Spot have good options for both men and women. I got my favorite new perfume (Pink Sugar) from The Perfume Spot. Bath & Body Works has a terrific new Godiva candle available only online.
* Crazy for Bargains is great for fun pajamas for women, men, and kids. Personally, I like the boxers for holidays. Romantic Gowns actually has some great lingerie, including some cute pink and red sets that would be perfect for Valentine’s Day. (Here the mother/daughter podcast got a little bit awkward).
* Jewelry is traditional for Valentine’s Day and May Leigh has some nice options. Women seem to be wearing more jewelry these days, including multiple bracelets and necklaces at a time and mixing silver and gold. Things Remembered has both jewelry and other items available for personalization.
* You usually can’t go wrong with food (especially if the gift is for me). David’s Cookies makes homemade tasting cookies that can be ordered through the 10th. Ghirardelli is an impressive brand name with high quality chocolates.
* From the customer standpoint, these were all merchants that we personally like to shop through.

Lots of great Valentine’s Day gift ideas today. Hopefully a little something for everyone.

Show Notes:

* Food Gifts. It’s relatively easy to find food gifts that can be shipped as late as December 22 and make it in time for Christmas. Good choices include Hickory Farms, David’s Cookies, Mrs. Prindables, Kosher.com, Wolferman’s, and Omaha Steaks.
* Non-food gifts. This category was a little bit harder for us but we did find some great deals. Check out Ice.com, magazines.com, 1-800-Flowers, Amazon.com and Vann’s.
* Gift Certificates and Gift Cards. This is the most traditional category of last minute gifts. There are some things to watch for, however, such as shipping and handling fees or delayed shipping. Look for electronic gift certificates from places like Apple iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Home Depot, GameFly, and Restaurant.com.

This will probably be our last podcast of the year, so happy holidays from Cindy and Tricia!

We skipped an episode of podcasting because we were preparing for Affiliate Summit. So we figured that we had better bring our members back something good! Unlike most of our podcasts that have a clear theme, you won’t find anything that links together these three merchant reviews except that they are all merchants that we learned about at Affiliate Summit East in New York. Each of the three is unique in its own right, and we were able to see up close and personal the products from each of them while we were in New York.

Show Notes:

• Cindy walked us through the new ShopKenPaves.com website. Ken Paves is known for being a hairdresser to the stars (including Jessica Simpson). Now you can get his line of hair extensions, cosmetics, and hair products online. (Earn 5% cash back on purchases from Sunshine Rewards)
• Tricia revealed (shockingly) that she colors her hair.
• We were all very impressed with what we learned about Ken Paves and the care that goes into formulating everything that he sells. Look for a video on the videoblog soon where you can see Angie trying out bangs!
• Tricia introduced the Christian products site DaySpring. You may have seen some of their products at your local Hallmark store. They are the world’s largest producer of Christian greetings.
• DaySpring features free shipping on orders over $50 directly on their site, and you can find coupons codes online for $ off certain minimums. (Earn 7% cash back from Sunshine Rewards and check out our exclusive DaySpring coupon!)
• Do you Poken? After being introduced to the Poken at Affiliate Summit, Angie introduced us to the Poken Zoo program. We have a feeling that if you haven’t seen a Poken yet, you will be seeing one soon! (Earn 10% back on purchases through Sunshine Rewards.)
• Pokens allow you to exchange social networking information with people just by touching your Pokens to each other. You have to check out the site to see how cool they are. Angie already ordered her little pink “Geisha.”

No dogs barking, doorbells ringing, or toilets flushing in this podcast. We almost sounded professional. Almost. Next podcast will be about where you can find college and NFL fan gear.

Father’s Day is June 21, which is right around the corner. This week on She Shops Around, the ladies reviewed three different merchants that would be perfect for Father’s Day Gifts. Father’s Day is no longer about ties for dad. It’s about gadgets and grilling and gifts that make dad feel special.

Show Notes:

• Angie reviewed Omaha Steaks, which all three of us have ordered from before and been pleased. Find out what to do with those coolers after you have received your order.
• Tricia reviewed Buy.com, her “go to” merchant for gifts for her husband.
• Cindy reviewed a merchant that is newer to the group, DiscountWatchStore.com. Learn about the different types of watches you can buy and how to be sure you are getting what you want. (Use the Sunshine Rewards exclusive limited time DiscountWatchStore.com coupon)
• Want to win a $10 gift certificate? Be sure to listen to the whole podcast and you will find out how you can be entered!

Next month we will be talking about FAMILY summer fun.

With summer weddings and anniversaries on the horizon, we took an opportunity to talk about wedding gift ideas. With about 55 years of marriage total between the three of us, we had a lot to talk about! Even if you don’t have any weddings on the horizon, you don’t want to miss this review of three great merchants.

Show Notes:

• History and tradition of June weddings (ladies…are you ready to help with the harvest?).
• Main types of wedding gifts: cash, registry, non-registry.
• Cindy walks us through the Personal Creations website and the types of personalized gifts to give for weddings, anniversaries, and wedding attendant gifts. Personal Creations offers a lot of coupons throughout the year.
• Tricia discusses MyWinesDirect and the different between it and other online wine sites. Quality wines at lower prices but they may not be brands that you necessarily know.
• Angie talks about Kohls and the Kohls wedding registry program. Great for household gifts and decor.

Check out our entire Wedding and Anniversary Gift section. Next podcast, Father’s Day ideas!

As May draws close to June, we start seeing more about graduations. Whether the graduation is from preschool, kindergarten, high school, college, or even grad school, we are all looking for the perfect gift and party ideas. Today the She Shops Around ladies reviewed three merchants that you do not necessarily think of first when you think about graduation: TheFlip.com, Shindigz. and Magazines.com.

Show notes:

• Tricia and Cindy relived Tricia’s high school graduation and the fact that Cindy repainted the whole house.
• Cindy reviewed TheFlip.com, the official store of the Flip videocamera. Who does the Flip make a great graduation present for? Pretty much everyone on your list.
• The ladies talked about the different ways that they use their Flip cameras, including for fun, work, and school projects.
• Angie walked us through the Shindigz website. In addition to party supplies, they have tips for throwing parties and party activities. Check out these Shindigz coupons and videos.
• Tricia discussed Magazines.com and how to find a magazine that fits for your graduation gift recipient. Get Magazines.com coupons plus GREAT cash back through Sunshine Rewards.

No major glitches today. Next podcast: weddings and anniversaries.