Is it better to give or to receive? With giveaway!

++ UPDATED WITH WINNER AT BOTTOM ++

I really don't like shopping for gifts. Perhaps it's the perfectionist in me. It's really not the thought that counts; it's the perfectly executed plan that counts. Which I can rarely achieve when left to my own devices.

So I consider myself very lucky to have found Dez of Personalized Parcels.com.

Dez offered me a gift-giving experience valued at $50 for purposes of reviewing. My first challenge was deciding to whom to send a parcel, and for what occasion.

The occasion I chose was triumphantly-becoming-a-mom-after-a-long-and-winding-road. Which could have been one of many of my bloggy friends, but for these purposes, I chose none other than my All Thumbs Reviewing partner, Chicklet.

Dez asked me to tell her about Chicklet, a woman I have never actually met but whom I feel very close to. I emailed back:

• Canadian
• Runner
• Pregnant after infertility (due in the Fall of 2009)
• Music lover (witness Duffy CD review)
• Beverage lover (port wine, non-alcoholic wine/beers for pregnancy)
• Great taste in paper products
• Traveler

Dez promptly brought several ideas of what would fill the goody basket, and we fine-tuned some of the choices.

THAT was the extent of my efforts to give Chicklet a triumphantly-becoming-a-mom-after-a-long-and-winding-road present. I just sat back and waited for the squee. Well, as much as a person like Chicklet squees.

As the gift-giver, my thumbs are up.

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Like pretty much every other person on this earth, I LIKE to receive gifts. Particularly gifts I didn't/don't KNOW I was/am receiving - surprise gifts! So much to my surprise, when I got a notice in the mail re a parcel pickup, not only was I pleasantly surprised to be getting a gift, but a PERSONALIZED gift to boot!

Opening it up, I have to admit my heart right went to the kid stuff - because honestly, I haven't got many kid gifts yet, and just the fact that I'm pregnant let alone getting kid GIFTS is just too overwhelming not to go directly to them. In particular, the rockin' sleeper (onesie thing with feet) and the kid-tag (a cool thing you give your kid so if they're lost, others can help them find you) had me all giddy to show the husband the VERY cool shit we'd gotten!

Also bang-on and very "me" were the notecards, the tiny bottle of sunscreen (that fits in my purse), and the bubble-bath (for relaxing after my runs). The only thing I'd say was questionable (and I mean only SLIGHTLY questionable) was the fact that the candle was pink. While I like candles, and this one smells awesome, I'm not really a GIRLY person, and as such, am more into earthy tones than prettier colors.

While there was definitely more stuff in there - all very cool - the items above are the highlights of the things that struck a particular note with me just cuz the effort seemed so thoughtful, like my dear friend Lori had gone above and beyond in her effort here. Little did I know all she did was send an email list and tweak it once or twice... ;-)

So all in all, as the gift-RECEIVER, two thumbs up as well.

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Personalized Parcels are priced at $50 and $75, and can be customized for your budget. Prices include shipping and handling (wow!)

Dez is offering a $10 discount to AT readers for any personalized parcel ordered by September 30, 2009. Simply email her to make your arrangements.

Dez is also providing a giveaway personalized parcel to one lucky AT reader. Simply leave a comment that includes an occasion you'd like to gift around (birthday, anniversary, end of summer, make-up-your-own), and make sure you do so by 11:59 pm on August 3. Please be sure your email address is easily findable.

Want more entries? Tweet (click the retweet button below, if you have a Twitter account) or blog about this giveaway and then leave a comment letting us know where you tweeted/blogged.

Bookmark her page. You know you'll be needing a gift idea sometime between now and the end of September.

++ WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT ++

Random.org chose #3, which means the winner is Cathy. Thanks to everyone else for entering and for supporting All Thumbs Reviews.

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