Novica : A giveaway of semi-global proportions

I don't know if you're aware, but Christmas is only 13 days away.

Unless of course you believe the Mayan's.  In which case, don't even bother because the world will implode 4 days before Christmas and only cockroaches and tinsel will remain.

Which would really shit me, since we arrive in Bali the day before that, and our beloved Nanny isn't due to take over the bulk of the parenting until that day (yes, OMG, I'm going to parent my own kids for an entire 24 HOURS before the Nanny comes in each arvo to do a far better job than me).

If you're not a Mayan believer, then I hope you've got your shit together on the gift giving front.

I'm of the "bugger it, I'll hit the shops about a week or 2 before the big day and grab whatever is on special, so that the recipient assumes I actually spent far more than I did because I'm a massive bargain hunter" type of shopper.

Which means that I normally spend way more than I budgeted and intended to, because I panic when there aren't enough fabulous specials that afford me impressive, unique gifts at bargain prices, on the one single day I decide to go out and do my Christmas shopping.

Insert seamless segue....

On the subject of gifts, I'm always looking for something different, unique, unusual.  Partly because it means the recipient won't necessarily be able to work out how much I spent on them. Very handy when both #1Hubby and #1Nana check, and Miss7 actually scans the catalogues each week after her birthday and Christmas, trying to work out how much I spent.  Not because she expects expensive gifts, just because she's a born shopper like me, and takes great delight in pointing out how cheap I could've got her gift now that it's on sale.

Helpful.

I was recently contacted by Novica.  A site I was previously unaware of, but I now stalk at least twice a week.  I could've sat at home, in all my elastic waisted, unkempt glory, and swilled wine while completing my Christmas shopping online, if only I hadn't been all proactive and organised for once in my life.

Novica is one of the biggest fair trade Artisan websites around, who work in conjunction with National Geographic to provide artists from all corners of the globe with a means of promoting their talents and accessing a global market.  In many cases, it provides the creators with an income they wouldn't have otherwise had.

What that means for the rest of us, is the opportunity to source all kinds of unique gifts from around the globe.  Which is handy, because that would make for one helluva lengthy and expensive shopping trip if you were to try and manage it yourself.

Popular items include:

Home decorating

Eco-friendly gifts
Jewellery and Clothing

Corporate gifts

Gifts for the environmentalist
Gifts for him
Handbags

There's even a Sale section, for bargain hunters like me.

And if you still can't find something, there's also gift cards.

If you or your recipient have an interest in a particular culture or country, you can search for gifts by region.

There's also a section featuring details of the artists and creators who contribute to the site.

So go and check Novica out, next time you're struggling to find that unique gift for someone special.

Or, enter my giveaway and you could win a Gift Card to go nuts on the site right now.

For your chance to win a $100 Novica gift card

Please note - while the giveaways on this site are usually open to Australian and New Zealand residents only, this giveaway is also open to US residents.

Entries close midnight (AWST  /  GMT +8) Wednesday 19th December

The fine print

• Entry is open to Australia, New Zealand and United States residents only
• One (1) entry for following and comments
• One (1) entry for Tweeting the link above
• One (1) entry for Facebook sharing the link above
• Entries close midnight Australian Western Standard Time (GMT +8)
• Winner announced on the blog Thursday 20th December
• Winner has seven (7) days to respond before I have to seriously stop myself from spending the gift card myself, and instead conduct a re-draw in fear of the bad karma I would receive had I spent it myself.

Please note - no payment was received for this post beyond the $100 gift card to give away.