Christmas has been & gone. We are full of turkey, ham, turducken, roasted vegetables, enormous salads, eggnog, whatnot. We feel bloated & sleepy, slightly hungover & we dread cleaning the house. But it’s a fair bet that some of you received good Christmas presents, & when I say good Christmas presents, I am of course referring to cold hard cash, courtesy of mothers brothers aunts cousins or even lovers!

But how to spend it? I often find that when I’m in the mood to spend — & I’ve got it burning a hole in my pocket — that is the precise moment that the trolls pull everything cool & purchasable into the earth, never to be seen again. So I’m going to help you out, because I’m good like that. Boost the world economy! Alright, here we go!

Let’s start with the basics. The Net-A-Porter sale is always a good time. 40% off, you say? LOVELY! Sephora is having an epic sale too. I love Givenchy’s pop gloss crystal & rouge interdit shine lipstick (in glitter pomelo & raspberry shine, respectively). But you should definitely go & check them out, they’ve discounted brush sets & eye kits & all kinds of stuff.

I have a soft spot for this Pirate Supply Kit. Contains… “Red bandanna to protect your coif, black eye patch so you can walk the plank straight, tea-stained message in a bottle for your secret thoughts, “booty” bag of eight wooden gold coins to trade at port, Polly the Parrot pin, your new best friend who can sit on your shoulder and listen to your bellyaches, & a tea-stained treasure map so you don’t forget.” Who could resist?!

For those of you who have also been swept away with unicorn fever (it’s like avian flu, but different), how about a paper mache unicorn mask? Sure to terrify everyone in your immediate vicinity. This mystic unicorn mask is pretty sweet, too. If you’re more on the sane side of the fence, I like this mounted unicorn necklace, though when you think about it, the concept is a little grim. (“Whack the head off a magical animal & nail it to a plank of wood? Why yes, I did!”) Amazon — amazingly — turned out to be the unicorn holy grail. Everyone needs a unicorn colouring book, a unicorn fantasy charm bracelet, an enormous unicorn wall mural & a hideous/awesome hand-dyed unicorn t-shirt. That shirt is a bully’s wet dream, but I love it. Finally, this unicorn cookie cutter is almost enough to make me want to take up baking. Imagine unicorn cookies covered in sparkly sugar! Swoon central!

Silly but sweet little things from Gala’s Etsy favourites? Oh, why not! I am especially fond of the white rabbit hair comb & bat & swan rings from studiohalo. This gold PVC ruffle skirt would be awesome for go-go dancing on stage, & well, let’s just say I’ve had my eye on Healing Heart’s striped candy carnivale dress for a long time now. I also love the holographic dance skirt & leggings from Dancing Tree Creations (& I’m totally going to buy some).

If sparkling, iridescent knickers are more your jam, G&P Lingerie has got your booty covered with their violet babydoll & bows briefs. Always wanted your name across your fingers? Of course you have! Pretty much anything made by Sarah Seven is guaranteed to make you smile & swoon at the same time, & if you really want to blow someone away, why not just turn up wearing this neckwarmer?

For those of you who want to get organised for the new year, start here. I think this glow-in-the-dark zodiac calendar is wicked awesome. On that note, buy yourself a horoscope book for the year — they’re cute & awesome to pore over. Llewellyn’s 2009 Sun Sign Book has information for all the signs & if you ever have someone cute in your apartment & you don’t know what to say to them, this book is a great ice-breaker (promise). But if you don’t really care about anyone but yourself (oh ho ho, I’ve got YOUR number!), get one just for you. The zodiac books by Margarete Beim are really good — voilà, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius & Capricorn! They’re little, too, so perfect for throwing in your purse. For the super-hardcore, you can even buy a horoscope-specific calendar, with short forecasts for every day — Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius or Capricorn! For Virgos-in-training & other super-organised kids, Amazon has (from what I’ve seen) the best prices on the black daily 2009 Moleskine ($10.85) & the red version ($14.93). Day-a-page is totally the way to go! If you’re not so much into the horoscope thing, the Tim Walker 2009 calendar is completely awesome. The Bad Girl’s 2009 Rage-a-Day calendar is pretty cool too, with hangover cures, probing questions & pick-up lines.

Start the year on time with a brand new watch. Those of us who subscribe to the Jessica Wakefield school of thought on watches — she was like, so spontaneous & fun, & like, watches are for nerds! — need to get over it. Don’t worry, I’m right there with you. Sweet Valley High poisoned my mind! It’s time for a change! (Hur hur, get it?) This Dior Christal is my dream watch, but not necessarily the kind of thing you impulse purchase. The Juicy Couture couture fairytale watch is great (I love crests!), as is the Harajuku Lovers crest watch, which is only $55! The Dior Homme chiffre rouge is beautiful too, & would look great on a woman I think. Louis Vuitton has done an amazing job with their tambours — the automatic diamond diving lady & quartz diving lady are both totally magnificent. Uh, did you know that Lego make watches? The midsize classic white & just build it are my picks. Or you could go all out & snap up the Cartier Roadster in gold, like Rachel Zoe.

If you want something new to tote your treasures around in this year, check out this off-white leather fringe bag. Anna Lou of London does sparkly bags in bright colours with bows on ’em, like this & this. J’adore! Valhalla does some nice bags too.

Do you love letters & typography? I do. Urban Outfitters has awesome alphabet tote bags as well as initial wallets. Sakura Designs will make you a custom initial necklace, too.

I always love to buy new things & assign meanings to them, like creating your own lucky charms. You can really do that with anything, but I am especially fond of origami cranes. If you want to go all out, you can buy 1000 & hang them up in your living room. If you’d prefer to be more subtle, this pink hanging crane mobile is pretty sweet. I also like this paper crane tote, these silver crane earrings, & this crane necklace.

Why don’t you go & buy yourself something dishevelled & delightful from Gibbous? Really. Why don’t you?

& if you got a really good cheque from Nana this Christmas, but all your bills are paid & you’re feeling a bit bored with your existence, these lace knuckles ought to do the trick.

P.S. New Zealand girls: run, don’t walk to your nearest Ricochet & Lush stores. Ricochet’s post-Christmas sale is major (I bought four beautiful pieces for $260 today — full price would have been almost $600), & at Lush if you spend over $50 you get one of their new products for free (like one of their amazing new moisturisers which is worth $50 itself!). Delicious!