Those who know Paul and I know that we love out gadgets. Currently in our house we have an imac, a macbook pro, a macbook air, a macbook, an Ipad2 an Ipad, an Ipod, an Ipod Touch, an Iphone 4, a blackberry, a PS2, a wii, a couple of PSP’s, a DV camera, a DSLR camera, two kindles, a DVD player, Apple TV, Sky HD, an HDTV, a sound bar, a stereo system, an ipad dock and that is before we get into the kitchen! We are a living Gadget Show competition prize. (Unsurprisingly, we love the Gadget Show as well - it”s kind of like Blue Peter for adults!)

The news that an IPad 3 is to be revealed later this week was one of the most hotly received stories in this household when it was announced and I was definitely be getting one.

But there is a downside to all this technology, aside from the vast collection of chargers we take with us when we go away, in that when it comes to gift giving our choices are suddenly limited.

Paul’s birthday is this week (mine follows a couple of days later) but I have no idea what to get him. In the past I might have considered a book - but now he has a Kindle; or perhaps a CD - but now he buys all his music on Itunes; how about a DVD?- he tends to download movies;  a video game? - he plays online. So many gift opportunities now gone. Yes I could buy an Itunes or Amazon voucher - but that is not the same as having a proper present to open and be excited about.

So whilst I love technology and the way it has changed our lives, at times like this when I am racking my brains for gift ideas, I do look back on the old days (about five years ago) when life was so much simpler!