Now it goes without saying that my first suggestion for a present would always be our fantastic web shop. Let’s face it you can’t have everything we sell! However, inadvertently this last weekend, I came up with a fantastic idea that is not very expensive as long as you have a large garden.

I had a great weekend playing on a Kubota tracked mini digger removing stumps and moving topsoil. Whilst starting out with an amateurish enthusiasm at the end of two days the skills had reached my hands and my work rate had increased ten fold. If you have never tried your hand at one I suggest you watch a professional and if you can, get them to give you some tips. The controls are a joystick in each hand plus a foot pedal. I would imagine anyone good at Play Station or X- Box would have a head start as it is all about making complex moves using both sticks in sweet harmony.

I had a ball and saved myself several hard days work to boot. It is so much quicker to load a trailer with a mini digger than with a shovel, and great fun once you get the swing of it. Moving the Kubota around site is done by two big central levers with tank like skid steering. It also has a bulldozer blade on the front which helps level ground and is quite adept at removing small Elder shrubs.
It was only around tea time on Sunday, with a massive grin on my face, that I realised how cheap the weekend hire was for such fantastic fun. It was much better value than many of these experiential gift vouchers that offer a lot of promise but not much driving. They even delivered the digger to my door. I had two days of fun for under £100.

Now I had work to do  - but I could just as easily have dug holes for the fun of it.  Check out your local plant hire this may just be a fantastic present for you or a loved one. The only drawback is you do need a large garden or field and make sure you have the householder's consent. 'She who must not be named' might not take kindly to track marks across the lawn!

Perhaps we may even see innovative Hire companies offering to organise adult Birthday parties with diggers, dumpers and rollers for all to play on! The big plus is that whether going solo or in a party you could end up with a new drive.