Gift ideas for when you are stuck on what to buy

If you are like me, you always try and buy people interesting and thoughtful gifts as opposed to cold generic presents that they could get off anyone. If you have some kind of artistic talent then you probably like to make them something but if not then you might struggle to get good gifts every birthday and Christmas. You like the recipient to know that you have put some thought into their present, that you took time to consider what they would like and what would put a smile on their face. Here are a few suggestions for gifts tailored just for them.

  1.   For anyone – photos – you can print a huge family portrait, an image of their pet and or travelling photos or photos of friends. Anyone would appreciate that you have picked out a special picture just for them but it is still relatively easy to frame a photo print or get a canvas print from a site like hellocanvas so you do not even need to leave your house. There are a huge variety of options available so you tailor it to their own personal style and find something that will fit in with their other home décor items.
  2.   For the creative one – make your own lip balm kit – a lip balm kit is one suggestion but it could be anything, candle making or jewellery making. If they already like to make things then a beginners kit could be a great way to get them started on a new hobby. Or maybe you just think they would be good at it, perhaps they like a new challenge. The added bonus with this gift is that they might well gift their first creation to you!
  3.   For the foodie – personalised kitchenware – you can get anything personalised or engraved these days and that applies to kitchenware. Get them a set of wooden spoons or a chopping board with their name carved on it. If they are partial to a drink then get them a wine carafe or personalised beer glass. There is always the classic novelty apron that your resident barbeque lover would enjoy. There is no end to possibilities!
  4.   For pet lovers – custom dog lead holder or custom cat bowl – most pet owners absolutely dote on their furry companions and would likely love a gift that both of them can appreciate. Get a personalise dog leash hook with their puppy’s name on it or a personalised cat bowl for their feline friend. I can guarantee these kinds of presents will bring a smile to the face of any pet owner and they will probably appreciate that you remember their pet’s name!
  5.   For the frequent traveller – a scratch map – this is perfect because it lets them show off all the places they have been to and show visitors just how well-travelled they are without it being too obvious. And it is something they can keep on using, scratching off every new place they go to throughout the years.

 

Christmas Gift List For Her

Top picks for the woman in your life.

mcguiganwineMcGuigan Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

A luscious red wine full of red and blackberry fruit flavours. This Cabernet Sauvignon shows the distinctive cassis and blackcurrant fruits as well as a subtle herbaceous note that finishes with eucalyptus . Fine velvety tannins add to the finish. This wine is matched perfectly with a range of rich dishes including red meat stews or casseroles.

RRP: £9.99 (Tesco.co.uk, ASDA.com)

 

McGuigan The Shortlist Shiraz

A classic fruit driven Barossa Valley shiraz, this wine displays ripe mulberry and plum characteristics. The conscious integrations of oak results in subtle vanilla and spice. This wine has youthful, grippy tannins and will develop in the bottle for the next 10 years. Matched perfectly with red meat dishes such as glazed beef short ribs.

RRP: £14.99 (MajesticWines.co,uk)

We tried both wines and they are first class.

sheabutterreviewcandle

Body Butter and Candles from Shea. A small family run business that specialise in creating handmade natural products including body butters, hair care and scented soy wax candles.

All Shea Innocence candles have been hand poured using natural soy wax providing a clean burn and long lasting fragrance. Shea Innocence candles are free form GMM, pesticides and herbicides. They also make brilliant body butter. We tried all of the following: Nourishing Body Butter with Lavender & Orange, Triple Butter Whip – Mango, Grapefruit & Orange, Body Butter – Mums to Be & New Mums (Unscented) and Mandarin Body Butter – Little Ones. Body butter is £10.95 and candles are £6-18.00. Highly recommended on quality. They smell great too.

http://www.sheainnocence.com/

adultcolouringbooks

Adult Colouring Books are the in thing at the moment. Taking time out and staying away from technology is relaxing and essential for health. Quercus Books are publishing 4 gorgeous, small, paperback-format colouring books in a series called ‘The Little Book of Colouring’. Their small size is unique and handy both for carrying with you as well as curling up on the sofa, while the brief affirmations on every page provide the perfect opportunity for colouring fans to focus their minds and step away from the hectic pressures of day-to-day life.


Adult Colouring Book available here

 

speaker

Divoom Voombox ONGODivoom Voombox Ongo. We tested this great speaker, it really is water resistant and weather proof. Perfect for taking anywhere, give the woman in your life the chance to get her groove on when on the move. Perfect for picnics and outdoor parties too. 

Ideal for outdoor enthusiasts who want to listen to music while out and about, the Divoom Voombox Ongo comes with a bike mount and is water resistant and shockproof. Its compact size offers impressive sound with a passive subwoofer and two 1.5inch drivers, and offers a built-in speakerphone solution to make calls while on the move. The Voombox Ongo is available in a range of colours and is perfect for use around the campfire this summer.

Divoom Voombox Outdoor Speaker is available here.

thomasdakingin

Thomas Dakin Gin

This brilliant gin includes 11 botanicals including horseradish and the gun-metal grey bottle is superb. Thomas Dakin Gin is a classic style London Dry Gin which takes its name from the forefather of English gin, Thomas Dakin, who created the world’s first quality gin in 1761 in the North West of England.

Nose: Juniper perfumed notes upfront with sweet orange and citrus aromas and a hint of red cole botanical at the end.

Taste: Smooth, intense and piquant which softens, leaving a sweet citrus and savoury taste.

Finish : Medium to long lingering finish.
Thomas Dakin Gin is a juniper-led classic style gin with sweet orange and citrus notes and a pepper and savoury finish, thanks to the cubeb berries and red cole. We love it: a superior gin that tastes sublime.

Thomas Dakin Signature Serve
Tom & Tonic
50ml Thomas Dakin Gin
125ml good quality tonic water
Orange peel
Sprig of fresh Coriander

Pour the gin over a full glass of ice and pour over the tonic water. Twist a 5 cm strip of the orange peel onto the top and garnish with a sprig of coriander.

Thomas Dakin Gin is available in Harvey Nichols and Booths.

babylisshairdryer

Babyliss Hairdryer Twilight Shimmer Set from Lloyds Pharmacy.  We absolutely love this. The hairdryer is excellent and it comes with a sparkly bag and some hair clips.

The BaByliss Twilight Shimmer 2000W dryer set features a lightweight and compact dryer with the drying performance of a regular sized hairdryer. Includes a concentrator nozzle and 2 sectioning clips to make styling easy. The pretty sequinned pouch is perfect for cosmetics.

burtsbeenatural

Burt’s Bee The Natural Edit. (rep £29.99)

A great gift set from Burt’s Bee, contains a mix of their best products. Burt’s Bees naturally nourishing milk & honey body lotion for super soft skin, Burt’s Bees shea Butter hand repair cream for those hard working hands, Burt’s Bees coconut foot cream for dancing feet and a duo of 100% natural lip care and colour products – perfect for mistletoe ready lips! All of the products are great, making this a wonderful present.

 

howtospeakemoji

A great, humorous book. Who hasn’t wondered what a certain emoji someone has sent you means? A great gift to make someone fluent.

How to Speak Emoji is available here.

 

Label.m Fashion Fix The Bardot Beehive.

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The Bardot Beehive Fashion Fix comes with everything you need for this iconic hairstyle.This is a great, unique gift.

Professional Haircare brand label.m has taken its catwalk inspired hair- up, in-salon service, label.m Fashion Fix and created the perfect DIY Kit for clients to enjoy at home for the party season.

 

With a choice of two of the most requested Fashion Fix styles – The Bardot Beehive and Nouveau Knot, each kit includes the key label.m Create and Complete products, Hair Up Brush and accessories. Also there’s a comprehensive step-by-step for re-creating the look with fool- proof results!

‘Retro inspired 80’s pony’ label.m Bardot Beehive Fashion Fix Kit RRP £27.45

The Kit contains: label.m Volume Mousse, label.m Texturising Volume Spray, label.m Session Hair Up Brush, label.m u-pin Straight Black 50mm, label.m Kirby Grip Straight Black 70mm & label.m No Pull Braiding Bands Black 15mm.

 

Candles are always a perfect gift. We love Rathbornes Cedar, Cloves & Ambergris and the limited edition Charles Farris VII Pinetum Pine, Fir, Balsam & Cinnamon. They both smell amazing and look great. 

candle

candle rathbonescandle

A demonstration in luxury hand-crafted work, Rathbornes is officially the oldest candle brand in the world. Created and crafted with love in Dublin for over 500 years; the hand-poured wax candles are infused with the highest quality natural essential oils, tested to ensure optimum scent distribution and burn time.

The new ‘Beyond the Pale’ collection is inspired by the Irish saying which refers to the wild countryside beyond the city parameters or ‘pale’. This new range is comprised of six uniquely formulated scents that encapsulate the romance of the Irish landscape with a luxurious and modern edge.

Travel size- single wick candle, burns for 20 hours, £16

Classic size- two wick candle, burns for 50 hours, £30

Luxury size- four wick candle, burns for 60 hours, £46

From Fenwicks & Brown Thomas, Dublin

www.rathbornes1488.com

 

Steeped in a heritage that dates back to 1845, Charles Farris scented candles still use the same traditional methods from the Victorian era to make the best candles for modern day- slow burning, long lasting and of the highest quality.

By Appointment to Her Majesty the Queen, this historic London brand has become the gold standard in quality candle-making. Using 170 years of experience, Charles Farris has now created a range of seven premium scented candles and reed diffusers, specifically for use at home. Working with master blenders to create unique and beautiful scents, the candles have been crafted using traditional techniques, the highest quality ingredients and are encased in artesian hand-finished glass.

The essential oils used come from the finest sources and are infused in the signature wax and hand-poured in a time-honoured fashion that pays tribute to the Charles Farris legacy.

30cl candles- £30

Reed diffusers- £32

Stockists include Fenwicks, Heals, Fortum & Mason

www.charlesfarris.co.uk

 

 

The How Not to be a Dick Guide

The How Not to be a Dick GuideKnow someone who loves being a jerk? Is there someone making your life difficult? Don’t worry, help is at hand with this great How Not to be a Dick Book. Bulk buy and hand out liberally.

Do you know someone who just loves to be a jerk? Then we’ve got something that will work – the How Not to be a Dick Book.

We all know a queue skipper, a food hogger, a boy racer and general two-facers. These individuals do the duty not all of us can do – Be a Dick.

Love them or hate them, there here for good, but if you give them a gift this year – make it one that might tone them down just a little.

A humorous hard back to pack with them wherever they go, its helpful tips and funny illustrations will have them in stitches but will also advise on everyday etiquette.

Fight the impossible and diminish dickish behaviour everywhere.

Dicks expect a gift – so give them one that they royally deserve. The How Not to be a Dick Guide, only £11.95 from www.prezzybox.com.

Top Christmas Picks | Christmas Gift Ideas

christmasgiftlistthetopchristmaspicks

Robert Elms The Way We Wore

A cult classic, available to buy again. Hooray!

It’s back. For a few years now Robert Elms has had a stream of people asking where they can get a copy of The Way We Wore, the street style memoir he wrote back in 2004, and rather frustratingly he’s had to tell them all it is not available. Well, you could spend increasingly large sums on a second hand copy online – evidence of the fact that it has acquired something close to cult status – but it was impossible to get your fashion fix through the normal retail channels. Thankfully, you can now.

Robert Elms has teamed up with Autharium to republish The Way We Wore as an eBook and print copies are now available for a much more realistic price.

Robert Elms comments: “As part of this process I have re-read the book and I am still very proud of it, and it brings back amazing memories of terrible haircuts, great music, good friends and bad hangovers. So if you want to read about solatio box top loafers and pink pegs, bondage trousers and bowling shirts, ties in pins, hankies in pockets and shenanigans in Soho you can.”

This is the story of a life’s obsession. From Ben Sherman shirts to box-top loafers, from bondage trousers to Comme des Garçons, Elms has been there, seen it, and worn it out. It’s about why you’d rather not go out at all than go out in the wrong sort of brogues, and why you just had to have a Budgie jacket to cut it in the playground in 1970. It is ultimately a hilarious, passionate social history of London street fashion from the Teddy Boys and rude boys battling it out in his homeland of Notting Hill in the fifties to its end in acid house in the nineties. A fond memoir of working-class lads in tumultuous times and laity schmutter.

The Way We Wore: A Life In Threads

Baileys Mini Delights
baileysminidelights

We loved these. They are just incredibly tasty. Available in milk, white and dark chocolate choices, these tasty truffles have distinctive twists of coffee, caramel and hazelnut and that rich, creamy Baileys flavour. So yummy.

The Baileys Mini Delights are available for just £2.49 RRP (102g). Baileys boxed chocolates are available at waitrose.com They will be available from £5.00 RRP.

Tanqueray Export Strength London Dry Gin

This is amazing, superior gin. Export strength London dry gin made from premium botanicals and distilled four times for a distinctive, crisp taste. A great present for gin lovers. Available from drinksupermarket.com

 

Grand Marnier Orange & Cognac Liqueur
Grand Marnier Orange & Cognac Liqueur

This liquor is delicious and to top it off Grand Marnier, the luxury liqueur that is the icon of Parisian chic, is launching a modern, playful and elegant limited edition bottle in tribute to French creativity to celebrate the coming of Christmas.

This years Limited Edition bottle harks back to the Breton striped top that was introduced into France midway through the 19th century. Known as the “Marinière”, worn by sailors and popularised by Coco Chanel, it is today the symbol of Parisian chic, which is emulated all over the world today.

The couture style label looks showcases the rich history of the brand through the family crest, while the blue, white and red striped ribbon that runs around the uniquely shaped bottle reinforces Grand Marnier’s home place – in the heart of France.

The translucent quality of the brighter rouge glass bottle radiates chic sophistication and creativity, while the glossy iconic red wax seal serves as an eternal stamp of approval from its founder Louis-Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle.

It will be available in luxury retailer Harvey Nichols with an RRP of £26.05 for a 70cl bottle from mid October.

THE FRENCH ARTIST
thefrenchartist

In celebration of the new bottle, cutting edge Mixologist and GRAND MARNIER® European Brand Ambassador, Julien Lafond has created The French Artist. A cocktail that brings together flavours which best highlight the richness of GRAND MARNIER® and also echo the playful nature of French Creativity.

Ingredients

30ml GRAND MARNIER® Cordon Rouge

15ml VSOP Cognac

15ml French Dry Vermouth

20ml Freshly squeezed Lemon Juice

20ml Homemade Redcurrant & Vanilla Syrup (or Grenadine Syrup)

20ml Egg White

Garnish: Redcurrants coated with icing sugar

 

Method

Pour all ingredients into a shaker

Dry shake (Shake without ice), to create the emulsion

Add some cubed ice and shake vigorously

Double strain into a coupette glass and add the garnish

Units per serving 2.5

Grand Marnier, is available from Ocado.com and DrinkSupermarket.com

 

The Leash Safe+ Phonestrap

Perfect for people who are prone to lose their phone. The Safe+ Phonestrap – The Leash – will keep your phone safe and always at hand. Using a powerful 3M tape, the button fastens to your phone or hardcover case. The Leash comes with two buttons, allowing you to interchange the Leash between your most favourite devices. Available here: The Leash – Phonestrap 

leashphonestrap

The Leash – Phonestrap 

 

Coding For Kids

This is an excellent book for little ones. Coding is an essential skill in the work place now and this book sets kids on their way. It has 15 fun coding projects and it teaches kids how to create games and apps, customise projects and learn real coding skills. The book is both fun and easy.

Coding For Kids For Dummies

 

The Compleat FoodBag

We love this at Frost. This is a space efficient and stylish lunch bag. The only lunchbox that makes a fashion statement. 100 % food grade silicone and BPA safe and dishwasher safe, you can easily pack it away after use. The Compleat FoodBag is stylish, handy and easy to clean. Perfect.

Foodbag by Compleat available here, StressNoMore.co.uk and iwantoneofthose.com

 

 

Zero to Hero in a Splash: Marvel Superman & Batman Towels

These are perfect for kids big and small. Become a superhero in your spare time. These quirky and cool Superman and Batman Towels are a must for all men, women, kids and sci-fi lovers.
batmantowelmarvel

supermantowelmarvel

Make room for this in your bathroom, take a wash and throw on this quirky cape towel for ultimate awesomeness. A great gimmick gift for geeks. It even has handy Velcro attachments to turn it into a cape!

Super soft and fluffy, means it’s great for all ages, even when kids find drying irritating.

Get this fun and funky multifunctional towel for Comic fans today. Available for only £12.95 each at www.prezzybox.com now.

 

 

Shove a Stache in it: Very Cool Dummy | Parenting

You need all of the amusement you can get when a child won’t stop crying so we loved this moustache dummy.

Shove a Stache in itcooldummiesdumm The Chill Baby Moustache Dummy

The Chill Baby Moustache Dummy. Made from non-toxic silicone this is the perfect present for pregnant friends, babies and tough toddler.

Get your baby equipped with a hip and hilarious dummy for an awesome price of £7.95 from www.prezzybox.com.

Lechuza Delta 20 Self-Watering Planters Review | Christmas Gift Guide

We love Lechuza self-watering planters because they are the perfect gift for stylish, busy people. They can be used indoors and outdoors and are easy to use. They can be used for herbs or flowers and if, like us, you tend to kill anything that is green, then they are the perfect present for any plant-killing friends or family.

We reviewed the Lechuza Delta 20. An outdoor self-watering planter with rain overflow function. This complete kit is gorgeous and handy. It makes a perfect present and is so easy to use that even we managed it. It looks perfect on windowsills.

selfwateringplanter

Lechuza DELTA 20

selfwateringplanterreview
The Lechuza Delta 20 is available here.

 

 

Christmas Gift List For Your Favourite Person

Christmas Gift List For Your Favourite Person

Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur

Exotic and beautiful and that is just to look at. It is an all natural liqueur without preservatives.

Domaine de Canton is the world’s first ultra premium ginger liqueur and is handmade in small batches in Jarnac in the heart of Cognac, France. Perfect as an aperitif over ice, after dinner or as a cocktail. £33.00 available at thedrinkshop.com, Harvey Nichols stores, Selfridges.com and Booths.

 

Heidi Klein Beach Candle £36

Gorgeous, stylish and it smells divine. Perfect for any women in your life.

 

Doro – PhoneEasy 632

This would be the perfect gift for grandma. It will also be a gift that lasts as you can call her all of the time. Available here.

 

AromaWorks – Yang Candle

Beautiful and it smells amazing. Is 100% organic and is a relaxing blend of seven different aromatherapy oils including Ho Leaf and Nutmeg. Available here.

 

Spineless Classics – Cinderella print

Spineless Classics – Cinderella print

Spineless Classics are both beautiful and unique. They have the entire works of your chosen novel and a piece of art all on one print. A great gift. From iwantoneofthose.com and houseoffraser.co.uk