Christmas Gifts for Her & Him

I thought I'd do a huge mix this year and give you one big gift guide that has a mix of gifts that will do great for all ages (young adults and over) and genders. In this gift guide, you will find everything from your fizzy bath bombs, alcohol to your tech gifts. There's bound to be something that will give you an idea on gifts for someone (hopefully!) this year.

Let's get started with this beautiful personalised bracelet from Anna Lou of London. Nothing can beat a personalised gift, it adds that extra personal touch, and it's a gift that can be treasured for life. Anna Lou have a great selection of beautiful jewellery from bracelets, necklaces, earrings, kids jewellery and much more. They're gifted in some beautiful packaging too, which means one less job for you.

Cool Stuff always have a vast Christmas gift range, and you can't go wrong buying some delicious smelling bath bombs. This set of 7 bath bombs gift pack from Cool Stuff smells absolutely amazing when you open the packaging, so whoever you gift this too, will be super happy. They come wrapped in a Christmas sack too for that extra festive feels!

Talking about bath cosmetics, this whiskey infused luxury soap in a tin would be a fab hamper addition. There are 4 types to choose from; The Manhattan, The Rob Roy, Dandy Sour and Rusty Nail. You can buy one from The English Beagle who also do a great collection of beautiful gifts for all.

Talking about The English Beagle company, another great product from them is this beautiful fine bone china Hare jug. There's a Stag and Chicken fine bone china range too. You can choose from three different sizes and again, a great addition to a hamper or on its own. Why not also add an Advent Candle too, by Plum & Ashby, also from The English Beagle. It smells absolutely amazing and comes in a gift box.

Talking about candles, this beautiful personalised candle holder from Norma& Dorothy. You can make this personalised by choosing the name and the message under the 'Special Friend'. As said above, personalisation makes a gift extra special and something that can be treasured. Norma & Dorothy have a beautiful range of personalised candle holders.

Moving on from candles, do you know anyone who loves bags? Mia Tui have a stunning collection of high-quality bags for reasonable prices. From backpacks, work bags, travel bags and more, I'm sure you will find the right bag for someone. In the photo below is the Maya Backpack in the colour Graphite, which I absolutely love. There's plenty enough storage inside, and the bag itself is just beautiful. There's also a large choice of colours too.

Who doesn't like a pair of personalised socks for Christmas? For us, it's like some tradition to buy a pack or pair of socks. Especially that we always end up having odd pairs in our drawers! These pair of socks from Sparks and Daughters are extra special with the personalisation. The socks feature hand drawn bears, one being a big bear and you then have a choice to add one, two or three little bears. They are adorable and great quality too. A great gift for parents and grandparents this Christmas.

If you're looking for something different, this unique and beautiful personalised wooden box from The Personalised Gift Shop would be a lovely gift for someone this Christmas. An idea would be to fill it up with pictures, treats and any other little gifts. It's a box that can be kept and treasured for years and be passed down generations. Make it extra special by personalising it with a meaningful picture.

Gin has become hugely popular in the past year or so. There are some fab gin gifts from Yumbles that I'm sure any gin lover would absolutely love and appreciate! There's a choice of four different packs that you can choose from. Each gift pack contains 3x100ml bottles of different flavoured Ely Gin. These gins are also gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian and free of artificial ingredients.

Another great gluten-free alcohol gift set is from Princess Prosecco. Something different that Princess Prosecco do is a subscription box and you can also gift someone a subscription gift box too. They also do other gift boxes that would be great for Christmas. This set I received is gluten-free and includes, sweets, a treat, prosecco and a small bottle of gin.

Talking alcohol, Drink Cranes have a delicious range of ciders, gins and liqueur drinks. Below is their cider gift set that includes 3 full-sized, branded Cranes cider bottles, along with a branded Cranes glass. An ideal gift for someone who loves to drink cider. I love a good cider when I drink, and these three flavours sound delicious.

Last but not least of the alcohol, this prosecco bottle is extra special with the personalised label from Personalised Bottle Labels. You can choose any bottle of alcohol, from wine, gin, prosecco and more. These labels are great for all occasions, and you can personalise them as you order and make sure they are perfect before you buy.

Enough about alcohol and move on to the hot drinks. Most of us all love a hot tea or coffee in the morning, but some us are rushing around too much to have a nice on cosy at home. This travel cup from Oxo would be the perfect gift for someone who's always out and about. It's a spill-proof travel mug in graphite and will keep your drink hot or cold for hours.

Do you know anyone who loves their tools? You can get any better than the brand Leatherman. Known for their high quality tools, always rated. From the FREE collection, the Leatherman Free T2 multi tool will be a big hit for any person who loves their tools. It's a small tool, which mean it's an ideal size to keep in your pocket, but when it goes above and beyond for performance.

Nextbase have a great range of Dash Cams, another great gift for someone this Christmas. Buying something useful and a product that can be used for many years is always a good gift. Having a dash cam for your vehicle is always a good idea, just incase an accident happens, you will have the footage on the dash cam, that can be used as evidence. Not only that but if an accident happens, it can let the Emergency know where you are located too.

And what's better than ending the gift guide with this range of delicious chocolate gifts from Chocolate and Love. They have a fantastic range of different flavoured Organic chocolates, as well as gift boxes to choose from too. The packaging is beautiful and recyclable too, which is always a bonus. A box of chocolates from Chocolate and Love will surely make someone's day this Christmas.

*** IMAGE COMING SOON ***

Another gift that's being added is this beautiful 2020 Planner from Ponderlily. Ponderlily have some beautiful stationery gifts from planner journals, notepads to accessories. This particular planner journal that I've received is in a Sage cloth cover. The front cover has foiled copper lettring and each page inside is a thick 110gsm recycled paper. There are many different things to do in the planner from to-do lists, notes, gratitude lists, pockets for keepsakes, reminders, pages for inspiration, monthly spreads, weekly spreads and so more. This would be an ideal gift for anyone who loves stationery and loves to be organised.

And there we have it, another Christmas gift guide done for another year. I hope you found some new gift ideas from the guide. Thank you for reading through and supporting.

I'd also like to thank every single brand that was mentioned in this gift guide for providing all the gifts to make this gift guide possible.

Pre-Christmas House Cleaning Mission

You’re sifting through the attic, trying to unpack your Christmas gear. The trees, decorations, lights, figurines and candles, they all have to be gotten from their storage spaces. But hang on, do you really need all the things from the past Christmases? Many households will hold onto their old and dusty Christmas stuff because it can be expensive to buy brand new items. But, these days less is definitely more. How about a more minimalist tree this year? How about decorations that don’t overlap, don’t overcrowd the room and can be taken down much more easily? Who knows you may find lots of other things that you don’t need to have anymore and so, it could be time for a pre-Christmas clearout. It's best to do this before and not after the celebrations. 

 Old and haggard 

It's common to have a faux tree these days. Real trees are expensive, and most of the time the faux trees can look just as nice. However, an old and haggard faux tree can be worse than a dying real tree. At least the real tree doesn’t have the expectations of lasting for long. But a faux tree is meant to be used over and over. If the faux tree you have is bent out of shape, has dried powdered dust on its leaves and branches, you should probably throw it out. Get yourself a new one, made from better materials, more classic design and most likely easier to take down and put back up.

   

 Get the kitchen ready! 

Christmas is all about the food. The presents are nice and almost nothing beats the excitement of opening up a gift on Christmas morning. But, the dinner is what the day is all about. But, if you want the best part of the day to run smoothly, you need to clean the kitchen in preparation. Not only will you move things out of the way for the time being and give yourself maximum room, but you’ll also make it sanitary for when things begin to overflow and get messy. If you’re having guests over for dinner, some of them may insist on helping. A dirty kitchen is going to put off their appetite and make it look as if you haven’t put in the effort.

   

 Out with the old 

 If you have a bunch of Christmas decorations, some that are new and some that are old, it's easy to mix them up. After all the partying and drinking, no one can be bothered to sift out quality from the old. But this year, throw away the old Christmas decorations by calling in a house clearance service. They will come and pick up any of the things you throw away so you don’t have to stuff your car full. Check the big ball of tangled lights you bought years ago, away. Throw away the decorations that are broken or no longer working. Start fresh this year! 

 You won’t have the energy or willpower to do a lot of cleaning straight after Christmas. So, don’t fall into the trap and do it before the 25th!

- this is a collaborative post

Christmas Gifts For Kids

Kids, no matter what age, can be so tricky to buy for. I do agree that the older they get, the more difficult it is to buy for. Both my girls, aged 10 (nearly) and 7 have both said they don't want any toys this year, which of course makes it a lot harder to buy for. However, this year, I've gathered up a fair few different toys and gifts for kids from a young age to around 7+ years. Hopefully, you will be able to find something your child will like or something that will be a great gift for another little one.

Do you know a child who loves crafts? This Butterfly Crossbody Bag from Eat Sleep Doodle is a great gift for kids that love to be creative. Eat Sleep Doodle do other products too, from pillowcases, pencil cases and much more. Each item comes with a pack of colouring felt tips, and for the Christmas period, their products can be wrapped in their recyclable colour-in sheets, which means there's no need to wrap - bonus!

Talking about crafts, this personalised wooden unicorn box from giftpup would be perfect for storing some stationary. If not stationary, the kids can store absolutely anything from jewellery, toys, secret notes - anything at all! It's got a safe lock in the front, and its print is high quality. Choose any name to make it that extra personal and special.

This super cute pink glitz bow necklace from Anna Lou of London's Pop Collection would be a lovely gift for any child who loves pink, bows and that extra glitz. An idea for this kind of gift is to gift it as part of a small hamper, or in a jewellery box with a few extra other pieces.

You can buy enough reusable drink bottles, this very durable bottle from Klean Kanteen will last a long time! Their limited bottle with the Llamacorn print is just the cutest, and I know it's going to be loved by the child I gift it too. They make all kinds different designs, for adults too!

I've never built a Gingerbread House with the kids before, but this is the year! This Gingerbread House Kit from Biscuiteers. Biscuiteers bake some delicious luxury hand-iced biscuits. There's a lot of attention to detail on their biscuits and this DIY Gingerbread House Kit is going to go down a treat with my little ones.

Seeing as we're in the subject of snacks/food, this OXO 4 piece feeding set from Oxo Tot would be a great gift to anyone who has a toddler who is starting to wean. Oxo products are always high quality products and another great thing to know about this set is the plate grows with the child. But is a great product during the weaning stage.

Going to the older child, do you have a child that's interested in reading books? Reading up facts and finding out new things? The Guiness World of Record book will be a huge winner! It's not only loved by kids, but is also loved by families too. A great addition for the book shelf.

Back to the younger kids again now, thisLeapfrog Scoop and Learn Ice Cream Cart is just the best toy. If you follow me on Instagram you'll know that I've raved about this certain toy since we received it to review a few months ago. Not only does it help your child's learning and development, but your child will also have tonnes of fun with it. It's a toy I can definitley recommend and will be played with many times. You can read my review for this product here.

If you're looking for something that will keep your child busy and also learn some great development skills, this School Starter Tool Kit would be a great stocking filler addition. It's filled with 33 A6 laminated flashcards that are made for you and your child to sit together and go through the cards with eachother to help the little one prepare themselves to start school. My Busy Bots also have various other products available on their website too.


* I was gifted these products in return to be featured in this gift guide. All words are my own.

Christmas Gifts for Families

As the years go by, families grow and grow, which means buying a gift for each person in a family can be quite expensive. That's when buying one gift for the whole family comes in great. But it can be quite difficult to find the right gift for the whole family, especially if there are kids in the family too. I've gathered up another Christmas gift guide that will give you gift ideas for families, hopefully it will help!

Games, you can't get enough board games and especially at Christmas time board games are a great gift for families. Cool Stuff have a large range of different games for the whole family, but this Friends Monopoly game will be a hugely popular game for those Friends fans this year. Bring the Friends quotes and memories into play, I'm sure whoever plays will have a good laugh reading the Friends related chance cards and remembering all their classic sayings.

Chocolates are always a great gift for families at Christmas time. But why not go a bit different from your usual selection boxes and buy some beautiful gift sets from Chocolate and Love. Lots of delicious tasting chocolate flavours and they come in some beautiful wrapping, which means you won't need to wrap - saves you one less job at this busy time of year.

Why not get all personal by gifting a personalised photo canvas for a special family this year? You can't go wrong with a photo canvas, personalised gifts are always appreciated and loved by people. Your Surprise have a great range of different sized canvases, not only that, but of high quality too.

Another personalised gift for a family could be from Life in Squares. Choose a range of photos to add in a stunning high quality frame or why not go for a acrylic, MDF, Image blocks or more. This is a gift that will surely be loved and would look beautiful on the wall in a family home.

Family calendars, you can never go wrong. This Vintage Disney Poster calendar will be a huge hit for most families, especially if they love Disney. This calendar is from Danilo, who have a large range of different stationery from diaries, calendars and a few other bits too. But this particular Vintage Disney Poster calendar features 12 vintage images of the most loved and favourite vintage Disney films.

If you're still unsure on a gift, why not order an activity day, a weekend away, spa day or something else from the huge range of choices at Red Letter Days. At reasonable prices too, there's bound to be something on there that someone or a family would love. It's great also that the person you gift it too can choose their dates and times to suit them around work or life.

Hope this gift guide has helped you find something for someone this Christmas.

I would also like to thank every single brand mentioned in this gift guide for providing the products in return for the feature in this guide. All images, words and opinions are my own.

31 Days of Christmas Movies

December is just around the corner and what's better than binging on some very festive films throughout the month! Nothing beats cosying up on the sofa, under the blanket, with the fire on. I've watched many festive films and my favourites are; Elf, The Polar Express and The Grinch. But on today's post, I've gathered 31 festive films for you to watch through the festive period.

1. The Nightmare Before Christmas ☐

2. Home Alone ☐

3. Home Alone 2 ☐

4. Fred Claus ☐

5 The Polar Express ☐

6. The Grinch ☐

7. The Santa Clause ☐

8. Love Actually ☐

9. A Christmas Carol ☐

10. Mickey's Christmas Carol ☐

11. Die Hard ☐

12. Santa Clause 2

13. ELF ☐

14. The Muppet Christmas Carol ☐

15. Miracle On 34th Street ☐

16. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause ☐

17. Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas ☐

18. I'll Be Home For Christmas ☐

19. Jack Frost ☐

20. Santa Clause Is Coming To Town ☐

21. Snow ☐

22. Santa Buddies ☐

23. The Holiday ☐

24. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer ☐

25. Christmas Carol ☐

26. The Nativity ☐

27. The Christmas Chronicles ☐

28. Arthur Christmas ☐

29. Scrooged ☐

30. National Lampoons Christmas Vacation ☐ 

31. Father Christmas ☐

Why not print this out and tick them as you go.

Schleich Eldrador Creatures Review

Say a welcome to the two brand new characters, Ice Griffin and Lava Scorpion, who both now join the Schleich Eldrador collection. These two new characters, now take their collection up to 18 characters. We've reviewed a few Schleich products in the past and never been disappointed. So I knew that we wouldn't be disappointed with these two new characters. Schleich products are always the high-quality toys that will most definitely last for years to come.

Ice Griffin
There's tonnes of fun to be had with Ice Griffin. His attention to detail the icy blue detailing on his wings, tail, back and beak make him look that extra fierce along with the rest of his white and grey colour. The wings have a 35cm wingspan, as well as being able to move different positions make it slightly different from other Schleich products and I personally think it's a great addition.

The Ice Griffin has a lot of sharp pointy weapons, such as his pointy beak and tail end, which is great for attacking his enemies. His feathers have six icy sharp feathers on each wing to keep his enemies at distant.

This was most definitely a firm favourite in our household.

Ice Griffin retails at £15.99 at Smyths Toys

Lava Scorpion
This character, the Lava Scorpion looks super fierce and super dangerous. He's a super 18cm tall and 20cm long! He's that fierce that he can defend himself and it fears absolutely no one. He's got red-hot lava detailing on his pincers that are used to attack any enemies he has.

Lava Scorpion has 8 legs that are a softer rubber than the rest of his body. His tail can also move around and pop out. This makes play time even more fun. The attention to detail is fantastic.

Lava Scorpion retails at £15.99 at Smyths Toys

We were kindly gifted these items in return for an honest review.
All words and images are our own.

Melissa & Doug Around The Town Road Rug Review

My youngest, Freddie, is 3 and a half years old now and he has one amazing (and wild) imagination. He's at the age where he loves to play with toys, role play and especially loves it when his sisters plays toys with him too. He's only got a small bedroom, but we've tried our best to get the best storage which stores quite a few of his toys. Most his toys are cars and all kinds of other different vehicles, from lorries, fire engines - you name it, he's probably got it.

When he received the Melissa & Doug Around The Town Road Rug to try out, he was over the moon. The first thing I was happy with was the size. Its dimensions are 11 x 11 x 103cm, which I personally think is the ideal size. It also rolls up, which is good for storing away as it doesn't take too much space. Another bonus is that it has a skid-proof backing which is great, especially if you have wooden floors like us.

The car mat is very colourful with lots of loop roads, bridge, school, shop and much more. 4 colourful wooden cars come with the rug, as you can see pictured in this post. Freddie loved parking the cars into the numbered parking spaces. This is great learning the little ones to count and learning numbers too.

Overall, this rug is great for little ones. It's recommended for 36+ months, and Freddie is 3 and half years old, and he absolutely loves it. I love that it's colourful, the wooden cars come with it and how easy it is to store away too. Also, it's stain resistant and machine washable too.

We were kindly gifted this item in return for an honest review.
All images, words and opinions are our own.

Hatchimals WOW Review

Hatchimals were huge last year, and I'm sure you can just imagine the excitement for the kids this year as they have now introduced the first-ever re-hatchable Hatchimal egg: Hatchimals WOW! This most adorable Llalacorn is part unicorn and part llama - and is honestly the most adorable thing you will see. Llalacorn is full of surprises - especially that it wakes up in one of 10 surprise moods every time you re-hatch the egg.

When hatching the egg, that only takes 5 minutes, you need to give Llalacorn a little help to hatch by tilting the egg back and forth, and when you see the rainbow eyes, then your very own Llalacorn is ready to hatch its egg. Llalacorn will grow taller, and the egg top will fall off - the girls were laughing and amazed at the same time.

I personally think it's great that you can re-hatch the Hatchimal egg, it makes it extra fun for the kids and not only that, its the largest Hatchimal egg so far! Another great addition is, it's the first Hatchimal to express emotions through movement. It's also the first to express emotions through movement, and you will be surprised when Llalacorn magically grows up 32 inches tall - it's amazing. The kids were absolutely amazed.

If you touch and hold Llalacorn's belly and one toe it will start singing and it will sing and dance higher when you touch its forehead. The kids have had tonnes of fun with their Llalacorn Hatchimal. It will react with loud noises and can grow up to 32 inches tall - the kids (and myself) were amazed when she grew the first time. I love interactive toys and especially those ones that have so many different interactions, such as this Hatchimal WOW. With over 250 sounds and reactions, it's just full of surprises!

Once Llalacorn is hatched you can play, feed and cuddle her. She's super fluffy and so soft. When you cuddle her, she will go to her normal small size, and when there's some music playing, she will grow taller and start singing too. She sure is full of surprises and bound to make any child laugh and have fun. Each Hatchimals WOW have their own unique personality and also, which colour eyes will yours have? Pink or Purple? You'll find out once you hatch your very own Hatchimal WOW!

Hatchimals WOW are available at Smyths Toys

- We were kindly gifted this item in return for an honest review.
All words, images and opinions are my own.