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Can you believe it’s that time again already? Mariah has awoken and the first warbling bars of All I Want For Christmas are threatening to burst unapologetically from speakers across the country. Usually I’m the first to have the Christmas tunes on, festive jumpers dusted down and ready to fire some pigs and blankets into the oven, but this year has been a little different.
Generally I think people fall into two camps at Christmas – you’re either finished your Christmas shopping by September and desperate to unleash tinsel upon your home, or you’re dragging your heels and hoping to get everything over and done with.
In previous years I’d have definitely been the former, this year I’m still looking forward to it – but feeling a little worn out by the thought of the faff involved.
One thing I do love is living vicariously through gift guides. I love spotting things that are either super left-field or indecently priced and trying to imagine who might enjoy such a gift. At the same time I do take comfort in the reassuringly familiar gifts that you know you’ll be ordering each year, whether it’s your mum’s favourite shower gel or your brother’s go-to sock brand.
I take solace in window shopping and browsing Christmas sections of websites, and I hope you enjoy me sharing my favourite finds with you.
Foodie Faves
Everything the cheese connoisseur needs to display their favourite types ready for snacking. This eye-catching serving board marries together a beautifully soft-looking wood with the contrast of a black marble, creating and elegant – and expensive looking – board. Combined with the set of four utensils, this is a perfect gift for all serial snackers.
Do you yearn for a fancy brunch on Christmas Day, or perhaps you prefer to take things easy on the 25th – this smoked salmon and Champagne gift bag is just what you need! This is a little bit fancy, and probably not for everyone; but the thought of a branded coolbag landing on my doorstep containing a bottle of Brut, two servings of smoked salmon, crème fraiche, 16 cocktail blinis and two unwaxed lemons has me salivating. Perhaps this is the perfect gift for the person who has everything!
There are tea parties, and then there are Tea Parties. This collection from Whittard of Chelsea will provide you with everything you need for your very own Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. In the beautiful wicker hamper you’ll find a set of four teacups and saucers, a beautifully decorated teapot, two different types of tea to choose from and some of their Queen of Hearts Shortbread.
Little parcels wrapped up with bows aren’t for everyone, for some, an experience is the best gift you can gift. This gift is a double whammy, a bus tour and afternoon tea! This vintage bus will take you on a tour of some of the best sights London has to offer like Big Ben, The Royal Albert Hall and Hyde Park while you tuck in to sandwiches, cakes and pastries.
Tea Infuser £7.50
In the last few years I’ve noticed that more people I know are migrating towards to great unknown of loose leaf tea. I’m not a tea drinker, I’ll preface with that, and the smell of a milky tea is enough to get my stomach churning, but there’s something about the aroma of an English Breakfast Tea – or something a little bit more aromatic, that is just so soothing. Wee Tea Company have the perfect gift for your favourite tea-drinker, their In-cup Tea Infuser. Just pop this into your mug with your loose leaf inside and allow to brew before removing in one piece. Pop it to stand in the lid and it doubles as a drip tray to keep everything nice and clean.
What do you mean you already have a food processor? This is so much more than that! The Ninja boasts a 1.2L bowl with a feed chute to allow you to easily add ingredients once in motion. The precision-engineered blades are made from durable, high-quality stainless steel and are powered by an 850W motor which ensures delicious results every time. Create a perfectly chopped salsa, puree your veggies or whip up some pizza dough – the sky is the limit with this handy contraption!
After the last 18 months, there’s nothing that I’m sure anyone would love more than an overnighter somewhere fancy; enter, Hotel du Vin. With locations up and down the country, the Hotel du Vin brand is synonymous with opulence and sheer luxury with their venues offering aspirational getaways for a night or two. Or three if Santa is being very good to you!
Cocktail Connoisseur
I’ll come clean, I’m a chronic glass breaker. Not in a ‘bar fight’ kinda way, but more of a clumsy ‘forgot it was at my feet’ or ‘dropped it in the sink’ kinda way. As a result, I have a very unfortunate hankering for fancy glasses and love to stare longingly at them. These asymmetric glasses are a little bit out there and pretty quirky, but I think they’d make the perfect addition to anyone’s drinks cabinet – plus, as a red wine glass was a wider body these can even be used to hold delicate desserts – as long as nobody’s cracked open a bottle of Rioja! The wider range contains white wine glasses and champagne flutes too, so you’ll never be stuck for a statement glass.
Cocktail Set £39.50
Planning to show off your cocktail prowess over the festive season? Not with any old tools you aren’t! This high-shine gold set will allow you to make quality cocktails while looking like a pro. All held together in a sleek marble-effect stand, you’ve everything you need to get going with a muddle, bottle opener, double sided measure and Hawthorne strainer that fits onto a Boston shaker glass to strain every drop into your glass of choice.
This is one of these rare gifts where really it speaks for itself! A beautifully wrapped bottle of Clementine Gin in a light-up bottle inspired by The Nutcraker with edible gold leaf infused is perfectly paired with a bottle of limited edition Conte Priuli Oro Prosecco. Combine in a glass for a devilishly fizzy and fruity treat!
Wood Resin Coasters from £5.80 The thought of spending £5.80 on a coaster may be enough to make some shudder, but one look at the creations of Etsy seller Gohobi has you comfortably reassured that their products are worth that and more! This unique range of coasters and placemats combines natural blocks of Cedar wood with clear resin to create a rustic-yet-cutting edge design. Perfectly imperfect and entirely unique in every way, these designs would look right at home in either a cosy cottage or ultra-sleek modern apartment. This juxtaposition is very difficult to do well, and as one of the recent reviewers said “When I received the coasters I must have spent five minutes just staring at them”, no wonder!
Beauty Buys
Create A Personalised Bracelet from £17.99
I’ve long been a fan of Katie Loxton’s products, her bags just exude elegance and are so instantly recognisable. Their customisable bracelet is a wonderful idea for a secret Santa gift or stocking filer. The silver stretch bracelet comes on a card which can be personalised with the recipient’s name and occasion for the gift, then the purchaser has a choice of charms available to choose one from along with up to four initials. This forms a beautiful keepsake gift, perfect for Christmas!
In the last year or so I’ve really fallen in love with Bobbi Brown makeup. After a dodgy encounter with a foundation years ago, I gave a set very similar to this and realised that I actually really like their formulations. This gift set pulls together some of their powerhouse products to create a glam look. You’ll find their Vitamin Enriched Dace Base cream to prep and soften skin whilst adding a healthy glow, you’ll also find one of their Pot Rouge compacts, perfect for adding a swipe of colour to lips and cheeks. My all time fave Bobbi Brown product is included in this set too, their long-wear shadow stick in Golden Bronze – a universally flattering shade that melts into skin and doesn’t budge through the day. Finish off your look with their Smokey Eye Mascara, coat lashes for a dramatic non-smudge style.
An update to their iconic magnifying mirror, Boots have come through this year with a cordless version. Available in either white or black, the annual dressing table staple has had a bit of a glow-up. Illuminated to help eradicate pesky shadows on your face whilst applying makeup or skincare, the double sided mirror means that you can see your whole face normally or zoom in to tweeze any bothersome eyebrow hairs or unsmudge any eye makeup. These mirrors are must-haves, and last a fair while – mine must be around six years old now and I still use it every day!
I love dinky cosmetics, and this YSL duo caught me hook, line and sinker. This little festive bauble combines two of YSL’s most iconic products, the Libre Eau de Parfum and the Rouge Pur Couture lipstick. Granted these are small, but they’re irresistibly cute too! The statement red lipstick is their most iconic shade, with a beautiful satin finish and medium-to-full coverage – you can expect to be showing this off for up to six hours. Plus, as a little bonus: until the 19th December 2021, YSL are offering Buy One Get One Half Price off almost everything on their site! Run, don’t walk!
Each year Boots knock it out of the park with their Soap and Glory sets. They’re not particularly surprising each year as the contents generally stay the same, but every product is – in my house anyway – an essential! The jumbo sized shower gels sit on the edge of the bath and are my go-to most days, the familiar, classic Soap and Glory scent is just such a soothing scent. An honourable mention too for the Scrub of Your Life and The Righteous Butter products. This year they seem to have replaced their newer coconut-based product for a new, fruitier variation so I’m definitely looking forward to giving that try!
REN’s Ready Steady Glow AHA tonic is such a cult favourite in the skincare community. The tonic has been formulated to brighten and exfoliate skin, with lactic acid and willow bark extract combining together to reveal softer, brighter skin. There’s nothing worse than having a favourite product that’s just too bulky for travelling, and LOOKFANTASTIC have you covered here. This set means you have the 250ml bottle to keep as a staple at home, and a 100ml bottle for stashing in your toiletry bag and taking on the go. By purchasing from REN you’re doing your own bit for the environment as they’ve got a pledge to go plastic free, you can read more about this here.
I’ll tell you my favourite place to check when I’m picking up birthday and Christmas gifts; the LOOKFANTASTIC Beauty Box section and they often have some incredible Limited Edition boxes: just a few months ago I picked up an absolute bargain from the collaboration with Kate Sommerville! Currently, the Luxe Collective (worth more than £128) is live on the site and boasts nine products from brands including Nars, Laura Mercier and Shiseido. Get those cheeks flushed with Nars blush in Orgasm, cleanse away all traces of the day with BareMinerals cleanser and find one of the shades of Rouge Lipstick from Laura Mercier. Which one will you have to perfect your pout?
Cozy Club
Fancy matching PJ’s with the fam but on the look out for something a little more wearable than traditional ‘Christmas’ ones? Why not snag these Percy Pig exclusives from M&S? The boxy fit t-shirt and cuffed bottoms set make them look as cool as matching PJ’s possibly can be when they’re covered in images of a chewy pig. The drawstring waist helps cinch the top of the joggers in, and conversely will allow you to let them out post-Christmas dinner.
Real Suede Mule Slipper £19.20
Since the realignment of ex-high street superstar Debenhams onto the online sphere, some of their recognisable gifts have filtered through and returned to their virtual shelves. These real suede slippers are among the staples we all remember picking up as a treat for feet. With co-ordinating faux fur trims and thick rubber soles – these will have your tootsies snug and secure as you sip prosecco into the small hours throughout the festive period.
This little duo helps to relax and soothe before bed to prime for a good night’s sleep. Proven to actually enhance sleep, these are staples in my bedroom! With the pillow spray, simply spritz onto your pillow or bed covers before getting into bed, it helps to aid relaxation. I know this works as anytime I use it, my husband who is a chronic toss-and-turner is asleep before me! The other product in this set is the pulse point rollerball, with it’s blend of essential oils which include eucalyptus, frankincense and lavender; this kit will help to relieve tension and stress and send you to the land of nod.
If plain old jersey PJ’s don’t float your boat, Chelsea Peers has the more bougie of us covered with her range of supersoft, luxe sleepwear. This button up set features a vintage Christmas print and the luxuriously soft fabric features a relaxed cut and elasticated waist. Not only do Chelsea Peers product look great, they’re doing great too. For each order placed, Chelsea Peers have teamed up with non-profit One Tree Planted to plant a tree on your behalf. As of the end of November 2021, Chelsea Peers have been behind the planting on 100,000 trees. And for full transparency, you know I have these en route from the Black Friday sales!
This supersoft ribbed jumpsuit is an absolute must-have through the winter. Whilst cozy and warm, this jumpsuit isn't bulky or heavy, meaning that it doesn't feel restrictive or uncomfortable. Since loungewear has become our day to day uniform of late, I do tend to pick up a piece every couple of months and this was my most recent acquisition!
Fill your home with some of ESPA’s most recognisiable scents, prepping your senses for a Christmas takeover! This limited edition set contains four 70g candles in the distinct blends of Soothing, Restorative, Energising and Positivity. With a candle to suit every mood, tailor your surroundings this Christmas for the most relaxing holiday yet!
Supersoft Faux Fur Throw from £25
Can you even get to optimum cosiness without a faux fur throw to drape over you whether you’re in your home office, lounging on the couch, or tucked up in bed? My personal favourite is the Charcoal as it’s such a versatile colour and genuinely does go with everything! Super snuggly, it brings a touch of luxury to every living space. My favourite thing about these throws is that they’re machine washable, so no more worrying about damaging it when washing it by yourself, or trying to make time to get it to the dry cleaners!
Kensington Weekend Bag £94.99
Escaping for the weekend? Not without an iconic Katie Loxton holdall you aren’t! Katie Loxton products are synonymous with luxury fashion and are exactly what anyone needs on their arm. The Kensington Weekend Bag is a bestseller, the vegan leather is soft, and measures 53cm in length in order to fit all of your must-have travel products in. With internal pockets, detachable shoulder stap and optional personalisation, the Kensington bag offers everything needed for a trip to the city, or a girlie sleepover.
Has anything caught your eye? I'd love to know whether I've managed to inspire you in your Christmas shopping, be sure to let me know!