The John Lewis Christmas Collection 2016

Who's ready for Christmas? No, me neither, but John Lewis certainly is and I was lucky enough to get an invite to their Christmas press launch in Saint David's Shopping Centre in Cardiff a few weeks back. It was a bit disorientating for my poor little brain, firmly planted in Halloween mode as it is right now, to suddenly be flung into a full-blown Christmas extravaganza, but it was so beautiful and magical that, by the end of the evening, I was well and truly in the Christmas spirit.

 Their decorations are split into different collections and you can wander through a series of little showrooms to see how everything ties together and just how beautiful everything looks in a real-life setting. From traditional reds and whites to tropical splendour, there really is something to suit everyone. I had a hard time choosing my favourite!

The Chamonix collection really appealed to the traditionalist in me. I could just picture myself curling up next to that (admittedly artificial) fireplace with a mug of hot chocolate on a snowy winter's day.

Then I fell in love with the Helsinki collection. I never would have thought of navy and copper as Christmas colours, but it worked. It still had that warm, Christmassy feel, but with a chic twist.

And then there was the Ostravia collection, which was Christmas as I'd never seen it before. It was a sea of pearlescent pastel pinks, glittery golds and feathers. The Christmas tree was donned with everything from miniature Eiffel Towers and telephones to velvet crowns and evens pugs. It was quirky, but surprisingly sophisticated-looking.

Those were the three that really stuck out to me, but each of the collections was beautiful in its own way. The fact that the decorations are all split up into different collections is great because it takes the hassle out of trying to colour co-ordinate for those people (like myself) who don't exactly have an eye for that sort of thing. But, then again, a little bit of mix-and-matching never hurt anyone!

The selection is huge. Christmas cards, wrapping paper, trees, baubles, snow globes, fairy lights, candles...even a sparkly, gold dachshund.

Personally I fell IN LOVE with the little woodland critters. They're the perfect size to sit on the mantlepiece and they're just so adorable! I want some, not just for Christmas, but for all year round. Essentially I want to transform my house into a scene from The Animals of Farthing Wood.

Of course the evening would not be complete without me stuffing my face. And boy, did I! I had my first ever try of duck pate. I'm not entirely sure I know what pate is actually made from and I don't think I want to, but it was delicious. But the pièce de résistance was the selection of chocolate from Hotel Chocolat. Oh, it was heavenly! The lady from the food section said it was part of the Hotel Chocolat mini bar selection box and, after much searching, I think I've found it. It looks like it was The Nano Slab Gallery, which contains nine mini bars of chocolatey goodness. It's an epic gift choice for the chocolate-lover in your life. Nom nom nom!

I really enjoyed having a little nose at all the decorations. I was literally walking in a winer wonderland. In fact, it was a bit of a shock to the system when I stepped back out into the shopping centre and realised it was still only October. The good thing is, we still have Christmas to look forward to. 

For more from the event, check out my vlog: