Last Minute Christmas Gift Guide

With just one week left until the big day, I'm sure I'm not the only one who's gone and left their Christmas shopping until the last minute...again.

But have no fear because my last minute Christmas gift guide will save you the hassle of scouring the High Street for the perfect gift. Don't bother battling the crowds or collapsing into a hysterical heap in the middle of Marks & Spencer (I've been there). Instead, let me do the searching for you while you put your feet up with a nice mug of hot chocolate...with extra marshmallows...because obviously.

Gifts for Her

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.

Stocking Stuffer Gift Ideas for Her

It's that time of year again! There's magic in the air and festive cheer and good will towards men have nuzzled their way into our hearts to brighten the bleak December nights. Oh, and men everywhere are frantically trying to work out what to buy their loved ones for Christmas.

Fear not! I have a fool-proof stocking stuffer guide to ensure you do not mess this up!

Of course, this guide isn't just for men. It's for anyone out there who could do with some inspiration for gifts for a sister/mother/girlfriend/daughter...or just some little treats for yourself! But I can't help thinking of my Dad last year. He genuinely thought talc was an acceptable gift to put in my mother's Christmas stocking.

So, to save women everywhere from a similar fate, here's a list of stocking stuffer gift ideas that you simply can't go wrong with.

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge

I can confirm that the word 'miracle' is not an exaggeration. This has revolutionised my face! This little wonder makes for flawless makeup application and can be used to apply foundation, concealer and even powder products. A must-have for makeup bags everywhere!
Get it here!

Lush Magic Wand

Frankly, anything from Lush makes a fabulous stocking stuffer. Bath bombs, lips scrubs, massage bars...you cannot go wrong with something from Lush. The products smell divine, contain all natural ingredients and are the perfect little treat.

But, for the sake of narrowing things down, if I had to choose just one Lush product to wake up to on Christmas morning it would be the Magic Wand bubble bar. It's pink, it's sparkly, it's festive and it can be re-used so you get more bang for your buck.
Get it here!

Other stand-out Lush products include Santa's Lip Scrub, Snow Fairy Shower Gel and the Butterbear Bath Bomb.

Vanilla Cupcake Yankee Sampler Candle

The Vanilla Cupcake Yankee candles smell good enough to eat (I've seriously been tempted to take a bite a few times) and the sampler is the perfect size to pop in a Christmas stocking. And if she drives get her the car air freshener to go with it. It's like driving around in a giant cake!
Get it here!

Pandora Bracelet 

Yes, it's a little more pricey than some chocolate coins and an inflatable bath pillow, but a Pandora Bracelet is the stocking stuffer gift that keeps on giving. Get her a Pandora Bracelet for Christmas and you're sorted for anniversaries and birthdays too. If in doubt, just get another charm for the bracelet. Each one is sentimental and absolutely stunning. Who would say no to that?
Get it here!

Perfume Atomiser

Everyone loves to find a random gadget at the bottom of their Christmas stocking and a perfume atomiser is the kind of random gadget she'll actually use! She can just fill it up with her favourite perfume and have it on hand wherever she goes. Perfect for travelling or to throw in her handbag and take to work.
Get it here!

Makeup Bag

It doesn't take long for makeup bags to get a bit...grim. It's only a matter of time before a foundation leaks or a lipstick loses its lid and suddenly it looks disgusting. But a nice new makeup bag isn't something most women will treat themselves to so a pretty little makeup bag like this one from Cath Kidston is always a welcome Christmas gift.
Get it here!

Chocolate

Quite frankly it's not a Christmas stocking without chocolate. After all, 'tis the season to stuff your face and gain half a stone. Personally I love a tube of Milkybar Buttons and a Chocolate Orange in my stocking, but it all comes down to personal preference. Just make sure there's chocolate of some description in there!

DIY: Easy Peasy Valentine's Day Gift Tags

Just because I'm going to be spending Valentine's Day alone, pouring a combination of Jack Daniel's and Thornton's chocolates down my throat, does not mean that I can't get in on the festivities. Any excuse for a celebration (and/or copious amounts of chocolate).

So for the romantic, crafty, or extremely bored among you, I thought I'd share a really simple tutorial for these super cute handmade Valentine's Day gift tags. Even if your crafting skills are slim to none, these tags are really easy to do (and totally addictive to make).

Dear Santa...

Christmas is coming at high-speed, regardless of whether or not I'm ready for it. And right now I'm really not. But it's about time I did a Christmas-themed post so I thought I'd steal an idea I saw on fiveleveninety, a blog I follow mostly because I like to live vicariously through Riley, the author. She can do long distance running while I can't even jog for three minutes without falling over, she's still in college while I'm stuck in a boring post-uni world of taxes and living with my parents, and it snows where she lives while here it just rains. Constantly.

Fabulous Photo Gifts: Snapfish Goodies Review!

Now that Halloween is over I'm starting to allow myself to think a little about Christmas. I'm not the kind of person who feels the need to put up a Christmas tree in the first week of November and I am most certainly not the kind of person who posts those memes of Will Ferrell in Elf with the caption 'only 150 more sleeps until Christmas'. In fact, I usually like to keep the holiday entirely confined to the month of December. But this is the first time in three years that I'm going to be home for the run up to Christmas so I can't help getting excited. Plus, the lovely people at Snapfish sent me a voucher so I could write up a review for them so, thanks to them, my Christmas shopping is already well under way too!

Let me just begin by saying that I love photos. My room in university was plastered with them and I have a totally overwhelming obsessive compulsive thing going on with putting all the family prints in chronologically ordered albums with labels. I feel very strongly about it, which is probably weird.

Anyway, at this time of year I always see adverts for personalised photo gifts, but I've never actually gone out and bought any because I was convinced they would look totally cheesy and that the gift recipient would be like, "...wow...a t-shirt with a picture of you on...thanks...". But I must say, I am very impressed with the things I got sent from Snapfish and I will definitely be purchasing more photo gifts from them in the future. Overall the choice was amazing, the quality is great and I now have a whole bunch of quirky personalised Christmas gifts to dish out this year. And some goodies for myself. (Of course!) So here's a look at the goodies I got...

Photo Calendar

Firstly I ordered a calendar for my mother (so let's hope she doesn't read this). I have to say, I had a lot of fun designing it. There are what feels like hundreds of different background themes for you to choose from. I was in creative heaven! When choosing your backgrounds you can either keep it simple and choose a theme, which includes twelve different backgrounds, one for each month, or you can go totally crazy like I did and scroll through them all and mix and match. Great for people like me who are extremely picky! 

You can also change the photo layouts to include a different number of photos and you can add captions. My favourite part was that you can customise the dates on the calendar and add pictures and captions to them, which makes it even more personal. What's more, you guys know how much of a technophobe I am, but all of these changes were really simple to make and it's all very self-explanatory. Bonus!

Notebook

Next I got myself a cute little notebook. I have a bizarre, deep-rooted love for stationary so I couldn't resist the idea of owning a notebook with my face on it! You can opt for either lined or blank paper and you can customise the cover depending on what background you want and how many photos you want to put on there. The covers are paperback and usually I'm a hardback kind of gal, but I must say it is sturdy. It has successfully survived being stuffed into and carted around in my handbag of doom without any sustaining any damage. In my world that speaks volumes.

Animated Backpack Tag

While we're on the topic of animated gifts, I also got myself an animated backpack tag, which may actually be my favourite thing. I was initially unsure about the whole 'animated' business. You can choose between tags that had two photos that would switch back and forth as you moved them side to side or one like mine, which is just one photo that looks 3D because of the concertina fold. (I'm sure there's an easier way to explain that, but just roll with my convoluted ramblings.) 

Despite my reservations, it looks fabulous and now I wish I had ordered a few more things from their animated range. The quality on this is really great and I can't wait for my next trip so I can use it! Seriously, I love it! Why wouldn't I need a picture of myself in a cowboy hat on my luggage?

Photo Mug

I also got a Christmas present for my sister-in-law. I opted for a photo mug with a collage of pictures of my niece and nephew. You can upload up to 15 photos (or just stick to one) and add a caption. This is super cute! Again, the quality is high and it doesn't look tacky. You can pick the colour and the font of the caption, which is great too. My parents absolutely fell in love with it when they saw it so maybe I'm going to have to order in a few more of these...

Photo Keyring

Last but not least, I ordered a keyring with one of my favourite pictures of my niece and nephew on it. Originally I had intended to give it to my father to put on his work keys, but I'm very tempted to keep it for myself. It just makes me smile! Simple, but effective.

So, as you can see, I ordered quite a selection of different bits and pieces. The Snapfish website is easy to use (good for people like me who have no technical knowledge and/or patience) and I'm happy with all my goodies. Now I just have to finish off the rest of my Christmas shopping. Wish me luck with that!

To snap up some fabulous photo gifts of your own this Christmas, head over to the Snapfish website:
http://www.snapfish.co.uk/snapfishuk/welcome