THE REALLY USEFUL GIFT GUIDES
My favourite time of the year (it's true)!
I know, Christmas seems to start earlier and earlier each year. But I tend to be onboard with that. As someone who used to edit gift guides for magazines, we’d start in June/July working towards an early September deadline - so this feels like last minute for me!
Personally, I plan early for Christmas. I save money all year round in a Christmas/birthday pot and we start buying a few bits and bobs I know people will like early so I’m not too stressed in November/December (which is my busiest work time). We try and keep it simple at home: just a few presents and stockings (with secondhand fillers) for our kids, one present for family members and nothing for adults if we’re buying for their kids. We often have a £5/£10 rule for kids presents depending on people’s budgets - and I love the challenge! I’m usually finished by early December which leaves me more time to enjoy the build up, wrap presents and watch 80s Christmas movies (my favourite is ‘Scrooged’ or ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation’).
Most of the items I purchase as presents I share here first via my Christmas Hub. Everything is under £100 (and only a couple of items - which I deem worth it - are big ticket ones and they’re likely to be a joint/clubbed together present). Unlike my magazine edits (that would usually be sold out by the time it went to print), the hub will be constantly updated leading up to Christmas.
Andbecause I spend so long on these guides, affiliate links will be used used and marked on the newsletter with an asterisk* but rest assured I won’t also be sharing Black Friday updates or sales posts. All affiliate link payouts we receive this month (November) will be donated to Save The Children charity.
Before I introduce the first gift guides, I really wanted to show you this H&M* tree skirt. Because this is the kind of thing that’s not quite right for the gift guide (no one wants a tree skirt for xmas) but I often find myself browsing for this exact thing in bed at 11pm (I resorted to a buffalo check one via Etsy a few years ago but wish I’d seen something like this):
Tree skirt: £12.99, H&M Home*
The Perfect Gift For Kids (that they’ll actually use)
The holy grail? Possibly. But we love the Yoto Player for its ability to capture our childrens’ imaginations without the screens (especially at the festive time of year). We use ours daily (and nightly with the clever Sleep Radio and nightlight) and I often squeal when I see a new card added to the (already immense) Yoto Card Library that I know they’ll love. My son is a Bob Marley and The Wailers fan at 4 years old (great taste) and The Worst Witch is one of my daughter’s favourite stories (of course). It gives control over to the kids (although I can still control a few things from my phone like alarms and volume settings) and grows with them with educational cards, audiobooks as well as music cards - there’s something to suit every childs’ personality. This blog here lists all our favourite cards and the code AFF-ALEXS10 gets you 10% off (with a minimum spend of £59, UK orders only) until 31st December 2024.
And now for the gift guides! Alex Lunt has compiled a post of the best baubles around for my site (which is a tall order because you know how much I love tiny tree ornaments but I really think she surpassed my expectations!). Read the post here.
And now for the rest! The host gifts are pretty much all the items on my wishlist but the under £10 is my pride and joy because I really think you can buy great value gifts on a budget (I bought my daughter these pyjamas and I love the idea of gifting truffle crisps as a Secret Santa gift rather than the usual chocolate!).
Olive oil: £22.99, Yiayia and Friends*
Set of knives: £26, Opinel
New York cult recipes cook book: £12.99, Anthropologie*
Tree bauble: £6, Next*
Splatterware enamel serving spoon: £12, Berylune
Fabric photo frame: £32, Anthropologie*
Set of glasses: £24, Anthropologie*
Candlestick holder: £10, John Lewis*
Storage tin: £17, HAY at Kin Store
Hand cream: £23, L'Occitane*
Candle: £34.20, Neom via Liberty*
Cutlery set: £23.99, Zara Home x Collagerie
Oven gloves: £20, Dunelm*
Set of coffee cups: £37.50, Cissy Wears
Set of 2 napkins: £6.99, H&M Home*
Tree decoration: £8, Accessorize*
Candles: £7.99 for 2: H&M Home*
Cleanser: £9.99, Byoma at Boots*
Lip scrub: £10 (member’s price), Beauty Pie*, £10
Truffle crisps: £4.99, Torres via Fortnum & Mason*
Tree decoration: £3.43, Sostrene Grene
Hair scrunchie: £10, COS*
Paper tape: £1.21, Sostrene Grene
Kids pyjamas: £9, George at Asda
Bath bomb: £5, LUSH
Dino tail: £8, Dunelm*
Socks: £7.90, JW Anderson x Uniqlo*
Tree decoration: £10, Damson Madder at Anthropologie*
Kimchi mayo: £6.50, Delli Market
Earrings: £10, Accessorize*
Cushion cover: £9.99, H&M Home*
Earmuffs: £14, Rockahula
Body butter: £20, Soapsmith
Rechargeable lamp: £20, Dunelm*
Beanie: £19.90, JW Anderson x Uniqlo*
Rumi: Food of Middle Eastern appearance cookbook: £18.99, Anthropologie*
18k gold-plated earrings: £20, Orelia*
Happy Face moisturiser: £16.50 (members price), Beauty Pie*
VHS tree decoration: £19.99, Cissy Wears
Art print: £15, Fy!
Sausage dog hot water bottle: £20, Next*
Dry skin salve: £11.99, Lanolips
Wool and mohair hood: £20, Urban Outfitters*
Bob Marley and The Wailers music card: £11.99, Yoto* (code AFF-ALEXS10 gets you 10% off a minimum spend of £59)
Draught excluder: £16, Dunelm*
That’s it for now! I will work on more gift guides later on in the month (I’m convincing Chris to do a decent affordable men’s one!), in the meantime you can shop the Christmas Hub which will be regularly updated.
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