Okay so Halloween is over which means one thing; we can officially talk about Christmas! YES. I’ve been wanting to gush about Christmas since September but finally, I feel it’s acceptable. How am I kicking off some festive blog posts? With a gift guide of course, yahoo!
Did I just say yahoo? Possibly, and no you haven’t travelled back to 1998, I’m just really that excited. Every year, I proclaim that I want to be organised when it comes to Christmas. Making lists for decorations, the Christmas dinner and of course presents! But this year I kind of need to be a little bit more organised as not only will we be getting ready for Christmas but also moving at the end of November. Though I don’t want to buy too many presents yet so that I’m not lugging them from house to house, I did start buying a few bits today, and thought that we’d kick things off with my first gift guide of the year in case you want to get organised this year too.
I’ve divided the gifts into five sections, which I think cover all bases with everyone. Hopefully there will be a present for everyone (five points if you get the Busted reference) and give you some ideas for Christmas shopping!
WestQuay
I headed to my local centre in Southampton, which I’ve spoken about before. With a huge range of shops, and all inside, it’s the perfect place for doing your Christmas shopping as you needn’t worry about getting wet or cold! Using the PLUS app, available on iTunes or Google Play it ensured I was able to work out exactly where to head for all my presents and where to find some discounts too, cause who doesn’t love a bargain especially around Christmas time? So let’s get cracking with the gift guide!
For The Girl Who Has Everything
Think of the most glamorous person you know, the girl who has everything and is flawless. Just what do you get her? Whether it’s for your BFF, sister, cousin, etc. we all know someone like her and it’s always impossible to work out what exactly she’ll want. Something that I would totally recommend is either stationery or make-up to impress any girl in this category.
John Lewis was my place to head for stationery, I knew that online they stocked the cult NYC brand Kate Spade, but wasn’t sure if they do in store too. Just saying, if you can get your hands on Kate Spade stationery, any girl will seriously love you for, like forever. Anyway, I had a good back-up, if you can’t find any KS, and that is Abigail Warner stationery, a British-based designer who specialises in wedding stationery. Her products are priced around £10-20 and definitely fit the dreamy stationery category. My top picks? This seriously cute notebook, pale pink leopard print, with gold lettering? Yes please. This would look amazing on anyone’s desk, or in someone’s handbag. The other option is a Weekly planner, perfect for the girl who loves being organised, or maybe works from home? Know a fellow blogger? I promise you, she will love this weekly planner where she can write down her posts for the week and of course the ever-important ‘to do’ list.
I love these stationery bits, and I think I may have to keep these to myself, cause you know, I have been very good this year.
Other than that, make-up counters are your place to head to. Keep it simple with neutral colours, MAC lipsticks are always a good shout, or an amazing neutral palette (think Urban Decay or Bobbi Brown.)
If you’re really, really stuck and she’s like Rachel Green from Friends, play it safe with a gift voucher, can’t go wrong.
Shops to buy from: John Lewis, River Island, Zara, MAC, New Look & Paperchase.
Techie Types
This one is for the boys in your life, or maybe someone who loves a bit of tech. Henry, my fiancée, definitely fits into this category, as well as my Dad, who I find very hard to buy for. Last year, I think I bought my dad touch-screen gloves, (I thought they were handy (HAHA) ) anyway, this year, I headed to Menkind which is a gadget/gift shop with all sorts of unique gifts.
I bought this Virtual Reality headset, which is, from what I can tell, a low value Oculus Rift, which is something that Henry has shown me many YouTube videos about. You download an app to your phone then pop it in the device and then you have 360 degrees, 3D viewing. I thought that someone like Henry or my Dad would find this really cool, and completely different to anything else they’ve had before.
Other things you could get are; headphones, Bluetooth speakers, games for their games console and well if you really feel like splashing out how about the ultimate tech Christmas gift; The Apple Watch. (Henry is obsessed with his)
Shops to buy from: Apple, John Lewis, Menkind & Game.
Home Creatures
I think I would definitely fall into this category, so think someone like your Mum, or sister who is a bit of a homebody. So what do you buy this person? In my opinion, the perfect things for a cosy night in of course! I decided to base this category on what I would like *ahem* and my Mum.
First of all, one of the most fail safe presents; pyjamas. I LOVE new pyjamas, you can’t beat them, and especially around Christmas when nights in are spent in front of Christmas films with boxes of chocolate. Hmm come at me Ferrero Rocher’s.
Boux Avenue is a luxury lingerie store that I found in WestQuay, think a British Victoria’s Secret. They had some seriously cute silk pyjamas but I went for their Buy-One-Get-One-Free offer on their pyjamas in a bag. Fleecy cotton pyjamas that are perfect for a cosy night in. I bought a cute pink floral set, and a heart printed set. Perfect for everyone and guaranteed to have your recipients excited to get into them!
My other choice for the perfect home gift, is a candle. Okay kinda boring, but honestly? I really love a candle. I always hope that Santa brings me a nice new candle for Christmas, and every winter I am obsessed with anything that is sweet or spicy scented. So when I found this candle in Clintons which is vanilla cinnamon, I knew it was perfect. It smells like fresh cinnamon buns, I am obsessed. Also this huge candle was only £10, which I think is amazing value! They have a range of scents like birthday cake, and literally every scent you could think of. It’s bit of a safe present, but seriously who doesn’t love a candle? *If you raise your hand, you can get out…nah I’m just kidding, just give them to me*
Other home buys are; DVD box sets (may I recommend Gossip Girl, Suits or Pretty Little Liars) face masks, a cosy blanket, or – as my friend Laura is obsessed with right now – cashmere socks.
Shops to buy from: Boux Avenue, Clintons, Marks & Spencer, Next & John Lewis.
Fitness Fanatics
Know someone who is all quinoa and kale? Or loves the gym, but not quite sure what to get them? Okay well, first of all, sportswear never goes amiss, maybe get them some new leggings for the gym or a fancy new top. Somewhere like Sports Direct is one of my fave places to head for gym wear which isn’t too expensive.
On the other hand I decided – for my gifts – to buy a fruit infuser bottle, as these bottles have genuinely helped me drink so much water. I got this from John Lewis, and it’s perfect for someone who perhaps wants to drink more water or is into getting a little healthier. My recent bottle broke, so I may be nabbing this one for myself, but seriously, perfect for making you drink more water.
My next gift was a cookbook, for this I had my sister in mind, who is a technically a vegan as she doesn’t eat meat or cheese. So I picked up this recipe book called Deliciously Ella which features all vegan recipes. I know that she likes experimenting with different foods, so thought this would be perfect for her, living at uni. I’ve also heard so many good things about this book that I knew it would be a good buy. It also had £4 off in Waterstones, so that was a bonus too!
Other things that could be worth buying are; a fitbit, a pedometer, a spiralizer or if you’re looking to splash out and know their shoe size, how about some new sweet trainers? The Nike Roche Runs are pretty perfect.
Shops to buy from: Sports Direct, John Lewis, Office & Waterstones,
Buying For Little Ones
Finally, something for the little ones. WestQuay has a range of shops which have lots of gifts for kids, Build-A-Bear Workshop is always a lovely present for kids, or John Lewis which has an amazing musical range, including this floor piano. I was so impressed with this, and it reminded me of the piano in the film Big which is in the toy shop in NYC! I desperately want to buy it for my little brother and sister, but might have to ask my Dad’s permission first!!
H&M always has really cute kids clothes, and Zara does too! This year, my little sister loves anything Frozen, and my little brother is obsessed with Spiderman. So you can guess the kind of presents they’ll be getting!
Shops to buy from:
Toys: John Lewis, Build A Bear Workshop, Marks & Spencer.
Clothes: Zara, H&M & Next.
After all that shopping, I was literally ready to collapse into a pre-Christmas heap. I feel like I’ve made a good start though, and have a good idea of what to buy everyone this year. Thanks to the WestQuay PLUS app, I thought of shops quite quickly, and was able to see where discounts and offers are. So make sure you download the WestQuay PLUS app, available on iTunes or Google Play before your next visit.
Also, there are some really tempting offers on the WestQuay PLUS app right now that are definitely worth checking out…
Free Doughnut at Krispy Kreme
£5 off at The Fragrance Shop
30% off the Selfie Snap Stick at RED5
So there we have my first Christmas gift guide, are you getting organised this year? Thought of any good gifts yet? I’m trying to Christmas present shop to distract myself from thinking about the fact that I’m cooking Christmas dinner for possibly eight people this year!! What have I signed up to!
