Christmas Gift Guide
Christmas is nearly here! Check out this Christmas gift guide for some great presents to buy for your family this year. We have been sent some of these items to review with no obligation to post, but will always give an honest answer.
Personalised gifts – Always Personal do the best range of quality personalised items we have ever seen. We were lucky enough to be sent a personalised water bottle, £14.95 . I have had personalised items before where the gimmick is always the name, and the product itself is cheap. Not in this case! This water bottle can be used for hot and cold drinks, and is just perfect for the children to take to school. They also have a huge section of bamboo gifts – check these out as they are great value but really fantastic quality items. We tried out a wireless phone charger, again priced at just £14.95. This is a high end item which will be perfect for anyone who likes the finer things in life. Always Personal have a huge selection of items – from clocks to chopping board, and from letterbox gifts to wall art. Anything goes, and all at great value.
Personalised champagne – for the person in your life who has everything! We all know someone like this – no hobbies, or if they do, they have already bought everything they need. Why not get them a bottle of bubbles with a little twist – a personalised label just for them. It could be Christmas themed, or you could tailor it to them.
Ultimate Fig Room Spray – made by ARRAN Sense of Scotland, this spray is the most luxurious fragrance for your bedroom or lounge. It would make an amazing gift, as the packaging is high end. Its a luxury gift, but one that will last a long time, as you only need a spray or two to have a long lasting effect. This would be a perfect gift for a posh Secret Santa, or for any relative. ARRAN Sense of Scotland also have a huge range of gorgeous items, like shower gel and body care; to men’s gift sets. You can even build your own gift set on their website.
Gorgeous hair products for people with curls – Only Curls have a fantastic selection of fantastic high end products to treat your curls right. We tried out the cleansing bundle, with a cleanser and conditioner. The quality of the product was amazing, and has left our hair silky smooth. The fragrance is gorgeous too. The mini travel kit would be perfect for a Christmas gift, as it will allow the recipient to try the range. I guarantee they will be back for more!
No Longer Last On The List – a self growth book to help women prioritise themselves. The author, Jo Bevilacqua, takes you through how you can help yourself. Its an interactive book, with tick sheets and exercises. This would suit any busy mum – particularly those perhaps who are trying to start their own business, but any tired woman would appreciate this in their stocking.
Bronzie Fake Tan – so what if its Christmas? This product would be just perfect for teenagers and younger people who are ready to head out for New Years Eve. Fake tan isn’t a product just for the summer these days, its great to have that golden glow all year round. This luxurious fake tan has a unique selling point for me – it smells gorgeous. I genuinely think they should market the fragrance as a separate perfume. The tan is super dark as you put it on, so you can easily spot any areas you haven’t tanned. Even the tanning mitt is lux – feels so lovely going on, and is stored in its own special pouch ready for next time.
Calm By The Christmas Tree – another fantastic book, perfect to give to your friends for Christmas. Don’t get sucked in by the book cover – the little angelic girl on the cover doesn’t represent some of these stories! There are several short stories, some with more adult themes, others typical Christmas fun. A great book to start your Christmas off with a bang.
Nivea Pampering Indulgence Gift Set – you cannot complete your Christmas shopping without a Nivea gift set! Nivea, I think, has a great reputation for quality and luxurious products, while still being a great price. This particular gift set is fantastic, as you really will use all the ingredients. The shower cream is gorgeous, with a beautiful almond fragrance. It will last ages too – use the shower puff included with the set. There are also three fabulous lotions. Normally, I would say that is overkill for a gift set – however these are completely different and can be used in different ways. There is a mousse that is so soft it feels like air going on your skin. Then there is a smoothing lotion that I think could be used as a once a week treat after a lovely bath. The Nivea Soft Moisturising Cream is the perfect every day body lotion. and to top it all off, there is even a lip balm and hand cream. If you aren’t buying this as a gift, pop those in your handbag for day to day! I think this would make a perfect gift for anyone who is serious about protecting their skin, or if you think they need a bit of self care. This set and all the other fab sets that Nivea do, can be bought at most supermarkets and the usual high street stores like Superdrug. They even sell it on Amazon!
Liberex Hair Straightening Brush – this is the perfect gift for your teenager or even for yourself this Christmas. This is a great value alternative to some of the more expensive straightening options out there. It has proper temperature settings, with guidance. I have dyed hair, so was advised to use a medium setting. This is really helpful as had I used the incorrect setting, I could have damaged my hair. It heats up after just 30 seconds. Always remember to use heat protection spray before using any sort of hot hairdressing equipment. This is much more straightforward than using complicated straightening irons. Simply brush your hair slowly, exactly as you normally would, and you are left with a beautifully straight and shiny finish. It comes with various brush heads. heat protection gloves, and it has a safety cut out too. I would say dry your hair properly first – then less than ten minutes and you will have perfectly straight hair. Liberex are selling these from their own website and via Amazon for around £33. Make sure you pick the right plug at check out.
UHOOFIT Smart Watch – a great value alternative for your picky teen. This is a great watch, with many of the same capabilities as you would expect from a super expensive Apple watch! This UHOOFIT Smart Watch is only £39.99 yet has all the activity trackers you will ever need. It counts your steps, records your heart rate and even blood pressure. You do need to download a free app to get the best out of this watch – on the app you can download new clock faces too. The strap is of a good quality, and looks like it will last a long time. The watch is compatible with iPhone and Android phones. Like any good smart watch, the watch picks up and shows you all notifications from your phone. So, if you are in a meeting, you can still see your text messages or Facebook notifications if you need to. It also has a great charge – it beat my Apple watch hands down in terms of charging, I only charged it once and its still going after 4 days. The sleep tracker is a great feature too. I would recommend this as a great product for anyone for Christmas!
Wicked Mega Spin Saturn yo-yo – this took me back! Remember when you were young and you got a yo-yo in your stocking? Learning all the tricks – I even remember Coca-cola championships for yo-yo’s! Well, now you can treat your child (or even partner!) to a fantastic new yo-yo for Christmas. This one comes with all bells and whistles – clolour changing LED lights and a super long spin time. Turn off the lights and watch the yo-yo. If your child hasn’t really had a yo-yo before, this is a fantastic gift. Get on to you tube and find some tricks – they will soon be walking the dog with ease! This yo-yo is £10 and is available to buy on their website, and in lots of great retailers including Selfridges.
Socks! You cannot go wrong with socks for Christmas. An extra gift in the stocking, a perfect addition to any gift hamper. But, you should make sure you are getting quality socks – nothing worse than your recipient turning up two weeks later with a holey sock. (Who darns these days – not me!) Socks Mad provide quality, attractive socks at a great price. You can purchase a multi pack of festive socks from just £8.99 for 6 pairs. These could be split up in your home made hampers, or stockings, or just a perfect gift for anyone. Check out the rest of the site too – they sell every type of sock imaginable. Hiking, trainer, outdoor, compression, work, luxury bamboo socks too. Get shopping!
Flower and White meringue bars and bites – these low calorie but completely decadent bars are the perfect gift for anyone. These luxury items are sold in places like Selfridges and Harvey Nicks – that should tell you something! They are beautiful – I do not have enough superlatives in my vocabulary to describe them. Let me start with the flavours – lemon meringue, raspberry, salted caramel, hazelnut and chocolate crunch. My particular favourite is the lemon meringue bar, its coated with white chocolate and the meringue is a gorgeous flavour with a perfect squidgy bite. It has just 95 calories, so although these aren’t designed to be a diet treat – they most definitely could be! They also come in pouches with smaller bites at around 26 calories each. I ate the whole pack in one go! There is even a vegan option. Available from their website, the bars are around £14 for 12, and the pouches are £12.50 for five.
IMO Q2 Plus Smartphone – priced at just £29.99, this is an amazing first phone for your tweens or teenagers. Its also a great budget phone for older family members too, perhaps grandparents that will appreciate the great dual camera and long battery life. It even has face unlock technology, and you can download all the apps you want. The Q2 Plus has a 4 inch screen and 4G so you can easily watch videos and more on it. This is a perfect introduction into the world of mobile phones. Its available from EE, Vodaphone and Argos, and anyone would love to open this on Christmas morning!
Stocking fillers at Sous Chef – check out these high end foodie gifts for all the family. We tried the Francois Doucet aromatic fruit jellies at £9.99, honestly the best sweets I’ve ever eaten. They are fruity and sweet, but somehow luxurious and you can taste the quality. These would make a great gift for older relatives. The website has lots to choose from – from luxury pasta to gorgeous chocolate. Have a look at the foodie advent calendars too, they have anything from popcorn to spices!
Team Warrior protein bars – this is a great stocking filler idea for older teens or gym goers in your family. Protein in the form of milkshakes or bars is really popular for many fitness fans, as the protein fills you up and means your energy lasts longer. However, when I have ever tasted any of these shakes or bars before, they aren’t exactly nice! These snack bars are in a different league – the raw flapjack cookies and cream taste very similar to a popular cookie, and these have so many more health benefits! Get a pack of 12 (they do other flavours too) for just £11.99. If flapjack isn’t their thing, you could buy a Crunch Variety pack for 12 bars of three different flavours, this selection will keep your teen going for weeks. These can all be purchased from the Team Warrior website or at selected retailers.
Goodnight stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Real Life Tales of Black Girl Magic – a fantastic book for your children this Christmas. Its aimed at children from 7-13 but I think this is a great book for any household. Its a beautiful, big and well written book, celebrating the achievements of black women and girls around the world. Learn about inspirational women like astronaut Jeanette Epps, or author Toni Morrison. Let your own children be inspired by these amazing women. The book is beautifully illustrated, and will be a book that will stay in your children’s collection forever, and then be passed down to their own children. This is available from all great booksellers, including Amazon – we have linked it here at WHSMith.
For some other Christmas ideas, why not start with some cooking!