Well this post is later than I had planned but I am very ready for Christmas, we’ve spent all morning decorating the house and it all smells delightfully cinnamony! I’ve got the elves prepared, advent calendars ready to go and all I need to do is buy the gifts and plan the food. So, with that in mind I’ve pulled together a bit of inspiration for you all, hopefully you’ll find it useful.

The gift you should get for yourself

I had a conversation with my son this morning about missing is football match so I could stay home and get this all written up, I had been losing sleep knowing it was waiting to be done. Hello anxiety dreams.

Anyway, I explained to him that sometimes I spend so much of my time making sure he has got everything he needs and arranging a super fun Christmas that I forget about myself. I think that is true of a lot of mums! So I think it is important to treat ourselves to a little something at Christmas.

That little something for me is a little tipple. So let me introduce you to Brontë Drinks, a range of small batch spirits crafted to produce a vibrant, crisp, individual taste within a collection of gin, rum and vodkas.

Created by West Yorkshire entrepreneurs Nigel Pickles and Andy Walker as a “pandemic passion project”, the duo purchased The Brontë Liqueur Company from its Harrogate founder, Sir James Aykroyd, and using the liqueur’s base recipe of blackberry, sloes, honey and jasmine, began experimenting with new flavour combinations in a range of spirits.

The sweetest gift

HARIBO are back with a Christmas range that is sure to delight. I adore the HARIBO Puck Penguin which is back for more festive fun! Perfect for sharing, these treats are waddling into stores now! Featuring a trio of jelly and foam penguin-shaped pieces, each pack contains peach & vanilla, blackcurrant & vanilla and strawberry & vanilla flavour combinations.

Can’t decide which treat you fancy, don’t worry just get an assortment of HARIBO’s favourite treats all in one box. The selection box has mini bags of all the tasty treats including Starmix, Tangfastics, Supermix and Giant Strawbs Gone Mini. But for me there’s no real decision to make it has to be Giant Trees and they have once again joined HARIBO’s range of festive tubes. Perfectly presented and ready to wrap for under the Christmas tree, this tasty treat is perfect for vegetarians and those that love strawberry flavoured sweets!

A really useful gift

 This Christmas, forget worrying about a stocking filler when you can gift your loved one a whole garage filler, thanks to the Christmas Mega Deal from Storage Solutions specialist BiGDUG. This limited-edition, festive-red bundle includes everything they will need to organise their garage or shed – and they’ll love you snow much for it!

The BiGDUG Christmas Mega Deal features two adjustable steel shelving units – with one being a handy corner unit that fits nice and snug while utilising space – a matching powder-coated red workbench, 15 lidded storage boxes and 24 plastic part bins for the ultimate storage solution.

With an amazing discounted price of £186.70 this is a REALLY useful gift that would organise not only Christmas but an entire garage or shed. It’s definitely one of those gifts that you treat yourselves too as adults and never look back. Honestly, the thought of all that beautiful organisation gives me such joy.

A little something extra for the Husband

When it comes to getting a treat for my husband I invariably end up looking at Trendhim. They have an amazing selection of accessories, hats, watches, bags, glasses you name it. Always on trend, always well priced and with amazing customer service to boot we’ve been using them for years.

For Christmas this year I decided to treat him to a new ring, and there was a lot of rings to choose from on the Trendhim website. I’ve opted for this beautiful Fortis Black Damascus and Rose Gold-Tone Titanium Ring. It’s simple design with the wood detailing will really appeal to him. I think it’s a pretty good choice!

A bit of pampering

You can always rely on ARRAN Sense of Scotland for a little bit of pampering and they have so much to choose from. With lovely gift sets perfect for Christmas and beautiful scents for everyone. There is something to suit every budget and every taste. My favourite scent is After the Rain, it’s warm and woody with an uplifting floral note, just like a country garden after a rain shower. To be fair though I enjoy all the scents I’ve tried so far.

As a gift, with travel solidly back on the cards now I am loving the After the Rain Wash Bag set. It contains four items from the fragrance range so it’s perfect for a newbie to the range or to a die hard fan, the stylish cotton canvas wash bag is the perfect travel companion, with plenty of pockets and a hanging hook. It contains everything you need to feel refreshed and looking your best when on the go or away from home – 300ml Shower Gel, 200ml Body Lotion, 15ml Eau de Parfum and a 40ml Hydrating Hand Cream to protect hands from the harsh winter weather. 

The perfect Christmas gift for those who love travelling and who like a bit of pampering.

A special memory for the grandparents

If there’s one thing I know the grandparents will love it is anything that involves L! So I found one of my favourite pictures of him from this summer and headed over to ASDA photo to create a little something special, a picture with a little added drama. Oh yes, I went all out and opted for a personalised lightbox. You can opt for text or a picture in a lovely white wood frame which is surrounded by little mini bulbs.

I love how easy their website is too use and the finished product is superb. We’ve never been disappointed by anything we’ve had from ASDA photo and whilst the light box is rather expensive, for a Christmas treat it is really something special.

Something for book lovers

I have a few people in my life who love a good book and if I’m ever unsure what to go for I always find that something factual goes down a treat, especially when the topic is as interesting as N-4 Down.

The riveting true story of the largest polar rescue mission in history: the desperate race to find the survivors of the glamorous Arctic airship Italia, which crashed near the North Pole in 1928. Triumphantly returning from the North Pole on May 24, 1928, the world-famous exploring airship Italia—code-named N-4—was struck by a terrible storm and crashed somewhere over the Arctic ice, triggering the largest polar rescue mission in history. Helping lead the search was Roald Amundsen,
the poles’ greatest explorer, who himself soon went missing in the frozen wastes. Amundsen’s body has never been found, the last victim of one of the Arctic’s most enduring mysteries.

For the person who always loses things

I have been a big fan of Tile for several years now. I first discovered them at a Christmas event many years ago and got my first Tile tracker. When the battery on my original Tile gave up the ghost I bought myself two new Pro trackers, with replaceable batteries. I have also been given a branded Tile through work. I’ve got the credit card sized one for my purse and now my husband has got in the action. With a great selection of colours and styles there is a Tile for everyone and what better way to say Merry Christmas than to give someone the gift of always knowing where their keys are!

Disclosure – I received PR samples or payment for some of the products mentioned in this guide. I have not included anything I wouldn’t genuinely buy as a gift myself.