How is it almost Christmas already? It doesn’t feel like summer is fully over, or maybe I’m just living in denial, sitting in my shorts and t-shirt while it’s freezing cold outside.
Below I have tried to gather the greatest list of gift ideas for 2021, so you won’t feel left confused what to get that special someone, whether it’s a relative or a great pal.
Urbanista Headphones
Forget the in-ear options, I love over the ear headphones. They properly block out the sound around you, they’re comfy on the ears and provide so much power, you feel like the theme tune to your life is playing around you!
The Urbanista Miami over-ear headphones offer you a hefty 50 hours of playtime before they need charging again, which is useful as I’d have them on throughout the working day.
They can connect easily to your laptop or phone via Bluetooth, while you can pick from four different colours. The active noise cancelling means you can focus on your workout or your workload without any distractions, however they also have an ambient sound mode in case you need to be alerted by texts or meeting reminders.
PMD Clean
I’ve previously written about my ventures into the ten step Korean beauty regime, and while I may have dropped a few of those steps going forward, there are a few pivotal aspects that have remained.
Cleansing is a critical part of the process, helping to remove the dirt and excess sebum from the face. By removing these pollutants and dirt, you’re enhancing the effect of the products that go on after, ensuring they can sink sufficiently into the skin.
This is where the PMD Clean comes in, providing 7,000 vibrations per minute, as you rub it against your face to provide a deep cleanse.
The PMD Clean will help to minimise the appearance of enlarged pores, it will reduce excess sebum congestion, minimise the appearance of blackheads and tone the skin.
Priced at £89, this is customisable for all skin types. I also love the fact that you can put your moisturiser or serum on the other side to be massaged in afterwards.
Transformulas Wake Up & Glow
As I reach my mid-thirties, I have a whole new appreciation for anti-ageing treatments, while this daily age defender skincare bundle is a great Christmas gift for someone special.
Containing the Flawless photoglow daily skin radiance SPF30+ and the Flawless eye wakeup rapid recovery serum, you can repair and protect your skin, while bringing radiance to it.
The Flawless Wake Up & Glow set will help to add a glow to your skin after just 2 weeks, with their antioxidant rich ingredients, as well as including ultra concentrated tripeptides.
Nominated for the Beauty Awards 2022 with ASOS, this is a brilliant set by Transformulas, priced at £75.
Olverum Facial Oil
The perfect tool to fight the appearance of fine lines, oversized pores and blemishes, bringing vitality and youth to your face after just a few applications.
The pure radiance facial oil should be applied after you’ve cleansed the skin, before your moisturiser is used.
This product contains a number of amazing ingredients and essential oils, including patchouli, apricot, meadowfoam, jojoba, cacay, rice, rosehip, elderberry, cardamom, lavender, sunflower, clary sage, geranium, plus a great list of terpenes.
Patchouli extract has a growing reputation for bonding with the CB2 receptors in the endocannabinoid system, helping to maintain skin integrity and reduce those fine lines.
The vitamin rich formula can help to prevent against oxidation damage caused by the powerful UV rays from the sun and pollution in the air.
This product is vegan friendly and contains a soft, yet nice fragrance, while it’s suitable for all skin types.
Christmas Gin
Gin really did sneak up on me, I never thought I liked it up until about two years ago and now it’s my favourite alcoholic beverage.
There is something fascinating about experimenting and trying all the various flavours and options, with different botanicals added.
The latest product by the Secret Garden Distillery is the Christmas gin, a seasonal edition which will fit perfectly as a festive gift.
Containing cinnamon, ginger and cardamom, the scent instantly hints to Christmas, while the drink was brilliantly smooth.
This award winning company offers free express shipping on all orders over £30, which this product qualifies for, at £36.95.
Artistry Hydrating Travel Kit
The Artistry Hydrating solution mini-set helps to reveal glowing, visibly healthy skin in just two weeks, well that sounds good to me!
Containing a defence barrier purifying mousse cleanser, to clean the skin and start the process. Once you’ve used the cleanser, washed it off and patted your face dry, you can then move on to the smoothing toner, packed with prebiotics and licorice.
The microbiome barrier toner will minimise the appearance of pores and will tighten the skin, while adding moisture to the face after the cleansing process.
The final item in the mini-set is the moisturiser, to help build a barrier and keep in all those good nutrients you’ve applied to the face. Containing blue agave and rice protein, this will slow the signs of ageing and will also keep any serum in you might have also applied.
Zerowater Water Filter
The purchases of water filtering systems seem to be growing each year, as the knowledge around the presence of heavy metals in water grows.
This includes lead, which is a dangerous metal which can poison the body, giving you headaches and abdominal pains.
The ZeroWater water filter jug can hold up to 12 cups, or 2.8 litres of water, while it contains a 5-stage Ion exchange filtration system which is patent protected and will help to dissolve any solids present in the water.
On top of this, it will reduce 99% of fluoride in the water, as well as nitrates. The handle makes it easy to pour and it fits perfect in the side of the fridge so you can simply top it up in the morning and pour some in your glass when you need it.
Magnolia Hanging Feeder
I do love how much my mum takes her time feeding all the birds and wildlife in the garden, while I feel sorry for my dad in London, as he craves a bigger garden where he can grow more flowers, vegetables and see birds pecking at seeds on a feeder.
If you have some wildlife appreciating relatives, then a garden hanging feeder could be a good idea. Many people have the basic looking ones, but I was stunned by the Henry Bell rose hanging feed, available from Food4wildbirds.
Priced at £19.99, it’s not too expensive, so you may also want to include the Superior Seed Mix wild bird food.
The 2kg pack contains whole wheat, red dari, kibbled maize, black sunflower and white millet, a perfect mix to feed house sparrows, dunnocks and bullfinch. The brand has been selling bird feed since 1825, so you can rest assured on quality and their expertise.
Fairfields Farm Crisps Hamper
I do love a hamper! Seriously, they always feel so exciting, while I love the fact that they’re branching out into new areas, plus who can you say no to a crisps hamper?
The Fairfields Farm Pick & Mix Gift Box is a great choice. Select your favourite flavours in two size options, either 24 x 40g packs, or 8 x 150g.
All the crisps are hand cooked and made from home grown potatoes and there are lots of vegan flavours too. Both hamper box options are £22.00 and flavours include Cheese and Onion, Bacon and Tomato, Roast Rib of Beef, Sea Salt and Aspall Cyder Vinegar and Adnams Ghost Ship Ale, plus many more.
Wood Photo Print
If someone you care for has been on an amazing trip, then you might want to surprise them with a wood photo print capturing that magic moment.
Whether it’s when they proposed or their wedding day, when they climbed Machu Picchu or were on a safari in Kenya or maybe a picture of their family happy together, a wooden photo print can be personalised for them.
Available from Cewe, the wooden panels are available in nine different sizes to fit your budget and the size you think they’d prefer on their wall. Make sure to order in advance as it needs to be printed and delivered in time.
Scottish Bee Company
This family run company, launched by Iain and Suzie Millar is a motivating story of their eagerness to help the decreasing bee population in the UK, which instigated the launch of the Scottish Bee Company.
Who doesn’t love some honey on toast, but when you get a really high quality pot, you can really taste the difference.
The Pure Scottish Honey Duo is a great gift, perfectly packaged in recyclable material. But one added touch which I really valued was the addition of the wild flower seeds for free, so you can scatter them around your garden and help save the bees.
You get two pots of honey to pick from, being either the Signature Blend, Heather or Blossom.
Guylian Chocolates
Buying chocolates should be an easy gift, but everyone’s taste varies so much. My mum loves ginger dark chocolates, my big sister loves truffles while my girlfriend loves milk chocolate with hazelnut cream.
But there is pack of chocolates that seems to make them all happy, that’s the Guylian Belgian chocolates, with hazelnut praline filling.
The Original Sea Shells come with 22 in a pack, while they ooze quality and luxury, made by master chocolatiers. My mouth is drooling while I right this, it might be time for dinner!
Magicube
The Geomag Magicube magnetic cubes are a great game for children ages 1-5.
The 16 piece set works amazingly as they won’t continuously fall down, sticking together through magnets so they can make some interesting shapes and constructions.
The Magicube Magnetic Shape Block game helps to improve motor skills, creativity and imagination.
Kikkerland Skull Shot Glasses
Christmas might mean santa on the rooftop and presents under the tree for some, but for others, it’s one of the biggest parties of the year!
This four set of skull shot glasses can allow you to celebrate with friends over Christmas, New Year’s Eve and plenty more nights to come.
Each shot glass can hold 1.5oz of liquid and is dishwasher safe
Beaumonde stock a whole range of barware which is worth checking out, while if you’re looking for a gift for someone a bit more elegant, you may want to check out the decanters for that old-movie feeling, or even a drinks trolley.
Edison Bulb Light Strings
We’ve been looking to buy a house for a year now and we can’t wait to put our stamp on a home, shaping it to our vision and filling it with all the exciting ideas we’ve been constantly thinking about.
One of those that Raquel keeps ponder about is how to light up the garden for little gatherings. The moment she spotted the Edison Bulb String Lights she was hooked!
They stretch 7 foot (2 metres) and contain 10 warm white LED lights, requiring 2 AA batteries (not included in the pack).
This is the perfect way to change your garden from dingy outdoor area to classy secret garden party.
Catch Phrase Card Game
Based on the famous TV show, Catch Phrase offers you and your friends or family the chance to battle each other and place your best bets on what the card is representing.
The Catchphrase card game contains more than 55 cards, making this a great game for when the family are together for Christmas.
It also makes for a surprisingly hilarious drinking game, but expect all the answer to deteriorate as the drinks go down.
Travel Trivia Game
While I love going abroad as often as possible, having just come back from Corfu on a great week away with Raquel, one of the more arduous aspects is the plane journey, where you spend a lot of time sitting around, whether actually on the plane or in the airport.
Finding something to do, especially if you don’t have WIFI, is imperative and sometimes I’m just not in the mood to read my book. This is where a fun interactive game can be the answer.
Enter the travel trivia game! There are 50 questions about world travel, helping you to learn more about the world, as well as creating conversation starters.
