Christmas is coming! Whether you’re super organized or a bit of a last minute buyer, I think I’ve got something here that will make the special ladies in your life smile. You might be buying for your mum, sister, best friend or someone else, so I’ve collated some timeless classics with a modern twist. Don’t forget to enter my competitions, scroll down to the bottom to bag yourself some awesome prizes.
Food & Drink
Food and drink makes an excellent gift. It’s consumable which is perfect for someone who already has all the main things they want in life, and just wants an extra treat. It’s also something you can sit down and share together, especially good for families, loved ones and partners. These are some of my favourite ideas for this year.
A bottle of wine makes a fantastic gift for anyone. Independent Wine UK stock a massive array of wines, and you can have them gift boxed and personalized, which makes it feel very special. I recommend this Lo Sparviere Franciacorta DOCG Brut Millesimato 2014. This sparkling wine with notes of light lemon with flavours of toasted nuts, brioche and dried fruit is hard to find in the UK as most of the bottles are consumed in Italy, so will male a gift that’s appreciated and enjoyed.
I’d also like to recommend Grant’s Morella Cherry Brandy, for that extra special tipple after a lovely Christmas meal. Cherry is one of my favourite fruits, so pairing it with a high quality brandy works really well for me, and I think this would be a really popular gift. Shepherd Neame also sell beer, cider and pick and mix boxes, so if the Cherry Brandy doesn’t quite suit, something else will!
Pull the Pin offer a variety of spirits in an iconic bottle that makes a great gift. Here I’m featuring the classic gin, which is going to appeal to a wide variety of ladies out there, but on Pull the Pin’s website you can find blends like Spiced Rum, Passionfruit and Pineapple Rum and Raspberry and Strawberry Rum. You can buy direct from Pull the Pin, or their products are available to purchase on Amazon too.
For a lighter alcoholic beverage, how about Neitiv? Neitiv is the UK’s first Coconut Flower Drops beverage, with a focus on taste, sustainability and drink with purpose. It’s 2% ABV and only 24 calories per 100ml, making it a great choice for any woman who is watching her consumption. It’s a really enjoyable drink, refreshing and very different to any other beer on the market in my opinion.
Of course alcohol isn’t suitable for everyone, so I’d also like to recommend two non alcoholic drink products. The first is a refreshing cup of Raspberry Leaf Tea from baiji. I’m really impressed with the quality of this tea. The raspberry blend also includes jujube, peppermint and orange peel and can help you relax, can help with PMS symptoms and reduce bloating and pain, as well as reducing anxiety – but it’s also just an amazing cup of tea! Baiji also offer Revive which is a green tea, and Relax, which is a chamomile.
The second drink I’d like to recommend is a decadent hot chocolate. Two Chimps Coffee offer both coffee beans, loose leaf tea and hot chocolate flakes. The chocolate flakes are rich, creamy and dreamy! The perfect gift to spoil someone.
This Francois Doucet Provence Confectionary Chest from Sous Chef is absolutely gorgeous. Each compartment contains a delectable treat, and when it’s all empty, this can be reused as storage for anything. I’m using mine for bracelets and necklaces in the bedroom, it’s such amazing quality and so pretty, it would be impossible to throw it away once empty. If this doesn’t quite suit, Sous Chef have a collection of Food and Cooking Gifts that is bound to have the perfect item you’re looking for.
Opies are a brand I’ve used time and time again. Available from Sainsbury’s, Morrison’s, Waitrose, Booths and Nisa or online, Opies have some really luxurious Christmas Fruits this year. I used the Black Cherries with Luxardo Kirsch to make an amazing black forest gateaux, whilst we’ll eat the Apricots with Luxardo Dark Rum straight from the jar at Christmas! These make fantastic gifts to anyone who enjoys baking or cooking, or people who just enjoy fruits and alcohol, which is definitely a bit of me!
Rubies in the Rubble were awarded 6 Great Taste Awards this year. This brand not only creates delicious Relish, Chutney, Mayo and Ketchup but they create them out of delicious ingredients that would otherwise go to waste due to being the wrong shape, size or colour. I love supporting an independent, ethical business. I think any of Rubies in the Rubble condiments would make a fantastic gift this year, but buying the whole range presented in a gift box or bag would certainly be the best option! You could pair this with a lovely cheeseboard too!
My final food gift recommendation has to from Spice Pots, who sell a range of spices and curry pots. I’m really impressed with the Festive Food Survival Kit as a Christmas Gift, but Spice Pots also offer letterbox gifts that can be popped easily in the post. Their Festive kits which come with Korma, Bhuna, Goan and Sweet Spice, are a great way to use up leftover turkey and meat or even potatoes!
Self Care and Beauty
Giving any woman the gift of self care or beauty is a good choice. Feeling good and having confidence, pampering ourselves and taking quality time are all so important. Here are some of my self care and beauty gift ideas for 2022.
Made By Coopers is a modern brand using natural products to boost mental and emotional wellbeing, created by Claire, who has personal experience with anxiety disorders. They have a wide range of oils, candles, scrubs, oils, salts and more but my personal favourite are the Sleepyhead and Vanilla Rose bath salts. These are made with mineral rich Himalayan & Epsom salts, then blended with a variety of organic flowers and oils. They really help me unwind and I’d recommend them as a wonderful gift for anyone – or just treat yourself!
This 5 Tier Cosmetic Organizer from Von Haus is absolutely stunning and helps keep everything well contained and so you know exactly where to find it. It’s got space at the top for different cosmetics, including great lipstick holders, as well as four drawers which you can use for anything from makeup to jewellery. If you’re not sure if this is the perfect gift, don’t worry, Von Haus have some great other options for her in their Christmas shop – wish I could include them all to be honest!
Dolma Fragrances are 100% vegan and cruelty free and have been making fragrances since 1982. It can be hard if you’re trying out a new fragrance brand – or buying a fragrance for someone as a gift – to make a choice when you’re buying online, because you can’t smell it! This can result in you buying the same brand for people over and over again, but sometimes people would love to try something new! That’s what I love about the Dolma Women’s Discovery Set. It contains all 12 of the women’s fragrances that Dolma offer, and comes with a 30% off your next purchase when buying a 50ml or 100ml bottle in the future. The perfect gift for anyone into ethical beauty.
The sun may have disappeared for a while but that doesn’t mean you have to lose your glow! Skinny Tan was invented by two mums who wanted to combine great skincare with a tan that could be applied quickly and easily, which sounds perfect to me. The skinny in the name refers to the lack of bloated ingredients – giving a 99% natural, cruelty-free, vegan friendly, skin-friendly tan. This Christmas, available exclusively at Boots, check out the Wonder Tanning collection, pictured above. But if you’re not shopping at Boots, you can also buy a wide variety of tanning products direct from Skinny Tan.
Mayraki Professional is a hair care company that was founded with a mission to solve hair and scalp solutions, and they work with eyebrows and eyelashes as well as the hair on your head. Whether you’ve got damaged hair, dull hair, hair loss, or an itchy scalp, they’ve got some solutions for you. I want to feature two products. The first is their Lash & Brow Restoration and Growth set. This can be applied direct to the eyelashes and eyebrows to enhance length and thickness, giving you natural, luscious lashes. The second is their Probiotic Sea Salt scalp scrub. Everyone’s scalp needs a bit of a scrub now and then, but this one is particularly good at exfoliating and removing any buildup from products such as dry shampoo, hairspray or other styling products.
I’ve been using Batiste dry shampoo for years. Whilst you might not think shampoo is a traditional gift, I think that making a self care hamper is an amazing gift, and Batiste not only offers dry shampoo, but hair masks and gloss shine mists as well. I always use dry shampoo before a night out, and I love introducing it to other people! Their newest range, Batiste Naturally comes in three new varieties – Calm Flyaways Coconut Milk & Hemp, ideal for frizzy hair (that’s me), Bamboo Fiber & Gardenia, for fine hair that needs a natural extra lift, and Green Tea & Chamomile, designed for all hair, with a natural light scent.
Clothes, Hobbies & Fun
I love Delilah Chloe and would always recommend their products which include a variety of room fragrances, diffusers, wax melts and candles as well as bath & body products. At the moment Pumpkin Spice is my favourite with the onset of autumn, but there’s loads of choice for you to pick from and above shows their gift set in Botanical fragrance, which is light and refreshing.
To pair with a cheese gift, how about this fantastic Artesà Gourmet Cheese Brie Cheese Baker from Cook, Serve, Enjoy. This ceramic pot can be put in the oven when you cook your Brie, and it can be used to serve! If this doesn’t suit then Cook, Serve, Enjoy have a massive array of kitchen items for any baker or chef.
Let’s talk beautiful jewellery, which makes the perfect gift for someone special. Here I’m highlighting Daisy Jewellery, who sell necklaces, rings, earrings, bracelets and more. They also donate to over 30 charities, such as the WWF and Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, and work to have a positive impact on the environment. Above is the Beloved Bold Moonstone Band Ring, and the Beloved White Topaz Bracelet, which were my two favourites, but you can browse all of Daisy Jewellery’s rings and find one you know your gift recipient will love.
If you’re considering clothing, then I can highly recommend Land’s End. I have a bit of everything from Land’s End – my favourite pair of boots are from here, and so is the jacket my husband wears every day! Recently I tried a pair of their women’s jeans, pictured above, in an amazing vibrant turquoise (although there’s lots of other options) and I was really impressed by the quality, as well as the gift packaging. The jeans are really comfortable to wear with a very wide range of sizes from petite to plus size. There’s always great sales on Land’s End too, so it’s well worth a browse of their website.
For the woman who is into fitness, or would like to start getting into fitness, perhaps with a New Year’s resolution, I highly recommend Amonax. The two products I’d suggest for someone just starting out on their fitness journey is their Fitness Training Set, which comes with a skipping rope, push up bars and an abdominal roller, and then their set of resistance bands. Resistance bands are perfect for anyone of any fitness levels to start building up muscle and tone. They’re even great for older relatives who can only work out whilst sitting down. I’ve got a chance to win all of these items below.
Competition Time! Win Win Win!
Prize 1: Win the Dolma Women’s Discovery Set
Prize 2: The Hotel Chocolat “Everything Sleekster” Gift Box
Prize 3: Amonax Fitness Training Set and Resistance Bands Set
1 Comment
What a fabulous selection of gifts! I am totally in love with the teapot featured with Baiji! I bet the Pumpkin Spice diffuser smells amazing too!