Wednesday 28 December 2011

Gifts I received: Bath Bombs and Other Goodies

All these gifts on this particular blog I had been given as surprises and was not on my list. I’d seen the bath bomb set on Amazon but my Dad has bought me it as a surprise and its smells so wonderful.

It’s doesn’t have as strong a smell as Lush, it’s a similar brand so the packaging and products were fairly similar. I recommend the products, I think the make is just called bomb but I’m not completely sure.











Gifts I received: Bath Sets

I was surprised how many bath sets I received, many off my list as well as including some as surprises. I enjoy pampering myself on Christmas day with all the bath and beauty treats I get.

My friend Emz bought me the cranberry extracts set from boots. I’ve had mango and brazil nut in the past but the cranberry smell is even better – its divine!

I also got a set from the new Gok Wan range. The scent is quite strong, a little musky, but pretty. I adore the packaging also!




Gifts I received: Entertainment

I got some of the usual stuff like DVDs, CDs and books, all of which I really liked. Mainly they were on my list however my Aunty Robin often buys me and my brother surprises. This year she got us Cinema vouchers which were awesome because I love the pictures.

The books I got included Lauren Conrad: Style. This is a fashion advice book from a reality TV star. I’m enjoying this book; it’s got lots of neat fashion tips and pictures of Lauren. I also started reading Leona’s Autobiography; so far it’s extremely good.



Presents on Christmas Day

I was thrilled with the presents I got on Christmas Day. I particularly liked the unexpected surprises, for example my Dad got me a photographic book and tripod. My Dad also bought me some bath sets too.

My Mum bought me some lovely duvet slippers from George, make up and things off my list. I think my favourite presents I received were the surprises because a lot of thought went into them. However I enjoyed opening things I had on my list also.








Gift Tags for Christmas Eve

I created four gift tags for the pillow cases for Christmas Eve. They had name initials on them, so on Christmas morning, each person would recognise there pillow case.

The designs looked quite effective however they were very simple to make. All you need is double sided sticky tape, double sided sticky foam, scissors and lots of old recycled Christmas cards.

Draw and cut out initials onto the old cards and stick them onto a bigger Christmas card. By looking at the photo, the rest is easy.

To make them look as professional as possible, cut out the backs together making sure each background is the same size. To raise the initials onto the card you can use sticky foam pads which can be bought from Pound World.


Wrapped Presents for Others

For the past year or two I’ve been relying on Paper Chase Christmas paper.  I just love the modern patterns and arty themed festive wrapping. I generally got through just over three rolls this year.

I bought a little more wrapping than I needed and ended up having some left over unfortunately. I did however buy some lovely ribbons, bows and tags, I used those all up.





A few people commented on the wrapping that I designed this year. My Mum and Grandma mentioned they thought it was very nice. I enjoyed the wrapping; I know a few who don’t like wrapping however I like to make it into an art project.

 

I bought strawberry candy canes to decorate the presents which I thought worked nicely. I bought the candy canes a pack of ten for about 70p for B&M. The pink and white colours matched the wrapping.











Homemade Music CDs for Friends and Family

Some Christmases in the past I’ve made a few homemade bits and bobs for gifts. This year I made family and friends, homemade music CDs.

For my friends I made them all the same compilation but for my parents I made individual ones because they liked music which my friends don’t really listen too.

I put them in CD sleeves and decorated the packaging with recycled Christmas cards and ink stamps. My Dad was particularly pleased with his.



Christmas Presents for Close Friends

I always have fun buying gifts for my friends, there’s so much nice gift sets and bath stuff out there. I was surprised when I went in B&M because they had quite a lot of really lovely gifts in there (at reasonable prices also!)
 

The Charlie red, playboy and champagne bubble bath set all from B&M and I was really pleased with. The packaging, price and overall look of the these items I bought was great.

For Emz I bought her two DVDs, Bridesmaids and the hangover 2. I hope she liked watching them however I haven’t seen them myself. We always buy each other things off out lists because it’s easier.




Christmas Presents for Aunty Tina

I bought purple lavender Baylis and Harding set for my aunt. I loved the colour combination on the box and luxurious packaging. My aunty is quite glamorous so hope she liked the gift set.

Christmas Presents for Grandma and Grandpa

I thinking Baylis and Harding sets make very nice gifts. I love the packaging and you can always count on quality products.

After I had bought this in town, when I got home, Mum mentioned she liked this set, I think this could make a great future present for my Mum.

I bought my Grandma a nail polish also – she likes having her nails looking nice. I bought some things for my Grandpa too but for some reason must have forgotten to photograph them. I got him a bath set and chocolates.


Christmas Presents for Nan and Granddad

The book I got my Granddad is by the author of his favourite childhood read. I decided to look for other similar books by the same author and I hope that he liked it.

For my Nan and got little bits to open like writing set and hand cream. The writing set has really cute packaging and I bought it because it was well priced.




Christmas Presents for Mum

I bought more little things to open this year for my Mum and actually got a lot of nice stuff at bargain prices.

She seemed to particularly like her Pri Mark socks and Pri Mark fashion scarf. Mum made a comment about the lovely wrapping I had done and I was pleased that my Mum liked it.