Gifting

I love buying gifts but when I have quite a few to buy, I panic! Luckily I dont have a big family, and I dont have lots of friends to buy for so I get the pleasure of being able to put alot of thought into what to buy the lucky chosen ones! I have to buy for, about, 10 people, all together, which isnt too bad, in my opinion!

Some are easy to buy for, easily pleased with whatever you buy them, others are so difficult I get to the point where I feel like just buying them ANYTHING to tick them off the list, but then I get that feeling where I feel really bad for buying them something they might not like and I dont like wasting money or being known as a rubbish gifter!

Most of the friends I have to buy for have similar taste to me, with the exception of one, but that person has so many hobbies and interests and a whole array of likes and loves that they have become the easiest person to buy for! - I have to stop myself from going overboard, they could potentially become very spoiled!

Trawling the shops and not knowing what to buy is a burden, its stressful and theres no need for it!

Tips:

LISTEN, dont just hear what people say, if they say they like something, really listen and see if you can get ideas about what someone might need or want and get ideas that way. For example, I heard my friend say she wanted a toast rack, just as a passing comment in a conversation, I remembered what she said and bought her one for her birthday, she liked it, mission accomplished!!

LOOK
Have a look at what people have in their homes, what kind of dvds are on the shelf, do they have lots of photos around the place, have they got a certain colour scheme running through their living rooms, do they have favourite artists/designers. What's their style? take inspiration from this. You'll probably find that you come across things they would like more often, when you are in shops or browsing the internet.

Secret Santa or the £10 challenge are also popular ways of making sure everyone gets something. I've never been the biggest fan of Secret Santa, mainly because i'm picky and if I dont like something that someone has bought me I feel bad and annoyed that im stuck with something rubbish that someone clearly hasnt put any thought into and afterall "its the thought that counts"

Heres a few cheap and cheerful secret santa ideas!

Chocolate Spoon moulds, great for stirring in some hot milk and making hot chocolate fun

Spicy Chocolate

Egg Cup and Soldier cutter














Getting personal is another nice way to gift, especially if you have friends with unusual names or there are children you buy for with unusual names that you may not find in gift shops on the bedroom door signs or the mugs. Look on handmade and bespoke websites.

You can buy lovely santa sacks on Amazon or you could get crafty and make your own stocking.

www.notonthehighstreet.com
www.etsy.co.uk
www.seekandadore.com

Gift Responsibly!

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