Christmas will be here before we know it and if like me you haven’t yet started your Christmas shopping and it’s starting to freak you out a bit then hopefully you’ll find something of use here.
It gets trickier and trickier to come up with ideas for presents doesn’t it? I mean seriously what on earth do you buy for the woman that has everything? Boxes of chocolates have been done to death, books are fine but how do you know if they’ve already read it or not, then there’s clothes but what if you get the size/colour/style wrong, and of course there’s smellies… a girl can never have too many smellies, but honestly it’s a bit flippin’ predictable ain’t it!
And of course you could go down the road of asking for a list, which is all well and good but it doesn’t really show much thought and well part of the joy of Christmas is opening a gift that is a complete and utter surprise… plus it helps if it’s something that’s actually a nice surprise rather than some cheap and nasty gimmicky gift that’s likely to end up on eBay come Boxing Day!
So the big question is… what do you buy the woman who has everything?
Personally, I reckon it’s all about making someone feel special and with more and more of us ladies struggling to find time for ourselves these days, a little bit of self care, self love and just general all round positivity goes a long way.
Check out these Christmas gift ideas to help make the females in your life feel inspired, motivated, loved and more important than anything else to help pop a big old smile on their face and make them fell all glowy inside.
Isabella & Us Zine
Us mum’s deserve a medal for the amount of crap we have to deal with (in some instances… actual crap!), but seriously a tin foil covered milk bottle lid strung on a ribbon and scribbled with the words ‘world’s best mummy’ just ain’t gonna cut it any more. I mean, yeah homemade crafts from your little darlings are all well and good for a bit, but when the house starts looking like some kind of Blue Peter makes graveyard, the novelty of it starts to wear a bit thin. And come on if you’re being 100% honest is that really all you deserve after pushing a watermelon out of your bits and then having to try and raise a half decent human. Plus let’s face it, they all end up in the recycling bin eventually anyway… the crafts, not the children that is!
So this year how about taking matters into your own hands and either buying your mum friends something of actual benefit or start dropping some big old dirty hints about the kind of stuff you’d like the hubby to buy for the kids to give you.
And I’ve got just the thing!
This self-published magazine from Isabella & Us is written by mums for mums and is all about promoting positive wellbeing and showing us mums just how awesome we really are. Because it’s blinkin’ tough being a mum and sure we love our kids to bits, but they don’t half take it out of you.
The Positive Wellbeing Zine For Mums offers 52 pages of advice, articles and just all round awesomeness divided up into quick and easy to read snippets for when you’re grabbing a bit of ‘me time’ in between naps. And yeah I know you’re thinking you should be sorting out the washing, pureeing veggies, or cleaning the house, but seriously it can wait, because the most important thing a mum can do is look after herself. Answer me this: how on earth are you meant to look after a little one properly if you aren’t looking after yourself well enough in the process? We need to re-energise, rest, and take time out for a bit of mental clarity. It is not self-indulgence, it is not selfish, and it most definitely should not come riddled with guilt!
The Zine is a quarterly publication and can be bought as one off copies or as a yearly subscription – printed subscription £25 or a digital subscription £10.
Funky Pigeon Happy Bag
When you receive something packaged up in a cheery tote bag emblazoned with the words ‘HAPPY BAG’, a rainbow and a big old smiley face well you just know there is gonna be some seriously good stuff inside, right!?!
And boy is there some good stuff inside this Happy Bag from Funky Pigeon, including:
- A box of cute choccies from my absolute fave chocolate company Choc on Choc (chocolate helps make EVERYTHING better!)
- Fearne Cotton’s book Happy (ummmm hello, the clue’s in the name!)
- A 7-day Night Time kit from tea aficionados Pukka (a good night’s sleep is a must!)
- A Funky Pigeon Notebook and pen (to jot down all those thoughts milling around in your head, better out than in we say!)
- A card from Amy.
Amy? Amy? Who the *bleep* is Amy? Well yeah that’s a good question who is this Amy lady?
Well Amy is a graphic designer at Funky Pigeon and she is the creator of the Believe in Happy campaign which includes this gorgeous happy bag within its range of associated wellness gifts. The aim of the campaign is to help raise awareness of mental health issues, to shatter the stigma and to encourage people to recognise a mental health illness in the same way that they would a physical illness. Just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean it’s not there.
You never really know what’s going on with someone, they might seem all rainbows and sunbursts on the outside but they could be hiding a whole heap of problems up in that mind of theirs. And regardless of whether there are issues or not, this gift is about giving someone a package of happiness, to make them feel they’re worth it, to show them someone cares about them. It’s a pick me up, a smile, a glimmer of hope, a treat, it’s that sunshine through the darkness. And I don’t care how difficult someone is to buy for, how much stuff they’ve already got, how rich they might be, everyone could do with a little bag of happiness in their lives every once in while and this is just that.
Priced at £24.99, which is amazing considering all the stuff you get, 30% of the net sales from the Believe in Happy card and gift ranges goes to the mental health charity Mind.
So when you buy this Christmas gift, not only are you making someone you know very, very happy, but you are also helping out a whole heap of other people too.
Happiful Magazine Subscription
I absolutely love getting a magazine subscription as a gift, there’s just something really nice about receiving post that isn’t a bank statement or a phone bill, isn’t there!?!
And oh my goodness how I love that very first flick through a brand new mag it just makes me feel so happy, so joyful and well… so happiful.
Happiful Magazine is devoted to mental health and wellbeing and I mean really what greater thing is there to give a woman than that! Each issue is packed full of informative articles, inspiring interviews, awesome advice, and mindful musings and it’s got that lovely freshly printed smell too – I just love that smell, don’t you 😉
Simply by having a magazine knocking about on the coffee table is sometimes all it takes to grant ourselves the permission to take a bit of time out. And that’s exactly the problem really isn’t it, that these days we feel as though we have to give ourselves permission, when really sitting down and reading is something that should just be part of our day – a chance to reflect, to learn, to relax, to sit and just be.
A 6-month gift subscription to Happiful is usually £24 + p&p but as an extra little treat for you I have an exclusive DISCOUNT CODE that will get you it for just £15 + p&p. Use code HAPPIXMAS at the check out to claim this fantastic offer.
Discover Your Bounce Cards
This pack of inspiration cards from Discover Your Bounce comes beautifully presented in a gift box and is a fab addition to any woman’s wellness toolbox. Containing 52 cards, each one has a gorgeous glossy photo printed on one side and has a positive message, quote, action or question printed on the other.
The idea of the cards is that the recipient can use them to find inspiration or focus for the day ahead, to kind of give them a little mindful nudge in the morning that the day’s going to be good.
The cards can be used in a number of different ways:
I am a huge fan of affirmation cards and have often used them in the past to help lift my mood and get me motivated for all kinds of different areas in my life. It’s amazing how powerful a set of words can be and also how a beautiful image can evoke so many different emotions.
Help spread some positivity with the females in your life this Christmas by buying them a set of cards which can be used time and time again as and when they need it.
The cards cost £18 plus postage and can be bought from the Discover Your Bounce website.
Hot Water Bottle
There’s basically nothing in life that can’t be fixed by a hug right? And if you can’t always be there to give someone a hug then I say give them the next best thing… a luxury hot water bottle.
Hey who said hot water bottles were for old ladies?
And anyway, I reckon there’s an inner old granny lurking in us all. Personally I can’t think of anything better than snugging up under a blanket on the sofa watching TV with a hot water bottle clutched to my chest, I mean that’s one of the perks of winter right?
This super snuggly 1.8 litre hot water bottle from www.hotwaterbottleshop.co.uk is made from thermaplastic rather than rubber, which means not only does it hold its heat for longer, but it also doesn’t have that grim rubbery smell like the hot water bottles of old. And how gorgeous is that grey luxury faux fur cover!?!?!
This gift sends out all those hygge vibes and is perfect for when the heating’s on the blink (why oh why does it always break in winter!?!), when those period pains are proving too much to bear, if you can’t stand climbing into a freezing cold bed, or if you just love having something warm and cuddly to hug of an evening (husbands are all well and good and everything but hot water bottles are stubble free and don’t answer back 😉 )
Priced at £23.99, which includes the hot water bottle as well as the removable, washable 100% polyester cover, this hot water bottle makes the perfect gift for that female friend who’s always cold (come on, we all have that friend), a mum who’s in need of some TLC, or for that woman you know who seemingly has everything… except a hot water bottle 😉
DNA Fitness Test
Your mum might have fancy shoes, a designer handbag, a gym membership, boxes of chocolates, silk pyjamas, slippers and a good book on her Christmas wish list but I bet she hasn’t even thought about getting one of these!
And although your sister might think she’s got herself all figured out, I bet you she doesn’t know herself inside out half as much as a DNA test would reveal! Don’t worry, I’m not suggesting you buy your sister a test that’s going to reveal some big family secret about how she’s not actually your sister after all, and no your best mate probably doesn’t need to discover the answer as to why both her parents have blue eyes and blonde hair and she’s brunette with olive skin. It’s Christmas, not the Jeremy Kyle show, after all!
However this Health and Fitness DNA Test from Vitl will enable the lucky recipient to discover a few things about themselves that will help them shake up their fitness and diet plan in order for them to be the best version of themselves.
Just send off a simple saliva sample and the results will reveal important and interesting information such as:
All of these indicators help to work out whether it’s worth busting a gut lifting heavy weights at the gym or whether perhaps cardio’s more your thing. It can help explain why you always feel a bit iffy after that fifth cup of coffee (or indeed that fifth glass of Prosecco!). Or perhaps you’re prone to bloating, you tire easily, your weight constantly yo yo’s, or your mood isn’t always that great; a DNA test gives you answers. And what greater gift than that hey, ‘cos us women are constantly on the look out for answers, right!?!
You can buy the DNA kits from VITL and the best bit is they are currently HALF PRICE which saves you a whopping £100. A brilliant, unique Christmas gift idea and a bargain – we LOVE!
Handbag Organiser
According to research the average woman spends a whopping 81 days of her life searching for things in her handbag. Can you believe that…81 days!!!
So what do you buy the woman who has everything? 81 days back of her life that’s what and you can have a go at doing that with this nifty little handbag organiser from Bag All Done.
These small silky smooth bags slip into your existing handbag and help compartmentalize your belongings. Each bag is divided into 4 pockets with elastic on top to ensure things don’t fall out, 1 bottomless pocket to store larger items, 2 wide elastics to attach things and a key ring to keep your keys safe. It is essentially a filing cabinet for your bag if you like, each item has its own place and means when you go to look in your bag for that item you’ll know exactly where to find it, thus saving precious time and faff. It also comes with a handy fold over hood to keep items extra secure and help prevent pick pockets from taking a look at what you’ve got in there when you’re on your daily commute.
An organised bag equals an organised woman and an organised woman is generally a woman who feels in control, happy and able to go about her day in a slightly less chaotic manner. Sometimes it’s the simple presents that mean the most and at £25 per bag, these handbag organisers are about to make life a whole lot simpler for the ladies in your life.
Hopefully these gift ideas have helped inspire you to choose gifts that are not only a bit different to your bog standard female gifts, but that also help spread a little of that self care love to all of the women who play a part in your life.
HAPPY SHOPPING!
*All products were gifted for review.