Christmas gift guide | Blogmas Day 4!

Whether this lady be your Mum, aunt, sister, cousin, friend or girlfriend, here are some ideas for you to jump at when buying gifts this Christmas!
Some people think that the lovely ladies of their life are difficult to  buy for, but look no further for I am a lady who loves gifting and prides herself on being good at thinking and coming up with wonderful ideas!

• Flowers can be a perfect gift and kind gesture to the kind of lady who loves beautiful scents and nature.They can be a kind, romantic and sentimental gift depending on who  you’re gifting and the kind of flowers you go for. Bouquet, potted, indoor, outdoor etc.  Flowers are so versatile! M&S, Interflora, bloom & wild and moon pig are some of the wonderful places to find the perfect flower gifts.
• Jewellery is another great gift for versatility. These days there are so many different stores that have gifts for so many different people, purposes and occasions, Christmas being one of them. Pandora, swarovski and others are perfect for those who love charms on bracelets and necklaces. I know I have jumped at the chance of buying someone a charm for their growing collection on bracelets from Pandora – It’s simple, sweet and can be personalised to the persons individual liking.
      I have also taken advantage of the beautiful necklaces and rings too, but providing I have known their exact ring size (this can be a difficult one)
• Vouchers are always a go to for those who are a little less close to us or those who are super difficult to buy for. You can literally walk into any shop nowadays and find vouchers for restaurants, online shopping, supermarkets, clothes shops, game shops, jewellery shops and so many more. We often buy vouchers for boots and other cosmetics and body care stores for those who love that kind of thing. Vouchers also open up the fragrance kind of gifts for them to pick for themselves.
• Fragrances, body care, hair care, nail care, pamper and cosmetics are a go to gift for so many family and friends. Who doesn’t receive a body care gift set at least once a year? There are so many types and brands that the list and ideas are truly endless. I’d recommend boots, superdrug, LUSH and The body shop for these kind of gifts. They have a huge variety of options and seem to suit so many kinds of tastes! I know I love receiving gift sets from these shops hehe! 
• Food & drink gifts are another great one to turn to. Chocolate, vegan hampers, cheese selections, wine, gin sets, tea, hot chocolate etc. are perfect. Depending on the allergens and dietary requirements you can create a beautiful personalised hamper of sweet, savoury and beverage gifts for those close or distant to you. Providing you have correct dietary requirements, what can go wrong with a good food hamper?
• Personalised gifts and ornaments are perfect for those close women in your life. Amazon, Etsy and places like ‘not on the high street’ are great for personalised and unique gifts. Just ensure you give enough time to research and order as customised items can take a lot longer. You know the lovely ladies in your life better than me so I will leave the exact ideas to you, but I know how meaningful a personalised item is. 
• Clothing can be a hit and miss kind of area when buying gifts for someone but as a gal I love finding clothing to buy for people in my life. I know my mum like the back of my hand and know exactly what she loves to wear since we share most of our clothes hehe! Jumpers are a great idea for Christmas gifts as we are within the colder seasons and we can buy jumpers that are oversized in case you aren’t 100% sure of her size and shape. Supermarket brands like F&F and George are wonderful for seasonal clothes like jumpers and are super accessible! If you like to look further out and venture into clothing stores, I recommend New Look, Primark, H&M and other affordable shops like this. If you’d like more pricier items, River Island and Topshop are other good sources. Online can be hit and miss with clothing as sizes can come up too big or too small so being able to see and feel them is necessary unless you are familiar with ordering from the brand before. Online stores worth looking into are ASOS, Boohoo and many others. When looking into shoe shopping please keep in mind this is a very difficult one to do so do lot of seeking around and researching beforehand. Socks on the other are perfect. There is nothing better than a cosy and fluffy pair of socks for the winter months. Maybe you can pair these with a set of hat, scarf and gloves!

Since I have grown up with three older brothers and all of their male friends, I have first hand experience of what they love and don’t love hehe. My main ideas revolve around games, merchandise and memorabilia but there are so many types of personalities that the ideas have expanded in the years I have created more male friends and have gained new members of the family. I find my brothers, boyfriend and nephews fairly easy to buy for so here are some ideas!

• Jewellery for men can be hit and miss depending on the age and type of person they are. My best friend is super feminine and loves jewellery, plus he works in a jewellery shop so it’s bonus! He is a lover or necklaces, bracelets and rings and has shed some light on different gifts to buy different people. The other person in my life who loves jewellery is my father. He is a mans man, a proper lad and probably wears more jewellery than I do. Throughout the years I have gifted him chains, ‘Dad’ rings and just this year I bought him a necklace with a little tankard on it, since he loves his beer! He really liked it and wears it often! Other men in my life do not wear jewellery but I wanted to include this because it’s not something that should just be for the lovely ladies!
•  Vouchers have been a wonderful go to gift for so many men in my life! I have often purchased vouchers for Games, tattoos, restaurants and even days out like beer tasting, they are the perfect personal gifts that allow the person to have their own say in what they buy and do etc. These things can be expensive so giving vouchers with money towards it is a great help, especially for tattoos! When buying games for people you can often get worried that they may already own it or the fear of someone else buying them the same, so look to a voucher to ease those worries but placing the fate of the money in the persons hands for them to purchase whatever they like, want, need and don’t already have.
• Although we often think of females when thinking of body care, fragrance and gift sets, men can also be super happy with these gifts. We can find some awesome mens gift sets from boots, the perfume shop, superdrug and supermarkets like Asda and Tesco etc. My father enjoys self care and colognes so I have used my initiative with scents and body care in sets before and they are the perfect gift for these types of men. They can be super affordable too! 
• Clothing for men will usually be slippers, socks, Pyjamas, underwear and cool tees! I know that my mum and I always get socks, pants and PJ’s for my brothers and my boyfriend as it’s always things they need after wear and tear or their previous ones. Socks nowadays are an awesome gift as they have such a huge variety! I know I can go into Primark and get a pack of cool, themed socks that suit my boyfriend and brothers likes with games and TV shows etc. Last year mum and I bought 3 packs of different socks; Street fighter, Avengers and another show and we took them out of the package and split them up into three lots so that they all got some of each type. We also go for the themed T-shirts usually from the awesome site called QWERTEE which is an online T-shirt and print shop that is super affordable and creates limited edition styles that are only available for a certain amount of time so that only very few people across the world have them. Take a look, you won’t be disappointed!
•  Food and drink gifts are super versatile and perfect for those who love trying are things. I always get my brothers and father spicy sauce sets from Asda, Wilko, Tesco and Menkind and each year they never fail to amuse them. It’s something personal, fun and interesting for the recipient! I have also often bought whiskey sets, beer sets and rum sets for male friends and father etc and they are a huge hit! Chocolate is a great way of gifting someone when you aren’t sure what else to get. After all who can complain about chocolate and sweet treats during Christmas time? hehe.
• Personalised gifts, toys and ornaments are a great way to gift someone who you are very close to. I find that mankind and not on the highstreet are amazing online and stores for these kinds of gifts. They have varieties of fun food, toys, joke gifts, memorabilia and practical items for the men in your life. I have purchased electronics, food, pop vinyls and homeware from these places and they have never failed me. Homeware is another great one too such as Marvel lights, signs, books and all else you can possibly think of to make these gifts stand out. 

Teachers are one that may be less likely to have gifts bought for them but I wanted to include this as I know how appreciated teachers of all kinds are and there may be some lovely students who feel they want to find perfect items to show that appreciation. 

• Mugs or glasses are the perfect simple gift for your teacher to either keep at school or take home with them to remind them of the good they do. You can buy a simple print mug or one with the word ‘teacher’ or even a personalised mug with their name on it. I bet they will have a tear in their eye! You can buy mugs from anywhere online or in stores. The perfect online shop for customising will be ‘not on the high street’, ‘Etsy’ or ‘Amazon’.
• Food and drink hamper or gifts are another great way to show your teacher appreciation over the festive season. I remember my Geography teacher loving Kit kat chunky’s so I would often buy him one each week on the way to school hehe. I remember one year wrapping up a pack of them along with a card as a little thank you for all he helped me with, he loved it! If you are in college or have extra tuition outside of school, maybe gifting alcohol may work but only if you are in higher education and it is relevant. If not, hot chocolate sets are a beautiful way of gifting someone beverages alongside their mug or sweet treat hamper.
•  Personalised items are great for showing appreciation. I’d say with a teacher maybe you can personalise your own gift for them like an illustration, drawing or crafted picture or item etc. I think it would mean the world to them as it shows your commitment and love for the help they provide to you.
• Stationary gifts are great for teachers as it’s often a huge part of their job role in the classroom. I know I love stationary gifts as I work from home and rely on planners, diaries and notebooks etc. Pencil sets, calendars and notes are a great gift and my go to place will be Paperchase, however if you’re young and on a budget maybe try Wilko or your local pound shops as they have quality items for cheap!

I find children and babies fairly easy to buy for! They are so chuffed with every gift no matter how big or small and I truly believe they will light up no matter the contents. 

• Clothing is a great way of gifting children from 0-13 years. Providing you have the correct size you should be fine! Babies grow quick so keep that in mind when buying clothes for them. You will always be best buying a size or two bigger for them to have longer and more use of the items. Older children clothes are super cool these days. They have the different childrens games and shows on them and can really appeal to your little ones. We have so many costumes in clothing stores these days and I think I can speak for all when I say that your little or big one (hehe) will freak out when they see a princess dress or a superhero costume! I know I did when I was little. You can get clothes and costumes from your everyday supermarkets, Amazon and even the Disney store if you have a bigger budget.
• Nappies and baby items are a great thing to gift as it helps the parents so much and in turn will help the baby. Nappies, wipes and bags are expensive these days and they are used so so much that they run out quickly. Gifting a hamper of baby grows, bibs, nappies, wipes and bathing products is super lovely and I can guarantee will get a sigh of relief from the parents upon opening! I find most of my baby products in mind from Superdrug, Amazon and even local pound shops that sell top brands for cheaper.
• Toys and stationary are the top of the list for childrens gifts. There are so many adverts on TV that your child will see and scream how much they want the toy hehe. Let’s face it, parent alone won’t be able to afford all of these new and top toys for their children so it is lovely to have some help from family and friends over Christmas. I find Asda, Tesco, Amazon, Argos and big toy stores wonderful for childrens gifts as they are up to date, affordable and easy to find. The more pricier of stores and gifts will be places like the Disney store which I can guarantee will send your recipient wild! For stationary I always look in Asda, Tesco, Wilko and pound shops as there are so many books, colouring books, pens, pencils and crafts which are huge hit for children and will keep them buzzing for weeks!
• Food gifts for children of course will mainly consist of chocolate or sweets – I think you can most certainly use these as quick, simple and easy gifts and will no doubt put many smiles on their faces and keep them high on life (and sugar)….
• Cosmetics, body care and self care items are perfect for your growing little ladies! They love to try little bits of makeup, nail varnish and skin care etc. Super drug is perfect for these gift sets, along with boots and supermarkets too. It will help transition your lovely blossoming ladies into teenage years hehe.
• Games and electronics are great gifts whether that be PC, Xbox, PS4 or board games, kids will be grateful for these as gifts. Video games are the latest on kids wishlists and they are always following new trends. Consoles and electronics are most certainly the more pricier gifts but they really are great buys for keeping the little ones happy and occupied. Obviously be mindful of the age ranges for certain console games and such and the ability to get online with others who are much older, so take caution. Console games are a great lasting buy and can even be bought good as new on sites such as CEX which takes on pre used games and sells them cheaper. We have bought our niece and nephews Amazon Fires this year and we cannot wait for them to open them. We have ensured parental security is on them and have installed childrens locks and password protected actions.

Personally I have only ever had a grandmother but after meeting my partner I now have his grandparents to love and care for and buy gifts for Christmas hehe!

• My grandmother and my partners grandmother both have motor issues and therefore we take good care and thought into what we can get them. Last year we decided to help them by buying sensory items and practical gifts for them to use and enjoy. We bought a soft exercise hand ball, an activity book for mental stimulation, soft pillows, throws and warm socks. Due to bother grandmothers only being able to stay in we wanted to ensure they were being mentally stimulated and enjoyed hobbies within the walls of their home/care home. We bought astrology and astronomy books for them to keep occupied and enjoy something they are interested in.
• Food and drink gifts for grandparents are wonderful. Chocolate boxes and savoury sets are a great way to keep spirits high. My partner and I have a tradition of making our grandparents a big box of homemade goodies and they love it! His Grandad knows each year what t expect and rations nicely between him and Grandma hehe. 
• Gardening gifts are wonderful for those Grandparents who are green fingered! My partners Grandad is always in the garden and loves taking good care of his plants and nature. We have bought him multiple gardening themed gifts like wooden signs, books and more and it is a practical and mental stimulating thing to entice him and keep him busy.
• Memorabilia is a great way to bring your Grandparents memories back from their younger days. We bought a Joh Wayne portrait for Grandad and he loved it! It’s great to remind them of their favourite movies, shows and life in general.

For me, pets are family. They aren’t just an animal. They play equal role in our family and are part of our hearts. We always get our pets gifts each year and let them open it if they are able. This is the first year without my doggy and I’m absolutely heartbroken. It has been so difficult without him this year with all we have been through. We will still be able to buy our kitty cat, budgie and terrapins gifts! 

• Food is a pretty popular pet gift and we always get those more expensive treats for them to open. We love buying our cat ‘dreamies’ as a treat and cat nip treats too! We usually would also buy our dog some awesome doggy treats too. For my budgie we buy trill, conditioning blocks and seed and fruit sticks or bells and he loves them. For our terrapins we get them crab sticks and prawns etc.
• Toys are a great way to spoil those furry friends! We always buy catnip toys for our cat and squeaky treats too for her to go crazy over. For our budgie we buy mirrors, bells and toys for the cage. We get most of these from our local pet shops, markets and pets at home!
• Due to our doggy being short haired we used to buy him jumpers and coats for walks and he loved them! So if you like doggy clothes then your local pet shop, market or pets at home are great for it. You can also buy new leads, harnesses and collars for gifts for them to open too!
• A warm home is the best gift for animals. Love, care and warmth. The best give to give an animal is a safe place. This year adopt, don’t shop if you can or even donate to your local animal shelter or charity like RSPCA.