Festive Friday - Best Places for Presents

Hi guys! Today's Festive Friday post is all about where to find the best Christmas presents for the loved ones in your life. I put a lot of time and effort into finding the perfect gifts for my nearest and dearest and pride myself on being a bit of a bargain hunter. So instead of sharing a general gift guide that might not be helpful for everyone, here are a few pointers to help you get started if you've still a few people to tick off your Christmas present list...

First up is TK Maxx - one of my favourite shops all year around this place usually contains some amazing little gems for you to root around and find! Most people think TK Maxx requires a lot of time and dedication to find bargains and I think that is true to an extent, but it totally depends on what you're looking for. This Christmas I've picked up a few presents for different people from TK Maxx, from a Ralph Lauren jumper for my Dad to a Fred Perry one for my brother, and some delightful homewares for my Mum and sister! If you're after clothes then it might take some time to find what you want but I always pop in on my lunch and browse through the candle section and the beauty section - there are almost always well known brands with huge discounts and the candles especially are a great low price stocking filler for Christmastime.

Wilkos definitely isn't the kind of shop most of my friends would think of when it comes to present buying, but actually it's a great place to find little somethings for your friends and family. I really rate the homeware offerings from Wilkos and they've stepped up their game considerably in recent years. Instead of splashing cash at John Lewis or House of Fraser get the same thing from Wilkos for half the price and your loved ones will be none the wiser! Genius. Wilkos is also fantastic for Christmas decorations and wrapping paper - so much cheaper but great quality.

Last but not least is BHS. This is the kind of shop I was dragged along to as a child when my Mum was school uniform shopping, but in recent years I've picked up so many brilliant gifts from there! The Christmastime gift section is full of anything and everything you can imagine and the stock is really similar to Debenhams, just marginally cheaper and BHS frequently have special offers on in December. This year I've treated my other half to a bobbly hat and a soft knit cardigan from BHS that you would think came straight from Topman, and I've also bought some food gifts for the in laws. Take a peek and you might be surprised, with free delivery on orders over £10 you don't even have to leave the house!

Where do you buy your Christmas presents from? Are you all sorted for this year?

xx

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Festive Friday - Five Things

Hi guys! Today's Festive Friday post is going to be a bit of a Christmas overload... now it's officially December and our tree is up I have been going absolutely nuts over festive things! I thought it would be nice to share five things I bought in the past couple of weeks...

You might recognise this from the background of my other Festive Friday posts - it's one of Primark's cosy fleece-style blankets that they bring out for only £5 every year. I have one from last year that's looking a bit dog eared so I treated the house to a new one this year and I adore it. The print is so pretty and festive and it's so comfy to snuggle up with on a cold night.

Another amazing festive print (are you beginning to notice a theme?!) - this onesie was absolutely irresistible when I spotted it in Tesco's whilst doing a food shop. I saw a couple I liked in Primark last week but they were made from a strange material whereas this one is just nice soft jersey. I love the fur-lined hood and pom poms, and it was a bargain at £16. I'll definitely be wearing this whilst unwrapping presents on Christmas morning.

How cute are these little slipper socks?! They're so unbelievably warm and cosy because they're lined with fleecey fake fur, and they're a great alternative to regular slippers because they have anti-slip pads on the bottom. I haven't taken these off since I bought them, I'm really impressed especially as they were only £3 from Primark!

And of course whilst in Primark I had to pick up some Christmassy pajama bottoms! I love the reindeer print on these and of course the navy/red fairisle print goes with absolutely everything else in this post. They were £6 and are made from a lovely flannel material, just perfect for cold winter nights.

Last but not least is this little early Christmas present for myself. I had a really bad day at work a couple of weeks ago and had to escape at lunchtime for some retail therapy. Of course I found myself in the beauty section of TK Maxx and spotted this gorgeous festive Deborah Lippmann gift set for only £14.99!

In the set are these three full sized polishes - Run, Run Rudolph is an amazing fine glitter polish that I will be wearing this weekend. Let it Snow! is a pretty light silver/white colour that's a real classic and Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree is definitely going to be my Christmas day polish this year because the red and green glitter in a black base is just amazing! Love it.

I've never tried any polishes from Deborah Lippmann before so I'm intrigued to see how I get on with these. I've heard lots of good things about the brand, and for £5 per polish it's hardly breaking the bank!

What do you think of my five festive things? Have you been shopping for Christmas themed treasures recently?

xx

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Festive Friday - Yankee Candle

Hi guys! Welcome to the second installment of my new blog series - Festive Friday! Today I will be sharing some of my favourite festive fragrances from Yankee Candle..

I think it might be obligatory for any beauty blogger to also have a complete obsession with scented candles... and I am no exception! I absolutely adore having a scented candle burning on an evening, especially in the colder months when it can make a room feel so cosy. Last year I did a post entitled Christmas Candles on the Cheap (read it HERE) which was a protest against the ridiculously expensive scented candles which are pushed by a lot of beauty bloggers, and offered up a few more budget friendly alternatives. Today's post is in the same vein but focusing on Yankee Candle which is one of my favourite candle brands..

First up is Snowflake Cookie, a sweet delightful scent which isn't too rich and spicy - a nice alternative to the usual cinnamon scents that are inescapable at this time of year. Very vanilla-y and similar to Christmas Cupcake/Christmas Cookie (two of my all-time favourites!) This small jar was £6.29 from Campus Gifts HERE.

Next is Christmas Memories - possibly one of my all time favourite candle scents! This smells exactly as you'd expect from the name and the label, just like baked gingerbread and cinnamon. It is quite spicy and perfect for burning on a cold wintery evening when you're cuddling up under a blanket. £6.29 from Campus Gifts HERE.

Christmas Eve is already my sister's favourite festive fragrance - as soon as she smelled this it was love! She even tried to steal mine! It's a unique fragrance with hints of sugared plums, a dash of vanilla and a really authentic berry scent. Pick this up for £6.29 HERE.

Season of Peace is another great option for people who don't particularly like spicy scents. It's very strongly scented but the fragrance itself is quite subtle and soft (if that makes any sense at all?!) I usually prefer more dominant scents but there's just something about this - I can imagine it will be great to burn all day when you're in the house over New Years and have visitors around. It's quite powdery and musky - just perfect. Also £6.29 HERE.

I decided to buy four different small jar candles instead of investing in one large jar - the Christmas period doesn't actually last that long and I thought it would be nice to have a few different fragrances over the holidays that I could switch up and enjoy, rather than one massive candle to burn. I always buy my Yankee Candles from Campus Gifts because they're discounted to a reasonable level and the customer service is excellent. You can see their full range of festive candles HERE.

What is your favourite Christmas candle scent? Are you tempted to try any of mine?

xx

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