Home Contact Us About Us Competitions Reviews Image Map

Feeling all festive - It's Christmas in July!

Friday 31 July 2015

This is the first year I have got involved with Christmas in July and I have been so excited! Anyone that knows me, knows how much I adore Christmas. I love everything about it, everyone seems so much happier, I love choosing the perfect gift, decorating the house, eating and drinking delicious food and drink - what's not to love?!

Below are some lovely goodies we have been sent, let me know what you like best and what you are hoping for this year.

*    *    *


The lovely Christmas Boutique kindly sent me some lovely items to set the scene for Christmas in July.


The impressive resin Stags head makes a real feature out of a blank wall. I love the way this looks on our white dining room wall. It is the perfect size for us at 30cm tall, 21cm wide and standing out from the wall 13cm.  I am pretty confident we have found something quite unique with this decoration! Priced at £29.99.

The lovely drawstring linen sack is printed with a black reindeer and the words 'Frohe Weihnachten' - which is German for Merry Christmas. Measuring 80cm long by 40cm wide it is the ideal size for us to carry our gifts around to Family on Christmas morning. Priced at £14.99.

How adorable is the Reindeer door mat?! We have tiny hall that we can't have any decorations in and I always think it looks bare. This will add a lovely touch of Christmas and also be functional. Priced at £14.99.

The glittery frosted pine cone wreath is so simple yet beautiful. It is a very similar colour to our internal doors and looks amazing just simply hung. It is 30cm in diameter and priced at £16.99.

*    *    *

This traditional Christmas bridge light from LEDHUT is a safe alternative to candles. The warm white lights bring a lovely glow to the room without being overpowering. 


Here it is brightening our windowsill. Doesn't it look lovely? Priced at £9.59

*    *    *

Once the house is decorated, and you have wrapped and tagged for hours, it is time to relax with a glass of your favourite Christmas tipple. My Husband and I love a nice glass of deliciously smooth Taylor's late bottled vintage port.

It is also a tradition in our house to leave a small glass for Santa alongside a mince pie on Christmas Eve. Delicious with cheese board or a nightcap in front of the fire. 

Available at around £15 a bottle at Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury, Morrison’s Waitrose and Booths.



*    *    *

Gift ideas.

Do you know a stationary lover? 


Leitz kindly sent us some of their lovely pieces to review. 

The colour is gorgeous - my favourite and also the colour of our bedroom where our desk happens to be - a beautiful match.

The quality of the items are really fantastic, the softback notebooks are filled with quality lined paper, have a pocket in the back and some lovely metallic silver sticky tabs so you can mark any important pages for easy access. The hole punch and stapler have lovely rubberised texture to them making them easy grip.The iPad case is a lovely fit and the A4 lever arch folder has plenty of space inside with a good strong ring binder inside.

They are all very high quality and I would have loved to receive them as a Christmas gift.

*    *    *



I have wanted one of these since we went to Florida in 2013. I absolutely love my drinks freezing cold so fell in love with snow cones instantly. It is so easy to use, and a lot quieter than I thought it would be. Simply place some ice cubes into the shoot, press them into the machine using the silver handle attached to the shoot and the ice comes out shaved into the drawer underneath! It takes seconds to do and has gone down a storm with Adults and Children alike. The machine comes with 4 plastic cones, a plastic scoop and a recipe booklet for making syrups but we just added some diluted squash for the Children or some alcoholic beverage for the Adults - delicious!                                       


It is so easy to clean too, simply remove the ice drawer and rinse it out! Even better, if you have a BBQ or Childrens party you can even buy paper cups and ready made syrup from too. I will certainly be stocking up. Every household should have one of these! Priced at £49.95

*    *    *

I absolutely love this 1950's style retro radio from Gizoo, doesn't it look fantastic? 

It is easy to set up and use. Simply slot in the cable, plug in, extend the ariel, press either FM or AM depending in what station you would like to listen to and use the big rotating scale on the front to find the station you like. You can even take it out and about with you thanks to the carry handle and the option to use batteries (not included) 

I really love having a radio again, now I can save my sanity in the kitchen while drowning out the sound of Childrens TV! Thank you! 

Priced at £34.95 and available in a range of colours.

*    *    *

Gift ideas from Varta

I have chosen this Indestructible 5 watt lantern for my Husband. He is spending a lot of time "updating" the loft. I think he has a pool table up their personally! At the moment there is no power source up there so he is trying to do jobs with a small torch as his only source of light so he was very excited to get to try this out. 

The lantern has a handle on the top for easy carrying and a hook under the base so it can be hung up easily. It is rubberized, so easy to grip & wipe clean, it is waterproof, has three levels of brightness and is extremely robust - it has been 4m drop tested! With up to 280 hours use per set of batteries, it is the deal gift for campers or people who spend a lot of time under car bonnets for example. RRP £31.99
*
I also chose the Indestructible 3 Watt LED Lantern torch (complete with batteries) for my Dad. He has a fascination with torches as he uses them for work and has built up quite a collection. Again this is extremely robust (4m drop test), water resistant and sports a shock-absorbing rubberized head - ideal for all of the times he has dropped tools down the pit while working on a vehicle. 

It also has a specially shaped reflector which provides an extra long light beam - this is what drew me to this particular product as I knew he would love this. RRP £34.99

They are both very happy with their early gifts and agree that they are high quality and definitely worth the RRP.

Visit Varta for all of your battery and flashlight needs.
 

*    *    *

Karma Se7ven Earrings

How hard is to find gifts for teenagers? This year I have found the perfect gifts for my Nieces. Karma Se7en kindly sent me two pairs of sterling silver earrings to try. Both are bang on trend. 


The first pair are called an ear jacket, and are priced at £39.99. They are in the shape of two cubes filled with sparkling crystals and the other pair are feather shaped ear cuffs also adorned with crystals for plenty of sparkle.

The second pair are called an ear climber and are in the shape of a feather. I have always assumed that this type of earring requires two piercings, but these have one piercing at the bottom and a small clip near the top. Priced at £38.95


Both pairs are made from 925 Sterling Silver and are great quality.

My Nieces will love both pairs.


*    *    *

Braun CoolTec shaver.

This shaver has been a Godsend for my super hairy Husband! He really struggles with shavers as he has such thick dark stubble, he usually has to resort to going over the same patch of skin repeatedly resulting in a sore red face. This shaver has a three stage cutting system which automatically adapts to the shape of your face and shaves short and long hair in one stroke. That in itself is great but this shaver has a very special addition, making it stand out from others.

Most electric shavers allow heat to build up uncomfortably, resulting in hot uncomfortable skin while shaving. This is where the CoolTec comes into it's own. Once activated, the integrated aluminium cooling bar drops in temperature by 20 degrees, this then transports heat away from the skin resulting in perfectly relaxed, smooth, hair free skin and minimising shaving irritation. 


There is also a pop up precision trimmer and blade guard as standard, this model is also very easy to charge by simply popping it onto the plugged in stand/base. 



Available at Boots, Amazon, Argos & larger supermarkets RRP £199.99. Visit www.braun.com/uk for more information.

*    *    *

Sass and Belle Multi Photo Frame in Dark Wood.

This large wooden frame is the perfect way to create a beautiful focal point, allowing you to display nine 6" x 4" photographs in one place.  

Don't worry if you haven't got 9 pictures straight away as the pretty floral papers look lovely. The frame can be hung portrait or landscape. 

It is a great quality piece with a lovely smooth waxed feel to it. All of the joins are perfectly fitted and aligned making the finish real quality. 

I can see us buying a few of these and dotting them around the house as it is a high quality product and the perfect way to display Family memories.

Dimensions: L: 82cm x H: 37cm x W: 2cm. 

Priced at £33.




*    *    *

Lastly, here is a sneak peek at some of the new Yankee Candle Christmas range called -Baby it's fun outside and cosy inside. I have tried Berry trifle, Bundle Up, Cosy by the fire and Winter glow. As you would expect from Yankee they all smell fantastic and are lovely festive colours too. I can't wait to stock up on more for the festive period.


*    *    *

Would you like to wake up to any of these on Christmas Morning?