Here are some brilliant things that I use on an almost daily basis and would really miss if I didn’t have in my life. Would have to replace instantly, in fact, if they went missing. I’m telling you about them because they are all infinitely useful and therefore make the most excellent, non-frivolous Christmas presents….
It’s time. For the sixth year running I bring you my ultimate, easy, budget-adaptable Christmas gift. The one that feels thoughtful and personal yet takes seconds to buy and is easy to wrap and cheap to post. Yes, dear readers, it’s the most popular post of the season: my Christmas Books ‘n Chocolates! Do you want…
It’s the Best Christmas Gift: Books and Chocolate 2023 Edition. I write this post every year and – despite always preparing it at the start of November – it never gets published until a couple of weeks before Christmas. I sort of like it that way – it’s my very own Christmas tradition and quite…
Yes, it has reached that point again: the time when we wonder where the hell December has disappeared to and why we can’t be like those other people who plan their Christmas gift list in August and have it all bought and wrapped by mid-October. But if you’re like me (or like Mr AMR, who…
[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”] [et_pb_row admin_label=”row”] [et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”] Yes, it’s what you’ve all been waiting for: this year’s edition of Books and Chocolate, also known as The Ultimate Easy Christmas Gift. If you’re on a tight budget, if you’ve left everything until the last minute, if you’re struggling to think of present ideas but want to buy…
OK readers, you know the drill with this one. For the ultimate Christmas (or birthday, or any occasion for that matter) gift, a gift that will surprise and delight and make the recipient think that you’re the most thoughtful person they know, you need two ingredients. A book with a striking cover Quality chocolate with…
My Christmas gift ideas 2021 for him is here. In all honestly, Mr AMR chose a lot of this but I think that’s probably a good thing. I tend to find oddities such as “coasters that cost £71” and he finds coffee machines that look like a Makita drill… Remember to pass this guide on to…
Christmas Gift Ideas For Her is here. Wow, that’s a mouthful of a sentence! I hope that the following bits and pieces spark your imagination Featured above: Top left GUCCI Bloom Nettare Di Fiori For Her – Eau de Parfum 100ml. Is this not just the coolest bottle? Instagram heaven. Buy for £114.00 from Feel…
Looking for the ultimate easy, not-too-expensive, seemingly-thoughtful Christmas present? I have the answer! I had the answer last year too, so this is an updated 2020 version: it’s the books ‘n chocolate gift. Comes in unlimited combinations, is widely available and won’t break the bank. You may be thinking (if you didn’t read last year’s…
AD: not sponsored or paid-for. Contains gifted press samples (chocolate) and affiliate links are marked *. We’re revisiting a post that I (kind of) did a few years ago, really, but it’s a good one and so it deserves another airing. Because this post may just save your Christmas Bacon, if you’ve left present-buying until…
I was going to call this post Top Faux Christmas Garlands but when I looked at the pictures it was more like a fireplace catalogue, so I’ve kept the title real and relevant for you. Hohoho. Fireplaces aren’t all they’re crack(l)ed up to be, in my opinion. It must have been more than a full time job,…
Now that we’ve got cracking with the gift guides, I can fully take stock of just how bloody late I am with them again. The sensible person would compile them in early November and have them ready and waiting for the last weeks of the month. Not I. Here I sit, binge-eating Haribo Starmix at some…
I’m going to start with the men’s gift guide, this year, so that it doesn’t come across as an afterthought. Don’t you think that a lot of the time men’s gift guides are just far less exciting and inspirational than the women’s ones? I find them so difficult to put together – but then I…
Christmas Gift Guide for kids – a hell of a lot more enjoyable than compiling the men’s gift guide, I can tell you! Although sifting through the tonnes of plastic crap to find nice stuff is a bit of a mission – plastic pots of goo, plastic bags filled with plastic bricks, plastic balls inside…
I’m writing this post on the train to Paddington. My MacBook Pro, which is too big to fit on the pull-down table, is wedged sideways on my lap so that I’m having to type around a corner. My iPhone, which lasts approximately three minutes before running out of battery unless it’s plugged into a power…
Here we go then, bang on time with my Christmas Gift Guides (I get lots of complaints when I leave them any later): we’ll start with presents for the ladies in your life. Mums, sisters, friends and daughters or, alternatively, yourself. There’s no shame in forwarding this page to whoever might be buying you a present. Just…
Oh, I’ve been having a right old chortle to myself over some of the stuff I’ve bought recently. Mouse-statue reading lamps and polar bear side tables and silly little notebooks with owls on them. It’s as though the part of my brain responsible for buying things has been hijacked by the spirit of a Victorian…
It’s no secret that I find buying presents for men incredibly arduous – my Men’s Gift Guide is one of the most taxing posts of the year. I think it’s because the men in my life (and by that I mean Mr AMR and then male family members, I don’t have multiple husbands! Though, that…