BLOGMAS Day 8: Shopping For New Christmas Decorations...

During the past few weeks, me and Si have picked up some new Christmas decorations. Last Christmas was our first one in our new flat, so we started from scratch with our decorations, but this year we just added to our collection. Some of the items we picked up we were specifically looking for and others just caught our eye, but I thought I'd share with you what we've picked up this year...

1 - These two lanterns were from Home Sense. We picked up a white/cream one (£5.99) that opens at the top and has reindeers around the sides and a red one (£7.99), which is shaped like a house and opens by a door on one of the sides. I've put tea light holders inside both of them with tea lights in and it's so cosy in the evening, when they are lit. When I reveal our Christmas decorations in a later blogmas post, you'll see these amongst a window sill snow scene we have set up :).

2 - I had some vouchers for Boots that I kept until the Christmas Yankee Candles were in-store. I don't normally buy the jar Yankee Candles, I normally stick to the melts, tea lights and the samplers but as I had vouchers I wanted to treat myself to some nice jar candles for over the Christmas season. Boots had a 3 for 2 offer on their candle range but I was a bit disappointed as they didn't have a huge range of Christmas scents. I picked up this Yankee Candle 2 Small Jar Gift Collection for £15.99. The set contains Red Apple Wreath, which smells like a tart, red apple with a touch of cinnamon and Sugared Apple, which smells like a sweet, vanilla, apple pie. They are gorgeous scents which fill the room!

3 - This 'Christmas Tree Candle Holder' was from Dobbies and it was £12.99. I love how rustic it looks and it's also hand-made and hand-painted, which adds that special touch. It holds 8 tea lights and has hearts, Christmas trees, stars and bells hanging off of it. It also has a sturdy base so isn't likely to topple over. In our living room, the window sill is quite wide and deep, so this fits nicely in one of the corners.

4 - I was looking for some unique Christmas string lights this year and these 'White Wooden Pre-Lit Christmas Lantern String Lights' from The Range (£14.99) really caught my eye. There are 10 little lanterns and each one has cute Christmas scenic designs on each side. They require 3 AAA batteries and give out a warm, white light. We have these draped round the front of our TV unit in the living room and they really stand out. Last year we just had white, fairy lights there, so they're a bit different and we love them!

5 - These Yankee Candle Christmas Garland Tea Lights are my favourite Yankee Candle Christmas scent and I picked these up to go with the 'Christmas Tree Candle Holder' that we got from Dobbies. I've explained in previous posts that this scent smells just like fresh, real, pine trees in a jar! If you're buying your first Christmas scented Yankee Candle, I'd recommend this one. You can get 12 of these tea lights for £6.99 from Clinton Cards.

6 - I've been looking for some light up parcel decorations like this for a while now, but some that I've seen have been so over priced. We spotted these '3 Light-up Parcels' in Discount UK the other day for £19.99, so we decided to treat ourselves and add to our Christmas decoration collection :). They come in a set of three and each one has a plug, so we've had to try and tuck the wires away to one side. I think it'd be good if they were battery operated as you could just tuck each battery pack under each present, meaning you could hide any wires. I'm really glad we got them though because they look so lovely lit up on our window sill.

7 - I wanted to add a touch of Christmas to our hallway this year and brighten it up a bit. I found these '10 Non-Shatter Bauble String Lights' in Discount UK for £2.99. We have two windows in our hallway, so I picked up two boxes. They fit perfectly and are draped across each window pane. I was struggling to find any nice 'novelty' string lights to be honest, but we found these on the same day we put our decorations up. I did want some Christmas mitten string lights that Home Sense were selling, but when I went to buy some at our local store, they didn't have any, typical!

Apologies that I couldn't provide all of the purchase links, but some of the exact items aren't online. If you're interested in anything, I hope you have some luck finding them in your local stores :).

Have you picked up any new decorations this year?

Don't forget to like, comment and follow to keep up to date with the rest of my Blogmas posts :).

Thanks so much for reading lovelies!

Gem XxOo

Some images are courtesy of Boots, Clinton Cards and Ebay.

First Christmas In Our New Flat...

Merry Christmas to you all! I know I'm a bit early but there's not long to go now, so thought I'd get it in there :).

Those of you that follow my posts on here and/or follow me on Twitter (@GemsGemz86) will know that me and Si moved into our first flat together earlier this year. So obvs it's our first Christmas here :). It's been really exciting buying our first lot of Christmas decorations, decorating the place our way, doing our first proper full Christmas shop (we did used to help mom out when we lived with her), wrapping presents and putting them under the tree and creating our own traditions :). I thought I'd write this post and show you how we have decorated the place for Christmas and show you a few of the things we have bought.

So this is our living area with just the Christmas lights on and where we have the main decorations going on. So the tree was my first real tree, Si has had one previously with his family. It smelt gorgeous and looked lush when we first got it and set it up. We bought it on the 30th November and approx 2 weeks later it had died. It was a nightmare and we were pretty gutted about it! We got the tree from a local garden centre and there was some sort of guarantee on the trees there, so Si rang them up and they said if we returned it they'd exchange it. Si's mom took him to return it and I cleaned up the mess. When we had it up, I'd clean around the tree and a couple of hours later the floor would be covered again. It took me two hours to clean up properly whilst Si was returning it, filling one medium bin liner with piles of needles and then I hoovered the rest up, having to empty the hoover twice in the process. Some of the little bleeders had dug themselves into the carpet, so to do a good job and get rid of them all as best I could, I had to get down on my hands and knees and pick them from the carpet with my fingers :/. Not a pleasant experience I must say :/. Luckily, Si managed to get our money back and my mom's friend was giving up her artificial Christmas tree as her daughter had given her hers so mom brought that one up to us and we've now got that one all decorated (I took all the pictures in this post before our real tree decided to die, so I thought I'd just stick with them saves taking them all again :)). I think if we ever get a real one again (not in any particular rush we've both said ha), then we'll get one where the needless don't come out...I bet they are pricey though! The lights around the TV are just a pack of coloured lights that were £1 from Poundland and the ones on the window are those I used to have in my bedroom back at my moms, Si got them for me and they were £20 from Wilko's.

We have some of the traditional decorations on our tree like beads, coloured baubles (we decided to go for a red and gold theme), bows, stars and of course chocolates :), but there are some baubles/tree decorations that are a little bit different, so I thought I'd show you those a little bit more closely...

The glass bauble with the beads inside was a couple of quid from a local garden centre called Garden Land. It was the same garden centre we got our tree from. I thought it was so cute! The special couple bauble was also from the same garden centre but it was a gift from my mom :). It's a money box bauble! The star decoration was also from the garden centre and was a couple of quid. I wanted to get a few items for the tree that were unique, so everything wasn't all samey. The red and white baubles were from a PDSA charity shop, they were new stock and were about £3.50 for a pack of six, we got two packs. The Santa hat and the stocking decorations were from Poundland (the hat was on its own and the stocking decoration came in a pack of four). Lastly, the reindeer decoration came in a pack of six for £1 and were from Discount UK, which used to be our old Woolworths (I miss that shop!). At the top of our tree we have...a star! What do you go for? A star, angel or something else?

We also have a few more decorations and lights around the flat...

The Merry Christmas garland was £1 from Poundland and we found the lights in a back room of our flat when we moved in :)...ta very muchly to whoever left them here!

The snowman and the Santa were £1 each from Poundland (they light up), as were the Xmas letters (everything else is normally on the window sill but the candle holders Si got from work and the bowl and pot pourri was from Asda :)).

This set of lights was just £1 from Poundland. They don't look very bright in the picture, but it's cosy of an evening with them on :).

This is a window decoration and it is hand made. I got it from Birmingham Christmas/German market this year for £3.50. It's a lovely, unique decoration and sparkles when it catches the light.

We also got a few things for our dining table for Christmas (me and Si usually have Christmas at moms but as this is our first Christmas in our own place, we wanted to have it here and cook for my mom and sister, so they are coming to ours :)), aswell as a few other Christmassy bits and bobs...

I got these gummy paper strips for £1 from Poundland and there were loads in the pack and four different designs. I was unsure of what to do with them at first but loved the designs, I didn't know whether to make a garland for a wall, above a door or what, but when playing around with them I created this little decoration for the back of our dining table chairs :) makes it that little bit more Christmassy!

I loved this salt pot when I first saw it at Garden Land. It was only £1.99 and I thought it would look good on the dining table on Christmas day. I didn't bother getting a pepper one aswell as no-one here really has pepper on their meals and I'll just use this for Christmas, put it away and bring it out again every year. I think this is actually a pepper pot as it has three holes instead of two, but they didn't have any with two holes, so I think people must have already snapped them up. I got a few disposable items for Christmas evening when we have sandwiches, a few bits of party food, cheese board etc. These plates were £1 from Discount UK.

The napkins were £1 from Poundland and the cups were £1 from Discount UK.

I wanted to make some home made Christmas cookies/biscuits so I picked these cutters up for £1 from Discount UK. I also picked up a pack of two festive table covers for £1 from Poundland. I love the whole Nordic style, so I couldn't resist.

Sticking with our red and gold theme this Christmas, I picked up four place mats for £1 each from Discount UK and a pack of 4 drink mats for £1. Also at Garden Land, I got these two festive Yankee Candle wax tarts (Christmas Eve and Apple & Pine Needle), they smell amazing! They were £1.25 each.

There were also a few bits that I've seen about that I liked the look of and either haven't had the chance to pick up, saw such items after we'd bought all of our decorations and we didn't want to go over the top or my local stores didn't have the items available but I still thought they were worth mentioning and there's always next Christmas :).

I saw so many of these types of trees in my town centre but as it was our first Christmas in our new place we needed a main tree let alone any side trees ha! So we gave a tree like this a miss this year but I think they are beautiful and definitely something we'd look into getting next year as an extra to our decorations. This particular type is from Garden Site and the price ranges from £37.99 to £72.99 depending on the size that you want. I'm not sure if you have a Discount UK store near you but I've seen some in there during the run up to Christmas (couldn't find an image on their website to show you) and again they range in price. Do any of you have a tree like this?

I think it will be cute to have something like this for next year. We're getting married in September 2014, so this will probably be something we'll look at getting for next Christmas knowing me and Si :). It's sweet! You can personalise it with any message and it's only £12.99 from Gone Digging.

Me and Si love travelling, so we'd love something like this for our tree. It's £5.95 for one from Not On The High Street and you can choose from black, cream or green. I know over the years we are going to probably build up a nice little collection of unique Christmas baubles and decorations!

Lastly, I'm sticking with the Nordic/Scandinavian theme with these lush items from Tesco. The nearest Tesco to me don't have these items in for some reason. Tesco have quite a few lovely Christmas items to be honest, they are all on their website, I think I need to get to a bigger Tesco to see their full range though. These two items are fab and would look lovely in our front room, fitting in nicely with our theme. The cushion is £10 and the throw is currently £16.65.

Such lovely items don't you think?

How do you decorate where you live for Christmas?

Have you bought any new decorations this year?

Thanks so much for reading!

Gem XxOo

Images courtesy of Garden Site, Gone Digging, Not On The High Street and Tesco.

Valentine's Gift Guide for Males and Females...

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, a lot of people are thinking about what to get their other half. I have some lovely ideas for both males and females that I thought I would share with you all.

Lets start with gift ideas for females :-). Listen up guys!

Lush is one of my favourite shops ever and I know that for certain special occasions (Valentine's, Christmas etc) they tend to have a lot of new things come in especially for that occasion. Valentine's Day is one of them and they have individual items and gift sets. All are as cute as each other and very hard to choose from, but guys I can imagine it's going to be easier for you to pick up a gift set rather than choosing individual bits if you aren't that familiar with Lush.

Picture courtesy of Lush.

So here we have the P.S I Love You Gift Set from Lush. It is £16.95 and comes in an amazingly cute keep-sake box, which I can imagine most females loving! The set includes It's Raining Men creamy honey shower gel and Soft Coeur chocolate-honey massage bar. There is also a piece of their limited edition Sweetheart soap and some jasmine -scented Silky Underwear dusting powder. This is a lovely gift set and sure to make your loved one feel special and pampered when she is using the products, knowing that you bought it for her! If you don't have a Lush shop near you, you can see this gift set and what else they have to offer for Valentine's on the UK site here. See here if you live elsewhere.

Yankee Candle are well-known for candles and I must say a brand I love! I love getting the little samplers (approx £1.60 each) so I can change the scents I use often. These still provide up to 15 hours of fragrance and are really inexpensive. I have noticed on their website that they have a little section especially for Valentine's Day and I think any female would appreciate receiving these. They fill a whole room with fragrance and there are so many scents to choose from all year round!

Picture courtesy of Yankee Direct.

If you don't have any stores selling Yankee Candles near you, you can see some of their Valentine's range here, but I think any scent(s) would be great as gifts. If you don't live internationally (USA etc) click here to purchase.

Lipsy have a lovely fragrance that would be perfect for a Valentine's gift. It has an uplifting, feminine and sweet scent, which comes housed in a gorgeous pink, love heart shaped bottle (perfect!). The EDT has top notes of bitter orange, mandarin, juicy pear and ginger. Mid notes of rose, jasmine, violet and muguet blended with saffron. The base notes are styrax, patchouli, musk, amber and vetiver. The perfume is available in Lipsy stores or online here and is £18 for 30ml or £25 for 50ml.

Picture courtesy of Lipsy.

Lets move onto gift ideas for males :-) listen up gals!

If you are a regular reader of my Blog you will know that I did a post recently on BlueBeards Revenge shaving products. The post was written by me but in the words of my Fiance, so all opinions were his. You can read that post here.

Pictures courtesy of BlueBeards Revenge.

The pictures above are the products/items that were reviewed in my Blog post (The BlueBeards Revenge Shaving Cream 100ml £9.99, The BlueBeards Revenge Post Shave Balm 100ml £9.99 and The BlueBeards Revenge 'Doubloon' Bristle Shaving Brush £6.99). I won't go into the ins and outs of these products because I have explained it all in the post linked above. However, all I will say is that I Blogged about them for a reason and with qualities such as reducing hair growth, I think BlueBeards Revenge products would make a great gift for any male that hates the hassle of uncomfortable shaving! They also have other products available, for example razors, gift sets, accessories and deodorants. You can see what they have to offer here.

Anyone that is a fan of H&M will probably know that David Beckham has recently joined them to design a range of bodywear. His range includes boxer shorts in different styles, tops, briefs and pyjama trousers, all ranging from £7.99-£19.99.

Pictures courtesy of H&M.

I think with this being a new range and with David Beckham being involved, anything from this range would make a great Valentine's gift for males! If you don't have a H&M near you, you can purchase any of the items here. If you live elsewhere see here.

I just wanted to let you know about the Valentine's gifts that Tesco are doing this year. The reason being because they have quite a few items that are really inexpensive and I immediately thought of younger couples that maybe don't have that much of a budget and want to buy a cute/sweet little gift for their other half.

  

Pictures courtesy of Tesco.

They have a number of gifts for males and females ranging from bath and body products (see pictures above: Bayliss and Harding Rose Love Soaps £4, Bayliss and Harding Skin Spa Rose Bubble Bath £4 and Bayliss and Harding Bathing Roses £3), chocolates, scents and other gifts. If you have a Tesco store near you I would recommend popping in and taking a look at what they have to offer. Otherwise if you live in the UK, you can purchase items online here.

Prezzybox also have a huge range of exciting Valentine's gifts for both males and females, if you are looking for something a bit different.

   

           Pictures courtesy of Prezzybox.

The above items are two of many. The cup originally has red hearts all over it and then when it is filled with a hot liquid it changes to 'I <3 YOU', but obviously with a proper heart :-). So adorable and I think suitable for males and females. You can buy this here. The egg cups and cosies are ideal for couples living together, but if you're not, you can have one each! Each egg cup comes with an egg cosy to keep your breakfast warm before you tuck in! You can purchase this here. They also have plenty of other Valentine's Day Gifts for you to check out.

I hope you like my contribution of ideas and I think any male or female would be lucky to receive any of these lovely gifts :-).

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Much Love,

Gem XxOo

Disclaimer: I have created this Valentine's Gift Guide myself and everything included are my own ideas and products chosen by me. A couple of the gifts have been sent to me as samples or for review consideration, but I chose them in the first place. My opinions/thoughts are and always will be 100% honest.