Lifestyle, food and drink, and our family life and travel adventures.
Hello and welcome to this years Christmas Gift Guide!
I have so many beautiful and brilliant things to share with you this year from brands both big and small that I love. I really like putting these together as I get to discover loads of brands and products that I have never come across before as well as finding great presents for my loved ones (and maybe some for me too!).
I hope you enjoy looking through it all and find some great gift ideas for your loved ones this Christmas.
I have divided it into sections so you can browse it all or you can click below to head straight to a particular section.
CONTENTS
Table of contents
This moving Hedwig is so sweet and I know any children who like Harry Potter will love it. It makes over 15 realistic sounds and movements and her ‘ruffle detection’ sensor means that she can sense which way you are stroking her and her movements and sounds change depending on that. She’s not keen on her feathers being ruffled backwards though and she’ll let you know about it!
Where to buy: Smyths or Amazon RRP £49.99, currently £47
How beautifully packaged is this? The fun wrapping paper is also colouring paper and an item of clothing would make such a lovely gift for a child that could then be passed down to others. This gorgeous sweatshirt from Kookoo But Kind is so soft and amazing quality, plus it’s made from recycled materials, plus GOTS-certified rain-fed organic cotton and no plastic or chemicals are used at all. For each item sold the brand also plant a tree.
Kookoo But Kind’s Never Too Small collection is built around empowerment and growth mindset and showing children that the actions that we take as individuals are never too small to count.
The brand only makes a small collection of clothing, all using recycled and organic materials and their ethos is all about encouraging kids to care about the planet and each other. Their clothing is all gender-neutral and they aim to celebrate diversity and kindness to each other.
It’s a lovely brand with a beautiful small range of casual clothing for kids.
Where to buy: Kookoo But Kind £40
This remote control Megalodon is so much fun and can do a lot more than your average remote control car. My nephew got it for Christmas last year and it still gets played with all the time – and it has survived a great deal of rough play!
It’s brilliant fun and not at all delicate, so you can really drive it fast and put it through it’s paces. It can even drive through puddles and on water, on snow, across rocks and more due to the water-resistant body and lightweight custom tyres!
The remote control is easy to use and can be used from up to 100 feet away. The controller requires 2 AAA batteries (not included) and the Megaladon is USB rechargeable.
This toy was massively popular last year and very difficult to get hold of, and I think it will be really popular again this year.
Where to buy: Amazon, Smyths or Argos RRP £59.99
These wireless headphones are absolutely brilliant. Being wireless, they are so much easier for kids to use and you don’t have to worry about them getting tangled up in the wire.
They can be used with the wire too though, so you don’t have to worry about them running out of battery when you can’t charge them, but they also last for around 20 hours when fully charged.
They are volume-limiting which is so important for kids’ headphones, and you can even tailor them to their needs or the environment they are in, with a travel mode, kids mode and toddler mode, and a kid-proof safety mechanism which is so clever.
They come in a lovely range of bright colours and are extra fun for kids as they come with 4 metallic, embossed stickers to add to their headphones.
BuddyPhones Play+ are quick and easy to set up using Bluetooth and children can even listen with friends using the BuddyLink system which allows kids to easily share one device. There is a built-in microphone so they can use them for video calls (they would be brilliant if we have to homeschool again!) and they are fantastic quality, having been tested for durability in world-class testing labs.
These are brilliant wireless headphones for children and would make a great Christmas present.
Where to buy: Amazon £44.99
I think health bands for kids can be fun for them to use whilst also encouraging them to get moving more and be more aware of their health. This FOURFIT Mini 2 fitness band is specially designed for kids and tracks steps, activity level, sleep, heart rate and blood pressure, plus tracks calories and blood oxygen saturation.
A brilliant feature of the FOURFIT Mini 2 is that you can set reminders to get up and move – so if, like most kids, they spend too long on their tablet, then they can be encouraged to get up and move about regularly and get some fresh air. Active reminders can be set to prompt your child to get up and move with a gentle vibration and symbol of a person rising from a chair, plus parents can set rewards based on completion of activity targets!
The settings can be adjusted for a school day, for weekends or for holiday, and alarms can be set to wake a child up in the morning or to remind them of an event, whilst sleep can be tracked including what time they fell asleep if the fitness band is worn overnight.
The FOURFIT Mini 2 works without GPS, meaning it doesn’t always need to be connected to Bluetooth and all activity data is transferred once it is reconnected to the phone. It is also splash and mud-proof so it’s perfect for kids and it even has a built-in anti-lose feature!
The FOURFIT Mini 2 is really nice and slim and comes in 5 lovely colours. It has a bright OLED colour screen and features a built-in rapid USB charging capability. The strap can be removed and plugged directly into a USB slot and it charges quickly and lasts a really good amount of time between charges. I actually have the adults version of the FOURFIT Health Band and I think it’s brilliant.
Where to buy: FOURFIT from £29.99
These colouring pencils from STABILO are brilliant, especially for younger kids. The thick pencils are easier for little hands to grip, and they can be used as a colouring pencil, wax crayon and even as watercolours.
They work on a range of different surfaces; dark paper, leather, plastic and perspex and you can even have fun using them on windows – they wash off easily so you can let kids go crazy without worrying!
This set contains 18 vibrant colours as well as a pencil sharpener and a brush for painting. They’re really enjoyable to use, as the thick, soft lead glides smoothly onto paper. Each 10mm lead contains as much colour as eight standard colouring pencils, so they will last for ages.
They’re great for kids of all ages (and adults too!) and they are recommended by occupational therapists and special needs experts too.
Where to buy: Stabilo or Amazon RRP £37.30, currently £25.16 on Amazon
This is the sort of thing that my daughter absolutely loves and gets so excited about. Present Pets Minis contains a surprise plush pet inside with a collar to match, an adoption certificate, a doghouse and a sticker sheet.
You pull up the tab and the box transforms into a cute doghouse for their new little pet and reveals the mystery pet inside.
Kids can discover their pet’s personality by checking the symbol on their collar and then fill in their adoption certificate with their birthday and new name and add the stickers to the doghouse.
There are 10 Present Pet Minis stuffed animals to collect, including the rare Snow Skier unicorn or Cosmo kitty pet! I know my daughter will love getting this for Christmas.
Where to buy: Smyths or Amazon, RRP £7.99, currently £6.99
This Electronic Arcade Basketball game makes such a fun gift for kids this Christmas. It’s fast-paced and great to play as a family as you race against the clock to score as many baskets as possible using the spring-powered basketball launchers.
The electronic scoreboard counts your baskets as stadium sound effects cheer you on, getting quicker and louder as the game counts down! You can play it on your own too so it’s brilliant to keep kids entertained.
Where to buy: Wicked Uncle £25.95 (3 x AAA batteries required)
This fun bouncing ball from Waboba has a crazy spin thanks to the flat edges and makes a weird popping noise as it hits the floor. It can reach up to 100 feet as it bounces and flashes light as it does so!
It’s brilliant fun to play with for kids (and adults!) as it bounces all over the place and lights up and it’s a great way for kids to spend some time outside getting all of their energy out!
Where to buy: Wicked Uncle or Amazon RRP £7.99
This is a really cool and fun light-up watch for kids, based on a ‘slap-band’ style. It comes in a range of bright colours and designs, or just plain black and is made of soft-touch silicone so it’s really comfortable for them to wear.
It’s also shockproof and splashproof making it an ideal watch for little ones, and the battery lasts for up to 2 years and is then replaceable. At the end of its life, the watch is recyclable and I love that the brand isn’t just contributing to the amount of plastic on the planet without thought.
Where to buy: SnapWatch RRP £9.99
This Stomp Rocket will be so much fun for kids to play with on Christmas Day and beyond. It’s quick and easy to assemble and then you can stomp on the launcher to send the rockets up to 400 feet in the air!
It’s a great, fun game for kids to play with, in the garden or at the park, and it’s suitable for kids age 6 and up, but younger kids (and adults!) will love to join in too.
It can also be combined with the Stomp Rocket Science Book to get kids interested and excited by STEM subjects and get them outside and away from screens.
Where to buy: Amazon RRP £12.99
The Very Merry Christmas Game from Rascals is a perfect festive game to enjoy with the family this Christmas.
In this board game, everyone competes against each other to grab the most lavish presents for your stocking but you won’t find out what you’ve got until the end of the game. You can use the cracker cards (or you can use real ones!) to steal a better present from someone else’s stocking or you may have to sing a Christmassy song to avoid losing one of your own gifts!
As always, sprouts can be a negative for some people, and so you have to watch out for the dreaded sprout cards!
It’s a great, fun game to play together at Christmas and bring out every year and is suitable for most ages. It’s easy to learn and understand and you can play individually or in teams.
Where to buy: Amazon RRP £20
This personalised book is so beautiful and incredible quality and I can’t wait to give it to my daughter and nephews this Christmas (I thought it could live at Grandma’s so they can all enjoy it!). I love giving books as gifts and I think they will treasure this one for years to come.
In this search-and-find book, kids go on an epic quest to save the multiverse from an evil criminal mastermind, by finding themselves and saving each other!
You personalise the book with the names of up to 3 children as well as choosing their characters with hair colour, style and skin tone, all drawn by bestselling illustrator Marija Tiurina. You can preview each page before you order and then choose from the original softcover, jumbo softcover, hardcover jumbo or premium lay-flat hardcover.
I chose the premium lay-flat version and it is just so beautiful. I imagined the three of them laid on the floor together with the book open flat and excitedly looking for themselves and each other! The quality is amazing – so sturdy but soft to the touch and the illustrations and characters are bright, fun and wonderful. I really can’t wait to give it to them.
It’s recommended for children aged 4 to 10 but I really think it would be suitable for any age and they can treasure it as they get older. Each book is printed and shipped in 48 hours so it’s a great one if you leave your Christmas shopping a bit late!
Where to buy: Wonderbly Starting at $34.99
This is a beautifully made pop-up book for slightly older children (or younger ones will enjoy you reading it to them too).
On each page, there is a wonderful landscape that pops up showing nature’s delicate beauty along with a description of the weather event and ending with a sobering piece on the effects of climate change. It’s great for kids to learn about weather conditions and the effects of what we do and how we live our lives affect the climate.
It’s a stunning book, made to enjoy, learn from and look after.
Where to buy: Amazon or Waterstones RRP £19.99, currently £14.99 on Amazon
This lift-the-flap board book for younger children is bright and beautiful and encourages young children to think creatively as they see the world around them differently with the whimsical illustrations on each page.
There’s lots to discuss and explore in this lovely new climate-neutral board book by Tom Schamp.
Where to buy: Amazon RRP 10.99
The Day Time Stopped takes you all around the world to visit 26 countries all in one minute. It’s a fun and interesting introduction to different time zones and places for children as they take a trip to South Georgia, Bangladesh, Italy and more.
It’s aimed at kids aged 5-9 to inspire and entertain them about the vast planet we live on.
Where to buy: Amazon RRP £10.99
This is another absolutely beautiful book from Wonderbly. This personalised treasury of nursery rhymes features the child within the rhymes themselves with over 30 classic songs and stories. It’s such a special keepsake and I can’t wait to give it to my two-year-old niece – although I think my sister might appreciate it more right now! – but they can enjoy it together and she can recognise her name within the book.
It’s recommended for ages 0 to 3 but really it would be enjoyed by older children too and I can imagine it being passed on to their own children one day!
It’s a stunning book of great quality and it would make a beautiful and special gift, whether for Christmas, a first birthday or even a Christening and will be cherished.
You can choose from different colours for the cover, add the child’s name and a character who looks like them, and you are able to preview each page as well as choose from soft or hardcovers as well as add a dedication
Where to buy: Wonderbly $34.99
This classic gin has a really cool lid that you pull out to open it and it pops every time making it a fun present for a gin lover so they can celebrate every time!
The gin inside is made using copper stills and with specially selected botanicals including juniper Seville orange, cassia, and coriander seed to create a traditional gin of exceptional quality – which is so important to the brand. Their bottles are hand-printed and the stoppers are hand-finished and every part of the process is done with care, using quality natural ingredients to produce amazing flavour.
This smooth gin is great with some good tonic and a slice of orange and even a clove for a festive twist!
Where to buy: Pull the Pin or Amazon RRP £34.99
This Compostable Coffee Capsule Gift Box from Lost Sheep Coffee makes a great gift for a coffee lover in your life, especially if they are someone who tries to be eco-friendly where possible.
The Nespresso compatible capsules are compostable, which is brilliant, and not only that but to make the capsules they use a waste product that can’t be used when paper is manufactured so it is usually incinerated so Lost Sheep Coffee rescue it and prevents such a huge amount being destroyed.
They then repurpose it at their partner’s carbon-neutral site into the capsules.
In this gift tower you get their three bestselling flavours – Loving the Decaf, Smooth Journey and Funky Camper, all made using the world’s top speciality grade 100% Arabica beans of single-origin (in the top 5% worldwide!) and hand-roasted in small batches in Whitstable, producing a wonderful freshness and flavour.
Where to buy: Lost Sheep Coffee £16.99
The packaging for Secret Garden Gins is so beautiful and these gift sets would make such a gorgeous Christmas present.
The distillery is nestled at the foot of the Pentland Hills in Edinburgh. All of their gins are made using botanicals grown in their own Secret Herb Garden and each is specially selected by hand and dried naturally to create a unique tasting gin that is full of flavour with no preservatives, sugars, colourings or flavourings added.
The Miniature Gin Gift Set (£20) contains three beautiful 50ml gins; Apothecary Rose, Lavender and Echinacea and Pink Elderflower and Jasmine (plus a petal garnish!), and they are so nice, with loads of flavour without being too much. I think it makes the perfect gift for a lover of gin, as you get to try three different gins without the bottles being too small and plus it looks beautiful.
Then the Christmas Gin Gift Set (£29.95) contains two 200ml gins made with all natural ingredients – a Christmas gin and their traditional ‘Wild’ gin, again in a beautiful box.
Sustainability and caring for our planet is central to everything Secret Garden Distillery and Herb Nursery do, from their natural garden where it all starts, planting trees, using absolutely no chemicals, protecting and caring for the bees, to their packaging and so much more
Where to buy: Secret Garden Distillery – Gifts start from £12
This beautiful Klunken bottle is from Primus and comes in a gorgeous range of eight colours. They make a great sustainable gift that the recipient will get so much use out of and they have such a lovely design.
The Klunken Vacuum 0.5L bottle is a double-walled bottle made of food-grade stainless steel so it doesn’t impart or retain flavour. You can use it to keep cold drinks cold or hot drinks hot and the outside is made from a powder-coated surface making it really durable, but also it means that it has an excellent grip even when wearing gloves.
These Klunken bottles are designed to match with and fit in the side pocket of a Kånken backpack if you have one but it is also the perfect size to fit in any bag with a drinks holder. It’s great for taking out with you every day and will last for such a long time. I love how they look and this pink colour is so gorgeous and bright.
The lid is leakproof and insulated with sustainable cork and the bottle has a wide opening so it is easy to drink from as well as to clean and dry. The finger loop on the top of the lid is really handy so you can grab it quickly and it allows you to attach it to a bag loop or carabiner.
It would make such a lovely gift this Christmas.
Where to buy: Alpine Trek, My fox Bag RRP £32
My family and I all love Guylian Belgian Chocolates. They have a delicious roasted hazelnut praline flavour, which is so moreish (too moreish!).
Guylian Praline Sea Shells are made using only the finest, hand-selected Mediterranean hazelnuts, which are roasted and caramelised to perfection before being blended with premium Belgian chocolate.
I always get them for my step-dad for Christmas and then try not to eat them myself! They make a great small gift at Christmastime, or alongside some other gifts.
Where to buy: Amazon and all major supermarkets RRP £7.50
These beautiful white skates are a Christmas gift for me and I’m so excited about them! I used to go to Ice Cubs when I was a teenager and my mum couldn’t afford new ice skates for me but she somehow managed to find some in a charity shop in my size for £3.50! Back then I didn’t appreciate the bargain or the difficulties for my mum so much and so I was still so desperate for some shiny new skates like everyone else had.
So I have always longed for my own pair and I can’t wait to take my daughter ice skating and wear these.
These beautiful Graf ice skates from Skates.co.uk are made of leather and have a breathable lining and a stiffened sole so they will be comfortable for hours on the ice. One of the things that puts me off going ice skating is having to wear the incredibly uncomfortable hire boots so I plan on going a lot. more now I have these babies.
Skates.co.uk sell a great range of scooters, skateboards, roller skates, the accessories you need and more and they check their prices daily so they can offer the best price. They have a really wide range of prices so you can find the right gift – I always think a scooter makes a brilliant gift for a child that they will use for years..
Where to buy: Skates.co.uk £99.95
This delicate sterling silver hummingbird bracelet is so beautiful and I love it so much. It’s particularly perfect for me as my daughter’s name means ‘bird’ (hence the name of my blog!).
The pretty bracelet is from Jana Reinhardt, who are a husband and wife team of master-goldsmiths and all of their jewellery is made to order from only recycled precious metals, which I think is amazing. All of their packaging is 100% recyclable and plastic-free and they have also done loads to raise money and awareness for different charities, including the International Tree Foundation, which helps drought-affected countries in Africa; OVAID, which helps orangutans; Friends of the Earth, and lots more.
Jana Reinhardt make such a gorgeous range of jewellery, with so many cute animal and other designs. I love that for most items you can choose from sterling silver; yellow, white or rose gold in either 9 or 18 carats, as well as platinum if you are after something even more special.
A piece of jewellery from Jana Reinhardt would make such a special Christmas gift this year and I’ve added so many things to my wishlist, particularly their amazing rings – how flipping cute is this chameleon ring?! You can choose to have some pieces engraved, including the tiny hummingbird bracelet and UK shipping is free.
Where to buy: Jana Reinhardt £89
How cute and fun is this pug watch from Toff London? I love his little face! Toff London make a really unique themed collection of watches that would make a lovely gift for an animal lover. There are various dogs, a horse, a robin and a really cute bunny and other non-animal designs too.
You can choose from a silver, gold or rose gold case, the colour of the strap, and the colour of the dial and choose a design from their wide range.
Toff London launched in October 2020 under the parent brand Watches2U who have over 50 years of watchmaking experience, with dials designed and watches assembled by hand in their London workshop.
This design has a delicate hand-illustration of a pug and would make a great, personal gift for a pug owner, and you can even choose to have it engraved with a message for a special touch!
Where to buy: Toff London £49.99
This smart facial cleansing device leaves the skin dirt and make-up free as well as encouraging collagen production by stimulating blood flow, helping us to look more youthful!
The attractive device, which comes in a wide range of gorgeous colours, uses the unique SonicGlowTM technology, which uses over 7,000 vibrations per minute to deeply remove the skin’s impurities by breaking down the dirt and oil from within the pores. This helps to reduce the formation of spots and blackheads and leaves skin looking clearer.
It’s really enjoyable to use and leaves your skin feeling really clean and lovely, but it’s also gentle and can be used on all skin types. There are 4 different settings available so you can choose the intensity that is right for you, and you can use the ridges on the back of the tool can be used after cleansing to massage in your lotions and potions so they penetrate more deeply.
My skin feels so good afterwards and I love using the PMD Clean a few times a week in the evenings.
Where to buy: PMD Beauty £89
This beautiful faux fur coat is from Cotton Traders and it is so gorgeous and snuggly and perfect for these cold months. I really love that it has a hood to make it even cosier and it is so lovely and warm but nice and light too. It goes with everything and dresses up a plain outfit (my usual!) so nicely. It is really stylish and feels so luxe and it would make a gorgeous gift for someone for Christmas.
Cotton Traders have such a brilliant selection of clothing for men, women and kids, as well as beautiful products for your home. Their home section, in particular, has such fantastic ideas for Christmas presents so you can find something for everyone.
Where to buy: Cotton Traders £69
Nuture make great, plant-based skincare that really nourishes the skin and helps us to really embrace our bodies and our perceived ‘flaws’ like stretchmarks and scars whilst improving the condition of the skin.
They use ingredients that are as clean as possible, alongside a specially-formulated blend of plant-based Omega-rich oils, specifically designed to provide real results for scars, stretch marks and dry skin. Nuture uses no mineral oil, synthetic fragrances, synthetic colours, parabens or silicones.
Their unique blend of Omega fatty acids offer lots of benefits including the stimulation of collagen production and delivery of antioxidants, directly supporting the skin’s healing process and creating a smoother, more even complexion.
Their Nourishing Skin Treatment Oil, for example, is rich in essential fatty acids and antioxidants to help make the skin more hydrated and supple and improve the appearance of scars and stretch marks in just 8 weeks. It’s suitable for both the body and face and it’s really lovely to use.
Nuture Facial Treatment Serum contains potent actives such as arbutin and bakuchiol ( a gentle alternative to retinol) as well as exfoliating glycolic acid to help with post-blemish scarring, pigmentation and dark spots, brightening the complexion and evening tone whilst soothing the skin. It’s great for the face and neck and well as hands and gets great reviews with people starting to see a difference in their skin in just a few weeks!
Nuture also try to have as little impact on the planet as possible, and are working to make every part of the packaging recyclable – it is only their pumps and pipettes that currently aren’t.
They are really lovely products to use and really make hydrate and nourish the skin.
Where to buy: Boots, nutureskin.com, Ocado and Amazon from £8.99
This stylish and pretty pill case has been designed with life in mind by Tabuu who create sustainable and stylish modern-day pill cases, designed for people who don’t want their illness or having to take medication to define their lifestyle.
The Tabuu pill case holds up to 6 large tablets and fits into bags, pockets or on keyrings to keep medication safe on the go. They come in a range of really lovely colours and are made from durable food-grade stainless steel and are fully waterproof.
It makes a really sweet gift for someone who has to take regular medication and I find it particularly great when I’m away so that I can have my medication with me when I would usually forget to take it!
Tabuu is the brainchild of Lucy Rout, a 26-year-old entrepreneur who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2019 and now has to take medication with every meal. Lucy was unable to find a pill holder that was stylish, sustainable and durable, to fit with her busy, outgoing lifestyle and so she designed Tabuu for the millions like her who don’t want their medication to define them.
Where to buy: Tabuu or Amazon RRP £22, currently £18
Our Remedy is a health and wellness brand that make brilliant award-winning CBD oils aimed at women to help with relaxation, balance and having happier periods! The female-founded company are the first totally plastic-free CBD company in the UK, and all of the range is made in the UK and all vegan.
Our remedy have some gorgeous Christmas gift sets this year, including the Wellness Duo which contains both
Pretty Peaceful and Moon Swings CBD oils and you can choose from either a 500mg or 1000mg dose.
Pretty Peaceful is a restorative sleep blend, combining CBD with lavender, sweet orange and geranium for a soothing and balancing boost. Moon Swings is designed to support you during your time of the month, with CBD combined with peppermint and clary sage to help balance your moods and give you a boost.
CBD oil can help with menstrual pain and cramps, hormone imbalances and food cravings, plus it can help you have better sleep and help with anxiety too.
I love using Our Remedy’s CBD oils and use them most days. It tastes so nice and minty (unlike some CBD oils!) and is really easy to take with just a bit popped under your tongue, or you can add it to a drink if you prefer.
This is such a gorgeous brand and product and I love the whole ethos behind it. The packaging is all beautiful and the gift sets come in a nice box, so they make a great gift for Christmas.
And for every full-price sale, Our Remedy donates compostable sanitary products to a Bloody Good Period – the leading Period Poverty charity.
Where to buy: Our Remedy £59.99
Another brilliantly sustainable gift idea, these reusable sanitary pads are from Trade to Aid – a social business whose profits all go to funding menstrual education and hygiene programs. Not only that, but for every pack of pads bought, another pack is donated to someone in need so you can feel good whilst you are doing good!
Sadly, as many as 3 in 10 girls in the UK struggle to access sanitary products and as many as 1 in 10 girls in Sub-Saharan Africa miss school during their periods with many leaving school completely after they get their first period. So this is a wonderful business to support and give these great reusable pads as a gift for someone or for yourself so you or they can have a more sustainable period.
These great reusable pads are comfortable and secure and so much more comfortable than using single-use sanitary pads and so much better for you too. They are also made of recycled and reusable materials, reducing even more waste and keeping plastic out of landfill and oceans.
Each pack of Trade to Aid reusable pads contain 6 pads – 2 light flow, 2 medium flow and 2 heavy flow so they’re great for all of the different days of your period, and they are easy to wash and will last for years too.
Where to buy: Trade to Aid £29.97
I will soon have a giveaway running to win a pack of Trade to Aid Reusable Pads! Go here to enter: Birds and Lilies Giveaways once it is live.
This ARRAN Sense of Scotland Glenashdale Grapefruit Hand Care Gift Set smells absolutely amazing – fresh and clean and gorgeously grapefruity – and the set would make a lovely gift this Christmas.
It comes in a lovely gift box inspired by the Scottish island and is fully recyclable. Arran of Scotland are working hard to reduce their carbon footprint so they have also reduced the amount of packaging they use.
The Glenashdale gift set is inspired by the waterfalls that bring revitalising energy to the southern hills of Arran, with an invigorating zest of rasped lemons, grapefruit oil, and uplifted by bergamot’s crisp, citrus tones.
Arran Sense of Scotland is a family-run business that makes a beautiful range of body care, hand care, grooming essentials and gifts, proudly made in Scotland and inspired by Isle of Arran’s breath-taking scenery.
Where to buy: Arran of Scotland £30
Evolve Organic Beauty is a British brand making all vegan products and who are working really hard to become regenerative rather by putting more back into the Earth than they take, rather than just sustainable.
For every Christmas gift set purchased they are donating a tree, as well as working with Earthy to further offset their carbon emissions. Amazingly, they have grown some of their packaging themselves from mycelium so it is fully compostable and plantable going straight back into the Earth!
Evolve Organic Beauty make a gorgeous range of Christmas gifts all at different price points including an amazing beauty advent calendar.
The Super Smoothers gift set contains a Radiant Glow Mask and a Miracle Facial Oil to leave skin smooth, moisturised and calm and lovely!
The organic face mask is blended with raw cacao powder and clay to revitalise and purify, plus coconut particles to buff the skin, leaving skin smooth and calm.
This lovely facial oil is light but nourishing, containing natural retinol and antioxidants to regenerate and revitalise mature and dry skin.
Where to buy: Evolve Beauty or Feel Unique RRP £20
This lanolin lip balm from Lansinoh is so nice and moisturising, really soothing chapped lips and it makes a great stocking filler this Christmas. It is 100% natural, being single-ingredient – just highly purified lanolin, which actively nourishes your lips by creating a soothing barrier and locking in hydration.
The applicator works really well and gently releases the balm in a smooth layer so you don’t need to use your fingers. It’s really lovely and I now use it all the time.
Where to buy: Amazon or Lansinoh £5.99
This brilliant smoothing exfoliator from Forever Living won the Best Daily Exfoliator category in the 2021 Woman & Home beauty awards, so you know it must be pretty good! It is really gentle, using only natural jojoba and (sustainably sourced) bamboo to massage and cleanse the skin so there are none of those nasty plastic microbeads that are so bad for the environment.
Forever’s Smoothing Exfoliator contains lots of vitamins, antioxidants, enzymes and aloe vera gel to reveal healthy, glowing skin as well as lemon essential oil to moisturise and hydrate. It leaves skin feeling clean and soft and primed for better absorption of your serums and moisturisers.
Where to buy: Forever Living £17.72
This is such a useful tool to keep on top of your grooming, and particularly for someone who is rather hairy like me!
Wilkinson Sword Intuition 4-in-1 Perfect Finish Trimmer is a clever beauty tool that gently removes both facial and body hair with different heads to suit the purpose.
You can use it daily on your face to remove hairs including the finest, fluffy ones so that your face is smooth and make-up goes on better, use it to shape and trim eyebrows, use it on your underarms plus your bikini area safely and efficiently.
It’s perfect for taking away with you so you can keep things trimmed with little effort and it works on a battery so you don’t have to worry about wires and chargers.
The 4 in 1 comes with a trimmer, 1 x facial hair head, 1 x bikini head + comb, 1 x eyebrow head + comb & cover, 1 x cleaning brush, 1 x beauty bag & 1 x AA battery.
It would make a great stocking filler especially at the current bargain price on Amazon!
Where to buy: Amazon or Boots RRP £30, currently £15 on Amazon
The Hydro Comfort Skin Reset is the new razor from Wilkinson Sword and is the first one designed to comfortably tackle up to 7 days of hair growth without pulling, tugging or irritation. It’s great for men who hate shaving every day.
The blades are easy to rinse and have three layers of comfort coating and Skin Guards on each blade for extra protection. The blades have gel pools that are water activated so that they hydrate the skin and protect from any irritation. The flip-back precision trimmer allows precise trimming and helps you get into those hard-to-reach places.
Unlike most razors, there is no thick plastic packaging – the Hydro Comfort comes in a box that is made from more than 90% recycled paper and is widely recyclable.
Where to buy: Wilkinson Sword website RRP: £17.50 including 5 blades, Boots, currently £5 or Amazon £7.50
Silk pillowcases have so many great benefits and are really lovely to sleep on too. A silk pillowcase can help with fine lines and prevent those sleep creases you get on your face at night. They are also great for your hair, as they calm frizz and prevent breakage so can help with hair growth and condition.
This clever pillowcase from This is Silk is designed to only cover half a pillow which means they can be tied in different ways on different size pillows, including a travel neck pillow so they are perfect for taking away with you so you can get the benefits wherever you are. It comes in three pretty colours – Tempest grey, Natural white and Pink – which go with most other bedding beautifully.
This is Silk uses 22 momme weight of silk for all of their products, meaning it is a superior grade and more lustrous, more durable as well as machine-washable. This type of silk is used because of its quality as well as its ability to soften skin and smooth hair.
This is Silk’s products are free from harmful dyes so they are especially good for sensitive skin, and they are sustainably produced and biodegradable too. They have lots of gorgeous products that make great Christmas presents and they are much more affordable than many similar products.
All of their products come in either a gift box or gift bag with a hand-written note and they can be gift wrapped too so they would make a brilliant gift if you need to send something directly to the recipient.
Where to buy: This is Silk £25.99
These beautiful soy candles are from Vegan Bunny – a lovely family-owned small brand who focus on vegan and eco-friendly products with their range of natural candles and other sustainable products. They use as little packaging as possible, none of which is plastic and they plant a tree for every candle sold!
The Vegan Bunny website became carbon neutral in 2019 and their aim is to actually be carbon positive!
These handcrafted candles are infused with essential oils and they all smell wonderful. I am very fussy when it comes to candle scents; I hate anything too sweet and cloying or fake, but these natural-scented candles smell lovely and fresh and not too overpowering.
The Christmas Pudding candle just smells like the festive season to me, spicy and warming and orangey and just so lovely. It is getting me so excited for Christmas!
They do such lovely ranges; Me Time, Cosy Time and Sleep Time candles focus on self-care, while the Classic Bunny range includes Pumpkin Pie, Rose Blossom and Chai Latte.
You can choose from a 25 or 50 hour burning time as well as a gift-wrapping option which includes a Typewritten note on handmade paper, curated envelope, dried foliage and ribbon.
Where to buy: Vegan Bunny from £7.90
Danilo have another fantastic range of official calendars and diaries for 2022 with something to suit everyone. All of their calendars now come in plastic-free packaging and are fully recyclable.
I have a few Friends fans in my family (including me and my daughter!) so this wall calendar will make a great gift. This poster calendar has memorable pictures from the popular sitcom with space to write your all-important dates.
New this year to the official licensed range from Danilo is a Van Gogh calendar featuring his oil and water-colour paintings as well as quotes from the artist. Then, for only the second year you can get Royal Horticultural Society calendars with an RHS garden, showing their beautiful flowers and foliage each month.
Where to buy: Danilo or Amazon RRP 9.99, currently £7.00
A family planner is a necessity when you have important dates for different family members to remember and I couldn’t be without ours each year.
This Disney Classic Family Organiser has five columns so each person has their own, 200 stickers, plus a handy storage pocket for letters and other papers you need to keep or in my case remember to sort out!
On each page, there is a new picture of a classic Disney film to enjoy – perfect for our Disney-loving family, but there are lots of brilliant family planners to choose from.
Where to buy: Danilo or Amazon £9.99
This GripTight Wall Mount from Joby is brilliant for anyone with an iPhone 12 or later, allowing you to quickly and easily, and most importantly, safely, mount your iPhone hands-free on a flat surface. It’s great for taking photos and videos, as well as hands-free video calling or watching Netflix on your phone!
It connects magnetically to your phone on one side and sticks to the flat or smooth surface on the other side and it’s easy to pull off so you can reposition it easily when you’re taking photos or videos and need to keep moving it. If it gets a bit dirty then you can rinse it with water to restore the stickiness!
It’s particularly great if you use your phone to create content as it’s a really versatile phone stand, but useful for anyone who wants to view their iPhone hands-free! It makes a great practical gift for Christmas for someone with an iPhone 12 or later.
Where to buy: Amazon or Joby RRP £22.95
These funky-looking pegs make a great sustainable stocking filler for Christmas this year being not just climate-neutral but climate-positive! The NONA pegs are made in the UK and made from retired fishing gear that would otherwise head into landfill, incinerated or often end up in the ocean.
NONA, which stands for No Oceans, No Air, makes these ultra-durable clothes pegs that have been designed to be easy to use and hold clothes securely, causing no snags to your clothes. They are BPA-free and UV-resistant and built to withstand exposure to extreme weather so they will stay looking great for years on end as well as working well for as long as possible.
They are available in packs of 20, 30 or 40 and NONA’s packaging is all 100% plastic-free, even including the packing tape!
NONA also wants to encourage a new generation to line-dry their clothes rather than tumble-drying which would obviously be so much better for the environment. Line drying has a zero-carbon footprint, plus tumble drying wears clothes out faster so they’ll last longer and smell naturally better too, reducing the need for more chemicals.
I love to receive homeware gifts, particularly when they are so eco-friendly like these NONA pegs.
Where to buy: Nona from £15 with free worldwide shipping
These new luxury wax melts from A Melt in Time would make such a lovely gift alongside a tea-light burner. The wax melts are 100% handmade in the UK using natural wax so they are vegan-friendly and cruelty-free, and they come in a great range of fragrances to help you relax and unwind. The packaging is entirely recyclable and biodegradable.
A Melt in Time’s Amber & Musk range is particularly perfect for Christmas, with warming and festive scents of vanilla, cinnamon, orange and myrrh. Each melt is really long-lasting, with 30-40 hours of burning time and you get six melts in each pack, so it’s a gift that will keep on giving for a long time!
They do a great gift set for only £12.99 that includes a wax burner of your choice and two wax melt packs also of your choice – such great value and would make a really lovely and thoughtful gift tailored to the recipient.
Where to buy: A Melt in Time from £3.99
This Echor End of Day candle blends beautiful essential oils – lavender, ylang-ylang, geranium and sweet orange – to help your stress and anxiety drift away before you go to sleep.
These oils have been shown to reduce stress hormones and lower blood pressure, whilst lavender can increase the amount of slow-wave sleep allowing you to wake up with more energy the following morning. Then geranium has been found to have natural anti-inflammatory properties and may help to reduce snoring caused by sinusitis by opening up your airways.
Sounds pretty amazing, doesn’t it?!
This beautiful-smelling candle is made with soy wax for a long-lasting, clean burn for up to 60 hours and with all natural ingredients so no toxins are released and it is hand-poured into the stylish glass jar in the UK.
Echor launched during lockdown, with their vegan, cruelty-free and eco-friendly products that are backed by science, to help you relax and enjoy your evening and get a better night’s sleep and enhanced wellbeing. Products include pillow sprays, weighted blankets, sleep masks and lots more.
The End of Day candle is really lovely with beautiful packaging and would make a gorgeous gift this Christmas.
Where to buy: Echor £24.99, currently £19.99 or Amazon
Henry Bell make a brilliant range of bird feeders, accessories and food so you can look after the wildlife in your garden. The Sterling Feeding Station is a beautiful decorative feeding station, with leaf-shaped pieces, and hanging hooks so you can hang all your bird feeders on it at once.
It is easy to assemble and strong and durable and looks lovely in the garden.
The Henry Bell Sterling Seed Feeder is a great quality feeder made of hardwearing aluminium and holding loads of seed mix at once. It has four food ports with perches for the birds to sit on and each one has an angled base to ensure the easy flow of feed for them.
The top is easy to open and fill, and the base is removable so that it is easy to clean. It’s perfect for a wide variety of birds, including House Sparrows, Dunnocks and Bullfinches.
Henry Bell is a leading quality animal feed producer. Their Wild Bird Care range includes over 100 products catering for every type of garden bird, and their selection of High Energy Foods are an excellent source of energy and nutrition for wild birds. The range includes Fat Balls, Suet bites and a selection of Ready to Feed options.
Their Robin Blend is a high energy, nutritious year-round food that is packed with sunflower hearts for energy plus mealworm and rowan berries to create a delicious (!) and wholesome meal that robins and many other small birds love.
It’s really important that we keep feeding our garden birds all year round as there is an ever-decreasing supply of food resources for wild birds so these Henry Bell feeders and accessories would make lovely gifts for Christmas to help encourage that.
Where to buy: Amazon, Dobbies, as well as nationwide in 150+ garden centres, pet shops and mainstream retailers. Henry Bell Sterling Feeding Station RRP £19.99, Henry Bell Grand Sterling Feeder RRP 17.99, Henry Bell Robin Blend RRP: £5.99
This wireless charging station from STM Goods is really cool. It allows you to sit your phone on it and charge it wirelessly, whilst also being able to charge your AirPods and Apple Watch (all series) at the same time! Your phone sits on the front lip with your AirPods sat on the flat part behind and an arm swings out to hook your watch over.
I love tech that makes my life a bit easier and this really does that. It’s so much quicker to just sit my phone onto the little shelf and I don’t have to take it in turns to charge my phone and AirPods separately like I had to before.
It is nicely designed, with a small footprint so you can easily keep it on your bedside table or desk without taking up too much space. It plugs into outlets with a USB-C to USB-C cable (1m cable included) so you do need a USB cable with a USB-C cable one end or a plug that fits a USB-C power adaptor.
Where to buy: STM Goods $79.95 or Amazon, currently £37.99 (white)
This set of fineliner pens from STABILO are great and can be used for lots of different things, offering a lot of control and precision with the 0.4mm tip – underlining, notes, drawing, stencilling or just writing with, and come in a range of lovely colours including some cool neon shades in this pack of 30.
They’re great quality pens, and comfortable to hold with the hexagonal body shape and they come in a total of 55 colours with different sets available. They have a long cap-off time so you don’t need to worry if you (or your kids) forget to put the cap back on.
They’re great for schoolchildren, students and professionals and are actually Europe’s most popular fineliner available! They make a great Christmas gift for a lover of stationery.
Where to buy: WHSmith RRP £19.99
A lovely feel-good gift for any animal lover – you can purchase a Christmas dinner or a toy for a cat or dog in rescue with animal welfare charity, Miracle’s Mission.
Victoria Bryceson’s charity, Miracle’s Mission, is a non-profit animal welfare organisation that works with sick, injured and difficult animals. Her mission is to provide a place of safety for animals in danger, to educate on the need for neutering both pets and strays and to neuter stray dogs and cats to prevent the birth of more dogs and cats onto the streets.
Miracle was a dog who was rescued from the streets of Borneo at one week old before her tiny eyes were even open. She had several injuries and was very weak, but she made a miraculous recovery and is now strong, happy and healthy living with her adopted brother Ben, and sisters Star and Tess. Victoria is now working towards saving many more stray dogs and other stray animals all around the world, starting in Borneo where Miracle was rescued.
Miracle’s Mission is looking for help to build the UK’s first centre for disabled animals, where they can rehabilitate the most vulnerable, before finding them their forever homes. You can donate to the appeal here.
You can buy someone a Christmas Dinner or a toy for a dog or cat, and it comes with a certificate to present to them. It’s such a sweet extra gift to give to someone caring and it’ll make a big difference to the quality of life of a dog or cat at this time of year too. I’m going to gift one to my daughter because she cares so much about animals and she will love that we have helped one enjoy their Christmas a bit more!
Where to buy: Miracle’s Mission £5
I hope you have been inspired by these brilliant Christmas gift ideas and they have helped you to find the perfect Christmas present for your friends and family.
The products featured in this gift guide were sent to me for inclusion, but all words are my own. See my full disclosure policy here.
Welcome to Birds and Lilies! I'm Lou: mother, blogger and freelance writer. This is my lifestyle blog, where I talk about motherhood, infertility and IVF, beauty, my love for food and wine, as well as my thoughts about stuff, and our real-life and travel adventures.
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They help me relax
Thanks for these ideas! I often struggle to get for my mother in law and sisters in law so these gift guides are a big help!
Hi Nadia, That’s great! I’m glad they’re helpful x