Christmas Gift Guide

So Christmas is almost upon us.

Check out these great gift ideas to make that special someone feel special.

The Basket Company

These make-your-own hampers are a great, creative idea to spice up your gift and give it that extra flair. You can ultimately add anything you like to create the perfect gift, a hamper full of favourite foods, favourite toys, favourite DVDs and games, favourite books, the list is endless!
The basket is really sturdy and will make your gifts look like they came straight out of a shop.
They have loads of other gifts including picnic baskets, storage baskets, plant pots and more.
If your gifts are missing that little something, arrange them in this hamper to create the perfect, complete present.
I'll update with pics when I've finished creating mine!

The Book of Everyone

This is a perfect, personalised gift, a book designed specifically around that one special person. It includes loads of pages based on the person's birthday and name, a lot of fun to read and a great memento.

My full review.

Snapfish

What better way to share your photos and memories by designing and personalising a calendar, something they can keep for a year and will always be useful. There are different types you can create as well as may other gifts available on the site.

My full review.

Rays of Sunshine

These are a children's charity who work to brighten up the lives of 3-18 year olds who live with serious or life-limiting illnesses. This wonderful charity have brought lots of different gifts for you to buy with 20% of proceeds going to the charity. Available are mugs, tumblers, tote bags, a key ring, a diary and a really cute teddy bear.

Available to buy at Clintons.

PicStick

This company offer the chance to make your photos into magnets. With nine available magnets, sized 50x65mm, these are a lovely gift for someone to keep in their home.

My full review and discount code.

Funky Laser

Into unique and funky jewellery? Then Funky Laser are the company to go to. They have loads of different, quirky designs that are a perfect gift this Christmas. Really great quality and something a bit different than the usual gold and silver pendants.

My full review.

Photo Panda

Create your very own bauble to hang on your Christmas tree. This would be a lovely gift, a memory that can be hung up every year to add that special, individual touch to your festive decorations. There are other gifts available like pillows, bags, blankets and much more.

Kleenex

This festive box would be a great addition as a stocking filler. Tissues are one of those necessities that always need to be around and with the Christmas designs they won't look out of place this December.

The Book of Everyone

Now this is a gift I'm really excited about.

The Book of Everyone is the work of many artists, writers, mathematicians and more to create a unique, personalised book filled with interesting facts and pictures.

Basically, you enter in the person's name and date of birth (you can link to Facebook to find that out if you can't remember), and enter who it's from, then it loads a fantastic book full of quirky pages to celebrate the life of that special someone.

I chose to make the book for my Grandad. I love to find him creative and interesting gifts and I'm sure he's going to love this. It will certainly bring up many stories of his childhood as the pages of the book take him back to the 40s. It's such a perfect gift of happiness and memories, something to keep and treasure.

You can view the book before you buy, and there are pages that you can customise, either by changing the background, or the text, or by changing what the person's superhero ability would be!

The books are available digital, softcover, hardback or deluxe edition. There are different versions available for your mum, dad, or for different ages, each have a specific symbol on the front of the book and opening message inside.

They have a special Christmas edition for those of you giving it as a gift this Christmas, but it would work great as a birthday gift too as you can either choose to use the age the person is at currently, or the age they'll be at their next birthday.

This Christmas, with every book brought, they are giving one to the elderly who might not receive a gift this year, in collaboration with Age UK. This is a lovely idea, no one should be left out on Christmas and feel that no one is thinking of them. It's amazing to know that not only are you giving a gift to your special someone, you're also giving to another special someone whose Christmas will be that little bit brighter because of the kindness and generosity of yourself and the team at the Book of Everyone.

The Book of Everyone
The Book of Everyone on Facebook
The Book of Everyone on Twitter

Disclaimer: I was sent the Book of Everyone for free, but have received no other form of compensation to provide this review. 
All opinions are my own.

Snapfish Calendars

Snapfish are a great photo company that I use often to buy my prints. They offer a wide range of products such as prints, calendars, photo books, cards, wall art, canvas prints, mugs, animated photo gifts, jigsaw puzzles, magnets, coasters and stationary.

I was given the great opportunity to review two personalised calendars. I chose to create a classic calendar and a poster calendar. The classic calendar will go in my family home, and the poster calendar was for me and my partner.

There are a number of sizes for each calendar to choose from at different prices. The classic calendar can be 11 x 8.5", 12 x 12" or 14 x 11", and choices for the poster calendar are 15 x 10", 18 x 12", 30 x 20" and 40 x 30". There are also kitchen calendars and desk calendars available.

It was really exciting and easy to do. The website layout is very simple and I had no problem uploading photos from my computer and Facebook, though you can also upload from Flickr. It would be great in the future to see more options to upload from as I use other sites as well to store my photos.

After uploading the photos, it's as easy as choosing the layout for each month, adding any text you want, then dragging your chosen pictures to the allotted spaces. You can choose individual backgrounds for each month from the options below the calendar preview, though I chose the same one for every month as I like continuity.

A great extra on the classic calendar is being able to personalise the dates and add birthdays or other special occasions, you can also insert a little picture into the square.

At the end of the process they even offered to email you about the events you entered into the calendar, talk about great service!

The poster calendar was also really easy to make. You select up to 30 photos and they do the rest of the work for you. There is a choice for background colours or you can choose one of your own photos, I went with black as I think this makes the photos really stand out. You can choose to have a 'Featured photo', meaning having one photo more prominent than the others, and you can choose how much spacing is in between the pictures (none, thin, medium, thick). There's a shuffle button as well if you want the photos rearranged into a new order.

I would have loved to be able to move the pictures round myself on the poster calendar as it took quite a lot of shuffling to finally find an arrangement I liked, but when I did, I loved it!

And here are the finished products, don't they look great!

These are a great idea for Christmas presents, I love using my own photos in calendars to remind myself of all the great times I had the last year. With so many products to choose from there's something for everyone, and having it personalised just makes it even more special.

www.snapfish.co.uk
Snapfish on Facebook
Snapfish on Twitter

Disclaimer: I was sent the Snapfish calendars for free, but have received no other form of compensation to provide this review. 
All opinions are my own.

PicStick Magnets plus a Discount Code!

PicStick are an amazing company where you can create magnets personalised with your own pictures.

The website is really easy and simple to use, and with free delivery worldwide you can't go wrong!

Upload your selected photos from your computer, phone, Facebook or Dropbox and crop them to the size you like to create nine 50x65mm magnets. 

They come in a single sheet where it is easy to bend along the perforated edges and snap the magnets off.

They're 0.75mm thick, not heavy at all so stick well to the fridge.

With a lovely gloss coating, they're really great quality.

I love seeing my memories every time I go in the kitchen and my family thought they were brilliant. Little touches like these are perfect to warm up your home and make you smile.

These magnets would be a lovely idea for a Christmas present. They're such a special, personalised gift, my partner already has ideas who to buy them for!

We also have a 25% discount code for you to use when you purchase your own magnets!

Just enter MAGGIE25 at the checkout.

www.picstick.com

PicStick on Facebook

PicStick on Twitter

Get Fruity Bars

I got to try these delicious, healthy fruit bars this week.

Get Fruity was founded by Davina Whiteoak when she wanted to create a healthy fruit bar, that gets made and tasted  to be exactly that.
A ten-year dream that has definitely come true!

I got to try all three flavours, Scrumptious Strawberry, Moist Mixed Berry and Juicy Apricot, Orange and Ginger.

They are all made with natural, quality ingredients including oats, fruit and virgin coconut oil. The fruit gives it a fantastic, real flavour, while the oats release slow burning energy to keep you going throughout the day.

They were really yummy, and it always makes it taste better to know that they're healthy! You can tell they're made with real fruit juice as they're really moist and the flavour comes through with each bite. The colour gives away the flavour too, very vibrant!

These tasty bars are available straight from the Get Fruity website or from Ocado.
Happy snacking!

www.getfruitybar.co.uk
Get Fruity on Facebook
Get Fruity on Twitter


Disclaimer: I was sent the Get Fruity bars for free, but have received no other form of compensation to provide this review. 
All opinions are my own.

Pet Shop Bowl

Pet Shop Bowl are an online company that sell pretty much anything to do with pets!
It was founded by Adam and his partner Lexi, with the idea of providing people a well priced, healthy and convenient way of getting pet food. As you probably know, buying pet food can be bulky, heavy and a bit of an inconvenience, especially if you don't drive or are shopping on your own!
So they came up with 'Bottomless Bowl', a unique auto reorder subscription service where they will deliver your chosen pet food right to your door for just that one off time or up to every twelve weeks. It's an amazing service, one less thing to worry about as once you're subscribed they'll do all the work. You can always change your delivery dates and they'll always notify you of any price changes to check you want to continue.

Jax and I were both very excited when the huge box arrived! He couldn't wait to see what was in it!

Inside it contained a massive bag of Hills Ideal Balance Grain-Free Adult Chicken & Potato Dry Dog Food, two boxes of Almo Nature Daily Menu Tuna & Salmon Dog Food, two boxes of Almo Nature Daily Menu Chicken & Beef Dog Food and a packet of Lily's Kitchen Organic Bedtime Biscuits Dog Treats.
He really is spoilt boy!

 I could already tell Jax was going to like them as he wouldn't stop sniffing them!
And didn't he just, he scoffed them down! With chicken being his favourite he loved the Almo Nature Daily Menu Chicken & Beef Dog Food pouches. 

Lily's Kitchen Organic Bedtime Biscuits Dog Treats were gobbled up quickly too! They really helped on bonfire night with all the fireworks going off too, helped him relax a little bit.


I'd definitely recommend Pet Shop Bowl, they are a great, caring company with an amazing, unique subscription service. The prices are very considerate and with so much to choose from there's no reason not to have a browse!

www.petshop.co.uk
Pet Shop Bowl on Facebook
Pet Shop Bowl on Twitter

Disclaimer: I was sent the Pet Shop Bowl dog food and treats for free, but have received no other form of compensation to provide this review. 
All opinions are my own.

BodyMe Organic Super Energy Mix

BodyMe is a company that produces superfoods and wholefoods in the forms of powders and supplements. They have many healthy, nutritious products such as Green Tea, Acai Berry and Wheatgrass. All of the products are organic and have qualities that will aid in a healthy and natural way.

I was sent the Organic Super Energy Mix, a powder containing lots healthy ingredients such as baobab, a fruit that is high in fibre, calcium, vitamin C, etc; guarana, an natural and slow-releasing equivalent to caffine; maca, a root high in vitamin B6, iron, zinc, etc; lucuma, a superfruit high in vitamin B1 and B2 and potassium; and acai berry, a wonder berry high in omega fats, vitamin E and more.

All these are used to give the body a source of slow-release energy to keep you going throughout the day.

I have been drinking the mix for a week now and I can really feel the difference.

Usually, I find it very hard to find the energy and motivation to do things such as getting up early in the morning and going to the gym. 
After a drink every morning, I feel energised and ready to face the day. I don't put much in, they recommend gradually building up to 5 grams, make sure you mix well to dissolve it all.

It can be mixed with water, juice and smoothies, I preferred it in juice, but then again, I am biased as I do love juices!

They also donate 20p of the sale to Healthy Planet, a charity who have projects like 'adopt a plot' and healthy learning to help inspire and create a healthier world and environment.

So if you feel like a boost, try out BodyMe Organic Super Energy Mix.

www.bodyme.co.uk

Disclaimer: I was sent the BodyMe Organic Super Energy Mix for free, but have received no other form of compensation to provide this review. 
All opinions are my own.

Funky Laser Reindeer Necklace

Funky Laser were kind enough to send me one of their cute, festive necklaces they're selling.

I think it's late enough in the year now to start talking about Christmas! Though I did starting buying presents in August, but that's for another post.

Funky Laser are a unique company that make a range of products including jewellery, cake toppers, photo props, etc. with themed products for Christmas and weddings using high-speed lasers. They can also produce personal projects (so long as they are within their specifications) on their three main services of design, fabrication and woodcutting.

I was send one of their Christmas best sellers, the Reindeer Necklace. It comes in a range of different colours and there is an option for a glittered necklace for a bit extra.
Mine was a lovely Christmas red, very festive and flawless in design. The chain is connected to the nose and tail of the flying reindeer so it hangs neatly and doesn't interfere with the necklace itself.
I can't wait to wear it, it's definitely going to make an appearance at my work Christmas dinner!

All of their designs are really quirky and funky, I love the statement Chunky Glasses necklace and the Puzzle Studs as well. 
There's so many different designs, ideas and colours to choose from, so if you want something a bit unique as a gift for Christmas, I'd really recommend you check Funky Laser out.

www.funkylaser.com
Funky Laser on Facebook
Funky Laser on Twitter


Disclaimer: I was sent the Reindeer necklace for free, but have received no other form of compensation to provide this review. 
All opinions are my own.

University Care Box

So my cousin has been at university for a couple of months now, and even though we hardly hear from him, I thought it would be nice to send him a little box of goodies. I remember one of the best things about uni was getting mail so I hope he likes it and actually gets in contact to say thank you!

Here's what I'm putting in it:

So we have the uni kitchen essentials like coffee and pot noodles, and some Mikado to snack on while concentrating really hard on his studies.
I put in some toiletries like toothpaste and shower gel, and some easy cleaning products like 'Multi Action Wipes' and some in-cistern blocks for his toilet, both from Tesco, to keep it fresh. Boys rooms can get a bit smelly so I included an air freshener to keep it nice and fresh.
One of the best things we had at uni were door wedges so we talk to each other from our rooms, I have no clue if this is something Dan needs, but I think it's a good idea for that all important socialising.
For the drinking, there is Jägermeister for those bombs and drinking games, a pack of cards featuring the rules of Ring of Fire (making it much quicker to start drinking as you don't have to work out and write down all the rules), shot glasses, straws, the basics.
And then for when he has a hangover, and feels awful, there's Berocca to give him a boost and some soothers for that sore throat.
Other little extras I put in include Pro Plus and a Rock Star energy drink to help with those all-nighters sat at the computer trying to finish an essay by morning, some Glu Dots to harmlessly stick posters up on the walls and some face paints and glo-glasses for the themed fancy dress nights out.
And, of course, because I like to be embarrass my younger cousin (and also so he's safe!), I put in some Durex condoms.

I hope Dan enjoys my little care box, I doubt I'll hear a thank you from him as he's not been chatty at all so far! I like to think he'll like it though, otherwise I'll just have to think of more embarrassing things to send up to him. My Mum use to send me postcards featuring Jax once a week, maybe I could do something like that...

Any ideas of what to put in the box next?
All help is appreciated! I started running out of ideas near the end!

Doddle Collar Review and Giveaway!

I was given a great opportunity to try out a Doddle.

As usual, Jax was very excited to open the parcel (he somehow always knows it's for him).








The Doddle is a red collar that has a 1m length lead built into it with a looped handle at the end for an easy hold. It isn't heavy, weighing only 39 grams, which means it doesn't encumber your dog. They are available for small and medium dogs up to a weight of 27kg, and a neck size of 40cm, perfect for my little Jax.






It does look a bit bulky, but it didn't bother Jax at all, he gave his head a little shake to settle the collar then didn't even notice it. He's still able to run madly after his ball with no problems, and this way it's easy to grab hold of his lead if needed, that's if we can catch him first!





This collar is great as it means no more carrying (or losing, as that has happened before!) the lead, and if you quickly need to have your dog on a lead it's already there. Jax can sometimes get a bit intimidated by other dogs, especially ones that are bigger than him, and this collar gives us a quick way to pull him away.
It's also great for little journeys in the car when he's taking me to work, or popping to the shops, he can just wear this collar in case we need the lead, which in all cases we don't.



There is also a great option of having your Doddle collar engraved for a bit extra, up to two lines are available which means you can put your dogs name and your telephone number as you would on a dog tag.

You also have the great opportunity to win a Doddle for your dog below.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

www.doddlefordogs.com

Doddle on Facebook

Doddle on Twitter

Disclaimer: We were sent the Doddle lead for free, but have received no other form of compensation to provide this review. All opinions are my own.

Le Bistrot Pierre

Gary and I went to a new restaurant in Torquay, Le Bistrot Pierre, a French-style bistro.
It's a lovely two-floor restaurant located on the sea front of Torre Abbey decorated as a French bistro with lots of vintage-styled wooden furniture and a fully stocked high bar.

The food is amazing!
They have different menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner with lots of intriguing, tasty food. We went for dinner, and we'll definitely be going again.
I had the Saucisse de Toulouse for starter, a poached egg on slices of Toulouse sausage with a warm tomato dressing, was delicious. Gary had the Moules au Roquefort, mussels in a Roquefort sauce, he said they're the best mussels in Torquay, he was very impressed.
For main I had Gratin de Pates et Fromage, a macaroni and cauliflower cheese gratin, it was gorgeous! You can choose a side from skinny fries, salad or potatoes and vegetables. Gary had the Cassoulet d'agneau, lamb with a 'cassoulet' of bacon, beans and tomatoes, which he loved as well. We tried a bit of each others, all the flavours were rich and moorish, haven't had great food like this in a while.
We shared a Macaron for dessert as we were both a bit full. The macaroon and ice cream were nice, but I'm not a fan of fruit compotes, so I found that a bit too rich with the dessert. I really want to try the creme brulee next time.
We both can't wait to go again, we want to share the camembert, and I want to try the St Marcellin cheese and the mushroom brioche and the mini chorizos roasted in honey, and then mains I want to try chicken dish, and the pork, and the burger, oh I really can't wait to go back! Especially when they've given us a loyalty card where you collect stamps to get a free two course meal!

They also do 'Dine with Wine' and 'Soiree Gastronomique' evenings, where they have a set menu for a set price. We have one booked for next month, really can't wait, it's gonna be yummy.
I'm also trying to convince work about having our Christmas meal here, I've not really given them much choice about it though as I've only brought in the one menu! It's definitely worth coming here though!

Old El Paso Stand 'N' Stuff Soft Taco Kit

So tonight we went Mexican and tried out Old El Paso's new Stand 'N' Stuff Taco Kits. I really wanted to try the BBQ one, but unfortunately that was out of stock at Tesco, so we brought the 'Garlic and Paprika' kit.

It's really easy to make, you get 8 tacos, the seasoning and salsa. All you have to add is the mince meat, tomato, lettuce and cheese.

Gary decided he wanted to add onion to it to give a bit more flavour and I suppose there's loads more you can add like peppers, mushrooms, etc.

So first of all you cook off the meat (and any veg you're adding in), then drain the water out. Gary recommends you do do that, as we left it in thinking it would add to the flavour but it just ended up being very messy.

So, once drained, add the seasoning and 150ml of water and let it simmer for 10 minutes while stirring occasionally.

Warm up the tacos in the microwave for about 30 seconds and then pile it all in. They do recommend not filling them up too much which I would have to agree on, they will be filling half full and a lot easier to eat. Everything starts falling out as you try and eat otherwise, still tasty though!

And the finished product

Now, I can be quite fussy with food and I don't really like minced beef so I made my own special tacos. I like to have bacon, hashbrown and cheese wraps so I thought I'd try it in a taco.

I cooked bacon rashers, hashbrowns and mushrooms in a frying pan, you can add whatever other veg you like, but as I said, I'm quite fussy and I like my favourites.

I warmed up the tacos again, filled them up with the cooked goods and cheese. Added some sour cream, cheese and sweet BBQ sauce on top and all done.

Unfortunately there wasn't much left of my BBQ sauce (I like waiting for it to be on offer) so there wasn't as much as I'd like but it still tasted good.

The finished product

So all in all a quick, easy and tasty product. Not as good as proper Mexican food but it's good enough.

I've got an idea for some tasty nachos from a Mexican restaurant I visited in Playa del Carmen so keep your eyes peeled for that soon!

Let me know what you think of these tacos if you've tried them and if you've made any variations, would be lovely so see your ideas.

Trip Around the Bay

On mine and Gary's day off, we decided to have a wander around Torbay. We've been meaning to get the ferry over to Brixham all summer, as not only is it cheaper than the bus, it's a lovely little journey across the bay.

I thought it would be nice to go to Totnes though, as we haven't been there for years. So we got the bus from Torquay to Paignton and had a look round the shops until the bus came for Totnes.

We had a lovely lunch in the Dartmouth Inn where they had Morris dancers outside, it sounded like a regular thing and made the pub quite busy.

Most of the shops were closed unfortunately as it was a Sunday, but they had a lovely food market at the top of the hill that had all sorts, such as Thai, paella, falafel, cheese and meat stalls and loads more. I'll take my Mum over one Sunday as she loves things like that.

Gary then suggested we get the bus over to Brixham anyways and get the ferry home. I had joked that morning that it was probably too windy for the ferry to be running as that had stopped it before.

And yes, I was right, it wasn't running. 

In Lanzarote and Majorca the catamarans we went on swayed madly on the huge waves and yet this day the sea looked calm and peaceful.

It was nice to have a walk around the harbour waiting for the next bus though, and to see Sir Francis Drake's boat, the Golden Hind, previously known as the Pelican (something I learned on the Chase).

It's also great to have such nice weather, we wouldn't normally be able to consider a boat trip near the end of September!