Teen gift idea and Printed Sweatshirt Review

Finding something for a teen for Christmas is always tough. Partly as we live in an age of having much more than we need, and partly as teens have money to get what they want when they want it, and so many things that were 'saved for christmas' or your birthday when I was a kid are now just seen as essentials and bought during the year.

Unless you are the sort of parent that buys £600 phones as gifts (I'm not) you'll probably be looking at Christmas albums (interesting aside, vinyls are now outselling downloads, so maybe getting a retro record player should be on your list!), maybe books by their favourite reality stars (DD was thrilled to receive a signed copy of Hannah Hart's book for her birthday this year) or clothes.

I've heard some people say that clothes aren't a real gift. And I sort of see where they are coming from with that, obviously getting a new school skirt or some plain grey socks might not cut it, but clothes that you wouldn't normally buy yourself might be just the thing, especially if they can be personalised.

Don't worry I'm not suggesting you get your teen a T shirt with their name on like you did when they were 4,  but there are things that only you know about your teen that can make a T shirt or sweat shirt into a rather fun gift. Teens like slogan tops (so I have been told by my own teen who recently pinched my 'Nothing But Tea' T shirt, a slogan that amuses her as she's teetotal) and so why not have one specially printed?

I've always thought T-shirt printing places (the online kind, not the seaside 'I'm with Stupid' kind) were for promotional brand stuff or for teams, maybe if a group of you are going to run a marathon, or hang out as a hen group in the town, but they can be used to print individual stuff too, and they are not as pricey as you'd think.

Garment Printing make printed T shirts and sweatshirt and other things too, and the prices are around £24 for a single printed T shirt  inc. delivery and all set up and design help. (of course if you ARE running a marathon as a team then it gets cheaper per item if you order more). Standard delivery is 7-10 days but they provide an express service, and can print and deliver next day if you've left it late.

You can choose your base colour and then decide if you want a picture, logo or other design and if there is any text you fancy.

"Yes mum I cleaned my room!"

"I'll be back whenever"

"My parents made me wear this, to keep my kidneys warm" ~~ seriously considering this for the future!

"Can you lend me £10"

or one of many other well known teen and family phrases.

Garment printers have a team of designers who will make a mock up of the design and send you an image to approve. When they made the one they sent me for review I let them pick the font though I supplied the image, and it works really well, DD loves it, but you can do the design however you want. Once the design is approved, the garment is made and delivered.

DD Can't even think straight

DD and I are really pleased with the quality too. The sweatshirt is nice thick material, it feels llike a quality product. It wears well and has washed well too. The print doesn't fade or peel. I'm really happy with it.

So for a fun teen gift (or for anyone really) why not consider unleashing your sarcastic wit on an unsuspecting T shirt or sweatshirt. Garment printers have a best price promise and will confirm your quote in 5 minutes. (and with a 20% discount for charities - if you are planning doing any fund raising in 2017 as a new years resolution, they'd be a great company to work with)

Best advert for this company I think is DD who has barely taken the sweat shirt off since it arrived! (so it has been washed several times!)

Bloggers' Christmas Gift Guide

It's November and time to think about Christmas. Already many blogs are featuring gift ideas from brands that they like, I thought I'd take a different tack and go with a list of gifts bloggers would like to see wrapped under the tree on Christmas morning.

Copyright: kryzhov / 123RF Stock Photo

So I asked some bloggers about their dream gifts, what would they be asking Santa for? I set them a budget of £50 and this is what they said:

Angela at Cosmic Kick feels that the holiday season is a good time to sort out the ravages of the year and so she will be hoping for some Clarins Eye Revive Serum this year. I use Clarins products too and they are rather lovely, so it's nice when someone buys you something from the range (hint).

Lucy at Lucy Loves is keen to try the Charlotte Tilbury Legendary Muse Eyeshadow Palette and even  though I'm the sort of woman that rarely wears makeup I can see why! Such gorgeous golds, perfect for the party season and beyond. Autumn and winter sparkle, just lovely.

Rebecca at Queen Bee Becca and Isla at Isla Roses are both hoping for some makeup brushes this Christmas, and no doubt many other women will be after the same, it's one of those things you forget to replace, or you just buy a cheap one, so wouldn't it be lovely to get a nice set like the Makeup Revolution Collection or the Spectrum Selections set.

Kitty at Kitty Rambles a Lot would like some Curlformers, heat free stylers for amazing hair curls. (they do sound quite amazing,I'm tempted to get some for DD)

Lauren at Belle Du Brighton made me laugh by suggesting that 50 packets of Oreo cookies would be her dream! But she also said that Lush bath products would be welcome so I guess she's fairly easy to buy for. Chocolate and relaxing in the tub.

Copyright: poznyakov / 123RF Stock Photo

Louise at Louise Rose Railton is also all about the relaxing scents, and would like Santa to treat her to some classic Yankee Candle Melts, a lovely set including the melt warmer to scent a home with three holiday themed melts.

Laura at Mummy Lala is a woman after my own heart and would love some exotic perfume for her Christmas present, specifically the lovely scent of Dior, a 30ml bottle of Miss Dior fits the budget.

Steph at Hello Baby Blog is in love with most items on the SWYC website, but she went with this lovely personalised seagrass beach basket. Something so pretty and so practical.

Lucy at Hello Beautiful Bear would opt for more sparkles but in the form of this delightful Irregular Choice Owl purse. Fun and useful it's a great gift. A purse you'd enjoy pulling out in public to rummage for that odd 5p.

Samantha at Coco Butter Blog would hope Father Christmas would be slipping a Michael Kors card case in metallic leather into her stocking on Christmas eve, a bit of glittery glamour each time you opened your bag.

Chermaine at Chammy in Real Life would choose the swishy sophistication of an over-sized cardigan, great for the cold winter evenings and this one from thirteen clothing looks like the sort of thing that would easily fit the day into night fashion criteria, looking good with jeans or a more fancy evening outfit.

Anna at Anna International is also after something of a more practical nature, and is yearning for warmth and softness while she blogs, in the form of a gorgeous luxury faux fur hot water bottle. (she lives in Yorkshire in an old miners cottage...I'm guessing that's chilly!)

Emma at the Cheshire Wife would like the comfort and style of a Mother sweatshirt, and not only stylish and perfect to relax in, but the sale of every sweatshirt supports women's charity works too. The FMLY philosophy is that style should not only look good, but help others, too. £10 from the sale of the Mother sweatshirt design goes to WOMEN FOR WOMEN INTERNATIONAL, who help women in 8 war-torn regions rebuild their lives through training programmes. They give women the skills, resources and knowledge to create positive sustainable change for herself, her family and community.

Jenni at Chilling with Lucas is hoping to unwrap some beautiful silver earrings. I feel a real theme of sparkly Christmas gifts in this list - are bloggers actually magpies?

Lucy at The Parent Game may be a magpie, but she is also planning where to store her sparkles, she chose a multi-drawed jewellery box for her perfect Santa gift. Something I need as my jewellery is currently spilling across my en suite!

Copyright: tunedin123 / 123RF Stock Photo

Sophia at Tattooed Tealady and Lucy at The Two Saving Sisters are both after the helpful and beautiful Lifeplanner from Erin Condren, (I suspect that many of the bloggers that click through that link will want one too now)

Evija at From Evija with Love would like a delicate and pretty tea set for one, perfect for snacking while blogging and still looking lovely on Instagram, Make every sandwich special with this Royal Albert 3 piece set.

Anca at Anca's Lifestyle would like a cocktail set and maybe some drinks to get her started. She wasn't sure where to start so I had a quick look around using our £50 budget and came up with this fun set from Amazon for only £15 leaving plenty of cash for an addition of a couple of bottles of something tasty.

Kate at LesBeMums would like a heap of comic reading from her favourite comic store, I hope Father Christmas knows her favourites.

Not all of the bloggers I asked were looking purely at fun and frolics though, a couple saw Christmas a chance to get some extras they needed for blogging,

Sam at Testing Time Blog was after some better lighting for her blog photos and so Emma (a Cheshire wife) suggested this Pop up Lightcase. While Ami at Ami Rose was after a tripod like this compact one from Currys.

Thanks to all the bloggers who told me what they lusted after this Christmas. Feel free to come and tell me what you would like to see under your tree this year over at Facebook.

What do women REALLY want for Valentines day - a tongue in cheek post

Copyright: pretoperola / 123RF Stock Photo

Valentine's Day is fast approaching like a looming red fog on the horizon. Terrifying the average man who is soon to discover he cannot win on this of all days.

On Valentine's Day, a man in a relationship with a lady has several choices.
He can ignore the entire thing, dismiss it as comercialised and claim he doesn't need a day to tell her he loves her. She will assume he is an uncaring heel or that he forgot and this is a feeble way of weaseling out of the whole thing.
He can buy a card, something cute or funny and that's that. She will think he is cheap, assume he grabbed it without thinking in the supermarket or petrol station and she will tell all her friends how uncaring he is.
He can buy an elaborate gift such as a huge bunch of red roses or a massive box of chocolates, and she will tell him what a waste of money flowers are, especially on Valentine's day, she will also exclaim she is dieting and the chocolates are cruel. She will tell her friends he is predictable and boring.

So what do women actually want? Well I asked a few women that were in relationships what their perfect Valentine's Day gift would be. Instantly and top of the list was time by themselves! I can understand the desire to escape the busy everyday life but I was hoping for something a teensy bit more romantic (chaps, save this information for a birthday gift!). Next most popular was sleep, yes I know, still not terribly romantic, though combined with a man that takes charge of the kids when they wake, gives them breakfast, settles them in front of a 3 hour movie and then takes his snoozing wife breakfast in bed might count...

But the suggestions that seemed most useful were:

• Unmarried ladies in relationships (such as Emma) seem to hope for diamonds, if you like it, she correctly assumes, you should have put a ring on it.
• Another popular choice is a spa day, for true romance I guess you'd have to go too, his and hers towels by the pool, joint massages and a cosy canoodle in the hot tub. Several ladies liked that idea.
• Chocolates were not totally out of favour, but they needed to be quality over quantity, the day of the large padded heart shape box are over it seems.
• Many ladies feel that having everything done for them is the way to go, baby sitter sorted, table booked and then whisked off in a taxi so you can both have a tipple at a restaurant where the night is spent eating and gazing into each others eyes....just as you did before your life was full of toddlers and snot.
• Another lovely idea was being told to treat yourself to a new pair of shoes or a new handbag, so many ladies would like this so much more than flowers or chocolates! Even a new dress, why not pluck up the courage to go shopping with her, telling her how sexy she looks in the things she chooses (not looking  at your watch and telling her you are missing the rugby)
• On the 'time alone together' theme, it wasn't only restaurants and spas that were mentioned, afternoon tea, or even a wander around a town or a walk in the country were suggested. Even a whole night in a hotel - oh to have the freedom for loud sex without the kids hearing.....
• The idea of a surprise was high on the list too - unusual gifts but ones that might be appreciated, cheese, a new purse, earrings, perfume....but not 'sexy underwear' (the crime of buying what you, the chap, deem sexy, but what is, in reality, cheap, tacky and uncomfortable and really for you anyway...just no) Going with her to buy some Agent Provocateur does not come into the 'no' category obviously...
• And one odd request was mooted. "I'd really like if he hired a backing group and made up a barbershop style song about me and then performed it on the doorstep. The kind of thing that takes a bit of effort!" ... I'll just leave that there....no one said us women were low maintenance...

Copyright: ventura69 / 123RF Stock Photo

The top result, in all it's varieties, (if we exclude time alone!) was time with you, the man in her life. For you to organise it all so she can be swept off her feet, away from her normal life to an afternoon, evening, or weekend of romantic together time....chaps...you heard it here first..now go get her.Your time, it's what she wants and it's almost (assuming no baby sitting fees) free. No excuse, have fun together. 

Huge thanks to the following bloggers for their candid input. Why not check out their blogs on Valentine's Day to see if all their dreams come true.

Geraldine at Jog On Mum

Nat at Handful of Halfpennies

Angela at Days in Bed

Emily at Emily and Indiana

Mum of Five Staying Sane

Emma at The Mini Mes and Me

Mary at Over 40 and Mum to One
Emma at The Cheshire Wife
Mother Under Measure
Amy at The Smallest of Things
Chantelle at Mama Mummy Mum
Zoe at A Beautiful Abode
Vanessa at A Happy Healthy Mummy
Carly at Mummy and the Chunks

DIY Emergency gifts - Post 40 Bloggers Writing Prompt

Post 40 Bloggers had a fun writing prompt this week.

Using only what is already in the house, you have been given one day to MAKE a gift for someone

Well I'm the sort of person that is always prepared, so the more I thought about it the more I realised I could rustle up something at fairly short notice. For a start we have a 'craft box' so I have all manner of odd bits and bobs like pompoms, coloured lolly sticks, pipe cleaners and coloured feathers. We have paper, card, paint, glue, felt and wool. I have a sewing machine and a laminator so the world is my oyster.

For simple gifts I could make a bookmark, designed and printed prettily on the computer or painted in watercolours and then laminated. I could make a felt bookmark, or a gorgeous felt strawberry keyring (Maggie at Red Ted Art taught me how to make one at Wilderness Festival).

DD and I are also pretty good at making a sock bunny, and in my sewing basket I still have a pair of (new) long stripey socks put aside for this purpose. So I could make a soft toy.

Super Sock Rabbit

I also have a larder full of goodies - we are notoriously overstocked in my house (prepared for a zombie apocalypse) -  so making simple fudge, peppermint creams or even a cake or biscuits would be simple!

Bacon and Maple syrup and whisky cakes

Ninjabread Gingerbread

I think I might even have some of those keyring blanks you add photos to, so I could thrill the mystery gift recipient with a picture of my face, or a cute motivational phrase printed across a sunset.

Along those lines a spare photo frame sprayed gold (fairly sure I have some paint knocking about in the garage, maybe not gold, red?) and then a printed phrase inside might be cute something like "I'm not weird, I'm special edition" in a pretty font would work too.

All in all I think I'm doing quite well for emergency gifts. I blame the years I spent as a Rainbow Guide leader..and years of Blue Peter as a child.

Could you make a gift from things you have at home now?

Gift Guide for men! (and ladies that like things men like..so for everyone really)

It was brought to my attention that a previous gift guide for handmade items was a little heavy on girly things. Jewelly and flowery fripperies and the like. So I promised a less girly list, for the less girly (such as me) and for the truly blokey.

So here are some gifts ideas.

How about the stunning and unusual Jord Wooden watch? I can vouch for their beauty (and their ability  to keep time - important in a watch!) and I often get comments on the interesting concept of a wooden time piece. Available in a variety of woods and styles, with the straps sized for your arm prior to shipping. I blogged about them here.

And one of my favourite websites, Flamingo gifts. I personally adore the quirky items they stock and think that these would make perfect gifts for men anyone.

Movie Night Beer Glass

Ninja Mug

Squirrel Keyring and key holder

I'll be honest - I'm in love with the squirrel! Absolute genius and functional too.

Or how about something from Not On The High Street, a company I've used before that always surprises me with ingenious and unusual things. I rather like these for example...

Marshmallow Toasting Kit

Smartphone projector and speaker set

But don't ignore some other sites that look like they are designed for kids, I'm thinking especially of Wicked Uncle who have some wicked gifts for the young at heart, things like...

Zombie Playing cards (with survival tips)

Hulk Smash Nightlight (what's not to love)

And the Great Gift Company has some great things too, from small stocking fillers to big main gifts like ...

Portable Turntable for your retro vinyl

or the rather fun

Twister Picnic Blanket

and if all else fails and you resort to socks, don't make them boring socks! Check out the Sock Shop for such gems as super hero socks (complete with capes!) or even X-ray socks.

Sockshop for wild (and ordinary if you insist) socks

A handmade Christmas (maybe just not by you) A Gift Guide

Every year I pick some sort of theme for a Christmas gift guide, and this year I decided to go with the personal feel of a handmade item. Small producers of special things for your special people.

I am a bit of a fan of Pinterest and its hilarious suggestions for making things, I say hilarious, because honestly, some border on the totally loopy, I even started a board there specifically for ideas that I felt were doomed to failure (such as making a chocolate bowl by drizzling melted chocolate over a balloon...I imagine the heat of the chocolate bursting the balloon leaving both the kitchen and the bowl creator covered in melted gloop...but I digress). To avoid any failure and yet still have something unique and special, while simultaneously helping 'the little guy' rather than a large corporation, why not try some of these options.

Let's kick of with some Fun Knitted Hats from ...Fun Knitted Hats! The clue is in the name, they are fun and knitted and are hats, pretty funny actually, how about buying a brain for the brainless one in the family? Or something more Christmassy? (Do you want to build a snowman?)  Check out Fun Knitted hats for more details.

Snowman hat from Fun Knitted Hats

Or if quirky and warm is not your thing how about something tiny and delightful from Crafty Bettie Brown, some really lovely models and jewellery in miniature, and she assures me she can make anything (!) You can see her work on her facebook page or buy things at her Etsy Store. I am a huge fan of tiny cakes, but there are some rather fine things on the Etsy page too, such as a Mr Toad cameo necklace. Lovely individual items.

Tiny Cakes from Crafty Bettie Brown

And tiny book for the secret reader

Too small for you? Ok then how about a fine Tartan teddy bear from BN1BrightonMum, who prides herself on not only teddies (which are gorgeous, suitable for adults as well as children and will surely brighten any room) but on fabric brooches too. Other bears also available and brooches in a myriad of colours. Check out the range at her Etsy Shop.

Tartan Bear from BN1Brightonmum

Have a small person to buy for? I can recommend the lovely Nic at The Daphne Tree and her Etsy shop of goodies, she will make beautiful applique items, baby onesies or tops, or even bunting and cushions (I love the toadstool one) Do have a browse, your baby (or a friend's baby) would look so dapper dressed in a hot air balloon T shirt , or contact Nic for a bespoke item!

T from The Daphne Tree

Cushion from The Daphne Tree

 
Something a little romantic? What about the shine of silver? I adore the jigsaw piece necklace at Argentology and the leaf is too pretty and delicate. At very reasonable prices for a unique silver piece they would be gorgeous gifts.

Jigsaw pendant from Argentology

Leaf Pendant from Argentology

 Something more colourful but still in the jewellery line, my twitter friend Allen makes lovely glass and semi precious stone items  and sells them via his Etsy shop. I simply adore the sea glass necklace (for the mermaid in your life?) and the autumnal hues of the Carnelian necklace would brighten a dark winter day.

Sea Glass necklace

Carnelian Necklace

Something for a Christmas stocking, or to post or for the book lover? I do love these sweet felt book marks and brooches from MysteryHM via her Etsy Shop. MysteryHM is pleased to make bespoke orders and loves geeky things especially! So if you need a book mark for a Pokemon fan or a Tardis brooch I think she may be the place to call!

Heart Brooch from MysteryHM

Snow White Book mark from MysteryHM

So there are some suggestions for you armchair shoppers that love a little something special. I hope you enjoyed the virtual tour and maybe found the perfect gift.

Evil Aunties and Wicked Uncles

I am not only a mummy, oh no, I am also an Auntie. I have two nieces, and several 'honorary' nieces and nephews, the sort where you are almost a mum to them because they are the kids belonging to your  mate. Though in my case many of these mates are now scattered across the UK and we don't see each other that much. I'm not an Evil Auntie though so I still like to send the little ones fun presents on their birthdays and at Christmas.

So I was happy to have the chance to review a website with the rather silly name of Wicked Uncle, for some reason I pictured a sort of Lemony Snickett character behind this enterprise but I needn't have worried, the website is neither gothic nor run down, it is fresh and clean and easy to use.

The premise of the site is simple, much like a wedding planner saves the bride from tearing out her hair over the organisation, Wicked Uncle does all the stressful gift giving for you, all you need to do is to choose (which Wicked Uncle helps with) and then pay and all is done.

Gift wrap, cards, messages, delivery all sorted, you can just sit back and bask in being the brilliant organised Aunt (insert the relative or friend of your choice) and wait for the thank you card to arrive. And arrive it will! Because Wicked Uncle have a rather genius option of a multichoice pre addressed thank you card, so  that all the little rapscallion needs to do is add a tick and a stamp and post it for you to be thanked!

I was so pleased with the site layout, while there are options for Boy/Girl searches, there is also a much more useful 'All' option and then the toys and gifts are sorted by type of recipient rather than gender, so you can search for categories like 'Brainiac' or 'Snuggly' or 'Outdoorsy' or 'Role play' and many more. Each category can be further sorted by age suitability, perfect for when you haven't seen the little darling in over a year. My favourite bit of the site were the little messages that pop up when you add things to your basket

And while obviously buying a glow in the dark zombie shark is super cool, the messages vary, always complimentary and always amusing.

The choice of toys and gifts is fantastic, from Zombie Brain Poppers at £7.99 to Poop Emoji Cushions (we all need one) at £12.95, and from Cuddly lanky cats at £12.95 to Story Cubes at £9.95 (I bought some of these, great for games around the campfire! and for bedtime) and so so many more, I loved the site and found navigating it really easy, I can't stress enough how simple it was!

Make your own super hero mask

I chose to have a couple of presents wrapped, and unlike some other online retailers, the wrapping price is not horrendous as it is only £2.95 with each additional present at £1.50 and there are lots of paper designs to choose from. And standard delivery is only £2.95 (though there is a speedier option too)

Robot Clock

The parcels can be sent out same day if you order before 4pm! so no excuse for belated birthday gifts. Personal messages can be added free of charge (handwritten by elves on the present label) or you can buy and add a card.

My parcel arrived in good time, with the excellent thank you card included (obviously if you have the gift sent direct to the child this makes more sense!)

I will be using the site again, it was so easy, such a great choice from baby to teen (and beyond if you have a silly sense of humour) from cheap small toys, classic wooden ones, to big main presents for the one child you really like ;-)

Inflatable Penguin snowboard!

I dare you to have a browse and not find something you just have to buy - perfect for Christmas. Go on, have a look.

Disclosure - I was sent vouchers to spend on the site - but I loved it so much I spent some of my own money too! The words and thoughts in this review are all my own work, typos and all.

Jord Wooden Watch Review

Yes. Really a watch, made of wood. No, neither had I. So you want to hear more about it? Of course you do!

I was contacted by Jord and asked if I'd like to try one of their wooden watches and review it. At first I was worried that as a UK blogger the lovely watch wouldn't be available to me (Jord are based in Missouri in the US) but it turns out that Jord are happy to ship all over the place and the UK is a pretty big customer.

When I ordered the watch via the website I was given the opportunity to have the watch strap sized so that it would fit straight out of the box, at no extra charge. As a woman with very small wrists this was great and I jumped at the change, the measuring was easy and I filled in the details and waited.

The watch arrived very quickly, beautifully boxed and tagged and I found it very easy to set the time and date. And of course it fitted, straight from the box. The watch looks and feels gorgeous. A luxuriously deep coloured wood (I chose cherry from the wide range of shades and wood types on the website) with red coloured dial and clear bright hour and minute markers. The bracelet style strap and the watch (including the back of the watch) are all wood, though the clasp is metal. The clasp style is secure and very simple to operate with one hand.

 

But the main thing about the watch is that it is so beautiful and gets admiring comments everywhere I wear it. Comments often start with "is that watch made of wood?" and then after the surprise everyone wants to touch it, try it on, feel it. And it's so light and comfortable too!

I have worn it to business meetings where it looked very stylish among the shiny flashy 'ordinary' watches (my husband says it looks classier than a Rolex) and I've worn it out walking in the woods where it blends with my brown and green walking gear and looks at home in the woodland environment ("Look, I whisper to the trees, one day you could be a watch and travel the world")

I love this watch, I think it's the sort of watch that most people would add to a gift wish list as it's not a cheap watch. But it is an elegant watch. With styles to suit men and women I think a wooden watch would make an excellent present, an unusual and practical choice.

Check  out all of the Jord Wooden Watch styles here

Disclosure - I was sent the Ely Watch in Cherry for the purposes of the review. The opinions are my own.

Valentine Gift Ideas - With Flamingo Gifts

I was recently made aware of Flamingo Gifts. A simply wonderful online retailer of all things lovely! I was almost instantly in love with the site and that love was set fast after they sent me some pretty things to play with!

I can't help thinking they are the perfect place to buy Valentines Gifts. They really do have something for every one. I decided to do a top ten, but it was hard to restrict my love of the goodies on offer to ten, so if you need to know what I really love, check out the new Pinterest Board I made just for Flamingo Gift products (yes they are that good!)

So here are my Top Ten Gift Ideas for the one you love (also suitable for birthdays, anniversaries and Christmas etc)

1. I'm going to start with a slushy romantic one but we all know that I will get silly soon. This is rather adorable though and would also make a lovely wedding present.At only £5.99 and 1p postage it's not going to break the bank either, so if you are on a budget you can still spoil your significant other.

And they lived happily ever after £5.99

2. Next is a more personal idea, something for the one you love rather than the home, and yes it's a teeny bit cheeky, perfect for holding business cards or little love letters, or even french letters (see what I did there?) The perfect gift for your mummy or daddy blogger other half?

Condoms pocket Box - £5.94

3. Next in my countdown of awesome gifts, the cute and practical Clippy bag - fill with your own photos (no downloading beard pics off the internet, laminating them and using them, that would be wrong, and I certainly haven't done that with mine!) to personalise it and make it the cutest Valentine ever, you could add little love notes too!

Clippy Photo bag - £8.00

4. Still on a bag theme (we can never have too many!) For the romantics how about a weekend bag? Let your loved one know you fancy a weekend away..or maybe that you are thinking of taking them on a quick get away (I hear Brighton is nice) Stylish and unusual, a really great bag!

Weekend Bag - £39.99

5. Or why not show your love that you want them to be your companion by buying them this super Tardis Shower curtain, I'm not convinced it will make your shower cubicle or bath bigger on the inside but you could try it out - let me know how many people you manage to squeeze in!

Dr Who Tardis Shower curtain - £24.99

6. Something beautiful for the beautiful one in your life? These bangles showered with tiny hearts are just adorable. Unusual and pretty they will set off any outfit (top tip - don't present your girlfriend with a jewellery box on Valentines day unless you are proposing marriage!)

Heart Bangles in gold plate - £16.99

7. If you have a real fire, or like to cosy around a garden fire pit then these mystical coloured fire dust sachets are just the romantic thing. 10 sachets for £12.99 with each sachet giving you around about 30 minutes of colour changing flames. So snuggly. Let your lover know they light your fire *nudge nudge*

Fire Changing Dust - £12.99 for 10 sachets

8. Ok how about something more light hearted - maybe you are only just into a relationship and you don't want to go all crazy yet..how about something bacon themed! Flamingo Gifts have so many awesome bacon flavoured and scented stuff I really don't know where to start - click the picture to see the range, honestly they are warped, they really love bacon...so...go bacon!

Bacon Candy  - £5.50

9. Oh and who could resist a retro tin to keep all those love letters, cinema tickets, photos and romance memorabilia in? Flamingo gifts have a beautiful range of Wu & Wu retro tins, from biscuit tins, sewing kits, tea and coffee tins to this colourful 'Special Things' tin...if you are feeling very flash why not pop two tickets to Paris inside...or a pizza voucher , your call.

Peacock Tin - £8.99

10. And finally for anyone pissed off at Valentines day and feeling pretty miffed and unloved, why not treat yourself to a gift. Flamingo Gifts stock a huge range of Lolita hand painted glasses at £16.99 they really are lovely (they sent me a tattoo themed one to try out!) Beautifully packaged and large enough to have a proper drink! Also pretty enough to use as decoration. Too nice to hide in a cupboard. Check out the range on the site. But this one, is just for you.

Single and Loving It Wine Glass - £16.99

Big thanks to Flamingo Gifts for letting me try some of their fab items, and I'm certain I'll be visiting often for gifts in the future. Such lovely things.

Do check the Pinterest Board for more of my favourites.