Christmas Cards

Less and less people write actual Christmas cards, but I love writing letters and cards. Our family always creates a Christmas cards in a collage way with pictures from us. I have started making my own cards though, it's so much fun and the ideas are endless. I always offer a card making activity for our Christmas crafts morning at school. The first examples I'm going to show you are from the last two or three years. Some are made by myself, some by the kids. 

Lots of examples here. For most of them I used washi tape. The possibilities are endless with it and there are so many different types. I also used different kinds of ribbons. You can make lines, build a tree tec. And some ribbons have festive patterns on them, which give the cards a great effect. Then there are the finger prints. Probably some of my faves. I have a book full of different ideas and pictures you can make with finger prints. Of course there are also some christmassy ones. Here you can see Santa on his sleigh and some reindeer. I also use different kinds of stickers, stamps, stencils and punchers. Some gold and silver pens are great as well. 

The ones you see in these three pictures were all made by the kids at school. 

This year I found a great little video with new ideas: 

These are fabulous and so easy. I bought some glitter and got started, here are the results: 

Advent Calendars

When I was a child we had a great advent calendar. Mum hung up little bags/sachets in the kitchen. They had three different colours. One for my brother, one for me and one for the two of us together. It was always very exciting getting up in the morning and opening them. We got little presents like sweets or something small we really wanted. Of course we always had an advent calendar at school and I do it with my class as well. 

The one with my class at school, is the only one I had for years. From time to time I bought a chocolate one for home, but that's it. Getting into blogging also meant getting to know all these fabulous (beauty) advent calendars. 

I treated myself to the Rituals one this year and I couldn't be happier about it (details further down). I have bought a Kinder chocolate one for the kids at school and also received one with tea inside. There are so many out there, it's hard to choose one and I think a lot of them are just too expensive. On top of that we cannot get all of them in Switzerland, but that's ok. Most bloggers open them up beforehand to write a proper review. I didn't do that here, because I really want to be able to open a new door every day. Hence, why I cannot talk about the full calendars yet. A friend in the UK also has a book advent calendar, which is awesome. I looked into it, but unfortunately they don't ship to Switzerland. That would be a dream. 

I still wanted to include it in this post, so here we go: 

Book Advent Calendar - https://www.thebookadventcalendar.com

Doesn't it look and sound fabulous?! You can pick between 24 books or 12 books and they also have a kids version. I asked, whether they will start shipping them to other countries and the answer was yes. I kept on checking, but it was only UK and then it was suddenly out of stock. That was a bit disappointing to me. Nevertheless, I think it's a great present for a bookworm. 

Rituals - https://www.rituals.com

Rituals is one of my fave brands, so I really wanted to get this one. It's totally worth the money, there are so many great things inside. Some full sized and some travel sized, but I think it's worth way more than what I paid. The quality is great, it's pretty and every door has a little saying inside and the description of the product. I absolutely adore it. 

Ronnefeldt Tea - https://www.teeshop-ronnefeldt.com

A great mixture of teas, perfect for a tea lover. 

Kinder Chocolate - http://www.schokoadventskalender.com

These are so great for school and the kids love it! 

Gift Ideas for Her

Today I have the Gift Guide for her on the blog and tomorrow I'll do one for the guys as well. 

This one is not specifically just for the girlfriend, but also for mothers, friends, sisters, cousins etc. 

Chilly Bottles - https://www.chillysbottles.com

These bottle are brilliant, pretty and just great. they don't leak and they keep things warm or cold for 24 hours. There are so many designs available, I had difficulties make a decision. 

Rituals Gift Set - https://www.rituals.com/

These gift sets are fabulous! There are so many different ranges, you will find something for everyone. Shower foams, body lotions, body scrubs, bed mists, candles etc. So many choices. 

Phone Cases - https://idealofsweden.com

Women love a pretty phone case. I recently discovered iDealofSweden, they have great cases and so many choices and the quality is very good.

Books - Amazon, Waterstones etc. 

Books are always a great present, especially when you you the person loves reading. It doesn't even have to be a fictional book. How about the Hygge book?! :) 

Prints, Stationery, Planners etc. - Etsy, Anthropologie etc. 

Who doesn't love a lovely print or quote on the wall?! Planners and stationery go into the same direction. 

Obviously something personal is always a wonderful option too. Frame a photo, make a photo book etc. 

Gift Ideas for Him

Today I have the Gift Guide for him on the blog and yesterday I did one for the ladies as well. 

This one is not specifically just for the boyfriend, but also for fathers, friends, brothers, cousins etc. 

Rituals Gift Set - https://www.rituals.com/

These gift sets are fabulous! There are so many different ranges, you will find something for everyone. Shower foams, body lotions, body scrubs, bed mists, candles etc. So many choices also for men. 

Watches, wallets etc. 

They are classical and available in so many different styles and sizes. 

Sport related things 

Every guy likes some kind of sport: hockey, football, skiing etc. And there are so many possibilities for presents. It can be tickets to a game, a gift card for the fan shop, a calendar etc. 

Clothes

Men usually don't like going shopping too much. You can't go wrong with a jumper or scarf, especially if you know they person really well. You know their style, what brands they wear and what they like and that makes a decision easier. 

Obviously something personal is always a wonderful option too. Frame a photo, make a photo book etc. 

Things I Love About Christmas

Christmas is one of my fave times of the year, it's also the only time I actually like darkness, snow and the cold weather ;). 

There are so many things I love about Christmas, here the are: 

Christmas means family. I get to spend time with the people I love and I get to thank them for being awesome. It's wonderful to have everyone together and just enjoying the atmosphere. 

Christmas also means food, lots of food. I love baking Christmas cookie and of course eating them. Mulled wine is the best drink every and it keeps you warm. We always eat Fondue Chinoise (meat fondue) and of course there is lots more. Christmas is basically the excuse to eat a lot and I'm totally fine with it. 

The music and the movies. I like them and I get to listen to them day in day out and when it's over that's ok, because there have been a lot. After a 10 month break though, I'm happy to have them back. I like all kinds of Christmas songs and my fave movies are the Hallmark movies. It's actually a tradition to listen to Christmas music while decorating the tree. It's always so much fun. 

The movies I usually watch while baking and wrapping presents. 

I adore all the lights outside, they are so pretty and then I don't mind the darkness. The decorations inside just add to this. There are so many possibilities and I just love looking at them. 

I get to sleep in and enjoy my time off. 

I'm not really a winter girl, but snow around Christmas is fabulous and makes everything more festive. 

I get to wear my Christmas jumpers, yay!!! And no, mine are not ugly ;). 

What are your faveourite things about Christmas?!

Guest Post - Christmas Markets by Katey Lovell

For me it just wouldn’t feel like Christmas without a trip to the Christmas markets.  I love the traditional wooden cabins that pop up in city centres, overflowing with foods, gifts and handicrafts, but it’s the atmosphere that really gives me an injection of the Christmas spirit.  People are happy, enjoying gluhwein and churros and choosing out gifts for loved ones, as they’re wrapped up against the winter weather.  A mixture of scents dance on the air and fairy lights cast their magic spell.  It’s a full-on sensory experience.

In my latest novel Joe and Clara’s Christmas Countdown the pair visit the UK’s largest Christmas markets in Manchester.  Manchester isn’t far from my adopted home city of Sheffield so I’ve been to these markets a few times myself and always had a good time.  Although I’ve never come across a slightly strange candle-maker called Miranda like Joe and Clara do, I have wondered whether the Father Christmas over the entrance to the Town Hall is purposely designed to look like Zippy from ‘Rainbow’, so I guess you could say my experience influenced that particular chapter!

It’s been a few years since I’ve been to Lincoln’s Christmas market, but that was also a lovely day out.  There were so many fabulous stalls and I remember a particularly creative stall that had upcycled aluminium cans into gorgeous hanging decorations.

I’ve also enjoyed the Christmas markets in Rome’s Piazza Navona, Birmingham city centre and Sheffield and regardless of the city they never fail to get me in the festive mood.  If you’re going to a Christmas market this December I hope you have a fabulous time and I’d love to see your photos – you can contact me on Twitter and Instagram @katey5678 or via my facebook page www.facebook.com/kateylovell.

Merry Christmas!

Katey Lovell is the author of three rom-com novels.  Her latest release, Joe and Clara’s Christmas Countdown, is available now in ebook and paperback, published by HarperImpulse.