{christmas 2012} christmas gift guide - for her

1. Pastel Pocket Notebook - Aspinal of London

2. Union Jack truffles - Prestat

3. Good Time Gals mini - Benefit

4. Marc Jacobs, Daisy - House of Fraser

5. Scented candle - John Lewis

6. Abby Clements, Meet Me Under The Mistletoe - Amazon

As I was compiling this gift guide for all the dudes out there, I realised that women can be just as (if not more) difficult to buy for when it comes to Christmas. But fear not m'lovelies, for I also spent longer than I care to admit to searching for the ideal gifts for my sister, friends, mum, etc. and have now compiled it for your indulgence!

Although, I have to admit, this is less a list of things I want to buy for other people, and more of a 'Things Amy wants for Christmas, thank you very much' list. I already have the candle in a tin from John Lewis and love it, so I'll probably spread the scented love with the girlies in my life. That box of chocolates from Prestat also caught my eye in a big way and I'm hovering over the 'checkout' button as I type. The Benefit gift set blew me away - amazing products for such a small price, and I think a friend or two will be unwrapping it in a few weeks time!

Meet Me Under The Mistletoe by Abby Clements is another thing that I already have. The cover literally sparkles and called out to me from across the book shop! It's a great Christmassy read that I'm sure every girl in your life will love. The notebook from Aspinal is a favourite find of mine - they offer a free initial lettering service for selected products, which adds to the beautiful simplicity of their gifts. Oh, and can we just take a moment to appreciate the gloriousness that is Marc Jacobs' Daisy? It's incredible.

Hopefully, you've got slightly more inspiration for your present hunting sprees over the next few weeks. As always, feel free to let me know if you've got any other suggestions - I'd love to hear them!

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. I just happen to have fallen in love with all of the above!

{christmas 2012} christmas gift guide - for him

1. Breaking Bad box set - Amazon

2. Black print sweatshirt - River Island

3. Diesel, Only The Brave - John Lewis

4. Nando's gift card - Nando's

5. M&Ms dispenser - Asda

6. R2D2 USB hub - Find Me A Gift

Let's face it, men are almost impossible to buy for. I've wasted many hours fretting over what to get Valentine for his birthday, for Christmas, and indeed, for Valentine's Day. I can't stand the Christmas shopping rush so I've already started on my present buying (nieces and nephews done! sisters-in-law, done!). Last night, I found myself drifting through far too many online shopping sites and found some great gift ideas for the impossible men in my life. I thought I'd put some of my favourites all together for you to help give you a bit of early inspiration.

{christmas 2012} presents!

Valentine says someone's getting ahead of herself.

My mother says someone is a little bit too obsessed with Christmas.

My sister says someone is putting her complete lack of preparation to shame.

I say... The Coca Cola advert came on television the other night, which means it's now definitely okay to talk about Christmas!

I admit, I'm completely obnoxious and irritating and awful about Christmas. I may have driven Valentine to the point of distraction (or homicide) last week when I insisted that he sit down and write me a list of perfectly perfect Christmas presents for his nieces and nephews before completely disregarding the list (seriously, it was awful) and then just dragging him out to buy the presents. Don't worry, we both agreed on the finalised gifts. But there was some kicking and screaming on the way out...

But it wasn't enough for me to just buy the presents.

I had planned to hide them away somewhere in my house, far away from prying eyes.

There just isn't anywhere in my house that can't be accessed by prying eyes.

So armed with three different types of wrapping paper, unnecessarily beautiful pens (unnecessary because practically no one reads my well-thought out gift tags) and enough sticky tape to straighten out the leaning tower of Pisa, I got cracking with the wrapping!

I now can't move anywhere in my bedroom properly. The fear of a pile of presents cascading down from their not-so-safe resting places and burying me beneath shimmery, shiny, perfectly patterned paper has stopped me from even admiring my handiwork. But who needs to turn around anyway?

I seriously can't wait for Christmas!

In other news: The Oxford Street Christmas Lights are on! I shall post a few of my favourites soon!