This year, I’ve been finding it hard to buy for people. It’s a good problem to have in a way because it means my closest friends and family are content and have what they need or want. Then there is Matt… well he is just a naughty pre-Christmas shopper. All the stocking filler ideas I had for him arrived in an ASOS parcel this weekend. New belt, new beanie, the obligatory new Christmas socks. I needed to rethink his gifts.
For the lovely ladies in your life; Nans, Sisters, Mums, Aunties, Friends. If there’s nothing that they particularly want this year, I have two gift ideas to help you treat them on a budget. Chocolates and flowers. A cliché, they may be, but for a good reason.
I had the arduous task of putting Hotel Chocolat’s H-Box though a rigorous testing procedure. Rumour has it that this is Matt’s Mum’s favourite brand and I can see why. They use more cocoa and less sugar than most chocolate brands, resulting in more complex flavours and to me, much much much better chocolate. The cherry on top is that they’re an ethical and fair grower, something that is often overlooked in the cocoa bean industry.
The Christmas H-Box has fourteen chocolates with all the flavours you’d expect; nutmeg, champagne, mulled wine… The winner for me was the gingerbread truffle, topped with a sprinkle of gold leaf.
This box is £12 which includes a personalised card inside. Order up until 6pm on the 19th December using the standard delivery option or if you’re in a squeeze order next day on the 23rd. You can also cheat entirely and have it beautifully gift wrapped.
Next, the Christmas flowers option which was gifted to me by Debenhams, in exchange for a 25% discount code for my readers. I chose to test the Festive Rose and Tulips (my favourite).
They’ve lasted well but the tulips did something I’ve never seen before. They grew, considerably! I trimmed them and put them in a vase as soon as they arrived and two days later, the tulips had grown a good two inches. Does that normally happen or is it just a sign of how fresh they still are? A quick trim soon tidied them up and they were nestled amongst the roses again.
This bunch works out around £23 with the discount code and comes with guaranteed named day delivery as standard. There are flowers at both ends of the scale; the Designer Gold Leaf is way more extravagant but the Festive Rouge sits at just £12.75 after discount. The order cut off for Christmas Eve flower delivery is 23rd December by 4pm. The code to grab you these bargains is: DFBLOG25
I hope this post helps you out if you’re looking for gifts still. As for Matt’s gifts, if you have any suggestions I’d love your help!
lucy Skerritt says
Yes, they do tend to keep growing and moving as they try to find the light. My mum used to tell me to cut them every few days until they die off.
Vicki Higham says
I can’t believe I had no idea that they did this- thank you! They’re my favourite flower but they never seem to last long at all once cut.
Chelsea Brown says
I love tulips, they are definitely my favourite. I’ve used your code to buy one of those “oh, I didn’t know you would get me anything” gifts! So thank you for that 🙂 x