Christmas 2020 Wish List

Can you believe it’s Christmas Eve already? We all say it don’t we? “This time next year we’ll be doing it all over again!” and here we are. 😛

Christmas this year is a strange one for all of us. Last year I wasn’t really in the right frame of mind for Christmas, but that was due to the mixture of excitement and nerves about going to Japan in January. My head was just in a space of preparing for the trip. This year at the time of writing this post (a few days prior to Christmas Eve) I’m not feeling festive… Not even with everyone’s (and my own) Christmas presents wrapped up in front of me, ready to be delivered to their homes. It’s obviously due to COVID but I’m hoping come Christmas Day both me and Dane will be feeling festive and merry as we cook our dinner together, drink as much as we feel in the mood for and just enjoy the day together… Which will be a first.

Christmas to me is about showing your loved ones how much they mean to you, and I don’t just mean with gifts. Christmas is a time of celebration and being together as a family, no matter how big or small. This year is different as some people may be on their own at home or with their small family and cannot be with bigger families this year. I’m sad not to see my parents this year, especially my mom after what a rubbish few months we have had. However, we have a plan and we know it’ll work. We’re just going to Facetime each other when we’re due to open each others gifts and have a drink, etc etc. It’ll be good. I’ve already spoken to my mom this evening (I’m not writing this on Christmas Eve!) and we’re happy enough with what we plan to do.

I have to say, my mom has sent two MASSIVE boxes… I wonder what she’s bought me… 😛

I want to add my yearly reminder here about taking care of yourself over Christmas. It’s really hard for people this year with COVID, but I’ve been there at Christmas where my mind is in a dark place and I’ve needed someone to talk to. You are not alone. I’m going to pop some contacts below for the UK of who you can reach out to this time of year. Please use them if you need to, they’re there to help. Plus, my DM’s are always open on Twitter (maybeecoffee) and Instagram (theremightbecoffeeblog) if you need someone to talk to.

Samaritans – 116 123 / samaritans.org

NHS Non-Emergency – 111 / 111.nhs.uk

Papyrus – 0800 068 41 41 / papyrus-uk.org

National Domestic Abuse Helpline – 0808 2000 247 / nationaldahelpline.org.uk

Mind – 0300 123 3393 or text 86463 / mind.org.uk

The Mix – www.themix.org.uk/get-support

Anyhoo – onto the wish list for this year! I want to add here, whether I received the items mentioned or not, I am always grateful for whatever I do receive. 🙂

• Yotsubato! Danbo Nendoroid (link)

Since our second Christmas together me and Dane have always bought each other Nendoroid’s for Christmas, which has ranged from just one, to four as the years have gone by. This year isn’t any exception BUT we know what character we’ve bought one another. However, I don’t know if Dane has bought me a surprise one… Which could be Danbo! This is a Nendoroid I was going to buy this when we were in Japan in January but I ended up leaving it. It’s from a manga that I haven’t read but have always meant to. Danbo is a cute cardboard box, but his eyes light up! Very cute and one I would love in my collection. 🙂

• Firebox/Smoko Tayto the Couch Potato Rechargeable Night Light (link)

Last Christmas and birthday Dane bought me some of the night lights from Smoko/Firebox, a dumpling and a bubble tea. They’re amazing pieces for our bedroom and are really bright. I often pop them on in the evenings when I want to relax and chill out. Plus they’re hella cute! So, when I saw that Firebox had the couch potato variant in stock, I knew I had to ask for it for Christmas this year! This is rechargeable too, whilst the ones he bought me last year need batteries, which is even better! 😀 I’m hoping he’s bought it me so I can add to my growing collection of kawaii night lights. 😛

• Pandora Japanese Akita Inu Dog Charm (link)

I usually ask for Pandora around Christmas and if I don’t ask, I usually get anyway… Usually from my parents. 🙂 I was asked if I wanted any jewellery this year and this is one of the first things that came to mind as it reminded of our mine and Dane’s trip to Japan this year in January. It’s hard to be gifted jewellery this year because, let’s face it… I’ve become a hermit in 2020 due to COVID and jewellery just isn’t something I’ve really worn for most of this year. 😦 This charm is really cute though!

• Pikachu Resin Mold (link)

As I’ve mentioned briefly on my blog this year, both me and Dane got into working and making resin pieces this year. Something Dane asked me if I wanted as gifts were resin molds, as at the moment I don’t really have many and would love more to experiment and play with! I’ve been after the Pikachu resin mold for a while and it’s one that I definitely added to my Christmas list! I have so many ideas of keyrings I could make and that does include the standard yellow Pikachu we all know and love. 😛

• Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid The Complete Series Blu-ray (link)

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid is one of my favourite manga and anime series and it’s thanks to Dane that I actually discovered it when I did. I was having a nose around Amazon and noticed that you can buy the series on Blu-Ray now! :O I know season 2 of the show has been delayed due to what happened to Kyoto Animation in 2019. I would love to receive this for Christmas to binge watch over the festive period, as well as for my birthday less than a week after New Year. I do love receiving anime Blu-Ray for Christmas. 😛

• PunfunStudio Eeveelution Heart Shaker Resin Mold Set (link)

The final item I want to mention on my wish list for Christmas time and it’s another resin mold, however this is a set and it’s actually something that arrived today and Dane has given to me early. I sent him the link for this resin mold set that contains all nine of the Eeveelutions (Eevee, Vaporeon, Jolteon, Flareon, Espeon, Umbreon, Leafeon, Glaceon and Sylveon) holding a heart. These are shaker resin molds though! So when you work on them you can pop some glitter, beads etc inside and then pop oil in, cover with a plastic film to seal everything in place and hey presto! You have a shaker keyring/charm. However, I think I’ll be making dry shaker charms to start off with, just to get used to how they work and such. 🙂

So, that is everything that I added to my Christmas wish list this year! That list would have just been something I gave to Dane to give him ideas for Christmas. I don’t tend to do this for my family, his parents etc. They tend to get me surprises, or ideas Dane has given them.

Whilst I may always show you guys my wish lists for Christmas every year, I always get excited to give my gifts to Dane, my parents and loved ones/friends. I’m excited to see their faces when the get their gifts and tomorrow will be no exception, especially with Dane… Who has been bloody spoilt this year. 😛

What do you guys have on your wish lists this year for Christmas? Realistic and non realistic. Unicorns can be included. 😉

I just want to finish off this blog post by saying – MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope you all have a lovely day, even with the circumstances and get to see your loved ones online if not in person. 🙂

Until next time all, again Merry Christmas! 🙂

Christmas Tag 2020

Image taken from GIPHY

Christmas is now less than a week away and you know what? I have zero festive spirit behind me and it kinda sucks. SO, I thought I would have a go at being festive in the run up to Christmas and found this Christmas tag online! I’m going to nominate everyone who reads this post to give this tag a go themselves!

I think I’m not feeling festive due to a mixture of COVID, age and especially due to the loss I experienced in September. So, I would really love to get into the festive spirit now… Especially with Christmas just around the corner. I really hope you guys enjoy the tag and take part in it too!

Image taken from GIPHY

What’s your favourite Christmas movie?

This is quite an easy one and it’s hands down Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. I just fell in love with the film more so than the original one… But I do love Home Alone just the same! I just found it to be the perfect Christmas film growing up, but I also loved watching it throughout the year too. It’s usually the first Christmas film I stick on in the year and this year it was kind of different to the other times I’ve watched it. I found myself questioning a lot of what happened and it made me laugh! A couple of runner ups here are Jingle All The Way and The Grinch (the one with Jim Carrey).

Have you ever had a white Christmas?

I don’t remember to be perfectly honest with you… I know in 2017 we had snow just before Christmas which was amazing! I literally had to Google when we last had a white Christmas in Birmingham and apparently it was 2010… But I cannot remember that for the life of me. 😛

Where do you usually spend your holiday?

Mostly at home now, but me and Dane tend to change it up each year and go to each others families together Christmas Day. However I think after this year we’ll be staying at home all day. I like to be able to cook our Christmas dinner together but then we tend to have to “rush” and then go out not long after eating. It’ll be nice not to have to rush around this year.

What’s your favourite Christmas song?

Paul McCartney – “Wonderful Christmastime” and Slade – “Merry Christmas Everybody” are two that always come to mind. I do like “Last Christmas” as well BUT I overheard it so much one year that I can’t stand when I hear it now. This year, as of yet I haven’t listened to ANY Christmas songs yet and I’m happy with that… 😛

Do you open any presents on Christmas Eve?

Not really to be honest with you, we like to wait until the big day to open our gifts for one another. We get breakfast, snuggle up in bed and exchange gifts. I’m quite excited for Dane to have his presents this year as I’ve really spoilt him. 🙂

Image taken from Sugar Bunny Shop – You can pre-order the Santa’s Reindeer Wood Ornament Garland now!

Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?

Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Comic Blitzen, Rudolph (of course) and Vixie? I know there’s more but I can’t think of them… *Googles* Prancer, Dancer, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Dasher, Vixen, Blitzen, and Rudolph! I got five out of nine so I didn’t do toooooo badly! 😛

What holiday traditions are you looking forward to this year?

We don’t really have any to be perfectly honest with you… I think one we’ve really gotten now is the whole, breakfast in bed and opening presents together. 🙂

Is your Christmas tree real or fake?

It’s fake. I’d buy a real one but our living room isn’t big enough for it… Although I have always wanted a tiny one to keep on the table OR by the front door over December. Maybe next year. 🙂

What’s your favourite holiday food/treat/sweet?

I’m a sucker for the dinner to be honest with you. I love sweet ham over Christmas with pigs in blankets, massive Yorkshire puddings, my mom’s gravy (mines good but it will never beat hers!) and crispy AF roast potatoes. 😀 I’m cooking lamb this year. The first Christmas we did at home (2018) the meat I cooked wasn’t good and it was such a shame, so I’m giving it another go this year in the hopes it’s really yummy! 🙂

Be honest. Do you prefer giving or receiving gifts?

Giving gifts. I love being able to buy gifts for people who either won’t buy the item in question for themselves, or surprise them with something I know they would love and appreciate but don’t actually know about and such. Plus it’s always nice to buy a gift and see someone’s face light up. 🙂 I especially love when I see Dane open his gifts, as well as my mom.

Christmas 2018 – Olivia Burton fox snow globe watch from my mom.

Christmas 2013 – Cinnamon the German Market fox from Dane.

What’s the best Christmas present you’ve ever received?

One that comes to mind is my Olivia Burton fox snow globe watch. My mom bought this for me in 2018 and I still love it so much. As the little crystals move around inside it’s one I always stare at during meetings at work and when I’m out and about… However, I haven’t worn it much this year due to lockdown but before COVID existed I was wearing this all the time! She even got my name etched on the band too, which is a really nice touch. I may try and get a replacement band at some point soon as the one I have at the moment is looking tired.

Alongside that there is also one of the presents I received from Dane when we had our first Christmas together – this little fox plushie. I don’t think we’ve been to another Birmingham German Market together since 2013, but whilst we were there we walked past a stand that sold plushies. I saw this cute little fox and Dane bought it for me straight away. I still own this plush to this day and it’s now in my plushie cupboard, where he belongs! It just always reminds me of Dane and how excited I was for Christmas with him. For a very long time I’d hated Christmas, but when he came into my life he really made me feel better about this time of year. P.S. We called my little fox Cinnamon. 🙂

What’s your dream place to visit for the holiday season?

Japan, for sure! I would love to go to see how festive it would be, have a KFC for Christmas dinner and if possible stay somewhere like a private onsen where we could spend the evening in and out of the hot bath, eat yummy food and just relax together and exchange presents. It might be something I suggest to Dane in the future for sure. 🙂 I’d only want to go for a week, maybe ten days at a push so we can enjoy the festive period together.

Are you a pro present wrapper or do you fail miserably?

I’m in-between. Before I met Dane I used to fail miserably as I never really concentrated or had as much to wrap as previous. I feel especially since we moved in together I spend a bit more time on my wrapping and whilst I’m not a pro, I’m definitely better! I’ve watched how my dad and one of my friends wrap their presents and they’re definite pros! They take their time, make lots of folds and more and their gifts look to good to open. 🙂

1995 – My parents bought me the Pocahontas Braided Beauty doll for Christmas when I was five. Image taken from Amazon.

What’s your most memorable Christmas memory?

Mmm… I don’t know to be perfectly honest. There’s a couple that stand out but I always love to share this one…

When I was five Pocahontas came out and I fell in love with that film (still one of my favourites!) and my parents made sure to buy me plenty of Pocahontas presents that Christmas. I received a cute red jumper/sweater with Pocahontas on, that I LIVED in for as long as I can remember. They also bought me the Pocahontas braided beauty doll which I LOVED! It came with Pocahontas doll as well a a braiding tool that looked like Meeko. I loved Meeko and my parents knew that, but I imagine there weren’t any specific Meeko toys and this was close enough. PLUS I had long hair growing up, that my mom would braid for me, so I imagine she saw this when shopping in Toys R Us and bought it because it was all the things I loved. 🙂 It was clearly a thought out gift for me as a kid. 🙂

What made you realise the truth about Christmas?

I remember I had written a letter for Father Christmas as a kid, as well as drew some pictures of Rudolph and Father Christmas. I knew it was my dad when I woke up the next day to read, “Well done!”, “Great picture!” and “Merry Christmas” on each picture and the letter I wrote. I know my dad’s writing and it was the same. It was from then on I knew who was really delivering my Christmas presents and who they were from. I’d had my suspicions for a while and I’m pretty sure the year before I’d seen my dad putting presents in my room as I turned in my sleep and was half awake.

What makes the holidays special for you?

Being with people I love and making them smile. Obviously yummy food and being merry is always good too, BUT it is definitely about making people happy and being around the people who make you happy. I’m sad that I can’t see my parents properly over Christmas. They’ll be driving over to my house next week to drop off gifts and have a chat from the front door to their car at the end of the drive. This year has been hard for my family due to our loss in September and I especially feel for my mom this year. I just wish I could give her a hug and a kiss when exchanging gifts and more. I know the time will come where we can ALL make up for lost time… But it’s just really hard this year.

So, there we have it! The Christmas Tag! It’s kind of started getting me into the Christmas spirit this afternoon whilst answering the tag questions and to be honest with you guys, I hope I get more and more festive as the time goes on.

This evening I’m actually going to host a mini “German Market at home” for me and Dane. I’m making hot dogs (not the nasty shit in the jars!), fries and instead of hot chocolate, I’m going to serve chocolate cake with Bailey’s!

I’m super excited for it and I just hope it goes down well. 🙂

How are you all feeling about Christmas this year? Especially with COVID. Me and Dane will be staying at home throughout the festive period, including New Year to stay safe at home. I hope my readers will be doing the same…

Please let me know what you are most excited about this year in the comments. 🙂

Until next time guys, please stay safe during these times and see you soon.

HUGE Shop Small UK Guide – Christmas 2020

Can you believe there is only 18 days until Christmas? Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? I’m awful this year and I’m not done. I usually have all my gifts bought by now, but alas I still have my parents to buy for.

This year I wanted to do a gift guide, but not my usual one aimed at the geeks, otaku and kawaii fans, beauty, fashion etc etc. I wanted to instead focus on small companies/independent artists/businesses who need our support more than ever due to COVID and it’s affects from lockdowns here in the UK.

First of all, I’m only speaking about the UK as with a Twitter poll a couple of weeks ago, it’s what you as the readers voted for. However at the end of the post I will mention who you can shop small with all over the world too.

I’m going to add all sorts of categories here, not just geek, kawaii, otaku related. I’ll be talking about beauty, home, geek, Japan related, food and more! I want to try and talk about as much as I can, so when you need ideas for Christmas gifts you have lots of choice. I will also mention the last date to order for Christmas too if you’re in the UK. Please bear in mind with the COVID situation and Christmas on the horizon, Royal Main is struggling a little, so if you want to order, order as soon as possible!

Let’s get started! I really hope you guys enjoy this post. 🙂

Image taken from GIPHY

Geeky/Kawaii

Image taken from Jennifairy Illustration

Jennifairy Illustration – Creating cuties to make you smile. Enamel pins, stickers and keychains, all inspired by cute animals, video game characters and more.

Last date to order for Christmas – 14th December. However, if order after this date it could still get there but that can’t be promised. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

Jennifairy Illustration is an independent artist/store I have spoken about on my blog since 2017 and I knew they were one of the first places I wanted to speak about today! Jennifairy has a range of products – enamel pins, stickers and keychains. Her style is incredibly cute and kawaii and the designs make me smile whenever I see them, both on her store and in my home. If you know someone who loves cute animals and certain characters from popular video games, then they will love to open a cute design from Jennifairy. Christmas wise you can pick up some gingerbread friends or even a Christmas Pikachu, with a Santa’s hat and a cup of coffee. There are loads of different designs to choose from, there is something for everyone.

Image taken from Littlest Spook Shop

Littlest Spook Shop – We put the Oo in spooky! Cute spooky ghost prints, mugs and other items to choose from!

Last date to order for Christmas – Currently Littlest Spook Shop is looking to close 9th December.

Halloween isn’t just once a year with Littlest Spook Shop. I discovered them around Halloween this year and I love their spooky ghost designs. They’re so damn cute and spoopy and I’m down for that. I regret not ordering some of their Christmas cards this year to be honest, but there’s always next year. If you know someone who celebrates Halloween all year around then a print (or two!) from Littlest Spook Shop may just be for them! Not only do they sell prints but they also sell mugs, tote bags, enamel pins and patches so that spooky friend or family member can show off their love of ghosts and all things spooky all year around! The Always Cosy Club spooky print shouts out to me so much. During the colder months I’m like that little ghosty.

Image taken from FoxLeap

FoxLeap – Kawaii designs inspired by Disney and Japanese characters from films and video games.

Last date to order for Christmas – Not known at time of writing post.

FoxLeap is an independent artist/store I love buying enamel pins from. They’re adorable and there is always something in the store I want to pick up, including the Jiji enamel pin which I may need to order myself as a treat for writing this post. 😛 There is something for everyone when it comes down to FoxLeap including designs inspired by Disney (especially The Lion King series!), Pokemon, Studio Ghibli, Wolf’s Rain, Okami and more. Anyone who loves enamel pins will really love to receive a FoxLeap design and honestly they probably already know of FoxLeap’s existence. Not only do they make and sell enamel pins but they also sell prints, t-shirts, stickers, enamel pin flags, tote bags and more so there is plenty to choose from!

Image taken from NaomiLordArt

NaomiLordArt – A freelance artist who creates adorable prints inspired by animals, magical creatures, witches, Goddesses, Critical Role and more!

Last date to order for Christmas – Orders will be shipped until the shop closes for Christmas on 20th December. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

Guys you know me I love kawaii animals, especially foxes and that is something NaomiLordArt does so bloody well! I mean, look at them cute seasonal fox designs! I feel anyone of any age will love a little stocking filler that involves one of the many designs that NaomiLordArt has on offer. Plus if you and your friends are fans of Critical Role, she’s drawn all of the gang and put it onto a print, which you can find here. I feel NaomiLordArt would be perfect as items to gift children, teenagers and anyone who loves prints and stickers. I’ve gifted my best friend goodies from there before that were surrounding Star Wars and Harry Potter. There are also RPG class animal stickers and prints too, so if you play in a D&D group and are taking part in a D&D themed Secret Santa, these would make perfect gifts alongside some dice.

Image taken from GIPHY

Japanese Snacks

Image taken from Something Japanese

Something Japanese – UK based online shop that sells the best things from Japan! Chocolate, Candy, Collectables, Otaku Goodies and much much more.

Last date to order for Christmas – December 21st. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

Something Japanese is a store I have bought from for about five years now and they are really good! I especially love to pick up the Japanese snack boxes from them as they’re always an amazing price for how many Japanese sweets and treats you get. I ordered the Halloween one and it was amazing and I’ve ordered the Christmas Japanese Candy Box too. This might make for an amazing gift to someone who loves Japanese sweets and treats and who may also miss Japan or want to visit Japan. COVID has prevented travelling to Japan for a lot of people and I know a lot of my friends who missed out on their trips this year. This would make for a nice treat to open Christmas Day. Something Japanese does sell other items too and separate sweet treats so make sure to check that out too.

Image taken from Tofu Cute

Tofu Cute – A UK kawaii shop that sells all sorts of cute and unique Japanese snacks, plushies, accessories, stationery and other goodies.

Last date to order for Christmas – Not known at time of writing post.

Tofu Cute is a store me and my boyfriend often order our Japanese sweets from as they’re great prices and they always seem to have the goods that Japan get at the same time. Not only do they stock sweets but also drinks as well! We’ve bought many bottles of ramune and Pokemon fizzy drinks from Tofu Cute and they’ve all been enjoyed! Think my favourite thing I’ve ever bought from Tofu Cute are the Melty Kiss chocolates. They’re to die for and would make an amazing gift for someone’s stocking this Christmas. 🙂

Image taken from GIPHY

Home

Image taken from Cushty Co Twitter page

Cushty Co – Handmade home fragrance. Scented soy wax melts beautifully crafted with sprinkles of glitter and careful colouring. Vegan friendly.

Last date to order for Christmas – Monday 14th December – Store will close at 5pm. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

Cushty Co are my go to for wax melts and I’ve ended up buying so many this year! Their autumn/Halloween collection being my favourite to date. If you know someone who loves burning candles and wax tarts like me, Cushty Co are a great place to check out. They do LOADS of different scent varieties and three different sizes of wax so the choices are huge. They currently have their Christmas/winter scents in stock and I have all of them! They’re absolutely amazing and if you know someone who loves Christmas and wishes it could be everyday, then some of the Christmas/winter scents will be right up their street. Not only do Cushty Co sell wax tarts, but they also sell room sprays too, which I’m yet to try. If you know someone who loves Lush then they’ll love Unicorn Dreams which smells exactly like Snow Fairy and Nightfall which smells exactly like Twlight.

Image taken from Bubble Baskets UK/Books Baths and Beauty

Bubble Baskets UK/Books Baths and Beauty – Lovingly Custom made 3D printed Bubble Baskets.

Last date to order for Christmas – 17th December if ordering a pink, black or ombré bubble basket. 14th December if ordering a custom colour. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

I recently decided to buy myself a bubble basket from Books Baths and Beauty as I’ve wanted one for over a year now and as my bathroom was redone in the summer, I’ve finally been indulging in bath products and having bath cocktails more. It arrived over the weekend I’ve used it a few times since. It’s really good and if you’re like me and use bubble bars, shower gels and more to create bubbles, then this is for you! They’re made with a 3D printer and are sturdy and amazing! 😀 If you know someone who loves taking baths and using the same products as I do, this will be perfect for helping them create lots of bubbles! Teenagers will love this, as well as mermaids.

Image taken from GIPHY

Beauty

Image taken from The Bath Bae

The Bath Bae  –  Handmade bath treats to make you glow inside and out. Vegan and cruelty free!

Last date to order for Christmas – Monday 21 December at 3pm Royal Mail Tracked 48 or Tuesday 22 December at 3pm Royal Mail Tracked 24. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

I recently made my first order with The Bath Bae and honestly – I have zero regrets. They focus on bath bomb products in various different varieties and scents so there is plenty to choose from! So far I’ve only tried the bath cubes and they are amazing, perfect for anyone of any age. You can pick up bath sparkle, sparkle rocks, bath cubes and bath soak. These would make great stocking fillers for teenagers and anyone who loves a good soak in the bath. My favourite scent from them so far is Oh So Slushie, which reminds me of Tango Ice Blast slushies from the cinema.

Image taken from Happy Melon

Happy Melon – Handmade beauty products made in small batches and packed with cuteness, colour and yummy fragrance. Cruelty free!

Last date to order for Christmas – Restock this Sunday (13/12/2020) and as items sell out quickly, there isn’t really a last date to order for Christmas.

Happy Melon is a brand I discovered this year and bought from during their last restock. If you know someone who loves their beauty and bath products and for them to be as colourful as possible, Happy Melon is a good indie brand for this! They have a wide variety of products including bubble bath, lip sugar, perfume oil, bath soak (snuggle soak), sugar scrub and more! One of the bubble baths I own is a Lush Snow Fairy dupe (Sabrina bubble bath) and it’s one of my favourite products to use after a long day. Plus a little goes a long way and this stuff lasts AGES! One of the products I am excited to try soon is the Pop Kei Snuggle Soak, which smells just like Tango Ice Blast slushies! It would work so well with the slushie bath cubes from The Bath Bae. Again this is a great brand for teenagers due to how colourful everything is and maybe even children too due to how colourful and sparkly the bubble baths are.

Image taken from Hex Bomb

Hex Bomb – Divine handmade gothic beauty products for dark sweets hearts. Creator of the first black bath bomb! Cruelty free and vegan!

Last date to order for Christmas – 21st December. If you want to guarantee item(s) to arrive for Christmas order as soon as possible.

Hex Bomb is a brand I have always wanted to try since the Black As Your Soul bath bomb came out. I’m yet to try it still and plan to buy it in the near future! I’ve mentioned some colourful and kawaii beauty indie brands so far, so I wanted to through a gothic, dark brand in there for good measure. I love me a dark bath, it reflects who I am inside and this brand would be perfect for any goth friend or relative out there! Not only do they make bath bombs but Hex Bomb also sell shower gel, soap, scrub, lip balm, perfume oil AND even wax melts for your home. If you aren’t sure what to buy that gothic beauty in your life (because Hex Bomb have a lot of variety!) you could always pick up one of their gift boxes which contains a variety of products. If you want to see a review (or two) of Hex Bomb make sure to go and check out my great blogger friend Raiin Monkey’s blog posts here.

Image taken from GIPHY

Honourable Mentions

Geek/Kawaii – Quirkory – Due to being based in Italy, they didn’t qualify for this shop small post. However, I couldn’t not mention them! They sell enamel pins, stickers and prints inspired by Japanese video games and cute animals.

Geek/Kawaii – Claire Likes To Doodle – The reason I didn’t mention my friend Claire and her store is because she got a post allllll to herself recently! Which I am going to link here. 🙂

Geek/Kawaii – 1 In 100/One In Hundred – A local Brummy like myself, Alex over at 1 In 100 has some amazing designs on her store and you can buy items from clothing, badges, keyrings, stickers, prints, stationary and more. I keep meaning to pick up some of her Japan inspired prints. Check them out here and here.

Geek/Kawaii – Chibi Shibby – May have bought a Christmas present from one of my favourite artists… 😉 Shibby recently reopened her store and has filled it was gorgeous kawaii goodies! There’s also some Christmas related goods in there too.

Geek/Kawaii – Lunaticgumis – Due to being based in Gran Canaria, they didn’t quality for this shop small post. However, I am planning to write about them on my blog very very soon! 😀 They sell stickers as well as amigurumis (Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small, stuffed yarn creatures). They stock Bee and Puppycat designs WHICH I LOVE!

Geek/Kawaii – Taiyakiblue – This store is joint owned by tattooists senseoftheterrific and tubbybeartattoo. They stock clothing, prints and even some keyrings and pins made out of resin. They’re both inspired by geeky/kawaii themes such as D&D, Studio Ghibli, Dragonball Z, Moomins, Adventure Time and more. I’ve purchased a Christmas present from them and plan to buy prints in the future! I love their style so much.

Bath – Bath Bake Love – No restock until after Christmas where there will be lots of enchanted teasers for the New Year Wonderland and plenty of goodies in January!

AND THERE WE HAVE IT! My HUGE shop small Christmas shopping guide for the UK!

What do you guys think? I wanted to try and cover as much as I could and I like to think I’ve done that quite well. In the future I may pop up with some of these after Christmas, just as good shopping guides throughout the year for birthday’s and more!

Honestly guys, I hope you enjoyed this post today as much as I enjoyed writing it. I’m off work for the week and the first thing I knew I wanted to do was to write this post.

Are there any small shops in the UK that you feel I should know about? Make sure to let me know and I’ll take a look for next time!

Until next time, take care all and I hope you had a lovely weekend. 🙂

Christmas 2019 Wish List

Last Christmas I decided to do a wish list post about what I wanted as a teenager for Christmas in comparison to what I wanted now. I would love to do something like this now, but I honestly don’t think I can top what I did last year. That post was perfect and I loved it so much!

This year when I’ve been asked what I’d like for Christmas, it’s been kinda hard to decide… With our trip coming up soon I’m trying to save a lot of money for that and when it comes down to having anything for myself, I honestly can’t think of anything I want… So this year has been tough.

Not just for myself, but I’ve struggled to buy Dane’s Christmas presents this year! I wanted to make sure he had loads of exciting things to open, that he wouldn’t even think of buying himself, so I hope he loves what he’s been gifted with! 😀

Anyhoo, my list is very geeky and Japan heavy! 😛

• Nintendo Switch Taiko no Tatsujin.

This is a game I have wanted for quite a while now and I’m pretty sure it’s one I have mentioned on my blog from time to time on wish list posts. I am putting it on here for Christmas as I STILL want it! This is a game I have tried the demo of and loved, it was fun and I could see myself playing it both on my Switch Lite as well as on Dane’s Switch console with the drum attachment. I’m not crazily after it, but it would be nice to have. Sadly, it isn’t cheap and whenever I found it cheap I just couldn’t justify it. 😦

• Nintendo Switch Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires’ Conspiracy.

This is a game I discovered not long after I bought my Switch Lite back at the start of November and it’s one I am intrigued by. I do enjoy puzzles games and the Layton games are always a series that has intrigued me, but one I just never invested in… I have a feeling this is a gift I will be receiving for Christmas, which will be really nice! I always love getting games for Christmas as it’s sort of a tradition. My parents or brother(s) would always buy me a game for my console of choice at the time, so I always loved spending Christmas and Boxing Day playing them.

• Juniper: The Happiest Fox 2020 Wall Calendar.

Dane always buys me a calendar for the year ahead, no ifs or buts. It’s definitely a tradition we have now and it’s one I love! For a while he always bought me a Simon’s Cat calendar, then for a time it was Pusheen and now we have settled onto Juniper! I love foxes and Juniper is a fox I especially love, alongside her brother Fig, who is in this calendar! I can’t wait to write loads of stuff on it already of everything we have coming up during 2020.

• PlayStation 4 Persona 3 and 5 Endless Night Collection.

This isn’t a gift I’m SUPER psyched about having, but due to my love of the Persona series, it is a game I would enjoy having to play at home! It includes both the Persona 3 and Persona 5 dance games on the PS4, as well as a download code for the Persona 4 dance game for PS4 too! I actually already own this on the PS Vita, but having it on the PS4 would be so much better.

• Nichijou Manga Volume 9 and 10.

This is a manga series that now seems to have finished on volume 10. I only need 9 and 10 to finish my series for Nichijou, which is a manga (and anime series) that I love! This is a manga series that Dane has bought me since we got together and I do love receiving these from him each Christmas. I doubt very much I will get them this year, but even so in 2020 I will definitely pick these up for myself.

• Nendoroid Figures:
• Star Wars Han Solo
  
• Star Wars Luke Skywalker
• Star Wars Rey
• Star Wars BB-8
• Star Wars Princess Leia

I always ask for a Nendoroid figure (or two) during Christmas and my birthday, but this year I REALLY struggled! I’ve either pre-ordered or own the Persona 5 series and some I want are hard to find now. I do hope I get one, maybe even two of the Star Wars Nendoroid figures. Apparently I do have a Nendoroid figure for Christmas… But I can’t for the life of me think which one it could be!

I think that’s about it for my Christmas wish list this year! I feel like I’ve been rather boring, but to be honest I have been a bit stumped on what I would like for Christmas with my trip to Japan looming.

I’ve also struggled to buy for people this year for so many reasons! It’s really sucked to be honest. xD

What do you have on your Christmas lists this year? Jesty ideas are welcome too (aka new car, a pet etc).

Until next time, Merry Christmas all and I hope you have a lovely day whatever you do. 🙂

Christmas Gift Guide 2019 – Animal Crossing

Image taken from GIPHY

Do you (or someone you know) love Animal Crossing?

Would you (or someone you know) love to receive an Animal Crossing themed gift for Christmas?

Last question – are you (or someone you know) excited for Animal Crossing: New Horizons in March 2020?

If you answered yes to any of the above, then this is the perfect Christmas gift guide for you, whether it’s for a friend or even yourself!

I am a massive Animal Crossing fan and it’s by far one of my favourite franchises to date (alongside Pokemon and Persona 5) so I am always on the hunt for merchandise, whether it be to treat myself or even ask as gifts over the festive period.

With Animal Crossing: New Horizons almost 3 months away, I thought I would do a gift guide on what to buy your Animal Crossing obsessed friend… Or maybe you could get some ideas for yourself to hint to your loved ones.

Items mentioned here may be owned by myself already, or items that I’m even lusting after myself. I hope you enjoy this gift guide! 😀

• SarahDandh The Roost Mug – (link) – (link to review on my blog)

This mug is by far one of my favourites that I own. I’ve only owned it for a couple of months and I use it quite a lot in comparison to some of my older mugs. It’s a gorgeous design with so much detail and since I’ve discovered it and shared it with friends, it has generated a lot of attention, which is always lovely. Due to the locaton of SarahDandh being in Spain, delivery may take a little longer… But in all fairness it didn’t take too long for mine to arrive and you can always email the seller and ask. She’s so lovely to talk to and I’m sure she would be more than happy to help! 😀

• Various stationary from washi tape, stickers and notebooks.

If there is something I am obsessed with, it’s stationary! I really do love it and personally I also find it to be the perfect gift if you want to give little gifts to blogger/online friends, or even stocking fillers for friends and teenagers. I thought I would share loads of stationary that I love the look of from sellers on both Etsy and Redbubble.

• PolymerNai washi tape (link)
• ShatteredStore washi tape (link)
• Tinkalila washi tape (link)

I don’t actually own any washi tape myself, but it’s something I have always wanted and still do! The Animal Crossing ones above that I found on Etsy are gorgeous, especially the one by ShatteredStore!

• minkandmango stickers (link)
• ncdoggGraphics K.K. Slider sticker (link)
• CobaltCity16 Goldie and Lucky sticker (link)

I can’t get enough of stickers! I want all of the ones mentioned above, especially he Goldie and Lucky sticker, seeing as they’re my two favourite characters from Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp.

• KnightNick Celeste spiral notebook (link)
• CactusCatArt yellow hardcover journal (link)
• GSunrise Isabelle spiral notebook (link)

If there is one gift I always love to receive for Christmas it’s a notebook or journal, especially one with a print on that I love! These notebooks and journal are gorgeous, with my favourite being the Celeste galaxy one. 😀

Image take from diyCrossing

• diyCrossing Music Box Set – (link)

Not only does diyCrossing sell cross stitch patterns, but they also sell cute little music boxes and music strips with music from Animal Crossing. This is something I have asked for for Christmas myself, as it would make for a cool little thing to have on my collection. You can pick from 7 designs which are all based on the game, as well as various music strips to choose from. You can even choose a design you would like for your music strip too! I love how personal and unique you can create your music box. This would make a lovely gift for any Animal Crossing fan, especially if the music relaxes them as much as it does for me. Like the cross stitch designs diyCrossing is constantly coming out with new music strips each month, which I think is great! He also recently announced some new music box designs too, which are cute! Be warned however, this item is in stock but won’t be shipped out for 3-5 weeks.

• Various charms/keychains/rings.

If there is one thing I love it’s charms, keychains and keyrings! So of course I had to share three I’ve found over on Etsy from some independent artists. As a user of an ita bag, as well as backpacks that are COVERED in charms, I like to think the designs/items I show are gorgeous and unique!

• ToasterKiwi Isabelle charm (link)
• MochironStore Goldie charm (link)
• JupyPoopy shaker keychain (link)

These charms/keychain are so pretty and I love them all! Especially the shaker keyring and the Goldie charm. I would love the shaker keyring to keep on my car keys. I can only imagine this keychain to be so relaxing to shake when feeling anxious/nervous about anything.

• Amazon Gym/Travel Bag – (link)

This isn’t anything fancy but I keep seeing this pattern pop up on my Amazon page when searching for Animal Crossing bits and pieces and I thin the print is gorgeous! There are loads of bag designs to choose from, but I like this one the most! In the New Year people like to go to the gym more and be healthier, so this bag would be perfect for any Animal Crossing nerd who also ventures to the gym, dance classes and more. Plus its not stupidly expensive either, which is fab!

• Various enamel pins.

As many readers of my blog will know, I love enamel pins and have been collecting them since 2018. I don’t even have a handful of Animal Crossing pins and I would seriously love more! Enamel pins make for great gifts and I know for a fact any Animal Crossing fan would love an enamel pin in their Christmas stocking. 🙂

• Stami Studios Villager Girl Pin (link)
• Illustrator Jake Isabelle Bumper Kart Enamel Pin (link)
• Stami Studios Becoming Smash Rainbow Pin (link)

I wanted to share some sellers that I really love pin designs from! I especially love the Villager Girl pin as it’s something different, considering it’s from New Horizons of the girl in the trailer.

Image taken from Miss Octopie

• Miss Octopie “Be My Valentine” Short Sleeve Cut Out Dress – (link)

I’ve had my eye on this dress for ages, it’s not cheap though in all fairness but the quality looks amazing! This would be cute for a kawaii/otaku to wear every now and then! I would love something like this to wear for Japan, but I doubt I’d wear it any other time aside from comic cons in the UK and geeky events…

Image taken from diyCrossing

• diyCrossing Cross Stitch Kit – (link)

If there is one store I have discovered this year and fell in love with, it’s diyCrossing. I can’t even remember how I found it now (although I am feeling like it was through an Instagram recommendation!) but I’m so glad I did. DIY Crossing specifies in selling Animal Crossing made items including cross stitch kits. They have 39 villagers to choose from and even offer seasonal designs for free for you to download at home! I made sure to bag myself a free Jingle one (no purchase necessary), as I may give it a go throughout the festive season this year or even throughout the year ready for Christmas 2020. In the set you get everything you need to get cracking with the design you choose as soon as possible!. I’ve actually asked for the Goldie one for Christmas, as she’s my favourite Animal Crossing character. The great thing about diyCrossing is that he is constantly coming out with new designs each month (3 max), which I think is great! It means we will get more and more of our favourite villager designs to choose from.

So there you go guys! That is my first out of two Christmas gift guides! 😀 I’m going to try and get the second one out next Wednesday too, considering Christmas Day is 2 weeks today I thought it would give you all plenty of time to view both of the guides before the big day.

UPDATE – Also make sure to use my discount code below on Illustrator Jake’s store to snag yourself a nice 10% discount! 😀

THEREMIGHTBECOFFEE10

I really wanted to work on an Animal Crossing gift guide, as I know I’m stoked for the game in March 2020 and I know damn well that others are too!

Do you like any of the items mentioned on this gift guide? Whether that be for yourself, or a friend. Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!

Until next time all, I hope you’re having a good week so far! 😀

What I Got For Christmas 2018

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! I hope you all had a lovely day, whether it was with loved ones, friends or even (sadly) on your own.

I can’t believe how quick both Christmas Day and Boxing Day went! We just have that little slum between New Years Eve now and as depressing as it sounds, I’m working today and tomorrow… Which was completely my own choice! YES I chose to work. 😛

However, at the time of writing this, it’s Boxing Day morning and I’m snuggled up in bed and looking through all the gifts I was spoilt to this Christmas and as I always do, I share with you those lovely gifts I received.

Now I understand not a lot of people like posts like these because it’s seen as, “showing off” which I completely understand! I’m not showing off though, I’m just sharing what I received. I love reading and seeing what people get for Christmas, especially when they’re heartfelt and special gifts, where the receiver has clearly been thought about.

If you’re one of those people who think it’s showing off, you can bugger off because this post clearly won’t be for you. 😛 HASHTAG – honesty is the best policy.

Not all my Christmas presents have made it into this post sadly as I’m still yet to receive some from my best friends, but I can always share those in a separate post, can’t I?

Anyhoo, on with the post! There’s a lot of goodies to show off. 😛

The first gifts I’m going to talk about is what one of my best and oldest friends Sophi bought for me! She gave me my gifts back at the start of November so it’s been hard having to wait until now to open them! She bought me so many awesome bits and pieces and they’re all so fab! I’ve got so many Pusheen items it’s amazing.

These items include a Pusheen pyjama top, three pairs of shoe liner socks, Christmas Pusheen fluffy socks (which will be HEAVENLY to wear around the house!), a stationary pouch (which includes a notebook, blue pen, purple gel pen, two pencils, a sharpener and a rubber), a gorgeous notebook (which in turn I’ve had my eye on for agggges!), a pencil case/make up bag and finally some cute little pin badges! There was also some Japanese sweets inside the pencil case/makeup bag which taste AMAZING!

As well as Pusheen, Sophi also bought me a few Lady and The Tramp items, including a pyjama top and some shoe liner socks. I honestly love all the bits that Sophi bought for me, especially the Pusheen stationary to be honest with you! I’ve always been a sucker for stationary but I love using this sort of stuff at work and seeing as Dane bought me something lovely (stationary wise!) these bits from Sophi are perfect. 😀

The next gift I received is this gorgeous fox origami necklace and I got this from my gorgeous friend Sophie… Yes, another Sophie! 😛 I wasn’t expecting this so it was such a lovely gift to open when we met up recently. Since she gifted it me I’ve worn is everyday and I adore it so much. It’s definitely one of my favourite gifts I received this year. 🙂

The next gifts I received were the ones from Dane’s parents, which were all so lovely! The first thing I opened was the Empire Cinema voucher, which I found really random but when I read what they wrote inside it was so thoughtful and cute! It’s definitely the sweetest gift I’ve received so far. As you’ll probably see it says it’s for when Detective Pikachu comes out! You’ll see that I’ve blocked out some information, this is just to keep Dane’s parents names private, as well as how much is on the card.

They also gifted me this gorgeous fox hair towel from The Body Shop, as well as a cute patchouli fox candle, which I doubt I’ll ever burn! I think I’m going to keep it by the front door on our shoe cabinet, but I need something to stand it on before I pop it down there. It smells gorgeous to be honest.

Finally they bought me The Body Shop peppermint candy cane sack gift set. I’m so glad I got this as I LOVE the peppermint candy cane scent and I’ve already picked up a few items in the sales. I’ve tried a bit of the body butter on the back of my hand it’s so creamy and smells AMAZING! I can’t wait to try the shower gel out now, as well as the body scrub.

Next up we have the gifts my mom bought for me, one I knew about and two I didn’t. My mom knows me so well when it comes down to buying me gifts and every year not only does she surprise me, but she just reminds me of how much she knows me. 🙂

This was actually a gift for both me and Dane and that’s a massive refill bag of Australian Bodycare’s tea tree skin wash. I LOVE this stuff so much and have done since my mom bought it me as a teenager. I mostly use it on my face these days but I do occasionally use it all over my body, especially in the warmer months. I’ve already refilled my bottle with this, so I’m really chuffed! 😀

The second thing she bought me is this cleansing brush and it was such a surprise when I opened it! I’d mentioned to her a while ago how I’d stopped using the facial brush she bought me years ago as I found it didn’t work for me anymore… Not as in power, as in what it does to my skin. So when I opened this, oh man I’m so excited to give it a go! 😀 It’s easily charged and turns on and off easily! Not going to lie though, when I opened it on Christmas Day Dane made a lewd joke… 😛 Either way though this will hopefully work wonders on my skin!

Finally we have what is probably my favourite gift this Christmas. My mom had asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I mentioned this watch to her, which isn’t the cheapest in the world… So when she said she was more than happy to buy it for me, I was over the moon! I love gifts when they’re bought from someone, as they have some meaning behind them. I’ve wanted a new watch for some time now and have eyed up the Olivia Burton ones since I started my job just over a year ago. As many readers will know, I LOVE foxes, so when I finally saw that Olivia Burton were doing a fox design, my heart was kind of set on it. I showed it to my mom and she sent me the money to order it for myself. I mentioned how you could get your name stamped on the band and she told me to make sure I did just that! As you’ll see, I did and THANK GOD they spelt my name right. 😛

I adore my new watch so much and when I wore it Christmas Day it was so comfortable. I love it. :’)

Finally we move over to Dane and the gifts that he bought for me. He really spoilt me this year and although I feel lucky as anything throughout the year, when it comes to Christmas, birthday and anniversary he always reminds me just how loved I am, as well as just how well he knows me.

These were mostly in the stocking he made up for me, we started to do stockings when we moved into the house and I really do enjoy doing them. 🙂 So some of the items Dane gifted me were matcha/green tea related, which was lovely but so bloody random! 😛 I LOVE green team KitKat’s from Japan and I’ve already eaten one of these whilst writing this post. 😛 He also bought me some matcha knock off Oreo’s, which look yummy, I can’t wait to try those. Finally he bought me a matcha ramune drink… I can’t imagine how this is going to taste! I think I’m going to wait until my birthday to try it. 😛

I didn’t think Dane would buy me squishes, but he did and he did good! I’m not a squishy person to be fair BUT I do like them as they help me relax whilst when I’m anxious or overthinking. I find they’re great when I’m a passenger on the motorway. He did actually show me these and I can’t remember if he said he’d bought them for me  before or after showing them off to me. I LOVE the fox ninja so much and it’s definitely my favourite of the two, but this being said I love the panda ninja for squishing. Due to the way the paint is on the foxes face, I’d worry it would crack, so the panda is going to be my go to for squishing!

It seems to have become a tradition every Christmas now that Dane buys me Nichijou! I never really pick it up for myself throughout the year, so he does it for me. 🙂 I do really love the Nichijou series, it’s something different and a manga series everyone needs to read! They have an anime version of it too, which I also need to watch through, I’ve only watched the odd episode… I might suggest me and Dane watch it tonight whilst we have dinner. ^_^

I love getting calendars for Christmas and when I opened this one from Dane, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect… So when I saw it was Juniper I was so chuffed! Dane bought me the Juniper calendar for 2018 so it’s nice to have that lovely Instagram famous fox hung up in our living room again! I love writing down stuff me and Dane plan, as well as days off, birthdays and even blog events!

This was something I had a feeling Dane had bought me as he showed it me before Christmas and asked what I thought of it! It’s so adorable and I LOVE Pompom Purin. 🙂 I actually saw this when I was in the Japan Centre in London and I rather liked the look of it to be fair. I’m just not sure whether to have it for work, or for the house to keep my stationary in downstairs in the living room… We’ll see but either way it’s so adorable. 😛

Bless Dane, he’s such a cutie! When we went to EGX in September he asked if I liked the Spyro pin badges that had been released to coincide with the game as he wanted to buy them me for Christmas. Sadly I didn’t like the look of them… They just weren’t for me in all fairness. So he asked me to have a look around to see if there were any other Spyro items I liked the look of online, alas I found this incense burner and hey presto! He bought it for me. 😛 I haven’t had chance to use this yet as I need to get some incense cones for it, but how it works is you pop a cone into this and as it smokes, the smoke comes out of Spyro’s nose. Funky, eh?! 😀

This is definitely one of my favourite Christmas presents this year and one I had a feeling Dane had bought me. I spoke recently about this item here and how much I’ve wanted something for the wall behind our bed. Alas I found this awesome wall tapestry online at Redbubble and I just knew I had to have it! Me and Dane plan to buy some easy stick on and remove hooks, as well as some fairy lights and we’ll soon have our room taking some shape after a few years of it looking bare. 🙂

I was rather shocked by the size of this in all honesty, I thought it was going to be bigger like my other Morgana cushion (which you can see here). This was an ichiban kuji prize and as YY Kawaii was selling it, I asked Dane for it for Christmas. Alas here it is! It’s such a cute little pillow and will be nice to use as a head pillow whilst in bed, especially if I’m feeling poorly or under the weather and need to rest my head on something a little more.

These again are some of my favourite gifts that I received from Dane! Again, I had a feeling I was getting something like this for Christmas as I’d hinted to him about it and he’d asked me to put in order which ones I’d like. I’m not only 2 short of having ALL the Eeveelution plushies and I’ve now pre ordered them from YY Kawaii! Some of these were in my stocking and some were in my present bag, so it was a nice surprise when I found out I had another two to open! I cant wait to show all nine of the Eeveelutions off to you in the New Year!

I know I’ve said this for a few gifts now, but this is definitely up there in my top three Christmas presents! I know it’s just a pop vinyl figure and I know it’s just Wall-E BUT it’s Earth Day Wall-E and he’s pretty damn rare now! I mentioned on my post a few days ago how he’s now worth a maximum of £50 on places like Amazon and eBay, so the fact Dane managed to get him new for £15 on eBay is such a bargain. He’s how the original Wall-E should have looked in all honesty and I just love the look of him so much! He’ll be going into mine and Dane’s manga cabinet and he’ll be staying in the box. 😛

Finally we have my number one present, which of course is a Nendoroid! I was surprised to only see one in my Christmas bag as Dane and me usually go Nendoroid happy over Christmas, birthday and anniversary. I bought Dane three and he only bought me one. This being said, a lot of Nendoroid’s I want at the moment aren’t THAT easy to get a hold of, or I’ve already ordered them for myself. There’s quite a few of the Yuri On Ice Nendoroid’s I want, mostly the casual versions at the moment BUT I was missing Yuri Plisetsky, so I’m glad that Dane managed to get hold of him for me! I’m going to pose him as a cutie with kitty ears on with the other two guys. 😛

So that’s all the Christmas gifts I have received so far! I know I have a few bits left to get from two of my best friends, but that’s okay, they’ll be worth the wait. 🙂

I can’t believe the whole hype of Christmas we work ourselves up for is now over. It’s only 4 days now until New Years Eve and then it’ll be 2019. It’s crazy, I don’t honestly know where this month has gone. It’s flown and it’s rather scary to be honest with you.

What did you get for Christmas from family, friends, significant others and more? 🙂 I want to know! I love hearing about what gifts people receive.

Until next time all, I hope you had an amazing Christmas and Boxing Day!

Christmas Presents I Wanted As A Teenager VS Presents I Want Now

It’s Christmas Eve and everyone is pretty much ready for Christmas now… Right? RIGHT?! I bloody hope so anyway, otherwise you’re pushing it a little bit… 😛

Last year I wrote about what gifts I would have wanted as a kid, as well as gifts I was wishing after for Christmas. You can read that post here.

This year I decided to do the same sort of thing on Christmas Eve, but I wanted to do a list of items I lusted and asked for as a teenager. When it came to thinking about items for this post, I really forgot about how much stuff I wanted as a teenager and how much of the stuff on the list I still own. It’s just made me think a lot… About how old I am! 😛

Of course as well as talking about items I asked for as a teenager, I’ll also be talking about items I’m hoping I’ve received for Christmas tomorrow.

I really hope you enjoy this post as I know I enjoyed writing the one last year about when I was little. Gosh I honestly can’t believe it’s Christmas Day tomorrow. This month has really flown!

• Apple iPod Mini 1st Generation in Green.

I remember when the iPod first came out and my brother had one. I loved it and the thought of having all my music in one place was such a mind blowing and life changing idea! I used to use my CD Walkman all the time but I hated changing CD’s in it constantly or having just the one and it boring the hell out of me after the third play. I remember asking my mom for this for Christmas, but it didn’t come out until my birthday so I actually got it then. However, I never got to keep this iPod. Reasons for this were because the iPod broke and my mom was reluctant to replace it. I don’t know if you remember, but back in the day there were rumours that Apple were notorious for not testing their products and the first batches that people would buy would always be rubbish. This seemed to be the case with my green iPod as only a month or two into owning it it started to play up. It wouldn’t charge and when it did the charge lasted for seconds. It was confusing and upsetting, so my mom took me back to the shop (Dixons to be exact! Remember them?) to get a refund. I was upset already at this point that she wouldn’t replace it, instead she just wanted her money back. I understood why, she was angry that she’d spent a lot of money on the iPod for it to break so soon. So we explained in the shop what was wrong and how she wanted her money back. “The back light is constantly on. Is this how it’s been since you bought it?” It was, I always left the back light on. “Well we aren’t giving you a refund then. You’ve broken it yourself by leaving that back light on.” This was such a shitty attitude and my mom already being annoyed, was even more annoyed now! I was gutted. My dad took me to another Dixons store to try and get a refund for the iPod, we explained what we had to the first store and they gave us a full refund without any questions or judgement. PHEW! I never did get another iPod Mini to replace that one but when I started university I bought my iPod Nano, which I still own and use to this day. 🙂

• Converse All Star Hi Tops in Red.

The Christmas I received these was the year of my teenage years where I started to become who I am now… If that makes sense? I’d discovered so many of my favourite things including music, films, books, TV shows and especially what style of clothing I loved. I’d been eyeing up Converse hi tops for a while and especially wanted the red pair as they were different. I remember my brother taking me to the Bullring in Birmingham and buying me some new clothes for Christmas and my birthday. It was such a bizarre day to be honest with you… He bought me loads of clothes including jeans, tops and hoodies and he also bought me my hi tops, which I loved and wore them for about 2 years until I couldn’t anymore. They just wore down so much they were too uncomfortable to wear anymore. I still have them though… I don’t think I could ever part with them now in all honesty! I don’t know if I’d ever buy another pair of Converse now… I’m too much of a Vans and Docs girl now.

• Angel Eau de Parfum by Thierry Mugler.

This was my first “proper” perfume that I owned and to this day I still own it! Not the same bottle as I would have had back in the day, but I always need a bottle of Angel in my life now. It reminds me of my mom to be honest with you, as I remember her buying this and falling in love with the smell! Angel is just such a unique perfume and anyone who loves their fragrance will instantly know what this is after you get a whiff of it. I remember as a teenager always asking for a bottle of this as I wanted my own, I didn’t want to keep sneaking my mom’s. 😛 I can’t remember if my mom bought me a bottle for Christmas, or if I was bought it after someone went on holiday. I know I had a bottle as a teenager though and I felt glam as fuck! 😛

• Kodak Easyshare Camera with Printer.

I remember my mom taking me to Dixons to buy this for me for Christmas. It wasn’t a surprise come Christmas Day but I loved it so much! I had wanted a digital camera for the longest time so my mom took me to have a look at what kind of camera I could pick up. We saw the Kodak ones with printers and were sold! I used this camera and printer to death to be honest with you and I’m pretty sure they still work! Yes, over 10 years later and I still own both the camera and the printer. I remember staying in my room taking selfie photos all the time and of my dog. I remember filmed a video of my dog Madge on this camera and it’s still the cutest thing. I wish I had that footage somewhere online so I could watch it now and link it here. But the best thing about this camera was as soon as you’ve taken your photos you could print them off AND you could plug the printer into your computer and print photos from off of there. It was a fab little device and I loved it so much. 🙂

• The Sims 2 PC Game.

This was something I wanted so badly, so when I opened it on Christmas Day from my brother I was so ecstatic! I remember him installing it for me and I couldn’t keep still at the anticipation of playing it. I spent so many days and nights playing this game and even played it whenever I went to see my cousins after school and over the weekends. I just fell in love with it. I actually really miss playing Sims 2 as I found it was the easiest to play, as well as the funniest! Every Christmas and birthday I’d always get the expansion packs too, which was awesome. Honestly though, many wasted years of my youth went into this game. 😛

• Sony Ericsson W800.

After the whole iPod fiasco I was without an MP3 player for quite sometime. I also had a bit of a shit mobile as well. It was okay and it did the job, but as a teenager everyone wanted a good camera on their phone, as well as other things. I asked for this for Christmas but I didn’t get it until towards the end of secondary school. From memory it was marketed as one of the first phones to also double up as an MP3 player and this really did call to me! Plus it was white and orange, what more would you want from a phone as a teenager?! I always loved getting new phones over Christmas, it was just awesome back in the day. It’s different though these days for kids. They want them to go online and take selfies, where back when I was a teenager you just wanted something that could take photos and best games on there. 😛 I remember this phone also had a selfie mirror on the back, which was always amazing.

• Nintendo DS in Pink.

The final item on this list and one I wanted for years, and years, and years but I never got, which in turn I was gutted about. I asked for this for many years but the one year it was in a package with the Nintendogs game and I KNEW I really wanted it that Christmas. My dad even took me to GAME to buy it for me, but my brother talked him out of it saying, “Don’t get her that, Nintendo DS is shit! Get her a PSP instead!” So my dad made me look into the PSP and the games and I didn’t want any of them. So alas, due to the Nintendo DS being “shit” I never got one. Years later my dad bought me a red Nintendo DS Lite, which was amazing. 😛 I am still gutted though that it took so long for me to get a Nintendo DS because of my brothers inaccuracies. 😛

OKAY so that’s all the items that I remember fondly asking for as a teenager for Christmas, as well as a bit of a back story into what happened when I got them/if I got them. ^_^

NOW onto the gifts I’ve wished for this Christmas! Some of these items I know I’ve been gifted, or asked for from Dane, his family and my own family. I know this list is probably boring, but meh. 😛

• Persona 5 Morgana Plush.

I can’t tell you how long I have wanted this Morgana plush for! It’s not cheap to get a hold of though, which in itself sucks! I really hope deep down that Dane has bought me it for Christmas though, as I really want him. 🙂 I think I might have to treat myself to him sooner rather than later as I’d hate to see a SOLD OUT on him on the two websites I’ve found him on… It would definitely suck! Maybe if I don’t get him for Christmas or birthday, he can be a birthday treat to myself… 😛

• Disney Wall-E Earth Day Pop Vinyl.

I literally just went to Amazon to see how much this guy is going for. Bloody hell, nearly £50! DAYUM. I’m really hoping Dane has picked him up for me for Christmas as it’s so damn cute and to be perfectly honest with you, how the first Wall-E pop vinyl should have looked really. If I do get him, he’ll stay in the box. 😛

• South Park Princess Kenny Mug.

This is such a random thing on this list, but something I’d love either way! I think I’d love this mug more for work to be fair. I recently bought the t-shirt with Princess Kenny on and I’m in love. Princess Kenny is for sure one of my favourite things to come out of South Park and she’s definitely my boo. 😉 I doubt very much I’ll get this mug for Christmas or birthday, but if I go to Fobidden Planet anytime soon, I may pick it up to use at work. 🙂

• Fox Wall Tapestry by ARiAillustr.

I have a feeling Dane has bought me this for Christmas… It’s something I expressed that I really wanted for our bedroom. He’s always commented how he wanted a feature wall behind our bed, but I just can’t commit to something like that, especially as we have built in wardrobes in front of the bed with mirrors on. Imagine waking up every morning and just seeing a red wall? FYI that’s what he wanted. 😛 However when I found this fox wall tapestry I fell in love with it! It’s such a pretty design on it and with a simple stick on wall hooks it’ll be up and down in no time! I’m also hoping I have some fairy lights to hang around it too. 😛

• Olivia Burton Snow Globe Blush & Silver Watch.

I already know I have this for Christmas, as my mom has bought it for me, which in turn is so lovely of her. 🙂 She asked me what I wanted as a gift as she hadn’t got a clue and when I suggested this watch (and of course the hefty price tag!) she was over the moon to pick it up! That’s the good thing with both mine and her birthday’s right after Christmas and just days apart from each other (mine is the 6th and hers is the 7th!) so we can buy each other expensive gifts and have them for both occasions. 🙂 I LOVE this watch so much though! For a year now I’ve wanted a really nice designer watch, but as of yet I didn’t quite find anything I liked the look of, or showed who I am… If that makes sense? I love foxes, as everyone knows so when I saw that Olivia Burton were bringing a watch out with a fox on the face, I knew I had to get it. Bless my mom she’s also got my name etched onto the band too, which is gorgeous. She told me I could have it before Christmas, but I’m waiting until tomorrow. 🙂

• Elodie the Unicorn Humidifier.

I can’t remember how long I’ve wanted this for… I think it must be almost 2 years now! It was on Kickstarter and I wanted to back it so much, but I never bothered. It worked out quite expensive at the time. Elodie The Unicorn is an American branded item too so shipping was a bomb! I waited and waited and eventually Firebox started stocking Elodie The Unicorn items, one of which I spoke about recently on this post. However, I would love this humidifier for more than just the way it looks. I really want it to put essential oils in of an evening and during the weekends when me and Dane aren’t at work. Lavender for evenings and eucalyptus for when me and Dane have colds. I have a funny feeling that I’ve been bought this for Christmas… 😛

• Loungefly Pokemon Eevee Embosed Tri-Fold Wallet.

I am gutted at the time of writing this post because I was actually going to order this for myself. It’s now out of stock and due to that a part of me has kind of died… I don’t need a new wallet, but I’d like to have one if I could. Mines definitely showing it’s age now. I doubt very much that I have this for Christmas, but a small part of me hopes I do. :’)

• Pandora Bobby Bot Dog Charm.

I’ve had my eye on this Pandora charm for a while now. I’ve not really asked for any Pandora charms for some time and I don’t really know why… I guess I just haven’t liked the look of any, you know? However I do really LOVE this Bobby Bot dog! It’s so adorable and definitely something different. I tell you what though, for what it is it’s fucking expensive! It’s £50, which isn’t cheap for a Pandora charm in my opinion. I doubt very much that I have this for Christmas as I didn’t think of giving it as a gift idea…

So there’s my wish lists from back when I was a teenager to now I’m an adult! 😀 As you’ll probably see from both lists, thing never change with me. 😛

I do miss being younger and having a carefree life, but at the same time I actually don’t miss those years of dealing with puberty, the heartbreak I felt when lusting after boys who thought I was grotesque and not having any freedom. 😛

I want to know what some of your memorable Christmas gifts were from when you were a teenager? As well as what gifts you’d like to receive come Christmas day? 🙂

I have to add whilst it’s all well and good me talking about receiving gifts tomorrow and enjoying time with loved ones, we always have to remember there are people out there not as fortunate as some to have a lovely warm home and family members to be around at Christmas.

I always think of people who are both homeless and dealing with mental health issues around Christmas and it truly breaks my heart.

With that in mind, if you’re struggling today, tomorrow and for the rest of 2018 please make sure to drop me a message on any of my social media pages. I will always be happy and welcoming to you if you need someone to rant to. ❤

On that note, I hope you have an amazing Christmas and a happy New Year! 🙂

How To Make Your Dinner Table Geeky This Christmas

It’s only a couple more days until Christmas now and I still don’t know if I’m even in the Christmas spirit yet… You know? I don’t know what it’s been this year, I think I’ve just been far too busy with work and in general to get festive. That or I’m just getting to be an old Grinch… 😛

I’m trying to get into the Christmas spirit though so today I’m bringing a collab post to you all! Me and Sarah over at Raiin Monkey decided to do another collab post for Christmas again! We did last year and I loved it so much, so much so I knew we had to work together again to bring you our posts today.

Sarah’s going to write about how to make your home geeky this Christmas and I’m going to write how to make your dinner table geeky for Christmas Day!

I’m having Christmas dinner at home for the first time this year, so I’m rather excited to cook for me and Dane! This geeky dinner table guide from myself will be handy if like me this is also your first Christmas at home where you’re having dinner. 🙂

I really hope you enjoy this geek related Christmas post! 😀

• Original Stormtrooper Espresso Mug Set – (link)

Personally I love coffee, but I has espresso. It just isn’t for me. I do understand some people do really like it though and especially love to have it after a meal. I don’t know anyone who has had an espresso after a Christmas meal to be honest with you, but I know there’s someone out there who does it… There has to be! Maybe you’re one of those people? If so these espresso mugs will be right up your street! Hey! If you don’t use them for espresso, they’ll make great glasses for some strong liquor to go into, such as Bailey’s or maybe some Jack Daniels or Disaronno. I’d certainly go for the latter. 😉

• Geeki Tikis Mugs Marvel Deadpool and Star Wars R2-D2 – (link) and (link)

I LOVE these Geeki Tiki mugs so much and they’d make a great addition to your home all year around, as well as Christmas. If you love making cocktails like I do, these will be perfect throughout Christmas Day! When I lived at home I’d always make me and mom a pina colada each to drink throughout the day. These geeky tiki mugs would be perfect for that, as well as other cocktails and beverages! There’s loads of mugs to choose from but the two I love the most are Deadpool and R2-D2.

• Star Wars Shadow Trooper Bluetooth Speaker – (link)

As much as I’ve had enough of Christmas music now (after hearing every single possible Christmas song thanks to Magic FM…) I’m pretty much done for a couple of years now. 😛 However, I know a lot of people like to have Christmas music on throughout Christmas Day. Me and Dane have an Amazon Echo now so if we want some music on throughout the day we can just ask Alexa, however now everyone has that luxury. This Shadow Trooper speaker is pretty damn cool and even if you don’t have this for yourself in the house, it would also make an amazing gift for any music lover! You can have this on near the dinner table and listen to as much cheesy Christmas music as you want. 😛

• Shaun Of The Dead Winchester Tavern Pint Bottle Opener – (link)

I am a MASSIVE fan of Shaun Of The Dead! It reminds me of when I was a teenager and studying my GCSE’s! When I lived at home we were always losing or misplacing our bottle opener and like most people on Christmas, we all drink a LOT of alcohol! This is just a cool and quirky bottle opener, not even so much geeky to be fair but I really like it.

• Star Wars Stormtrooper Cheeseboard and Knife Set – (link)

Who doesn’t love some cheese on Christmas? Or anytime of year in fact! 😛 I remember last Christmas Dane’s family having a bit of a cheese selection after dinner, where I remember me eating all of the Applewood, because Applewood chedder is the God of chedder. 😛 This cheeseboard is pretty amazing as it looks gorgeous and inside it has loads of different edible tools for cheese. It’s just perfect for any geeky Christmas table!

• Marvel Deadpool Salt & Pepper Shakers – (link)

I was so close to buying these a week ago when I popped into Nostalgia Comics in Birmingham town centre! I love Deadpool and having Deadpool themed things in my house is always something good to have. 😛 These aren’t over the top but will stand out on the table for Christmas dinner and the good thing is these can be used all year around too. I know some people who have Christmas themed salt and pepper shakers and it’s just pointless for one day really.

• Pokemon Pikachu Cake Pan – (link)

Finally we have a Pokemon item on this list! I thought I would have had loads of Pokemon items on here for Christmas but could I find much? Could I bugger! The reason this cake pan is included in here is because I know not everyone likes Christmas pudding, myself included in there. I’m thinking of making some chocolate brownies Christmas Eve ready for Christmas Day. If I had it my way I’d make a chocolate cake using this Pikachu cake pan. 😛 It’s just so adorable and you could do so much with it come Christmas Day.

So there you have it, all my ideas of how you can geek up your table on Christmas Day! I know they’re not the best suggestions in the world, but they’re my suggestions and the best I could find so close to Christmas to be fair. 😛

Do you think you’ll geek up your table for Christmas Day? I don’t know if me and Dane will. We have a funky table cloth and some napkins, but that’s about it so far.

Again I want to say a MASSIVE thank you to Sarah for collaborating with me again! She’s one of my best friends of the blogging world and I do love her so much. 🙂

Are you ready for Christmas? Let me know in the comments what your plans are for Christmas and how you intend to spend the day!

Until next time all, take care and I hope you’re ready for the weekend, I know I am after a long and busy week of work. 😛

Lush Rudolph Jelly Mask – Review

It’s almost been nearly a year since I last wrote a Lush review on my blog and I’m not in the slightest bit surprised (FYI it was this post). After Lush declared they would no longer hold their Boxing Day sales online I was a bit (very) pissed off. Not just for myself, but for people out there who can’t make it to the stores to grab themselves some bargains. It sucked and it was more than just that that annoyed me. Their scents are all the same lately (Le sigh – citrus) and the way their company has been lately it just put me off supporting them anymore.

On top of all that I just haven’t really been bathing as much as I used to. I think in my old job when I finished work at 1.30pm I’d come home and had a hot bath to relax myself after a shit morning at work. Now I get home around 5.30pm and cook dinner, chilling out and then sleep. 😛 Baths just aren’t fitted into my chilling out time lately due to a mixture of that time being taken up with playing games or blog writing.

However, since going to London in November that’s kind of changed. I went into the Oxford Street Lush and picked up some of the Christmas range for 2018. I LOVE some of the bits I picked up, but as of yet I haven’t actually used them… Oh dear.

I forgot to check out and pick one item up though that I was interested in, which I was gutted about. I don’t really go into Lush anymore as Dane doesn’t particularly like it and none of my friends are really arsed by it either. When me and Dane went Christmas shopping at the start of December he wanted to pop into Lush to look for some present ideas for people and I decided to pick up that one item I wanted to try!

I didn’t get chance to have a smell of it as the store was HEAVING! It wasn’t good really. The Birmingham store has now moved to a much bigger store (which is apparently bigger than Oxford Street!) so when we went shopping it was their tiny store. I just feel like the staff should have had a queuing system for the store as it was crazy packed. There were also members of staff standing around talking and to be honest, getting in the way of customers trying to look at items. I ended up barging past them all after saying excuse me so many times. We wanted to grab our items and get out of there.

RIGHT enough ranting!

The item I picked up, as you’ll see from the title is the Rudolph Jelly Face Mask, which I was inspired by Steffie over at My Lush and Stuff to pick up this jelly face mask as she made it sound so amazing! I may have gone off of Lush, but I’m all for a face mask that will do my skin wonders, whilst smelling amazing! 😛

Rudolph is a limited edition jelly face mask for Christmas and I already want it to stay around forever, I know I’m not the only one who feels this way. 😛

Although I’ve only owned it for a couple of weeks I’ve found that this face mask really has helped me after use and I KNEW I just had to write a review for it on my blog, especially with Christmas right around the corner.

As you can see from the image above it’s described as, “Rudolph with your nose so bright, won’t you cleanse my face with cocoa powder, orange oil and kaolin tonight?”

Oh the cringe, gold stars to whoever wrote it.

The jelly face masks come in smaller tubs than the fresh face masks do. They come in 65g tubs and costs £7.95, which to me isn’t cheap to be perfectly honest with you. This being said they’re not like the fresh face masks where you need to use them sooner rather than later and also need to keep them in the fridge. The jelly face masks don’t need to be kept in the fridge and have a long shelf life. The one I picked up has a 4 month shelf life on it, which is amazing!

The product itself reminds me of a chocolate mousse in both sight and scent! It smells so chocolately that I’m surprised I haven’t read of someone trying to eat it yet! It smells more rich chocolate scent, but due to the fact it contains orange oil you can get a hint of that. Either way it smells amazing! Of course the colour of this product is brown.

The look of the mask is clearly a jelly and when you push down on it it springs back. It reminds me of blancmange. In the middle is a cute little red shimmer piece of jelly, which is suppose to be Rudolph’s nose! I know you’re meant to pop it onto your nose to look like Rudolph yourself, but honestly I do not have a clue what else to do with it! 😛

This mask is said to be good for people with oily skin and also dry skin, so this sounds like it’d be perfect for combination skin to be honest. I haven’t been able to really find anywhere so I can go only go by the ingredients what this jelly face mask will do to your skin!

Kaolin clay is great for absorbing excess oils on the skin and also cleans out the pores and cocoa powder helps to soothe and moisturise the skin. This to me states how it is perfect for combination skin, which is my skin type. This would make a great gift for a teenager as obviously it smells amazing and will help them with their troubled teenage skin.

This is my first time trying a jelly face mask and it was definitely a bizarre and odd experience the first time I tried it. I wasn’t quite sure HOW to use it, well I did as I’d seen YouTube videos in the past, but I mean in the sense of how much I needed to use. I popped into a Lush store recently and noticed for their samples and DIY jelly face masks they’d cut the mask up into chunks inside the tub, which I think is a great idea! I wish I’d thought to do that before I’d started using it.

The one thing I really hate about the packaging for this face mask is the stickers around the packaging. You can read any of the writing! Why would you put black text against dark brown? Surely you would change to white writing so we can read the instructions and such properly? Alas this isn’t the case and whenever I want to read the side of the pot I have to get the torch on my phone.

How the jelly face masks work is you grab some of the mask out of the tub and with dry hands rub the jelly between your hands to create a paste. Apply to your face and leave for 5 to 10 minutes and rinse off with warm water or a cloth.

I don’t know if the first few times I used this I just didn’t use enough or what, but it’s such an odd product to work with, but not in a negative way. I grabbed (what I thought) was a big enough chunk to cover my whole face, rubbed it between my hands to make a paste and applied it to my face. The more I applied it onto my face and massaged it into the skin the more it seemed to move around and build up into jelly chunks, instead of smoothing my face evenly. It’s rather odd and I don’t know if I like it.

I gave up moving it around my face after a while and just settled with it on my skin. I love to use face masks in the bath 9 times out of 10 as it’s so much easier to rinse them off than it is in the sink. The shower is great too, but having a soak in the bath with a face mask on is definitely relaxing.

I usually leave this on for 10 minutes after it dries back to a jelly type form, which I find really odd. When dry if you rub at it with dry hands it starts to rub away and go back to a jelly type form, which I find really odd but somewhat satisfying.

I thought it would be hard to wash off due to the jelly but it’s actually pretty straight forward and after going over with a flannel, the mask is off and my skin feels baby soft to the touch!

I apply some moisturiser after I get out of the bath just to make sure my face is as soft as it can be!

Would I pick this up again? I would but at the same time I don’t know. It has improved my combination skin, but not for all that long. I feel like using this twice as a week is a good idea, but at the same time for how much you pay, twice as a week is such a waste of money! I’m going to use it once a week or once a fortnight and use it every now and then.

I do rather like this jelly face mask and would like to try the other ones in the future, but at the same time the others don’t really appeal to me all that much. This one is amazing and I wish Lush would make it permanent as it reminds me of the Cupcake face mask and I CANT STAND IT! The one time I used it it caused me to break out really badly. 😦

Don’t forget this is a Christmas limited edition product so it’ll only be available until (probably) Christmas Eve and then it will be gone!

SO! What do you think of Rudolph jelly face mask? Would you give it a go or give it a miss? Have you already tried it? What do you think? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below.

Until next time, take care all and I hope you’re having a lovely weekend!

The Christmas Tag 2018

Image taken from GIPHY

Christmas is just 16 days away now and I’m pretty much ready for the day now. All I need to buy is FOOD and I honestly cannot wait for Christmas food. 😛

I was recently tagged by Jess over at Little Pink Duck to take part in this tag, which I was really happy about! I love doing a tag every season and every awesome holiday that comes our way, especially Christmas! I don’t know if I’ve done this one, I actually don’t think I have which is amazing. If you want to check out Jess’ post and her answers, I’ll pop the link here for you. 🙂

I hope you enjoy the tag anyhoo, especially my answers. It’s Saturday evening and I’m watching Peep Show’s Christmas special.

What is your favourite Christmas film?

It has to be the Home Alone films! The first Christmas film I stuck on this year was Home Alone 2. They definitely remind me of when I was little at Christmas. There’s other films I love too, but this is always the first film that pops into my head whenever I think about Christmas films. 🙂

Have you ever had a White Christmas?

I feel like I have a few times to be fair. I remember it snowing when I was about 6 but it may have snowed before or after Christmas. The one year before I met Dane (probably 6-7 years ago!) I remember it snowed a little on Christmas Day, which was really nice to watch in the dining room whilst eating dinner and opening gifts.

Where do you usually spend your holiday?

I usually go to mine or Dane’s parents, but this year we’re actually going to be at home, which will be really nice. 🙂 I’m rather excited to be honest with you as I love cooking, so the thought of me and Dane getting up in the morning to get Christmas lunch/dinner started together, whilst we watch a Christmas movie or listen to Christmas songs. I am really looking forward to it.

What is your favourite Christmas song?

I would usually say Wham – Last Christmas but I’ve heard it so fucking much this year that it’s definitely not anymore. I completely forgot that Queen has a Christmas song, so when Dane showed me this recently I fell in love. It hasn’t come on the radio much at work but when it has, it’s really put me in the Christmas mood.

Do you open any presents on Christmas Eve?

Never! I remember I did for a time growing up, I’d always open a certain gift from a certain relative but as I got older I never received that gift anymore, so I stopped doing it. I mean, what’s the point in opening something early?! 😛

Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?

Comic, Blitzen, Dasher, Pranser, erm… Does Rudolf technically count?

*Google searches*

Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolf.

I didn’t do too badly, did I? 😛

Image taken from GIPHY

What holiday traditions are you looking forward to most this year?

I’m looking forward to creating the traditions me and Dane will have for having Christmas at home! I’m really excited for what we’re going to do on the day and how we’re going to do it.

Is your Christmas tree real or fake?

Fake! I remember as a kid my mom decided to buy a real one and it was gorgeous, but it was a pain for the month she had it. The needles kept falling off etc. I don’t think I’d ever have a real one myself.

What is your all-time favourite holiday food/sweet treat?

Mmm I always love the Christmas dinner. The way my parents do gravy, to huge fluffy Yorkshire puddings. I love everything! If there is one thing I’m not arsed about over Christmas it’s all the chocolates that go around throughout the day. We never did this as a family growing up, so whenever anyone does it elsewhere I just don’t get it to be fair. 😛

Image taken from GIPHY

Be honest: do you like giving gifts or receiving gifts better?

I actually really love giving gifts. I like to think I’m quite thoughtful in the gifts I buy so when I get to see peoples reactions to what I’ve bought them, it really does make me happy. I feel rather guilty this year with Dane’s presents as I personally feel like I haven’t bought him a whole lot, even though deep down I know I have. :’)

I’m doing Secret Santa at work in a few weeks time and I really hope the person I have loves what I bought them. I can’t wait to see their face.

What is the best Christmas gift you’ve ever received?

I could never pick one gift to be honest with you. I have a little collection to be fair including, my Kitchen Aid mixer, my Dyson hairdryer, my huge Totoro plushie, my Thomas Sabo bracelet, a little fox that Dane bought me when we first went to the Birmingham German Market together.

What would be your dream place to visit for the holiday season?

I don’t know to be perfectly honest… The only place I can think of is Japan, but I’d love to visit there all year around to be perfectly honest with you. 😛 Me and Dane could have KFC for Christmas dinner hahaha!

Image taken from GIPHY

Are you a pro-present wrapper, or do you fail miserably?

I’m not a pro, but I’m not a fail anymore! I’m definitely getting better, which makes me happy as I feel so good in myself when I’ve wrapped a present really nicely. 🙂 I’m rather proud of how I wrapped most of my presents this year!

Most memorable Holiday moment?

Probably the first year I spent Christmas with Dane. It was probably the first one in years where I was genuinely excited for it for all sorts of reasons.

When did you realise the truth about Santa?

I must have been 10 or 11 and someone told me, “You really think Father Christmas buys all those presents for you? It’s your mom, Nat.”

I was of course gutted, but meh I soon got over it. xD

Image taken from GIPHY

Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Do you stick to them?

I usually make at least one New Year’s resolution, this year was to save money which I’ve done really well and was quite pleased with. I’m trying to think what I can do this year and again it’ll probably be to save up money, but this time for a 30th holiday in Japan. 🙂

What makes the holidays special for you?

Being with the ones I love, especially Dane and just being able to use the time of Christmas and New Year to think about the year coming to an end and what I’d like for the year ahead. Oh and having a bit of a break too, you know? 😛

So that was the Christmas tag 2018! It’s taken me most of the evening to write this post and it’s because I kept getting side tracked with watching Christmas movies. 😛

So with tagging people to take part in this post… I WANT EVERYONE WHO READS IT TO TAKE PART! 😀 It’s Christmas so the more the merrier. 😛

Are you excited for Christmas? What are you most excited about? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below.

Until next time, take care all and I hope you’re having a lovely weekend.