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. 🙂

Kawaii K-On GIF

Image taken from GIPHY

Geeky/Kawaii

Limited Edition Holiday Cute Coffee Addict Santa Pika Kawaii image 0

Image taken from Jennifairy Illustration

Jennifairy IllustrationCreating 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.

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Image taken from Littlest Spook Shop

Littlest Spook ShopWe 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.

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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!

Seasonal Foxes Stickers and/ or Prints 6x6 or 8x8 image 0

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.

Kawaii Food Party GIF by 100% Soft

Image taken from GIPHY

Japanese Snacks

2020 Deluxe Christmas Japanese Candy Box

Image taken from Something Japanese

Something JapaneseUK 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.

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Image taken from Tofu Cute

Tofu CuteA 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. 🙂

Home Sweet Home GIF by swerk

Image taken from GIPHY

Home

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Image taken from Cushty Co Twitter page

Cushty CoHandmade 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.

Grey Bubble Basket image 2

Image taken from Bubble Baskets UK/Books Baths and Beauty

Bubble Baskets UK/Books Baths and BeautyLovingly 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.

the little mermaid bath GIF

Image taken from GIPHY

Beauty

The Bath Bae Oh So Slushie Bath Bomb Cubes Bath Art

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.

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Image taken from Happy Melon

Happy MelonHandmade 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.

BLACK as your soul Hexbomb image 0

Image taken from Hex Bomb

Hex BombDivine 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.

yui hirasawa GIF

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/Kawaii1 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/KawaiiChibi 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/KawaiiTaiyakiblue – 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. 🙂

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What I Got For Christmas!

Christmas is nearly over and bloody hell it went by fast! I can’t believe we’ve had the three magical days fly by us and leave a coating of snow behind.

I hope all of my readers and blogger friends had an amazing Christmas and (although it isn’t important) I hope everyone got what they wanted for Christmas! I know I did and more!

So, (as pretty much most bloggers do now!) I thought I would write about what lovely gifts I got from Dane, my family and friends this Christmas.

I want to disclose here that this is by any means me showing off what I got this year and I never feel like when I read fellow bloggers posts, or watch YouTube videos about it that people are meaning to show off. I love reading and seeing what my fellow bloggers received (as I’m a nosey bitch! :P) as it’s nice to see goodies they’ve wished for throughout the year as well as special meaning behind them! If you feel this is me showing off, click off of this post now because, ain’t nobody got time for that!

NOW! On with the post!

When writing this post I haven’t actually received all my gifts and one of my best friends still hasn’t been able to give me hers, but I’ll be seeing her around my birthday so I can definitely mention it then!

The first gift I want to talk about is the gorgeous little Sylveon print that Sarah over at Raiin Monkey sent me in the post! I wasn’t expecting it and it’s so sweet of her! I’m going to pop it up in the office somewhere so I can look at it whilst doing blog work. 🙂

My friend Jacqui was able give me hers from both her and her boyfriend Chris and it was such a thoughtful and beautiful gift! It may not look like much to many, but we’ve had quite a few cocktail evenings together and my cocktail shaker isn’t the best. It gets stuck and then you struggle to get the lid off. So they bought us this Smirnoff kit, with a gorgeous red and silver shaker in (it matches our kitchen!) as well as a glass and measure cup in! I couldn’t be any happier with it to be honest.

My friend Sophi sent me a little box of goodies and I love them all so much! She sent us some little Japanese sweeties (which sadly we ate before I took my pictures! :P), a Pusheen tote bag and some Pusheen socks, as well as a pair of fox socks. I can’t complain at getting socks and I’ll be wearing them to work to keep my feet toasty over the rest of the winter months! OH and she also put in a cute little Pusheen keychain too, which I’ll pop on my tote bag!

Speaking of Pusheen! Dane’s brother and his girlfriend bought me a gorgeous boxed Pusheen mug with socks! I love it so much and am currently drinking some lemon green tea from it. The socks that came with it are so adorable and have paw prints on the feet. As well as that they also gave me a cute Minnie Mouse face mask as well as a Winky Lux flower balm in green. When you apply it to your lips it works with the PH and turns into a gorgeous light pink! I can’t wait to use this and I’ve wanted one of these since they first came out!

My aunt and cousin both bought me and Dane this gorgeous dachshund pillow which I’m going to have for the chair in the office! As well as that they also picked me up a gold fox keyring which was popped into my Christmas card.

Dane’s gran bought me a little something for Christmas and that’s a Bailey’s gift set with a little glass and some Lindt Lindor chocolates, which I LOVE! This will be enjoyed New Years Eve or on my birthday for definite! 😀

My sister in law and  my nephews bought me a cute little lip butter set, and it’s so strange! They’re lovely and you get three flavours, coconut, cherry and peppermint.. I’ve never used a lip butter like this before but I’ll definitely be keeping these for work and around the house!

Dane’s parents bought me some lovely gifts and one that really did make me chuckle! The first gift I noticed they’d bought me and one they get me every year is a Lush Christmas gift set! This year they bought me The Snowman gift set. This one contains The Snowman bubbleroon, Butterbear bath bomb, Man In The Moon bubble bar and Snow Angel bath melt. I’m super excited to try Man In The Moon!

They picked me up three hot chocolates on sticks! I LOVE these and they actually bought these from one of our friends coffee stalls in Coventry! These are so amazing and work really well! They bought me a normal one, a mocca one and a peppermint one! I can’t wait to try the peppermint flavour and I’ll definitely make it in my new Pusheen mug. 😛

One of my favourite presents from Dane’s parents has to be the Your Name Blu-ray that they bought me! This isn’t just the ordinary Blu-ray either, but actually a collector’s edition so it comes with both Blu-ray, DVD and also a CD of the films soundtrack! It’s such a beautiful film and was one of my favourites I’d been to see in the cinema last year. I definitely recommend watching it if you get the chance, or if you have Amazon Prime as it’s on there to watch in both subbed and dubbed right now!

Finally the present that made me chuckle is this little pom pom… That is actually a panic alarm! You pull the keychain and it makes a very loud noise! I doubt I’ll pop this onto my handbag but I’ll definitely keep it inside of my bag for emergencies! You never know to be fair. I get why she picked this up for me though to be honest! In my old job I would get to the car park at 5.30am, I would be the only one, it was dark and at one point we had issues with people hiding in the dark on the level of the car park I was on. It did frighten me! So this gift whilst being strange, as very thoughtful all the same.

Now onto the gifts that Dane bought me, I’m going to save the present my mom bought me until last. Usually I would save Dane’s until then, but wait until you see what she bought for me!

Since moving into our house we have a tradition now of making stockings up for each other, which consist of cute little bits and pieces, as well as Japanese sweets! This was no acceptation this year and we both gifted each other Japanese gifts!

He picked me up an assortment of Japanese treats, which includes some Puccho sweets in ramune flavour (Japanese soda), some sour candy sweets which are also ramune flavoured, some Pokemon grape gummy sweeties and some green matcha flavoured Kit Kats which are MY FAVOURITE! Finally he bought me a Gudetama DIY kit where you get to make a pudding version of Gudetama to eat! I cannot wait to do this and I think I’ll be saving it for my birthday. ^_^

Also in my stocking I had a few other bits and pieces such as a new refill for my Filofax and what a cutie he is, he bought me on in pink! I need to use my Filofax more this year!

Also in my stocking and presents overall was a couple of little Pokemon goodies, all of them are so cute! The first thing I opened was this Eevee pouch type bag, which is an official Pokemon Center item! I don’t know quite yet what I’ll use this for, but I can see it being for feminine products once a month and maybe some random handbag bits and pieces. This was a gift he’d asked me if I liked the look of when we were both having a nose online for gifts for one another. I wasn’t all that fussed at the time but all the same when I opened it Christmas Day I still loved it! It’s a little Eevee which you’re meant to rest over a glass, but I can see me sticking it to the PC monitor or even by the side of my bed. Another Pokemon gift he bought me was this blind box (although he knew which one he’d ordered) which contain desk buddies. Dane bought me this Pikachu one which holds your mobile phone for you. He bought me this to have for work but I want to have it for by my bed! It’s so cute and such a thoughtful gift all the same.

One of my favourite gifts from Dane just has to be this onigiri squishy keyring from Tofu Cute! I get anxious during long car journeys, as well as in other certain situations! This not only feels relaxing to squish over and over, but it’s also scented with (what I think anyway) strawberries! On the way to and from Coventry for Christmas Day I was squishing away at this, as well as whilst at Dane’s parents on the day! It’s going to end up living in my handbag for when I feel anxious or angry and need to relieve some tension.

One of the presents I had asked for for Christmas after discovering its existence are these Haku chopsticks. Haku is the dragon from Spirited Away and is my favourite Studio Ghibli character! I didn’t know if these chopsticks would be real or fake, but when I inspected the packet they are in fact real and Studio Ghibli approved!

The first main gift that I opened was this, The Manga Cookbook, which also came with a pack of chopsticks! I love cooking Japanese food, especially if I’m craving Japanese and I can’t and don’t want to go out and eat or buy any. This is a cute little gift and I can’t wait for me and Dane to cook recipes together from it.

The next gifts are these two little Pokemon Center plushies, which are like Beanie Babies! I’ve been collecting these for a few years now, thanks to Dane but they’re now so hard to get hold of! I found someone in the UK selling these 2 for a decent price and I didn’t know if Dane wou;d pick them up or not… Alas he did and they’re so adorable! We have a Flareon and a Raichu here and they’ll go so well with my other Eeveelutions, as well as with my Pikachu!

If you got back and take a look at the Christmas wish list I made on Christmas Eve (which you can read here) you’ll see that I wished for a lot of anime shows/films on Blu-ray and apart from one, all of the ones I asked for I got! Two of those being A Silent Voice and Your Lie In April part 2. Alongside Your Name, A Silent Voice was one of my favourite films from 2017 and I’m so stocked to have it on Blu-ray! The box itself is gorgeous and I cannot wait to binge watch it with Dane one of the evenings this week. This is the collector’s edition Blu-ray too, which also includes a DVD and a special booklet that tells you all about the film, as well as about the manga.

The second Blu-ray Dane bought for me is part 2 of Your Lie In April, which is the final part of the special collector’s edition! He bought me part 1 and the special box at the start of the year for my birthday, so now I’m so happy to finally have the box set completed! This is definitely the first thing I’ll be watching with Dane out of all of the Blu-rays I received as I want to binge watch all of this with him! I haven’t continued to watch anymore of it until I had all of the box set for us to binge watch!

Aside from my main presents this was probably one of my favourites to be honest! It’s The Art Of Persona 5 and I have been lusting after this book since they announced it way back in the summer! I’m so pleased Dane bought it for me to be honest as on Christmas Day after I opened it I had a good flick through the whole thing and I cannot wait to sit down with a cup of coffee and read the whole thing, cover to cover. This year I discovered Persona 5, as well as the Persona franchise! I haven’t fallen in love with a franchise this hard since Pokemon and I am so chuffed that back when it came out at the start of the year that I bought it.

Finally we have the main gifts from Dane and my favourites! These are the 2 Nendoroid’s that Dane bought for me this Christmas and I was so surprised to be honest with you! I mentioned on my Christmas wish list that I had a feeling Dane would have bought me Yuri but when I opened Viktor and THEN Yuri I was so happy! I couldn’t have asked for better Nendoroid’s to have received this Christmas and I feel like such a lucky girl. We have no room right now to put these up anywhere so sadly they’ll be staying in the boxes until we have room. But I love my 2 YURI!!! boys so much and I cannot wait to play with them and display them in the future! So many YURI!!! On Ice Nendoroid’s have been announced lately that we will definitely be getting in the future!

Dane really spoilt me this year and I am so grateful for everything I received! I know I have another present arriving that he ordered me, it’s nothing special but it’s the thought that counts! FYI it’s a Macaroon Treats Yankee Candle!

Now onto my final present and definitely the one that blew me away the most. I was so surprised when I opened it to discover my mom had bought me a Dyson hairdryer! I know these aren’t cheap to be honest and I’ve lusted after one since they were announced, so the fact that my mom bought me one makes me feel so loved and special. I still can’t believe she bought it for me and after trying it, I really do adore it. I wish she could read how thankful and grateful I am.

So those were all the goodies I got for Christmas and I am so, SO thankful to everyone who bought myself, as well as Dane gifts this year!

What did you get for Christmas? Big or small I would love to hear what you got from loved ones. You know where to tell me. 😉

Until next time, take care all and I hope you’re all resting after loads of Christmas and Boxing Day dinners!

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Geeky Girl Gift Guide – Collaboration Post

Hey guys! It’s me again, Sarah from over at Raiin Monkey, bringing you as promised my next geektastic gift guide! If you saw my post on Wednesday, you’ll know that me and Nat are doing a Christmas collaboration together, each sharing some geeky gift guides for both guys and girls. Last time, Nat shared a gift guide for girls on my blog (you can read her post here), and I gave you my suggestions of Christmas gift ideas for guys here on Nat’s wonderful blog! So, today it’s my turn to write all about gift ideas for the geeky girls in your life!

As with Part 1 of my geeky gift guide, I’ve decided to include items perfect for those of you on a budget, as all my suggestions are £20 or under, and many of them would be great as stocking fillers! I’ve split up my guide into two parts again: present ideas for under £10 and also for under £20. I’ve sourced everything from UK websites too, to help keep the costs down 😊 I hope you all enjoy reading!

Pokémon I Choose You Mug (link) I was strolling through the grindstore website because it’s one of my favourite online stores for alternative merch and I spotted this adorable mug, that was just too cute not to include on my geeky girls gift guide. Just as Nat said in her post, everyone loves a good mug at Christmas! I love that this one includes all of the starter Pokémon so it’s a mug to suite every Pokéfan! Something I also love about giving mugs as gifts is that you can fill it with other little presents, stuff like socks, chocolates & sweets, keyrings, etc.

Despicable Me Fluffy Unicorn Notebook (link) THIS NOTEBOOK IS SO FLUFFY, I’M GONNA DIE!! Hahaha I couldn’t help myself 😀 How awesome are fluffy notebooks though!? I don’t know anyone who doesn’t appreciate a pretty, good quality notebook, and this one would make a fabulous gift for anyone who loves unicorns or just cutesy things in general!

DC Lil Bombshells Vinyl Figures (link) Being slightly obsessed with collecting blind box figures myself, I couldn’t not find another blind box for my geeky girls gift guide too! I love the DC Bombshell figures, they are gorgeous, and these little chibi-style versions of them are awesome! They celebrate all of the badass woman of the DC world, and there’s 12 to collect in these series 2 editions. One of these surprise figures would make a really cool present for any DC fan you know, both girls and guys.

Kawaii Sushi Coaster Set (link) This is a present for my fellow kawaii fans. Even if you’re not a lover of sushi (me neither!), you can’t argue that these coasters are super cute! At only £4.99 for 4, I think they are a bargain not to be missed! I love how colourful and bright they are too, and they are great for popping into a stocking.

Pusheen the Cat Pastel Green Plush (link) It’s no surprise that both me & Nat included Pusheen items on our gift guides for geek girls because Pusheen is amazing! It’s impossible not to love her, and there’s so much wonderful merch available lately. Artbox UK have quite a few official Pusheen plushies, including these three pastel 15cm plushies, available in green, pink and purple. Your geeky girl loved ones will be thrilled to find one of these little cuties in their stockings on Christmas morning 😊

Studio Ghibli Gang Tote Bag (link) I don’t know many geeky girls that aren’t fans of at least one of the amazing movies by Studio Ghibli, and this tote bag is awesome because it includes so many of the popular characters on it! If I used tote bags more, I’d buy it for myself for Christmas because I’m in love with the print! It’s one of those presents too that can be filled with even more Christmas gifts, which is always a bonus. Bags are the perfect gift for students too because they can always use another bag, whether it’s for taking to class with them or to use as a shopping bag or something.

Hatsune Miku Keyring (link) Here’s another animation themed gift, for geeky girls who love all things Japanese! This keyring is an official Vocaloid item and is only £2.49! Even if you’ve never watched Vocaloid, Hatsune Miku is such a cute and iconic character, that I’m sure any fan of kawaii culture or anime would love to receive this for Christmas!

The next part of my Geeky Girls Gift Guide is for those of you who are interested in stocking fillers that are little more pricey but still ideal for those on a budget at £20 and under!

Tofu Cute Amuse Lucky Bag (link) Each time that I’ve been to my local MCM Comic Con at Manchester, I’ve seen people walking around with these adorable Tofu Cute goodie bags, both a blue and a pink variation, and always thought that they were surprise Japanese and Korean snack bags since I know that the store sells them. However, I just discovered that the blue one is full of snacks, but the pink one or the ‘Maneki Neko’ bag is for surprise plushies! I am such a huge fan of the Japanese brand Amuse and their plushies, and so I now have a mighty need for one of these lucky bags in my life! The smallest of the bags is £18.99, but there are three other larger sizes with more products in that you can buy. Head over to the website to see examples of what you can expect inside. I think this would make such a brilliant present, especially since you get the free drawstring bag too! If you think your loved one would prefer the snack version, that’s only £12.99. Even better, but slightly more pricey than £20, there’s a special Christmas version of the Tofu Cute lucky bag, which has a mix of both plushies and snacks!

Harry Potter Crests Gift Set (link) Gift sets, like this Harry Potter official one, are a fabulous option when buying a Christmas present, because they contain more than one gift and usually come inside a pretty presentation box of some kind. This set will make a wonderful gift for any Harry Potter fangirl, no matter if she belongs to Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, since it includes all the Hogwarts House crests! Also, this would make the perfect Secret Santa present for any Harry Potter fan! Fellow Harry Potter fans…I’m curious, what house do you belong to? I’m a Ravenclaw!

Deadpool Arm Party Bracelet Set (link) Jewellery is always a nice gift idea for any occasion in my opinion, and I thought this Deadpool set was unique plus it would make a cool present for many geeky girls. Whether they are a fan of the DC comics or just loved the 2016 Deadpool movie (I know I did!), this would be an awesome addition to their Christmas stocking this year. The set includes five bracelets, all designed in different ways so that they can be worn as a set or individually. I think they are actually really pretty!

Star Paws Parody T-shirt (link) I adore parody tees, this one especially because it has light saber-wielding kittens on it! Is there anything more awesome than that, haha!? Just maybe, because the slogan on the tee says, ‘Meow the force be with you!’. I LOVE IT! I almost forgot to mention that there’s a Christmas sale on over at Truffle Shuffle that ends just before midnight this Sunday, offering 20% off everything (use the code: PRESSIE20). Whilst this offer lasts, why not grab this t-shirt for your geeky friends or family? 😊

Harry Potter House Scarves (link) The online store GeekCore has so much awesome Harry Potter merch so definitely go check them out if you or your loved ones are fans! If so, then this ones another item for you! These gorgeous Harry Potter House scarves would make the perfect gift right now with it being almost winter time! They would also be a great present for anyone you know who likes to cosplay! I’m very tempted to get myself one because they look really snug and I’ve been so cold lately!

Happy Piranha’s Every Fragranced Candle tealights (link) Nat featured a fabulous Darth Vader tealight candle holder on her geeky girl gift guide, so I thought it would be cool to include some tealights that could be purchased along with that! I was searching around for geeky themed candles available in the UK and I came across this set that looks brilliant! The ‘Every Fragranced Candle’ set is Harry Potter themed, based on Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans. How cool is that!? You are supposed to guess the scent of these candles, which I think is great and there’s so many fragrances that sound amazing, like Peppermint Swirl and Blackberry Crumble. They are all handmade too, and would be a perfect Christmas gift for anyone, Harry Potter fan or not!

Pokémon All Over Print T-Shirt (link) We have reached the final item on my gift guide for geeky girls, and this is one of my favourite items of all that I’ve shared with you guys today! Just look how fabulous it is! I really like all of the bright colours and of course, that it’s covered in Pokémon. I mean, how could anyone not adore it!? I love the style of this t-shirt too, it looks very comfy. As the website states ‘it’s a die-hard Pokéfan must-have!’.

So, I hope that you enjoyed all of my present suggestions for your geeky girl friends, girlfriends, family or co-workers this Christmas. I’d love to know if the items I’ve featured have been perfect for your loved ones or even if they’ve just given you some inspiration on what to buy for them 😊 That goes for Nat’s posts too; please leave either of us a comment and let us to your thoughts on the items we’ve chosen. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Day and that you get some marvelous presents, whether they are geeky or not!

I just wanted to end my post by giving a big thank you to Nat for working with me on this collaboration! It’s been so awesome, and I’ve been wanting to work with her for the longest time, so I’m super happy that we finally have done ♥ Definitely keep a look out for more collabs from us in the future everyone!

I just want to say again, a massive thank you to Sarah for agreeing to collab with me for Christmas not just once, but twice! These posts have definitely been some of my best guest posts and collaboration posts I’ve ever done and the prospect of working with Sarah again in the future is already so exciting!

Don’t forget to go and read Sarah’s Geeky Guy Gift Guide here!

Until next time, take care all and I hope you have a lovely weekend… Hopefully surrounded like snow like I am! 😛

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Christmas Present Ideas – Geeky Guy

I said before I left for my holiday that from the start of December, until the last Wednesday before Christmas I would be posting Christmas present idea lists up on my blog. I’m not going to do your casual present guides, instead something a little different, and quirky. For my first list my boyfriend is here to give me a hand with a geeky guy present ideas! Him being a geek himself, this is pretty much his wish list for Christmas. So I hope you enjoy his choices, and they help you get any ideas for those geeky men in your life!

Howdy everybody! Natalee is still away on her holiday, so she has roped me in to do another post. It’s coming to that time of year where we openly let a fat bearded man into our homes and steal our milk and mince pies. I never understood why we do that but that thought is for another day!

With Christmas coming up I thought it would be a good idea to give people ideas on what presents to get a geeky guy like me. I know Nat has some difficulty getting me presents as I tend to buy stuff when and if I need it, and I am pretty sure it is the same for a lot of guys out there. My dad in particular is pretty hard to buy for as he isn’t really interested in much. So to give you ladies, and even guys a helping hand with what to get any of the neckbeard* men in your life.
*www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=neckbeard

  • Xbox Elite Controller

I’m an Xbox loyalist; I will state that straight away so forgive me if your man has another console or belongs to the master race (PC). I don’t believe there is an equivalent for the PS4 and the master race will always praise using mouse and keyboard so this is not for them. This is one thing that I am really looking forward to getting. The customisation, the responsiveness… It just looks cool, and so on. Just watch this official video:

The only drawback is the price, at £120 it is pretty steep for an accessory that most people probably don’t need. That is why I have asked for assistance with getting mine for Christmas, I could get it but I can’t justify buying it myself for the full price.

  • Star Wars Battlefront Special Edition PS4

I suppose an alternative is the Star Wars Battlefront Special Edition PS4. It just looks tasty with the Darth Vader print on the front, funky looking limited edition controller, and general presentation. It also gives me an excuse to be a double agent in the console wars. It is more expensive than the controller so it isn’t really an alternative at all, plus it will never beat the limited edition R2D2 Xbox 360 with sounds and lights. However, for those that want to splash the cash, for those who may be into it, and for those without a PS4 it is a great present. I know Nat really wants one for herself!

  • Nendoroids (and I suppose Pop! Vinyl Figures)

I am a bit of a snob when it comes to figures, even though I am new to collecting them. Due to this I don’t know names of other brands other than these two and could never see myself buying the proper expensive ones no matter how cool they look. They really would be too unfair on my bank account.

http://www.goodsmile.info/en/product/4553/The+Colossus+Titan+TAKAYUKI+TAKEYA+Ver.html

Personally, I dislike Pop! Vinyl figures. As the brand has grown in popularity the quality seems to have diminished. I don’t like the look of them, they are manufactured in greater quantity so the paintwork tends to be iffy at best, and there isn’t much to them other than they’re a potentially cute looking figure. They are very easy to buy, popular, and cheap brand of figures so yeah, go for it if you’re on a budget, or there is a particular figure that will appeal. Older figures like Nat’s Wall-E are really decent, whereas newer ones like the Colossal Titan seem badly made. If there was one I would get it would be the Brotherhood of Steel Pop! from the Fallout collection, as I have had my eye on it for a while. Otherwise I’ll tell you about Nendoroids, a figure that I think will give you a hell of a lot more for your buck.

For those that like a bit more quality to their figures, Nendoroids are the way to go. I already own a fair few of them; nearly all the Attack on Titan collection (just missing Cleaning Levi), both Kirito and Asuna from the Sword Art Online collection, Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid, and the Star Wars Stormtrooper.

They are manufactured by a Japanese company called Good Smile so a lot of their products are based around manga and anime, making them the perfect gift for someone who loves that sort of stuff. They are incredibly well made, pose-able, and all come with unique accessories that reflect the character. Some examples being Solid Snake has a cardboard box, the Stormtrooper has a blaster, and Mikasa has her red scarf.

The drawbacks with Nendoroids are availability, price, and variety. You can see them at conventions (but be careful they’re not fake!), and very rarely in places like Forbidden Planet but the best place to get them is online. Always use trusted partners (http://partner.goodsmile.info/support/eng/partnershops/) or shops other people recommend like Sushi Noms, Crunchy Roll and so on. Due to the way Good Smile release them affects how easy to acquire they are. You will find it difficult to find older figures outside of eBay and even then they have a chance of being fake or overpriced. Speaking of price, they can be on the expensive side. For example, I got Nat a Mawaru Penguindrum (Google it) Nendoroid which I would consider quite rare for just over £20. That is good, right? On the other hand the Pokemon Red is priced up at £160… Yes, that much! Then there is the trouble of bootlegs which there is a major issue with. Good Smile does bootleg warnings which are great and helpful, but you still have to be careful. I fell victim to it using eBay. It looked real on the pictures, but I could tell instantly it wasn’t when it arrived, and returned it straight away.

Even though these are some issues, I still recommend Nendoroids over anything.

  • Games (Fallout 4, SW: Battlefront, Just Cause 3)

Games are a simple easy present to get. They are released constantly and if it were me I would be happy to receive any game, hell even Viva Pinata! Just check out the hype for the upcoming games and maybe take a little look at their current collection and it should give you a good idea on what sort of games they’re into. At the moment I am playing Fallout 4 and Star Wars: Battlefront and anyone would have a blast playing either of those. The problem with these though is they are out already and said person who you’ll be buying for will have most likely bought them already (like I have), so what do you get? Well one idea is to buy something similar to what they have already, no harm in that is there? An older game I want is the Master Chief Collection, I’m glad I didn’t get it at launch because it was shrouded in problems but they have fixed them and it would be a great addition to any Halo fan boy. I already own the original Xbox and 360 copies of Halo 1,2 and 3 so I would love to be able to play them on my Xbox One.

You could even go retro, have they ever spoken about the good old days playing the Sega Mega Drive or the Super Nintendo? You can find them pretty cheap on eBay, I got hold of a Mega Drive for £30 and it included 10 games. Mega nostalgia for any gamer!

What if you want to get something new for them? Or your partner has everything already? Or you don’t know the difference between Battlefield and Battlefront? Or you can’t work out why you shouldn’t get Duke Nukem Forever?
Well the answer to that really is Just Cause 3. Why? You ask. Because explosions. Every man wants to be Antonio Banderas and not look at explosions and this game gives you all of that with no risk of being branded a terrorist or creepy for trying to be Antonio Banderas.

Antonio Banderas isn’t actually in this but I think the character is based on his [film career] life. It is a silly game that you shouldn’t take seriously, but that is what makes it fun. I have played the two original games and they are beautiful and amazingly fun to play another game that anyone would love to play. I am actually looking forward to it coming out in December. That is why I am suggesting it as whoever you may buy it for won’t have it just yet so it makes a perfect present to get. Just make sure they haven’t pre ordered it!

The best advice I can give for when buying games is to ask them straight up what, if any, games they would like. Then you have no trouble. It may ruin the surprise, but if they are anything like me I appreciate the thought that you want to get something I am actually interested in rather than having to feign happiness that you got me Ride to Hell: Retribution because you saw I liked Sons of Anarchy (FYI: It is a terribly bad, bad, bad, bad, baaaaaaad game).

If you really want to surprise the gamer, make the notes of what games they have and go into any gaming store. GAME staff in particular are incredibly helpful and although they want you to buy stuff regardless, I still feel like they want to help you.

  • GAME Gift Cards

When I say game store, I don’t specifically mean the chain of stores. You can buy vouchers for pretty much all the major game outlets. Xbox store, PlayStation Network, and Steam all have gift cards available, and depending on what system they use you can tailor it to them. If all else fails, get GAME gift cards. Anything that helps me buy more is always welcome.

  • Portal Board Game

I recently got this to play with Nat, but we haven’t got round to playing it yet. It took a while to understand the rules, we were tired and it was late so please forgive us for not being able to truly review it. Most gamers and geeks will know about the video game Portal, so this is a brilliant gift for any fan of the series. Valve, the creators of the series, are probably one of the biggest hitters in the gaming industry so you can’t miss what they have released. Not sure when it released but I had no idea about it until I randomly spotted it in a Games Workshop. It looks fun and I hope we get round to playing it soon. It would be a great gift to open on Christmas and play with the family.

  • Stormtrooper Costume

I don’t really know what to say to persuade anyone to buy this…

http://www.stormtrooper-costumes.com/24,stormtrooper_costumes.html

… But I am damn sure I want one.

A full PVC outfit of a Stormtrooper with holster and blaster would be fudging amazing! I have always wanted one, but that price is a bit painful on the soul, if I had one…

  • Stocking Fillers/Novelty Clothing

These are awesome little ideas that you could buy someone. I know that I have largely focused on gamers with a heavy dosing of Star Wars but this is really for any geek. There are tons of websites and shops out there to get little presents and random bits of clothing.

Here are but a few:

www.gamer-heaven.net

www.redbubble.com

www.forbiddenplanet.com

www.crunchyroll.com/store

www.tokyotoys.com

www.sushinoms.com

www.tofucute.com

www.animuk.co.uk

Just look on the websites for whatever they are into and you can easily find something. If it is clothing I would recommend sticking with T-shirts as not all nerds and geeks are confident enough to walk around wearing a Naruto jacket, a Survey Corps hoody, or even like having to explain what their clothing is from. Most people don’t understand how adults can be into these “childish cartoons”. Not even when Lucy from Elfen Lied tears people in half creating a bloody massacre whilst strolling naked through a military complex. T-shirts allow people to express their interests, yet be able to cover up when visiting grandparents. There is nothing more awkward than having to explain over a cup of tea why the cake is a lie. Just don’t put them in that position!

  • Shit-Bucket

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Shit+Bucket

Stay with me here and give me a chance to explain.

I don’t necessarily mean buying your partner a commode and letting them excrete into a bucket, unless you really want to. I mean giving them the gift of letting them zone out and enjoy their games. Book a day off work for them (and yourself), keep up their supply of Monster and Doritos (possibly with melted cheese), and take an interest in what their playing. I know it is hard to just watch someone play but having support from loved ones means a lot, it’s the thought that counts. Hell, you could even empty the bucket for them…

I joke.

So there you have it, my quick gift guide for that special geeky person in your life. I don’t want this to be limited to just guys as I’m sure some women out there would appreciate the intricacies of a poop bucket. So if you have a geeky guy or girl hopefully they would appreciate some of these things that I myself would love to receive from the bizarro burglar know as Santa.

Ciao for now!

Thanks again to Dane for writing this post for me! The last present idea really did make me giggle! What did my readers think of his ideas? Make sure to let me know in the comments, Dane will be reading them whilst I’m away on holiday.

I’m away for another week yet so I’ll see you all when I get back! Take care.

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Hyper Japan 2015 Part 1

I have struggled to start this post because I just didn’t know how to start it, and due to that it’s actually a day late… Oops! I’m literally just going to throw myself into it and ramble on about things in the order they occurred on the day, which I’ll warn you was long and also picture heavy! I also bought quite a few things at Hyper Japan or was given plenty of freebies, which you can see above, but I’ll go into more detail about those throughout the post.

This post is actually going to be split into two parts, because as I’ve been writing it, it’s just appeared to be WAY too long! So I’ll have part one up today, and part one up tomorrow!

Although we were shattered, we were ready for Hyper Japan and made sure we got up bright an early to get a big breakfast and then head over to the O2 where the event was happening. I’ve never been to the O2 in London before so I was in shock when I saw how big it actually is. But to get there we took the cable cart over which was pretty cool, although I was really anxious when we went over the first time, damn anxiety!

We arrived and the queue was ridiculous… However we had paid a little extra to get fast registration tickets, so we were lucky and didn’t need to wait in that queue. I later read online that it took people an hour to just over it to get into the arena. Not good! We had a bit of trouble waiting in the queue but for once my anxiety didn’t hold me back from voicing my concerns and I spoke to a member of staff about what was happening. Basically, people were pushing in and then laughing at us all who they had pushed past. Me raising these issues got us to the front of the queue, which we couldn’t complain about.

When we finally got inside we were even more excited! The O2 wasn’t that busy but it was sure heaving with restaurants. It just meant if we didn’t wish to eat at Hyper Japan, we had some choices around us.

There were various places you could visit at Hyper Japan including, Eat Japan, Hyper Fringe Market, J-Culture, Hyper Kawaii, Hyper Live, and the first place we visited, Hyper Game & Anime Park. This was probably one of the funnest places for us so it being the first place we went into was pretty awesome.

As the name suggests the Game & Anime Park was of course full of those. Nintendo was of course the main gaming event in there with loads of different demo areas for various different games, as well as a huge stage where members of Nintendo were talking people through new and upcoming games, as well as some cool events happening. We went there to watch about the latest game from Animal Crossing, Happy Home Designer (I’ve already pre ordered it!). I’m a huge Animal Crossing fan so I was super excited when we were told that event was happening on the stage. We watched the whole thing and due to being such awesome people, we were given a free Mario Kart 8 keyring, which I gave my boyfriend.

As well as that there was also a Playstation 4 console where people could demo the new Sword Art Online game, which is coming out in autumn this year! Exciting news for Sword Art Online fans like me and my boyfriend. We both had a go on the demo which latest about ten minutes and it was a pretty straight forward game. There was a huge queue when we first went into the Game & Anime Park so when we went in for a second time, that’s when we got to have a go.

Of course due to Nintendo being there, they also had some of their Amiibo items on display for people to look at, which of course we did. The ones I got most excited for were the yarn Yoshi ones, which have come out to accompany the Wii U game Yoshi’s Woolly World. They come in three colours, my favourite of course being the original green Yoshi. These are made out of real wool so not only do they look like little woolen figures, but they actually are!

Going back to Animal Crossing and the new game Happy Home Designer, these are coming out alongside it so it was nice to have a look at the cards that will be coming out for it. You use these cards to call different villagers and people in the town then and there instead of waiting ages for them. It was also nice to discover that Nintendo are bringing out an add on for old 3DS, and 2DS ‘s where you can use the cards, instead of needing to but the new 3DS.

Not long after the event where the people of Nintendo were talking about the new Animal Crossing game, a Pikachu suddenly waddled past us and over to the main Nintendo section. We followed it to discover that you could have pictures with it, so we got in the queue and got our pictures taken! It was so adorable and I wish we could have gone back and had some more pictures of it. But alas, we had things to do.

Before we left the Game & Anime Park I had a quick picture (or two!) with a massive Colossal Titan head that had been blown up with air for people to take pictures with. It’s from Attack On Titan, one of mine and my boyfriends favourite manga/anime. My boyfriend didn’t bother having any pictures with it, but I made sure to take advantage of it, as it was pretty awesome and the picture I got of me with it is definitely one of my favourites from the day.

We picked up a few bits and pieces from the Game & Anime Park and my boyfriend was lovely enough to buy me a handbag. I had my eye on it since the seller announced they would be selling them at Hyper Japan over on their Facebook page. When I told them I wanted to buy one they were lovely enough to let me look over the bag I got to make sure it was okay and such, which of course it was. It also came in a dust bag which I love! I keep it in there when I’m not using it to keep it nice and fresh looking. It’s a dupe of the Samantha Vega handbag which I’m fine with, as it’s a nice dupe and when I’ve used this bag since me getting it, it’s amazing quality and is really sturdy and great! I’m super pleased with it, and for £35 it was well worth the money. My boyfriend also bought me some green tea matcha Kit Kat’s, which were only 80p each! By far the cheapest ones in the whole of Hyper Japan.

We moved over to the other areas of Hyper Japan and probably spent most of our time there looking around all the various stalls and stands.

This is the Tofu Cute Candy Festival and something we visited twice because we loved it so much! For just £6 we got all these treats to eat and try, so we got two of these. There were various things we got from Pocky, Kit Kat’s, chocolate, sweets, and as you can see on this picture, a green tea matcha mochi, where was delicious. It was a great way to sample things before buying them in the shop next door. The shop was so busy too, it was probably one of the busiest stalls of the day.

As the Saturday Hyper Japan day is split into two separate events people are told they need to leave for half an hour whilst the event is swapped around so before we headed off we ordered a picture to be drawn of us together, as well as picked up a picture of me that someone had drawn in the Fringe Market.

We also decided to grab some food from the Eat Japan section. We bought some tuna onigiri, and to the Japanese onigiri is like a sandwich to us, which I LOVED! They were two for £6, which wasn’t cheap for but for how filling it was, it was really nice. I think we’re going to try and make these ourselves in the future.

Then we headed back to the hotel as we were pretty shattered and wanted to drop off some of the stuff we had bought, as things were beginning to be quiet heavy. The queue for the cable cart was long! But luckily we were alright and soon got into a cart with some people. I felt a lot more relaxed the second time we rode it and I would love to go on it again in the future.

And whilst I was going to continue talking about Hyper Japan, I’m going to stop for today and call this part one out of two. This post is just turning out to be way too long to fit into one post without it not beginning to be boring.

So tomorrow I shall talk about the second half of Hyper Japan in part two!

What do you think of my first Hyper Japan experience so far? Did you go to Hyper Japan? Let me know in the comments.

Until tomorrow, take care all.

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