Christmas Gift Guide 2013: GIFTS FOR HER

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Published on Friday, 29 November 2013 16:00

Last Updated on 02 December 2013

Monica Costa

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Here is London Mums original Christmas gift guide including GIFTS FOR HER i.e. for mums, new mums, grandmothers, sisters and girlfriends.

HOME

WALL CLOCK: We love this gorgeous retro, traditional and quirky ‘Clocks Double Bell Wall Clock’ in black. RRP £9.00. It’s really great value and looks more expensive than it is. It’s available at Tesco which online sells the trendiest and best value for money clocks to clock us all into the new party season in style.

Pebble Fair Trade Cotton Crochet Christmas Decorations Set

This delightful set of handmade crochet tree decorations are made under Fair Trade conditions and would make a wonderful addition to your tree this Christmas. What we love about this decoration is that it is made by Pebble under Fair Trade conditions in rural Bangladesh and therefore supports fair trading. It has been hand crocheted by skilled artisans and it really shows in the quality.
Pebble Toys support women and their families in rural Bangladesh by providing flexible working opportunities which are near to their homes. This set consists of a snowman, reindeer and Christmas tree. The length of each decoration is approx. 15cm. All pieces are machine washable at 40 degrees and tumble dry. The kids will love decorating the tree with these original decorations.

Flowers

Flowers are always welcome. It’s now even easier to order fresh flowers.
New service Bloom & Wild is the UK’s first nationwide letterbox florist and send whole bouquets to customers in specially designed boxes that fit through a standard UK letterbox. This also means that they are more affordable (they are half the price of other online florists for an equivalent bouquet, so perfect for households on a budget); more convenient (because they fit through the letterbox, with free delivery, so you don’t need to be at home to receive them – perfect for busy mums); and twice as long-lasting (because they come direct from growers, and because they only cut flowers to order, to meet customer orders) compared to those you can buy elsewhere! (great because you need to buy the flowers much less often). Honestly we tried this service a few weeks ago and the flowers are still fresh.

They’ve created a bespoke packaging system which means that these flowers arrive in great shape despite their Royal Mail journey, and open up into generously sized bouquets. It seems incredible but it is really a very clever idea.

Bloom & Wild is also different in a couple of other ways:

– They offer flower subscriptions. So you can have flowers arrive at your home (or someone else’s home, or your work) every week, fortnight or month. It’s commitment free – you can pause or cancel at any time. People seem to love subscribing to all sorts of other products, from fruit/veg to snacks to beauty samples, so why not fresh flowers!

– they are a curated service. This means that you simply need to pick from one of 3 collections of arrangements: Bright & Wild, Chic & Wild or Luxe & Wild and our florist (who splits her time between Bloom & Wild and Claridges, a 5-star hotel in Mayfair) selects beautiful, in-season flowers that are different every time. This means that you get to discover a far wider range of flowers (there are 13,000 varieties of flower but most people can only name a handful) than you would if you stuck to ordering what you know from another website or a flower store.

It’s simple to order Bloom & Wild flowers – you just visit the website at bloomandwild.com and pick from one of our 3 collections. You then set your delivery date (and, if you want a subscription, then the frequency) and enter your payment details, and then your flowers start arriving. It takes under 5 minutes to arrange them into a vase.

Co-founders both used to have city jobs but thought it would be more exciting to create a product that people really enjoy (and can afford to treat themselves to). They felt that there had been limited innovation in the UK flower industry, and that the supply chain was outdated and inefficient, with lots of middlemen driving cost up and vase life down. As consumers, they’ve both bought flowers that they’ve found expensive or that haven’t lasted and so they’re excited about making convenient, affordable, long-lasting flowers a reality.

BOOKS

LONDON VILLAGES: Explore the City’s Best Local Neighbourhoods

Really lovely book for everyone but especially for women who like to find quirky and fashionable items in London. This is a perfect book for them. There are dozens of tucked away ‘villages’ in London, from Columbia Road to Clarendon Cross. These small, locally-known enclaves give the capital its inimitable character. Featuring thirty of the most unique and vibrant neighbourhoods in London, this is your key to exploring the city in a new way. With atmospheric photographs and an illustrated map for each village, a short text sums up its spirit, history and location, before expertly highlighting the best independent shops, markets, cafés and public spaces to visit. My favourite village featured in the book is Barnes 🙂
Available at Amazon from £5.67. Great stocking filler!

Absolute Beginner: My Story

Patsy Kensit is one of our most-loved actresses, a child star who grew up in the public eye and has remained there ever since. Her autobiography is a moving, funny, entertaining story of her memories and an insight into her roller-coaster life mixed of adventure, drama and heartache. In Absolute Beginner Patsy describes her extraordinary childhood, moving between the glamour of filming movies with Elizabeth Taylor and Mia Farrow and the tiny London council flat she shared with her parents and brother. Even as her career was taking off, she was living with the devastating knowledge of her beloved mother’s incurable cancer and was forced to hide her father’s criminal past. She also writes about the ups and downs of life as an actress in a career that has spanned four decades, from her roles in films like the iconic Absolute Beginners, Lethal Weapon 2, 21 and Oscar-nominated Angels and Insects to playing the uber bitch Sadie King in Emmerdale and, most recently, starring in Holby City. Vivid, intimate and touching, Absolute Beginner reveals the real Patsy – a warm and funny woman who is the ultimate survivor.

We had the pleasure of interviewing her for our issue 5 (Winter 2011) – you can read it online or download it from here https://londonmumsmagazine.com/magazine.

COOKERY BOOKS

Macmillan recently published the official Movember cookbook, Cook Like a Man for charity.

Movember, the month formerly known as November, is when men around the world grow a moustache for 30 days, with the support of the women in their lives, to raise awareness and funds for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer, testicular cancer and men’s mental health. Since its humble beginnings in Melbourne Australia in 2003, Movember has grown to become a truly global movement with campaigns in 21 countries in 2012. This book supports the Movember campaign.