Fun Customised personal gifts

You can customise your own book cover art prints, for a personal and fun way to gift this Christmas!

Personalised gifting that's made simple and fun!

Just pick a Book Cover colour, write your own text and author's name, and then choose from three icons to fully personalise your unique Book Cover Art Print poster. 

https://www.beachhouseart.co.uk/collections/personalised-book-cover-posters

A spokesman said: "How to customise and some examples our team thought up... 

The nostalgic illustrated Book Cover icons are; 

- A Stork - great for new babies, or kids’ bedrooms. 

- Joined Rings - for love, engagements and weddings.

- A Dolphin - their original icon, it’s good for anything!

- Customisable Book Covers are available in 10 beautiful and modern interior colours

- Prices start from just £24 for archival paper prints (no frame), or £49 for hand-framed which is ready to hang

- Fast turnaround time; from order to shipping in just 2-3 days. 

- Eco-friendly inks, paper and wooden frames

"Personalised gifts are increasing in popularity as consumers seek out unique and meaningful products which will last, as opposed to tons of plastic goods and fast fashion destined for landfill.

"Our print-to-order art gifts are eco-friendly and sustainable and will give the recipient many years of smiles. 

"Personalising an art print for someone is a very thoughtful idea, and is not limited to just Christmas, think about; special birthdays, weddings or engagements, a newborn, a mother’s or father’s day gift and many more!"

Help save the world one Christmas present at a time!

Eco-friendly gift wrap from Wrapuccino returns with a new dazzling collection: festive designs printed on recycled plastic fabric!

Would you believe this furoshiki used to be a plastic bottle?

Wrapuccino, the green, female-led brand revolutionising the gift-giving industry, has released its new festive collection of rPET furoshiki giftwrap made from recycled plastic bottles. 

This year's stylistic inspirations are a blend of traditional splendour and modern chic, all on beautiful, slightly glimmery fabrics that will make any gift look extra luxurious.

Not only have these wraps been made from recycled plastic bottles, but are also reusable for many years to come and are extremely versatile and waste-free.

With fabric gift wrap, no scissors, sticky tape or ribbons are needed and it only takes a few seconds to make any gift look extra-unique. With their eco wraps, Wrapuccino put a modern twist on the ancient Japanese art of furoshiki which dates back to 7th century AD. 

Now their sustainable furoshiki gift wraps are available on the High Street, in independent shops all over the UK, but also in global departments stores such as Liberty London, Urban Outfitters or Selfridges, to name only a few.

Their success goes to show there's a growing customer demand for a greener, more sustainable alternative to wrapping paper.

www.wrapuccino.com

A spokesman explained: "We offer unique eco-friendly, reusable and multi-purpose Furoshiki fabric gift wraps. With Wrapuccino, we show the world sustainable gift-wrapping is not only possible but also that it doesn’t have to be grey and boring. Quite the contrary; though the fabrics are beautiful on their own, every time you wrap a gift you create a little piece of art that’s one-of-a-kind, without the need for any ribbons or tape.

"Handing a gift wrapped in fabric is extra special, you show you care on so many levels: about the person, the environment, but also about beauty, style and presentation. Effectively, you’re giving the lucky recipient two gifts. Each fabric is carefully handmade and finished by our talented artisans, which guarantees you will re-use it (or repurpose it) time and time again. 

"You see, our wraps are for life, not just for Christmas! Each wrap comes with a recycled name tag with this information so that the recipient can feel extra special. We love creating the warm buzz inside.

"We’re also the only reusable gift wrap that helps save the Oceans, as part of our profits goes to a UK-based charity protecting marine life."

A Meaningful Christmas Present For Less from Olive & Pip

Personalise Pre Loved Presents!

Olive & Pips Love Note Patches are a huge hit. They are the perfect way to show someone you are thinking of them, making them feel good all day long!

Did you know you can personalise Christmas gifts with them?

Their patches offer the perfect way to personalise a gift that's on a budget (£7.99-£9.99 for one patch or less in a pack). They can even be added onto something you or they already own or a charity shop purchase, making them also sustainable which is a perfect win win!

What could be sweeter for the children's grandparents than a present made extra, extra special with a personalised handwritten love note from them?

Why is it so awesome that you can add personalised patches to your gifts?

1. They can be popped on so many different things, so you can choose a gift you know they will really love

2. Handwriting is so personal, and these are guaranteed to make them smile whenever they use/wear their gift.

3. Your kids can get involved in making the presents so they will be even more excited to gift them

4. But, they are not just for children's handwriting. They can also make patches from your own handwriting, or the handwriting of a loved one who is no longer with you.

Eleanor wrote this beautiful note (shown) for her Grandma and decided to add it onto a lovely scarf for her. 

Eleanor used the Large Personalised Patch shown (which are better for longer messages like these), but they also have a range of other options including their smaller original patches and glow in the dark patches too!

The possibilities are endless, some of their favourite Christmas present ideas include being added to a snuggly blanket, the inside of a jacket, a picnic blanket, the inside of a bag, on their favourite jeans and of course Eleanor's lovey scarf idea. 

Iron-on Love Note Patches are available to purchase now on their website www.oliveandpip.co.uk in time for Christmas.

Birmingham's Frankfurt Christmas Market is in full swing

Birmingham Frankfurt Christmas Market 

Birmingham's Frankfurt Christmas Market is once again in full swing and is open daily from 10am to 9pm, except Remembrance Sunday (13th November) when the market will be open from 1pm to 9pm.

It will run right through until Friday 23rd December.

Birmingham’s Frankfurt Christmas Market is a much loved firm fixture in the city’s annual calendar and a massive favourite with both residents and visitors to the city from across the UK and also Europe. 

Birmingham comes alive every winter with the arrival of the Market, a clear sign Christmas is just round the corner. The stalls on Victoria Square and along New Street truly offer something for everyone.

It's actually the largest authentic German Christmas market outside of Germany or Austria. Birmingham’s Frankfurt Christmas Market offers a massive range of traditional good and gifts and a selection of tempting traditional food and drink. 

Try pretzels, schnitzels, bratwursts, and roasted almonds which will tempt your nose and your tastebuds. And don't forget that you can enjoy these with gluhwein, weissbeer (wheat beer), or maybe a tasty hot chocolate? And now non-alcoholic versions of these traditional drinks are also available, too!

It's a fantastic place to meet up with family and friends and enjoy the live music programme on Victoria Square. 

And of course, whilst you’re there why not pick up some Christmas gifts for your family and friends with everything from handcrafted wooden decorations and delicate glass baubles to crystal lamps, music CDs, hand-crafted leatherwork, toys, jewellery and much more besides!

https://www.thebfcm.co.uk/birminghams-frankfurt-christmas-market.

(Image courtesy Birmingham City Council) 

Great Christmas gifts from the Natural History Museum

Are you sorting out your Christmas plans and also want to make feel-good choices that support the protection of our planet? 

Then you'll find everything you could possibly need at the Natural History Museum Shop, with Christmas essentials and unique gifts to suit everyone, both family members and friends.

And items bought from the Natural History Museum Shop helps support the Museum’s 350 scientists and their vital, pioneering work, including finding solutions to biodiversity loss and the climate emergency.

This winter the Natural History Museum shop is stocking an exciting range of exclusive Christmas tree decorations suited to animal lovers and dinosaur enthusiasts alike.

The collection, which includes a dodo, diplodocus and a gorgeous stegosaurus, is the perfect addition for a truly roar-some Christmas tree, including the ultimate angelic T-rex tree topper. Sustainability is at the heart of the collection, and they're all glitter-free. (Which should please the vacuum cleaner!)

Dinosaur fans everywhere will also want to kick off the festive season in style, and the Museum will be back with another ROARsome new Christmas jumper design for 2022.  

Made in England, this year’s dino themed, traditional Christmas jumper is crafted using 100% recycled yarn, using post-consumer waste cotton to avoid water intensive conventional cotton farming, and polyester from locally recycled plastic bottles. 

The Christmas jumpers are manufactured by ethical knitwear producer Jack Master, a UK based and family-owned concern.

Available in unisex adult and child sizes, the jumper is a must-have for the whole family. A matching hat and scarf are also available to complete the look!

Call the shop on 020 7942 5494 or visit them, at www.nhmshop.co.uk.

Older generation says ‘stuff the stuff’ this Christmas

Over 65s will reject unwanted Christmas gifts this year according to a new survey undertaken by meal delivery company, Parsley Box.

So get it right or your presents risking being dumped!

Around 30% of the older generation either don’t want most of the presents they receive or won’t use them, while one in ten say unwanted gifts just take up valuable space in their homes.

And according to the research undertaken with1,000 people aged over 65, around half (44% women and 51% men) would prefer food and drink, adding ‘stuff’ such as make-up or craft kits being among the last things they want to see in their Christmas stocking.

A vast majority (70%) believe buying generic gifts is a waste of money while over half (57%) say spending money on ‘stuff’ is bad for the environment.

‘Stuff’ presents include those given for birthdays and other special occasions as well as Christmas and many end up in drawers and then being ‘recycled’ by being re-gifted to others, or given away.

Of those receiving gifts over the last year, nearly half of the over 65s admitted they hadn’t used at least some of those received last Christmas.

So, it’s no surprise that 30% have given unwanted gifts to charity and a further 13% have re-wrapped the present to pass on to someone else.

But some of those surveyed say they're just as guilty of making the same gifting mistakes, with 19% admitting they know some of the gifts they give will be unwanted. So what's the solution?

Parsley Box has investigated what the Over 65s really want,  and don’t want, this year.

How to Get it Wrong

If you want to be crossed off next year’s Christmas card list then buy your older friends and family cosmetics or craft sets, these combine to make-up around half of the least desired presents among the Over 65s.

How to Get it Right

If you don’t want to be met with a ‘stuff the stuff’ response when buying gifts for older friends and family, take heed of the Parsley Box research which shows:

The Top 5 most wanted presents including shopping vouchers (22%), Books (21%), Wine (20%), Chocolate or Sweet Treats (19%) or good old fashioned money (18%)

Around half those aged over 65 (44% women and 51% men) would prefer food and drink.

The dilemma of avoiding unwanted ‘stuff’ is easily resolved with a purchase from www.parsleybox.com which provides a full range of delicious delivered meals which can give the gift of more time to do the things you love. but also a wide choice of consumable gifts, wine, treats and more.

Choose from a wide range of food, drink and more – in the knowledge you will be making exactly the right choice for your family and friends in the over 65s age bracket.

Incidentally, Parsley Box off a range of nifty gifts that are ideal for Christmas.

parsleybox.com or call 0131 326 0131.

Have a tree-mendous Christmas

Did you know in the wild a Norwegian Spruce can live up to 300 years? 

A spokesman for Beards & Daisies said: "Yet each year, we invite one into our homes for up to just 6 weeks, before throwing it back out into the cold. 

"This year at Beards & Daisies said: "We’re encouraging you to go potted. Invite one of our trees into your home, dress him up for Christmas, and then keep him happy in your garden until it's his time to shine again!

"We want to help bring back a little of that childhood magic, with our Christmas trees delivered straight to your door, just like it's delivered by the big man himself! 

"No more bickering over which tree looks fuller. Forget that precarious drive home with your boot open and half a tree hanging out. No need to worry about hoovering out your car!

"At Beards & Daisies our team of experienced elves will pick you the bushiest, most gorgeous green potted Christmas tree and deliver it straight to your door. Leaving you plenty of time to get on with all of the festivities!

"Whether you’re looking for a mini tree to brighten up a sideboard or a tall 4 or 6 footer, ready to steal the show - with plenty of space for Santa to leave your presents."

To order your Christmas tress visit them at https://www.beardsanddaisies.co.uk.