What's In My Christmas Eve Box? 2016

Merry Christmas Eve, everyone!

I hope you're having a magical Christmas Eve, however you're spending it.

I've just been having a quiet day at home with the dog this year, since Marie and Steve are visiting his family in Scotland, my parents have been out at the family gathering in Worcester (and I was in too much pain to go), and my younger sister, Sarah, didn't surface until half five. I'd normally be baking in the kitchen with Marie and tying up loose ends, so I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself this morning! I've watched some Christmas movies, eaten some tasty food, blown up some confetti balloons for my Mum, who turns sixty tomorrow, and have started to enjoy some of the contents of my Christmas Eve box. I can think of far worse ways to spend a Christmas Eve!

A few Christmases ago, I started the tradition of making myself a Christmas Eve Box full of goodies to enjoy on Christmas Eve night as I count down the last few hours until Christmas morning. I always enjoy them, so of course I just had to put one together to pamper myself with this Christmas, too. I had intended to blog about it sooner, but I ran out of time, 'cause  I'm just that useless.

For those of you who don't already know, a Christmas Eve box is basically a hamper of lovely things for the perfect festive night in. Think new pyjamas, Christmas movies, hot chocolate, popcorn, candles, face masks and so on. You can make them for anybody of any age by personalising the contents to suit the person who will receive them and by selecting age appropriate items, so you can make one for yourself, your kids, to enjoy with your partner, or for the whole family. I'm single and don't have kids, so I put one together for myself, and included some stuff to share with my family. 

So, what have I put in my Christmas box this year?

♥ A cosy new pair of pyjamas. This PJ set from Dorothy Perkins with burgundy heart print bottoms, and a peach tee with a cute bunny motif.

♥ Elegant Touch false nails, some Paperchase nail wraps, and a red glitter Ciaté nail polish. I obviously won't be using them all at once, but I like to have options.

♥ Christmas With The Coopers on DVD- a new to me Christmas film. I've watched a few others from my DVD collection, too.

♥ My beautiful copy of A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Stories, to read before bed.

♥ The Body Shop Frosted Cranberry bath and shower gel, in case I was up for a bath or shower, which sadly I wasn't.

♥ Three Yankee Candle votive candles in Christmas Eve, Candy Cane Lane, and Macaron.Treats. Again, I haven't used all three at once, but it's nice to have options.

♥ L'Oreal Pure Clay face mask to give my skin a treat.

♥ A Christmas mug from Cath Kidston. I totally forgot to add in the hot chocolate I had in the cupboard for the photos.

♥ Ferrero Rochers, a box of Cadbury Roses, and some Butterkist Chocolate and Salted Caramel popcorn.

You know, the essentials. 

I've had a lovely lazy Christmas Eve night in thanks to this lovely lot, and I'm just about ready to drift off to dream land ready to find out what Christmas brings.

Merry Christmas! 

Have you put together a Christmas Eve box this year? What did you put in it?

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Christmas Gift Ideas For Women and Teens 2015

If you've been following my blog for a while you'll know that Wednesday is always wish list day here at Polka Spots and Freckle Dots; the day of the week when I share some of the fashionable things I've been coveting that week. Well, this week I'm not going to do that. Treating myself is the last thing on my mind with Christmas just over a week away.

Instead, I've compiled a huge selection of Christmas gift ideas for women to give you a little inspiration and hopefully help you find the perfect gifts for the ladies in your life. (Or yourself!) I've included thirty-eight beautiful gifts that I think adults and teens alike would love to find under the tree on Christmas morning, including many I've given as gifts in the past or already own myself. I hope it helps take the stress out of your last minute Christmas shopping!

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10 // 11 // 12 // 13 // 14 // 15 // 16 // 17 // 18 //19 // 20

21 // 22 // 23 // 24 // 25 // 26 // 27 // 28 // 29 // 30 // 31 // 32 // 33 // 34 // 35 // 36 // 37 // 38

Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? Would you give any of these gifts to your family and friends?

For more Christmas gift ideas, check out the following boards from my Pinterest account:

Christmas Gift Ideas

Christmas Clothes and Accessories

Bags and Purses

Beauty

Home Wish List

Jewellery

Shoes, Glorious Shoes

Style Wish List

Valentine's Day Gift Ideas: Cath Kidston Heart Print Collection

I've been a big fan of Cath Kidston and their amazing novelty prints for many years, but I think their new heart print collection may be my favourite yet.

The print features big white love-hearts on a bold red background, and I am loving it! I don't think I've been this smitten over a Cath Kidston print since the red and white star print came out in the late noughties... and I've loved most of their prints to date. (Well, you know me, I can never resist a novelty print!)

I just had to share this collection with you because it's made up of the most perfect pieces to treat your special someone to this Valentine's Day. Single? Don't wait for Prince Charming to arrive on a white horse and spoil you rotten; why not treat yourself to something  this year? There's no reason why loved up couples should have all the fun! Unconvinced? Just take a look at these twenty-one gorgeous heart-printed beauties.

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10 // 11 // 12 // 13 // 14 // 15 // 16 // 17 // 18 // 19 // 20 // 21

I saw the range in store for the first time last Friday, and it's even more gorgeous than it looks through a computer screen. I could've bought it all on the spot... y'know, if I was actually rich, which sadly I am not. I didn't leave totally empty-handed, though; I treated myself to a make up bag (#9) and a key fob (#12), both of which I needed. The rest will just have to wait until I've had a clear out to get some extra cash together. I wonder how much I could get for a kidney... hmm...

I really want the wash bag, travel cases, and coffee mug, and I'm sure I'll collect them over the next few months. I'm hoping that Cath Kidston will also make more products in this beautiful print, particularly wallets and coin purses, and perhaps some pretty homeware accessories. My bank balance would be thankful if they didn't, but my heart would be happy if they did!

All of these pieces are currently available to buy online, and you should be able to find them in your local Cath Kidston store, too. The items are well worth a purchase if you or your loved one is a fan of novelty prints and / or Cath Kidston. You can't go wrong!

Have you bought anything from the new heart print collection yet?

How To Make A Beauty Box For Family and Friends

Hey guys,

So, it's my (not-so) little sister's twenty-fifth birthday at the end of the month, and yesterday I was putting her birthday presents together. Before I continue... Sarah, if you're secretly reading my blog, stop reading now unless you want to spoil the surprise... If you're not my little sister, please continue!

So, this year, I've put a little box of goodies together for her. Now I'm a girl on a tight budget, but I also like to give as much as I can with what I have to spend without compromising on quality. I don't often buy from budget brands; but I've learnt how to find great products at budget prices! I want to show you how you can fill up a beauty box with quality beauty products without spending a fortune. The gift will look more substantial than if you picked up beauty products on the high street or bought a prepackaged beauty set, and is sure to be an instant hit with the ladies in your life!

So let's get started!

Materials Used To Create The Beauty Box

So, let's start with the materials I used to gift wrap everything, put it altogether, and make it look pretty.

Materials You May Wish To Use

♥ A gift box, or gift bag. (You could use a small sturdy cardboard box, and cover it with wrapping paper.)

♥ Wrapping paper to cover the box.

♥ Pretty tissue paper to line the box, encase the presents, and to wrap everything in. 

♥ Scissors, selotape, pens, and glue.

♥ Sticky labels and stickers to decorate and seal gifts

♥ Ribbon to decorate the box.

♥ A button corsage for a finishing touch (optional).

Gifts I Filled The Box With

The most important part of the beauty box is, of course, what you put in it. There are endless options, so let's start with what I put in this one to give you a few ideas.

Dainty Doll colourful powder eyeshadows (and here) x 5, Jemma Kidd liquid eyeliners x 3, Body Shop fruity soaps, Body Shop bath lily, Body Shop shower gel, L'Occitane mini shower gel, Anatomicals set of 3 facemasks, Moomin bath confetti, and novelty moustache erasers x 4. 

I bought the Dainty Doll and Jemma Kidd eyeliners from £1.99 on Fragrance Direct and Amazon (usually £10.50-£11.50), and used outlet stores for most of the rest. The remaining products were inexpensive and bought online.

How To Put It All Together

First, let's start with a gift bag, or box.

If you're using an old, used box like I am, you could cover it with wrapping paper, wall paper, or fabric. I used a sheet of bright and cheerful polka dot cupcake wrapping paper from Sainsburys.

Wrap the lid and the base of the box separately, fixing the paper in place with glue.

Now, you could just add everything to the box unwrapped, if you wanted to; it's really up to you.

Or, you could make everything prettier with coloured tissue paper. I recently discovered the prettiest packs of tissue paper from Hobbycraft, which cost about £1.79 for 10 huge sheets. This is a bargain compared to most you will find. I adore the colours in the green and blue pack above.

I used the five different colours in the photo above to make the beauty box bright, and colourful. The teal is particularly beautiful.

Add a sheet of tissue to the box, leaving enough to cover the contents when you've finished filling the box. Half a sheet of the Hobbycraft tissue paper was plenty for this one.

Wrap each gift up separately in the colourful tissue paper. I used cute stickers instead of selotape for sealing most of the presents.

I then arranged everything in the box, with an assortment of colours on show at the top. I also decorated a few of the items with Cath Kidston stickers to make them even prettier.

Cover everything with the remaining lengths of tissue.

Then fit the lid back on the box, and tie it with some ribbon.

For a final touch, I embellished the bow with a little rosette, which was from a pack of six from Hobbycraft.

And, voila! That is how to put a good quality beauty box together!

I spent just over £30 in total, although I only spent about £19.00 on the make up, and had many of the other items squirrelled away from earlier in the year, which I added to bulk it up. (I was originally intending to just give her the make up). I'm sure she's going to love her beauty box, and I can't wait to give it to her.

A few ideas about what else you could fill a gift box with.

You could also add nail polishes, chocolates / sweets, body lotions, hair accessories, inexpensive costume jewellery, mix CDs, lipsticks, stationery, mini toiletries, lip glosses, lip balms, blushers... the possibilities are endless! You're only restricted by your imagination! Try to personalise each parcel for each person's individual tastes- it's a great way to show you care (and pay attention!), and will earn you major brownie points. Also, don't forget to add a hand written card or letter to the top before you seal the box!

If you're thinking about doing something similar for your loved ones, I've also got a few shopping tips that you might find useful for creating it on a budget.

And finally, a few tips for creating a box of goodies on a budget.

Shop with Fragrance Direct
They sell cut price make up, nail polish, and beauty products from a huge selection of brands. I've personally bought Dainty Doll and Jemma Kidd make up from as little as 99p- products which normally retail for over £10! It's also a great place to pick up Sally Hansen, Essie, and Opi nail polishes from just 99p too.

Shop on Amazon
Whatever it is you're looking to purchase, always do a little search on Amazon for it. They often sell cosmetics for less than the retail price. There are a lot of Dainty Doll products on there at the moment, which are fantastic.

Shop with ASOS
Check out their clearances and promotions, as they often have a sale of some description running. Bargain beauty products + free delivery = success!

Look out for 3 for 2 and buy one get one free offers
on make up and beauty products in pharmacies and supermarkets.

Pick up products in outlet shops and during sale time.

Use your Nectar points and Boots advantage point and the like to buy items for free!

Buy multi packs
of the same or similar items. They can be used for several beauty boxes if you have more than one person you'd like to create a box for.

I hope you've enjoyed this post. If you made it through the whole thing, thanks for reading- I know it's rather long-winded! Let me know if you decide to put something similar together for your loved ones!

Have you ever put together a beauty box for someone in your life? What did you put in it?

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How to Create Beauty Boxes: Christmas Edition.