Get her Christmas all wrapped up with our top gift ideas

Sometimes it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the number of emails in your inbox telling what you should be buying for your loved ones. The shops are also packed with so many pretty things, glistening in the window and sparkling on the display counters. Christmas shopping can be a daunting task. Do you really know what the special ladies in your life are going to thank you for come Christmas morning?

Unless you’re a whizz at choosing gifts for people, we could all use a little direction when it comes to picking that perfect present, right?

Whereby I’m grateful to see anything with my name on it underneath the tree, there are some things on my wish list that I hope Santa delivers on the big day. Generally, I love presents that take the shape of stuff I grudge buying for myself. I love treating my friends and family and love buying special gifts for them at Christmas time but I’m not good at splashing out on myself. Luxury treats like a trip to a spa or getting my hair done are top of the list and I also love perfume and beauty products, but I hate spending my hard-earned cash on things that aren’t really essential - more of an indulgence.

If your wife, partner, Mum, Granny, auntie, sister or daughter haven’t dropped any hints yet, maybe some of my suggestions will inspire you.

Spa & Beauty

We all need to be pampered from time to time, don’t we? Treating the lady in your life to a gift voucher for a spa break is likely to go down well. Whether you want to give her a simple beauty treatment such as a nice manicure with glamorous nails or if you want to push the boat out and gift a real sensory experience for your body with a relaxing massage, she is sure to love it in the knowledge she can indulge without feeling guilty about the expense.

Have a look on www.spabreaks.com for or simply pop into your local beauty clinic and ask about gift vouchers – most places have them, especially at this time of year.

Hair

Another good choice is a voucher or pre-paid appointment for the hairdressers. I love getting my hair done but again, colouring and styling our locks can be pricey but if it’s on someone else’s coin, it doesn’t feel so bad! If you know which salon she goes to, give them a call or drop in and get a gift card to cover what she would normally have done. She will thank you for it when those pesky roots are showing and January’s pay day is a long way off.

Perfume

Nothing says “I love you’ like a very carefully chosen bottle of their favourite fragrance. Many people stick to the same scents year after year but maybe choosing something new might impress her. However, if you’re not brave enough to risk getting it wrong, you could always just buy her favourite signature scent and top it up with the matching body lotion and shower gel. Many of the top brands will have specially created gift boxes for Christmas.

Travel

Does the lady in your life like to travel? Maybe a nice wee hotel break or possibly airline vouchers will hit the spot? You could always wrap them up in map style wrapping papers and write ‘don’t forget your toothbrush’ on the gift tag.

The gift of travel is bound to put a smile on their face, especially if it’s a white Christmas and Santa has left tickets for a sunshine break in their stocking. With any luck they might take you with them – There’s a win win situation right there!

Food & Drink

They say the way to man’s heart is through his stomach, but I assure you, this works for us ladies too! I love nothing more than dining out, sipping delicious wines in an elegant bar or a nice afternoon tea with my gals.

Take a look on www.5pm.co.uk for some cracking bargains on hotels and restaurants. Or if she has a favourite place she likes to go, call them up and arrange for a gift voucher to be delivered.

Does she like a wee tipple? Gin is so popular these days and there’s so many to choose from. Gin Bothy have a Christmas Collection Gift Box on their website which might make an ideal stocking filler for her. www.ginbothy.co.uk

At Christmas, we all overindulge so perhaps some beautifully wrapped artisan chocolates or fancy confectionary will win her over too. Check out Hotel Chocolat or Friars and if you really want to spoil her, have a look on Fortnum & Mason’s website. It’s all just gorgeous.

I hope these suggestions help you get your Christmas on and they might save you hours of trudging round the shops, battling with the crowds.