Little Luxury Christmas Gifts Handpicked By Experts in Taste- Handpicked Collection

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I can never be a HandpickedCollection.com  team member. To be one of their experts you need exquisite taste, an eye for stylish gadgets and an understanding of which gifts for which friend or family member. 

I don't have good taste. I live for kitsch for goodness sake. I'm about neon fake fur and glittery plastic stag heads. So when I want to find something pretty as a gift for an aunt, or my lovely Mother-in-Law, Handpicked Collection is a handy place to start.

This week they sent me a cosy pair of 100% cashmere arm warmers which will go perfectly with my cape coat that doesn't cover my lower arms.

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Comes in three colour choices 

Comes in three colour choices 

The second gift Handpicked Collection sent me was this tiny key birdhouse. We only have one car key, which my husband and I share, so putting the key in one place in the hallway so it didn't go missing (I lost it in my shoe last week) is a great idea. It now goes straight into the birdhouse when we walk in the door.

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Handpicked Collection is packed to the virtual rafters will gift ideas. Here are some more clever, kooky and cool items in stock now, some with 20-30% off at the moment too.

Click to take a closer look and search on HandpickedCollection,com to buy.

Tattoo Artist Bob Done Will Be Painting Personal Designs for 24 Hours Straight. You Can Get One Too! For Free! #DoMeAPaintingBob

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Crazy, bearded genius that he is, Bob Done will be painting personal mini-tattoos based on people's loves and likes depicted in their Instagram feeds. Bob started the hashtag #DoMeAPaintingBob a few weeks back, and if you reposted his image with the hashtag, a few days later a little personalised painting would pop up in your feed.

I love mine, a cupcake castle, because I love buns and home interiors. 

Want a chance to get your own, unique Bob Done doodle? Visit his Instagram feed for details, post a pic with his hashtag and tune in for his 24 hour paint-a-thon this week.

Absolutely all designs copyright Bob Done

Absolutely all designs copyright Bob Done

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Handsome Prints. Quentin Blake Wallpaper from Osborne & Little.

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A friend on Facebook just posted photos of her feature wall adorned with this Quentin Blake design wallpaper. You can find it on the Osborne & Little website along with fantabulous fabrics. 

Photo by Marie Rowan

Photo by Marie Rowan

There are other Quentin Blake designs on there too

There are other Quentin Blake designs on there too

Lots and lots of other funky fabrics and papers

Lots and lots of other funky fabrics and papers

No Cash? No Problem! Takeaway.com Lets You Order Food Online & Pay by Card, Paypal or Even BitCoin!

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There are several online takeaway websites, but Takeaway.com stands out to me for two reasons. Firstly, their free app actually works really well, and if you're on a smart phone it can pinpoint your location and tell you which restaurants near by will deliver to your current position. Very handy if you're at a party somewhere and don't know the postcode. You can also manually enter a delivery address, and pay using card. This would be a cool idea if you've a son or daughter at university who needs a good feed turning up on their doorstep.

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My favourite Indian in town, The Green Chilli, is on all the various takeaway sites, so I was pleased to see they were part of Takeaway.com too so I could order Indian takeaway tonight. If your local area has many restaurants signed up, you can narrow your search by selecting just the type of food you're looking for.

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Once you've filled your basket with all you desire, you can next pick a delivery time. I was ordering around 5pm, so I didn't pick as soon as possible, I chose 7pm when I knew I'd have our son settled for the night.

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Your method of payment can be cash on delivery, the traditional takeaway route, or you can prepay with a card, or with Paypal. This I was very impressed with and is the second stand out unique point against other similar sites. Until now, if I've had money stuck in Paypal and no card or cash money, the only place I've been able to get food from is Dominos. Now my local favourites are available with Paypal payment, I'll be using Green Chilli even more often.

You can also pay for your order with Bitcoin if you order via the website instead of the app.

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Roll on 7pm. My food ended up arriving at 725pm which was a little odd as Green Chilli are never late, I wonder is there a Takeaway.com specific driver? Or was I just unlucky tonight with a new delivery driver? Anyway, the food was still warm and still as delicious as ever.

Thank you, Takeaway,com, for letting me sample your service.

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Oloves are Your Healthy Pocket Snack Pack

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Oloves are the 50 calorie snack pack that you might have nibbled on mid-flight on a plane, or spotted as an alternative to spicy nuts at a wine bar. Oloves sent me some packs to try, as I am found of popping the odd olive now and then. I ended up eating all three packs in one go. Whoops. Still, that's only 150 calories.

They have got me hooked on olives again. These are soft and slightly tangy and very tasty. 

It's Time To Make Your Family's Magical Christmas Mascot at Build-a-Bear Workshop

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The Build-a-Bear Workshop experience is far more than just shopping for a cuddly toy. You bring your new furry friend to life, customise its sounds and even smells, as well as choosing a very special outfit. We visited the Belfast Build-a-Bear Store at Victoria Square to make a Smyth family Christmas friend. The idea is that we bring out our unique plush friend every December to sit under the tree, a new tradition that our son will remember fondly when he's a grown up. 

Yesterday was the first step in starting the tradition, creating the bear, or in this case reindeer, with help from Jonathan from the Build-a-Bear Workshop Store.

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As well as the regular range of bears, pups, kittens and My Little Ponies, there are a selection of holiday themed bears to choose from. Rudolph with his light up nose, his sister with a light up heart, snowmen, snow dogs and even Santa himself.

The light up nose option quickly swung the decision for my son, and I don't blame him, look how cute Rudolph is!

After you've chosen the bear, the next step is deciding which sounds you'd like your friend to make. There's a fun sound board for your child to try all the options. We picked Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer for one hoof, and pressing the other hoof makes him say one of five phrases.

 

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Next, Jonathan helped us choose a scent for Rudolph. This is very unique part of the Build-a-Bear Workshop creative process. Little scent pods are stowed safely inside the plush toy, with smells like strawberry, bubblegum and blueberry to choose from. There are two exclusive Christmas scents, Christmas Cake Icing and the one we picked, peppermint.

Then it's time to stuff Rudolph! Your child gets to help by pressing the foot plate to feed the fluff into their bear.

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Now it's heart adding time! There's a special little routine you have to do before putting the heart into the bear, and even though Michael is a 'big, grown up six' now, he still loves acting out this part.

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It's then bath time for Rudolph, blowing off all the loose fluff and brushing up his fur before the gets beautified in front of the dressing room mirror, choosing his clothes.

There is an exclusive Christmas clothing department for all bears. Elf suits, Christmas jammies, Rudolph slippers and Santa suits to fit any existing Build-a-Bear toy.

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The final step is printing a birth certificate for your new pal. Choosing the name and officially adopting your new Build-a-Bear. We now have the perfect Christmas mascot for the whole family, and a little gingerbread house to take him home in. Thank you to Jonathan who helped us bring Rudolph to life. If you would like to create your own friend, but you don't live near a store, the website has the Build-a-Bear  Workshop Christmas range to browse and buy right now.

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The happiest boy in Belfast

The happiest boy in Belfast

Don't forget Build-a-Bear Workshop as a Christmas gift idea. As well as the Christmas outfits you could buy from your child, or grandchild's existing bears, you can also purchase gift vouchers for them to come along in the new year and make a bear in the process like Michael did. I promise it will make you the most popular of all the grannies/uncles/aunties/neighbours/godparents! So says Michael!

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Mini bears available also

Mini bears available also

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Send me a picture of your Build-a-Bear. I love seeing what other people have made. I'm @rudedoodle on Twitter.

Send me a picture of your Build-a-Bear. I love seeing what other people have made. I'm @rudedoodle on Twitter.

So What is The Elf on the Shelf? The Latest Christmas Tradition to Spring from The States.

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I first saw the words, 'Elf on the Shelf' when an ex-school chum, fellow mum was discussing Christmas traditions. The Elf on the Shelf describes itself as a tradition, but it's still a budding one, especially in the UK where I hadn't heard of it at all. All good traditions have to start somewhere though, and whilst I recognise the sneakiness of trying to sell a specific toy and book set (£29.99 on Amazon), the Elf on the Shelf concept in itself is pretty magical, and can be done super cheap (I picked up an elf in Card Factory for 99p today).

 

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Our son has just turned six, so I fear this game might only work for him this year, so I plan to make the most of it.

As the rules go, the Elf appears the day after Thanksgiving, and watches on behalf of Santa for naughty or nice behaviour, reporting back to the North Pole each night. In the morning the Elf is back, in a new mystery location within your home. The fun comes from finding comical or clever situations for Elf to be found in each morning. As the UK is a good couple of years behind on this, there's already a wealth of ideas online thanks to America's Mummy Bloggers sharing their creativity and Elf gimmick ideas.

So, anyone else fancy giving the Elf entrance this Christmas 2013? Let me know on Twitter, I'm @rudedoodle. Click the link to my Instagram beside my blog header to follow me and watch where I place our Elf every morning.

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a) Clear Out Wardrobe b) Get Cash for Clothes at MusicMagpie.co.uk c) Purchase Tremendous Cat Print Sweatshirt

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Some how, even when I don't buy new clothes, my wardrobe space seems to get more & more bunged. Every six months I do a clear out. I'm pretty ruthless too, and then I'm left with just what I actually wear; which somehow expands itself over another six months until it's time to clear out again.

It's not the worst household chore, I can think of many more tedious ways to spend a morning, plus you often come across a dress or jumper you've totally forgotten buying. Like a summer skirt you've bought in the sales thinking you're the bee's knees and bargain savvy. Then you do a clear out in September & find the floaty skirt, labels still attached and summer fleeting fast. Not so clever. So a clear out is sometimes as good as a mini shopping spree.

Here is another plus point for you. You can get cash for your clothes on Music Magpie. You don't pay postage to send them the items either. And your reward payment? Well, you can spend it on clothes of course.

How do you fancy these insane cat sweatshirts? Tie dye, sea punk, lightning bolts and pastels. I think my cat would run away if she saw me coming in one of these.