There's only a few days until Christmas! ebay and copious other sites have the numbers emblazoned in large garish red form on their homepages, but if it's only dawned on you that Christmas is on Saturday, here's another BitchBuzz Gift Guide to help.
Loved ones will doubtless expect deeply thought-out presents, wrapped beautifully in your finest, thickest, and most glitter-based papers that represent their true inner soul and your heartfelt understanding of them. This is, alongside stuffing one's face, the true meaning of Christmas.
But, if you're about to launch yourself out of the door into the streets to do the annual stomping furiously from shop to shop routine, convincing yourself that a lavender candle is the answer to everyone's prayers, here's a few ideas before you throw yourself into the mercy of snow and consumer elbows. (A lot of them seem to involve chocolate - this is purely accidental.)
Flowering Tea
I've always found tea drinkers interesting people to buy for. After an initial euphoria involving gifts ranging from a variety of traditional English teas, a full range of herbal ones, fancy gold tins, to tea pots and mugs, it all becomes a bit difficult. If you're shopping in London, duck into Harrods and grab a pack of these gorgeous flowering tea bags, which uncurl to flavour your water and look fantastic in doing so. The picture here does no justice, but I popped in to see an in-store example and they look gorgeous. At £18.95 they're not cheap but they are unusual and unique.
Harrods also suggests you buy a glass teacup to accompany them, but House of Fraser sell a much cheaper version that avoids breaking the bank (somewhat obviously, you'll need to remove the removable filter).
Hot Chocolate
Breaking the tedious tradition of a large poorly-designed mug + sachet + marshmallows box sets this year, if you live anywhere near Norfolk UK, then it's your duty to get hold of some of these from Dereham (we're very jealous down south). Stir into a glass of milk for the magic. Becs who writes the lovely laythetable blog confirms they make "THE most amazing hot chocolate in your own home." A bit unique and tasty, they're perfect.
Teacup Mugs
Anthropologie are doing some gorgeous teacup mugs this year, and I've have added most of the Anthropologie in-house range to my pretend wish list. This is the perfect gift if your family/friends are already inundated with mugs.
The Best Vegetarian Cookbook this Christmas
Something I got really excited about this year was the release of the Food For Friends cookbook. As one of Brighton's top vegetarian restaurants, they've just released a cookbook covering their top dishes. Having lived as a student for the last three years in Brighton, I've been told many a fabulous thing about the restaurant but never pushed the bank and eaten there.
The book, alongside the restaurant, has had great reviews and this went at the top of my invisible Christmas list this year. Whilst I'm no longer vegetarian and understand the concept of meat making a meal, the food Food For Friends create is stand-alone quality.
Christmas Decorations
These hand-made felt monogram ornaments are awesome. Grab some bright felt and make some - I love the idea of either making one for every name in a family or spelling out a message (Love, Joy, you get the gist). They're pretty easy to make too, and work well as a last-minute ideas. Sayyestohaboken has an excellent tutorial if you're looking for help.
I don't normally consider giving shop-bought ornaments as gifts but here's one that's caught my eye in all its shiny and wonderful glory. Back to Anthropologie again, they have a ridiculous giant glittery bauble for around £20. It's very silly and fabulous. Do they come in a box of hay? No, but they should. Alternatively, grab some glitter and get making your own.
Homemade Chocolate
Nothing says "I have thought about you at least 24 hours before Christmas day" like homemade gifts, so here's another. This year, as ever, I'm on the chocolate bandwagon. An easy way to make nice and unusual ones (especially good for geeky boys) is to acquire yourself a Space Invaders ice-cube tray and use that to make some nifty shapes.
If you're doing this, don't forget to temper the chocolate so it doesn't start melting when you take them out of the fridge. Luckily this is fairly easy and just involves poking it about with large utensils on a marble or glass slab (I used a glass chopping board) and creating more scrapes to be eaten at the end of the process. For shame.
There are a lot of online tutorials about this and it's easy to do in an unequipped kitchen. You can brave it without a thermemoter, using little fingers and intuition as a substitute.
Any shape you like will work, but space invaders are scientifically proven to taste better. Steamer Trading Cook Shop sells them, and you can probably spot them in your local novelty geek store. Practice runs are most definitely necessary, during which you must remain vigilant in testing every single one, just to be sure.
Hitting the Stage
A lot of people seem to get sucked into giving tat as a last-minute thought. Remain vigilant against tat by spending time with the people you like at mildly expensive stage-plays. I always check around to see when peoples' favourite comedians are playing, grab some tickets and make a little hand-made voucher promising them a grand day out with not only my own thrilling company, but some purchased thrilling company.
Last year I saw Ed Byrne, Bill Bailey and Dylan Moran, and as if you need telling, they were all brilliant. This year I'm braving the chick flick scene to see Mamma Mia. With good reviews, if it's anything like the film it should be a warbly sort of amusement and I have a suspicion Mothers everywhere like such things, especially if tours to fancy wine bars are included before hand. Treat yours.
Now, those are essentially all my gift ideas for this year in one fell swoop, so if my relatives can keep their eyes off the Internet please.
Main image via Le Comptoir de Mathilde, all other images © Claire Taylor for BitchBuzz.com