MY CHRISTMAS SHOPPING LIST - What I've Bought for Family and Friends (#BLOGMAS DAY 2)

PSA: If you are one of my family members reading this (which I doubt you are) or any of my friends, PLEASE LOOK AWAY NOW, as this is a list of all the items I have bought for other people.

So it looks like I am finally getting in to the flow with my Christmas posts this year, and hopefully I can keep it up in to the New Year! Every year I get the most excited about giving other people presents, and every year I hit the disappointment of not having enough funds to buy what I want to buy for each person. This year, however, I have been working full time, and had a little more funds to add to each person's Christmas presents! Here's a list of what I have bought everyone. Hopefully you guys may find a little inspiration within this post for presents of your own that you may be struggling to buy.

My Mum
Firstly, I find it so difficult to buy items for my mum as she is so fussy, and I always want to spend the most on her but I can't ever find anything that is both great yet affordable. This year, I have bought her a little Clinique Skincare Pack (I usually buy her something cosmetic-based each year so thought I'd just get her a little something), a pack of Morphe Metallic Liquid Eyeshadows as she is CONSTANTLY borrowing my eyeshadow kits and she loves the metallic look (I may or may not have to steal some of these back every now and again as they are AMAZING), and also a pair of dark grey flat thigh high boots from Public Desire. These are her main present as she has been looking for a pair of flat boots for ages that she can wear regularly that she wouldn't have to keep for an occasion because of the large heel most of them have. These seemed to find the bill perfectly with what she was after, so I know they are going to go down great when she opens them.

My Nan and Grandad
My grandparents have helped us a lot over the last year as both myself and my mum have gone through some hard times. They said that they did not want us buying them anything at all as all they want this Christmas is to spend it with us all. I couldn't go without getting them something, however, after everything they have done, so I booked them a Champagne Afternoon together at The Courthouse Hotel in Soho, so they can have a lovely afternoon tea before heading off shopping down Oxford Street. I thought this was great as they always say they never do anything together, so by booking this for them they hopefully will be able to have some quality time together somewhere other than in their small little village.

My Mum's Boyfriend
We have ended up creating this little family over the past year, with my mum meeting her boyfriend and bringing his two twin children in to the situation. I am thankful for how much he has done for us, so I wanted to get him a small gift; one being a matching men's version of the Clinique set that I bought my mum, and another being the game, Dead By Daylight, for my XBox One that he is always playing on. I've seen this game before played by people online, so I know it is something that he will enjoy playing. Most of his spare time is spent on my games console, so I know he will play this a lot.

My Mum's Boyfriend's Children
The two twins are both 18, so close to my age, which made it a lot easier to buy for them. With them being a girl and a boy, their presents were going to be different, but I knew exactly what to get for the boy (which I thought was going to be the complete opposite, as it is always easier buying for girls). I bought him a new Adidas T-Shirt as I know that he loves his brands. He has a lot of jumpers and sweatshirts of the brand, so I thought if I get him a T-Shirt he can wear that all year round (I'm just hoping he doesn't already have it.
For the girl, I have bought her Feel Unique's Universial Makeup Beauty Box, that was filled with beauty products from different brands, including Naked by Nature, Elizabeth Arden and Laura Gellar, which made me SUPER EXCITED to buy as I loved everything that was included inside. She loves her makeup, and mentions a lot that she uses a lot of high street brands because she can't bring herself round to spending more money on items, so I think she will really appreciate the items included in this gift box. PLUS I bought this box for under £20 with the retail price being nearly £80 in total, which I think is a bargain.

My Best Friend
Every year, I struggle to buy for my bestie because she deserves so much. I always have ideas but can never justify spending £50 on one item. This year, I opted to buying her a weekly organisation pad from Ohh Deer as she has been juggling a lot of things together with university and work, so I though this would help her on a day-to-day basis with planning, as well as getting her some cute head scarves from ASOS that I think would look great on her. Even though these were expensive purchases in total, I do want to get her something else as I feel like it isn't enough, so watch out for an update.

My Old Housemates
Last year, I lived in a house with four other girls and got along tremendously with three of them (one being my best friend). Last year, we ended up doing a Secret Santa and bought for each other, so I knew this year I wouldn't  be receiving anything from them as I had moved home for the year and they were all still together, but I wanted to get them something anyway just to give them another gesture to how appreciative I was of them standing by me through a tough year. It is only small, but I bought them a pack of 6 face masks (3 each) from Montagne Jeuness that they can share between them, just to unwind during the stressful exam and assignment period.

My Two Close Friends (Boys)
These two are two of my closest friends, but I always find it difficult getting something that is not alcohol. One of them I was going to get something alcohol related anyway, so I bought him a book named, '50 Ways to Beat a Hangover', which I thought was quite apt for him (even though he hasn't come out as much with us recently, especially as I'm away). The other has had quite a tough year, so I wanted to give him something that would help out a little, as I have been trying to give him a lot of advice and be there for him through it all. I got him a book, too, which is 'A Little Book of Positivity', which I thought would be a great read for him to just help out when he's feeling low. I purchased both these books from ASOS.

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If you are struggling to find a gift for a family member or a close friend, hopefully this little gift guide may help you find a few items they will enjoy!
I'm going to carry on with my blog over the Christmas period, so remember to look out each day for a new blog post! I have linked each item to their product page so you can find them easily!