A Thoughtful Christmas Gift......DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU ARE MY MUM !

Giving is one of those precious things.

To give with an open heart and a smile fills ones life with joy

When I have a special occasion to give someone a gift I try to think about what the person loves.

I love the thought of giving the gift of creativity to my receiver. Something that will make the receiver feel good and give them a sense of accomplishment and for them to know that I really did think about what gift I have chosen.

Even the toughest to buy for can be easily satisfied.

Just think for a moment what the person really loves to do in his/her life. 

Do they love to walk along the beach ?  Can you collect some pretty shells and hand make a shell mobile for them ?

Bake a traditional fruit cake for your Grandparents.  They more than likely will tell you that they don't need anything for Christmas but I bet they would adore something that you took the time to make for them. A batch of pickles or preserves perhaps ?

Does your loved one enjoy the countryside ? Maybe create a  treasure hunt for them for around the countryside. Give them clues and things they have to find or see. Perhaps have their photo taken with a cow etc. and pack them a picnic basket full of gourmet foods that you have made for them.

I did this for my children a few years ago now and they never forgotten the fun day that we had and they still even remember what their clues were ! 

It's about creating special memories.

There are so many options, so for those of you who are stuck for ideas, think about gifts from the heart. I bet that a gift from the heart will not only be warmly received but it will also never be forgotten.

This Christmas I really wanted to give my beautiful Mum something that would help her relax and unwind after a long year.

She is forever doing things for everybody else so I thought that it was important for her to do something nice for herself.

On a recent trip to the countryside I found a beautiful store selling Alpaca wool.  There were beautiful handmade goodies all through the store, anything from woollen jumpers to scarves to toys. It would have been easy to buy her something already made but when I picked up a big fluffy scane of white Alpaca wool I just  knew that I had to buy her the wool and she could knit something beautiful for herself.  Just touching this divine wool is so pleasurable and I can just imagine my Mum sitting by the fire this Winter knitting something beautiful with her wool. Half of the fun of receiving this wool will be deciding what lovely thing she will create with the wool.

Presentation of a gift is everything. Even the simplest of gifts can be made beautiful with small touches.

My Mum shared her love of lace with me so I wanted to wrap her gift up with lace !

I found a beautiful lace tea cloth in an antique store for her and wrapped her wool up with it. I pack it all up in a simple white gift box, overlapped the edges of the cloth and tied a simple bow with some more lace of a different colour.

A pair of vintage knitting needles were spruced up with some of the matching lace that I tied the present up with.

Remember it is not what you give but how you give it.

Always give with love and thoughtfulness

xo