It's that time of year again where I get to tell you guys about all of the wonderful things I received for Christmas! I have to say that I'm pretty pleased with this year, though it's been a busy one! I'll dive right in and let you guys know what I got!
I'll talk first about the Secret Santa present I received from one of my friends, Joe, that we did for Thankchrismukkah celebrations! I got three awesome gifts: a Hogwarts cushion, a Hufflepuff bookmark and a Hogwarts snow-globe! So many Harry Potter themed goodies, which made me VERY happy. While talking about presents from friends, I met up with Isobel & Catherine (friends from my school days) and they bought me three wonderful books! 'The Night Circus' by Erin Morgenstern, 'Three Dark Crowns' by Kendare Blake and 'The Woman In Black & Other Ghost Stories' which I'm really pleased about because they are so pretty!
But back to Christmas! I'll start with Mat's presents because those were the first I opened on the day! The biggest was my brand new vinyl record player, alongside three beautiful vinyls: The 'Game Of Thrones' soundtrack (Season 1), 'Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them' soundtrack and the 'Wicked' soundtrack. I couldn't believe my luck! I also received two Thorntons gift sets and the 'Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them' screenplay which is a stunning hardback! I was totally blown away and am so grateful to have a boyfriend who knows me so well.
My immediate family (parents & sister) bought me (and Mat in some cases) some gorgeous presents. The biggest and most exciting one was a luxury foot spa which I've been after for ages thanks to my continuing foot problems. I tried it out and it brought me so much relief, so big thanks for that! Also they bought me a whole host of other thinks including colouring books and pencils, Disney AND grammar-themed mugs, '642 Things To Write About', 'Hidden Huntress' by Danielle L. Jensen, a steam voucher, a DKNY gift set, a Bonsai Tree growing kit (something I have always wanted), 'Game Of Thrones' coasters, 'The Case Of Beasts' that looks into the filming of the 'Fantastic Beasts...' film, a literary tea towel and a notebook that says 'Careful, or you'll end up in my next novel.' which I found hilarious! Also, they bought me some vinyls for my record player too: two David Bowie albums and one Michael Jackson which is an excellent start to a hopefully huge collection!
The rest of my family bought me some great gifts too, and Mat and I were very pleased with what we received. Chocolates from my Aunt, money from my Nan & Grandad, a paella set from another Aunt which Mat is really looking forward to trying out, and individually from yet another Aunt I received a makeup palette.
Mat's family also got me some wonderful gifts, making me feel like one lucky, spoiled girl! Plenty of socks which are Christmas-themed (I'm not joking in the slightest when I say that makes me feel very happy). Chocolate of course to add to my ever-growing collection, a humidifier complete with essential oils to hopefully help with some of my allergy problems and make the flat smell nice, a candle, shampoo and a Lynx gift set, even MORE coasters shaped like vinyl records and a very pretty box!
It's been a great haul this year and I'm very grateful for everything I received, so thanks! I hope everyone else received what they wanted and had fun giving out presents and celebrating Christmas too!
I almost totally forgot about doing this post, but I received a ton of great things for Christmas this year so I really want to share them with you. Of course my Christmas has been so hectic that I can't really be blamed for the lack of post, I've been so busy! Especially on Christmas day which Mat and I divided between our two families. The pictures aren't overly clear, and because Mat came back a day later than me to London there are a couple of presents missing from the photos. Still, I love this haul!
So let's start with my family. My parents bought me a ton of books to read and I figured that will be the present you guys would want to hear about most! I asked for both non-fiction and fiction, as I really want to start reading more factual books and not just stories. They bought me Marina Warner's 'From The Beast To The Blonde: On Fairy Tales & Their Tellers' because I love learning about Fairy Tales, and Joseph Campbell's 'The Hero With A Thousand Faces' which in essence psychologically analyses the structure of Myths, in particular a hero's journey. They also bought me Maggie Stiefvater's 'The Scorpio Races', Laura Whitcomb's 'Under The Light', and Ruin & Rising by Leigh Bardugo (I accidentally asked for the third book, not the second but I'll have no choice but to get a copy of Book Two now! Finally, a £50 Amazon Voucher was very much appreciated from them and I have no doubt that will be spent on Kindle Books for me to read!
My lovely sister also bought me a few great presents for which I am eternally grateful. Shall we start with the huge bar of Dairy Milk? I think so! Everyone knows I love chocolate and the larger it comes, the better! She also bought me some gorgeous smelling Cherry Blossom Perfume which I loved! Cherry Blossoms are actually my favourite flowers, they're so beautiful and smell divine. Big Hero 6 was next on my list from her and it's a film that I have wanted to watch ever since it came out. I can't wait! My last present from her came when we went out to town together yesterday. She bought me a Colouring Book! I'm particularly excited about this present because I've been wanting to try this out for a while! My Mum also gave me a ton of colouring pencils to take home so I'm all set for some major de-stressing!
From my Grandparents I received a £25 New Look Gift Card which I have no doubt will come in useful, especially when I need to update my wardrobe a bit. My Auntie Pam bought me a lovely storage box shaped like...a book! I could not be more pleased with it and I know I'm in desperate need of more storage containers. She also got Mat and I some tasty Gingerbread Men! My Auntie Jennie bought me some more make-up: an eye-shadow palette, bag and lip crayon! Auntie Karen got me a light-up pen and some sweet-smelling candles. The whole family received a yummy box of chocolates from my cousin Phil.
From Mat's family I received a huge bundle of presents: DVDs (the live-action Cinderella and Into The Woods to name a couple), a lovely mug to add to my collection (I now have four) and drink even more tea from, slippers, a tiger patterned onesie, chocolates and some more perfume! While I was there, I also won a Baylis & Harding Moisturiser from a Christmas cracker which I was pretty pleased with! I also forgot to tell you guys about the Secret Santa gifts I received from my flat-mate Tash! She bought me my very first Tote Bag, themed around Disney's The Jungle Book and a Bourbon shaped tree decoration (my adoration for the biscuit is famed). Meg also bought me some cute little chocolates.
I went to meet up with a couple of my old school friends also yesterday and received some wonderful presents from them. Catherine bought me yet more chocolate (I'm sensing a theme...) and Isobel chose another book for me (Robert Ryan's 'A Study In Murder') and some Magic Stars Hot Chocolate. Last but certainly not least, what did Mat get me? The answer: a hoodie and two tee shirts from my favourite tee shirt company 'Tee Turtle', an absolutely stunning 'Alice In Wonderland' themed Kindle Case, a huge box of Hotel Chocolat goodies (including chocolate tea!) and tickets to go and see Wonder.Land, a musical I've seen raved about at the National Theatre. All in all, a fantastic Christmas round-up which I am massively grateful to everyone for.
I hope everyone else had a great Christmas too!
