Waking up Christmas morning to find a giant red sock at the end of your bed, full to the brim with gadgets and silly games you'll have forgotten about come the return of the school term, was always one of the best parts of Christmas morning. Nowadays the size of the stocking may have slightly shrunk but the excitement will never, ever fade. Yes i'm 23 and still get a stocking from my Mum, laugh all you want but she says it's cool.
I always love finding (and receiving) the iddy-biddy presents that may have caught your eye whilst passing a shop window, or whilst in line at the Primark tills, or when browsing a unique Christmas market stall. I feel like these smaller items are always that bit more personal. A token key-ring in their favourite colour, that lipstick that your best friend always compliments you on and secretly wants, that naff joke book your Dad scoffs at when he sees it in Waterstones. This is always a good place to chuck in a good few joke presents too because there's no harm in token presents! I also like to include a few good ol' fashioned favourites...
You can never go wrong with gold coins. I've had a bit of trouble getting my hands on Vegan chocolate coins this year, I don't know if it's just my stores that don't stock them but I've been informed that Sainsburys' now stock Dairy free white chocolate coins, Tesco stock a dark chocolate range in their Free From section & online the Divine brand sell a dark chocolate version too! Plenty of choice, if you can get your hands on them!
Another item I always love to include is lipbalms! Everyone needs them, and as *most* men won't buy them for themselves, this is a good opportunity to encourage them to stop the chapping! Last year, my mum and Ryan both went nuts for the Crazy Rumours balms I included! I believe they recieved a mixture of the Hot Cocoa, Black Cherry Soda, Banana Split & Coffee Bean. I bought mine through eBay but this link goes directly to their site so you can have a browse at their other fantastic flavours! I use a multitude of balms all year round but I can safely say that these taste the best- and they're also completely Vegan!
Other options include Lush, Superdrug, Dr Organics!
Another extra festive gift that's always well-received is Christmas earrings! They've got to be the biggest, tackiest, brightest ones ever! I've got a huge collection of Christmas earrings but i recently found these 2 pairs on a random trip into town, the ones on the right were actually in a £1 shop would you believe! And the others were from Primark but you can find these just about anywhere!
Another extra festive gift that's always well-received is Christmas earrings! They've got to be the biggest, tackiest, brightest ones ever! I've got a huge collection of Christmas earrings but i recently found these 2 pairs on a random trip into town, the ones on the right were actually in a £1 shop would you believe! And the others were from Primark but you can find these just about anywhere!
Socks! EVERYBODY needs socks. I'm a sucker for them, and the cuter the print the more likely I am to buy them... Anyone else the same here? I was browsing in New Look the other week and managed to find these adorable socks, they were on a 3 for 2 offer but the third pair are actually a present for a reader so I obviously couldn't share them! I also nipped into Primark and found some quirky socks for the men in my life as, let's be honest, they won't do the shopping themselves so this is my only chance to get them some up-to-date clothes.
Festive treats always go a long way. Everybody I know loves a hot drink, I'm a bit of a Tea addict myself. So a good ol' bag of festive coffee or limited edition teas is a lovely small token gift that you know will get used by the person in mind. Whittard of Chelsea is always my first choice, it's fantastic quality and the staff are always so wonderfully helpful. It also helps that we have an outlet store around the corner too! Normally Ryan receives one of their Hot Chocolate selections (most are vegan, allergens are in bold) and my Mum's a sucker for their Guatemalan Elephant Roast!
Other options include T2Tea, Large coffee chains sell their festive roasts (Starbucks/Costa Coffee) & TKmaxx is also pretty awesome for beautiful Tea tins and yummy Coffee finds!
What's Christmas without a satsuma in your stocking? Or a lump of coal if you've been especially bad this year! As a child I never liked the idea of fruit in my stocking because i'm pretty sure the words "god damnnit mum this isn't a Polly Pocket is it?!" were probably mentioned one year (sounding super spoiled there not gonna lie, but what 6 year old wants fruit for a present?) Now i gladly accept it because it's more than likely the only piece of fruit i'll consume over the holidays. But Lush seem to know the struggle and have released this adorable bath bomb, wrapped in a reusable/recyclable/recycled furoshiki knot wrap and it's just freakin' unbelievable.
Who doesn't love a good candle? I've never felt comfortable with beeswax candles, and now as a new Vegan I feel more and more unsettled at the thought. Soy wax candles are better in every way. They have a cleaner burn, they're less smoky when blown out, and when you sniff it in the tin you'll find that that;s actually the scent your room holds! I've been a fan of the local Ruby Bees for many, many years. She's a lovely, hardworking woman who introduced me to Soy candles many years ago at a Farmers market in my hometown. Since then, I've been hooked on her beautiful mixes and I'm sure you'd love them too!
Another fantastic vegan candle brand is the extremely talented illustrator-turned-candle-maker Harper's Candles.She has a beautiful Charity Candle out this year called Snowball & I'm in love. £3 from each sale goes towards the Jerry Green Dog Rescue and after all, giving is what Christmas is all about.
Last but not least is the biggest item for what you could consider a "stocking filler". I'm a sucker for anything sweet. And on my Vegan journey this year, I haven't felt short of options. At. All. If anything I'm now more inclined to try new things that I hated as a omnivore. I think everyone can do with a little variation in their snacking habits, and when they're also completely cruelty-free and vegan then that just makes it 100x better! The Vegan Kind are a fantastic family run business right in the heart of Scotland. And for the 2nd year running they've bought out a treat box JUST for Christmas! I've already pre-ordered mine and I'm counting down till it arrives!
Another fantastic option is checking out the Vegan Town shop, I've bought their treat boxes a few times and they are jam packed, and will last you for months.
You could always combine these ideas for a Secret Santa gift, and give the person a stocking filled with lovely thoughtful gifts. I did think of some other ideas such as
- Small gadgets (MenKind is the perfect place for this!)
- Mini manicure sets (Literally every shop will sell these)
Miniature cookbooks! I always stock up in shops like The Works!
Miniature cookbooks! I always stock up in shops like The Works!
- Christmas decorations! It can always be hung up that day and it's a lovely token gift
So that's my cruelty-free stocking filler guide for 2016. What do you always hope to find in yours, do you still have a stocking, and what's the best thing you ever received? I can always remember getting nail polish in mine for the first time and I felt like a queen. Let me know in the comments! And remember every day leading up to Christmas I'm posting something festive-themed! Be sure to check out my social media links and follow me on Bloglovin' so you don't miss a thing!
Merry Christmas!
XO
SNAPCHAT - itsme_shenan
Your not the only one who loves stockings, there is just something exciting about seeing something at the bottom of your bed full to the brim with treats :) xx
ReplyDeleteYasmina | The July Journal
Right? It's always what I'm most eager to open! It's so exciting trying to guess what the odd shaped gifts could be!
DeleteXO