Co-workers often laugh at how early I get my Christmas shopping done, but a bit of Late October planning and early November purchasing helps me to have a little spending money come December. And yes, I'll also confess that I have a "Christmas spreadsheet"! Ultimately, I love giving presents to people that I care about. Even on a slightly tighter budget this year, it gives me a lot of joy to choose things that might bring some happiness to peoples' days. On a selfish level, I love to shop around for gifts, especially online, because it means I can distract myself from more onerous tasks like housework and lesson planning!
Here are some novel gift ideas that I have either given in the past, or would purchase for the special people in my life...
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I was really lucky to receive some beautiful, thoughtful Christmas presents this year. One of my favourite gifts was from my partner and something I can't wait to start using in 2015: a photo album with a twist.
104 Things to Photograph is a great book for anyone who likes taking photos, but especially for me as I am getting to grips with photography after purchasing my first camera earlier this year. It has slots to add photos under different titles, which include: 'a winner', 'hand shadows', 'melting ice cream' and 'a haunted house'. What's so fun about this book is that the titles range from the everyday to the abstract- something that allows for creativity and imagination.
I get my photos printed from snapfish.co.uk which I find to be reliable and affordable. When I was a teenager, I had a basic camera which took standard rolls of film. I also used disposable cameras, so going to Super Snaps to get my photos developed was a frequent occurrence. This meant that I was able to put together albums across my childhood and teenage years and they are something I will treasure for the rest of my life. They tell the story of my life like nothing else can and I love sharing them with friends and family when they come to visit.
