In the Robbo Mouse household, Christmas starts when the tree is up! Laden with tartan ribbons, wooden carved hearts and stars, decorations we made when we were teeny tiny mice and that all important fairy in pride of place watching over us all. Something a little like this...
Well until that tree goes up, we'll have to start the festivities with a spot of present buying. Our gift traditions on Christmas Day always go the same way ... we all emerge from our childhood bedrooms, blurry eyed at around 10ish in our matching Xmas PJs (new ones purchased every year). We hang our stockings the night before so they're ready and waiting for us to snatch up the next morning. We then pile onto the foot of our dad's bed and take it in turns to open one gift at a time! Although I absolutely adore the tradition of stocking gifts, I do also find them the most difficult presents to buy. We have a strict budget of £20 so the knack of it is to splurge on one or two treats and fill the rest of the stocking with cheap and cheerful goodies like a Malteaser Reindeer or chocolate coins and not forgetting the obligatory clementine in the toe of your stocking along with a few shelled nuts!
In the spirit of Christmas, I thought i'd share my top picks of the best stockings fillers around this year but before I do ... Hong Kong Mouse and Mini Mouse avert your beady eyes NOW please as Father Christmas might or might not have got you some of the following!!!
OK so starting with the cheapest first at £3.49 and then accelerating to blow the budget what-the-hell it's Christmas options...
Hope & Greenwood Salt Caramel Fudge - £3.49 - when it comes to sweet treats there's nothing quite like salted caramel laced goodies. When you pair that with crumbling met-in-your-mouth fudge you're onto a winner i'd say!
Essie nail varnish - £7.99 - everyone needs fancy nails at Christmas and when it comes to colour-popping varnishes Essie fights a good fight. Keep it bright, cheerful and fabulous - that's our Mice motto!
The White Company Winter mini candle - £10 - the smell of Christmas ... cinnamon, clove and orange!
Le Couvent des Minimes Set - £10 - a French beauty brand i've recently been introduced to and am now slightly obsessed with! This cute little set boasts four of the brands botanical best sellers - cologne, shower gel, soap bar and hand healer. Each product smells deliciously fresh and quite frankly I can't believe you get so much for such an affordable price tag.
L'Occitane hand and feet duo - £16 - quite possibly THE best hand and feet shea butter moisturiser a gal can own. This limited edition set is made for
Christmas stockings plus the perfect handbag size!
Melvita shower gel - £14 - and Bio Extraordinary Oil - £27.50 - nutty and luxurious this duo offers the perfect in-shower / after-shower silky soft skin solution...
And top of the Christmas pops is L'Occitane's Arlesienne Eau de Toilette - £39 - and the matching shower cream - £14 - maybe a tad expensive for a stocking filler but hey ho ho ho we just had to include because both smell so sensationally good!
