The Ultimate Christmas Gift Guide - Part 1: Ideas for Cool Mamas
Is it Monochrome Friday already? So that means Robotic Monday is coming? I have no idea how and why people end up shopping at the same time on the same day every year and if I am honest I can't be bothered about either unless they decide to call it Brass Saturday, Pink Thursday or how about Copper Sunday? Then I'd be interested. A little bit. Anyways... Until I had my daughter, my Christmas shopping in London usually consisted of heading to Selfridges early on the morning of the 22nd December with Mr Stella + the Stars with a vague shopping list in hand, stop to have a little selfie with the Oxford Street Christmas lights in the background, spend a few hours getting everything we needed (read: end up with totally different items than the said list), followed by a well-deserved late lunch at the Selfridges Kitchen on the 4th floor.
It had its pros: no stress for the previous 21 days apart from browsing without a worry in the world, all presents wrapped and ready to rock before getting back home, a cheaper alternative for someone like me (I once spent half of the Xmas shopping budget on wrapping paper, tags, ribbons and pompoms to wrap presents bought online...), the nice 'Pretty Woman' feeling at the end of the session etc. You get the vibe.
It obviously also had its cons: A LOT of yellow under the Christmas tree, higher chances of an argument with Mr Stella + the Stars, totally buggered if you don't find everything you need on the day, sometimes a bit more expensive than shopping around online - although that last one is indeed debatable (see previous mention about wrapping decorations fiasco).
But we kept doing the same thing almost every year and it kind of worked nicely... Until our daughter started walking, that is. Even if you don't have kids, you can easily picture the potential gigantic disaster that a day trip to a London department store on the busiest day of the year with a toddler in tow can look like. So last year, I started getting my sh*t together early (ish) and ordered it all online. Ah man, it's so overwhelming. So you know what happened? I ended up buying most of the stuff on Selfridges.com and got it delivered. It's just nice to have a one-stop-shop with everything you need to buy in one place, with nice easy categories for each person to buy for and you can order stuff by price etc. That, or I am just lazy, you decide.
Why am i telling you all this you may wonder? Well, because this year, I have my own bloody virtual shop - La Boutique (click here if you don't know what it's about) - where I have curated the most fabulous products from some of my favourite designers and independent shops. So I thought it could be my tiny mini version of Selfridges for my fellow design fanatics out there. And why the hell not putting together my own Christmas shopping guide? As you can see it's 'part 1', well, because it's only just the beginning! Today, I am doing your virtual Christmas shopping for the stylish mamas in your life. Because it's almost Friyay. All you need to do is click on the items you like/want to buy, add them to your cart, and proceed to paying for said items. One order, one basket, endless possibilities (and retailers!). So here goes...
Christmas gift ideas for design-conscious mamas
Next week, I'll post my ultimate shopping list for stylish little people. Happy Shopping!