Alice Porter 12/17/18 Alice Porter 12/17/18

A Gift Guide for Your Boyfriend | 5th Day of Christmas

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I’m sharing my third and final gift guide of the year as part of my 12 Days of Christmas blog posts today! I've saved the trickiest to last which is, predictably, a gift guide for your boyfriend. I know it’s a cliche but men really are so hard to buy for, at least in my experience. But I’ve tried to put an edit of gifts together that I think most people would like, but it might be slightly biased towards my boyfriend as some of the things in these photos are things that I’ve bought him in the past…

As always, starting with books! I’ve bought Sam 2/3 of the books here in the past, the Monkman and Seagull Quiz Book and the 101 Weekends in Europe Book. The former is probably only going to work as a gift if you and your boyfriend like University Challenge as much as me and Sam do but the latter is a great present for all in my opinion, especially if you like to travel together. The third book, Homo Deus, is the sequel to Sapiens but I’ve included this one because, firstly, I’ve lent Sapiens out to someone else, and, secondly, lots of people have already read it and don’t know that this sequel exists. Sapiens is subtitled ‘A Brief History of Humankind’ and that’s basically what it is. Despite this slightly scary subtitle, it's surprisingly easy and enjoyable to read and I don’t know anyone who’s read it and doesn’t like it. I’m yet to read the sequel but I think it takes a similar format to Sapiens, writing about the future of humankind instead.

My next category in these posts is usually skincare/beauty and although there are products in this category that you can buy for men, I’m not very clued up on them so I’m not going to even try and attempt to cover them. So rather, let’s just move on to the other miscellaneous items in this photo. I’ve included Nirvana’s Nevermind album on vinyl here (Sam actually bought me this for my birthday a couple of years ago) and if your boyfriend does have a record player, a vinyl is a really great gift to them. You can make it personal, choosing one you both like or associate with a certain memory, plus they’re really easy to wrap (I’m joking but I’m also not joking). If they don’t have a record player then this one isn’t really an option- if your budget is a little bit higher than mine, you could even get them a record player if you think that’s something they’d like?

Next up is something else that has come back into fashion in recent years, the film camera. If you’ve read my blog before, you probably know how much I love film photography. I’m not even massively into photography generally but I love the simplicity and spontaneity of film photography and obviously the way in which the images look as well. Film cameras can vary from £5-£500 so whatever your budget, this is a present that could work for your boyfriend. Do your research on the best film cameras within your budget but, in my experience so far, the best one is the Olympus MJU II, which vary in price from about £50-£250 depending on how lucky you are on eBay.

Finally, I’ve included this set of general knowledge quiz cards. As mentioned before, Sam and I are embarrassingly into quiz shows (especially University Challenge) so we’ve had a lot of fun using these since he bought me them a couple of years ago. If you and your boyfriend aren’t as into quizzing though, a game of some sort could still be a good idea. Whether you only use it over the Christmas holidays or play with it throughout the year, it’s a nice thing you can do together and you can make it particularly thoughtful if you find one to do with their interests.

Something I haven’t included in these photos but that is always a great idea is a scrapbook or even just a framed photo of you two together. Sam’s born in November and I’m born in January so we always set a fairly low budget for Christmas so a personal gift like this can be really nice without breaking the bank.

As always, here’s some more gift ideas…

Books:

Clothing/Accessories:

Other/Miscellaneous:

Alice Porter 12/15/18 Alice Porter 12/15/18

A Gift Guide for Your Mamma | 3rd Day of Christmas

On the 3rd day of Christmas at Words By Alice, there’s another gift guide! This one is tailored towards mums, although would also work well for nans and friends (who are potentially older) who would benefit from some relaxation and a little bit of luxury. I always tend to buy my mum presents that are tailored towards de-stressing. My mum does so much for me and she is always busy so I always think it’s nice to buy her, slightly more luxurious, presents to help her relax.

Let’s start with books. I personally feel most relaxed when I’m completely engrossed in a book, it’s one of the only times when I can silence all the crazy thoughts in my head. So I think it’s a great present to gift someone to help them relax. My favourite book of the year (although Sally Rooney’s Normal People is a close second) is Stay With Me by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, This is a beautiful novel about a couple, Yejide and Akin, living in Nigeria who are struggling to give birth fours year into their marriage. One day, Yejide’s family arrive at her house with a young woman introduced as Akin’s second wife, who they have ‘recruited’ because of the couples’ fertility problems. From this point on, Yejide is determined to become pregnant, whatever the cost. As a book, it’s educational, thought-provoking and emotional and will have you hanging on to the edge of every word. I think it would be the perfect book to gift to your mum, especially because of its subject matter, but also because it would be a great book to spend a few days losing yourself in in the post-Christmas/pre-New Year period whilst eating leftover Christmas dinner and your body weight in chocolate.

There’s a whole lot of beauty and skincare products in this photo because they’re not only the most cliche ways to relax, but one of the best in my opinion. It’s always nice to buy someone something they wouldn’t buy for themselves, especially if it’s something that’s a little luxurious. On that note, the This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray is such a great present to buy for someone. Using this product has improved how I sleep so much and, as someone whose anxiety usually materialises at nighttime, has generally just made my life better and easier. People don’t believe that it actually helps you sleep but it does so by buying this for your mum you’ll literally be giving them the gift of sleep. The one photographed here is mine but I’ve bought one for my mum in the past and she loved it!

Another relaxing product, that has actually come from my Liberty Advent Calendar, is the Susan Kaufmann Lavendar De-Stress Oil. I’ve been using this in baths and on my body and because it’s such a luxurious thing that I wouldn't really buy for myself, I think it’s such a nice present to buy for someone.

In terms of skincare, in the past I’ve bought my mum the Oksia Renaissance Cleansing Gel. It’s a cult item in the skincare world that works for all skin types but a little bit on the pricey side, so, again, perhaps something people wouldn’t want to buy for themselves. A face mask is always a good option for a gift that aims to relax, this Skin Laundry sheet mask is another one I received in my Liberty Advent Calendar that I might pass on to my mum anyway, as I don’t think it’s right for my skin type. But the packaging is beautiful and I’ve heard really good things about the brand, so it’s definitely worth considering!

I also think any kind of bath/shower product is a failsafe and at the moment I am loving all the & Other Stories body products, such as this Sicilian Sunrise Body Wash pictured here. Perfume, too, is a go-to gift for many, but for good reason! I personally cannot justify buying perfume for myself (usually) so I love to receive it as a present. I actually did buy the perfume in this photo for myself when I was in Paris, as a little souvenir. It’s by the brand Bon Parfumer and the scent is so unique. Plus, it wasn’t too far on the expensive side for a perfume (I think it cost me around €35) but it looks and smells like it should be.

And, of course, you can’t go wrong with a candle, especially a Diptyque candle. My favourite Diptyque scent is Baies but I’ve finished that one so included in this photo is the Figuier candle, which I also really like. Diptyque is expensive but the packaging and the unique scents do justify the price (kind of) for me. If you don’t want to spend that much on a candle though, you definitely don’t have to- I’ll include some more affordable ones in the latter part of this gift guide with further recommendations.

I’m almost done, I promise. Just one last thing- this Space NK airport scanner machine-friendly (I’m sure there’s a better way to describe it than that) travel bag. These bags look so chic and double up as toiletries bags that you can take in your hand luggage through airports- practical and good lookin’. If your mum travels a lot or even if she just needs a new make up bag that can also be used for travel, I think these toiletries bags are great.

Here’s some more recommendations of things that aren’t photographed here:

Books:

Beauty/Skincare/Body:

Homeware/Candles (etc.):

Alice Porter 12/13/18 Alice Porter 12/13/18

A Gift Guide for Your Best Gal Pal | 1st Day of Christmas

Welcome to Words By Alice’s 12 days of Christmas! If you haven’t heard over on Instagram/Twitter/Facebook/some other form of social media, I’m going to be posting a new blog post every day for 12 days, from today (13th December) till Christmas Eve! I’m sure you’re going to be well and truly sick of me by the time Christmas Day comes around but for now, I hope you can enjoy the novelty of day one!

(DISCLAIMER: I’m very aware that this isn’t the *official* 12 Days of Christmas but I break up from Uni for Christmas today and starting today means I can finish on Christmas Eve, so I think it works pretty well- I hope you do too!)

Anyway, I thought I’d begin these 12 days with a gift guide, specifically one for your bestie! Because, let’s be honest, they’re the best people to buy for. Often you can just buy them something you love, knowing (hoping) they will love it too. There are so many different categories of gifts that you could buy for a best friend, from books, to beauty, to clothing and accessories, to novelty and personal items- I’m hoping I’ve covered most of these categories here!

Starting with books, something that is going to feature in all the gift guides I have coming up this year (yes, there are more) and my favourite things to give and receive. A book always feels personal, especially if you’re giving one you’ve read and love, and it really is the gift that keeps on giving, as you can talk about it with your friend as they’re reading it and bond over how much you (hopefully) both loved it. The books I’ve included in this photo are ones that I have read this year and think would make great gifts. Charly Cox’s debut poetry collection She Must Be Mad covers so many things that young women (from generation Z to millennial) deal with and it’s as fun of a read as it is emotional and relatable. The Anxiety Solution, as you may have guessed from the title, is a self-help book, one that helped me through some difficult patches this year and that I regularly return back to. If you know someone who has been struggling with anxiety this year, this could be a thoughtful and useful gift for them. Plus, the cover incorporates various shades of ‘millennial’ pastels, so what’s not to love?

Moving on to beauty and skincare, my go-to brand for myself and for gifting purposes is, of course, Glossier. It’s relatively affordable, the packaging is always adorable and the product is genuinely great in my experience. If you’re feeling a little spendy this year, Glossier ‘You’ is the perfume that smells different on everyone who wears it. I’ve never worn it without receiving a compliment and, although perfume can be a tricky one to gift sometimes, I think the adaptable nature of the scent means there’s no one who won’t like it. If you and your bestie have set a budget, go for the Balm Dot Com. My favourite one is the Birthday Balm Dot Com because it’s hydrating and sparkly, which is 100% the look I’m going for. If you’re still stuck on which Glossier product to go for, I have a blog post ranking the Glossier products I own from best to worst.

There are some other beauty/skincare brands that I love and are equally aesthetically pleasing as Glossier, such as Mario Badescu. My favourite product of theirs is the Rosewater Spray, it’s as bougie as it sounds and quite the indulgence, making it the perfect gift. Another brand that ticks all my product quality and aesthetically pleasing packaging boxes is Isle of Paradise, a tanning brand I have discovered this year who have actually made false tanning somewhat cool. The Light Tanning Drops included in this photo are subtle but putting a couple of drops into your moisturiser adds some serious glow.

It’s always a little risky to buy clothing for someone, no matter how well you know them. Accessories, on the other hand are a little easier. A scarf is something that most people will wear, in their hair, tied to their bag or just… you know, round their neck like they’re designed for. A silky scarf always feels really luxurious as well so it would be such a nice thing to receive. I was sent the one pictured here by the brand Style By Portobello, who handpick vintage scarves and deliver them to you! This totally takes away the time-consuming element of vintage shopping but still allows you to get something totally unique, purse-friendly and environmentally and ethically A-OK for a friend.

Finally, a notebook. It’s a classic gift but for good reason. Who doesn’t love them? I could probably create an edit of about 1000 notebooks I love but I picked this one up from & Other Stories recently as a gift from me to me recently. It’s not currently on the website but it’s still in stores.

The items discussed and photographed here are ones I already own. But here’s an edit of many other things that you could buy for your best friend this Christmas…