This Christmas more than ever before, we are all thinking about spending less to help us manage the cost of living crisis, so my Christmas present ideas for 2022 are very much focused on spending time together, making memories and enjoying experiences!

When I am planning my Christmas present ideas on the blog, I love to look back over my last year or so of blog posts and think about the small businesses, amazing brands, days out and memories I have made.  

I am very keen to promote less clutter and more making memories!  So please do embrace buying something the recipient will love or needs or has asked for.  And absolutely consider gift cards!  Rather than buying just for the sake of it and adding to unwanted clutter.  Yes that may sound a bit 'bah humbug' but how much better is it for both the environment and our purses.

Some facts from Jo, a decluttering expert at Less is More "Five billion pounds is the amount the UK spends on unwanted Christmas presents each year, gifts that are returned to shops and ultimately end up in landfill".  Now considering we are in the throes of a cost of living crisis that doesn't make any sense to me.  As Jo says "That is a lot of money being spend on things friends and family don't want."  Friends are the worst offenders, giving over 30% of unwanted gifts, followed by parents (guilty as charged)!

Five billion pounds!!??  That really is shocking.

So let's try and spend less and avoid adding to unwanted clutter.  Instead I am a big fan of giving gift vouchers (so the recipient can choose what they want or need), gifting an experience day or organising an outing and making memories together.

What do you think?  Let me know in the comments below!

Here are a few ideas for fabulous Christmas gifts.

Some recommendations on this blog post were previously gifted.

I love the uncomplicated and fabulous, cruelty free and vegan friendly makeup from Code Beautiful - and this year Code Beautiful are celebrating 10 years of helping women like us feel naturally beautiful everyday. I don't do drawers full of makeup products or spend hours at makeup counters, I don't wear heavy makeup or fuss about constantly touching up! And I find the range of colours from the big brands gives me too much choice and it just confuses me. The most important thing for me is a fresh look and easy routine, with buildable coverage I can add to for special occasions.  

With fine lines and mature skin, I am well aware that the simpler the better, and I love the makeup tips from Code Beautiful, they regularly share makeup techniques to flatter older skin with a natural look being the top priority!

Code Beautiful was founded in 2014 by two sisters, Sarah and Emma. They were fed up with products that over-promised and under-delivered so they started by asking women what they wanted, listening to feedback and then creating the right products. No trends, no hype, no nonsense, just products that perform and enhance our natural beauty.

So I won't complicate my blog post either ... I will go straight into telling you about my favourite products from Code Beautiful.

Use my code FIFTY20 for 20% off EVERYTHING at Code Beautiful.

This is a gifted blog post and contains affiliate links.

In recent weeks I have been away with two groups of fabulous women, my girlfriends and the new friends I met on the writers retreat and on both occasions the subject of the best underwear for us older women was discussed! Now obviously underwear still comes down to personal preference but it got me thinking about what lingerie really does suit our different body shapes, there are so many different styles and I know I have made mistakes. I have an extensive lingerie drawer but what makes me pick the same styles over and over again every day?!

What I love .... for me personally the best lingerie includes push-up bras, preferably a t-shirt bra, in a soft cotton with classic briefs like bikini panties. I favour 'little knickers' and I will explain why later on. I love a few lace details and have lots of different colours, yes I have white, black and navy but I also wear a lot of red underwear, pink and bright blues. And the most important thing for me, that my lingerie collection only contains matching sets whether that be for everyday wear or a special occasion, I will never wear anything but matching bra and knickers!  And never a 5-pack!  I prefer to choose individual styles!

I am small, my petite body type does mean I am able to avoid many of the bra buying challenges that women with bigger busts struggle with. At a 32D I am not ever going to relate and would never claim to understand.

Our body changes as we age, with hot flushes, sensitive breasts, loser skin and a bit more support needed, there is a good reason to invest in the best quality underwear we can afford.  Quality means more comfort with better support and coverage.  Get the shape right and it will pay dividends for your style!

This is a gifted blog post.

Muddy toes and messy hair .... I got completely out of my comfort zone and loved every moment of it!  In October I joined Claire Winter from The Creatrix Journey on a women only writers retreat in the stunningly beautiful location of Hill Farm near Tintern in The Wye Valley.
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Creatrix: a female creator, a woman deeply connected to herself, powerful, witch, beauty and giver of all kinds of life (source: urban dictionary).

I had dreamt of going on a retreat for a few years, well probably since menopause overwhelm had taken on my overthinking brain and I knew I needed to start making more space for me.  But I hadn't found the right retreat, then there was a pandemic and I stopped looking.  Claire and I chatted and at first I wasn't sure about going, my anxiety was high and I didn't think I could cope with staying in a yurt, but with Claire's reassurance and a few tweaks to accommodation arrangements, I booked my place!

​Thank goodness I did, I am so utterly delighted I stepped out of my comfort zone and joined Claire and five other amazing women to embrace my inner creatrix, get out in nature and find space to stop and breathe.  The experience was without a doubt one of the best things I have done for me, for my business (my blog) and for my confidence and midlife mental health.

This blog post contains some gifted items and affiliate links.