Christmas present ideas ... gift vouchers, experience days and making memories

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.

Christmas present ideas 2022

Happy Cabbage London is one of my favourite small businesses - I love their Indian Block Print cotton robes and this year they have a new range of quilted robes and these beautiful quilted Christmas stockings!  Hurry, they are currently on special offer!

Walking tour of one of our amazing British cities ... or film location - my sister runs Walking Tours of Oxford and I can thoroughly recommend a day out in Oxford and a 2 hour walking tour!

Photoshoot ... I had a boudoir photoshoot with Alex at FYEO back in September, absolutely loved it!  Or of course a family photoshoot is a super gift too!   

Beauty treatments ... so many options, I had my eyebrows tattooed this year you can read my experience on my powder brows blog post.  Or I love getting a Hydrafacial, you can buy vouchers for a treatment or a series of treatments - and a Hydrafacial is suitable for men or women!

Weekend away ... this year I visited a beautiful Airbnb in Kent and had a weekend away in London.  Other ideas on my blog include Leeds Castle, Lymington or Dartmouth.  Or you can buy hotel gift card!

Retreat day or weekend ... I loved the walkers retreat I went on recently, you can read more about it here but there are so many options for a retreat day or weekend for example a yoga retreat, spa, health and fitness retreat or stress management break!

Afternoon tea ... the best one in London, in my opinion, is at the Corinthia, but whatever you choose, make it special, check out your local National Trust house or other places of interest.  Cliveden is amazing!  So is Harrods or Fortnum & Mason.

Lunch or dinner out ... vouchers for a favourite restaurant, I often do this for my dad, he loves an excuse to go out to lunch!

Host a dinner party ... if money is a bit tight, why not host a special dinner at home for your friends or family?  You can even buy a Hello Fresh gift card!

Gift vouchers for the recipients favourite shop or experience ... you can buy an extensive selection of gift cards from www.giftcards.co.uk* there are so many ideas including meals out and high street shops - a few that caught my attention include theatre tickets, book tokens, national garden centres, hotels, uber eats, IKEA and holidays!  So much choice all in one place, no need to visit the location to buy the gift card, for example you can buy John Lewis gift cards or IKEA gift cards!  Sounds like a one-stop Christmas shopping experience to me and perfect to make life a bit easier!

And don't forget your favourite local businesses too ... a few of my favorites include:

​Give pre-loved ... Vintage & Vogue in Beaconsfield are happy to offer gift vouchers to spend at their garden boutique or online, and absolutely no reason why you can't gift a physical pre-loved gift either, look out for high end scarves or handbags for example! 

Another fabulous online shop I recently learnt about is Nearly New Cashmere, they recycle and restore second hand 100% cashmere and I have to say, the quality is amazing!

Cookery lessons ... so many great ideas, I love Fearless in the Kitchen and Time to Nourish who both offer in-person or online options for cookery classes.  Or Pavillion at Henley-on-Thames have both a physical shop and online shop stocking some of the finest gifts from small artisan producers, they also have a cookery school I will be trying out in the new year!

Winery or gin distillery tour ... another amazing experience, earlier this year we were invited along to try out the gin distillery tour at Griffiths Brothers near Old Amersham and we had a fabulous evening, so much fun and we learnt loads too!  A few years ago we spent a night at The Lygon Arms in Broadway and went on a tour of The Cotswolds Distillery.

And a few more ideas ...

Magazine subscriptions - like Positive News
Escape Room experiences
Photo books - create a family yearbook 
The Spitfire Experience
National Trust Membership

And if you would like to buy something as a gift rather than an experience or a voucher then remember Jo's suggestion 'can it be experienced, consumed or used up'?
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Any more you can add?  Let me know in the comment below.

I am all for keeping it simple and I think the days of facing hot, crowded shops are long gone for me!

Love from
Michelle xx


Disclaimer: the link to purchase gift cards is a sponsored link but I am very happy to recommend them!​

Relaxing in cotton PJs from Love Leggings and reading Retirement Rebel by Siobhan Daniels

Retirement Rebel by Siobhan Daniels
Pure Cotton Short Pyjama Set from Love Leggings

Cotton Traders Christmas Gifting ... Stella Cutest Cable Jumper in Ivory, Suede Mule Slippers Unisex and Fair Isle Hat and Gloves