I told you the other day, this is going to be one interesting month here, on the blog, as I have so many gorgeous products to tell you about!

We all have at least one special person in our lives for whom buying the right Christmas present always proves a challenge. Not necessarily because they are fussy with what they like and prefer but because we love them so much, we want to present them with that unique, special gift that conveys our message of love and appreciation to them!

So I thought of putting together a few ideas of Christmas presents that would communicate a message of lavish love to those special people in our lives:

1. Handmade, locally produced gorgeousness

Etsy is the perfect place to start looking for one of a kind, personalised presents that are guaranteed to enchant.

Mel, a lovely friend I met through the wonderful world of blogging, and with whom I forged a strong friendship that comes from love of books and shared experiences and worldviews, has launched at the beginning of the year a wonderful line of handmade products called Melvis Makes.

In her own words, “Melvis Makes means unique, handmade homewares, cosmetic bags, storage solutions, gifts and more, all created from beautifully bright, wonderfully colourful and fabulous funky fabrics.”

Mel has created a couple of very special, unique items for our family already. Last year, she sent us a gorgeous little Christmas decoration to hang on the tree and remember our sweet boy by:

This summer, I carried my essentials in a bespoke toiletry bag that looked fab and made everybody comment on its quirky patterns and practicality:

Mel is at the moment creating Christmas stockings with a personal tint and when she wrote to me saying she would make one for Emma and enquire of her colour preferences, I knew we were in for a big treat! And I was right, Mel not only found the perfect shade of purple for Emma’s stocking, she also found the perfect material and story to go with our family. “Guess How Much I Love You” is one of the books Emma and Georgie were read by daddy while in the hospice last year and this stocking will be a very treasured reminder of our love as a family, a love that transcends time and space:

I told Mel that her shop has a huge potential, because of the personal detail she is so good at capturing, and I do expect to see her creations in Harrods soon!

Mel has been very kind and is offering my readers a 10% discount on her Etsy shop,  until the end of November with the specially created code MAMAH10. Do get in touch with her as well if you want something extra special for your loved ones, as I said above, Mel is always certain to deliver that touch of gorgeousness and love!

Melvin Makes’ Christmas stockings are priced at £19.50, which you would agree with me, is a reasonable price for such a high quality, handmade and personalised present that would last a child their whole childhood and beyond!

2. Traditional Presents With A Modern Twist

We all have that one person in our family for whom the smell of freshly pressed books and ink is proper heaven.

They are remnants of an era where proper paper and pen had its intrinsic creative value and I was thrilled to find out that they are having a comeback! Both the proper paper and pens AND that special kind of people who treasure handcrafted writing, that is!

The gifts I want to tell you about would suit them down to…an ink dot, so to say.

Pen Heaven is the ultimate definition of luxury gifting.

Offering a unique selection of branded items from Ferrari, Graf Von Faber-Castell, Moleskin and Diaries and Parker, just to name a few, the website is the go to destination for engraved, embossed and long lasting gift sets a stationery connoisseur would absolutely adore!

The website offers an amazing array and choice of writing tools, from the humble pen, lifted in some cases to the dignified status of a “suitable for engraving” gold trim slim pencil to the very specialised and extremely sophisticated fountain, calligraphy and feather quills and dip pens:

There is also a vast choice of gorgeous leather journals, diaries, Filofax tablet cases (at the moment offering the special discount of 30% OFF the initial price) and leather wallets any self respecting gentleman would appreciate:

We were offered a taster of the two types of products on sale on the website, in the form of a gorgeous Green Fountain Pen and Ravello Small Leather Set, which left me ooohing and aaaahing over both the quality and the primary school memories of writing with a fountain pen:

Prices range widely on the website, as you can imagine, with something to suit every budget and taste. The journal and pen set we were offered is now reduced on the website from £40.80 to £29.90 and would make the perfect present for the stationery aficionado.

3. An Excellent Cup of Tea

I was raised in a country where tea was offered as an illness remedy and black tea was only rarely used to treat stomach upsets.

It took me a long time after I moved to the UK to grasp the social importance of the tea ceremony and even longer to come to appreciate a good cuppa.

It was only this year that I realised that I do not bat an eyelid anymore when one of our comprehension lessons in school is “instructions on making a great cup of tea” and when, thinking of great presents to get for some of our loving and faithful friends, tea comes up at the top of the list.

So, when the opportunity arose and I was offered the chance to review the award winning, press and media favourited (VOGUE Magazine nominated it as their choice of tea in the September 2015 issue) and truly lovely looking Jadu Tea, I, of course, had to accept!

Jadu Tea, an independent Global Luxury Tea Brand, is different not only in the sacrality with which the tea is hand picked to feature in their very small and choice collection of 10 teas but also in the way it is packaged, in ” a ground-breaking, sophisticated gift box, made using the most advanced methods of cutting, curling and gluing, and the sumptuous navy blue Royal Suede, which is embossed in gold with our logo.”

The boxes of 100 grams loose leaf tea retail at £19.00 and can be purchased on the website or in prestigious shops like Harrods, if you happen to be about.

Disclaimer: we were sent the products mentioned above for the purpose of this review. We thoroughly enjoyed reviewing them and in consequence, all opinions expressed in this blog post are truthful.

Which one of these luxury Christmas presents caught your eye? Which one would you love receiving yourself?