I don’t know about you, but it’s getting close to that time of year when you start racking your brains for gifts for your best girls. Not just your best girls, but your best girls that have virtually everything and need basically nothing. Well, nothing that I can afford to buy them anyway so I’ve come up with some thoughts of my own.
Over the past year or so a couple of friends and I decided against buying things for each other, instead we’ve purchased and arranged things-to-do-together. Let me tell you about a few to get your mind ticking…
Tatty Devine Necklace making at SelfridgesBoth being fans of Tatty Divine jewellery, I decided to take my friend Laura to a Tatty Devine “pop up” to design a personalised necklace.
You pick up a little card, write the word(s) you’d like on the necklace, select your font, charm and chain by ticking the relevant boxes, and then, using the cute samples, select your colour scheme. If you’re like us – always in a state of FOMO-Decision-Paralysis – you’ll spend a good hour deciding on these various factors alone.
You then hand over your form, pay and within an hour or so it’s ready to pick up. The best bit was that the pop up was in Selfridges so whilst we waited we did some Christmas shopping (ahem… self gifting…) and spent some time catching up in the bar. We could have hung around to watch the necklace being made, but after perusing the rest of the stand and mentally spending hundreds of pounds creating bespoke charm bracelets and necklaces we thought it best to step away!
Keep your eyes on the Tatty Devine website or blog for news of their next pop up, or book on to one of the many workshops here for a more hands-on experience.
Gin Tasting at the London Gin Club
Laura and I share not only a love of quirky jewellery but also a love of gin. It was a bit of a no brainer then, that an evening at The London Gin Club was an experience to share!
I purchased a tasting voucher from their sister site London Peculiar and a few vintage-looking postcards to pop in the envelope with the voucher and then booked us a table.
The voucher entitles you to a tasting menu of a number of gins in little labelled vials (very Alice in Wonderland), bottles of tonic, large glasses of ice and tiny plates of fruity, floral or herby accompaniments chosen carefully to complement the flavours of the gin.
I’m not sure that I learned a lot, but we had a lot of fun!
Personal shopping at Topshop
This was a gift I received in return from Laura. She booked in to the Kensington store rather than the Oxford Circus one as we thought it’d be a bit of a calmer experience. Upon confirmation we were sent a form to complete with the usual details on height, dress and shoe size, eye/hair/skin colour and other vital statistics along with questions around the kind of outfits we were looking for (a special occasion, an interview, a festival, a holiday etc), style icons and any other relevant information such as a long-standing inability to find a particular item or a longing to try a certain style.
I was preparing for a number of big weddings, one of us was planning an Ibiza capsule wardrobe (hand luggage only!) and the other a new fancy work wardrobe, so we spent a delicious few hours together answering those questions with gusto. Those responses could form a blog post in themselves, but I won’t bore you with them now!
Upon arrival we were welcomed in to a private room, given glasses of champagne and instructed to relax on the couches, chat and flick through their stacks of magazines whilst they prepped the changing room with our dressing rails.
I’ll be honest, I was expecting to have a brilliant time and to try on some new pieces but I wasn’t expecting great, life-changing things from the stylist’s choices, as I like to think I know my own sense of style and how to push its boundaries myself. I have to say, she hit the nail on the head with almost every item she chose. She managed to capture our signature styles perfectly and find a way to make each of us step out of our comfort zones. I walked away with what can only be described as a miracle – new jeans! – as well as some accessories and a fresher outlook on my personal style. Apparently I’m not too old for Topshop!
It was free to book, so buy a voucher for your giftee to spend on the day and it’s a gift and an experience all in one!
Butchery class at the Ginger Pig
Not one that I’ve taken part in myself, as I’m not in to cookery and I’m not a big meat eater, but it went down a treat with my husband. My friend and I purchased a voucher each for our menfolk to attend one of their classes, bought them both a Ginger Pig cookbook, popped the voucher inside the front cover and wished them both a very happy birthday.
They booked in for a “pork” class one Sunday evening, which started with a professional butcher talking them through the various cuts of meat, as he, well, disassembled the pig. Along the way he gave them information on each cut, how and when it’s best to cook it, what to ask your local butcher for and so on. The class were then tested on what they’d learned as they reassembled it under his watchful eye, and then moved on to more useable skills such as de-boning, wrapping and tying butchers’ knots.
The class finished with a mouth-watering meal and wine before they were all sent home with what seemed like their body weight in prime cuts of pork. Guess what we ate for dinner for the days that followed…
Like I said, not a personal interest for me, but if you’re in to cookery, this seemed to go down a treat!
Cocktail class at Harvey Nichols
Trying not to dwell on alcohol too much, I’ll refer you back to the blog post I wrote about this a little while ago. Again it was purchased for a friend’s birthday and the perfect way to spend a Sunday morning with two of my favourites doing something fun and memorable – Check it out here.
Other gift experiences that have I have received or gifted have included a night at the cabaret (with dress up accessories for the night included in the gift box), fascinator making, Segway racing and white water rafting and chocolate tasting (as described here.)
And so, as I enter the final stages of my Christmas shopping, have you any ideas to give me in return?
Victoria x
PS! Find Victoria over on her blog Sugar Plum Slipper or on twitter @VictoriaHale.