Firstly, I was going to film a video for this idea, but due to time constraints in terms of making some of the gifts as well as a delivery issue with a present I ordered online for one of my friends and arranging to meet with another friend in 2019 to give her present to her, I thought it would be more efficient to write this as a blog post instead. I have already filmed a What I Got for Christmas 2018 video though.

Without further ado, here are the gifts I bought and made for my family:

My Mum

Decoupage letter G (for Gail)

In early 2018, I subscribed back to a YouTuber called Melanie Kate, who found my channel, subscribed to me and asked me to to the same, to which I happily obliged as her content looked good, particularly her craft videos. One of my favourite videos of hers is a tutorial on how to make decoupage letters as in letters of the alphabet. I purchased the supplies from Hobbycraft both in store and online and have already made some of these for other YouTubers I subscribe to and sent them to their PO boxes, so I thought it would be lovely to make them for my mum as well as other relatives and my friends. I made each letter using decoupage paper in colour combinations or patterns that I thought each friend or relative would find appealing to them.

Gingerbread Matchmakers, £1.00, Tesco

My mum loves the Hotel Chocolat chocolate gingerbread men, but when I heard that Nestlé were bringing out a gingerbread variety of their Matchmakers, I thought they’d be a good cheaper alternative to the chocolate gingerbread men. I also bought a box of gingerbread Matchmakers for myself to try them for myself and they were just as tasty as the gingerbread men.

Mug and coaster set with chocolates, £13.63 at the time of ordering, Printster

In 2017, I bought my parents a Mum and Dad set of mugs with cork bottoms from The Book People for Christmas. Unfortunately whilst I was staying with my parents for Easter 2018, I broke my mum’s mug during a difficult moment I’d rather not get into. I felt guilty for breaking the mug, so I decided to buy my mum a similar one with a matching coaster and some chocolates for extra indulgence from Printster to make it up to her.

Little Miss Busy Surviving Motherhood, £3.98 at the time of writing this post, Amazon

Like the Ladybird books for grown ups, this book uses original illustrations from Mr Men and Little Miss books, but the story is completely original in its own right. The text is written in a slightly more complex manner than that in the original books. I had a read of this book before wrapping it up and I found it amusing for the most part yet appealing to adults without being too rude.

My Dad

Decoupage D for David

Chocolate Liquor Collection no. 2 Selector, £3.95 individually, 3 for £10.00, or 6 for £20.00, Hotel Chocolat

My dad loves alcoholic chocolates, so I have given him some for as many Christmases as I can remember. This selector pack consists of cognac, whisky and rum chocolates.

Mitchum Men Ice Fresh Anti-Perspirant & Deodorant 100ml, £2.00 at the time of writing this post, Boots

I was originally going to buy my dad a men’s toiletry set consisting of shower gel and body spray for example until my mum advised me that he didn’t need any shower gel for Christmas 2018, so she suggested I buy him some Sure or Mitchum deodorant instead. Since I am currently using the Mitchum Women Unscented deodorant, I decided to purchase the Mitchum Men Ice Fresh one for my dad because I like the sound of its name.

Mr. Grumpy Nails Fatherhood, £2.99, Amazon

Like Little Miss Busy Surviving Motherhood, I have also read this book before wrapping it up and I thought it was just as amusing and appealing to adults.

My Brother Adam

Decoupage letter A

Dove Men+Care Ultimate Wash Bag Gift Set, £12.00, Boots

I have given Adam men’s toiletry sets for Christmas for several years and I loved the look of the Dove Men+Care Ultimate Wash Bag Gift Set for him. The wash bag looks very stylish and it contains body and face wash; 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner; and anti-perspirant deodorant. This gift set was part of the 3 for 2 offer, so in addition to it, I bought my sister Penny a gift that I will discuss later as well as something to treat myself with.

Peppermint Chocolate Selector, £3.95 individually, 3 for £10.00, or 6 for £20.00, Hotel Chocolat

For past Christmases, my relatives have given Adam After Eight mints. There were a few occasions on which I have given him mint-based Hotel Chocolat Selectors, including the Mint Chocolate Royale Selector for Christmas, as alternatives, but for Christmas 2018, I decided to buy him this Peppermint Chocolate Selector as it sounds nice and simple.

Personalised Initial and Name Cushion, £14.99, Card Factory

This is one idea I thought of giving Adam for Christmas 2017, but my mum told me that because he is highly unlikely to use it, I could still order it and give it to her and my dad so that Adam can see it whenever he comes to stay with them. Although the design is bright and colourful, the texture of the fabric is different from what I expected as it is rougher than I thought it would feel.

My Sister Penny

Decoupage letter P

Jolly Penguin Selector, £3.95 individually, 3 for £10.00, or 6 for £20.00, Hotel Chocolat

Penny loves chocolate with caramel whether it’s filled with caramel or caramel flavoured. Her nickname is Pengwin (sic) and because of this, her friends have kept buying her penguin-related things. I have even jumped on the bandwagon and have given Penny penguin-related things over the years because like her friends, I believed she loved penguins; however during the filming of a video I made with her in 2017, she said she didn’t mind penguins, but she did like the personalised shrink plastic keyring I made for her birthday that year and it came with a penguin charm. When I saw these caramel filled chocolate penguins, I thought that it would be good of me to buy them for Penny as an in-joke with regards to her nickname.

White Chocolate Malt Balls, £1.00, Poundland

When I heard online that Poundland would be selling their own version of the now-discontinued White Maltesers that Penny loved (she also likes original Maltesers as well as MaltEaster Bunnies and Maltesers Reindeer), I was thrilled. I tried the Poundland version myself and they were quite delicious, so I thought I’d treat Penny to a box for Christmas.

Pusheen Mini Essentials Bag, £14.00, Boots

Penny and I are huge Pusheen the Cat lovers, so I was excited to see this washbag as part of the 3 for 2 offer on Christmas gifts at Boots. The wash bag is of Pusheen in unicorn form and it contains mini bottles of bubble bath and body wash.

In addition to the Boots gifts as part of the 3 for 2 offer, I treated myself to these Barley Lane by Totes Novelty Footsies (£10.00) in bear form and they’re really cute, soft and comfortable. I also bought myself some Hotel Chocolate White Chocolate Collection and The Brownie Selectors and they are absolutely scrumptious. Before the publication of this post, I’d already eaten the White Chocolate Collection, so when I went to catch my train to stay with my family for Christmas, I went to the Hotel Chocolat shop at the station and bought individual packs of The Blondie, Strawberry Cheesecake and Walnut Praline (two of each are in the White Chocolate Collection) since they didn’t appear to have any more White Chocolates Collections left.

Now here are the gifts I bought and made for my friends:

Susie

Decoupage letter S

Pocky Strawberry, £1.45, Umai by JapanCentre

When I attended Alcon 2017, an anime and gaming convention in Leicester, I bought Susie some original chocolate Pocky (biscuit sticks dipped in chocolate that are mostly sold in Asian countries such as Japan and Thailand) as a birthday present and she enjoyed them. I sent her a text message that said other flavours were available including strawberry and she replied that they sounded delicious, so I decided to buy her the strawberry ones for Christmas 2018.

Simple White Chocolate Truffles Selector, £3.95 individually, 3 for £10.00, or 6 for £20.00, Hotel Chocolat

For Susie’s birthday in 2018, I gave her the milk chocolate version of the Simple Chocolate Truffles Selector because I thought they’d be a great alternative to Lindt Lindor Chocolates. She enjoyed the milk chocolate version, so I decided to buy her the white chocolate version for a change.

Personalised For You Calendar – New Edition, £14.99 for an A4 wall calendar (although I used a discount code and got 15% off, thus bringing the calendar price down to £12.74), GettingPersonal.co.uk

I have previously ordered Susie some personalised wrapping paper and a birthday card from GettingPersonal.co.uk, so I thought it would be wonderful of me to order her a personalised calendar from the same website. When I first ordered the calendar, it never arrived probably because I entered my home delivery address incorrectly, so I re-ordered it and had it delivered to Susie’s address instead.

For my friends Anna, Carlene, Carys, Nancy and Paula, I have made each of them decoupage letters. Anna’s is the letter A with the blue pattern; Carlene’s is the letter C with the purple pattern; Carys’s is the letter C with the blue and purple floral pattern; Nancy’s is the one with the green, pink and teal patterns, and Paula’s is the letter P with the purple and black patterns.

What did you give or make for your family and friends for Christmas 2018? Please let me know in the comments below.

Melanie Kate’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/melaniekatejones16

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored blog post. All opinions expressed are my own.