Christmas Elf(ie), 2011
Despite the impression I might have given this weekend I’m actually not a total scrooge when it comes to Christmas. I love the decorations (IKEA for best value!), the cooking, the smells, the family, the wine, the cheese. And surprisingly in my old age, I love buying the presents. Like any person in the whole world EVER I also love receiving presents, and I know that poor old Will feels a fair bit of pressure during the festive period in choosing the right one. And so he should, for our first Christmas together he bought me a pair of shoes in size 8 (I’m a 5). It all worked out well though, I still wear the pair I exchanged them for today. Good job, honey!
He’s already asked me what I want this year and as my answer is always a MacBook Air (the answer to this is NO) or a pony – so he’s pretty much stumped.
Sidenote: the man took me to Paris for my 26th birthday so he’s basically excused from any poor gift buying for the next five years. Just don’t tell him that.
Luckily, lovely blog reader Lucy (I’m always going to love you if you read my blog) has pointed me in the direction of a new website called AskHerFriends: a place solely dedicated to the man in your life buying you the best gift possible.
AHF ask women exactly what they want and then produce a focussed selection of good-quality gift ideas for the guys to browse through and select. They are able to browse by price or category to build an ‘Advice List’ which can be sent onto your friends to ask their opinion on what you might like. But my favourite of all the features is the option that lets you work the ‘Idea Map‘: answering a few questions about you and your lifestyle, he is then presented with a list of possible presents.
He can save your list and whisk it off to your friends for their opinion via an easy Facebook login so pretty easy, even for an internet dunce. And boom, you get the perfect gift! I had a go at the ideas map and this is the shortlist of what I’d be happy to receive this Christmas, all selected thanks to AHF:
It’s not just for men, though. I’ve filled out the Idea Map with both my mum and mother-in-law in mind and have come up with some great ideas for them both. Give it a go!!
What has been your worst Christmas gift? There must be some honkers out there…
This post is sponsored, but if anyone wants to buy me a fancy silk lamp I won’t say no.
This is GENIUS! Where’s the Ask His Friends equivalent though? That’d be much more useful in our house as my husband is excellent at gift buying and I am very much not.
Hi Helen. Don’t worry AskHisFriends is on it’s way soon. Have a look out for it around next christmas! x
It’s a truly fab site and love your picks-bring on that lamp thank you very much!
I received a scarf that closely resembled a 6 foot long badger wearing a hood from my in-laws, luckily I got innovative and used it as a draft excluder, I have to say, for that, it was top notch!!!
The year my sister and I went to University and hence had a minimal amount of contact with our parents in the lead up to Christmas… On delving into our ‘Santa Sacks’ (yes santa sacks- my siblings aged 35-30 still have them) we were presented with an array of channel 4 ‘Big Brother’ merchandise- simply because that year in it’s first season we had watched it. A Big Brother book ‘The Inside Story’ Big Brother diary, Big Brother Mug. As we greedily bull dozed through a selection pack, the obligatory tie dye t-shirt and a gift shop wooden sock holder (painted peg) my last hopes were pinned on the mysteriously large ‘MAIN’ present at the botto. Big Brother Board Game….. needless to say I still feel guilty at my inability to hide my disappointment and horror from a very loving Mum who swiftly exchanged it for an electronic manicure set in the January sales ( I bite my nails and have been laughed out of many a nail bar I would’ve been happier with the game). It stills provides a Xmas laugh 10 years on.