What I Got For Christmas 2016

It's that time again!


Time to pen what is probably the most controversial post I write for my blog: a good ol' 'what I got for Christmas.' I'm v aware that a lot of people don't like these for their own very valid reasons but my family and I like to look back on them and idk I just like doing them. I feel so loved and grateful for all of the gifts my parents / boyfriend took the time to choose and wrap for me and I don't think there's anything wrong with sharing them. The gifts I've received could seem like nothing to you, or they could seem ridiculously extravagant, but we all have our own realities and this is mine. I personally love reading these posts and think about how nice it is to see others happy / grateful.

Before we crack on, allow me to ask: how was your Christmas? I hope you all had the most wonderful day. Mine was rather difficult mental-health-wise but I got to watch Lord of the Rings and I even managed to eat Christmas dinner this year, which is a small but significant indicator that my brain is recovering.

Aaaand now onto the gifts!
My family well and truly outdid themselves this year! I didn't have a 'main' present from my Mum or Luke so mainly received lots of little things which suits me nicely. My Dad did go all out and got me an Instax Mini 8 though!! It's yellow which I love because I've never seen a yellow one before.

CRUELTY-FREE BEAUTY
The main bulk of my beauty gifts came from my dad, just like they do every year, although Mum did get me some Body Shop skincare bits I'd picked out. From my Dad I received a 250g (!!) bottle of Snow Fairy, a Magic Wand bubble bar, a Crazy Rumours Mint Choc lip balm, a mini tub of Snow Fairy body lotion, a I Love Juicy shampoo and a few lip balms and bath crystals from Superdrug. It's safe to say he knows which Lush scent is my favourite! From Mum I received an entire new skincare routine: a Aloe Calming toner, a Camomile Gentle eye makeup remover, a Camomile Sumptuous cleansing butter, a Camomile Silky cleansing oil and a Vitamin E moisturiser. One of my 2017 goals is to invest more time & money into my skincare routine and this selection of goodies is definitely going to help that!
VEGAN TREATS
My family did so well with buying veggie / vegan treats for me! I received some Party Rings, a bag of Good Stuff gummy bears, some Jelly Belly jelly beans (veggie), Tyrell's sweet & salty Poshcorn, a bag of Co-Op 'Roast Dinner' flavoured crisps, some Haribo Strawbs (veggie), six mini Alpro chocolate soy milks and a Betty Crocker Devils Food Cake cake mix! Luke was a little dubious when I asked for the latter but I'm so excited to try it with a can of diet Coke.

LIFESTYLE
I received a few cool gadgets from Luke this year! I've never been able to get internet signal in my bedroom so he got me a WiFi Booster and omg it's amazing. I can literally tweet / blog from my bed and it's just the best thing. He also got me a new memory stick to store blog photos on! Bless him. Following along the same lines, my Nan got me a copy of Pokémon Moon! I've already logged 5 hours on there and I've completed the first trial. I can't play it anymore today until Luke gets home from work because we're playing it together! I chose Popplio for my Starter, if you're wondering.

The synthetic wool & pompom makers are from my Mum and I'm so excited to use them. A few weeks ago I started making pompoms with a piece of cardboard I'd cut into circles and it was so tedious because they'd break after two poms. She got me a set of four pompom makers in various sizes and some wool which I picked out in Poundworld. My mum also got me a little crochet Dobby (!!) who is now sitting safely on top of my Harry Potter book collection.
I received a book from Luke and a book from my Dad - both non-fiction. Dad got me Bloom by Estee Lalonde which I'm excited to read and Luke got me Reasons To Stay Alive by Matt Haig which has been on my wishlist forever. Luke also got me the adorable little Leafeon plushie, a Kirito Pop! Vinyl and a sparkly succulent because he's just an absolute babe.

Finally in terms of lifestyle bits, my Dad got me a beautiful silver chain that I spotted a while ago in the Topshop sale (he went back and bought it without me knowing!), an acrylic makeup storage unit from B&M which I'm using to store stationery and a set of unicorn slipper socks.

STATIONERY
And finally, my stationery bits. My 'big' present from Mum was a Kikki.K 365 journal which is incredibly beautiful - I'm planning on starting it on my 22nd birthday. She also got me a few ringbinders, an accordion file and a set of paper wallets from a gorgeous collection in Wilkos. The two little notebooks at the front are also from my Mum (via Wilkos). One of them is blank and the other is an adorable mini organiser that has sections for planning your days, packing lists, pros & cons lists and notes.

Aaaand that's a wrap! Or unwrap, rather. (Sorry - I'll see myself out.) I am so overwhelmed by the wonderful things people got me and I've had the nicest day nesting in my bedroom and putting everything away. I also decluttered again to make room for the lovely new things - would you like to see a post on my decluttering tips? It's become a real habit of mine over the past few weeks!






17 comments

  1. Oh my god I can't believe you've lasted so long without wifi in your room! Glad to hear you had a fab Christmas x

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  2. Wow you got some really lovely bits, I prefer to get lots of little things. I got Pokemon Sun and so far I'm hooked, I started with Litten. =^-^=

    Sam | Momentarily Dreaming

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  3. I love these kind of posts, the Body shop camomile range is one of my favourites! xx

    Coleoftheball xx

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  4. Wifi boosters are actual lifesavers - it must be SO nice to be able to use the internet properly from your room, especially when you suffer with anxiety. I love posts like this, even if some people get 'offended' by them.

    Steph - www.nourishmeblog.co.uk

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  5. I bought pokemon moon when it came out and ive already finished it and i chose popplio too =]

    emyii90.blogspot.co.uk

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  6. How have you survived without wifi in your bedroom? I wouldn't be able to cope with that - haha! You had some lovely presents, especially all the Snow Fairy stuff (my fave, too!) And I love seeing these kind of posts - and will be writing my own - so don't worry about the few who get offended by them! x www.aimeeraindropwrites.co.uk x

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  7. Hope you had the most wonderful Christmas, Lauren! EEEK, that Leafeon plushie is so freakin' adorable. I haven't played Pokemon Moon nearly enough, I've been so busy and whenever I'm not busy, I'm usually asleep, heh. I had a kikki.K 365 diary for Christmas last year and have had the best time recording my year in there - can't wait to see what you do with yours! (:

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  8. I do love reading these posts! Your family sure knows you down to a tee, don't they eh? So many fab things - I do love the yellow instax camera!

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  9. I've been playing pokemon Sun and I'm so in love with it. It's a little bit kiddy but I like that they've done something really different with it! x

    vvnightingale.com

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  10. I love the stationery items you got! :) My Christmas was good, it just got a bit too much & too loud at times cause I have such a big family. Being surrounded by a lot of people overwhelms me quite easily even if it's my family but it was still lovely. I'm glad to hear about your little successes x

    Sara’sChapters

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  11. The little crochet Dobby is so cute! I spy with my little eye an Instax too, you lucky thing. I have been eyeing one up for ages so you'll have to let me know what you think of it :) xx

    Yasmina | The July Journal

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  12. Awww such lovely things!! I love reading these posts and being nosey - haha! Enjoy the rest of 2016 and have a Happy New Year!! :D

    Alice // the-rose-glow.blogspot.co.uk

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  13. I definitely don't see anything wrong with these posts - I really enjoy reading them.

    You got some great gifts, you're very lucky. Reasons to Stay Alive is on my reading list for this year, I think it's going to really help me.

    Jenn

     Photo-Jenn-ic 

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  14. So many lovely gifts, have a wonderful new year too!

    www.wheresmylipstick.com

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  15. You got some awesome gifts! The Leafeon plush is so cute! That's so sweet of your parents for buying you vegan treats. It's so must be great having people in your life that support your vegan and cruelty-free lifestyle. ♥

    mooeyandfriends.blogspot.com

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  16. Aww I really enjoyed reading and viewing your Christmas presents post and admired/agreed with your honest thoughts on blogging gifts. I’ve done a similar post, and although I mainly got money this year, it’s fun to chat about presents. I think we also have similar taste in a lot of things, I love the wool you got, will have to keep a look out for some like yours for my knitting project. The Bloom book looks awesome too. I want to be more dedicated to cruelty-free buying in 2017, thanks for the inspiration. Best wishes for the coming year! :-) xx

    Helen | Helens Fashion & Beauty Blog

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  17. Ooh what lovely pressies! Glad you got some things you love and super glad you managed to eat Christmas dinner and get through the day! My Christmas was pretty good - the day itself was a little stressful with some family issues but for the most part it was good to spend time with my loved ones. I'm feeling good about the new year though and ready for a fresh start! xx

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