thriftylilpixie

Thursday, December 31, 2015

Buy Irish Christmas Gift Guide

If you're looking for a few last minute Christmas presents or maybe a little treat for yourself, here's a selection of Irish goodies that would make perfect gifts. I love supporting Irish and local businesses and Christmas is the perfect time of year to show some love to Irish business and crafts people.

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For the Interior Design Goddess

DIY Christmas Wreath

Handmade Christmas Gift Ideas

Herbal Bath Teas

Oatmeal Soap, Homemade Masala Chai Concentrate and a Mason Jar Fresh Herb Garden

Triangle Quilt, Quick Bread in a Bottle and His & Her Pillow Cases

Infused Sugar, Peppermint & Lemon Foot Scrub and Brownie/Cookie Mixes in Jars

Personalized Mugs, Hot Chocolate Spoons and Marble Ring Dishes

I personally love things that are handmade, rustic and natural so I knew I wanted to do a few Christmas gift guides that are for people who like handmade or locally sourced gifts. I have searched Pinterest and my favorite crafty blogs to compile a selection of lovely Christmas gift ideas you could whip up in time for someone special or just as a little DIY project for yourself. I would be delighted to receive any of these gifts at anytime of the year; especially the food ones! For more DIY projects you can visit my ever growing pinterest board.

For pampered princesses: Herbal bath teas: guide here, Homemade oatmeal soap: guide here, Peppermint & lemon foot scrub guide here.

For food lovers: Homemade Masala Chai concentrate guide here, Infused sugar guide here, Hot chocolate spoons guide here, Chocolate chip and oatmeal bread in a bottle guide here, Brownie and cookie mixes in a jar guide here

For interior design goddesses: Mason jar fresh herb garden guide here, Personalized mugs guide here, Marbled ring dishes guide here, His & her pillow cases guide here, Triangle quilt guide here

Hopefully there is something in there that might inspire you to give making handmade gifts a try. If you've any other gift ideas or DIY projects I'd love to hear about them!

Next up: Buy Irish Christmas Gift Guide

xox

Doolin Cave, Clare

Cliffs of Moher, Clare

Lahinch & Doolin, Clare

Hampers for Homeless

I love Christmas; the decorations, the food and music, spending time with my family and eating endless turkey sandwiches. Obviously, Christmas isn't like this for countless people worldwide and this year while making your Christmas shopping list why not add a few small treats for someone who's really struggling right now. Therese Cullen has set up a 'Hampers for the Homeless' initiative and would love for people to get involved. For years she made Christmas Hampers for friends, families and relatives, filled with edible treats and small gifts. This year, with the rising homeless crisis across Ireland, she wanted to do something different and came up with 'Hampers for the Homeless'. Her plan is to make hampers for the homeless in Ireland and hand deliver them this December. The hampers will contain edible treats like biscuit cake and truffles, a miniature Christmas tree and little treats like fluffy socks and nice toiletries. She will be making hampers specifically themed to suit men, women and children. To make these hampers really special would be very costly so Therese is reaching out for support. She is not asking for money as Christmas is a demanding time financially for everyone. Instead she is asking for anyone who would like to be involved to put something small aside to donate to the cause: something as simple as handcream, clothing or chocolate. All these small donations will add up to make Christmas a little brighter for those going through a truly challenging time.

If you would like to help you can contact Therese on Facebook, Twitter or by emailing her at hampersforthehomeless@gmail.com. Additionally there will be some drop off points organised around Ireland, which can be found on the initiatives Facebook page and I will also keep them updated below.

Drop of points

Carlow: Sam McCauley Chemist, Fairgreen Shopping Centre, Barrack St, Carlow

Dublin city centre: Reception of Dublin Fire Brigade HQ, 165-169 Townsend st, Dublin 2. Mon-Fri only between 9am and 5pm. For security reasons, the fire brigade cannot except items which are gift wrapped or in enclosed boxes where you can't see what is inside so please ensure that the items dropped in are easy to see what they are.

Dublin North: Hot Yoga Dublin Studios, Northern Cross, Malahide Road. Please visit website for opening times/schedule - reception is open 30 mins before and 30 mins after each class.

Make this a Christmas of giving and compassion in any small way that you can.

Simple Scone Recipe

Homemade Blackberry & Apple Jam

Homemade Apple & Plum Jam

Glamping Pods, Nagles Camping, Doolin

Dingle, Conor Pass & Castlegregory, Kerry

Muckross House Traditional Farms, Kerry

Killarney National Park, Kerry

Sleeping in a Yurt: Grove Lane Glamping, Kerry

Grove Lane Glamping

Ballycasheen, Killarney, Co Kerry

Garnish Island, Cork

Garnish Island

Glengarriff, West Cork

The Ewe Experience, Cork

The Ewe Experience

Glengarriff, West Cork, Ireland

Glengarriff Park Hotel, Cork

Our Irish Road Trip Route: The Wild Atlantic Way and Ring Of Kerry

Mileage at beginning: 133107 km

Annual Threshing and Vintage Day, Kildare

Low Key

Jacket-River Island

Tshirt-Primark

Jeans-Bershka

Sandals, Necklace & Backpack-Primak

I thought I'd do a little outfit of the day because I haven't done one in ages as I've been really enjoying having more of a lifestyle focus on my blog right now. This is the outfit I wore out for our 8 year anniversary dinner. It's quite low key for a celebratory dinner but it's very my style. These ripped jeans from Bershka are the axis my entire wardrobe revolves around. I wear them far more than I should, the rest of my clothes have to wait until they're dirty to get their own day out. The amount of rips is just perfect, it looks just worn in which I love. This was probably my last chance to enjoy summery sandals for the year, I saw a hint of sunshine so I had to wear them one last time! I got these beauts in Primark for €10, I also got a gold pair because they're so comfortable. Also another everyday piece in my wardrobe is this Primark backpack. Backpacks are just way more convenient than handbags, they fit loads and stay the hell out of your way. This highly decorated backpack was €15 and is perfect for college and travelling. Actually this biker jacket is also something I wear everyday, I think I'm getting a little too predictable...

What are your everyday wardrobe pieces?

xox

Il Caffe Di Napoli, Dublin

My Current Skincare Favorites

Packing For A Road Trip

Action Bronson, Mr. Wonderful Tour, Dublin

Date Night: Base Bowling

Even after going out for 8 years, it's still nice to go on a date every now and then. Since I'm activities obsessed I was very excited to go on a little bowling date. I hadn't been bowling in years and had never bowled with the barriers down, so to be perfectly honest I wasn't great. We went to Base Celbridge, where they have bowling and laser tag. Per lane it's €19 for 30 minutes or €35 for 1 hour during off peak (10am – 2pm) or €24.00 for 30 minutes/€39.00 for 1 hour during peak times (2-10pm). Naturally I lost all our games but it was really fun anyway. After that we spent more than I'd like to admit on amusements, those 20 cents really add up and it's so addictive okay! Then like almost every day in my life it was time to pig out. Our treat of choice this time was Pizza Dog, I hadn't been before but it was so so good. My pick was onion rings and the New Jersey dog: a Frankfurter served with onions and mustard coleslaw. I'm currently writing this with cold pasta for my dinner and all I want to do is order Pizza Dog but I will resist temptation...I hope!

What are you favorite date night ideas?

xox