Christmas Swap

For the Christmas swap organised by the two lovely bloggers Melmel and Lesley, I was teamed up with Claire from the Serendipity loves new York blog.

I had never done a swap before, so after a few days of trying to figure out what I was meant to do, I really got into the Christmas spirit to come up with a lovely 'night in' package for Claire. I almost forgot that I would be getting anything myself. So I was dead excited when a box arrived for me on Thursday evening!
Once I got past the sticky tape, our Greyhound was furiously wagging his tail and running around me (he loves a cardboard box to tear to bits when we're done with - so he thanks you for that Claire!). Claire wrote me a lovely card and apologised for not including anything handmade... and of course I don't mind! But you just wait and see, Claire spoilt me so much, that I couldn't have wished for anything more!

Inside the box were some beautifully wrapped gifts with an 'H' ornament for my name!
And slowly as I unwrapped each gift, I got more and more excited! Would you like to see some of my gifts? They are so lovely...

The first one I unwrapped was a gorgeous chunky mug with a picture of a star and the words 'star light' on it and inside Claire tucked a pot of Divine Fair Trade cocoa! Even better is that I love making hot chocolate with cocoa powder rather than 'hot chocolate' mixes, how did you know Claire? Next was the Divine strawberry and white chocolate.... Mmmmm! Then I opened the lovely smelling package containing a White Pear and Fig soap and some Cath Kidston hand cream. I did not even know Cath Kidston did hand cream, and this smells lovely! After that I thought, that's got to be it right? But oh no, I also found the Christmas socks! Wow, they are so super soft, so I immediately pulled the tags off and put them on my feet. Please excuse the stray dog hairs you can see on the photo below, but our dog is ever so nosy, and came over for a sniff as soon as I put them on. I love them , and they are just the thing to make me feel even more festive (they also have non slip soles for walking around the house in, how clever).


But that wasn't all - Claire also included a Christmas magazine, it has some brilliant projects in, everything from cooking, to decorating! I LOVE magazines, and this one has me sorted for the holidays.
So here, for you all to see again, my complete Christmas swap parcel!
Thank you so much Claire! I feel utterly, and totally spoilt, even more so than our boy did after he had a good tear and chew of the cardboard box and claimed the sofa to himself (not to mention the footstool - he spreads himself out, you see.)
A note for those of you who think dogs shouldn't be on sofas: Please don't shake your head in disgust... have you ever tried to keep a 36 kg Greyhound off a sofa? They are the biggest (literally too) couch potatoes, and I was warned from the start not to even try and deny him the sofa, for it will be a losing battle. Greyhounds sleep on raised benches in their racing days, so when they are re-homed, they think sofas are those raised benches. *sigh* I gave up on day one after he looked at me with those eyes!

But back to the swap... I really enjoyed doing it. I'm sorry for taking so long to post about it all, but I hope you all enjoyed seeing my lovely new goods. And Claire, once again thanks for all your effort, I adore everything you included in the swap!

Claire will be blogging about her swap parcel soon too if you want to have a nosy at what I got her, I hope you enjoy it Claire!

Don't forget to also take a look at Claires lovely and tempting online home accessories shop called Patsi Bea. You can tell by Claire's lovely assortment of gifts that she has good taste, so you're bound to love her shop too!

Hope you're having a festive time too! Have you put your decorations up? We haven't just yet, but I'm dying to get the Christmas lights up!
x