Secret Christmas Gifting with Not On The High Street

It seems that now the Holidays Are Coming, everyone is talking about Not Talking About Christmas. But last week I spent an entire evening on Not On The High Street (NOTHS)-  an online marketplace that brings together 3,800 independent small UK businesses- diligent in my pursuit of the perfect Christmas Gift. The side benefit of my night on the site was that I have filled out my Birthday (Thanksgiving, if you were interested) and Christmas Wishlist, so feel free to take a peek!

The reason I was choosing Christmas gifts was for three fellow bloggers as part of the NOTHS Best Blogger Gifter challenge. I had to find the perfect gift for three perfect parent bloggers: Mammasaurus, Mari’s World and Mummy, Mummy, Mum. Let me tell you it was not easy. Although I know these bloggers online, I don’t know all of them that well in real life so I spent a long time searching their blogs, their Pinterest boards and their twitter feeds for hints, tips and ideas about the sort of things that they liked and wanted.

The budget per head was £30. On most sites this would restrict your choices to a handful, easing the burden of choice considerably, but even when I used the handy slider to restrict my search price band, I still regularly brought up dozens of pages of ideas for everything from personalised gifts to quirky gifts, from edible treats to bathtime delights, all from small businesses and independent retailers who are talented, creative and different from the identikit gifts you can buy on the High Street. It was an exercise in thinking big by shopping with a small budget.

This week the regular knock of the postman at the door has caused him to ask if Christmas has come early. I told him that it has. Imagine my delight when I opened not one but three beautifully packaged gifts.

 

A fabulous trug bearing the legend: “Grown By Kelly”. What a practical and useful gift. Of course it will have to wait until next year for me to attempt to grow anything to fill it, as we have recently moved house, but I can always fill it with veg from the local Farmer’s Market when we have visitors!

A wonderful Loveheart Trivet calling me Hot Stuff. I love the retro styling of this- Love Heart Sweets were always such fun growing up- and this totally takes me back to a wonderful time in my life. And who doesn’t need a trivet in their lives? I deal with hot dishes all the time and this will be a great table-saver.

A personalised Library Classic apron, calling me an Epic Lady. Again such great ‘retro’ styling and I love the way you can add so many person-specific details to the apron, so it almost feels as if it was hand-printed by the person who chose it for you!

 

All such thoughtful, unique, memorable gifts for which I am grateful. I spent hours on Not On The High Street, rescued only by DH who insisted that it was time for bed, so I know the stamina and dedication required to search and find the perfect gift, the three perfect gifts, from the site, just for me. To my Secret Santas (what IS the plural of Santa? Santi? Santas?) I thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time and care to choose such fabulous gifts. I really appreciate it.

But I have to choose one stand-out gift, and it was impossibly difficult. In the end I decided to go with the gift I would use the most. And that is the apron which will replace my current – and somewhat worn – Domestic Goddesque apron. My only concern is that, as this one is white – which will show the paint, cake-mix, soot and dirt that I am covered in daily- I won’t look much like a Domestic Goddesque for long!

*Disclosure: I was sent the gifts I mentioned as part of the Challenge and for the purposes of writing this post! Gifts to the value of £30 were also dispatched to the other bloggers on my behalf, although I chose them. My opinions are my own*