There’s nothing quite like a sending and receiving a homemade gift at Christmas. There’s something so special about knowing you’ve worked to create something special for a loved one.  Today I wanted to show you one of the homemade Christmas gifts that I made for some friends and family a few years ago.

I was inspired to make these Festive Sugar Scrubs on Pinterest and they were originally posted over on A Pumpkin and a Princess.  I’ve adapted the recipe a little bit so they are perfect for each individual recipient, but here’s how I made them.

What you will need:

300g brown sugar, 400ml of sweet Almond Oil, 400g Shea Butter Soap Base, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ginger, 2 tsp vanilla extract & a Ginger Bread Man Mold.

Step One:

Melt the Soap Base over a Bain Marie, stirring occasionally. Once part melted, add the Sweet Almond Oil to the bowl and leave to melt until the mixture is liquid.

Step Two:

While they are melting together, take a jug and add mix in your brown sugar, cinnamon and ginger.

Step Three:

Remove your Soap / Oil combo from the heat and allow to cool for one minute.

Step Four:

Add the micture to the sugar & spices and stir. While still runny pour evenly between your six molds and leave to cool for a further twenty minutes. Once cool pop them in your freezer for about an hour before removing and wrapping them in cellophane ready to give as gifts.

Handy Tip: DO NOT be concerned that the mixture is not thick enough and over stir in step four. Give it a quick mix in and then pour straight away otherwise you will end up with really stodgy ‘dough’ which you can’t pour into the mold. Take it from someone who learned the hard way ;)

Are you making gifts this Christmas? I am still on the hunt for inspiration so pop your links / ideas below. Check out my other Christmas Crafts over on pinterest.

*This post was originally published on 4th December 2015.

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The decorations are up, the cards are made and now it’s time to think about the presents! I’m not sure whether it’s because I’m too excited for Florence’s First Christmas or that I am just better prepared this year, but believe it or not I’ve actually almost finished my Christmas shopping already. I am going to be posting a series of gift guides for all the family over the next week or so, but I thought I would start with showing you some of the stocking fillers we’ve bought for Florence. There is a real mix of practical bits & bobs and toys here so I hope you can take away a little bit of inspiration for your own little one’s stocking too.

We are a family of readers and we really love the ‘That’s not my…’ series and so I’m popping a copy of their unicorn edition in Flo’s stocking for Christmas morning. It’s just the right size to fit in and who doesn’t love unicorns?  

Baby spoons are another hugely practical item for Florence’s stocking but one that we desperately need. I chose Boots ones as they are super colourful and the perfect size for her to grip.

How adorable is this little hand knitted woolly hat from Blue Bunny Boutique? It’s available in lots of different colours and has cute little bear ears! I cannot wait for Florence to wear hers on chilly winter days!

Sensory staples are a fab stocking filler idea as while they might not seem very interesting on their own, they’ll come in handy through the year for different DIY sensory toys! Buttons, feathers & water beads are always good things to have a stock of.

I picked up these two teething toys at a local Christmas market from Two Little Bears. I’d not heard f them before but they have the most adorable little shop & I am a sucker for a small local business so I couldn’t resist.

Now that she’s sitting up confidently she is able to play with toys differently to before when laying on her back or belly were the only option. We’ve added these cute little Hape vehicles to her stocking.

I am forever searching our house for missing dummies! How can it be that I’ve bought about 1,000 and yet lately we only have one! And Florence has perfected her ability to throw it across the room, car, shopping centre when she no longer wants it… only to desperately need it 10 seconds later. Kids eh? You just can’t please ‘em. To put this ludicrous dummy searching fiasco we’ve got a gorgeous little dummy clip from nibbling which has teether elements too! Bonus!

Florence adores bath time, in fact I think if she could she would just spend all day every day in the bath! I picked up these light up rubber ducks in B&M for £3.99, which I thought was a total bargain and they make a perfect stocking filler.

And last but not least are these adorable winter animal finger puppets from Primark. For only £3.50, you get five in the set and they can go in the bath too! We love the jungle, farmyard & Christmas ones we have already – they’re fab for story telling and they’ll be fab for our winter theme baby play in the next couple of months.

I hope this has given you a few ideas on what to add to your baby’s first stocking!

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