It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Latest Interiors does the legwork for you and draws up a gift list to please your whole family
Looking for that perfect present? Got someone special you want to impress? In part two of our seasonal shopping series, Latest Interiors brings you some cracking Christmas ideas for gorgeous and affordable gifts.
Softly, softly…
Credit crunch aside, luxe has been a buzzword for interior style this year and Christmas will see us decking the halls, sitting rooms and stairways in recession-busting colour and light. If you’re looking for a lovely, luxurious gift, you can’t go far wrong with a cashmere, wool or satin throw – perfect for bedrooms and sofas. For a smaller budget, satin, silk or sequinned cushions add a touch of glamour: opt for shades of plum, cranberry, black, faded silver and old gold.
Luxurious stocking fillers include: silk or lace pocket handkerchiefs, perfect white linen napkins, a small silver sweet dish or triple-milled rose-scented soap.
Sensual living
The old guard might turn their noses up at scented candles, but we think they’re perfect for changing the feel and atmosphere of a room and generally cheering everyone up. Latest Interiors simply adores eco-friendly candles from Neom, previously known as Natural Magic, (especially orange blossom, or Morrocan rose: www.neomorganics.com), and Dayna Decker’s innovative candle range (especially ‘Zelia’, with a wooden wick, they give a cheery crackle when they burn: from £22, www.daynadecker.com). A more affordable but equally green option is an ‘as it should be‘ scented candle from True Grace, from £10 (www.truegrace.co.uk). A living flower arrangement is another lovely, affordable idea; hyacinth bulbs planted in a pretty pot will fill the home with fragrance through the spring. Alternatively, a solid, plain crystal vase or rose bowl is a classic gift that will be used year after year.
Ideas for sensual stocking fillers include: scented drawer liners or clothes sachets for the wardrobe (lavender or clove only, please), M&S scented candles, softest hand cream (the White Company do a great kitchen hand cream: www.thewhitecompany.co.uk), or scented bath salts.
The entertainer
For those who love to entertain, classic (or pretty) tableware or a pair of crystal glasses are excellent choices. A silky-soft table runner, twinkly fairy lights, or a pretty serving dish should all go down well. For a special evening, put together and purchase an MP3 playlist of seasonal music (or music that they love, if they can’t bear Voices of the Valley‘s Christmas special). Alternatively, a leather-bound scrap book or lovely photo album to keep memories safe is another nice idea – or how about a black silk eye mask, for lie-ins on the morning after?
Kids
Last but not least, kids of all ages appreciate a gift or two that isn’t made exclusively of brightly coloured plastic (honestly. Or perhaps ours are too polite to say otherwise…). Funky fairy lights for a bedroom (Habitat have a fantastic range), the perfect set of coloured pencils and a special drawing book (we challenge you to find anyone aged four or over who doesn’t love Quentin Blake’s Drawing for the Artistically Undiscovered, Klutz, 1999 – which comes with its own pencils, and is utterly absorbing), a photo album (again… but kids adore pouring over pictures of themselves when they were little and their birthday parties), a tepee or play-tent or even a door-sized poster of the Tardis to turn any bedroom into a time-travelling machine should hit the spot. Actually, we’d quite like one of them too. Along with the Doctor. If he’s free for Christmas…
