Making the run up to Christmas feel special

By |2021-12-10T11:09:51+00:00December 10th, 2021|Categories: Christmas, Family, Gift ideas|Tags: , , , |

Well in one way or another it's beginning to feel a bit like Christmas isn't it? I still can't quite believe it's only a fortnight away, perhaps because we don't have any of the usual Christmas counting down going on here - things like the boys opening their advent calendars after breakfast or the pleasure of adding little Christmas surprises into their lunchboxes. A few of you have mentioned that you're finding it harder to get into the mood this [...]

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Gifts for women – big and small brands

By |2021-11-23T17:08:09+00:00November 23rd, 2021|Categories: Christmas, Gift ideas, Hair & Beauty|Tags: , , , |

And so we come to the last of my Christmas gift posts - Gifts for women and as with the others, not everything is just for women, lots of these ideas would work for men too. I'm structuring it differently this time, starting with the big brands we know and love and then moving on to feature a few ideas from smaller brands. Ever since bloggers fell out of favour I find that very few small brands get in touch [...]

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Thoughtful Christmas gifts for men 2021

By |2021-11-19T16:48:39+00:00November 19th, 2021|Categories: Christmas, Gift ideas|Tags: , , , |

Phew - it's been a busy week of blogging, I hope you're not getting sick of me. Today it's all about the men in your life and as always I've tried really hard to find things that are either meaningful or useful. I should add that a lot of these gifts would work just as well for women - and I've included some that can be enjoyed by couples too, the best of both worlds. So let's crack on with [...]

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Christmas gifts for teens and young adults 2021

By |2021-11-16T18:30:08+00:00November 16th, 2021|Categories: Christmas, Gift ideas, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

So many of you have told me you've been waiting for the 'Christmas gifts for teens and young adults 2021' post that I'm starting it rather nervously. As always I tasked my troops with helping me but this year the first thing they warned me was that it might be the last time. You see at the moment 'new stuff' isn't cool; when you talk to millennials and Gen Z they're all buying vintage which is great... but it doesn't [...]

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Christmas shopping shortcuts with John Lewis & Partners

By |2021-11-12T16:59:49+00:00November 12th, 2021|Categories: Christmas, Gift ideas, Retail Review|Tags: , , , , , |

And drum roll... just like that it's time for the first of my Christmas gift posts. Today I'm taking you on a virtual shopping trip with me and showing you some Christmas shopping shortcuts at John Lewis & Partners. Over the next two weeks I'll have three more gift ideas posts including all kinds of things dedicated to: teens/young adults, men and women and I'll try to include suggestions that you might not have thought of before. I do have [...]

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Wrapping up Christmas – the last little details

By |2020-12-08T16:59:37+00:00December 8th, 2020|Categories: Christmas, Gift ideas, Hair & Beauty, Interiors, Style|Tags: , , , , , |

Thank you for your comments and messages after my last post, I'm going to reply to them tomorrow but before that I have a few last thoughts about Christmas to share. Now that my nest is full again I'm finding myself drumming my fingers and waiting for Christmas to begin but as it is, we're all still busy with work, lectures and school, limping slightly as we see the end ahead. This is the last of my posts with John [...]

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Cashmere 101 & why high street cashmere isn’t what it was

By |2020-12-01T17:14:16+00:00December 1st, 2020|Categories: Gift ideas, Style|Tags: , , , |

I've been meaning to write a post about cashmere for ages and with Christmas approaching, it seems like a good time. In the comments you often mention that you feel quality has declined over the last few years and wonder why. So today I'm focusing on a small family run business The Cashmere Specialist to bring you a cashmere 101 and looking at why high street cashmere isn't what it was. (In the interests of transparency, this has been commissioned [...]

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Christmas gift ideas for women 2020

By |2020-11-25T14:53:35+00:00November 24th, 2020|Categories: Christmas, Gift ideas|Tags: , , , |

It's a conundrum for every woman I know. You dedicate so much of your headspace to finding gifts for everyone else that when they ask you what you'd like, you can't think of anything. And then when January comes around lots of thoughts pop into your head - things you'd like but perhaps can't justify buying for yourself. With this in mind I'm hoping to give you a few ideas today because this year more than any other is one [...]

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Thoughtful Christmas Gifts For Men 2020

By |2020-11-20T17:04:51+00:00November 20th, 2020|Categories: Christmas, Gift ideas|Tags: , , , |

Just over a month to go and I think we can all acknowledge that Christmas shopping is now in full swing so today I'm moving on with Thoughtful Christmas Gifts For Men 2020. The Black Friday offers have started a week early for two reasons. The first, of course, reflects the difficulties that retailers are facing without bricks and mortar footfall to rely on. They know that people are usually more controlled when they shop online than in a store [...]

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12 days of Christmas Dressing – dressed up or dressed down?

By |2020-11-18T16:38:08+00:00November 18th, 2020|Categories: Christmas, Gift ideas, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

As promised, an extra post from me this week focusing on the 12 days of Christmas dressing - dressed up or dressed down? Today I'm working with John Lewis & Partners and I've decided to look specifically at the retail approach that they've taken to the tricky proposition of Christmas 2020. As you no doubt know, when lockdown hit us all so suddenly in March retailers were pretty much at the point where they'd usually have Christmas all planned out. [...]

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Christmas cornucopia from M&S – things you may have missed

By |2019-12-10T10:46:18+00:00December 10th, 2019|Categories: Christmas, Gift ideas, Retail Review|Tags: , , , , , , |

I don't know about you but I think I can say that I'm more or less ready for Christmas now and so for my last M&S post of the year, I thought I'd put together a 'Christmas cornucopia'. I'm focusing on the things I've found that you may have missed along with some little bits and pieces to make your time extra special. So let's go on one last virtual shopping trip together - after this one, my posts will [...]

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Wrapping up Christmas – a more sustainable approach

By |2019-12-06T10:58:26+00:00December 6th, 2019|Categories: Christmas, Gift ideas, Retail Review|Tags: , , , , |

Today I'm bringing you the last of my John Lewis & Partners' posts for 2019, I've loved working with them again this year. Of all of the brands on the high street, they have to be the most dynamic in their determination to find a new approach to bricks and mortar retail. As I've mentioned before, they have a whole department dedicated to retail innovation which makes them exciting to work with because they're always revealing another 'well I never!' [...]

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Chic gifts for women 2019 – ideas for you

By |2019-11-27T15:27:20+00:00November 27th, 2019|Categories: Christmas, Gift ideas|Tags: , , , |

It's the last of my Christmas gift posts today and I'm looking at chic gifts for women 2019, things you might like to put on your own list. I've tried to include a range of prices but a few are investment purchases because I don't think anybody's in the mood to buy throwaway stuff this year. So, let's get going because as you know, we have a dinner to travel to. Chic gifts for women 2019 The Airwrap I'm starting [...]

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Thoughtful gifts for men 2019 and midlife lately

By |2019-11-26T16:57:29+00:00November 26th, 2019|Categories: Christmas, Gift ideas|Tags: , , , |

Today I bring you the second of my three Christmas shopping posts with 'thoughtful gifts for men 2019'. I haven't had any help on this one because Mr MC insists that midlife men tend to already have whatever they need. However I've tried to go beyond the usual slippers and socks to come up with something a little different. A lot of the ideas are completely unisex so even if you aren't buying for a man, they're worth a glance. [...]

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Gift ideas for teens – and kidults, Christmas 2019

By |2019-11-25T16:47:07+00:00November 22nd, 2019|Categories: Christmas, Gift ideas|

And we're off. It's the first of my Christmas shopping posts - gifts ideas for teens and kidults - and forgive me for using that term but all of these ideas are for the young at heart who can be so very difficult to buy for. As I mentioned on Tuesday, I've had a whole committee working on this. Not just the boys but their friends too and they've been generously rewarded for their enthusiasm. It's certainly taken my mind [...]

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Thinking about Mother’s Day and the gifts that you give

By |2019-03-22T12:01:15+00:00March 22nd, 2019|Categories: Family, Gift ideas, Midlife, Relationships|Tags: , , , , , , |

I've been compiling Mother's Day gift posts for as long as I've worked in retail and as always, this year they're everywhere. So when Marks and Spencer approached me to put one together for them, I pushed back. But then they asked me to go beyond the clichés and do it with a difference and after spending some time looking through their site, I felt that I could. So, today I'm thinking about Mother's Day and the gifts that you [...]

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Christmas finishing touches – little things that make it feel extra special

By |2018-12-11T11:35:14+00:00December 11th, 2018|Categories: Christmas, Gift ideas, Interiors|Tags: , , , |

Please note that this is a sponsored post in collaboration with John Lewis and Partners. As such, links are affiliated and upon purchase, a small commission may be paid to Midlifechic. The retailer pays so this costs nothing to readers but it enables me to continue bringing you two posts a week. Now that Midlifechic is being viewed over half a million times a month, It costs into the thousands of pounds to keep it running and loading smoothly. I [...]

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The Pyjama Fairy – a helping hand while the Cyber Monday offers are on

By |2018-11-26T16:38:51+00:00November 26th, 2018|Categories: Christmas, Gift ideas, Style|Tags: , , , , |

Hello - it's a quick post from me today because the Black Friday offers have run on into Cyber Monday so I thought I'd bring my Pyjama Fairy post forward. If you're a longstanding reader you'll know that the Pyjama Fairy always comes to our house on Christmas Eve while we're out at the panto. Even now, as soon as we get back the boys regress and race each other upstairs to see what's been left on their beds. They [...]

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Gifts for teens 2018 – little ideas to make them smile

By |2019-11-21T17:05:34+00:00November 22nd, 2018|Categories: Christmas, Family, Gift ideas|Tags: , , , |

I really hope this Gifts for Teens 2018 is going to be a useful post - for me as well as for you. As I said yesterday, there isn't much around that's new. In addition teens, who have always been unbelievably difficult to buy for, now spend so much of their time in the digital world that 'stuff' just isn't on their radar. And yet they still anticipate the excitement of surprises as they look back at their childhood Christmases [...]

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Chic treats for women and Black Friday 2018 offers list

By |2018-12-05T15:58:07+00:00November 21st, 2018|Categories: Christmas, Gift ideas|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

I've had so many requests for both this post and tomorrow's gifts for teens that I'm feeling the weight of expectation! I've been compiling retail Christmas gift posts since 1993 and I have to say that this year has been the hardest. Why? Because as with partywear, retailers are being very careful with their inventories this year and they're sitting on the safe side to ensure that they're not left with lots of stock to clear at a loss on [...]

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Everything Christmas at John Lewis & Partners

By |2018-11-16T16:50:50+00:00November 15th, 2018|Categories: Christmas, Gift ideas, Interiors, Retail Review|Tags: , , , , , , |

You seemed to enjoy our last virtual wander round John Lewis & Partners in May so when I was thinking about my Christmas posts, there seemed no better place to spend a day. It has to be said that they really have become the kings of Christmas in the UK. Some of my friends now say that they refuse to even think about Christmas until the TV ad comes out - they see it as the official launch of the [...]

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The Boden sale summer 18, gift ideas and a brainteaser

By |2018-06-29T16:52:41+01:00June 29th, 2018|Categories: Accessories, Gift ideas, Sale|Tags: , , , , |

I can't imagine that many people are going to be sitting around reading blog posts this weekend - the sunshine is too glorious and so I'm not going to take up much of your time. There are just a few things I wanted to bring to your attention. First of all the Boden sale summer 18. There's something interesting going on at Boden - the sale's late, they haven't been doing as much discounting recently and a lot of the [...]

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11 spring pick-me-ups: brightening the dark days

By |2018-03-02T16:37:42+00:00March 2nd, 2018|Categories: Gift ideas, Interiors, Shoes, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Wow - what can you say about the weather that hasn't already been said across every news channel?! As I type, Storm Emma is blowing in from the sea. There is nothing to shelter us from the coastline and so the winds are whistling around us like something from a horror movie. In all of the years that I have lived here, I have never known the snow to fall so incessantly. So, I decided it was time for one [...]

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Black Friday 2017 best offers compendium – updated all day

By |2017-11-24T18:04:53+00:00November 24th, 2017|Categories: Christmas, Gift ideas, Sale|Tags: , , , , |

Black Friday 2017 best offers. Last year you told me you found it helpful to have a simple guide to the best offers on Black Friday. So, I've done my best to arm you in advance with posts on Christmas gifts ideas and outfits (they're listed at the bottom in case you need to refer back to them). I'll keep updating this as offers go live and change during the day. Here are the discounts you need. Black Friday 2017 [...]

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Gift ideas for teens – who says they’re hard to buy for?!

By |2018-01-08T16:43:51+00:00November 21st, 2017|Categories: Christmas, Gift ideas|Tags: , , |

Actually this gift ideas for teens post has been a challenge this year. Usually it's easy because the boys present me with lists full of ideas on the last day of the October half term, This year, despite persistent requests, I have only had one and it has the sum total of two ideas on it. Why? They tell me that there isn't much they actually want. Apparently there is a lack of newness out there - there are no [...]

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Chic Christmas Gifts – gift ideas for women over 40

By |2017-11-16T17:29:17+00:00November 16th, 2017|Categories: Christmas, Fragrance, Gift ideas, Shoes, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Gift ideas for women over 40. This is an important post. Why? Because quite a few of my friends' husbands shop from it so I feel a huge sense of responsibility. So, chic Christmas gifts. Ideas for the woman who doesn't really need anything but would quite like a little something to open on Christmas Day. Before I go on, I have a couple of apologies to make. Firstly if you read via Bloglovin, I have been having some compression [...]

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Thoughtful gift ideas for Mother’s Day – Spring 2017

By |2017-03-10T14:42:06+00:00March 10th, 2017|Categories: Family, Gift ideas, Interiors|Tags: , , , |

Mother's Day (or Mothering Sunday as my mum would insist) is fast approaching in the UK. I always say it is one of my favourite days of the year, much nicer than a birthday because you have a lovely day without being any older. And as I'm writing this post, I'm smiling because a funny thing happened when we were having drinks with a group of friends after Christmas. As the women were discussing what presents they had unwrapped on Christmas Day, everything they [...]

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