Christmas budget

Breaking the Christmas budget: do you spoil your grandkids?

December is a time for festivities and merriment, Christmas decorations,

puddings, tinsel and, of course, giving - and new research suggests that Brits

are anything but Scrooges when it comes to the festive season. A recent

survey of 135 UK-based women conducted by an online retailer

among them mothers and grandmothers, has shown that more than three-

quarters of those surveyed believe that children are spoiled with gifts on 25

December.

But are Britain’s children really being spoilt? And are parents and

grandparents stretching their budgets to accommodate all the most

popular ‘batteries not included’ toys this year? The survey seems to indicate

that we Brits are aware of the indulgence of the season, but treat the urge to

splurge with a certain amount of caution and restraint, with only 2 out of 10

women stating that they plan to spend over £500 on gifts for the whole family

this year.

However, when the question was refined to ask ‘How much would you be

willing to spend on toys for the kids?’ more than a third of those surveyed felt

that up to £50 was the right kind of budget. To put this response in context,

when asked how much money was appropriate to spend on a gift for a

partner, the budget increased, with almost 1 in 3 putting themselves in the

£50 to £100 range.

Let’s make a distinction here between spoiling the children by getting them

a lovely, much desired present, and spoiling them by indulging them to the

point of letting them run roughshod over their elders. Whilst the former may

occur, the latter, returning again to the survey, is not likely. Parents and

grandparents are setting excellent standards of Christmas etiquette in terms

of gift giving and receiving. Almost 9 in 10 of those surveyed said that they

would never get a deliberately awful gift for someone they didn’t like, and four-

fifths admitted to telling that most acceptable of white lies - pretending that a

disappointing present was perfect.

So, with all that in mind, it seems the best course of action is to let

our children or grandchildren enjoy that all-singing-all-dancing toy or gadget

they’ve been longing for, within reason - but to make sure they write a thank-

you note afterwards!!



Thrift Inspiration..............Net-A-Porter and Vintage Style for Heritage Dressing

Hi there!! Heritage dressing for this season is not only super stylish, but practical, functional and so very versatile if the right key piece is picked. 

A wool tweed jacket is definitely my pick of the season and as usual this can be found from designer right through to high street- I love these from Net-A-Porter who have a lovely range of wool tweed items in a range of different colours and styles:

 Carven forest green tweed wool blazer, £450





Joseph Hutton wool tweed blazer £495

Browsing this trend from designers to high street this season has really inspired me to 'Shop Vintage'. What inspires me so much about vintage for this trend is the sheer quality of fabric and that a lot of wool and tweed items are made in Great Britain. On my hunt for the key 'heritage' piece this season, my key requirements were pure wool fabric, luxe tailoring and to be made in the British Isles.

This jacket ticks all the boxes-it is a recent vintage find by Burberry and is not only 100% wool it is also made in England. I love the attention to detail too- it has a cute velvet collar, leather buttons on the cuffs and the front and it is a perfect 'boyfriend' style, ideal for keeping warm with chosen layers underneath.



The colour of the jacket is more 'blue' and it goes perfectly with skinny jeans and my favourite jean style of the moment, indigo skinny flares. I found a fabulous pair by J Brand for only £3.99 a couple of weeks ago and they are a perfect accompaniment to this Burberry jacket.

Will you be doing heritage this season? Whether you choose designer, high street or vintage this is certainly a style which if chosen right will be a perfect wardrobe staple for years to come!

MyStyle......My Choice of Dresses at Phase Eight

 

Hi everyone! The 'C' word is drawing ever nearer and if thats not an excuse for a new dress, then I don't know what is!! I love how at House of Fraser there is such a fabulous range of these Phase Eight dresses which are not only party dresses, but also some gorgeous day, evening and cocktail dresses that suit all budgets, tastes and styles!

 

Here is my virtual shopping list of my favourite six dresses, some of which would be perfect for a smart daytime to evening look with the addition of heels and jewellery.

 

Each dress here is completely on my style radar-black lace, midnight blue, winter florals, ruched jersey-whats not to love with these choices and not only are they ideal for Christmas, they will seriously work as year round dresses with that forever timeless style factor that each of these have!

 

More Phase Eight dresses can be seen here and a lot of them have some seriously high reductions-do check them out!

 

This Rhona lace dress is reduced from £99 to £59 and is a perfect choice for a transitional day to night outfit.



 This midnight blue Ema silk cape dress is half price-now £44.50



Digital prints and winter florals make this Kara print dress a perfect choice for this season, now reduced to £59

 



This is the perfect style dress for Christmas Day-Side ruched jersey dress, £79 will still look fabulous after that gigantic Christmas dinner!!

 



 

I adore winter floral prints and this will certainly take you into Spring, Secret garden cowl neck dress now £65

 



 

My perfect style of cocktail dress- Harriet dress £160

 

 

What style of dress will be on your shopping list for Christmas? I hope these choices have given you some gorgeous dress inspiration what ever you decide on!!

Tim Walker Exhibition at Somerset House

Hi everyone!! Sorry for not getting over to you and leaving comments-I'm very much the 'blogger lurker' at the moment in that I am visiting your blogs to read, but not leaving comments-naughty I know, but still very self indulgent and enjoyable!!

 

Last month saw a visit to the Tim Walker exhibition at Somerset House which was made all the more enjoyable as it was with the lovely Mrs TNMA. We enjoyed a fabulous chat in Fernandez and Wells before viewing the exhibition. I will let the pictures do the talking-all I will say is its a free exhibition and is on until 27 January, so if you are in London check out the link above for more information and do try and stop by for a visit:

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you are all having a great week-I'm currently still not a well bunny so have nothing more than rest and recouperation on the menu!!

Blogger Inspiration......My Autumnal Thrift Must Haves

Hi everyone!! Style and fashion wise, I have been so inspired by my lovely blog friends these last few weeks- From the lovely Mrs Thats Not My Age whose love of French Chic, current crush on midnight blue and Burberry trenchcoats has inspired me big style. Not forgetting the wonderful Vintage Vixen who is a constant style inspiration with her never ending awesome jumble sale finds and her love of faux fur.

So based on these lovely ladies style loves, it was easy to create my Autumn Thrift Essentials List- the concept of which is currently being posted by Atlantis Home here and here and which gave me the inspiration to share with you my favourite finds this year and last year which have made my top picks for this season:

First are these black cowboy boots that are by New Look that I found earlier this year-they were only £2 and with cowboy boots firmly back on the style radar this Autumn make these my footwear choice this season-perfect with black skinny jeans:

This next find was a few weeks ago-its a mens slightly oversize v neck merino wool sweater by Gant in this seasons favourite colour of wine. It's a great layering piece-a great alternative to a sweatshirt and was found in the Salvation Army for just £3.99. It's also my take on getting into this colour trend without going up the coloured jeans route-not to say they aren't great but a mid blue shade of jean is my current style choice for Autumn:

Of course a v neck will require a couple of different style blouses and my next find is one I've had for a couple of years now-it's a midnight blue vintage crepe de chine pussy bow blouse by Aquascutum which was another bargain from the Salvation Army for just £2.99. A pussy bow blouse is a perfect Autumnal style as it means a scarf is not required with your chosen outfit:

My next find was from the summer boot sale and is an oyster silk shirt (originally a shirt dress, but shortened by me as the bottom was too tight!) by Equipment- a total find for £2 and perfect for under v neck sweaters:

My most recent find was this vintage mens trenchcoat- I was drawn to it as it is a perfect knee length and just slightly oversized if I want to wear a chunky sweater or layers underneath-its a fine example of trench coat tailoring and was £14.99 from the Barnados charity shop:

My last find was a total Vix find in that I found it from my one and only jumble sale of this year for a rock bottom bargainous price of £1.50! It is a faux fur gilet by the Debenhams brand 'Maine' and I've worn it twice already, making it a current cost per wear of 75p!! I love how its a size bigger than my normal jackets so I can wear it as a layering piece over my favourite black leather biker jacket and the collar is a high one, making it soo cosy and the colour is perfect-a mix of light and dark grey:

So thats it!! What bloggers have inspired you for your latest buys this Autumn, I'd love to share your current style crushes! Thanks for all your well wishes-along with my current regime of R&R, they have made me feel so much better emotionally if not quite physically, lol!! All your comments are so much appreciated and I hope you're all having a great week so far!