Virtual Indulgence

 (Sponsored post)

Christmas is coming, 

The pressie list is growing

Where can I find

Ideas worth a-flowing?

Choice is important

And originality

Take a seat and save your feet

On NotOnTheHighStreet.com

Who?

Don't worry, I hadn't heard of them either until a couple of weeks ago when a nice lady called Ali wrote to me and told me they were operating an original approach to marketing by writing to bloggers. As you know, I never write sponsored posts as I never get asked, but if I did (which I don't), I would write an honest and candid review, which a sponsor may well not like.

So when Ali wrote back to me and said that she would offer me three hundred virtual pounds to spend on friends and family to write about my choice of presents, and thus enter a competition to win my selection and bring festive joy to one and all, how could I refuse?

Mooching virtually round the NotOnTheHighStreet.com store is not a tough experience, believe me, unlike pounding the actual high street, or worse, a shopping mall. To start with, it's easy on the feet and so one is not hampered by pain-induced bad temper as one dips in and out of the different sections.

I found something for my mother almost immediately. These sandcastle bowls will inspire happy thoughts of Mumbles and summer holidays with us kids and grandchildren. They cost £25 each, so all three come to £75.

Next, my nieces. They come in a range of ages from 18 months to 14. My eldest niece is the trickiest as her attention is usually locked into her phone or laptop, but even busy young ladies have to eat, and there's nothing better than baking and eating your own cake. I would give her this extremely tempting cake kit, complete with little stars at £40.

For her 10-yr old sister, another creative present, one which will provide hours of activity and something to show at the end of it - a beginner's knitting kit, £22.50.












I'm torn between ideas for my youngest niece, aged 18 months. I would not be popular if I bought her this:

so I'm really tempted to buy here this walker truck, which is similar to one I had at her age and costs £56. She would be able to take her toys for a walk and her teddies for a picnic. I would have loved this at her age because of the jaunty truck look with space for a tiny teddy to sit in the cabin and drive.

 

For my older brother, I remember his record collection thumping out of his bedroom making it pointless that I buy my own causing a cacophony in the house and the ire of our parents. I feel these record cover frames are a suitable gift to take him back to those heady days when Blondie, Backstreet Boys, Madness etc. were the centre of his world...

and, more recently, Doris Day (*snigger*). A set of 4 7" frames costs £25.50.

My sister-in-law loves jewellery, and I think she would appreciate this fair trade necklace at £25. I certainly love the classy colours and chunky look of this necklace which is hand made in Kenya.

And  last but not least, a hamper to pamper my younger brother and his partner, much needed what with living with a lively toddler and another on the way.

This is the Dolce Vita hamper, at £55 which includes such yummies as:

• 2007 montepulciano 'frentano', cantina sociale frentana, abruzzo 75cl
• silver medal balsamic vinegar, giuseppe giusti 250ml
• nudo extra virgin olive oil 250ml
• italian honey with white truffle
• organic coffee hazelnut chocolate spread 200g
• soft amaretti biscuits 200g
• mini whisk tag
• 'eating' quotation postcard

They love Italy, so this is particularly appropriate.

With a grand total of £299 spent (I think), I hope they would like their presents. It's certainly been a lot of fun sifting through to find them.

Guilt Crazy

The end of the year is a reflective time, is it not, a time to think back on the year and draw conclusions. Well, it would be if, at the end of December, I wasn't thinking to myself 'Good god, we've made it through in one piece!'. My year ends are usually filled with relief that we're together, the boys and I (and my TWDB) and in good shape. After all, Fate can deliver the most almighty blow, and within seconds everything can change, forever. It's never good to be complacent.

Still, 2010 has been better than many and I'm delighted to have published my children's books and story builder. My youngest has been working on his story and is having a lovely time making up silly ogre names, silly ogre food, and describing two ogres beating each other up. English is not his first language, and it's hard work because I lack patience, but he's getting there, and will finish his story. As they don't seem to do much creative writing in French schools, this is quite a challenge for him.

Right now I'm more concerned with getting hold of some elusive Christmas presents. I'm feeling a tad guilty because my youngest gave me a catalogue where he'd circled what he'd like for Christmas back in October. Did I do anything about it? Nope. Little did I know that he'd set his heart on the one box that would sell out nationally, and indeed internationally, it being part of a playground craze. Don't you find these crazes a pain in the arse?

He may not get what he wants for Christmas because the box he wants is sold out. It's sold out here, it's sold out on the internet, it's sold out in the UK, and in the US. I thought it might be something my mother could get him as it was in the Argos catalogue. No hope! Unavailable up and down the country.

Tech Deck Mini Skate park

What he wants is this, a mini park for a mini skate. I'm a bit flabbergasted that it's such a hit, but it is, and I've missed it. Oops... This one is £14.99. Of course, if I wanted to fork out 50 quid, I'd have no problem...

Luckily, one of the other items on the list that was sold out is being restocked on Thursday. I went to the shop yesterday lunch time and had a completely fruitless trip. Nothing he wanted was there, and one pair of binoculars I thought he might like turned out to be a bit prissy and not suitable for a rugged young guy. The salesman suggested I come back at lunch time on Thursday because there'll be none left by the end of the day! I had visions of the shop being over-run by mad mothers all desperate to get their hands on a spy belt, elbows digging, fingers grabbing, and the sales staff begging for calm.

After a hurried reassessment of pressie list, I'm hopeful he'll get something he wants, but we might have to put a cross on the mini skate park. This year he's into spy kits and mini skates, and XBox games. Buying the game he wants isn't easy either. A new game here costs €69.99 which I think is a total rip-off and refuse to pay. On Ebay UK you can find almost new for under £30 which is still pricey, but as Christmas creeps up, desperate parents force up the price. I should have tackled this earlier too. This year my disorganisation is a pricey failure of mummying! Well, bugger! Pass me the wine!

My eldest is the star this year. He just wants money. Now that's easy! HURRAH!

Posting Rules

Well it looks like I've done just about all of my Christmas shopping. Apart from the pressies I bought in town on Friday, it's all been done on the internet, thank God for Amazon!

Le Figaro had a survey on how many people were doing their Christmas shopping on the internet. I can't find it now to link to, but when I looked, it was 49% no, 51% yes (or the other way round...). (Or was that another survey - difficult when the search engine is crap...)

According to La Fédération du e-commerce et de la vente à distance (Fevad), however, 70% of French internautes were intending to do their shopping on the internet. When asked what they intended to buy, 'produits culturels' (books?) came top with 82%, then games/toys at 68%, and high tech at 64%.

When asked why they shop online, they said it was because prices are lower than in the shops (65%), then came practicality (64%) and rapidity (54%).

I'm spending Christmas in the UK this year, so I've spent most money on sites like Amazon.co.uk so the items can be sent to where I'll be - there's no point lugging stuff over and back. I take things like wine boxes and come back with pressies. Works for me!

The pound is pretty low at the moment too, so it makes sense to buy in the UK with Euros. For example, one Xbox game I saw on Amazon.fr costs 55Eur, but the same game on Amazon.co.uk cost £36.99 which is just over 40Eur. Guess which one I bought.
So I can be included in the folk who are spending 5billion Euros online this Christmas, although hardly any of what I'm spending is going back into the French economy. Oops... Hey, I made up for it by going shopping in town so am guilt-free.

There was another survey in Le Figaro asking whether readers had an ecological reflex when buying pressies. I must say, I gave no thought at all to 'durable et propre' considerations. It's hard enough finding inspiration as it is without being hampered further. I mean, what do they mean - durable et propre? I'm taking the train to the UK - that's my lot of carbon footprint observation. Oh, and by buying them there, they are not being sent by airmail and are thus not incurring mega carbon footprints.

Phew, my conscience is clear...²

Cool Pressies

As it's coming up for Christmas, I've been surfing the net looking for pressies. I don't really do Christmas shopping in actual shops any more. What I used to do when the boys were little would be to take a Monday morning off early in December and rush down to ToysRUs. It would be quasi empty and thus a pleasant place to browse for the things I wanted to buy my little darlings.

I've been there (briefly) on a Saturday in times past and had to drown the effect it had on me in gin in order to cope with the rest of the day. Since the advent ('scuse the pun) of internet shopping, I've been as happy as Larry. No more wearying trips into town with a long list. If I decide I want to browse the Christmas market, it's to do just that. I don't have a time gun pointing at my head beating a thudding countdown as days pass and my list remains stubbornly pristine.

Back to the internet, my favourite site this year is IWantOneOfThose.com which I have been browsing like mad although I doubt they'll get rich from my custom. I've been looking for ideas for my TWDB. He has a new flat and needs to fill it with stylish and trendy stuff.

I do not have acres of money, but if I did, I'd be tempted to get him one of these knife blocks. It's been designed by Raffaele Iannello, that Italian design guru, and is called the 'Voodoo'. My TWDB would never be at a loss for conversation with new guests with one of these in the kitchen!

He tells me he's never really had to cook for himself, but now finds that he'd like to learn. What better way to make a simple meal exciting than by adding fresh herbs? And what more stylish way is there to grow them than in the Aerogrow?

It's quite perfect for the gadget fiend as it 1) plugs in; 2) has a microprocessor inside controlling everything including how much light it needs; and 3) is so simple you just chuck the growing pod in the machine and watch your lovely fresh herbs grow at three times the speed they would normally. My TWDB eats a lot of salad too, so this would be just the job! A snip at £119...

For all fussy coffee drinkers (I prefer a cuppa meself) who find themselves at a distressing distance from the nearest Nespresso machine, they can whip up a quick espresso with this neat gadget. You can pump up the pressure to 16 bars on this 'Handpresso', throw in an ESE pod ('Easy Serving Espresso' open standard), add water and press. Apparently it not only looks terrific, but serves a mean espresso too. Available in two forms - the Handpresso Wild Instant Kit and Handpresso Outdoor Kit. (£125 & £79 respectively).

One for my little brother here, who is a graphic designer and enjoys collecting records (yes, vinyl ones) with stylish sleeves. With this 'Art Vinyl' frame, he'd be able to admire them on the wall - so much better than having to go through a pile on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Not suitable for over-commercialised, over-exposed tasteless crap, but more your dark, brooding, seriously-conceived albums of conceptual art.

Here is one for me, as a lover of London and the Underground map. Award-winning designers at Suck UK have come up with a Tube Map Mirror. The original map was created by Harry Beck in 1931 and the graphic schematic design has been copied for tube maps all over the world. Apparently it also makes anyone who looks in it look really good too...

So you must admit, it's a pretty cool site. There's a lot of silly stuff on it too like pencil sharpeners in the form of an animal and you do the sharpening in it's bum, a Sat-Nag which doesn't tell you which way to go but just nags the hell out of you while you're getting there.

The most amazing item on there is the MiniCat (with a not-so-mini price : £2450). It can carry two people (up to 240kg) but weighs just 40kg and comes in a bag so you can easily put it in the boot.

"From unzipping the bag, it only takes about half an hour to produce a water and wind ready catamaran. It has hard wearing, abrasion resistant floats, a fibreglass and aluminium frame, keel fins for safe shallow sailing, a plastic fabric trampoline, an anchor point, a lockable rudder that can be raised to 90°, a mast and a sail area of over five square metres." How amazingly cool is that?

Being dead nosey, do let me know if I've just solved a pressie problem on an intractable list... In any case, I know what I'm getting my TWDB...

(and no, it's not the MiniCat!)

Tele-non

The tele's gone on the blink and it's because we're trying to save the planet. I rang Darty and told them that because we were trying to save the planet by turning the tele off rather than leaving it on stand-by, the on/off button had been used way beyond its capacity, and had given up the ghost.

Luckily, when I bought the tele, I had taken out the 5-yr extended guarantee recommended by the salesman who must have known that teles in the houses of young boys are subjected to more than their fair share of rough treatment, and so as to avoid expensive repairs, an extended guarantee is worth two in the bush, as it were. Added to that, you get preferential service, which means it's quick. The guy is coming tomorrow with a new on/off switch.

You might think that we would be in despair at the prospect of a tele-free weekend, but no, we are made of sterner stuff than that. One reason for my relaxed attitude was that it was a boy-free weekend, so the darlings would be tele watching chez their dad and would just have to cope with Monday morning pre-school. Hardly a gargantuan effort...

Me? I was having a party, so spent Saturday moving friends, shopping, and flaking in bed being ill, as you do when you have a party. I had spent Friday afternoon in bed too, so I was not being a slacker, I assure you. When I came back downstairs for a cuppa, the room was transformed and clean, thanks to the RA (ResidentAdolescent) white tornado.

I had invited a few friends for a pot luck apero. This 'pot luck' term is one I've picked up from working with Americans. In the UK I think we'd refer to it as PBAD, as opposed to PPAB ('please bring a dish'? and 'please bring a bottle') although PBAD doesn't preclude PBAB as well. It did mean I wasn't having a fit of the vapours moving friends, being ill, and preparing a party for 15 all on my tod-some.

We finished putting up the lights, moved the furniture around, made some spectacularly delicious mulled wine, and yes, I did add a clementine stuck with cloves à la Jamie Oliver on the Sainsbury's advert but I'm not sure it made a lot of difference; and put out charcuterie and various bits and bobs. It was a very jolly evening and a lovely start to the Christmas season.

Today, we braved the centre of Montpellier with a quaking credit card for the annual purchase of glacé clementines. The woman who served me recognised me from last year, but didn't add an extra one for being such a fidèle client... The Polygone shopping centre was open as were many other shops, and we strolled around the Christmas market on the Place de la Comedie. We went over lunch time, wisely, because by the time we left at 3.30pm, the place was heaving and the carpark was full. Along the edge of the Esplanade is a row of flower shops where I bought some holly to adorn my DRK paintings, and mistletoe (hehe).

When we got back, we started packing presents, especially ones for the boys, taking advantage of their absence. Naturally, as soon as they bounced back in after a fun weekend with dad, they wanted to open the presents immediately.

They were quite put out when I said no!

Tell me, why is the only place you hear lovely Christmas music in the form of Christmas carols over the speakers of the local Intermarche?