Christmas Shopping at Buchanan Galleries, Glasgow

This evening after I had finished work, I popped along to Buchanan Galleries to do a spot of Christmas shopping. I was on the hunt for some 'stocking fillers' or small gifts for children and of course with the huge selection of shops at Buchanan Galleries I knew it wouldn't take me long to get everything I needed! I managed to get parked on the street near the shopping centre, and with it being after 6pm I didn't need to pay for parking - an added bonus! I had also expected the shops to be super busy, but it was quiet and I managed to whizz round in an hour without any hassle.

I must admit that I've done the majority of my Christmas shopping online, but there is something to be said about going in person and being able to see and touch everything.

I started off in Lakeland where I bought a few bits and pieces for my children who absolutely love to bake and make sweet treats!

I chose some rainbow cupcake cases (£5.97 for 144), a smiley face chocolate lollipop mould (£4.28) and some lollipop sticks (£1.98 for 50). I also couldn't resist the Doughnut Making Kit (£11.99)...which is perhaps a little large for a stocking but I'm sure it could be squeezed in! We are huge fans of movie nights with 'special hot chocolate' (basically hot chocolate with squirty cream and marshmallows) and so I picked up a pack of three hot chocolate spoons (£4.98)... one for each of us!

Doughnut Making Kit

Next stop was The Entertainer. One item that I repurchase each Christmas is crayons or colouring pencils, so I picked up some Crayola metallic markers (£4) and a packet of Crayola twistable pencils (£3). We have been enjoying playing board games and cards, so I thought that a pack of Uno (£8) would be a nice gift that we could all use. I loved Uno as a child! Lastly from The Entertainer I chose two packets of Shopkins (£2.50 each) - who can resist the cute little Shopkins faces!!

Metallic markers

My daughter is still loving Frozen, so I had to get something along those lines for her Christmas. I found a tin of Frozen characters in Boots... a mini Elsa, Anna and Olaf for £15 in a reusable tin. This is rather pricey for what it is, but with the Boots 3 for 2 offer I decided to make the purchase anyway. Also in Boots I chose a pack of 6 mini lip glosses (£6) and a My Little Pony Rainbow Dash toy (£5).

Mini Lip Glosses

My final stop was John Lewis. I love John Lewis - just putting that out there!!

I picked up two packs sparkly hair bobbles (£4.50 for 3 bobbles), some animal nail art stickers (£3.50), two felt Santa letters filled with chocolate balls (£5 each), a fries and burger rubber and sharpener set (£6), a pack of 24 gel mini pens (£12), a pack of socks each (£6 for girls, £7 for boys) and the most adorable pair of slippers (£12).

John Lewis Kitten Slippers

One of my favourite items from all of the shops is the Customisable Cookie Stamp from John Lewis (£10). You can make your own messages on a biscuit stamper. I think this is such a cute gift for a family or even a friend who loves to bake. My son's reading is improving loads, and I know that he'll be excited to see his name on the biscuits he makes with me!

Customisable Cookie Stamp

I received a Buchanan Galleries gift card in exchange for this post. As always, opinions are honest and are my own.

{Chocolate Spider Lollipops - Done!}

I'd previously posted some Halloween Ideas, one of these were some pipe cleaner spider lollipops which I thought were a super cute Halloween favour for my son to give to his nursery friends. I also created a free Halloween printable that I have used to add a message to the spiders. I printed the design onto card, cut out the scalloped circle using a hole punch and attached it to the chocolate lollipop with a glue dot. Instead of a hard candy lollipop I bought some chocolate ones which I thought would be safer for 2 year olds. However, the chocolate lollipop is rather heavy compared to a hard candy lolly so it was a bit difficult to get the spider legs to sit right to hold it up, but the back two legs are propped under the chocolate to support it and I think it still looks ok.

Here is a photograph of one of my finished spiders. (My tag is slightly different from the free one because I have personalised it to say who it is from and I've blurred out my little ones names for the purpose of this blog. You could easily handwrite a message on the back of the free tag to say who it is from.)

I hope everyone at the nursery enjoys them (I must admit that I've eaten 2 of the chocolate lollipops - it was a quality assurance thing! - and they were yum. Not sure it's great for the healthy eating though!!).

{Party}

I can't believe my baby has turned two years old!!

The party was a great success, and I'm glad the weather improved a little to allow all the kiddies to play in the garden for a while.  All in all I would say that the afternoon was relaxed and enjoyable... not sure how I managed to achieve a relaxed atmosphere with 15 children in the house!

My sister Alison (Ali Stewart Photography) was on hand to take photographs and she was snapping away all afternoon capturing the day. I'll be able to share some of the pics once they've been processed.

Thanks to all who came along... My son had a blast and thank you for all the gorgeous cards & gifts he received.  I had a sort through his toys yesterday and have put some of the older ones that he has outgrown into storage bags and packed them away to make way for all the new toys he has been given.