Top 5 Personalised Gift Ideas for a Foodie

August 12, 2015November 14, 2015 ~ Agata @BarkTime ~ 5 Comments

There is nothing better than receiving a personalised gift; something picked and created especially for you. If picked right these types of gift can be a real treasure and source of long time happiness.

Most of us have homes full of clutter and the idea of yet another “useless” gift received for my birthday or a name day makes me cringe inside. I know that I might be different than others but I like practical gift, something I can use, something of good quality which I can enjoy for many years to come.

In June I celebrated my birthday, we actually went away for our holidays during this time but once we returned there was a beautiful gift waited for me – a personalised meat carving board from ToxicFox. I have to admit it was a perfect gift! High quality wood, lovely engraving, perfect finish… this is my type of gift and I know I will cherish it for a long time to come…

This made me think… there must be others like me who would prefer something nice and usable yet unique and created just for them… I was on the hunt for the best personalised gifts for a foodie…

These are my top five choices:

Personalised Mixing Bowl Set
Mixing bowls are always useful and you can never have enough of them. This one allows you to add two messages of up to 70 characters each and one symbol. I really like the design of this bowl and I think mixing a future cake in it would be a pleasure 🙂

Personalised Pair of Coffee and Biscuit Storage Tins
I’ve always liked storage containers and this pair looks perfect to me – they are airtight, have lovely retro style and would make for a wonderful gift… after all who doesn’t love biscuits and coffee?

Definition Cheese Board Set
Beautiful looking and extremely useful for any cheese lover out there and to make it better you can engrave it with any name you want and add to it any definition you want.

Personalised Oven Gloves and Mitts
I picked this one because in addition to the message you can add your own picture as well. I really like the idea of them and I think I might just order some for us.

Personalised Embossing Rolling Pin
This isn’t just a rolling pin with your name on it. This pin can be personalised with your message which will be later left on your cookies… or anything else you roll with it.

I hope you enjoyed my little list here.

Do you like personalised gifts?

Would you like to own any of my top five choices?

Getting Ready for Valentine’s Day

February 5, 2015December 6, 2016 ~ Agata @BarkTime ~ 26 Comments

Valentine’s Day is almost upon us, which means it is time to get ready.

I am not planning anything extravagant but some little surprises during the day are very much in order.

First thing first – Setting the scene

Human Touch – Love Pillow Cases sent me one of their lovely pillow case sets. They will be perfect for setting the scene for a romantic evening / night plus I am sure they will put a smile on our faces every morning we wake up and look at them.

There are 12 lovely, cute and extremely adorable designs to pick from. Human Touch – Love Pillow Cases are a great way of extending the magic of Valentine’s Day for longer.

To make a day even more special why not start it with a nice cup of coffee from a Love Mug?

Cook that special breakfast

This part still needs some thinking and planning. I have a few options on the short list. The Valentine Breakfast Pinterest board was very helpful but I still couldn’t decide: sweet or sour.

Hide a little surprise in their lunch box

Did you hear about Joy Maker? The Cadbury website offers an option of making your very own chocolate bar. The process is easy and very straightforward and as a result you get a chocolate bar with a personalised message of your choice (on the wrapper only to be precise). I think that this would be a very nice touch, which would definitely put a smile on Marks face, so I am getting it made.

A special gift which will last a lifetime

I am still stuck for ideas and would consider any help you can offer. I don’t plan on getting anything huge (budget wise) but something special and thoughtful would be ideal. I found a Name A Star kit, which allows you, among other things, to name a star (surprise, surprise…). I think that Mark would really like that.

How is your preparation going in the run up to Valentine’s Day?

Are you planning something special that’s out of the ordinary?

A gift guide for that person who appears to have it all

December 12, 2014April 10, 2016 ~ Agata @BarkTime ~ 16 Comments

Men, women, teens, kids – there is always someone who seems to have it all and when asked what would they want or like the answer is always the same – nothing.

This is not necessarily the truth. I personally don’t believe they have it all but this type of person may just not have any immediate needs which need fulfilling, so… buying for them is kind of a nightmare.

We can always pick the easy way out and go with a pre-boxed gift from our favourite store or we could try to find something which will actually suit them and they might actually need or even want, even if they don’t know it yet.

I was wondering about some gift ideas for “those” type of people. So I created a list, in spending order, which might give you some ideas.

Experience Days

There are a lot of options for picking something suitable from experience days. I’ve looked at Virgin Experience Days and prices start from just £5 and go up and up and up all the way to space soon… so I am putting it on top of my list. Driving, flying, days out, spa days, photo shoots… there are literally 100s of different options to suit any budget and of course to suit any person we are buying for. Last year I won a driving experience and gifted it to Mark; he totally loved it even though they wouldn’t let him keep the car despite Hollywood levels of pleading.

Dyson Hot + Cool

Unless the person you are buying for has an air-conditioned house they will love the new Dyson Hot + Cool. I personally don’t have one (I wish we had) but I’ve seen it in action and it is amazing. It looks amazing and it performs just as described. It isn’t cheap though as prices starts from £359.99 but if you have that amount of “spare” money I can guarantee a smile on the recipient face.

Redmond Multicooker

Reading different blogs I see that a lot of people are using a multicooker. These smart appliances can fry, steam, cook, stew, bake… they can reheat food or keep it warm until you get home… pretty clever. It is like all your cooking requirements in one piece of kit. The price does vary depending on which model you opt for – the basic 6 program multicooker will set you back £69 going up to an amazing 55 programs in one model for £184.90.

personalised wine

Personalised Gifts

With personalised gifts the choice also is almost endless – bags, mugs, frames, chocolates, clothing… whatever you want I am sure someone will personalise it for you. ToxicFox have a huge selection of personalised gifts. I particularly like their wine or champagne selection – personalised of course – as they might just be the perfect gift for a fussy adult.

They also offer a full ClaireaBella collection – cushions, stationery, suitcases, bags to name a few things plus a lot of clothing including PJs, hoodies, zoodies, t-shirt, onesies. With ClaireaBella you can not only personalise with your name but the whole Mr or Mrs ClaireaBella 😉 Prices starts from £4.99 for a personal bar of chocolate going up to £134 for a suitcase.

Water Pillow

Yeah, I know, it sounds awesome, doesn’t it? £39.99 will give you a Mediflow Waterbase Fibrefill Pillow; clinically proven to improve quality of sleep and reduction of neck pain. They can be adjusts to fit the shape of any person and continuously responds to changes in the sleeping position. I actually have one and it is a pleasure to sleep on. People might have a lot of things but I bet most of them haven’t thought about getting themselves a water pillow 🙂

“Posh” Candle Collection

Candles aren’t only for the older women. They have a practical use of course but they might also be used as a decoration, a mood enhancement or just a nice reminder of something or someone special. The Country Candle Company offers the most beautiful range of British, highly scented candle collections to suit any preferences. Prices start from £6.50 and go up to £22.50 for a lovely gift pack.

So, what do you think?

Are any of my ideas useable for you?

What would you add to the list?