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We are not quite at the pre-Christmas point where we start running around like headless turkeys (yet!) trying to find gifts for those that are most difficult to buy for (I’m looking at my husband Dan here!). However, it’s not too early to talk about my new favourite one-stop destination for Christmas presents big and small, if you come to the headless turkey point this year you may just thank me for reminding you of this store in which you can pick up a plethora of stylish gifts without breaking the bank. The store I’m talking about is Homesense, a part of the TK Maxx family, and I’m almost evangelical in my enthusiasm for this store (see my previous piece on Scandinavian homewares here). And even more pleased since Homesense Merton opened up this autumn very near to my part of South London in Colliers Wood. If you have a discerning eye you can pick up some absolutely gorgeous luxuries at a fraction of their retail price. So I was delighted when Homesense tasked me with finding some gifts for friends and loved ones this year for £50. And I was truly amazed at just how many beautiful and stylish presents I was able to get. 

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Scroll through, everything in this piece (excluding the beauty buys which were a treat to myself) came to a grand total of £52! And not only was everything a massive bargain, but I genuinely loved the items I picked. I was able to buy presents for 5 main categories of people in my life and even the gift wrap you see was purchased on my visit. 

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So what did I get? First off I headed to the kitchen aisle with a friend who loves to cook in mind, you will find an abundance of great wares here from Le Cruseut sets to cocktail shakers and pretty well every kitchen tool you care to mention. To make my present more nuanced I picked up some artisan pasta in the food section and a Leon baking book, when married together with the hand painted dish and spoon rest I think this makes a really lovely and thoughtful gift for those who love to be in the kitchen creating.

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Next up I had a particular friend in mind who likes design and has similar tastes to me, I bought her a really cute notebook, a charcoal beauty mask and the item I’m most jealous of, some Memphis inspired bakeware accessories by Kikkerland. Homesense is such a great place for picking up a mish-mash of cool items which when placed together make a perfect gift full of variety and look like you’ve been collecting items for weeks when really all you’ve done is browse the aisles in one store.

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Homesense have a brilliant collection of books, especially cooking and interiors ones, I found this book and thought of a friend who loves cocktails, I liked that the book wasn’t a standard cocktail recipe book and included all kinds of ideas for tickling the tastebuds. When you are in a store that stocks all kinds of everything it makes it really easy to find one piece for inspiration and then pair it with something else, so having chosen my book I hopped back over to the kitchen aisles to rummage in the glassware section and I chose this pretty speckled glass to pair with the cocktail recipes in the book.

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The next gift was a gift to myself and so hasn’t been counted in my totting up of the £50 challenge. Homesense Merton occupies the top floor of a very large TK Maxx, and I always have a glance through the beauty section here. Although it’s a little off brief I wanted to share it with you to illustrate the amazing bargains on luxury products you can find here, and if you have a beauty queen you’re buying for even better. This Eve Lom Radiance Primer is my new favourite thing, I bought it for £5.99 and it was well worth taking the risk on an unknown product as it usually sells for £38!! My sole knowledge of Eve Lom comes from Nigella Lawson recommending her hot cloth cleanser so I knew this was a premium brand and felt very smug about bagging it so cheap. Aromatherapy Associates is a brand that I do know and the one product I’ve previously tried from them I really rated, so when I saw this Enzyme Peel for just £12.99 (currently retailing for £45) I had to buy it. I haven’t used it yet, but I can’t wait to try it out, TK Maxx is such a treasure trove for the beauty lover so if you are in a Homesense with a TK Maxx attached you’d be crazy not to have a browse.

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Next gift is for my mother in law who is a real homebird, she loves candles and home fragrance. I had intended to buy her some kind of candle, but this divine smelling Sicilian Lemon diffuser which comes in an Art Deco bottle (a style she also loves) screamed glamorous present too strongly to resist. It was £20 of my £50 budget so it was my greatest expenditure but it’s another one of those crazy bargains as it’s retails for over £40, meaning I was able to pick up a gift with far more bang than a usual stocking filler present. 

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Final present is for the most important person in my life, my three year old son Ted who has a massive obsession with vehicles. You may imagine toys here to all be brightly coloured plastic but if you look hard enough you will find stylish wooden pieces. I think my son will love opening this as an extra present on Christmas Eve. 

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Don’t accuse me of cheating here, but I had to include one last thing. Homesense also cater to buying bigger gifts for someone special. I had been to a blogger event earlier in the month where I was tasked with filling a hamper full of presents for a loved one and I chose my mum. Homesense sell great hamper making sets so you can pick up a hamper at the door and then fill your trolley with bits to fit inside. The hamper comes with packing frill, gift tag labels, a bow and cellophane incasement, so you really have everything you need in this one stop shop to buy and package the perfect present. I tried to get my mum as many pampering pieces as I could within my hamper which totalled around £50 and she has everything from candles and fancy chocolates to a Sophie Conran porcelain teacup and leather diary amongst other items that caught my eye (and the stag she tasked me with finding but which didn’t make the cut on shoot!). 

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So that’s it, all my present buying needs sorted in under an hour for £50, pretty perfect really. I may just sit back from now until Christmas and enjoy a hot toddy or two, or perhaps I should start psyching myself up for the gargantuan task of finding a gift my husband will like! Wish me luck…

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Items Used In Piece:

Four rolls of gift wrap £4.99

Kikkerland Whale spoon Rest, £3.99 (RRP £7.50) 

Rainbow Farfalle pasta £2.49

Hand painted Patterened bowl £3.99

Leon Sweet Treats Book £3.99 (RRP £7.99)

Memphis Baking Set £2.99 (RRP £6.50)

Charcoal powder face wash £5.99

Fringe Notebook £5.99

Good things to drink book £7.99 (RRP £20)

Confetti speckled glass £2.99

Eve Lom Radiance Primer £5.99 (RRP £38)

Aromatherapy Associates Enzyme Peel £12.99 (RRP £45)

Urban Apothecary London, Sicilian lemon diffuser £9.99 (RRP £40)

Melissa & Doug Vehicle Stamping Set £5.99 (RRP £9.99)

 

This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Homesense, as ever I only choose to work with brands that I already love and feel you will too. All opinions are honest and my own, thank you for continuing to support the brands that support me.