3 TIME SAVING TRICKS FOR NAILING CHRISTMAS CHORES

I really wish I was one of those people that delighted in buying Christmas presents but if I'm honest, it always feels a little too stressful for me to experience any real joy in the whole thing. What I want is fuss free shopping but absolutely stunning presents (yep, I don't ask for much do I?) which up until quite recently, I'd pretty much deemed impossible. And then I remembered that one thing I look forward to every single month is Birchbox. If you've never heard of Birchbox before, it's the UK's number 1 beauty box and leading beauty and grooming retailer who redefine shopping by providing us with a personalised way to discover, learn about and of course buy the best beauty products on the market. The monthly subscription box consists of a personalised box containing 5 luxe beauty products, and my favourite thing is that the box is so darn pretty that you definitely don't even need to wrap it if you're lazy like me. That pretty little thang is already good to go! You can gift somebody a 3 month subscription (£30 + P&P), 6 month subscription (£60 + P&P) or a 12 month subscription (£100 + P&P) to Birchbox (talk about the gift that keeps on giving!).

This year's Christmas box is an absolute corker, with Bobbi Brown's smokey eye mascara (one of my all time favourites, perfect for getting right to the root of the lash for an effortless smokey eye), Ciate's Fierce flicks (absolute perfection when it comes to nailing the precise flick), Benefit's porefessional (an old favourite of mine that just smooths and blurs and oh my god how and why does my skin look 10x better in a matter of seconds?), dr. brandt PoreDermabrasion exfoliator (which is all kinds of amazing but gross goodness because man does it scrub away that grime) and finally Percy and Reed's wonderbalm (a stunning leave in balm that preps and primes your hair for styling and keeps it looking sassier for longer), there is absolutely no doubt that there is something for everyone.

The box is beautiful, the products are hot damn amazing and it basically makes Christmas shopping easy, efficient, fuss free (giving you more time to snuggle up with a peppermint hot chocolate, mince pies and reruns of Elf) and very successful, who doesn't love a beautiful box full of luxe beauty products?

The Birchbox Christmas 2016 box is available here in case you want to snap one up (do it, do it, do it!).

Even thinking about this trick makes me so embarrassingly happy but when it comes to decorating the tree, I am pretty much Buddy the Elf. For me, gathering everyone together, making my signature hot chocolates - yeah maple syrup, melted chocolate, peanut butter and all other kinds of goodness, I'm looking at you - and obviously occasionally the odd mulled wine or two whilst decorating the tree is one of the things that really kickstarts that festive feeling. It genuinely makes me so happy, I laugh constantly with my family whilst doing it, all the while ticking off one of those Christmas chores without even knowing it [insert hallelujah emoji here].

I mean, can we just talk about how cute and Christmassy and festive and oh my god so damn instagrammable Christmas markets are? Those lights, those cute quirky one off gifts that you won't find anywhere else and yes, the endless supply of roasted chestnuts. The thing about Christmas markets is that they're such a fun outing, whether it's your boyfriend, best friend, sister or even on your own... you literally feel all of the good, happy vibes. There's so much cheer, so much love going around - lol, no Christmas turns you into the soppiest, cheesiest person of all time - but... you also get to find beautiful one off presents (as well as festive home decorations, Christmas markets are my favourite for this) at the same time. You can also hunt down your Christmas dinner food supplies if it's a foodie market that you're at too (Borough Market is my favourite for this... if you do go, have a mulled cider on my behalf, yeah?)

I basically just love that you can have fun, get festive and save time, all whilst ticking off an extra chore on your list. 

Are you getting the vibe that I like to get chores done by disguising them with good vibes and mince pies and happy times with people I love because surely that means they're not even chores at all? ;)