It's officially time to launch the first of my 4 gift guides this year, this year I'm producing my family gift guide (that's this one) a foodies gift guide (due out next) a stocking fillers gift guide and finally a last minute gift guide which will go out just a couple of weeks before Christmas.  Christmas gift guides are my favourite, with the help of companies large and small from all around the internet I get to bring you my favourite festive buys your whole family will love so here without further ado are 16 gifts your whole family will love.

For the pet lover

Personalised Pet Coaster and BIA Bling Mugs - 

Tis the season for hot chocolate and if you like your pet as much as I love my pet you'll love this personalised wooden coaster from A Few Home Truths it's simply gorgeous and now has pride of place on my desk for all of my morning, noon and evening hot chocolates.  Also, if you like this festive sparkly mug, you might be interested to know that they're available in sets of four and can be purchased from wonderful retailer Not Just Jugs, they're the perfect size for hot chocolate topped with cream and festive sprinkles, Santa would be quite delighted with milk in this mug too!

Pet Water Fountain - 

Cats and dogs much prefer to drink from running water sources and this Drinkwell Pagoda Pet Fountain from Pet Safe, I can tell you that Holly Bobbins is a big fan as is Pyracantha the cat once Holly Bobbins isn't around, yes it maybe a little extra but isn't that what Christmas is about and I promise your pet will love it.

For the whole family

Christmas Cards from Hallmark

Although it's not technically a gift, we send a staggering amount of Christmas cards in the UK and where would we be without Hallmark who have the most brilliant selection including your favourite couple, mum and dad, friends and all family members.

Walkers Musical Tin

You can't have Christmas without shortbread, well you can but seriously, shortbread is one of the most festive biscuits around and when you put it in a tin which plays Jingle Bells, consider that the most christmassy tin of biscuits you ever did see.

5 Gold Rings Card Game

Christmas is a time for getting together with the whole family, it's about having the time to play games together whilst you sit eating nuts and having an extra glass of wine, this Five Gold Rings card game is based on the TV show presented by Phillip Schofield and will keep you entertained long into the night.

For The Crafty One

Festive Bunting Kit

This festive bunting kit from Crafters Companion is sure to keep that crafty family member out of trouble during the long festive break, maybe you could even gift it early and then adorn your house with it when you are decking the halls.

For The Scent Appreciator

Candles and Diffuser From I Love Cosmetics

I love cosmetics have produced a whole new load of scents for this years collection and they're now producing the most gorgeous smelling diffusers and candles and all at really reasonable prices, Elderflower fizz has been my most favourite scent they've produced this year, every time I smell it, it reminds me of a summer wedding in an old english church.  Their Christmas gifts are quite simply fabulous but I'll warn you now, you'll want it all.

Forest Friends Reed Diffuser Set from Wax Lyrical

A favourite company of mine, Wax Lyrical have gone that extra mile with this forest friends reed diffuser gift set, all which have the different gorgeous smells of the festive season, you can be sure I'll be keeping these scents placed all around my house for the whole of the festive season.

For the Teen

Roller Skates from skates.co.uk

Firm blog favourites skates.co.uk have come up trumps again with these beautiful blue roller skates and you can guess which daughter wants them for Christmas, actually they both do but Abigail declared that they'd be better for Looby as she's less accident prone, hehe!  I love them too and if I wasn't 44 and utterly accident prone then I would have them on my Christmas list too.

For the bookworms 

A Girl Behind Dark Glasses

A Girl Behind Dark Glasses is a factual account of one girl's battle against severe M.E. written by Jessica Taylor-Bearmann, Jessical tells the tale of the battle against the monster that is M.E. a harrowing story which follows the highs and lows of being hospitalised, captured completely by a voice activated technology diary which meant she could fulfil her goal to become a writer.

In The Fast Lane

In the Fast Lane by Lotte Moore is a story for those of us who keep trying, sometimes failing, yo keep all of the juggling balls in the air!

It's a complex tale of family relationships and challenges and all written by octogenarian author Lotte Moore, it's an emotional moving book about the ups and downs of family life which poses the question, can we ever truly be happy living life in the fast lane.

The Love Detective

The Love Detective by Angela Dyson is the first in a series "He'd thought himself a hunter, that I was easy prey but what he hadn't bargained for was contending with a woman who hadn't eaten a square meal in twenty_four hours. I get mean when I get hungry."

Appetite

Appetite is a novel by Anita Cassidy focusing on 3 main characters, Naomi, David and Matthew, it's about "food and sex, appetites we stimulate yet struggle to control, what happens when you give into your appetite and get hungry for more."

For The Whiskey Lover

Bramble Whisky Liqueur 

This Bramble Whisky Liqueur may look quite small but it's bound to pack a punch and is available from Demijohn and it would make a fabulous stocking filler.


So, phew, we've reached the end of part one and in just a week or so I'll be back with my gift guide for foodies which is always my particular favourite as I love food, cooking, being in the kitchen, entertaining... I am the woman who gets overexcited at platters and storage jars!!

Thank you so much to all of the companies who collaborated by sending items for this years guide, I really couldn't appreciate it more.

Christmas Day 2016, A Festively Fabulous Affair

Christmas came and Christmas went in just 24 hours, doesn't it seem weird that we prepare for months to celebrate just one special day.  It's funny though because for just that very short window, time stands almost still, normal life exits stage left and you find yourself playing board games with your teenage children thinking "Blimey, it must be Christmas".

My Christmas this year was a quiet affair, on Christmas Eve, Harriet and Kelly came for Christmas dinner after Harriet and I had been to church for the usual crib service we enjoy so much, it's just an hour of joy and celebration as you sing carols as loud as your lungs will permit, that's quite loud if you are me!  Our Christmas dinner was a loud and raucous affair as we all descended into the kind of laughter which actually hurts and then just as they left my lovely friend Steve arrived wearing a knitted Santa bobble hat, so lovely to spend time with friends on Christmas Eve.

Just as the Christmas bells chimed and I was watching Midnight mass, my yearly tradition, a message pinged, Mr France telling me that he'd stayed awake just for me so that he would be the first person to wish me Happy Christmas, I can honestly say that this small gesture made my Christmas Day and I went to bed happy and smiling that someone would do something so lovely just for me.

Christmas Day arrived with the declaration from Looby that it was indeed Christmas and I bribed her with making me a cup of coffee if she wanted me to get up, Christmas comes in useful for so many things! 

My darling children really spoilt me rotten this Christmas, I have the most splendid teenagers who I adore and they clearly have a much bigger disposable income than me as they gifted me with a dress, 2 pairs of shoes, 1 being my most favourite Irregular Choice, Iain played a blinder with an Amazon firestick so I can watch The Grand Tour and the whole of Arrow which is the only DC series I've yet to watch, I also got some lovely London themed things from Harriet who anticipates that I might head southward just a few times next year!  Even Holly Bobbins was spoilt with a new collar from Barneys collars and some fabulous gifts from Best In Show

I also must give special mention to Peter and Cynthia, Harriets gorgeous parents who I've adopted, they bought me the most fabulous mini beagle and thanks to a brilliant suggestion by Mrs A on Twitter, I've named her "Martine De Beagle" She's sitting just in the corner of my sitting room watching Holly Bobbins quite closely, I'm not sure if Holly knows quite what to make of her but she's definitely aware that Martine is a beagle.

Yesterday was the best day with just my teens, we laughed until I had to go and sit on the floor in the hall to try and comfortably laugh without dying, my children are comedians and even if they are usually laughing at me rather than with me, it's hilarious all the same.

When the girls departed leaving just me, Holly and KT (my friend Laura's Tibetan Terrier) I felt that bittersweet tinge that I'm sure most single parents feel on Christmas Day but I sang along to Frozen, got teary eyed at a wonderfully romantic superhero episode of Doctor Who and soon Harriet arrived back from Yorkshire for just 1 more glass of Champagne and a festive cheeseboard.

Today, I am still in bed, I'm going out for lunch and then I shall be mooching until such a time as I put on my ball gown for it's annual outing to The Holly Ball, this year, though, I shall not be drinking so much tequila that I laugh myself to sleep because, between you and me, I can laugh myself to sleep these days without even so much as a breath of alcohol.

10 Best Christmas Gift Ideas For Mums

Christmas is fast approaching and so today I have my most favourite ideas for you to delight the most important ladies in your life, your mummies love you and will spoil you to within an inch of your life, without asking for even one thing in return but fear not, I have 10 of the best ideas which will make your mummies (or mammies if you are a northern sort).

1.  This framed family custom pixel cross stitch portrait from Scarlet Pyjamas is the perfect way to get a family portrait even if you're not all together, I adore this one of my family, even though I'm a photographer I've never yet managed to get a photo of us all together for various reasons so this one with us all and of course miss Holly Bobbins is just divine, would you believe they're only £26 which I think is astounding value and it's guaranteed to make mum smile a lot!

In this next section all of the beauty products below can be bought from the wonderful company 25o.co.uk and the best bit, use the code Mcp15 and you'll get a massive 15% off your whole order

2.  How about some rain care body mist, this stuff smells divine and just like the rain it's so hydrating, you want your mummy to smell nice now don't you?  It's available for only £15.30 and I'm wearing it right now!

3.  I love gifts which you can hang on the tree and so this Spongelle Body Buffer is perfect for that, you could even maybe hide this at the back of the tree and then just when mum thinks you've not got her anything you can craftily produce this and it's only £7.99 so dads, maybe this is one the kids can get for mum with their pocket money.

4.  If mum is a little retro just like me she's going to love this Vintage Kellogg's bath milk, it's only £6.99 and who doesn't love a citrus scented bath?

5.  Anyone who knows me will tell you I am the biggest candle addict and I'm saving this Golightme candle for a special occasion, it's only £12 and burning it is going to add just that little extra hygge to your life!

6.  Christmas means the party season is upon us and there's nothing more annoying than having a set of gel nails applied and then being so busy that you never have the time to have them removed again, well now you can with your own professional gel nail removing kit, I use Gel nails all the time but come January I'm going to give my nails a little rest and this will be what I'll be using to get my nails back to basics!  It's available for only £13.50 and that's way cheaper than the price of a decent manicure even around these parts, this kit is my go to life saver!

7.  Another time saver here with the original make up eraser, this amazing cloth erases your makeup with just water, now I don't know about you but if I've just had a party night out, the last thing I want to do before bed is a full on beauty routine, yes I know I should but sometimes i'm just too tired, at least with this I can erase all traces in one easy go and then follow it up with some amazing moisturiser. It's available for just £16.99 and is a total face saver!

8.  If your mum is a crafty sort then I can't speak highly enough about the Embellish Box subscription and It's over to Amy for some words about her monthly paper cutting subscription box, Amy says "If you love papercutting then an EmbellishBox is perfect for you. Each box follows a theme, giving you at least three printed templates to cut yourself, a self-assembly house to collect and gifts related to the theme. It's a collection of beautiful things, and the only way to be the first to have the new months templates. There will never be a repeat box. During the month, the templates in the box will be exclusive to EmbellishBox members. At the end of the month the templates will go up for sale in the Etsy shop - the cost of the box, including all of the extra items, will ALWAYS be less than the cost of the templates individually" A monthly subscription costs from just £19 and you can buy your Embellish Box with the code MANDY15 to get a massive 15% off that, just visit EmbellishBox.co.uk

9.  As I mentioned above I'm going to have to give my nails a rest for a while in January and I have the perfect product to replace my Gel nails, I adore Jamberry wraps, not only do they come in adult and child sizes they're so easy to apply and they last for up to 2 weeks, I saw a friend who'd been wearing hers for 10 days yesterday and they still looked nail perfect!  The sheets work out at only £15 per sheet and that's way more than you'll need for one manicure so you'll be saving money too and that's something we totally approve of!

9. I love Elizabeth Ardens 8 hour cream, it's her original product and one of her best, you can use it on your eyebrows, you can use it as a face mask, you can use it on your hard skin, it's the most versatile of all of her products and mums everywhere love the Elizabeth Arden brand and at only £26 mums will be delighted to find this in their Christmas stockings

10. Finally if you live in the North East of England and you want to make mums Christmas why not buy her a voucher for a photo shoot, these vouchers are for a £75 session which means you can have the photo shoot at home or on location and you'll then get an online gallery for 30 days with 15% off for the first 7 days your gallery is live and I'll even give you a complimentary 12x8 print upon placing an order, they're valid until December 2017 and if you click to buy it now you'll only pay £35, that's a better than half priced gift certificate for Mandy Charlton Photography  just click the buy now button to purchase yours but hurry there's only a limited supply, upon payment I'll email you a voucher back so you can print and gift it to mum or granny or auntie...

This is an advance warning - January is Boudoir Month

Why yes my sweeties January has to be boudoir month if you want to give your loved one gorgeous images of yourself for Valentines day.

Miss L did just that a couple of weeks ago, in fact it was the same week I had the pleasure of photographing Miss Dee La Beau

and so my pretties, lets share a few photographs from those shoots, I have full permission from both ladies but let me reassure you I'd never share your boudoir photos unless you wanted to.

How gorgeous is Miss L, she really said she had no confidence and then pulled this shot off, it's amazing!  I actually won an award for this image!

Of course Miss La Beau was beautiful as ever and totally worked it, I love this one best as it's just a little vunerable.

so now you've seen some gorgeous ladies doing it for themselves it's your turn, during January boudoir shoots with a little black book are only £249 instead of £295, thats a huge saving and if you go the time only option your boudoir shoot is going to be as little as £120, to book just go to my website, email me or call me on 07918 121838

Now there's just 1 thing left and that is come on boys, you want to give your other half nice photos of you don't you? January isn't just boudoir month, January is dudeoir month so get yourself booked in!

Now if you are looking for a super saving why not pre-purchase a gift certificate and then you'll get 20% extra value and also save on the shoot, it's the ultimate present if you are in Newcastle, Sunderland, Durham or anywhere in the north east of England, with one of my awards this year being won for that thar image up thar you can be assured you are in good hands