At this time of year, there are countless offices around the world preparing for Christmas parties. This means there are also countless people wondering how on Earth they’re going to manage to buy a Secret Santa present for a measly £5. Come on people, does inflation mean nothing to Santa?! To help those in this conundrum here are some suggestions for semi-decent presents for a fiver. YOU’RE WELCOME.

Hologram Chamber

Hottie Heart Handwarmer

Fairy Cakes Lip Gloss Set of 4

Perfect Badge

Notebook and Pencil

Blackboard Message Mug

Finger Food Spoons

Drumstick Pencils

I’m back from my weekend in Belfast and I must say, it was a great deal of fun. A whole bunch of us went there for a wedding and what a beautiful event it was. The venue was gorgeous; think waterfalls, sweeping staircases and large baroque decorations. The reception hall was set up with punch bowls, tea and homemade shortbread. Dinner was held in another hall where the ceilings displayed paintings of cute little cherubs. Traditional sitar and tabla players provided a calm ambience whilst we tucked into a lovely meal.

All in all, a beautiful night. I was especially impressed with the flower displays, some of which incorporated peacock feathers which was a nice touch. I especially liked the birdcages that had flowers woven through the bars.

Besides the wedding, I did get some time to explore the city centre. I came across a fantastic lifestyle and clothing store which I practially spent all my time in and then took my husband back there the next day because it was so wonderful. Stay tuned this week for more about the shop and this site’s first ever giveaway competition!

Yesterday I attended a “Mehndi (Henna) Night” I was invited to. What’s one of those? Traditionally, in the run up to a Pakistani wedding, all the women get together and party! The events usually involve brightly coloured clothes, music, dancing and food…sounds like a good combination to me :) It’s also a time for women to have their hands decorated with pretty patterns in henna, ready for the upcoming wedding. Last night was no exception.

People were dressed in beautifully embroidered clothes. The traditional colours for such an event are green and yellow or anything “henna” coloured but nowadays anything goes. This outfit from Bargello is typical of the type of style and colours worn.

The women also gather to sing traditional Punjabi and Hindi songs, accompanied by a drum called the dholki. I prefer not to torment anyone with my awful singing voice so usually just clap along.

Last night we were lucky enough to have a professional henna artist in our midst who was hired to decorate our hands, feet and anything else you wanted adorned. I opted to have the henna on my left hand and left it on there for quite a while so that the colour transferred on to my hand would end up being quite dark. Pretty eh?

We fly out to Belfast this weekend for the wedding so I’ll be back blogging Monday. Hopefully I’ll have some more pretty pictures to share with you all.