It’s that time of year again soon! Hopefully this Christmas will be a little more ‘normal’ and the rules will stay more relaxed to enable us to have that perfect family Christmas.

We have some brilliant gift ideas for you, particularly if you are looking for natural skin care or gifts inspired by nature and the outdoors – plus if you make a purchase you will be supporting small businesses. We were so lucky to be gifted some beautiful products to sample and include in this Christmas present ideas roundup. We will give our honest opinion and carefully chose to include these items because we know you’ll love them! Hopefully we will help you get Christmas wrapped up!

For the Love of the Land – a cook book by Jenny Jefferies

Who doesn’t love finding new recipes and trying to use ingredients that are local and seasonal, enabling us to get the best out of British produce. With this in mind I would heartily recommend a stunning cook book, For the Love of the Land, a cook book to celebrate British farmers and their food. The book is compiled by Jenny Jefferies and is filled with delicious meals, puddings and bakes together with the British farming families behind the food, sharing their interesting stories and celebrating their contribution to the food that ends up on our table. There is nothing more satisfying than cooking wholesome food from scratch and it’s fascinating to read some of the stories that led to these folk producing the food being where they are today!

You will find recipes such as oak-smoked garlic dauphinoise, a classic dish from The Garlic Farm in the Isle of Wight; Fire Bowl Steak, a favourite recipe of John Jefferies from Fuller’s Hill Farm in Cambridgeshire and Chilli Chocolate Brownies – made from orange chilli chocolate produced at South Devon chilli farm. Oh there are so many delicious recipes in here and the book is packed full of beautiful photos of the food produced as well as the stunning British countryside.

A proportion of the royalties from each copy of the book will be donated to the National Literacy Trust, a charity dedicated to giving disadvantaged children the literacy skills they need to succeed. It is a wonderful book and would make a perfect gift, you can buy it here For the Love of the Land

Neve’s Bees – 100% natural skincare produced in Oxfordshire

If you read our Christmas Gift Guide last year, you will know that we loved the products they generously sent us last year to try. You can read last year’s gift guide here https://countryrambles.com/2020/11/11/christmas-gift-ideas-2020/

We love the ethos behind this company! Starting as a hobby, beekeeping and making ‘lotions and potions’ has now evolved into a family run business producing 100% natural products made from beeswax, plant oils and butters and essential oils from flowers, barks and seeds. The thing that is so obvious is the passion behind the business and how much they love making these beautiful products.

Neve’s Bees produce a wonderful range of entirely natural and vegan products, with nothing artificial in sight. There is something for everyone, ranging from lip balms, handmade soaps, hand salves, foot balms, even pet salves for your four-legged friends. Dog Paw Balm and Snout Salve are completely natural and ‘lick safe’ – what a paw-fect idea!

The lovely team at Neve’s Bees were kind enough to send one of their newest products – their Neroli and Bergamot Daily Face Serum. – a lightweight moisturising serum to nourish the skin, boost collagen and keep skin firm and glowing with natural health. This is packed full of natural moisturisers to help you truly love the skin you’re in.

The Neve’s Bees face serum is a joy to use – enjoy massaging into your skin and inhale, the scent is amazing and the whole experience engulfs you in a moment of gorgeousness, it makes your skin feel lovely too.

See their website for full details of all their products, they offer free delivery on all UK orders and if you sign up to their newsletter you will get 10% off your first order. They also donate 10% of their profits to the Wildlife Trust and other local nature recovery charities. So as well as helping your skin, you will be helping the bees and wildlife too! Neve’s Bees website

The Ives – natural products for sleep and anxiety

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to gift someone a good nights sleep and reduce anxiety! We all know that lack of sleep and anxiety go hand in hand and in the current climate so many of us are affected by these problems. We had no idea about the properties and health benefits of magnesium so it was really interesting to find out more on The Ives website. Based in Stratford upon Avon, the founder of The Ives initially started making sleep oil for her son using magnesium and essential oils during the pandemic in 2020. The Ives were kind enough to gift their Sleep Gift Set which includes a 50ml rollerball for bedtime – restless adult blend – and a 10ml Day Dreamer rollerball for daytime use – perfect for handbags and school bags – to instil courage and reduce anxiety.

We would definitely recommend this – the daytime rollerball is instantly calming, just apply a little to pulse points. Trying the bedtime rollerball was a revelation – from the point of view of someone who often only sleeps for about three hours a night this is definitely helping! It feels easier to get to sleep and whilst still not managing to sleep for more than three hours in one go, using the rollerball during the night makes the whole lying awake thing just feel less stressful and actually being able to get back to sleep is blissful and got to be a health benefit. Hopefully in time this will help to break the habit, so if you know someone who struggles with anxiety and/or insomnia please do have a look at the The Ives website we are sure you will find the perfect gift for them here. If you sign up to their emailing list you will receive 10% off your first order.

Kent Brushes – pebble detangling brush

The company Kent Brushes has been around since 1777 so it’s safe to say they are experts in their field! We were sent their hedgehog pebble brush as it fits perfectly with our country rambles theme. This brush is admittedly cute and would please an adult or child recipient – particularly hedgehog fans. It’s a fairly simple design but really effective in reducing tangles and it doesn’t ‘pull’ your hair like some other brushes do, it seemed to glide through hair really smoothly, getting rid of tangles with ease.

The pebble brush is suitable for wet and dry hair and we think would make a perfect gift. If you sign up to the Kent Brushes website you will get 10% off. There are a few other designs available in the pebble brush range and if you like countryside themed products, you might also like the bumble bee brush or the ladybird brush. They will appeal to kids, teenagers and adults too as are perfect for popping in a handbag.

Lab Tonica – the healing power of plants

Lab Tonica believe in the power of plants, the amazing alchemy of nature and our bodies. They have five collections: Unplugged for sleep; POW for energy; Fend for immunity; Saucy for libido and Breathe for calm. We were lucky enough to be sent the Breathe collection, this consists of Breathe calming mist, Breathe calming balm and a box of Breathe herbal tea bags. We were pleased to read that their tea bags and inner bags are biodegradable and made from plants so they can be popped in the compost after use. They compare these tea bags to yoga in a cup – how lovely. The tea is tasty and refreshing, containing linden blossom, hawthorn, ashwagandha, peppermint, fennel, lemon balm and gotu kola.

The Breathe calming mist can be spritzed in a room or on to a pillow and contains high grade essential oils including bergamot, sandalwood, sweet orange, chamomile and lavender – blended with filtered spring water and a drop of witch hazel. It smells heavenly! In addition to these five collections, they also have a utility section with products such as utility aprons, foraging baskets and sustainable yoga mats. Delivery is free when you spend over £30 and you can find out more about their products here Lab Tonica website

Mrs Frisbee’s All Naturals

Mrs Frisbee’s products are SLS and paraben-free, vegan friendly and handmade in Stockport. They kindly gifted us their rejuvenating décolletage and body oil to try. This product is made with argon, jojoba, rosehip, calendula, carrot tissue and tamanu oils and designed to be massaged in to the skin. This product does contain nut based oil but there is conveniently a safety warning on the packaging to alert the consumer to this. It is rich in vitamins and omega oils and aims to leave your skin looking hydrated, nourished and rejuvenated. Your décolletage can look dull, dry and wrinkly so keeping the skin hydrated can give the skin a more youthful appearance.

This is a really lovely oil to use, it instantly made my skin look more moisturised, smoother and in better condition so I would imagine frequent use will produce really good results. There is a wide variety of natural products on the website, suitable for women and men, With free delivery in the UK on orders over £20 you can see their full range on the Mrs Frisbee’s All Naturals website.

Perl Cosmetics – Natural British skincare

Perl Cosmetics want to give you the confidence to glow in your skin using natural customisable skincare. Well we are all about the glow!

Perl offer a unique product: the British pink clay mask and illuminating oil arrive as separate products, giving you the ability to tailor your face mask according to your skin type. You mix the mask yourself which is a great idea so you can alter the amount of oil in the DIY mask to suit your skin’s needs. Simply mix the powder clay with a little water then add the quantity of illuminating oil that you prefer. Let that beautician/alchemist inside you have a day of glory! Perl Cosmetics kindly sent a sample for us to try, it’s great to make your own mask and you can feel it working it’s magic on your face!

The Perl Cosmetics radiance oil can be used over your moisturiser for a quick radiance boost; it is intended to be used under your makeup – we also received a mini bottle of their radiance oil which is gorgeous, adding that healthy dewy glow straight away!

Click here to find out more about Perl Cosmetics and their products. If you sign up to their email list you will enjoy 10% off your first order. Perl Cosmetics offer free UK shipping if you spend over £35.

Pulse Point Oils – lavender wheat bag

The owner and founder of Pulse Point Oils, Heather Rusbridge says on their website “ I love gardening and the wonderful array of plants available, so many having powerful healing and nourishing properties. Inspired, i set about making my own oil infusions, I wanted to use the best products from nature on my skin and adding therapeutic grade essential oils resulted in HDR Infusions being born.”

There is no doubt that plant based and natural products are beneficial to our health and well-being and I don’t think there is a single person that doesn’t love the scent of lavender. Lavender is known for it’s relaxing and calming properties so I was chuffed to be sent this beautiful French Hen wheat bag by the kind folk at Pulse Point Oils. It’s described on their website as an everyday practical eco wellbeing home essential. Upon opening the packaging the gorgeous and soothing aroma scent of lavender is wonderful. To use as a relaxant just pop it in the microwave for about a minute and a half or warm on top of a radiator and then enjoy the warmth on your neck and the lovely lavender scent. It’s useful to know you can also use it as a cold compress by putting it in a bag and popping in the freezer for a couple of hours to help reduce swelling and bruising and ease sprains. I can vouch for the fact that’s it’s like a calming hug around your neck, everyone needs a wheat bag in their life and they have some beautiful designs – your only problem will be which one to choose!

There is a great choice of oils, gift sets, wheat bags and candles on The Pulse Point Oils website with free delivery in the UK.

Thank you so much to Jenny Jefferies, Neve’s Bees, The Ives, Kent Brushes, Lab Tonica, Mrs Frisbee’s All Naturals, Perl Cosmetics and Pulse Point Oils for gifting us your wonderful products.

Dear reader, we hope that you will find something you like here as a special Christmas gift for someone, or perhaps leave this page open so someone may get an idea for a Christmas gift and buy something special for you!

Another idea for the plant lover in your life may be an indoor or outdoor plant subscription, or even a one off special plant. You can find a variety at Lazy Flora, you may have read my review of the Money Tree they kindly sent me. If you haven’t read it yet you can read it here Easy to care for houseplants. You can take a look at their website by clicking on the link below.