Geek Guy Gift Ideas | Blogmas #9

On the ninth day of Christmas my blogger friend came to me, and asked me to write for her blog... Again! Haha legit can't believe I did that again, but whatever IT'S CHRISTMAS! If you read both of our collaboration posts on each other's blogs on Wednesday, then you'll know that we wrote part one of two posts with geeky Christmas gift guides. I wrote about girls (which you can read here) and Sarah wrote about guys (which you can read here), but today we're swapping so I'm writing my geeky guy gift guide for you all! 

Like I said on my geeky girl guide, I really hope you enjoy this gift guide from me. I really love doing gift guides so much, especially when I can help out fellow girls with gifts for their boyfriends, siblings, friends or even a Secret Santa idea! 

Like with my geeky girl gift guide, a lot of the gift ideas on here I feel are from the same shops online and I was worried about this, but as Sarah said to me, it's not a bad thing as people can order similar items from the same shop online and save on P&P! :D 

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the geeky guy gift guide I've put together! 

Controller and Nintendo 64 Cartridge Soaps | From Firebox (Link 1 & Link 2)

When looking for gift ideas this was the first one I came across and after a lot of umming and ahhing over which of the two to add, I decided to add both as they're just all too good not to add! Not saying you guys need bars of soap and to be clean, but how awesome would it be to use these to wash your hands, or in the shower!? They're also citrus scented so it'll wake whoever uses it up in the mornings! If I had to buy my boyfriend Dane one I'd definitely opt for an Xbox One controller! These would make amazing Secret Santa gifts for men in the office, or even a sibling. 

Rick & Morty Pickle Rick Sweater | From Grindstore 

Know someone who is a fan of Rick & Morty? Then this sweater will be RIGHT up their alley! When the Pickle Rick episode came on, everyone went bat shit crazy for Pickle Rick and people still are to be fair. You can get this in a t-shirt too, but I thought the sweater would be more apt for these colder months in the UK. I thought about getting my boyfriend Dane this sweater for Christmas, but left it as he wasn't as crazy about Pickle Rick as I thought he was. :p This is definitely an easy gift for someone... providing they love and enjoy the show. ;) 

Star Wars Origami | From Firebox 

I doubt very much that all guys will be into origami, Star Wars, or even both! BUT I can only imagine that this would be  such a fun gift to receive Christmas Day, especially if they're a bit drunk and merry and want something fun to have a go at! I know I'd love to receive something like this! It looks huge as well so I imagine there are so many ideas to choose from! As well as getting the book you could also get some origami papers alongside it so they don't run out of paper to play and mould with. 

Deadpool Pyjamas | From EMP

EVERYONE loves getting pyjamas for Christmas and if you don't then you need to get the fuck out! :p I joke, but seriously who doesn't like getting pyjamas?? I found loads of awesome ones but the Deadpool ones just stood out to me, and to be honest I wish I had found these sooner as I would have bought them for my boyfriend Dane! They're simple and definitely a good present for moms to get their sons if they're stuck for ideas! 

Pokémon Gengar Snapback Cap | From Grindstore

I know not everyone likes snapbacks but I know quite a lot of people who are getting into the ''trend'' now and out of the few Pokémon ones I found, this was the best one! I have a Gengar sweater that I bought from Camden last Christmas and I love it! If you know that the guy you're buying for likes a particular Pokémon then go for it, but I just find the Gengar one to be more tasteful with the purple and charcoal grey. 

Stikbot Studio | From I Want One Of Those 

This is definitely the best gift idea on this post for so many reasons and for all ages and sexes! This is a little studio where you can make stop-start animation films on your mobile phone. You use the two little stickmen, and download the app on your phone and away you go. SIMPLE and you can definitely have a go on Christmas Day! This would be more fun for any aspiring film makers to have a play with, I know loads of friends who would love to own something like this and to be honest, I would too! 

Star Wars Light Up Chop Sticks | From Firebox

I love using chop sticks and as soon as I get the chance to use them I will. I bought my boyfriend Dane some Star Wars Darth Vader chop sticks quite a few Christmases ago now and to be honest, I use them more than he does! I nearly bought the light up ones for him and they're pretty funky! If you know a Star Wars fan who loves chop sticks, then get these for him; you can get many of the characters chop sticks to be honest, but at the moment on Firebox they only seem to be stocking Luke Skywalker (blue), Darth Vader (red) and Kylo Ren. 

Minecraft Plastic Creeper Face Mug | From GAME 

Like pyjamas, who doesn't love getting a mug for Christmas? This is an ideal present for a work Secret Santa! A girl in our office has asked for a mug for her present as she doesn't yet have her own, this is an example of why gifts like this are so good! I thought this mug was pretty different and it's a Minecraft Creeper, so you can't go wrong! This can also apply to all ages, although I'm pretty sure this is for a younger person... :p 

Crash Bandicoot Uka Uka Keyring | From GAME

Finally we have our last gift on the list and it's one that I think anyone of any age will appreciate, especially if they went mad for Crash Bandicoot back in the day and even when it was remade and released on the PS4 this year! This isn't Crash himself, but it is Uka Uka, who will enable you to feel just like Crash in your daily activities! :p

So that is my geeky guy Christmas gift guide and sadly my final post on Sarah's blog (for now anyway!!! :p)! 

I really hope you enjoyed reading this post, as well as my last one. Please make sure to check out my blog if you like geeky posts like this one as that is what I specialise in! 

As well as that, make sure not to forget to check out Sarah's geeky girl Christmas gift guide over on my blog today, as well as checking out the geek guy Christmas gift guide she wrote on Wednesday. 

A massive, MASSIVE thank you to Sarah again for agreeing to collaborate with me this Christmas! She's been one of the best people I've worked with to date and she's also one of my favourite bloggers, so I feel so special being able to write for her blog, as well as having her write for mine.

If you enjoyed our collaboration together then don't fret, we will definitely be doing this again very soon! We just enjoyed doing it that much. :p

Again, I hope my Christmas gift guides have helped you buy for the geeky people in your life and until me and Sarah collaborate again, take care and have a lovely weekend! 

♥

You can check out Nat's fantastic blog over at There Might Be Coffee. Thankyou so much for working with me for these collaboration posts lovely! It's been wonderful and I can't wait until next time :) Also Thanks so much for your kind words, reading it made my day! You are one of my favourite bloggers too so I felt super happy when you asked me! Everyone go give Nat some love over on her Instagram too because it's great! 

Blogmas Day 9 | What I bought in Manchester

You may have seen yesterday's Blogmas post all about the Manchester Christmas, which I visited with my mum on Monday. I wanted to show off some of the beautiful stalls and the lovely Christmas gifts they were selling so I made the post quite pic heavy. Because of this I decided to plan a seperate post about what I bought whilst I was there (I hope you are all enjoying pic heavy posts haha). I really look forward to going shopping in Manchester as I can visit all my favourite stores that we don't have in my local town centre. I purchased most of my shopping in the Arndale, but picked up a few things from the Christmas Markets. I was determined to come home with one of the mugs, so I'm really happy I now have one of my own to feel even more Christmassy when I'm drinking hot chocolate & marshmallows. I'll show you all what I got from the Markets first; the stalls sold an array of quirky gifts and traditional decorations but were quite pricey and as I had a budget to stick to, I couldn't spend too much. 

How cool is my new handcrafted dragon pencil!? It was from a stall selling lots of wooden carved items and traditional wooden instruments. I almost bought a peruvian wood flute but this was the last stall I visited before going to catch the train home and I'd ran out of money by this point.  I love dragons & this one reminds me of Drogon from Game of Thrones. I love the detail of the head especially the teeth and the colours used, and I also really like how the pencil looks really rustic. I couldn't resist getting some German treats whilst I was at the Christmas Markets and since I love original Lebkuchen (a traditional German gingerbread-like biscuit), I thought I'd try a new flavour. I was told this variety is coated in dark chocolate with a layer of rice paper underneath and bits of orange throughout the biscuit. I'm looking forward to trying them! I love my new wooden tree decoration! I think the detail is amazing and I loved the little doll decoration too because it's just so so cute.

  

 I couldn't resist buying this gorgeous alpaca plushie! It was from a stall selling jumpers, blankets and other items all made from Alpaca wool. Alpacas are sheared just like sheep and their wool is used to make clothing and other things. The companies listed on the bag were 'Cosy by De Luciano' and 'Alpacapaca'. This adorable plushie feels so soft and I'm in love with it (it was also the most expensive item I purchased all day). Hugging this will have to make do until I'm rich and can afford to buy land to have some pet alpacas of my own! ♥ I've named him Alfonzo.

I wanted to try a traditional macaroon, even though I still haven't tried French macaroons yet :( It was filled with mushy coconut and was hard & crunchy on the outside. I do like coconut flavoured things but now I've tried them, I probably won't eat one again because I didn't really like the texture. The other treats shown above tasted awesome!. They are called Schokoküsse, a German treat that is basically chocolate-coated marshmallow. We thought they would be firm inside but they are actually like those snowball treats we can get here in England... the ones that are covered in bits of coconut. It was a shame that they gave them to me simply in a paper bag, because they were crushed by the time I got home... because we thought they were like traditional marshmallows we didn't take care not to squash them *oops* I loved them! I paid £5 and got to choose 6 flavours (£1 each & one for free when you buy 5). I picked: After Eight, Marzipan, Cappuccino, Orange, Vanilla and Coconut. My favourite was the After Eight one. The gooey marshmallow inside was really flavoursome. I recommend buying some if you get the chance! 

I wish my local town centre had a Yankee candle shop! I can still buy some of their products at Clinton Cards and ASDA but they don't have all the range so I usually can't just pick up my favourites when I've ran out of them. I've wanted a wax melter for ages now but didn't want to get one online in case I didn't like it when it arrived. I loved this one when I saw it in store and since I'd asked for one for Christmas, my mum treated me to it and also let me have it early. Let me know if you'd like me to do a review on these votives and wax melts. I'm really looking forward to using it!

I literally can't go shopping without coming back with some form of stationary and it's usually stickers that I end up buying. I feel like I'm becoming a sticker hoarder haha I really like the stickers available from Accessorize and I've had some of the owl ones before, just in a different colour, and they are really good quality and puffy which I like; some of the owls also have googly eyes! How cute is that? I was in need of some mini stickers to use on postcards so I purchased the panda ones from Accessorize and the fox ones from Paperchase. I was so excited to go to the Paperchase in Manchester. I've never been to it before and it's such a huge store! I'm going to go back soon when I've got more money to spend. This time I just picked up the stickers and some of their awesome postcards, which I've wanted to get my hands on for ages.  I purchased the peppermint chocolate bar and the little Hello Kitty charm from the Christmas Markets :) 

The first store I shopped at on Monday was the Disney Store. I'd seen that the new Winnie The Pooh Collection & the Jiminy Cricket tsum tsums had been released online so I knew exactly which ones I was looking to buy before I set off to Manchester. I'm really happy to add more kawaii tsum tsums to my now massive collection! I'm disappointed that Disney UK have ran out of the gold limited edition collectors pins and so have stopped giving the tokens when you purchase tsum tsums because I have more than enough for a silver pin. I hope I can find a way to get one! I also went into Lush to get a few items but I've decided to show you them in another post. 

I hope you all enjoyed today's post. Sorry it's not very Christmassy!

♥

Have you bought anything nice this week?