Inspiration
Creating the Perfect Wellness Hamper with blogger The Lovely Drawer
This festive season, we’ve teamed up with guest blogger Teri from The Lovely Drawer to bring you a gift idea that’s perfect for anyone who needs a little indulgent break. Read on as she shares her tips for creating a wellness hamper to promote relaxation and encourage someone special to unwind with meaningful gifts.
It can be tricky to dream up new and exciting gift ideas each Christmas, but I find the gifts that always get the best reception are the personalised ones. Tailoring a present to a specific friend or family member, whether through memories or interests, makes them feel loved and thought of. Boots Photo is now powered by CEWE, which seems like the perfect marriage in order to create a personalised wellness hamper all under one roof. Most of us feel pretty exhausted by the time Christmas comes around so a thoughtful bundle to prompt relaxation and mindfulness seems like a welcome gift for anyone to open on Christmas Day.
It may sound completely self-indulgent but I decided to do a little trial run for myself, as a gift to none other than yours truly. It’s been another gruelling year for us so I thought I’d draw inspiration from a time that I remember feeling really relaxed and peaceful. My mind immediately went to our 2016 trip to a cottage in Wales. It was bitterly cold but beautiful and quite literally in the middle of nowhere. No phone signal or Wi-Fi was totally liberating and the fresh, country walks and evenings cosied up by the fire were a dream. I decided to use my photography from that trip, of the cottage and surrounding landscapes to re-capture some of that magic and Boots Photo were more than able to turn that into a reality. They offer so many different photo printing items which all come with the same, impressive quality that I love about CEWE. You can get creative with your own photos and artwork or use the huge selection of templates and text options from the website.
Start by choosing the items you want to personalise. I went with a mug which can so easily be filled with a lux hot chocolate kit or favourite tea bags. Pausing for a cup of tea really stops me for a moment and allows my brain to have a little rest from a task, not to mention a warm drink is always soothing. The notebook felt like a great option to pair with the mug and I’ve found keeping my mental health in check means keeping a journal and getting all my thoughts out of my head and down on paper. I’m sure I’m more motivated to do this when the notebook looks pretty, so I used one of my paintings of the Welsh countryside. Then, to compliment these, I got the retro photo prints, which are not only seriously cute but also have the option of adding text. I used various photos from our trip matched with text to remind me of grounding techniques and affirmations that have really helped my anxiety and overwhelm. I’m hoping I can just whip them out when I need reminding.
Now to piece the puzzle together…Get hold of a basket (preferably with a lid) and gather some paper protection to go inside, then head to Boots to add in some pampering goodies. I’m a big fan of their Botanicals range so plenty of those items made their way into the hamper, like the facial buffer, the massage mist and lavender pillow mist, along with a Plum Blossom candle and No7 nail polishes. It’s a feast for the senses and the perfect prompt to help people take a little time for themselves to slow down, pamper and reflect.
The beauty of Boots Photo is that the personalisation options are so vast. Why not take it up a notch and use the CEWE printed stickers to add your photos to gift tags, sealing packaging as well as switching up the labels on your bath and bedtime products. Arrange your gifts inside the basket and finish off with a bow…Tadaa! A very special Christmas day parcel for a very lucky person (in this case, me) to promote wellness in the year ahead.