December 24th is an important day in my diary. No, not Christmas Eve... we don't celebrate that in the Netherlands (instead we have 1st and 2nd Christmas Day on the 25th and 26th), but the start of the online Boxing Day sales! Spending Christmas with my family back home means I'm never in the UK to hit the sales in the shops (not that I'd really want to during the sleep-eat-repeat routine that is the void between Christmas and New Year's, mind) so the online bargains are the ones to give me my annual shopping sales fix. I posted a Boxing Day Sales Haul on the blog last year and I thought I'd share them with you this time around as well 😊
Now, this post is a bit later into 2018 than I would've liked but my camera broke down last month and was away for repairs and I only got it back last week to take proper photos of everything. This does mean that some things have already been used and aren't in nicely packaged up any longer (heck, I even already finished one of the books) but I really wanted to do this post so please pretend it's still early January...
Accessorize
If there is one thing I have more of than books it's socks, but does that ever stop me from buying more? Of course not! These lovely fox socks were now just £1.22 (from £3.50) and I threw in a spare card holder (from £8 for £2.80) as well, because why not?!
Boots
Uhm I may have gone a little Zoella crazy this year? At their original price I found most items too expensive but at 50% and 70% off they suddenly became a lot more affordable!
I love the design and so couldn't resist the mug (from £8.50 for £2.55), the weekly goals desk planner (from £10 to £3), the Cosy Christmas candle (from £12.50 for 3.75) which smells EXACTLY like the beautiful festive spice diffuser from Next, a gorgeous little calendar that I'm using to spruce up my work desk (also from £10 to £3) and some storage boxes which now hold my blog photo props (from £12.50 for £6.25).
I also love that the products have a subtle 'Z' on them rather than the full brand name, as I can pretend it's the first letter of my own name, lol.
The Boots Boxing Day Sale is also especially great to pick up some body and bath treats, and this year I couldn't resist the cute Joules body care set, which includes body wash, body butter, body scrub and body lotion (from £10 down to £5).
Folio Society
This year I've overhauled my book shelves by giving away nearly 200 of my books, and they look so much nicer when the books are actually displayed in single rows by genre! I'm especially proud of the shelf that holds all my collectible hardback editions of classics in the most beautiful designs. I've wanted to add Folio Society books to my collection for years and their January sale finally got me to cave in!
I picked up The Ascent of Man (from £49.95 for £9.95), Over Sea, Under Stone (from £27.95 for £7.95) and A Traveller in Time (from £31.95 for £9.55). How absolutely stunning are they?! And they all come in hardback slipcases too to keep them pretty. I'm so pleased I've finally started my Folio collection 😊
HMV
My brother is obsessed with Funko Pops and when we were browsing HMV for him I came across these cuties. He gave me a Harry Potter Mystery Mini Funko Pop for Christmas and the thrill of opening the blind box is very exciting and so I wanted to get my hands on a few more. I'm eyeing the Nightmare Before Christmas ones and the upcoming Disney Afternoon series, but for now these Finding Dory Mystery Minis satisfied my needs.
John Lewis
For years I've managed to use a MacBook Air with a tiny internal memory as I had my old laptop as a backup to transfer photos from my camera to my external hard drive. However, a few months ago the back-up laptop stopped working and my external hard drive won't work on my Mac unless I reformat it (and lose all my files 😱) so I was in dire need of a new hard drive and John Lewis saved the day. I picked up this 1TB Toshiba Slim Portable Hard Drive for £42 (from £59.95).
M&S
M&S is usually one of my biggest weaknesses at Christmas time as their festive ranges smell and look so good, but I actually still have some of the candles from last year so was able to restrain myself this time around... for the most part. I did pick up a pack of 20 Christmas cards for a bargain £2.50 and the Mandarin, Clove & Cinnamon 100ml Diffuser (my favourite festive scent from all of the shops!) now also at half price, for £7.50.
Monsoon
Not that I really need to buy more Christmas decorations (especially after the festive season has come and gone for the year), but when I saw these gorgeous enamel ornaments I couldn't resist. They had an entire collection of animals but I thought the cat, penguin and rabbit were the cutest so I tried to restrain myself to buying only three. These were originally £7 each and I got them for half price.
Ah yes, another thing I really don't need is even more gloves and yet... First I came across the racoon ones at half price (from £12) in early January and then my friend found the fox ones for me at 70% off just a week or so later. So I now have two pairs I can mix and match, lol
Next
While I'm not quite as obsessed with Funkos as my brother I do have a few on my bookshelves which makes them look super awesome and so when I saw this Harry Potter one for just £5 (there normally £10 or more) I was unable to resist. I also love putting the Ron Weasley mini Funko on his head 😂
Paperchase
Oh Paperchase, you always tempt me so! I don't have enough friends and family to warrant this ridiculously massive Christmas card haul and yet I found myself going back again and again to buy more. I now seriously don't need more Christmas cards for the next few years, but how could I refuse these at 70% off?! They're all so pretty 😍
Superdrug
If I hadn't gotten enough Zoella products from Boots already, I MAY have picked up a few more from Superdrug. #sorrynotsorry The Snowella Winter Wonder Hand Cream smells absolutely lush and was now just £1.99 (from £6) and the Zoella Sparry Night (containing a body butter and body polish) was also just £1.99 (from £11), bargain!
Waterstones
I've been meaning to get into more non-fiction reading, especially educational reads and nature writing, and I also cannot resist a gorgeous cover so The Secret Life of the Owl by John Lewis-Stempel had been on my radar for a little while. In fact, I've been wanting to try something by this writer's hand for ages and so when I came across this beautiful little tome for just £3.99 (instead of £7.99) it would've been very rude not to pick it up. I already devoured the book (and loved it), so keep yours eyes open for a review on Wednesday.
Wilko
Last but by no means least, I've been using the same Disney-themed fleece blanket for two decades so it was high time for a change. Now don't get me wrong, I still love it as it's become even softer over the years and is actually still in great condition, but I've also been eyeing a different style for a while, which I'd like to call Canadian-cabin-in-the-woods chic. Think brown and grey colours with deer antlers (fake, of course) and a red check thrown in. So when I spotted a lovely red checkered throw on the Wilko website from £15 (already cheap) for £10 I hoped I had found 'the one' at last – and I have! Not only is it absolutely gorgeous and super warm, but it's also the softest throw imaginable and the white fluffy side makes for a great background for blog photos. This is hands down my favourite purchase of this entire haul and I've already gotten a lot of use out of it ♥ ♥ ♥
🎵 Listening to: Ed Sheeran – Perfect
🔹 Mood: Cold
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