Stop Your Doors Blowin' in the Wind!

If you love animals, you might already have a pet. If not, we've found the cutest next-best-thing!
It sounds strange to say a door stop can bring a smile to your face but this one really will! Visitors to your home are sure to coo over it too... Hand stitched and made from the softest fabric, they make ideal cuddly toys but are also surprisingly heavy (they are weighted with sand) and so are the ultimate antidote to slammed doors by sturdily keeping doors open or ajar.
They are also the perfect thing for letting just the right amount of landing light in to your little one's rooms as they fall to sleep. Cuddly toy by day, loyal watch-pet by night!
Choose from dogs (including a dalmation or a labrador), cats, a hedgehog and even an owl!

Tis the season...

There's something that gets me very excited at this time of year... yes, Christmas is here!! Even the most cynical people would admit that something a little special happens to people in those 2-3 weeks in December. Besides that fact it never actually snows any more, it's all a bit fairy-tale-like.

Except this year things are a little different. The markets are down, the high street is collapsing and most people are probably tightening their belts somewhat. Sounds pretty grim. (If this were a movie, there'd be some sort of blues track on this the background at this point... something about the rain fallin' down?)

But I actually think there's a silver lining in all this. I think that this will be the year everyone finally lets their hair down a little. It's time to get real. Forget the overpriced (and inevitably disappointing) parties, the next PS3, or Wii consoley thing. Perhaps this year we'll be forced back to what Christmas should really be about... spending time with family, friends, pets, or anyone else that'll have you. It's about thinking about more than just the routine of ordinary day-to-day crises, and using the festive season as the perfect excuse to step back, smile, and add a little magic back into life...

On that note, I thought I'd look for something to set the mood somewhat for the upcoming month and look what I found...


A beautiful candle holder set with a little inscription about happiness running along its side and a presented in a stunning box. And for a reasonable price tag of £16.99 exactly the kind of thing you'll find Chez Guru this Christmas...

Available from TreatHer.com - http://www.treather.com/product/happiness_candle_holder

Sealed with a kiss...

There are some items that many people would see as stardard gifts for a woman - flowers, lingerie, chocolate and jewellery. Each of these comes with its own minefields.

Flowers - what colours does she like? Is she allergic to anything (causing someone to sneeze and sniffle for the rest of the week will not score you the points you seek).

Lingerie - what size? will she think your tastes are boring/ too racy?

Chocolate - usually less easy to get very wrong but not exactly a top scorer for originality...

Jewellery - what style will she wear and how much should you spend?

Thankfully, there is a way that the last of these can be made fail-proof. Jewellery given to a woman is seen as more than a pretty thing to decorate herself with. It is a statement of who you think she is and what she means to you... "So what's with this mini-psychology lesson Guru?" I hear you exclaim... The reason is, little grasshopper, that this can work in your favour. Without getting caught up in styles and fashion, you can give her something that will melt her heart and make her want to wear it regardless of her general take on jewellery.

For example, consider the silver love letter envelope. This beautifully designed envelope (with smooth opening/ closing action) contains a little silver letter inscribed with the words "I Love you". Casanova, eat your heart out.

Perfect for any occasion, this is the kind of gift she will cherish. Die-hard romantics may even consider engraving the other side of the 'letter' with a private message (although don't forget you'll have to top this next year so maybe don't overdo it!)

Offices, Hobbits and Shoes

The last couple of months have been great fun. No really. Our last office decided that it too wanted to be part of the new cooler Wembley and is on its way to becoming a hotel. This gave us just a few months to find a new office space from which to send out our scrumptious gifts. After going through just about every estate agent in North West London, I finally found the perfect pad, 50 metres down the road from the old place!

Now this new place is really kinda interesting. I call it The Lair - it's a bit like something out of Lord of the Rings (more happy hobbit than evil Mordor btw). There are little doorways everywhere leading to quirky little rooms and we have a music school next door so we get regular extracts from various eclectic musicians, broken up by the odd gospel choir. Thankfully most of our new musician friends don't get out of bed until the sun goes down...

Our first Christmas orders started pouring in last week. Whether you're into Christmas or not, you've got to love the idea of the World getting totally loved up for a few weeks. There's something quite magical about it (lump in throat... moving on..). And you can see it - even our grumpy courier driver is smiling today. Experience tells me he must be a new starter...

Anyway.. I have much more interesting things to tell you all about. The first of which is about shoes. Yep, you heard me, shoes. A fantastic young company I met recently has come up with the perfect solution to the party-pooping shoe crises that almost every girl endures on a night out. At some point, your shoes start killing you and you want to go home. (Btw, everyone else doesn't understand and they think you're boring). So what's the solution? The After Party Shoes. This nifty little pair of foldable shoes fits neatly into a small clutch bag and are designed to look super-trendy whilst protecting your dear feet.

I think this makes a great gift for any woman as they can be used at/ after work too (no more designer suits and trainers please!) The perfect Christmas gift? I think so!!

The Love Guru.... whatever.

First, let me humbly apologise for my vast and immeasurable absence for the past few months. Life's been busy. It's been emotional. Enough said.

Anyhow, I'm back and in full prezzie-luvin form and I thought it'd be particularly sweet to celebrate my return to blogdom with a bitter attack on a fellow "Guru". Not what you were expecting? I don't do expected. Read on...

I spent a total of £15.50 this weekend taking the lovely missus to the movies. Dead keen on seeing The Dark Knight, I was in the mood for some good old-fashioned Gotham Cty mayhem. Anyhow, due a mis-timed dinner we missed this and were left with the eyebrow-raising alternative of watching "The Love Guru". Not quite caped crusaders, but an all-star cast and the mild suggestion that this might contain a bit of slap&tickle was enough to convince me to part with the cash. BIG MISTAKE.

Without a shadow of a doubt this is one of worst movies released in the last few years. What astounds me is that some very good actors decided to get involved with it, including Ben Kingsley who I have always had enormous respect for. I have since read a rather entertaining review in the paper that said something like "If Gandhi had seen this film, he may well have renounced the idea of non-violence"!

After an hour or so, even I, usually the most discerning of patrons, exclaimed my sheer boredom to other movie-goers. Expecting not much more than a polite smile I was amazed to find everyone agreed. We all then walked out.

Anyhow, what does all this have to do with gifts?? Nothing. I just needed to get that off my chest. Even Gurus have issues you know.

This week's hottie

Getting back to the fun bit, this week's gift discovery is the Pamper Me Gift Set from Nougat. Like the rest of their range, this gift set has a wonderful presentation box with beautiful illustration which will definitely add to the excitement factor for the lucky lady.

Packed with a beautifully styled set of bath-time goodies, this will certainly whisk her away for an hour or two.

Upside: she gets a luxurious and well-deserved pampering
Downside: you may have to put up with Celine Dion blasting out of the bathroom for some part of the evening.

How to get yourself out of the doghouse

We’ve all done it. There’s no man who can say, hand-on-heart, that there hasn’t been a time when he wishes the love of his life would just button it. And doesn’t this always happen at the most unrighteous times? During the game, during a movie, on Sunday mornings (sometimes on Sundays in general)…

So you lost it, said something that should have earnt you some peace, and walked off in a huff. And then cooling off a while later you suddenly come to the realisation that things were now likely to get a lot worse before they get any better. Basically, you can now forget that game.

Well, perhaps – but all is not lost. Here are a few quick tips on how to bounce back into her good books without all that pathetic grovelling that would otherwise ensue.

1. Use her workmates. Order a gift to be delivered to her office or workplace. She’ll probably open it in front of all her workmates (who incidentally have been hearing about what a jerk you are all day). With well-chosen words and a gift that says it all, it’s only a matter of time before those tutting and head-shaking busy-bodies move across to your aid and start to soften her up.
   
   
2. The Gift. Exaggerate your feelings – you need the leverage. Big, bold and beautiful (focus… we’re still talking gifts). Work within a budget but choose something with impact.
   
   
3. Beware of flowers. Flowers can be a good idea, but pick well to avoid being caught looking even guiltier. Girls expect to receive flowers as a small romantic gesture and are prone to suspicion on other occasions. A bunch of limp flowers ordered from the otherwise very quiet florist on your local high street will not help your cause. And they die.
   
   
4. Plan. If you’re not hand-delivering, use a company you can trust to make sure she receives the gift. You may save a pound or two on eBay but this won’t nurse your aching head if it turns up 3 weeks later. Depending on where you’re based, you may find there are a few companies that can offer a same-day delivery service.
   
   
5. Follow through. You’re nearly there. If she hasn’t called you before the end of the day to talk about her gift, call her. Regardless of what she says, be “a listener” and then say “Sorry”. No more (saying clever things got you here in the first place!)

The Gift Guru

For more inspiration, or if you're looking for gifts for her, visit me at http://www.treather.com/