Christmas Wishlist

I realise I should have told you all about this website a little earlier, but perhaps it's not too late....

The website I speak of was set up a few years ago by an acquaintance of mine, Lynne Bothamley, in response to the appalling statistics showing just how much wastage occurred over unwanted presents at Christmas. 'What I'd Love' is a wishlist website; the idea being that anyone can set up their own personal wishlist of gifts that they would be happy to receive, be it for Christmas or birthday, anniversary, wedding, Bar Mitzvah etc. etc. Each personal list is given a unique number code, so that when friends or family begin to ask,

"Have you thought about what you would like for Christmas?"

you can respond by giving them that unique code and invite them to select something from your list. They will be happy safe in the knowledge that they will be buying a gift that you genuinely want, and it will still be a nice surprise for you on the day as you will not know exactly which of your wishlist items you will receive.

And the best thing about this website is that it's ABSOLUTELY FREE to use!

There is a selection of hand-picked shops and mail order companies on the site itself (click on the header 'BOUTIQUE'), which offer quality goods not generally found on the high street, but you do not have to be restricted to choosing items from these shops - oh no - in fact you can put ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING YOU LIKE ON YOUR WISHLIST! This can include a donation to your favourite charity for example, or a book from Amazon, a handmade necklace on ETSY, or a bunch a fresh flowers from your local florist!

Start thinking out of the box;

for instance you could easily put things on your list which don't cost the giver a penny, only their time....

maybe the promise of a lovely massage once a month for a whole year. Make your promise special by handwriting it onto a beautiful card and the recipient can then present this to you as a kind of credit note as and when they are most in need of your thoughtful gift.

My own wishlist will include:

A jar of Mum's homemade chutney, mmmmmm! (by the way, have you ever tried eating chutney with a Cornish pasty? It has always been a tradition in our family to eat chutneys and pickled onions with our pasties, and I can promise you it's the perfect combo!)

The promise of a special day out with friends to a surprise location,

The Three Colours Red Trilogy on DVD (always wanted to see these films)

Some of Jane's homemade chocolate brownies (she gave me some last Christmas - truly memorable!)

When a gift on your list has been chosen, it is removed so that there's no danger of more than one person giving you the same thing. There is also an option of making contributions towards a larger single gift; for example, if you were getting married and instead of requesting individual items, your guests could each contribute towards one special gift such as a dream holiday for your honeymoon.

It's a simple but effective way of reducing all that waste, Just click here to get yourself started, and spread the word!

Christine x