{Gift Wrap} Brown Paper and Prints

I was about to post some pictures of my Valentines Day Gift Wrap when I suddenly realised that I havent yet blogged the Christmas Gift Wrap I wanted to share. Fail.

I have two excuses for this:

1. The Warr and I celebrated Christmas in February because we weren't in the same continent in December. Christmas in February is different from "a belated Christmas in January" and it's very different from "Christmas in July!" It just throws everyone off.
2. Wedding. Wedding planning makes your brain a little woooo-hooosy. You forget about the normal functioning of life. You forget about things that you would usually have done. You think you have already done the things you would usually do. Your brain goes to mush and you have severe lack of sleep which inhibits normal brain functioning. But that's a post for another time.
   (and FYI, I totally spelt inhibits "inbihits" until I went back to check it. Point in case.)

Anyway,

Back to Christmas!

Boys. They are such TRICKY monkeys to buy presents for. 

Question: What can you get a girl for Christmas?

Answer: A lovely perfume, some sparkly earrings, things to add to her gift-wrap and stationery drawer, any fancy (read: expensive) facial or body care; lotions, masks, body scrubs, moisturisers, a spa treatment voucher, a handbag, delicious candles, pretty underwear, any jewellery, glossy magazines, make-up brushes etc

Question: What can you get a boy for Christmas?
Answer: Socks or a car.

hmmm.

A little while back, The Warr and I were wondering around a department store and we came across the most amazing store display - a little corner with a cozy couch/sofa next to a (fake) crackling fireplace, a warm thick throw over the arm of the chair, an amazing soft faux-fur rug and the most incredible wall paper that looked like the whole scene was in a wintery forest. 

Me: Oh that looks SO amazing!

Warr: I know! It looks so cozy!

Me: Imagine it with some delicious red wine! Or some delicious hot chocolate!

W: Exactly - and with an awesome game of backgammon on the go! We neeeeed this in our future house!

Me: I totally agree. But I don't know how to play backgammon.

Anyway after this little encounter I decided that for Christmas, I would get Warren a little collection of things to make up this little "winter scene" for our future home one day. So instead of getting him "things" I got him more of an "experience". 

First I went online and gathered some pictures that would remind him of the "winter scene" we saw. Most of these pics came from my Pinterest Boards - I curate a variety of "random" boards for these such things {warm and cozy; festival; summer etc}. You never know when they might come in handy! (You can follow my pinterest boards here)

Once I had collected and printed all the images I wanted I wrapped up my gifts in brown paper and attached the pics with washi tape in shades of wintery blue. (See what I did there? Smart.) I then tied some of them up with purple twine.


I also made a personalised card to go with the gifts which.. in case he hadn't made the connection with the (quite obvious) pictures.. also explained the idea behind the gifts.

I included in the "winter scene" Christmas gifts:

• a warm throw blanket
• a bottle of delicious red wine
• a DVD
• cute little cheese markers from Poetry
• a backgammon set 
• and a few other little bits and pieces

We decided to celebrate Fake Christmas at a Moroccan style restaurant called Doukan. The food was delicious - we shared a starter platter with hummous, dipping sausages, a spicy lentil mix {which definitely has a fancy name that I can't remember), baked cheeses and Basilla Fasilla - a sweet and savoury chicken with almonds and cinnamon in a pastry parcel.


For mains The Warr had Seffa Meklouba: a sweet and savoury lamb on almond couscous - served with tomato jam and a spicy lamb consomme. (lol. I don't even know what consomme is - I totally got that straight off the menu). I had the beef tagine... They were so yummy!


And I made Warr wear a Christmas hat in the middle of the crowded restaurant. And he did it cause he loves me. (And also, he didn't want to RUIN CHRISTMAS.)


Warr gave me some awesome stocking presents (yay me!) and one of them was an Absurd Word tabletop game. We played at the table. And everyone in the restaurant watched us playing games and unwrapping presents in our Christmas hats in the middle of February and they all thought we were very strange. Obviously.

And then we ended off our evening with a very scrumptious apple crumble  -

because WHY NOT?!

it's Christmas!

{and now warren has to teach me how to play backgammon}