Frugal Christmas: Budget gifts for women

by Chiara Cavaglieri on 05 December 2011  |  1 comment
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Today we’re looking at discounts and deals for all the women in your life. Highlights include a Nicky Clarke hairdryer for £25, up to £100 off Karen Millen clothing, handcrafted goodies from £3 at Folksy, a Crabtree & Evelyn handcare set for £8 and stocking fillers for under £5. Look out for frugal gifts for men tomorrow, then it’s kids on Wednesday and gifts for all the family on Thursday.

The Christmas countdown is underway so if you’re buying for your mum, your big sis, BFF or even your Nan, take a look at these ideas.

Best-buy electricals and gadgets

My trusty hairdryer finally gave up the ghost last month and after weeks of using a travel hairdryer I finally got fed up spending half an hour drying my hair and got a new one. I had to include it in this gift article because it is so cheap and works brilliantly – the Nicky Clarke 'Vitesse' hairdryer has an ionic function and 2500W ultra high wattage. It also looks great with gold and black design and right now you can get it from Superdrug for only £24.99, saving you £10!

Conical curling wands are much easier to use than the more traditional curlers and this Babyliss Pro Rebel Pink Porcelain wand is only £19.95 at UKHairdressers.com. You do pay £2.95 per order for delivery but even with this it’s the best price I’ve found – also if you need anything else hair related, and end up spending £30, delivery is free.

It has a cool tip, free finger shield and protective heat mat for safety and if the pink is too girly, you can get it in black for the same price.

Bargain beauty

Feel Unique is rarely beaten on price for designer brand beauty and with free delivery on all orders you know that you aren’t getting stung anywhere else. Right now you can buy this bareMinerals Radiance Collection for £29.75 (containing finishing powder, all-over face colour, eyecolour, lipgloss and a face brush). The kit is worth over £71 so you’re already making a big saving, but you can knock off even more money with the code STOCKINGFILLER which saves you £2 on orders over £25. If you’re spending more, use XMASWISH for £3 off orders over £50 and FIVESTARXMAS for £5 off when you spend over £75.

All codes are valid until Monday 19th December.

For something cheaper but just as cheerful, Feel Unique also has the best price for this Yes To Carrots Loving Care Set at £9.99, which contains a cleanser, day cream, pampering shower gel and rich body butter. This Crabtree & Evelyn Hand Therapy Trio is also cheapest at Feel Unique costing £8 (RRP £18).

Frugal fashion

Don’t forget about eBay for cheaper clothes and accessories. You can visit your favourite shop's official eBay store and hunt down any bargains. Over on the Karen Millen store, for example, these trousers have over £100 off (now £19.95), these silk shorts are £24.95, saving you £65 and this black vest has £30 off (now £25)!

These won’t be to everyone’s taste, but I think they’re so wrong they’re right…these Blingbacks are the latest accessory, but not for your body, for your shoes! If your loved one would agree with me, you can get them from Asos with prices starting from £11.99. There are five designs to choose from; the diamante encrusted chandelier drop, the ellipse design, cluster star design, gold bow design and laser cut butterfly design, all with soft silicone backing so you can stick them to the back of your favourite heels.  

Something a bit different

This Thumbs Up Fridgebook Magnet pack is a bit of fun – designed to look like a well-known social networking homepage with Status, Comment, Wall Posts and the all important Like or Dislike magnets – but is a great present for any Facebook fanatics and any (big) kids who are flying the nest and moving into their own digs. Get it for the best price of £11.75 at Amazon, or if they run out of stock get it for £11.99 at Play, (which still saves you £3).

Handcrafted items make such lovely presents, but you usually pay through the nose for them. The good news is that you can find some amazing, quirky items at great prices on Folksy.com which celebrates quality modern British design.

Some bargain picks include kindle covers from Whimsy Woo Designs for £10 and this ‘Keep Calm and Make A List’ moleskin notebook from Little Red Press for £4. Do look out for any special offers – Lola’s Room has a sale section with prints from just £3.

Top stocking fillers for £5 or less

There is a lovely Jelly Belly range at Wax Lyrical and the packaging has a bit of a retro feel so they make great presents. The candle tins smell amazing (my personal faves are Green Apple and Very Cherry) and cost £5 – they are only £4.49 on Amazon but you can currently save 25% on your first order at Wax Lyrical using the code LAUNCH25.

I have just discovered the gorgeous Crumpetandskirt.com which sells gifts and homeware items with images of 50s Pin Ups. My favourites are the travelcard holders for £4.50 and the mirrors which are £3.49. Delivery for these items is cheap because they are so small (55p) but you can see a list of their high street stockists here if you want to buy in person.

Luxury for less

I am now one of many Angry Birds addicts and if your loved one is too, you could club together with a few people to buy her one of the new Angry Birds speakers and dock stations.

The cheapest is the Red Bird, compatible with any music player, smart phone, or tablet. Get them for £44.99 (RRP £49.99) on Amazon. The Angry Bird speakers offer 30 watts but that means very little to me so I asked to borrow some for the day to test run…the sound quality was good and the volume goes about as loud as my new Dell laptop, so perfect for listening to the radio or audio books and having a reasonably raucous sing-along in your bedroom, but not for a noisy house party.