Every year we have got two Christmas parties. One with my boyfriend's family and one with mine. We usually have our Christmas dinner on the 24th with him and a second dinner on the 25th with my family. During these dinners we give and receive a lot of presents. But it has been sort of tradition that we also get some extra presents on New Year's Eve or New Year from my family. So instead of posting this blog post last week with only the presents I got at Christmas, I decided to also include the presents I got on New Year's day. Small disclaimer: I am not writing this to brag in any way or to show off with what I got this year. I am just writing this for myself to look back on in a few years as a memory (as most of my blog is an online book of my memories) and also for those who are interested to see what I got or asked for. I am a curious and nosey person myself, so no shame!

First of all, the amazing presents I got from my lovely boyfriend. He knows me very well (at least I may hope so after six years!) so he doesn't actually need a wishlist to see what I like or want. Through the year I hint a lot when there is something new or cool or something that I would really like to have. But as he is a boy (and most boys have this in common, let's be honest) he doesn't take note or doesn't remember when it is time to buy presents for my birthday or in this case, Christmas. So I did give him a small list this year of some random things like books, makeup, fashion items, ... And I have to say, he did very well this year. 

He got me four presents, two of them being books, which I really like because I want to have a huge bookcase in my future house (imagine a totally white room where the only colour comes from all the books). The first book he gave me was 'Like My Like' by Hannes Coudenys. Hannes is a vlogger but also the author and creator of the book and Instagram page 'Ugly Belgian Houses'. If you haven't watched his vlogs, I strongly suggest to binge watch them all because he has the cutest little son called Rae Morris. The books is about social media and everything you need to know about it. I've read the book in less than two hours and it immediately inspired me to write a ton of blog post and to be creative. 

The second book is the total opposite of the social media book and it is a healthy cookbook. 'Eat Smart' is a cookbook by Niomi Smart, who also is a vlogger/Youtuber from the UK. I've been watching her videos for several years now and last year she launched her very first book. As her 'What I eat in a day', videos are the most popular, she decided to come up with a recipe book. Just looking at all the delicious meals makes you feel hungry. Also the fact that all of the recipes are vegan (which I am not) is kind of a challenge for me to start and eat more healthy and to be more healthy in general. I guess this should be a New Year's resolution of mine...

The third present my boyfriend gave me is a makeup palette from Morphe. This brand is one of the best in value I know compared to how many eyeshadows you get in one palette. When I browsed through their website to look for the palette I liked the most, I wanted to go for the most neutral and easiest palette that everyone has, the 35O. But then I picked one out with also some neutrals but on the other hand some more colours aswell, as I don't really have a lot of colour in the palettes I have. The Morphe 35P has some brown neutrals, both shimmer and matte, but than it also has some purples. I opted for this one because purple and green create a contrast which makes my green eyes stand out so much more. I have never worn purple eyeshadow before because it can become very 80's very quickly, but now I can experiment with it so I'm very glad he got me this. The fourth and last present I got from my boyfriend is '24K Magic', the new CD from Bruno Mars which I don't have a picture from because it's in my car, always on repeat when I'm driving to him.

Next up are my boyfriend's parents. Their present goes perfectly with the book and also has to do with my closet. First of all, they gave me something from Rituals, which is an all time favourite of mine. To be honest, I think you can't go wrong with Rituals. They have so many different scents that would satisfy anyone, I even got my own boyfriend some products from Rituals! This is from the 'Rituals of Sakura' range which has the smell of rice milk and cherry blossom, super fresh! These are two perfumed wardrobe sachets to hang in between your clothes. Such a dream! I haven't hung them in my closet yet, but by sitting in the box and in the plastic bags, they've already infused my bedroom with their unique smell! So when I don't smell them in my room anymore, I'll take them out of the packaging to hang them in my closet. Besides this, they also gave me money for both Christmas and New Year's, which they didn't have to do because I already was more than happy with the sachets!

In the next picture, there are two presents from different people. I got some beautiful bracelets from an aunt of my boyfriend which at first I didn't notice the brand they are from. But when I took them out of the packaging, I noticed a very well known logo from Atelier Kollée. If you don't know this brand, definitely check out a previous post to see what I already own from Atelier Kollée and why I'm so obsessed with it! Next to the bracelets, I got a present from my two sisters and the boyfriend of one of them. They gave me a gift card from MAC, worth 30 euros, which I'm very happy with! As you might know from again another post, I don't own too many products of MAC yet but I certainly love this brand a lot so I'm very happy I get to go and buy some more makeup!

Another aunt from my boyfriend who is very close to the family, also knows me very well and she gave me a box of goodies from Clinique! This is a brand I know, but I've never had or tested something from Clinique yet. In this super cut box, there is a mascara, a black eye pencil and an eyecream. I must say I'm the most excited about the eyecream because I'm looking for one for a while which doens't irritated my eyes or the skin around my eyes. I am testing this out tonight so hopefully this will be a winner. Also in the picture is another mascara by Catrice which I got from one of my sisters as well.

The last item I got a picture from is a present I got from my little sister. She has similar interests as me so whatever she would buy for me, I know I will get something good from her. Besides the gift card from MAC, she also gave me a bath bomb from Lush. Lush is one of my favourite brands to use in the shower or bath, especially the bath bombs! Most of the time, I use them twice, because I kind of find it a waste to use the whole bath bomb for only one single bath. This particular one is called 'Lord of Misrule' and says: "Revel in your bath with this mischievous bomb that features a spicy herbal blend of patchouli and black pepper oil. Inspired by the ruler of the pagan Feast of Fools, Lord of Misrule has a deep green exterior that slowly froths away to reveal a rich wine-coloured centre. Just like at the Feast of Fools, when the wine starts to flow, the popping candy crackles and the festivities begin..." This description says it all so no extra words are needed here, but I am curious to have this in my bath!

Now you might think after reading this that I didn't get anything from my own parents. That is because I already got a huge present from them. In two weeks, I'm going on a trip for almost ten days to New York to visit my friend (mark your agenda's for some upcoming cool pictures and vlogs from New York on my blog!) and as a surprise, my mom booked and payed my flight tickets which aren't cheap! I am very grateful that they payed this for me because it would cost me a fortune! I didn't expect another present because this on it's own is more than I could ever expect of them to do for me. But on New Year's day I got an envelope of them, which I knew it would be some money, not to much as they already gave me so much! In the envelope were some dollars to spend in New York, but this wasn't just 20 or 50 dollar, they gave me an extra 150 dollars! I am really happy with everything they gave me this year and I didn't expect this at all!

I think I summed up everything I got this year. I am really happy with everything I got and grateful to the family of my boyfriend and my family as well! I hope you enjoyed reading through this and maybe already got some inspiration for some future presents to get for family or friends. Let me know what you love the most from this list! 

- xoxo -

Chiara