Last minute Christmas gift ideas?

I got excited about lots of random things last week, call it Christmas if you will, I'm just putting it down to the fact that I'm easily pleased!

First off, the grand finale of Strictly Come Dancing. Apparently, this rather cheesy program has taken the nation by storm and I was one of the few people left in the UK who sneered at the idea of minor celebrities attempting to pump some life into their public profile by signing up for 4 months of ridiculous outfits. Alas, to my dismay, it truly is addictive. My parents cajoled me into their Saturday night ritual (or Sunday afternoon if I was being social, thanks to our Virgin +Box) and from the very first moment I was hooked. Demonstrating more loyalty than most Manchester United fans I watched the progression of often porky and flatfooted individuals into astonishingly competent dancers. Thus, the finale was a suitable mix of fancy routines, fireworks and more bling than Beyonce's Christmas tree dressed in her own outfits. I'm more than a little sad that it's now over, but congratulations to the winners. (no spoilers here!)

Fantastic event #2: I wore the Breathing Relief™ dilator to my spin class and was suitably impressed at its effectiveness. Now, this isn't the sports blog so I won't hark on about the logistics of the dilator with regards to a work-out schedule, however I will say the following: It's AWESOME. Yes, that is the technical term for the incredible power of the device. I was quite excited to use it as Elen Rivas is a fan (as everyone should be) and has tweeted on several occasions when using the product. Despite getting distracted by a small pool of sweat stuck between my nose and the dilator I have no complaints whatsoever and couldn't believe the extra calories the computer on my bike said I had burnt. Much like the Berocca Advert, it was like me working out, except on a really good day. I insist you all try it now.

 And lastly, whilst trying to decide whether I wanted volumising shampoo or the kind that takes care of coloured hair (I know, the dilemma is quite great),  I noticed the following product on the shelves:

It turns out that Boots have cottoned on to the fact that sleep (or the lack of it) is a serious issue and have started stocking a range of light therapy products.

Just so we're all clear, my excitement about the Lumie Bodyclock stems from a previous post where I wrote about light therapy and its potential for the fight against SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) and to help regulate our natural body clocks and circadian rhythms You can read that post here:  SAD about Winter?. This product helps you to get to sleep and to wake up being simulating the natural fade of light to black and vice versa as in sunrise and sunset, thus fooling your body into thinking it is a natural time to go to sleep (and wake up). Therefore you don't feel assaulted when you have a light night or struggle to wake up when it's dark outside. It's the perfect way of maintaining a normal and most probably unhealthy lifestyle whilst convincing your body you're not doing it any harm!


I rushed home to look on the Boots website to see if they had a greater range of equipment than the one available in my locals store. It was almost impossible to locate the products through the options listed on the Boots homepage and it wasn't until I typed "lumie" into the search box did I see a list of all the products available. Sadly that particular page was almost identical to the lumie page itself and I wondered why Boots had chosen to replicate the information instead of providing their customers with a somewhat subjective view on why they thought these products would appeal to the general market.

Now I'm a little strapped for cash and I'll admit that I haven't tried any of the products to offer you guys a critique. Some of you may say that I'm clearly showing a lack of dedication to the cause...but whatever, I've brought you this far. I have one extra tidbit of information to add. If you buy one of the select products in this list you can earn up to 1000 Advantage Card points. Oh I know that's going to titillate your proverbial bargain hunting taste buds, so don't say I never get you anything. Consider it an early Christmas present, from me to you, reaching out through cyberspace to bring you health, wealth and knowledge (ok, maybe not so much the wealth bit).

So, there you have it...two ideal Christmas presents. What's the second you ask? The Breathing Relief™ dilator, of course. You think I'd leave a post without drumming it in that everyone needs to own one of these? Silly you, you've clearly had too much mulled wine already. Time to move onto the ginger tea methinks...

In conclusion, have a very Merry Christmas and take care of yourselves, your liver and your loved ones.