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It's the most wonderful time of the year...

Christmas is coming and, you guessed it, it's Christmas gift guide time!! I always get so excited each year when I start to plan my gift guides, as I love treating my loved ones and finding gifts is almost like a hobby for me!

This year, it was really important to me to focus on products from sustainable & independent businesses as well as from some of the bigger brands we know and love. 

So, to kick off gift guide season, I'm bringing you some amazing picks from some incredible small businesses. This year, I think we have all realised how precious our small independent businesses are and want to support them as much as possible, so it only felt right to dedicate a whole gift guide to them, especially with Small Business Saturday coming up this Saturday!

There are also a lot of organisations trying to spread the love for small businesses, like Just A Card who are in their fourth year of their Indie Week where they try and spread the word about shopping local for Christmas as an independent alternative to Black Friday. 

So, here are my picks of some of the small businesses that I know and love, and that you should be taking a look at too. Also, keep an eye out for a little giveaway at the end of this post...

Take a look at some of my other gift guides:

There are some days that I'm so rushed off my feet that I just don't have time to eat. Those days make me very sad, firstly because I LOVE FOOD, but also because I know it isn't healthy for my body. 

I promise you that these type of days don't happen too often, but when they do, I can get so craggy and tired and that really affects my work. 

When I know that I have one of those days coming up, then I've started reaching for these energy cookies. The great thing about these is that they give you a burst of energy when you most need it thanks to the bananas and oats, as well as also keeping you fuller for longer.