Finding the Perfect Mother’s Day Gift

The trouble with Mother’s Day is that it is easy to fall into the trap of buying the tried and traditional presents that are in all the high street shops whenever you visit them – a bottle of wine, a box of chocolates, and a bunch of flowers.  And while all mums will likely appreciate these presents, something the generic gift just doesn’t tell them how you feel adequately.

Finding the perfect Mother’s Day Gift can take a little planning and a little studying.  Knowing what your Mum likes sounds simple enough but when it comes to buying a gift, suddenly all those ideas seem to run and hide.  So here are a few inspirations to help you recapture those ideas.

Go Personalised

One of the best ways to tell your Mum you love her is to actually tell her you love her – and use a personalised gift to do so.  There are a wealth of different ideas now available that allow you to pick the perfect gift and have it personalised with a message direct from your heart.  For example, if your Mum is a coffee fan, get a mug with a message on that will make her smile every time she had a drink.  Or if she is a wine drinker, a message on the wine bottle will be a lovely surprise and the bottle can be reused as a commemorative vase afterwards.

Gardener presents

Buying flowers is lovely and creates a beautiful display for a few days but a plant can last for years, especially if your Mum is green fingered.  Plants don’t need to be expensive either as most supermarkets and garden centres will have a selection that start from less than £10 for those on a tight budget, or where the kids want to pay themselves.

Alternatively, treat your Mum to a new set of gardening tools.  You can go ultra-practical from the garden centre or fun and frivolous and choose one of the many sets of brightly coloured trowel and fork sets now available.

Chef presents

If your Mum enjoys cooking or baking, then some new gear for her kitchen will always be appreciated.  From a new apron to a set of heart-shaped cupcake moulds, there are tons of items that you can pick up for the kitchen that will bring a smile to her face.  Plus, you get the benefit of persuading her to try them out and sampling the end result!

Another idea is to combine the personalised theme with the kitchen theme and order Mum a personalised chopping board.  Nothing says ‘hands off’ like having your name on it!  Alternatively, you can add a fun message such as her name and Queen of the Cake onto the board so whenever she uses it, she will get both a smile and a subtle hint about what to bake next!

Conclusion

Whatever you buy your Mum for Mother’s Day, there’s no doubt she will love it but by getting something that will last a little longer than a few days, you can remind her of your love all the way through the year.

Special Anniversaries and What to Buy for Them

For as long as there have been weddings, there have been special anniversaries and over time, certain gifts have become associated with certain anniversaries.  Most of us know the most popular ones, such as 50 years being the golden wedding anniversary but do you know what to buy someone for their 7^th anniversary?  And what is the recommended gift for someone who had been married for 10 years?  Here is a look at some of the most popular.

One to Ten

From years one to ten, there is a specific association and a recommended gift that goes with it.  While this doesn’t mean that a present for the anniversary has to fall in line with these ideas, it can be a great starting place if you are unsure what to buy someone.

The 1^st anniversary is associated with paper in the US and cotton in the UK and the suggested modern gift to give is a clock.  For the 2^nd anniversary, the US and UK versions swap around and the modern gift is recommended to be a piece or set of china.  For the 3^rd anniversary, both agree on leather while the gift is either something made from crystal or from glass.  While the traditional idea for this would be a pair of crystal flutes or a set of nice glasses, a new idea is to give a personalised crystal token that has the couple’s names and wedding date inscribed on it.

Here is a list of the first ten anniversaries and their suggested gift:

Year	US	UK	Gift idea
1st	Paper	Cotton	Clock
2nd	Cotton	Paper	China
3rd	Leather	Leather	Crystal, glass
4th	Linen, silk	Fruit, flowers	Electrical appliances
5th	Wood	Wood	Silverware
6th	Iron	Sugar	Wooden objects
7th	Wool, copper	Woollen	Desk sets or pen and pencil sets
8th	Bronze	Salt	Linens, lace
9th	Pottery	Copper	Leather goods
10th	Tin, aluminium	Tin	Diamond jewellery

Fifteen to twenty

From years 15 to 20, there are less associations with each year and many people stop giving gifts for each anniversary, instead concentrating on the 15^th and 20^th only.  However, there are still recommended gifts for each year if you do want to continue the tradition.

The 15^th anniversary is associated in both countries with crystal and giving of a watch is the modern ideal present.  Silver hollowware is associated with the 16^th, furniture with the 17^th and porcelain with the 18^th.  Bronze is the gift of choice for a 19^th anniversary and when 20 years comes around, china is seen as the traditional option while something in platinum is a modern alternative.

Twenty five and up

Twenty-five years universally calls for a silver present while the 30^th anniversary can be either Pearl or something with diamonds involved.  The 35^th is the coral anniversary but the modern alternative is to pick up something in jade as a present.  40 years is commemorates with ruby, 45 with sapphire and of course the 50^th anniversary is the golden anniversary.  Finally, 55 years is emerald, 60 is diamond and 70 is platinum.

Conclusion

The great thing about these ideas is just that – they are ideas to give you inspiration to find that perfect present for someone.  And while you may not be able to buy a diamond necklace for your friend and diamond cufflinks for her husband, something as simple as a diamond wedding picture frame may be a perfect match.

Best Gin Cocktails

Gin is one of those drinks that you either love or hate, I always thought.  A friend of mine was a gin fanatic, never drank anything else and I even bought her one of those ‘Gin o’clock’ glasses for her to enjoy her favourite drink.  But then I discovered the joys of gin in cocktails and found a new appreciation of the drink.

What is gin?

Gin is a spirit made mainly from juniper berries and was originally created in the Middle Ages when it was an herbal medicine.  It was brought to England when William of Orange, leader of the Dutch Republic, took control of the thrones of Scotland and England with his wife Mary.

The original gin drink was gin and tonic and this came about when the British had colonies in tropical areas of the world.  A substance called quinine was used as an anti-malaria compound but had a bitter taste so it was dissolved into carbonated water to create tonic water and mixed with gin to help with the taste.

There are now lots of different types of gin including flavours and variations but all have to have juniper as their base to be allowed to be called gin.  One such example is Sloe Gin, made by infusing sloes, the berries of the blackthorn bush, in gin to create a liqueur.

Classic cocktails

The Gimlet is one of the classics of the gin cocktail range and dates from the 1920s.  It is a simple drink made from gin and lime juice with soda, though the Raymond Chandler novel The Long Goodbye said that the Gimlet should only consist of half gin and half lime juice, maybe for those who can handle the tang of the lime!  For those with a gentler taste, four parts gin to one part lime is used in a cocktail glass, though can be topped up with soda into a bigger glass for a longer drink.

The Singapore Sling is a long drink that did originate in South-East Asia.  It was created in the 1910’s by a cocktail bartender working in the Raffles Hotel Singapore.  There are many different variations now but all use a Hi Ball glass.  The official IBA recipe is:

• 3 cl gin
• 1.5 cl cherry brandy
• 0.75 cl Cointreau
• 0.75 cl Benedictine
• 1 cl Grenadine
• 12cl pineapple juice
• 1.5 cl lime juice
• Dash of Angostura bitters

Famous cocktails

Martini cocktails are amongst the most famous in the world, with the Vodka Martini being favoured by a certain spy while the Dry Martini remaining one of the simplest and classiest gin cocktails.  It is stirred but never shaken and uses ½ measure gin to 3 measures of dry vermouth and has a single green olive on a cocktail stick for garnish.

Colourful cocktails

Just because gin is clear, doesn’t mean it can’t be made into funky coloured cocktails.  One example is the Juliana Blue cocktail.  This involves putting crushed ice, 1 measure of gin, ½ measure Cointreau, ½ measure blue Curacao, 2 measures of pineapple juice, ½ measure lime juice and 1 measure of cream of coconut into a blender.  Once the mixture is like slush, add some ice cubes to a martini glass and pour the mixture over them.  Garnish with a slice of pineapple and a cocktail cherry for a beautiful blue drink.

Valentine Cocktail Ideas

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, there are plenty of ideas for meals to cook or luxurious venues to take your loved one.  But sometimes life doesn’t leave enough time for these time-consuming events.  If you are one of the people who never have time for a sumptuous meal together or to spend the night at the theatre, then why not create a special cocktail for the evening to drink and relax together at the end of the day?

The perfect sip

The great thing about cocktails is that they can be tailored to any taste, including those who don’t drink alcohol.  Serving the cocktail can even be the centre of a short but sweet Valentine’s Day event by picking up a pair of personalised glasses to share the drinks in.  So here are some recipe ideas to get you started on cocktails designed for two.

The Maxwell Cocktail

• ·         1.5 oz. Cucumber Vodka
• ·         .75 oz. cucumber juice
• ·         .25 oz. Cointreau
• ·         .5 oz. lemon juice
• ·         .25 oz. agave nectar

Mix the ingredients above in a large shaker with ice then shake for around 10 seconds.  Take two champagne glasses and split the content of the mixer between the two.  Fill to the top with champagne and keep the bottle chilled to add more as needed.

Tiki Bowl

• ·         2 oz. orange juice
• ·         1.5 oz. lemon juice
• ·         .5 oz. almond orgeat
• ·         1 oz. light rum
• ·         1 oz. dark rum
• ·         1 oz. brandy

Put all of the ingredients into a blender along with a scoop of shaved ice.  Blend until thoroughly mixed and service into a tiki bowl or a hurricane glass.  To garnish, add ice cubes and decorate with a gardenia.

Chocolate Strawberry Martini

• ·         3 strawberries, sliced
• ·         1 oz. milk
• ·         4 oz. vodka
• ·         2 oz. chocolate liqueur

Put the strawberries and milk into a shaker and mix then add the rest of the ingredients and fill with ice.  Shake again then add to an oversized martini glass that two can share.

The Rose

• ·         2 oz. dry vermouth (Martini)
• ·         1 oz. cherry brandy
• ·         1 tsp raspberry syrup

Add all the ingredients into a mixing glass and fill it with ice.  Give it a good stir then strain into a chilled cocktail glass for each and garnish with a brandied cherry.

Little touches

If your loved one isn’t a fan of cocktails, then why not get a bottle of their favourite wine but add something a little different?  Try a personalised plaque that says something from your heart that you can hang around the neck of the bottle and give them on Valentine’s Day when they are ready to relax at last.

Or for one of the simplest of all cocktails that is filled with glass, invest in a bottle of Chambord and a bottle of champagne.  Take those special champagne flutes you bought and add .25 oz. to each glass of Chambord before topping with the champagne.  This turns the drink a beautiful deep red colour and can be garnished with a twist of lemon for a simple drink that says ‘I love you’.