FINDING A PLACE FOR CHRISTMAS PRESENTS

The Christmas decorations have come down, the chocolate has all been eaten...seems like the holidays are well and truly over! I have the biggest problem with unpacking - whether I'm away for a night or a month, my bags tend to stay at the bottom of the bed for just a little longer than they should. A whole box of presents came back with me this Christmas, so I made it my pre-New Year resolution to avoid the clutter and make space for all my new acquisitions before the year was officially over. All in all, this year's gifts were of a practical nature so it was quite easy to slot them into place.

My mum gave me two gorgeous ceramics from a designer called Felicity Jones - they are made from the most beautifully delicate clay, imprinted with real flowers. The smaller one is an egg cup, while the larger is designed to hold a tea light, and the clay is so wafer-thin you just can see the flickering glow of the flame through it. 

From Father Christmas, a healthy balance of books about dogs, booze and chocolate (not pictured because it had already found a home...in my belly). 

I left my brother a not-so-subtle hint that I wanted a set of Falconware pie dishes - there's a great catering shop in Clapham North that sells them for their proper price, not the inflated figures you find in posh kitchen shops, so I was pleasantly surprised with an extra set of plates as well! They've already made a star appearance at our New Year's Eve party, when Darren served up his famous pulled pork with all the trimmings. 

My mum did all of her Christmas shopping at Petersham Nurseries this year, where she was so taken with these glass dog ornaments that everyone in the family got one!

And last, but probably most importantly, my boyfriend gave me a brand new diary to start the year off in suitably bright style (and a hot water bottle - life will never be the same again). I've yet to dig out the post-it note I started scrawling dates on back in the middle of December so I can start pencilling in plans for 2015 - next on my to-do list!

Oh and not forgetting the new camera lens, which I used to take these photos on a day that was much darker than these pictures would suggest! What were your favourite gifts this year?