Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Throwing The Perfect Festive Night In!

The Little Magpie boon Christmas Challenge
Brace yourself, today's post might just be my most festive yet; all it's missing are some little elves and a reindeer, really. boon recently challenged me to become the 'hostess with the mostess' (I'll loop back you to you in a little bit and tell you aaaall about boon and what they do), a challenge which I very much relished. Although it was very, very hard to hold off on eating the edibles while I photographed, I'll tell you that.


So, boon, I told you I'd tell you about them didn't I. It's basically a payment app for smartphones that, similar to contactless payments with cards, lets you pay for thangs simply by holding your phone above the card reader. Snazzy, huh? Perfect for those days when you leave the house and realise with a groan that you've forgotten your purse. You just top it up with your card and no details are saved which means that retailers can't see any of your bank details. Another plus is that you don't actually have wifi or internet connection to use it! All very, very clever huh? SO, my hostess with the mostess... let's get going. 

The Little Magpie boon Christmas Challenge The Little Magpie boon Christmas Challenge
First up: some nibbles for an easy spread. Now, easy I can do. I went for mince pies, because what's more festive than mince pies, and cheese. Cheese, you don't need a reason for. It's delicious cheese. I also picked up some cider for these magical copper goblets and the new camembert Kettle Chips (out of sight, but delicious). 

The Little Magpie boon Christmas Challenge
Next up, a Christmas game to play after a few eggnogs. Easy peasy; Cranium. This was one of our family favourites growing up but it got forgotten along the way and eventually lost (where do boardgames go?) so I knew exactly where I was headed in the games aisle. Always a fun one to play after a few drinks! 

The Little Magpie boon Christmas Challenge
Table and room decorations I didn't go too heavy on. I've already got my big-ass tree set up, so I just went for some little furry stockings to hang on the mantle piece and some diamante table decorations. Oh, and a big fat glittery Noel sign. In celebration of Noel Gallacher, of course. 

The Little Magpie Boon Christmas
A Christmas sweater or a Christmas hat was the next challenge and one that I struggled with, surprisingly. Normally I want to buy a different one for every day of the week, but I couldn't find one I liked this year. Thankfully I found this wonderful, sequinny Ho, Ho, Ho one last minute and all was saved. 

The Little Magpie boon Christmas Challenge
Last but not least, a secret santa gift for a friend who says they're not a hipster but definitely are, bought from a charity shop. I was torn between an uh-mazing oversized gold mirror (now I'm filled with regret over not buying it for myself) but in the end went for this set of coloured lanterns which are actually little tealight holders. Maybe I could be my own hipster friend...

The Little Magpie boon Christmas Challenge
And that, folks, is my easy peasy festive night in! I also wanted to meniton that boon do a lot for charity, which is always a great thing. Simply use the hashtag #boonforcharity to celebrate any amazing bargains you've found in charity shops and every month the best charity shop purchase wins £100 for themselves, so make sure and get entering! They're also running a wee Secret Santa over on their Facebook just now with the chance to win tickets to the Brit Awards 2017 (!) which you can check out here.

Amy

Post in collaboration with Boon