Despite the fact that my family seem to be completely useless at buying decent Christmas / Birthday presents for me, I myself am an excellent shopper among my many talents (modesty not one of them) so I am already miles ahead on the Christmas shopping front.

I've ordered my mum a new Kindle which I know she'll love and make good use of because she's an avid reader, so I'm going to get a nice case to go with it and wrap it up all pretty.

I've got my dad a Leatherman Multi Tool because he's always pottering around with DIY and it looked like a good space-saving selection of tools all in one. Plus my flatmate has a smaller one that I'm always borrowing to put together shelves and whatnot.

I'm a bit more stuck with my brother, there are things I know he'd like but they're expensive, so I'll see if I feel generous!

Photo: Scorpions and Centaurs (Flickr)

I hate going home for Christmas. I'm not some scrooge who hates the idea of all the merriment and good will to all. I just hate pretending to like appallingly bad presents. I also suffer with the misfortune of having a birthday within a 2 day radius of the 25th of December, rendering my birthday and Christmas presents one big sordid mishap.

My brother having his birthday in September, suffers no such affliction. One year his birthday present was a guitar, his Christmas present a computer. My combined Christmas and birthday presents from the same two dim witted oafs that spawned us was a slanket. Admittedly, my dad had no hand in it, he doesn't even know what a slanket is. For those of you who don't, it is a hideous fleecy blanket with arm holes in it. I am a 25 year old woman, who lives in a flat share with no living room. If I watch T.V, which is rare, watch it in bed,

My brother the same year bought me a really rubbish pair of headphones, despite the fact I had no mp3 player of any kind for which to use them with. And he bought me some GU LED LAMPS, which are basically bulbs. Ok they are cool, and I like them better than my other bulbs, but really? Bulbs from a Christmas present brother?!

ARGHHHHHHH!

We've had a massive bouquet of flowers turn up at the office, but there's no name on the delivery so we have no idea who they're for, or who they're from.

There's a card on it, but all it says on it is "Pretty flowers for a beautiful lady" - nice - but we don't know who the intended 'beautiful lady' recipient is!

Why order something from flower delivery liverpool, have it sent to someone's work building, but NOT put a name? What a rookie mistake!

Now there are loads of girls around the office wondering if any of their boyfriends, husbands or recent dates are romantic enough to have sent them. If anything, loads of them are going to get annoyed that their other halves weren't romantic enough to have called a florist!

I hope we do figure it out and it's not a secret admirer we never find out about, I can't handle the mystery!

Photo: Dedication of Merits (Flickr)

‘Layla’ was released in December 1970 by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon. It is recognised as one of rock music’s best love songs, written by Clapton about his unrequited love for George Harrison’s wife at the time, Pattie Boyd.

George Harrison and the model Pattie Boyd met in 1966 during the filming of ‘A Hard Day’s Night’. Harrison and Clapton became close friends throughout the late 1960s but eventually something happened Clapton wasn’t expecting, “something else quite unexpected was happening: I was falling in love with Pattie”. The title “Layla” was inspired by The Story of Layla by 12th century Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi which Clapton had recently been told by a friend. In the tale, a moon princess who has been married off by her father to a man other than the one who is desperately besotted by her, results in the man’s madness.

Why not grab your sony headphones and have a listen?

Wouldn't that be great? Well, apparently you don't need to be a lottery winner or Rowan Dartington wealth manager to be able to afford it!

According to a Yahoo travel piece on the most expensive holidays, you can rent an entire island for yourself. You can rent out Necker Island, one of the British Virgin Islands owned by Richard Branson, starting at £322,000 (£197,552) for seven nights!

Imagine that. The whole entire island without other tourists, other people's snotty kids and the bright red sunburnt Brits that always turn up. Instead you'll have staff to cater to your needs, an indoor garden, floating dining pavilion and a private dining room.

I don't think I'd use much of that though, I'd just lie on the beach and adventure around the island pretending I was on Lost.

When I'm rich I might buy my own island and do just that, apparently prices start at just £95,000!

Photo: CircumerroStock (Flickr)