Don’t let the title fool you, I don’t plan on creating some Christmas presents on my onw, but I wanted to recommend you 5 types of gifts and Romanian brands (just because it’s easier for me to research them) that you can draw some inspiration from for thoughtful and unique Christmas gifts. I for one love handmade gifts because I know someone actually took the time to create something and someone close to me picked it out for a specific reason.

Handmade jewelry from Vandana Verche (Bijuterii dichisite)

I found this cool items at a tradition crafts fair that was organized in my town and because I love cats I just had to buy a pair of earrings and a necklace. Vandana Verche’s jewelry is mostly pieces with an antique look to them combined with all kinds of interesting designs. I just love my necklace and my earrings that I got from the fair and they also had a very affordable price.

Website: https://www.bijuterii-dichisite.com/

Scented soy candles from Darshop

Darshop is an online store that sparked my interest because they create handmade soy candles that come in all kinds of cool containers and that have very interesting fragrances. I didn’t try them yet, but I like the story behind the brand and especially the “Moments” collection is the most appealing to me. They have candles like Prince Charming, Loaf of Bread, Vintage Club or Secret Island.

Website: https://darshop.ro/

Painted blouses from Cu Pisici

Cu Pisici (With Cats) is an online shop with all kinds of cat-related items like cups, jewelry, accessories for humans and cats. They also have some handmade painted clothing items in the shop that I think would be such a nice gift for any cat lover.

Website: https://cupisici.ro/

Savonia handmade soaps

There are plenty of handmade soaps out there and I guess everyone has their favorite brand by now. From what I’ve tried so far, Savonia soaps were the first that came to my mind. Some of my favorites were the cinnamon and cocoa soap and the cloves and black tea one.

Website: https://www.savonia.ro/

Sanziana anti-aging face cream from Prisaca Transilvania (with grapes)

Prisaca Transilvania is a business specialized in creating all kinds of products with natural ingredients (cosmetics, dietary supplements etc.). Most of the products contain natural grapes extract and/or honey. Their most popular products are the Sanziana face creams (Sanziana is a Romanian name, but it also refers to creatures similar to fairies) that I saw here even in some stores.

Website: https://prisacatransilvania.ro/

I’m not an advocate for small businesses because honestly some of the products I bought from small businesses or independent producers were overprices items of poor quality so I don’t think that anyone should have a business and sell stuff. But, there are some great little gems out there and it would be a pity not to give them a chance. Maybe now is a good time, especially since we’re all still hunting down Christmas presents for our loved ones. Now, let’s move on the the drawer number 9 in the advent calendar!

Diego dalla Palma Eye Pencil

I got the shade 01 which is just a plain black pencil. I must say, I don’t get it why most advent calendars contain a black eye pencil and a red lipstick. We all have those already, why not something more Christmasy like a gold, bronze or silver? I think it would have been better. I must admit, I find this product to be really boring and I’ll just put it in my drawer with all the other black eye pencils I have. This is a full size product and it retails on the Lookfantastic website for 57.35 lei.

Unfortunately, the tea advent calendar wasn’t so great today either.

Green Tea Lemon Cupper Tea

This one is exclusively available in the advent calendar, but it wasn’t that great just because I don’t like green tea. The liquorice they all use in their tea mixes to sweeten them did its job, but I still don’t like the taste of green tea.

Well, that was all it for today. I also had a pretty bad day, plus the two disappointments in the advent calendars, so I’m hoping day number 10 will be better. We’ll see you then!