You’ve eaten your first mince pie of the season, there’s mulled wine on menus, and department stores and supermarkets are all competing to put out the most emotional advert on TV. We don’t know about you, but we’re definitely feeling the festive spirit. It’s never too early to start your Christmas shopping. Besides, if you’ve ever experienced a last-minute high street dash to pick up some presents, you’ll know that it’s better (and less stressful) to be prepared! If you’re looking for some useful stocking filler-style presents, we’ve rounded up the top five GP products that are perfect for the ever-useful ‘stuff drawer’ – proper grown-up toys that will serve for many years to come. ReCyko+ Pro batteries and PowerBank charger We’ve all experienced the moment our battery-powered tech runs out of juice when we need it most, only to find that we’re out of batteries. Make sure that never happens again with GP’s ReCyko+ Pro batteries and PowerBank charger kit. These pow...

Decorating the Christmas tree (with Bublé playing in the background) is the perfect, yuletide pastime. For weeks, that tree shelters piles of presents and is the focal point of your living room, so it deserves to be decked with the very best, festive finery. Baubles and ribbon at the ready… here are some hints for sprucing up your tree this Christmas: Pick and stick with a theme A mishmash of colours, textures and designs can make a tree look messy, so try to stick to a theme. Embellish the branches with traditional red and gold accessories, or create a cooler, yet still striking, look with silver and white decorations. You could design a tree that wouldn’t look out of place in an alpine lodge, by hanging pine cones and nestling wooden, forest animals between the branches. Or, bring the outdoors in and create a winter wonderland, complete with glass droplets which mimic melting snow. Light it up We certainly get that festive feeling when we’re curled up on the sof...

The inside of your home resembles Santa’s grotto, complete with piles of presents under a twinkling tree. But step outside and there’s no sign of a winter wonderland – in fact, you wouldn’t even know that Christmas was a coming. Time to spread the festive cheer! If you want to impress passers-by (and compete with your neighbours), here are five tips for making the outdoor of your home merry and bright this Christmas: Wow with a homemade wreath This year, why not have a go at making your own wreath to adorn your front door with? Wire frames can be purchased from most craft shops and you’ll need a base, too – moss usually works well. The fun part is picking your theme; for a classic look, purchase rich red and gold accessories, like berries, fake poinsettia and ribbon, and attach to the base using twine. Or, for a more modern wreath, go with sparkly baubles and pine cones sprayed in glitter. Make entrances the festive focal points Give any guests who visit over th...

Some people refuse to mention the ‘C’ word until the 1st of December. But it’s a whole different story for parents, who need to prepare in advance or risk scouring shop shelves for leftover pressies a week before Christmas Day. If your little one is yet to write a letter to Santa, here’s our round-up of top toys we expect to be on their wish list this year. Make your own list, check it twice and start shopping! Oh, and don’t make the mistake of forgetting the batteries ! Luvabella Doll A doll with a difference, Luvabella can learn over 100 words and phrases; the more she’s played with, the more her vocabulary grows. Clever, eh? She moves and responds like a real baby too – tickle her feet and she’ll giggle, cover her eyes to play peek-a-boo, and soothe her when she starts to cry. Pie Face Sky High Game Step right up, step right up… the Pie Face Sky High Game sees players put their strength to the test as they attempt to splat their opponent’s face with ...

They say that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘till it’s gone, and this is certainly true of electricity. We take it for granted these days and it’s only when you’ve experienced a power cut, that you begin to understand how frustrating it can be. Autumn and winter bring with them extreme and unpredictable weather, increasing the chance of a power cut. And sometimes, it may not even be due to the weather – an outage can occur due to a network fault. So, if you ever find yourself without power, here’s our handy six-step guide on what you should do. 1. See if your neighbours’ lights are on Look out the window – are your neighbours’ lights also off? If so, then it’s likely to be a problem with the network. If you live in England, Scotland or Wales, you can call 105 free of charge to report an outage and get up-to-date information on power cuts in your area. 2. Just your house? Check fuses and trip switch If yours is the only house without power, it’s probably ...