Things I bought in December 2025

December was a month for buying a lot of things that weren’t for me as Christmas presents, but I still managed to sneak in a few other purchases this month, mostly either at the tail end of the Black Friday sales or in the Boxing Day Sales (got to love some smart shopping to stock up on things I’ll need at some point further down the line).

Galaxy S25 and Burga phone cases

I was due for an upgrade of my Samsung Galaxy S23. Rather than wait for whichever phone gets announced in February (presumably the S26), I decided that I would upgrade now to the S25. I barely notice any difference in phone upgrades now so didn’t think it was worth waiting.

Rather than taking out a 24 month contract, this time it made more sense for me to go for the 36 month plan. It made it a bit cheaper and to be honest, changing phones every two years feels a bit wasteful.

With a new phone came the need for a new phone case. The Burga Tough Magnetic cases have been my go-to for years for my phones. Together with a toughened glass screen protector, they’ve kept my phones free from damage despite them being dropped more than a few times.

As the Burga Black Friday sale was still running in early December, I picked up four for the price of two. Normally I wouldn’t need four cases, but I do tend to switch up my phone case each year and over the course of three years I don’t think four phone cases seems too excessive.

Whiteley scissors

A friend moved house in December and I was trying to think of something that might make a good housewarming present that was a bit more unique than alcohol or flowers. Her and her husband are big foodies and he enjoys cooking, but I wanted something a bit more long-lasting than food, and ideally something that supported an independent business (I’ve been trying to avoid buying quite so much via Amazon in the past six months at least).

We both have a connection to Sheffield, having both lived there in the past, and so the obvious choice was something made of Sheffield steel. I found two makers of beautiful scissors in Sheffield – Ernest Wright Ltd and Whiteley. The Ernest Wright kitchen scissors were beautiful but on backorder, so no good for an immediate gift, so Whiteley it was for a pair of their 8.5” Stainless Steel Classic Kitchen Scissors.

I’m not going to lie, I’m quite tempted to buy myself a pair in due course as a little life upgrade.

Skincare and beauty purchases

This month took advantage of the Boxing Day sales (and some discount vouchers I had accrued) to stock up on a number of products and to try out some others.

I bought the Medik8 Crystal Retinal 10 and Medik8 Liquid Peptides Advanced MP. Both were on a 20% discount at Sephora. I’m currently using the Medik8 Crystal Retinal 6 but have had no reactions to it so once my current tube runs out I want to move up a level. I’m also currently using the Liquid Peptides and so I thought I’d stock up for when I run out.

From Skin Cupid, I ordered the Anua Rice 70 Glow Milky Toner, the haruharu Black Rice Probiotics Barrier Essence and the Medicube Black Rice 10 Hyaluronic Cream, all at 15% off.

I’m currently using the Anua Heartleaf Soothing Toner but people say that the Glow Milky Toner is better for that glass skin look, so when I run out of my current one, I’m going to try out the milky one. I was influenced into buying the haruharu Barrier Essence by a number of reels I saw. As for the Medicube Hyaluronic Cream, I saw something that said it was an excellent cheaper dupe for the Tatcha Dewy Skin cream, so I thought I’d try it.

I had a £10 discount voucher for Space NK that I had to use within a month of Black Friday. They didn’t have any great discounts on anything I really needed to buy – I’ve been eyeing up the Lisa Eldridge Skin Tint for a while but I don’t need it and I could do with using up some other foundations first, so instead, I decided to buy a medium size travel bag that would keep all of my skincare together and also try out the Ouai Fine Hair Shampoo (I needed to spend a bit more for free delivery or else spend £4 on delivery so this effectively reduced the cost down to just £8).

Retro festive tablecloth

I’ll admit to being completely influenced on this purchase. I saw an Instagram reel where someone had turned this tablecloth into a dress. Obsessed, I desperately hoped it wasn’t vintage. Luckily it wasn’t vintage, it was from M&S and although it was out of stock online, my local store had stock. Because it was after Christmas it was also on sale for 50% off so instead of £35, it was just £17.50. Obviously it has to go away for next year, but it’ll be perfect to go with my general vintage Christmas theme.

Stainless steel water bottle

I am not a Starbucks fan. I don’t drink coffee and generally don’t buy takeaway tea (it’s overpriced and I can usually wait until I’m at home or work). BUT, what I do love are the merchandise collections that Starbucks do in Japan for sakura season. A while ago I fell in love with one of the stainless steel water bottles from the 2023 collection and imported it. I’ve been using it around the house as my water bottle ever since.

One of my goals for 2026 is to make sure I drink more water and to help with that when I’m at work, I wanted to buy a bottle, rather than just drink from a glass. As I love my Starbucks water bottle so much, I went in search of another that I could use at work. I felt that the Sakura collection ones didn’t really match my work personality (which is less pastel and floral, more dark and serious) so I took to eBay to find similar style bottles (searching for ‘Starbucks steel 20oz’. ‘Starbucks steel 591ml’ or ‘Starbucks steel 473ml’).

I ended up finding a bottle in the same general style (a bit bigger than my Sakura one) in America, brand new in a teal to black gradient, perfect. It’s been shipped and so I’m just waiting for delivery.