It's just a few days away now, but there's still time to spoil your loved ones this Christmas. If you don't want to resort to a boring old pair of socks for Dad or an impersonal bath set for mum, there are a few alternative Christmas gift ideas that you could consider this festive season. Here are some I've given and received over the years that have always been a hit.

A personalised dinner set

A new dining set is always a gift gratefully received, particularly for newlyweds – but you can deliver yours with a twist. Today you can now purchase dinner sets which come complete with names inscribed on plates, cutlery and more. These are perfect for couples, who will appreciate the 'his n hers' theme, or even better for families – consider putting nicknames on each plate to raise a few laughs.

A new bed set

It's one of those essentials that we often neglect, but there's no reason not to pamper ourselves with a new bed set if we're given one for Christmas! Again, the perfect gift for newlyweds, or perhaps even those with a new baby, a new bed set shows that you care about your loved ones' comfort – with so much to choose from online, such as those at bedstar.co.uk, this one will delight all audiences.

A moon estate

This one is perfect for all those weird and wacky friends you have. Did you know it's actually possible to purchase a piece of land on the moon? Thanks to the folks at Moon Estates, your loved one can receive the deeds to areas of land on the moon, and now, more recently, Mars and Venus. The recipient will be given an official deed to the land – it's the visiting their new home that's the hard part!

A lesson in a new activity

Has your loved one expressed an interest in learning to cook, play a musical instrument, or finally booking those driving lessons? Purchasing him or her lessons in their chosen field will give them the push they need to finally achieve their dream. There are countless musicians, for example, who say their career began when their parents bought them a new guitar – the same could happen for your significant other!

A historical collectible

Perhaps your loved one is something of a history buff – so why not get them something they'll really enjoy which is also highly valuable? NYT Store has a huge range of collectibles from vintage books to microphones, coins and even newspapers.

So maybe if you have someone who hasn't written that all important list to Santa, these might be some alternative options for you!

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Despite the Lilypad being a very personal and craft based website, I have to hold my hands up and say that I am not personally the most "crafty" person with the children.  I am not a huge fan of paint and glue (my compulsive cleaning disorder doesn't cope well with the mess) but as a family, we do love a challenge, so when we saw that Mattress Online were asking children to turn their beds into a magical sleigh, we thought we would give it a go!

How hard could it be to get a toddler to create a magical sleigh? Not hard at all ...... so you would think.

She had a roll top cot that converted into a cot bed (and I think it has the makings of a good sleigh). The toddler loves a challenge and gets totally absorbed in lets pretend, so I didn't think we were going to have much trouble, unfortunately for me, all of her teddies needed to come along for the ride in the sleigh - cue much deliberation over who was going to sit where!

The 9 year old didn't want to miss out on the sleigh bed action and as soon as her little sister went off to find reindeers to play with, she started getting blankets for the main sleigh and putting the toddlers toys in.

Apparently, the toddler was not happy about this and had a very specific idea of what she wanted and who had to sit where!

The reindeer teddies HAD to be pulling the sleigh, not sitting in the sleigh ..... obviously!

Then the reindeers needed a little rearranging .....

And Ta-Dah! I asked the toddler if she wanted to sit in her sleigh bed and she looked at me a little perplexed and said " Mommy, Santa rides the sleigh, not me!"

The cutest thing about it all was that when bedtime finally arrived, she looked at her bed and said "bye bye sleigh, I have to sleep in my bed now as Santa won't come if I am not sleeping in my bed properly".