The AO.com Christmas Gifting Challenge

I love Christmas. I love the run up, the anticipation and the traditions, but most of all I love buying presents. Whilst I often start my Christmas shopping early, I also always look forward to the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, with some major bargains which can save a fortune for me and my family, particularly when buying larger items for the home.

Whilst we all love to receive presents, I am one of those people who can honestly say I love giving them just as much as receiving. I love watching someone slowly peel open the wrapping paper I took so long to lovingly apply (or in the case of the girls wripping it open in a nano second). I love watching their faces light up with sparkly eyes when they see the gift inside, and I love it even more when the item is totally unexpected. A gift with the surprise factor really adds to the excitement of gifting, and as such, I try and keep my gift ideas a secret where ever possible!

Imagine my joy when AO.com approached me asking if I wanted to be part of an awesome secret santa style gifting challenge, teaming up with another blogger and gifting an early Christmas gift from their Top 10 must have items this Christmas. In return, they would do the same for me – and the best part – neither of us would know what we were receiving until it arrived on our doorstep!

I was partnered with Scandimummy- who I have known ‘virtually’ now for some time. As a busy working Mum, photographer and blogger with a young son and a hectic schedule, I pretty much knew immediately what would be a good choice for Nadia. I chose a Nespresso by De’Longhi pod coffee machine, figuring that this would be perfect for knocking up her morning brew – and with a son like Neve who doesn’t yet sleep through the night, I figured the extra caffeine wouldn’t go a miss either! She was chuffed to bits and you can see what she thought of the Nespresso here.

It turns out Nadia knows me pretty well too and I was overjoyed when this Dyson Light Ball Multi Floor & V6 Cord Free Bagless Vacuum Cleaner Bundle arrived at my door!!!

We recently had to say a sad farewell to my old Dyson. He had been a part of our family for years, joining the household as I moved into my first ever apartment, and stayed with us through all the hard times – successfully terrifying two babies before finally being killed off by my excessive post partum hair loss. We tried to revive him, tried showing him some extra attention in case he was just feeling a little unloved; but alas, it was no good and I had to admit defeat. Since that day, we have been accepting that our floors are not as clean as they should be, but waiting until I received my first salary after returning to work before we could invest in another.

When the box arrived, I was over the moon, and for the first time EVER, I can honestly say I was excited to clean my house!!!

The Dyson Light Ball Multi Floor & V6 Cord Free Bagless Vacuum Cleaner Bundle is exclusive to AO.com, as they believe that most modern homes could benefit from both – with the cordless being used day to day and the other for ‘the big clean’.

Dyson Light Ball Multi Floor

Having been used to a traditional Dyson ball, my first observation was that it seems so much smaller and streamlined than the original. Whilst granted this may mean it needs emptying a little more often, I personally found this a real positive. As a family of four with limited storage space, it is so much easier to store this behind a door in the bedroom rather than it requiring valuable floor space, or being left out on display. That said, it is an attractive design.

To use a non technical term, I have to say the level of ‘suckiness’ has reached new heights!! 🙂  I was amazed at how much dirt and dust the vacuum picked up in such a small amount of time – so much so that I felt slightly violated by the prospect of just how dirty my carpets must have been!

The Dyson Light Ball Multi Floor is really lightweight, easy to steer, and comes with a wealth of attachments to suit every carpet and floor surface, easily transitioning from our carpeted living room, to the wooden floor of our hallway and our lino kitchen floor.

Another positive from a parent’s perspective is just how much quieter it is than my previous vacuum, making it a lot less intimidating for Neve who was previously terrified. Whilst not keen, she doesn’t automatically burst into tears any more when it enters the room (although bang goes my excuse for not using it!).

The second part of the bundle was the V6 Cord Free Bagless vacuum, and since we received this item around 3 weeks ago, I can honestly say we have used it every single day. A rechargeable, hand held vaccum which can be used with or without attachments, this vaccum is perfect for picking up all the discarded food that Neve drops on the floor on a daily basis, as she works her swipe right swipe left tactic that throws a selection of food items in every direction. Previously, having to go and grab my heavy vaccum from upstairs and lug it down the stairs would have been an absolute faff (meaning inevitably food often got picked up by hand). Now, we store the V6 in the kitchen, and just a few seconds after the mess has been created, it is gone for good.

In Mikes words -the V6 Cord Free Bagless vacuum has totally removed a need for a dustpan brush in our house. The Dyson V6 is a far slicker option and much more hygienic! You simply press the button and hold button it down to use, and the range of attachments make cleaning normally hard to reach spots like ceilings or staircases an absolute doddle.

The charge doesn’t last forever, so we stick to the Light Ball Multi Floor vacuum for our main clean, but for a quick clean up or a vacuum in the car, the V6 is absolutely perfect.

As a duo, this bundle is perfect for a modern family home, and at just £399 for both, the price is attractive too!

A huge thank you to Nadia and AO.com for our surprise gift. For anyone looking to gift home items this Christmas, I would recommend keeping an eye on the AO.com Black Friday page – you can expect to see some huge bargains across the store on the 24th November, on everything from TVs and home appliances to gaming and kitchen gadgets.. You can even sign up for deal alerts to make sure you don’t miss any of the best!

With next day delivery, 7 days a week, a price match promise AND 30 day returns, you can be confident that you really are getting a great deal with AO.com.

*Disclosure – This is a collaborative post*