Hannah Banana Blog and Forum

Hunting for alternatives to flowers, chocolate, teddy bears and perfume? Look no further! After searching the net i’ve managed to find completely original gifts that she (or even he) will love. Most of them originate from firebox.com, their wide range of gifts never fail to disappoint.

1. My Monopoly £79.95

Number 1 on the list is a personalised monopoly board from firebox.com, printed from the official monopoly factory. My Monopoly allows you to build a property empire on spaces named by you, for you. Playing spaces can be named after your loved one, beaches you’ve visited, pet names, previous homes you’ve shared together, the list is endless. My Monopoly is completely bespoke, even the rules, the title of the board and  the Title Deed cards are personalised to your specification. Perfect if you’re looking for something more personal and completely unique.

2. Personalised Silver Love Hearts £39.95

At firebox.com you can exclusively engrave a Silver Plated Love Heart – modelled on those classic cute retro sweeties - with an amorous message of your choice… Like the name of the recipient (or anything else you want up to 15 characters!). The perfect way to show sweethearts exactly how you feel, whether it’s for the first time or the umpteenth time - without seeing your gift gobbled down.

3. My Last Rolo £39.95 – £59.95

Again, this cute little keepsake is from firebox.com. Nothing says ‘I love you’ better than this timeless and iconic little chocolate,  which can be bought in silver, gold or pink gold. Made to the exact size of its chocolate equivalent and housed in a beautiful red or pink ribboned gift box, this gift is designed to melt the heart of a loved one and is a timeless present guaranteed to be treasured forever. Best of all, you’ll never have to give away your last chocolate rolo again! For a more personal touch, why not have the base of the rolo engraved. Firebox doesn’t offer this service but i’m sure any jeweller would.

4. Secret Message Arrow £14.95

This secret message arrow is the most perfect, thoughtful method of delivering your secret message – again from firebox.com. Initially it looks like a lovely ornament but imagine their joy when they twist the message arrow open and find your love rolled up inside, as housed in the centre is a roll of parchment for you to write your own personal message. It could be something as simple as directions for a surprise night out or a saucy suggestion for one person’s eyes only. The secret message arrow is made of brushed steel which makes it a nice weight. It comes in a lovely presentation box and includes 5 spare scrolls and a steel rolling rod to help insert your secret message into the arrow.

5. The Double Slanket £49.95

Snuggle up with your loved one and save money on heating bills at the same time with this humongous four sleeved blanket. And guess where it’s from? – firebox.com. The double slanket is soft, light and ludicrously snuggly and features long, loose sleeves so you can keep your entire body covered, arms ‘n’ all, and still use your hands. Swathing yourself in a Slanket means you can turn down the heating and stay toastie all over without having to hide under the duvet with legwarmers round your arms. Perfect for romantic evenings infront of the telly.

6. Naughty Knot £12.95

Men are easily pleased. Most would be happy with a crate of beer, food, beer, sex and more beer (but mostly sex) .. so why not give them the best present of all this valentines – you! The incredibly sexy naughty knot from firebox.com allows you to be the present. Simply strip off and wrap yourself in this one-piece satin bow and prepare to be unwrapped by your beau. Wrapped in this highly arousing little number you can finally give a pressie both you and your lover will enjoy, and will fit any cup size from A through to DD. The naughty knot comes wrapped in a neat little box and set of instructions – although at first glance the instructions look complicated, it’s easy to ensemble once you’ve got the knack. Go on.. treat yourself and your beau this valentines!

7. Giant Cupcake Tin £28.95 £23.95

Perfect gift for those who love to bake and have an incredibly sweet tooth. The giant cupcake tin from prezzybox.com allows you to create a cupcake suitable for a peckish giant. Yum! But handing over a baking tin isn’t the most romantic of gestures.. so why not try making one for her instead? Even if you’re not the best of bakers, she will love you for the effort. The tin creates a mind-blowing 3D cupcake and is surprisingly simple to use – simply fill both sides of the tin with cake mix (try out my recipe), bake in the oven, turn out and cool then assemble top and bottom cake halves with a thin layer of icing. All you need to add is some imaginative decoration. For example, white icing and little love heart sprinkles. Awww!

8. His & Hers Keyholders £14.95 each

Thinking of moving in with your loved one? This is the perfect gift for those who want to propose moving in together. And of course for those who keep losing their keys – again from firebox.com. Each chrome-plated figure is supplied with its own unique key, which is then attached to your own set of keys. The idea is to pop your keys in the His & Hers Keyholder’s ‘lock’, which are wall-mounted, whenever you return home. With these chic little figures you’ll never lose your keys again and are sold individually so that you can buy one of each gender or two males/females.

• Know a gift which you think deserves to be added to this list? What was the best valentine present you ever received? Let us know by leaving a comment below!

Here’s the recipe I used to make my giant cupcake, the tin comes with its own recipe for the sponge but it actually doesn’t come with an icing recipe so I have included my own. You can get the tin by clicking the banner below, where you will receive £5 off if it’s your first purchase:

Ingredients for sponge:

• 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) boiling water
• 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) cocoa powder unsweetened
• 3 cups (24 ounces) all-purpose (plain) flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 sticks (339g) unsalted butter softened
• 2 cups (16 ounces) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) brown sugar firmly packed
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
• 1 cup (8 ounces) mini semisweet chocolate chips

Ingredients for icing:

Coloured buttercream:

• 200g butter (maybe more if you want it nice and thick)
• 300g icing sugar, sifted
• 30ml milk
• 1/2 teaspoon of red food colouring

Chocolate buttercream:

• Same as above but replace the 30ml of milk with 100g of plain or milk chocolate depending on how sweet you like it! Obviously no food colouring will be required.

Instructions for sponge:

• Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Grease and flour or use pan spray with flour to prepare pan.
• In small bowl, dissolve cocoa powder in boiling water and mix well. Set aside to cool. Stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.
• In large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy.
• Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla; mix well.
• Combine cocoa mixture and sour cream. Add flour mixture alternately with sour cream mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating after each addition until smooth.
• Fold in chocolate chips. Spoon 4 1/2 cups batter into top of cupcake pan; spoon remaining batter into bottom of pan.
• Bake 60-70 minutes or until toothpick inserted into centre comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on wire rack 15 minutes.
• Turn cake onto wire rack to cool completely.

Instructions for icing:

• Place the butter in a bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until soft.
• Gradually beat in the icing sugar along with the milk and food colouring or melted chocolate and continue beating until light and fluffy.
• Sandwich the top and bottom half of the cupcake together with the icing and then use the remaining icing for the top half of the cake.
• For a more professional look use an icing bag to give the icing a nice multilayered look.

Firstly I would like to thank Neil my lovely beau for making this site. It is the best present I have ever received and had no idea about it despite him blogging about it on his Twitter!

We have been together for almost three years now (our anniversary is on Tuesday!) The first time we met was pretty awkward, I put that down to his dodgy old tractor of a car. Truthfully I was just really nervous and didn’t know whether he liked me or not. Luckily something must have worked as here we are three years on, still going strong, and I look forward to spending many more years together.

As if that wasn’t soppy enough, I also made a giant love cupcake. The amount of sugar, cream and chocolate that went into it has kinda put me off though. That said, I wonder how long it will last?