Gift Guide for Anime Lovers

Honestly, a gift guide for anime lovers could be endless, and could go in SO many directions. They could collect Pop Vinyls, figures, manga, anime on DVD (might seem pointless, but fans of Ash’s storyline in Pokemon will know how important that is now that it’s so hard to find!), and so much more.

Therefore, I mixed up this gift guide a little. I wanted to find mostly “regular” items that resembled items from some of the most popular animes that I loved, as most anime merch is super expensive, and Christmas is quite spendy as it is.

However, #1 and #4 are actual items taken straight from particular animes that aren’t too expensive at all (you’ll see why #1 isn’t expensive real fast – they should be quite easy to find no matter where you are! 😂), so that was quite a win.

I’ll explain what anime each piece is from in case you’re wondering, as everyone has different anime tastes, and just because something is popular and/or an older anime, doesn’t mean everyone has seen it before. Even if you don’t find something on this list that you particularly like or that helps you out, hopefully it gives you an idea that you can find more anime items if you think outside of the box!

I’m hoping to put together more themed gift guides like this together in the future, as I love a good theme, challenge, and a way to save money. Now, let’s see what I’ve put together and what anime they represent! 👇

1 / 2 / 3 / 4/ 5 / 6 ( + 7 to go with it)

Strawberry & Cream and Choco Vanilla “Chupa Chups” Cake Pops

As soon as I began writing this post, I had a mini heart attack thinking that Chupa Chups might be an Australian thing and my not Australian reader base was going to be super confused at the title of this post – as I have made that mistake when recreating a specific candy before 😅 – but I’m in luck! It turns out Chupa Chups are actually a Spanish brand, and are available in over 150 countries. So I hope if you’re reading, hopefully you have heard of them 😂 if not, they’re lollipops and they are DELICIOUS!

There’s many different flavours, but the creamy versions were always my favourite (which is interesting, as I’ve never been one for dairy things when given another option), which is why I chose to “recreate” the Choco Vanilla and Strawberry Cream flavours in cake pop form!

Now, firstly, I can’t take all the credit for this recipe. I saw on beloved Australian cake creator Tigga Mac’s Instagram that her partner in business made these easy-as-heck cake pops and covered them in chocolate using a specific silicon mould – which I already owned – and Tigga was watching and doing the voice over and noticed they looked like Chupa Chups.

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“Choc Chip Cookie” Cake Pops

Of course, I knew I had to make some but PURPOSELY make them look like REAL Chupa Chups – as in, pick some flavours, and try to recreate them. I think the Strawberry Cream ones came out better (milk chocolate just never seems to like me!), but you still get the idea.

Except, I forgot that ridge around the middle – the one that the mould actually gives the cake pops – is ON the lollipops too, so I cut mine off 🤦‍♀️ It’s been a while since I’ve had a lollipop as I like gummy candy so, just know that when you make these cake pops, you won’t have to cut or saw any chocolate off in order to make these spheres smooth. Now, let’s get onto the recipe and how I made my cake pops resemble the iconic creamy Chupa Chups! 👇

Howl’s Moving Castle Calcifer Meringues | Studio Ghibli Recipe

Sometimes, great things happen. Or great people happen, to be more precise. Sometimes, you “meet” people (online) that you admire so much by their incredible talent – and impeccable taste in shows and movies – and they, for lack of a better way of putting it, tell you off in the nicest way for not talking about yourself in a higher manner and recognising that you are an artist and when it comes to the things that you create and share, it’s the passion that’s important, not perfection.

This person said a lot more to me, and honestly I was just blown away by how encouraging and motivational a complete stranger was being to me, who is creates actual masterpieces if you ask me – and that really kicked me into gear. I’m talking non-stop creating until my feet were bruised and legs were about to snap off gear.

I looked at my “to make” list, and decided to STOP looking at my “to make” list and actually started to make the things I was looking at. These Calcifer meringues have been on my recipe list since the beginning of the year when I started watching Studio Ghibli movies (I know, I know, I’m late to the game!), and I’m finally getting around to it all because I had someone believe in me! Just a couple emails filled with some encouraging words, and I ready to go.

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DIY Soot Sprite Bracelet | Studio Ghibli Project

I haven’t made meringues in a while, and I’ve never made meringues like this before, but I knew they had to be two toned. Luckily, I’ve eaten more than a normal person’s fair share of meringues in my life to have a general idea of how these kinds are made, so I winged it, and it ended up working!

I do wish I added a big of orange food colour too, so they all blended in together, as the red I used was so strong, but I think most people know who Calcifer is and will therefore be able to tell just who this fire-y lil guy is 😋 Now, onto the recipe!