Christmas Gift Guide 2016: For those with a sweet tooth

Christmas time is when a lot of sweet treats hit the shelves and here is a selection of sweet treats that will make some great gifts this Christmas. 

*Cadbury 

This time of year Cadbury release a whole range of goodies for the festive period. Below is a selection of some of the chocolate delights that you can get this festive season. With advent calendars, chocolate tree decorations and a wide selection of treats that will fit in your stocking you are spoilt for choice this Christmas. 

*Mr Stanley's

Celebrating the best of British confectionery - Mr Stanley’s delivers quintessentially traditional sweets.Introducing Mr. Stanley’s confectionery, a delectable assortment of British sweets which truly capture the flavours of a world gone by with a modern twist. 

Mr Stanley’s brings together a signature range of eye-catching British confectionery; from crumbly fudge to gourmet chocolates and nostalgic sweets. Created using traditional recipes and still made in the good old fashioned way, Mr Stanley prides himself on producing a range to transport you back in time.

*Monty Bojangles

Truffle experts Monty Bojangles have a delicious and mischievous cracker for Christmas this year, the Milky Mischief cracker is priced at £6.00 from Tesco stores. The milkier, lighter truffle is the perfect way to treat yourself or friends during the festive season. These delightful truffles are moreish and are a delightful gift. 

*Chocolate Gift Boxes

Gift boxes of chocolate are such a great gift especially if you know what chocolate is their favorite. 

The Galaxy gift box contains: 

 Two GALAXY Milk Chocolate Bars, two GALAXY Caramel Bars, a GALAXY Honeycomb Crisp Bar, a GALAXY Cookie Crumble Bar, two GALAXY Salted Caramel Bars, two packets of GALAXY Minstrels, a GALAXY Duet Caramel & Shortcake Bar, a GALAXY Duet Cookies & Cream Bar and a packet of GALAXY Counters.

The GALAXY Gift Box is available from Next.  RRP: £13.00.

The Maltesers gift box contains:

Three bags of MALTESERS, two MALTESERS Treat Bags, four MALTESERS Teasers Bars and three Merry Teaser Reindeers.

The MALTESERS Christmas Gift Box is available fromDebenhams and Amazon. RRP: £13.00.

*Haribo

Get your Ho, Ho Harbio this Christmas with a fab selection of Christmas sweets. 

With the Haribo Mega Stars box, Star mix and Tangfastics in themed Christmas tubes and last of all the Starmixmas bag which contains mixed jelly and foam sweets featuring limited edition Christmas themed flavours. You will be spoilt for choice for sweet lovers.

I hope you like my selection and that this has given you some inspiration. 

*I was gifted the items in this post for the purpose of this guide. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Last Minute Fathers Day Gift Ideas

With it being Fathers Day this Sunday (19th) I thought I'd do a final gift guide of last minute items you could get for your Dad. This guide also includes items that Blake has got for Stuart, so Stuart please don't look at this post please. 

DVDS

Blake (I)  picked out Legend for Stuart as he had been wanting this DVD since its release. 

I think DVDs are an ideal gift for anyone but also are great if you know your Dad loves a good film. 

Chocolate

Another great idea is Chocolate and if you can get a novelty bar than even better I found this games controller one for Stuart on amazon. 

A tie

Another idea is a tie and this quirky looking was sent to us and is from House of Fraser.

I actually like the blue shade but know this wont really suit Stuart so will pass this on to someone else.

Homemade items

Get crafty with your little ones for Fathers Day as lets be honest here there is nothing better than a gift or card that has been handmade by your son or daughter.  Here are some crafts Blake has done recently to give you some ideas. 

I hope you all have enjoyed my last minute guide and that you all have a lovely Fathers Day whatever you get up to. 

Easter Gift Guide

With Easter all most here I have put together a range of Easter gifts from sweet treats to

alternative gifts there is something for everyone. 

If you love eggs and not just the chocolaty kind then you need to check out 

The Crackin Egg Co who have a selection of free range hardboiled eggs.

They are perfect as a snack when you’re on the go, or just feeling peckish. Choose from Salt & Black Pepper, Sweet Chilli, or Sour Cream & Chives to give your eggs extra flavour.

If you love chocolate and coffee than Beanies have the perfect combination. 

The My Beanies Choc Mini Stash has 3 deliciously chocolaty flavors:

- Chocolate Orange

- Mint Chocolate

and

- Double Chocolate 

By the way they are also less than 2 calories per serving.

If you want to give your kids an alternative gift then this cute little rabbit in a carrot from 

Born Gifted is such  a cute gift idea. A soft bright orange plush carrot with a green felt top and a zip. Undo the zip and inside is a charming baby rabbit! 

The rabbits come in 2 colours and you never know which colour will be ‘born’ when you unzip the top of the carrot. 

 £5.99

Another great alternative gift for kids is a selection of books. 

I was sent a fab selection to enjoy with Blake. 

Hey Duggie: Follow that egg 

Join everyone's favourite dog in this adorable board book for budding young Squirrels!

In this seasonal title, Duggee and the Squirrels go on an egg hunt with a difference – making it a perfect gift for the Easter holidays!

Hello Little Egg

Welcome to Puffin Rock - home to two young and fun puffins, Oona and Baba. 

Join the pair as they embark on new and exciting adventures.

During playtime, the two puffins find an egg all its own, and endure a race against time to reunite the lost little one with his worried family!

Chicken Nugget

Sometimes the bravest hero of all . . . is just a little chicken!

featuring a laugh-out-loud funny story and adorable, relatable characters. Chicken Nugget has plenty of series potential, and enjoys a timely release just ahead of Easter!

Chimpanzees For Tea

When Vincent’s mother  gives  Vincent  a shopping  list  and  asks him  to do her  a special favour, Vincent  is  enthusiastic and excited, determined  to  get  it  right … but  after  being  interrupted  on  the  way, he  ends  up  bringing  a whole  hord unexpected guests back  home!  Of course Vincent’s mother  just  wanted to  make tea…  But  is that….  a  CHIMPANZEE?!

This is not a bedtime story

Sophie doesn't want a story time filled with cute kittens and birthday parties, she wants rocket-launching helicopters and a giant robot dinosaur! Clever, funny and heart-racingly exciting, this is a book to inspire and delight every little girl and boy.

Blake has really loved listening to me read these books and has been sat on my lap snuggled up. We definitely recommend these titles. 

Moving on to sweet treats Holland & Barrett have a fab selection of eggs

The Dairy free egg: 

A delicious Organic Fairtrade Milky chocolate Easter Egg for those seeking to avoid dairy, gluten and nuts.

The no added sugar egg: 

A wonderful dairy free milky chocolate made with no sugar added. This delicious chocolate is ideal for those who want to avoid added sugar, dairy, gluten and nuts .

£3.99

Elizabeth Shaw, has given a new lease of life into there Easter offering this year by launching a new range of luxury chocolate Eggs.

The milk orange crisp Egg has a deliciously crunchy orange flavour milk chocolate shell egg with melt in the mouth honeycomb crisp pieces. 

Wrapped in a beautifully designed gift box which includes 12 milk orange crisp chocolates and a uniquely decorative ribbon handle, making this the perfect gift for someone special in your life. 

£10 

This chocolate egg certainly felt very luxury and we enjoyed this chocolate egg. 

Even Blake who ended up taking some from the box when I wasn't looking.

Another fab brand to try out is Monty Bojangles I was sent the Choccy Scoffy egg.

Which is a delicious hollow milk chocolate truffle Easter egg on top of a collection of individual truffles. This creamy milk chocolate egg is made with Belgian milk chocolate and accompanies a selection of Choccy Scoffy cocoa dusted truffles.

This egg is to die for I really enjoyed the truffles. 

£6

Of course I couldn't miss out Cadburys when it comes to Easter Eggs and

other chocolate treats. 

This year they have such a huge range of Easter chocolate treats.

These small/medium range of Easter eggs are an ideal gift. 

 Whether they love Cadbury Dairy Milk Freddo faces, Cadbury Dairy Milk Buttons or Cadbury Mini Eggs to name a few, they won’t be disappointed as these delicious treats will help  to create special and memorable moments on Easter morning. 

Cadbury Dairy Milk Egg ‘n’ Spoon is the ideal treat to share. 

In keeping with the theme, open up the egg box to reveal four individually wrapped delicious Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate eggs. Crack the top of the egg and use the spoon provided to scoop out and enjoy the fluffy mousse centre, yum. 

Cadbury Dairy Milk Freddo Minis frog shaped choco-licious treats will have the whole family smiling and there’s plenty to share. Ribbit!

The Cadbury Dairy Milk Bunny is filled with a delicious light and fluffy vanilla mousse that tantalises the taste buds with an abundance of flavour and texture. 

Last of all if you prefer sweets over chocoate than Swizzles have 

a fab Easter mix and Spring selection.

This is the ideal gift for Stuart as unlike me he prefers his sweets to chocolate.

There is a fab selection: 

Lollypops

Drumstick lolly

love hearts

refreshers etc. 

Will you be going the traditional chocolate egg routine this year? 

Or maybe you will be doing an alternative gift I'd love to know. 

What you are getting your little ones, your other half etc? 

comment below.

Lindt Easter Story Book

When it comes to Easter I don't normally get an Easter egg any more this is purely out of choice though. 

This year though I am excited that I was sent some yummy Lindt chocolate as an extra little something

in my Degustabox as I was chosen as one of the bloggers to get an extra little something since I have

been writing about their  boxes for a good 7 months or so now. 

So as the extra in my box this month I was given a 100g  gold bunny (not pictured).

The Lindt gold bunny is a yummy hollow bunny shaped chocolate egg which is made from yummy

Lindt milk chocolate inspired by a secret recipe from the Master Chocolatiers of Lindt have created. 

The reason for their being no photo is due to it being crushed during delivery of my Degustabox so I felt 

that you my readers wouldn't want to see a photo of smashed up gold bunny. 

I also received the Lindt gold bunny storybook. 

The Lindt golden bunny storybook  is the ideal gift to give the magic of Easter. 

The dazzling Lindt golden bunny storybook brings the bunny to life in an engaging and interactive story. 

The gift contains 15 yummy Lindt chocolate treats to enjoy at story time: 

1 x Lindt Gold Bunny Milk Chocolate 10g

2 x Lindt Mini Lamb Milk Chocolate 10g

2 x Lindt Mini Chick Milk Chocolate 10g

3 x Lindt Hollow Milk Chocolate Eggs 10g

5 x Lindt Solid Mini Eggs Milk Chocolate

The Lindt Storybook is a lovely idea for older children and grown ups. 

I can see myself buying one for Blake when he is older as an Easter treat. 

It reminds me of an advent calendar in a way as you open little doors to get the chocolate.

All of the chocolate's in the box are wrapped in foil paper and the bunny one of course is in a special golden wrapper as usual. 

I love how the story meadow will get children talking about the different areas in the picture and what they 

can see which means that whilst interacting with the Lindt storybook they are learning all at the same time. 

Have you ever brought the Lindt Storybook? or would you consider buying it for 

your little one? 

Mothers Day with Asda

I am a huge fan of Asda as you probably know by now so when my inbox pinged with a press release

of what they have on offer for Mothers Day I was excited. 

Under £5

The under £5 range of products includes George make-up, body oils and creams as well as

some face masks to make Mum feel pampered this Mothers Day. 

Asda also has the Mum's breakfast in bed kit which contains heart shaped  napkins, toast stencil, a little menu card and heart shaped confetti.  

Foodies

For the foodies Asda has got a range of Champagne, chosen by you heart crumpets, chosen by you decorate your own heart chocolate and an extra special photo frame memory box which contains chocolates. 

Pop in store or have a look online today to see what other items are available to treat your mum this Mothers Day. 

Christmas Gift Guide: Stocking Fillers

For my last of my Christmas 2014 Gift Guides we have some Stocking fillers. 

*Glazed Apple Bath Jelly

Sink into a cloud of bubbles with this sweet scented glazed apple bath jelly from the Body Shop.

Scoop into warm running water for the ultimate  festive bath time indulgence. 

£10 

*Lip and Cheek Stain Doll

This cute lip and cheek stain is a fab special edition to add to someones stocking.

This dual-purpose liquid stain gives a natural-looking, rosy glow to lips and cheeks.

I love the doll packaging! 

£10 

*Personal Planner

I am a huge fan of Personal Planner and love their new Giraffe design. 

The planner is ideal for keeping yourself organised and is fab as

you can personalize it however you like.

From your favorite photo on the front to adding birthdays and special occasions to the calendar

this makes a fab stocking filler.

*Personalised Chocolate Bar

Getting Personal sell a range of personalized chocolate bars for every occasion

I recently received a personalized bar for me and the hubby. 

We chose the snow penguin design. 

Each bar comes with a full color wrapper that's personalized with your name

at the front and then a little message on the back.

Inside the wrapper is a foil covered 100g bar of melt in the mouth milk chocolate. 

Lush Wand Bubble Bar 

I received this bubble bar as a gift a few years ago for Christmas and love it!

It's on my Christmas wishlist for this year as well. 

I had to add this to the list as its such a fab little stocking filler that smells

of marshmallows yum. 

*The New Rubik’s 3X3 

This is a new improved version of the original Rubik’s Cube where you cannot peel of the stickers and cheat! The Rubik’s Cube is the classic colour-matching puzzle that’s a great mental challenge at home or on the move. Turn and twist the sides of the cube so that each of the six faces only has one colour. Over “43 Quintillion” (that’s 43 with 18 zeros to you and me) moves are possible with this original 3x3 Cube, but there is only one solution! With lots of practice you can solve it in under 10 seconds!

*The Rubik’s Void 

Void is a HOLE new puzzle, with a HOLE new challenge. The Void has missing centre cubes that make this puzzle harder than an original 3x3 Rubik’s cube to solve. This cube is truly amazing to behold, leaving your brain void of answers to the question: “how can that Rubik’s Cube have a hole in the middle and still work?

Items with * have been gifted to me for the purpose of this post

Maltesers Partner with Britain's Got Talent

 Saturday nights I like to chill out and watch a bit of TV with the hubby,

 and munch on a bit of chocolate as a treat.

Maltesers have linked up with TV talent show Britain's Got Talent offering a chance to win

thousands of prizes including VIP tickets to the live shows.

The promotion follows after the announcement of Mars being the exculsive confectionery 

partner for the programme for 2014.

It is the first time that Maltesers have partnered with the series.

As part of the promotion Maltesers are launching a limited edition flash marked pack as you can see below.

The packs will feature the promotion giving consumers a chance of winning a range of money 

can't buy prizes, including VIP tickets and thousands more other prizes. 

I know quite a few of you love entering competitions so if you love Maltesers its definitely worth 

getting your hands on one of their promotion packs, who knows what you may win! 

I love Maltesers and their melt in your mouth goodness. 

Easter Treat

 I very rarely get Easter eggs any more this through choice because when it comes

to chocolate I can be a pig. Also I do slimming world and Easter eggs are high in syns. 

This year I decided to give myself a little break and have treated myself to a White Chocolate

bunny that I saw in Aldi. 

Once Easter is over I will be back to eating healthy though. 

This white chocolate bunny is 99p. 

Stationary with Viking

 Viking is a global company, established in 1960 and now present in over 

11 countries worldwide. 

Viking are one of the largest suppliers of office stationary and office

products in the world. 

I was sent a wide range of products: 

- 500g of rubber bands

- Ball point pens

 - a pack of 4 highlighters 

- x3 Pukka Pads A5

- A little black notebook

- A pot of paperclips 

- Neon sticky note cube
- Flash Drive 16GB Stick 
- 1kg of Cadbury Hot Chocolate 
and
- A Pack of Cadbury Variety Treats

The stationary pack is going to come in very handy

as this is the year I plan to be more organised. 

The range of products are going to help me stick at that goal 

for 2014. 

Plus I am thinking of going back to college in September 

though it depends on whether I get a job soon or not. 

I have heard of Viking before and my Dad use to order printer paper

from them as we use to go through loads when I was in high school

and then two years at college. 

 I only have good things to say about the company 

as all their products are good quality and great prices too. 

The chocolates and Hot Chocolate certainly are bonus too :) 

So  if you own your own company, are a student or just like me at  the moment 

 and like to keep organised and Stationary helps you do so.

Then you have to check out Viking here.

p.s the chocolates kind of got eaten up speedy fast by

me and the hubby hence they not in the photo