An ideal gift for the book reading women in your life

It’s Christmas and you’re looking for the ideal gift for the women in your life.

We have the solution to all of the women in your life! It's the  Rare Birds Book Club.

It's the subscription box for the book lover in your life. Championing literature written for women, by women, subscriptions are offered in one, three, six and twelve month options – bringing all the excitement of contemporary fiction, straight to their door!

Are they keen on for the surprise of a new unknown book every month? Might they be hankering after the luxury of being able to connect with likeminded readers through the online book club?

There is something to warm the soul of any book lover this Christmas.

What is available?

Gifts Under £20…

Whether looking for the perfect Secret Santa gift for a female colleague? Lookinmg out for a gift for your friends, Rare Birds has something for you.

Why not encourage them to stand out from the crowd with a ‘Lit Happens’ tote (£6) or help them to feel like a sustainable goddess with the ‘Drink Good Coffee, Read Good Books’ re-usable mug (£12). Looking for a real page turner? Choose the lucky dip and send them a surprise book with either a mystery, history, comedy or romance theme (£8). I mean, for that price, maybe you can treat yourself too….

For Someone Special…

Who hasn’t got a friend that has that teetering ‘to be read’ pile in the corner that they swoon at whenever they enter the room? Well, why not help them to build that collection with one of Rare Birds’ three-month subscriptions (£33) or must-have Book Bundles!

Whether selecting ‘Reader Favourites’ which will include three of the top picks from the 2018 book club discussions, or ‘Feminist Fiction’, which has three standout titles from trailblazing female authors that you NEED in your collection, there is something for every bibliophile in your life (£21 each). The most difficult part will be stopping at three!

For your Favourite…

It is always difficult to choose something meaningful for your number one, so why not show them how much you care by subscribing them to the 12 month ‘New Year’s Resolution’ package? Packed full of merchandise and tips on how to make the most of your monthly library, owners of the year long subscription will be given the chance to win prizes by reading and taking part in the monthly book forums, all for just £120. If that is a little on the wild side, then the six-month subscription is bumper packed full with joy for just £66 and is definitely on the top of the nice list.

If all else fails and you can’t decide, pick up a gift card and let them choose. Who said Christmas had to be stressful?

Sign up to Rare Birds Book Club at https://rarebirdsbookclub.com

Make your Christmas a Speculaas Spice Company Christmas!

The Speculaas Spice Company adds to its range of wooden moulds to make authentic looking Dutch speculaas biscuits.

For the current Christmas season, The Speculaas Spice Company is adding several larger wooden moulds to its existing range of wooden moulds allowing bakers,  young and old, new or more experienced, to bake authentic looking Dutch speculaas biscuits the old-fashion way.

Company owner Steven Dotsch: “In the ‘good old’ days speculaas biscuits were made using a wooden speculaas mould.

"Speculaas biscuits are the mirror image of the carved wooden moulds they are baked in. The wooden speculaas mould is the old-fashioned cake form that the (home) baker used in order to make speculaas biscuits. These days of course all this has been mechanised.”

“Traditionally, speculaas biscuits come in the form of windmill shaped biscuits or male or female figurines, known as 'lovers', but these days the biscuit moulds can take many different shapes.

"Young men used to decorate these figurines and give them to their sweetheart. If she accepted, she loved him back. Apparently this is where where the Dutch expression for flirting, “iemand versieren” (literally 'to decorate someone'), comes from”.

The vandotsch speculaas moulds are made from specially selected untreated European beech wood which is grown in plantations, rather than being logged from a primeval forest.

The moulds are all carved using traditional methods in an artisan environment in The Netherlands.

For best results, the vandotsch speculaas moulds need oiling before first use.

What about The vandotsch speculaas spice mix?

Steven goes on to add: "The vandotsch speculaas spice mix is based on the spice mix recipe from my Dutch grandmother. The vandotsch speculaas spice mix consists of a perfectly-balanced mixture of nine organic spices including real, high grade, cinnamon from Sri Lanka, cloves, ginger and six other spices in order to give our spice mix that unique kick.

"Our spice mix is suitable for vegetarians, Free From artificial flavourings, colours or preservatives. Sourced from responsible producers with organic certification and in many cases Fairtrade certification. It’s gluten free, milk free, nut free, sugar free and salt free. 

"The vandotsch speculaas spice mix is endorsed by home bakers, food bloggers, chefs and celebrity bakers alike, including two Great British Bake Off finalists.

Both the vandotsch speculaas spice mix as well as the wooden moulds make a perfect birthday or Christmas gift for young and old to enjoy making speculaas biscuits the ‘old-fashion’ way.

"The gift pack consists of the vandotsch speculaas spice pack together with one of our authentic Dutch vandotsch speculaas moulds and an information sheet how to use the mould as well as how to make the speculaas biscuits. The packs can be purchased online at https://www.speculaasspice.co.uk.

The new wooden moulds
The Speculaas Spice Company have a limited number of larger wooden vandotsch speculaas moulds for sale at: https://www.speculaasspice.co.uk/wooden-molds including:
• A Dutch clog - £16.49
• a man and a woman, both in typical Dutch clothing - £26.99
• an iconic Dutch windmill - £24.99, and
• a Sinterklaas/SantaClaus mould - £28.99

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The best Christmas fudge ever from Copperpot Originals of Cornwall

Cornwall is well known for its Cornish Fudge, but the Queen of Cornish Fudge has got to be Copperpot Originals Fudge of St Ives, Cornwall.

Copperpot Originals Fudge is an ideal Christmas gift and also makes an ideal addition to the Christmas fayre for when you entertain guests at your home this festive season and into the New Year.

Our team of tasters have declared Copperepot Originals Cornish Fudge the best they have ever tasted. One even declared it better than her, until then, favourite Scottish fudge!

My personal favourite is the Christmas Spiced fudge which is like a Christmas Party exploding in the mouth.

It's so full of Christmas spices and a hint of brandy that you could almost swear that you can hear Santa's sleigh bells from over the roof tops!

What recipes are available?

 Caramel & Sea Salt
 Clotted Cream
 Limoncello
 Maple Syrup
 All Butter
 Strawberry
 Irish Cream
 Chocolate
 Christmas Spiced

Our taste team was able to try the Christmas Spiced, Irish Cream and Chocolate flavours all of which really did perform very, very well indeed.

Prices start at £3.50 to £4.50, and you will find some very helpful recipes on the site https://copperpotoriginals.co.uk although it has to be said that in our house the fudge would not last long enough to make it into the recipe!

(Note to self: With Copperpot Originals Cornish Fudge, always buy twice the amount you think you'll need.)

Our thanks to the team at Copperpot Originals Cornish Fudge for their assistance in the preparation of this article.)

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