Volcano Coffee your Christmas treat

If you are looking to buy someone some special Christmas coffee which not only tastes great but has some genuine green credentials, then fully independent South London coffee roasters Volcano Coffee Works have a gift list that is perfect for the speciality coffee lover.

What about the Volcano Coffee Works compostable coffee pod subscription? This suits a wide variety of different tastes. 

Each subscription contains 40 Nespresso®-compatible, 100% compostable and vegan friendly coffee pods. The capsules, lids and bag packaging are made from a bio-based cornstarch material. 

So after your coffee is made, just put the waste in your local council's food-waste collection bin. 

They are delivered free of charge. You can specify whether you want them delivered weekly or once a monthly.

The Volcano Coffee Works subscription pod options are:

The Bold Morning Shot with Nespresso® Compatible Eco Coffee Pods subscription is priced at £26 and available from the Volcano Coffee Works website: https://volcanocoffeeworks.com/products/subscription-bold-morning-shot-pods

Balanced All Day Subscription (Nespresso Compatible Eco Coffee Pods) - 40 pods subscription is £26 and is available from the Volcano Coffee Works website here: https://volcanocoffeeworks.com/products/subscription-balanced-nespresso-compatible-eco-coffee-pods

Reserve Rich Sweet Subscription (Nespresso Compatible Eco Coffee Pods) - 40 pods subscription is priced at £28 and is available from the Volcano Coffee Works website: https://volcanocoffeeworks.com/products/subscription-reserve-rich-sweet-pods

But there's another great gift that they'll really love you for. Thr Espresso Making and Latte Art Masterclass!

You can gift them the experience to learn the mastery of the espresso machine and all forms of espresso based drinks. 

Your gift recipient will learn the differences between each drink, plus how to serve the perfect version.

 Espresso making starts with coffee grinding, tamping and extracting espresso shots before moving onto the fundamentals of latte art. Participants will learn milk texturing, pouring and how to create latte art designs of Tulip, Heart and Rosetta.

A £65 ticket includes: A complimentary 200g bag of Volcano Coffee Works coffee, 10% off brewing equipment, a Volcano Coffee Works tote bag, a brew guide booklet to take home and a subscription offer. The ticket will be downloadable once purchased and can also be accessed through logging into your Volcano Coffee Works website if the recipient can’t attend the date it can be easily changed to another available date.

https://volcanocoffeeworks.com/collections/gifts/products/espresso-making-and-latte-art-masterclass-2022?variant=41311069601973

Roaster's Choice Coffee Gift Subscription

Volcano Coffee Work's Gift Subscription delivers a unique new coffee to subscribers every month. Pay for your friend or family member to receive three, six or twelve months deliveries and start them on a voyage through a world of new coffees.

The Roaster’s Choice includes:

400g of limited edition coffee from a new country each month

Coffees of the world information cards to learn more about the coffees and how to brew them

The set is £17 from https://volcanocoffeeworks.com/collections/gifts/products/roasters-choice-coffee-gift-subscription?variant=37452021235893

Their first Christmas together!

 

Nyetimber has partnered with professional tablescapers, Lay London, to launch their first ever Christmas tableware gift set

This Christmas, English Sparkling Wine producer, Nyetimber, is collaborating with expert tablescapers, Lay London, to create a range of very exclusive festive homeware items, available to both buy and also to rent.

Sisters Jemima and Alice Herbert founded Lay London, the city’s first tablescape rental service to deliver beautiful dinner party looks straight to the door. And for Christmas 2021 they have designed tableware items especially for Nyetimber.

In each of the products, the sisters have taken inspiration from Nyetimber’s colour palette. The spearmint green of the Cuvee Chérie bottle foil and the iconic Nyetimber Routemaster bus forms the base of the scheme and for Christmas 2021, the bus is returning in the form of a festive bauble. Lending a fresh twist on the typical Christmas setting, the collection combines the Nyetimber green with wintery blues, snow white and hints of festive sparkle.

All good dinner tables begin with a beautiful tablecloth, which is the first of three items exclusively created for Nyetimber. Lay London has produced a large hand-block printed tablecloth with a powder blue and green floral base. By combining rich colours with a bold pattern, the cloth is still suitably festive, with a contemporary makeover. 

To compliment the look, there is also a set of eight cotton napkins, adorned with a minimalist, hand-printed take on a traditional Christmas tree. Finally, to tie the whole scheme together, Lay London has put a Nyetimber twist on their trademark marbled dinner candles. Tall, glossy candles, hand-dipped in marbled hues of mint and emerald-green, have been designed by Lay to complete the classic yet modern look this Christmas. 

Discussing the collaboration, the Herbert sisters said: “It’s been a real joy to partner with Nyetimber, such a modern yet iconic luxury British brand this Christmas. We love creating bespoke tablescapes so when tasked with using the Nyetimber brand and heritage as inspiration, we were keen to get going. Traditionally, Christmas décor is associated with rich reds and a deeper palette which we’ve steered away from in favour of a contemporary look with a variety of textures and bright, vibrant patterns. Nyetimber may use traditional production methods and be steeped in history, however it’s a forward-thinking brand which we wanted to reflect in our scheme.”

CEO and Owner Eric Heerema added: “Precision and attention to detail run through the core of everything we do at Nyetimber, so I was delighted to see the efforts that Jemima and Alice went to, to incorporate the Nyetimber ethos into the overall scheme. Their modern reimagining of Christmas is beautiful and once a bottle of Nyetimber is brought out on Christmas Day, the whole table will be complete and really sing.

The exclusively designed items are available to purchase as part of two gift bundles, bringing together the best of Lay London and Nyetimber. There is also the option to rent the full tablescape with wine. Please visit www.nyetimber.com.

Draw your own 3-D Sweets with Polaroid

Just in time for Christmas 2021, Menkind have brought to market a truly stunning technological innovation. A device that lets you draw and print your own sweets in 3D!

Menkind are the exclusive retailers of the Polaroid Candy Play 3D Pen, with which you can actually draw your own sweets!

It's an easy-use pen device that employs edible filaments that are available in six different flavours, or a you can used mixed flavours.

What flavours are available? Apple, Cola, Grape, Lemon, Mixed Flavours, Orange and Strawberry. 

To launch your new career as a 3D Christmas sweet printer you get four free strawberry-flavoured cartridges. Plus they provide a special finishing cartridge that ensures you can use every particle of the sweet stuff in your cartridge.

And you can order as many replacement cartridges in whatever flavours you want.

What can you design? Houses made from sweets, lovely little crowns, flowers, little bushes, in fact you can make just about anything you can conceive.

Make edible personalised party treats, or even create very exclusive cake toppings. And even if your design might not work out perfectly, don't worry! You, your family and friends can hide the evidence by eating them and starting all over again!

The sweets created are vegan friendly and totally sugar-free, so nobody needs to miss out on these wonderful 3-D sweets!

It's specially designed for easy cleaning and it's powered by via USB-C.

It's suitable for people age 14 and up. But, of course, you'll be able to make sweets for all your younger siblings and relatives.

The Polaroid Candy Play 3D Pen (complete with four strawberry flavoured cartridges to start you off) costs £35.

Extra 40 filament packs can cost £14.97.

To order your Polaroid Candy Play 3D Pen you can visit your local branch of Menkind or order on line at https://www.menkind.co.uk/.

You'll also find a whole host of other amazing gift ideas from stuff for foodies (including a sausage making machine!) to novelty items to high tech gadgets.

Have yourself a Laura Ashley Christmas

There's a lot going on this Christmas at Laura Ashley. In fact, there's always a lot going on every Christmas at Laura Ashley, ever since Bernard and Laura Ashley launched the brand back in 1953.

So, what nifty gifty ideas can you find at Laura Ashley for this Christmas?

Everyone loves a nice sea breeze. So why not make Beachcomber one of your Christmas gifts this year?

They'll be able to infuse their home with a fresh coastal breeze. When they open it, they delight in fresh fruity notes of sweet, ripe melon and crunchy apple, which are matched with seaside floral scents, with an underpinning of creamy sandalwood. 

The top notes featured are: Apple, Lemon. The heart notes: Lily of the Valley, Ozonic Notes, Base notes: Violet, Sandalwood. It's £16 for a 100 ml difuser.

Or perhaps you will be buying a gift for a candle lover? Then look no further than this delightful candle. 

With a burn time of some 40 hours, they'll be able to bring about a welcoming and homely environment with its enjoyable and comforting floral fragrance with notes of freshly pressed linen, fragrant jasmine and soft white musk.

It is 8.5cm tall and has a diameter of 12cm. And it costs £18.

Buying a delightful fur throw can be a little bit of a challenge. After all, whilst everyone loves the look of fur, we don't all want real fur these days.

Which is where this comes in to its own and makes a might fine Christmas gift. 

It's a gorgeous soft chocolate fur throw. The Hexham throw has a velvet velour reverse featuring an exquisitely embroidered Laura Ashley signature.

It's absolutely perfect for creating a warm and cosy look in any room. Ideal for an orangery, a conservatory or a garden room, perhaps? 

It's dry clean only and is 100% Polyester. It's available at £140.

Also available is the matching Hexham soft chocolate fur cushion with velvet velour reverse featuring a beautifully embroidered Laura Ashley signature. A cushion pad is included for instantly plush style.

Or perhaps you have someone in mind who has a space in their home (and heart!) for a stunningly attractive clock this Christmas?

The high-shine mirror surface of the Laura Ashley Lexham Clock is perfect for contemporary homes, and the modern, sleek feel is a perfect complement to chic and clean interiors.

Its height is 32cm, the width is 5cm and it's 15cm deep. It costs £34.

Actually, giving this matter some thought, if you are going to gift them the Lexham Clock, why not also buy them an utterly delightful and charming set of two mirrored Laura Ashley trinket boxes with gorgeous, beautiful mirrored panelling. Largest H9.2 cm, W98 cm, D98 cm. Smallest H7.2 cm, W8.1 cm, D8.1 cm. £22 for the set of two makes this an affordable Christmas present.

Of course, that's only a tiny part of the range of eminently suitable Christmas gifts from Laura Ashley, so please visit https://www.next.co.uk/laura-ashley to learn more about what's available. Incidentally it was my wife who introduced me to the quirky and delightful world of Laura Ashley over 30 years ago.

Yo-yos are back with Wicked

Remember back in the old days? It seemed that everyone was out in the school playground trying top perfect their yo-yo tricks. But that was then, this is now!

Yo-yos are back, but the technology of yo-yos has come on in leaps and bounds since people perfected tricks such as ‘Walk the Dog’ and ‘Rock the Baby.'

But is there such a thing as yo-yo technology? There certainly is and this is exemplified with the brand spanking new Wicked Mega Spin Saturn Yo-yo which will help you dust off your skills and take them to the next level! Or even another planet, as the founder and CEO of Wicked, David Strang attests!

Remember fixed axles? These are gone, eliminated in favour of a super smooth ball-bearing axle providing ultra-long spin times – you’ll being a yo-yo pro in no time! 

But that's not all! It features some nifty super bright colour changing LED lights to really make your tricks light up the whole room. Or even the snow-covered back garden? There's an idea!

Wicked Founder/CEO David Strang said “It’s looking like the Saturn is going to be a top seller this Christmas! We’ve had lots of interest from big retailers who remember playing with yo-yos when they were younger. It’s a timeless toy, every child had one!”

Their compact size and low price point make them perfect stocking fillers and come Christmas morning, there’s no nasty plastic packaging to throw away – the cardboard presentation box can be fully recycled!

www.wickedvision.co.uk.

Red Letter Days provides a special gift for your special people

You will have some very special people in your life, people who you want to buy something nice for. But... clothing? Not this year! A watch? Only got two wrists!

You bought them a phone last year, the lovely pots and pans you bought them Christmas before last have a lifetime guarantee, so what can you gift them this year?

How about something very special from the folks over at Red Letter Days?

They have a very special Merry Christmas Gift Box  that costs a very remarkable £49.99.

Red Letter Days now features in excess of  2625 stunning experiences available right throughput the UK

Want to zoom along a zip line? Enjoy a special spa day? Meet with an animal, enjoy 50 laps in a go kart? Or perhaps some fine dining is more their scene?

There's gin master classes in a very special location in Liverpool, enjoy an afternoon tea is Soho featuring some rather tasty burgers, or maybe the person you are buying the gift for would prefer to indulge in a spot off off road driving in a 4x4? It really doesn't matter as there's an amazing array of Red Letter Days experiences for them to choose from.

The gift is valid for a full year (24 months) and please remember that no matter your Christmas gift recipient’s idea of fun, there are an amazing array of plenty of different experiences for them to enjoy.

Actually, why not buy everyone on your list one of these Merry Christmas Gift Boxes?

To learn more please visit https://www.redletterdays.co.uk/experience/ref/rld11459981/merry-christmas-gift-box.

And what's more, up until 25th December Red Letter Days will be donating 10% of sales from the Merry Christmas Gift Box to Child Poverty Action Group.

All I want for Christmas is Moooo!

Everyone is preparing for Christmas. And that is especially true for Dorset artist Lucy Tidbury, of Lucy's Farm fame. 

Actually, the truth is that Lucy has been working very hard for a considerable period of time to make sure her customers both old and new will be able to enjoy purchasing her limited-edition festive collection, which is available to purchase now. 

So, what happened down at Lucy’s Farm is the creation of a new collection of uniquely festive cards, seasonal homeware and fantastic tree decorations. 

They're featuring beautifully illustrated and fun packed animal portraits,  including the ever-popular Moo selfie cow art.

You'll have to remember that each product in the Lucy’s Farm Christmas range began life as an original painting by Lucy herself who is widely acknowledged as one of Dorset's most talented artists.

So, what's available this year?

Advent calendar  

This is a truly wonderful and special advent calendar that features Lucy’s best-known festive animal paintings on all 24 of the advent doors. But even better, behind each unique art-covered door is secreted a Christmas themed chocolate treat. The A4 sized calendar is available nowfor delivery in mid-November and is priced at £12.50. 

Christmas bauble  

But it's not just any Christmas bauble! Give your Christmas tree its very own treat when you present it with this most charming and beautiful Christmas decoration that you’ll want to use every Christmas from now on. It will become part of your family's very own Christmas traditions.

 What's depicted on it? Lucy’s new reindeer painting. They are miniature works of art in their own right. Each piece carries Lucy's signature and at only £15, you'll be very impressed that it is made from fine quality bone china in  our very own Stoke on Trent, so these will rapidly become modern heritage pieces.

Christmas platters 

Everyone needs a Christmas platter! But if you buy one, make sure you get a proper 12" Christmas platter. Each one features another vibrant festive design, featuring Lucy's signature. Incidentally these are also crafted in the finest quality bone china in Stoke on Trent. They are priced at £30.

Christmas placemats and coasters 

One of my favourite jobs at Christmas as a child was to help decorate the dinner table. 

You can dress and decorate your Christmas table with this stunning range of placemats and coasters which feature Lucy’s new  reindeer design, plus Christmas Moo and Highland Moo portraits. Each is available individually or as part of a set and prices start from £4 for a coaster and £8 for a placemat. 

Moo Christmas cards 

There are two new spiffing designs for 2021 as Party Moo and Reindeer Moo join some old favourites from over the last several years. You'll find Santa Moo, Christmas Moo, Mistletoe Moo and Robin Moo. The cards are left blank inside so they'll be truly unique Christmas greetings from you to your loved one, family members and special people in your lives, as they receive the card with your own message. They also, of course!) come with some quality white envelopes. Available as a pack  of 12 at a cost of £12, you can choose the designs you want to receive. 

And please be aware that all the china products in the Lucy’s Farm Christmas range are dishwasher proof. There is also a gift  wrap option available on all products bought online, if you're buying for someone else.

To see the full range of gifts and to place you order, visit Lucy’s Farm at www.lucysfarm.co.uk.