Give a meaningful gift for your child with Nosso

Many friends and extended family like to give money as gifts, especially for new-born and young children so it can be put aside or invested for the future. However, this can often lack a personal, memorable touch. 

Nosso, which is a new provider of investment and savings accounts aimed at children, is changing that, as it allows family and friends to invest in a loved one’s future in a memorable and gift-worthy way.

An alternative Christmas gift, eschewing deodorant sets, or multipacks of socks, gifting an investment and having a say in the financial future of a child will prove more fulfilling in the long run. As opposed to socks, the more the child grows, in principle so too will their investments! 

Marking significant life changes for both the giver and receiver. Putting money aside for university or a car can be a memorable experience. So, Nosso offers the unique ability for families to leave messages and photos with their investment, preserving the emotions attached to it.

It's a tangible gift there for years. When a child accesses their account later in life, they will be able to see how much those around them care, even if they’re no longer there to say it themselves. Nosso also allows parents to manage accounts for their children, and allow all family members to contribute whenever they want to via its app-first service. 

While most children’s accounts need to be opened and managed by one parent, Nosso allows anyone to open an investment for a child as a gift, from parents and grandparents, to extended family and friends. 

Given the rising cost of living, many parents are struggling to make ends meet, let alone put money aside for their little one. With Nosso, extended family and friends can now play a more direct role in providing for their financial future. 

To learn more about what could well turn out to be the gift of a lifetime, please check out Nosso at https://www.withnosso.com.

Lidl launches national Christmas "Toy Bank" in response to charities' call for help and pledges 1m meals

Lidl’s new toy donation drive launches in over 940 stores nationwide from Thursday 3rd November.

This exciting initiative comes in partnership with Neighbourly, as research has discovered that 8 in 10 local causes would find donations of toys and games very helpful this Christmas.

Charities, community groups, and food banks can register their interest now to receive support from Lidl.

Lidl will also donate 1 million meals and make £250k available for charities, community groups, and food banks all over Britain. 

Lidl has announced the launch of a new, nationwide toy donation drive coming to your town this Christmas.

It follows new research, in partnership with Neighbourly, that found that for 8 in 10 charities and community groups currently partnered with Lidl, toys and games were one of their most needed items to help serve their local communities over the festive period. Second only to food donations.

From Thursday 3rd November, Lidl will launch toy banks across its stores all over the country. Customers will then be able to drop off new and unopened toys and games, to be gifted to children needing support in their local area.

Donations can be anything. From a small stocking filler to something bigger. Sought-after items will include toys, games, books, puzzles, and arts and crafts, for a range of ages.

Toys will then be collected by local charities who are participating in Lidl’s ‘Feed it Back’ scheme, coordinated by Neighbourly, alongside the food they pick up weekly. 

They will then be donated via local charities and community groups like food banks and community centres.

Also, the supermarket has committed £250k for charities during the festive period. This includes a £125k donation for the toy bank initiative. And has also pledged to donate more meals than ever over the festive period. 

As part of  Lidl's long-standing work within local communities, Lidl GB will also donate a selection of festive food items as part of its regular food donations. These will go to local charities and community groups, which, together with their food surplus programme, will equate to over 1 million meals.

Existing charity partnerships will be prioritised for these festive collections but, where there’s availability, additional organisations are being invited to apply to be paired with a local Lidl store to collect toys and fresh and chilled food products. This will include fruit, vegetables, fresh meat, fish, and bread, ahead of stores closing on Christmas Eve.

Says Ryan McDonnell, who is the CEO at Lidl GB: “It's always been our firm belief that each and every one of our stores must have a positive impact on its community. 

"This year, we wanted to find a meaningful way to help our communities. So we listened to the 1,500 local charities, food banks and community groups we partner with and heard clearly what they needed: food, toys, and access to funds.

“As a business we are proud to be able to address all three of these needs. We're launching toy banks in all our stores, pledging 1m meals and we will be making £250k available for charities through a Neighbourly donation and our community fund.

“Our hope is that by rolling out the toy donation points we're making it easier, for those customers who can, to donate directly to local good causes by giving them a small way to make a real difference and help those that need it the most.”

Steve Butterworth, CEO of Neighbourly, added: "Our latest community survey has highlighted the financial strain that many families are facing this winter. With local charities seeing a drop in both food and financial donations, any support that Lidl customers can give is going to be critical. 

"For many families, Christmas gifts will be something they will struggle to afford this year, so a scheme like this which alleviates some of the worry for parents will make a huge difference.”

Lidl toy banks will be accepting donations from Thursday 3rd November until Friday 16th December, when all the toys will be collected for distribution.

Charities, community groups and food banks can register interest now to receive surplus food and toy donations this Christmas at www.neighbourly.com/service/good-causes.

Or visit Lidl at www.lidl.co.uk for details of your nearest branch, etc.

A greener Christmas with Nestlé

Nestlé Confectionery has announced industry-leading packaging innovations for two of its best-loved brands: Quality Street and KitKat. In a category first, Quality Street will move to recyclable paper packaging for its twist-wrapped sweets. 

By replacing the double layer of foil and cellulose with a paper wrap, Quality Street will remove over two billion pieces of packaging material from the brand's supply chain.

At the same time, KitKat will introduce wrappers made with 80% recycled plastic. These wrappers can be recycled at more than 5,000 supermarkets across the UK and placed in household recycling in the Republic of Ireland. The rollout will begin this month on the brand's flagship two-finger products, before being extended across the entire range by 2024.

Purchased by over 6 in 10 households in the UK, KitKat will use the highest proportion of recycled food-grade plastic of any major UK & Ireland confectionery brand. The launch is part of Nestlé's ongoing commitment towards reducing its environmental impact and supporting a circular economy.  

This commitment is further demonstrated by the new Quality Street wrappers, which were developed by packaging experts at Nestlé's research and development centre in York. One innovation is the development of a special vegetable-based coating for the paper, which does not hinder the recycling process.

Nine of the 11 Quality Street sweets will move to paper-based packaging. The Orange Crunch and the Green Triangle will remain in their simple foil wrappers as, traditionally, they have not had cellulose wrappers. The transition to paper, which is now underway, will take several months to complete. This means that for Christmas 2022, consumers will find a mix of both the old and new wrappers in their Quality Street cartons, pouches, tubs, and tins. The delicious mix of sweets inside is unchanged.

QS-paper-feed

Richard Watson, who is the Business Executive Officer, at Nestlé Confectionery said: "These major packaging innovations have been pioneered by our teams here in the UK. The new KitKat packaging is enabled by a significant upgrade to Nestlé's York Factory, while the category-leading Quality Street paper twist-wraps have been designed at our Confectionery Product Technology Centre in York, and implemented in Halifax, the home of Quality Street for 87 years.

"Nestlé Confectionery is taking a leadership position on packaging sustainability as we work towards cutting our use of virgin plastic by one third and making all our packaging recyclable or reusable within the next three years. 

"The changes we have announced have been informed by detailed lifecycle assessments that have enabled us to identify solutions with a lower environmental impact than our current packaging."

The new KitKat packs will feature the Recycle At Store On-Pack Recycling Label (OPRL) - a UK labelling scheme established by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) to help consumers correctly reuse and recycle more material. The wrappers will also provide information about the Recycling Locator Tool - a platform launched by the national WRAP recycling campaign Recycle Now, which guides consumers to their nearest recycling point. Supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury's, Co-op, Aldi, and Waitrose now offer soft plastic recycling facilities in stores, while most consumers in the Republic of Ireland can put soft plastics into household recycling.   

Helen Bird, Head of Business Collaboration, WRAP said: "Plastic waste is a key concern for most citizens, and for many this is centred on whether it is easy to recycle. Recyclability is complex since it requires the culmination of good design, collection, recycling infrastructure, and importantly, market demand for recycled material into new products and packaging - manufacture is after all, the whole point of recycling. Plastic wrappers are not yet collected by local authorities, but this is set to change in the coming years. 

"In the meantime, leading supermarkets are providing 5,000 collection points for all types of plastic bags and wrappers. We welcome these new initiatives from Nestlé, founding members of The UK Plastics Pact, to improve the recyclability of Quality Street and using advanced recycling technology to include recycled plastic into its KitKat packaging - something we need to significantly ramp up in the UK, and across the world. We look forward to further roll out."

Nestlé UK & Ireland has been working to improve the sustainability of its confectionery operations and supply chain for well over a decade. The business has sourced 100% certified sustainable cocoa for all its chocolate and biscuits since the end of 2015 and is aiming to halve the carbon footprint of its local fresh milk supply by 2026. This involves helping farmers to adopt sustainable farming practices that will protect and restore natural resources such as soil, water, and biodiversity around their farms over the years to come, while producing the best quality milk for Nestlé products. 

Quality Street is the second Nestlé confectionery brand to introduce paper, following Smarties, which rolled out recyclable paper packaging for all its confectionery products globally in 2021.  

So this Christmas will be less wasteful? Sounds good to us!

Early Bird! Aldi's frozen turkeys are in store, now

For those of us who are looking to spread the cost of Christmas, Aldi’s full range of delicious, British Frozen Turkeys are in store from now on.

Christmas shoppers can get ahead of the game and begin their festive prep with Aldi’s Large Whole British Turkey (£19.99, 5.4kg-7.2kg), or Small Whole British Turkey (£13.49, 2.8kg-4kg). 

Both offer a tender British meat feast, and once cooked have a delicious crispy skin and succulent juicy flavours. Also, Aldi’s succulent Frozen Medium British Turkey (£15.99, 4-5.4kg) and Frozen Medium British Turkey Crowns (£15.49, 2-2.3kg) have also just landed in Aldi stores all over the country.

Aldi has also recently released its Frozen Food Meal Plan to help shoppers deal with the rising cost of living, promoting cost effective, yet nutritious meal swaps for families. 

Choosing a frozen turkey this Christmas means shoppers can still enjoy a delicious bird for their festive feast, while spreading the cost across the months running up to the Big Day.  

Aldi’s Large Frozen Whole British Turkeys and Small Frozen Whole British Turkeys are in store from 10th October. Aldi’s Medium Frozen British Turkeys and Turkey Crowns are available in store now.  

https://www.aldi.co.uk.

Christmas at Kew returns for 10th year

The UK’s original festive light trail returns to dazzle London's Kew Gardens, bringing magical new installations for the tenth anniversary this Christmas. 

From Wednesday 16 November 2022 to Sunday 8 January 2023 (advance booking only, tickets are selling fast, so book as soon as you can!)

2022 marks ten years of Christmas at Kew, the first light trail of its kind in the entire UK.

New installations include suspended illuminations and optical illusions, featuring over a million twinkling lights along a 2.7km trail.

Highlights include the iconic Palm House projections, Starry Night featuring thousands of twinkling lights, and ‘Illusion Hole’ by UxU Studio.

Visitors can indulge in toasty treats with delicious seasonal street food, mulled wine and hot chocolate, or a Christmas dinner at The Botanical Brasserie.

This November, see Kew Gardens in a whole new light as the UNESCO World Heritage landscape glitters with millions of festive lights with the return of Christmas at Kew.

Since the inaugural Christmas trail in 2013, this unique, world-famous event has paved the way for festive displays across the country each winter, cementing light trails as a firm festive favourite in the run up to Christmas. 

Marking ten years since the original festive trail at Kew Gardens, this year’s display features a host of seasonal favourites alongside mesmerizing new light installations. 

Planning begins more than a year in advance, to ensure this celebration of nature by night brings Kew’s incredible natural landscape to life for visitors of all ages.

New installations for 2022

Taking inspiration from Kew’s horticultural collection and the changing seasons, creative studio NOVAK return to Kew with an immersive animation projected onto Holly Walk. Elsewhere, visitors can wander through thousands of twinkling lights in ArtAV’s magical Starry Night, featured at Kew Gardens for the first time. 

Fun and magical, 16 floating UV feathers by Pyrite Creative appear as if from nowhere amongst the trees, while elsewhere in the canopies, LuminARTi’s Willow Hives elegantly illuminate the surrounding natural forms, highlighting the spectacular scenery at Kew.

Light Art Collection returns with ‘Illusion Hole’ by UxU Studio, a geometrically arranged pattern situated on the Lake in which visitors will experience the fluidity and malleability of moving light. Visitors are presented with a thrilling optical illusion as water formed by light appears to flow into an unknown abyss as they enjoy the trail around the gardens.

Festive favourites

Wander beneath colourful canopies and bushes draped in sparkle, futuristic neon trees and branches illuminated with stars as you enter a botanical world filled with seasonal cheer. Many of Kew’s 12,000 trees and other botanical treasures from Kew’s living collection will be accentuated along the new route, allowing visitors to experience nature from a new perspective whilst reinforcing the essential role that plants play in all of our lives.

Creative studio Pitaya return to Christmas at Kew, lighting up the woodland with their ethereal installation ‘Floraison’, luminous poppies appear to have blown away in the breeze, clinging to branches high above visitors’ heads. Elsewhere, the ever-popular Fire Garden returns for 2022, and Kew’s famous Christmas Cathedral will once again create a dazzling world filled with thousands of fairy lights, offering the perfect Instagram opportunity. Visitors will be entranced as a series of breath-taking projections dance across the surface of Kew’s iconic Palm House and adjacent lake, set to a memorable soundtrack of much-loved Christmas classics.

To add an extra touch of magic to the Christmas at Kew experience, visitors can book a delicious traditional Christmas dinner at The Botanical Brasserie to enjoy with loved ones. Tasty treats from a selection of independent street food vendors are also available along the route, including spiced cider, waffles, mulled wine, or hot chocolate to keep you comfortably warm.

Says Sandra Botterell, Director of Marketing and Commercial Enterprise at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: “Christmas at Kew is always magical, but this year it is even more special as we celebrate ten years of this wonderful light trail. 

"We can’t wait to welcome our visitors back to the Gardens to experience the return of our much-loved light installations, alongside exciting new additions, all of which take inspiration from Kew’s incredible collections. As the first festive light trail of its kind, Christmas at Kew really is a seasonal spectacular unlike any other.”

Wakehurst, Kew’s wild botanic garden in Sussex, sees the return of its own enchanting winter lantern trail for 2022. Glow Wild promises a brand-new route, with 11 bespoke installations and over 1000 paper lanterns handmade by local volunteers all celebrating the incredible colour spectrum of the natural world.

Visit https://www.kew.org/kew-gardens/whats-on/christmas.

Love is in the air with the ultimate Christmas gift ideas

Yes, Love is truly in the air with the ultimate Christmas gift ideas for couples from experience day company WonderDays. 

From romantic short breaks to foodie experiences for two and spa days to making your own wedding rings, there is no shortage of gifts for couples to inspire you this Christmas.

In their latest Christmas gift guide, WonderDays has focused on those times when it really does take two.

Bronwen Jones, who is the company's head of social marketing, said Christmas gifts for couples can be all the more memorable when it’s something they can experience together.

"Making amazing memories and experiencing something together is, for us, one of the bests gifts you can give at Christmas," she pointed out.

"For the team here, our favourite times and most memorable Christmas moments are those we spent time with each other.

"Christmas is all about spending time with those whom you love most and for us, gifting an experience day the two of you can enjoy together further down the line is the perfect couple's present."

For more festive inspiration for two, read the WonderDays full Christmas Gift Guide For Couples on their website.

WonderDays launched earlier this year to offer a more flexible and easier way to purchase and enjoy gift experience days across the UK.

https://www.wonderdays.co.uk/experience-gift-ideas.

The Wise Men Who Found Christmas reveals the True Story of the Christmas Magi

Based on new, fresh research, this new book by New York Times bestselling author Raymond Arroyo is positioned to become atop seller at Amazon and Barnes & Noble this Christmas.

"The Wise Men Who Found Christmas" by New York Times bestselling author and award-winning broadcast journalist Raymond Arroyo is an exciting visual adventure which truly captures the joy of the Christmas season and sharing the long-hidden story of the mysterious Magi, who risked everything to discover the truth. 

Based on new historical evidence, "The Wise Men Who Found Christmas" is an all-new telling of three adventurous seekers who followed a star, and found themselves in the middle of the greatest story ever told. 

Actor Jim Caviezel (Person of Interest, The Passion of the Christ) said: "This beautiful and moving book shines like the Christmas star. Raymond Arroyo reveals the true and inspiring adventure of the Magi, who bravely followed the light given them and found a treasure beyond imagining. This is a journey you and your family would be wise to take, too!"

One of the most highly-anticipated seasonal offerings, "The Wise Men Who Found Christmas" is an exquisite picture book available now. It is a prequel to Arroyo's bestselling, "The Spider Who Saved Christmas."

"The story of the Three Wise Men is one of the most beloved and meaningful parts of the nativity story. Now, in this beautiful book, Raymond Arroyo is sharing the true Magi story with everyone. It will surely inspire all readers to adopt the lessons and traditions of Three Kings Day and keep the Christmas spirit alive for all 12 days of Christmas," said Rachel Campos Duffy, New York Times Bestselling Author, Fox & Friends Weekend Co-host.

Stunningly illustrated by Diane Le Feyer, this enchanting family keepsake is part of Arroyo's larger "Legend Series" of self-contained, episodic stories.

https://www.amazon.com/Wise-Men-Who-Found-Christmas/dp/1644136201.