Time for Walker’s new Shortbread advent calendar!

Walkers are thrilled to share with you their brand-new Walker’s Shortbread advent calendar, available from www.walkersshortbread.com, RRP £17.99, whilst stocks last.

The carefully curated, elegant and beautiful new design is guaranteed to give you all the festive feels. Distinguished and elegant, the contemporary book-style calendar is adorned with Walker’s iconic tartan, gold embossing and stylish snowflakes. 

Inside you’ll find an assortment of all-Butter Chocolate Chip Shortbread Rounds, Shortbread Thistle Rounds, Salted Caramel Shortbread Squares, Shortbread Fingers, Shortbread Hearts and Shortbread Stars, all based on a simple recipe which has been perfected by the family-run business for over 120 years.

Synonymous with dreamy, cosy nights, festive gatherings and winter warming time-out treats, Christmas definitely isn't Christmas without Walker’s Scottish Shortbread.

Ensuring your Christmas countdown is a seasonal gift for your senses, Walker’s Shortbread has unveiled The Shortbread Advent Calendar for 2022.

Delivering an exquisite daily delicacy of Scotland at its very finest, behind each of the 24 doors awaits an indulgent buttery, tasty treat that will transport you into a Walker’s Shortbread festive wonderland.

You will enjoy a mix of bite-size All-Butter Chocolate Chip Shortbread Rounds, Shortbread Thistle Rounds, Salted Caramel Shortbread Squares, Shortbread Fingers, Shortbread Hearts and Shortbread Stars, all based on a very simple yet utterly delicious recipe which has been perfected by the family-run business for over 120 years.

The stunning new design is guaranteed to give you all the festive feelings. Distinguished and elegant, the contemporary book-style calendar is adorned with Walker’s iconic tartan, gold embossing and stylish snowflakes. When opened, playful illustrations capture a seasonally whimsical and joyful scene, perfectly paired with the shortbread waiting inside.

An advent calendar that looks as good as it tastes and is set to get you ready for Christmas delivering the best that Scotland has to offer. The new Shortbread Advent Calendar uses only the highest quality ingredients and is free of artificial colouring, flavours and additives and is suitable for vegetarians.

The Walker’s Shortbread advent calendar is available from www.walkersshortbread.com  from now on at  £17.99. But as they are expected to sell quickly, That's Christmas recommends you get your order in as soon as possible. 

Walker’s Shortbread Ltd was established 124 years ago in Aberlour, Speyside, Scotland. 

It's still an independent family concern to this day, the company is headed by the founder’s grandchildren and great grandchildren, who faithfully maintain the tradition of producing the finest shortbreads, biscuits, cakes and oatcakes to original recipes using only finest ingredients. A policy that has earned Walker’s a global reputation for quality and excellence.

Four times winner of the Queen's Award for Export Achievement, Walker’s exports its distinctively packaged luxury bakery products to over 100 countries worldwide.

In 2017 Walker’s Shortbread were granted a Royal Warrant of Appointment from Her Majesty the Queen for the supply of shortbread to the Royal Household, following the granting of the Royal Warrant of Appointment by the Queen and Queen Mother in 2002 for oatcakes.

All Walker’s products are free from artificial colours, flavourings and preservatives. They are certified Kosher (OUD) and are suitable for vegetarians, too. 

Jump!

Jump! is a book by JG Nolan with wonderful illustrations by Carina Roberts with a forward by famous football star Joe Hart.

It tells the story of Robbie Blair who is a very talented young footballer who has dreams of becoming a professional footballer when he becomes an adult.

Yes, Robbie has the prerequisite footballing skills. But he also has the ability to break his bones. Multiple times, unfortunately.

Robbie is taking part in a very important trial match but disaster befalls him when he breaks his leg for the third time.

He then faces the grim realisation that his dreams of becoming a professional footballer have turned to dust.

But have they? Is his dream truly over? Because as Joe Hart said "We can all learn from Robbie Blair."

This is a stormer of a book by J G Nolan who was born and brought up in a sleepy Shropshire village and loved two things as a child. Football and writing.

Sadly his football mad son Robbie was very prone to breaking his bones and was warned by his doctors that he must never play football again.

The idea for Jump! slowly coalesced in his mind when he was making one of his many lengthy stays whilst he was visiting Robbie in the local children's hospital. 

J G Nolan took an interesting route to writing Jump! He made a study of the exploits of historical footballers who, although famous, had also, back in their day, being mavericks.

He became fascinated by and drawn to stories of famous Celtic legends from the 1920s. Even to the present day their names are still chanted at Parkhead.

During his many, many hours of research he learned of Glasgow's icon Cathkin Park. Which resulted in a meeting with Simon Weir, a Scotish actor, who helped preserve the park for many years. And Jump! to coin an expression, took wing.

When Robbie, J G Nolan's son commenced on his long road to recovery and fitness news of his sheer courage and determination reached famed local football hero Joe Hart, a fellow Shropshire lad and former Shrewsbury Town player, whilst he was playing for Manchester City.

Joe sent Robbie some signed goalkeeper's gloves to buck him up during his recovery. 

By chance Robbie eventually followed Joe's footsteps and Robbie attended the same secondary school in Shrewsbury.

Some years later, when Joe had been transferred to Celtic he was thrilled to be asked to read Jump! and he kindly offered to write the forward. 

On to the book. It's a labour of love and it tells the story of Robbie Blair. But it's more than the story of Robbie Blair. It's the story of everyone who, due to physical injuries or difficulties found that, as one door closed another door opened for them. And that sometimes it's just a minor diversion to get them to their original goal.

What kind of a book is it? It's a novel, it's a historical work, it's a mystical work that's on a par with Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance a little bit of a ghost story but it's primarily a romance novel. A romance novel? Yes. A novel about the romance of football. 

It's got to be a "must buy" present for every football fan this Christmas. 

It's published by SilverWood Books at £12.99 https://www.silverwoodbooks.co.uk/jump-by-jbg-nolan.

Throw Throw Burrito

Throw Throw Burrito is an innovative combination of dodgeball and a card game.

It's a fun-filled game which is aimed at everyone from 7 years and older and for two to six players.

It's an easy game to learn and to play, but a lot of fun, too!

Place the pair of funky burritos on the table. Don't worry! They aren't edible, but they are throwable. 

You then deal out the cards and earn points by collecting three cards of a kind.

You play Burrito Cards and then force your friends to Battle!

There then comes a Burrito duel to determine who is the ultimate Throw Throw Burrito winner!

What happens during the Burrito Duel? The two players concerned have to stand back-to-back, take three paces and then fling that Burrito!

By the way, when you open the box there's a nifty code to unlock a special bonus gift!

Check out the game and other fun games at www.explodingkittens.com.

Price in the UK is £24.99.

Mulled Orange & Chocolate Cheesecake

Mulled Orange & Chocolate Cheesecake

Using Cottage Delight Mulled Orange All Butter Curd

Prep: 10 minutes Cook: Overnight chill time Serves: 12

Ingredients

Biscuit Base

• 300g bourbon Biscuits

• 150g unsalted Butter

Cheesecake Filling

• 600g cream Cheese (full fat)

• 300ml double Cream

• 75g icing Sugar

• 300g Terry's Chocolate Orange

• 1 x 305g jar Cottage Delight Mulled Orange All Butter Curd (8 heaped tbsp)

• 1 orange zest

Decoration

• Orange zest

• Orange slices, thinly sliced

• 2tbsp crème fraiche 

Method

For the Biscuit Base

• Melt the butter in the microwave on short bursts until fully melted.

• Blitz the biscuits in a food processor to a small crumb or in a bag with the end of a rolling pin, add the butter, and mix until it is combined well. 

• Tip into a 20cm deep springform tin and press down firmly – chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

For the Cheesecake Filling

• Melt the 300g chocolate orange in a bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, stirring gently or microwave in short bursts until fully melted.

• Mix together the cream cheese and Icing sugar until thick and whip up the double cream in a separate bowl – fold the mixtures together, and then fold through the melted chocolate and 2 heaped tbsp Mulled Orange All Butter Curd. Zest in the orange.

• Evenly spread 6 heaped tbsp Mulled Orange All Butter Curd over the chilled biscuit base.

• Pour the cream cheese mix on to the curd layer, smooth over, cover, and chill in the fridge for 6 hours, or preferably overnight.

• Top with sliced oranges, orange zest and crème fraiche in the centre. 

Check out Cottage Delight and their range of delicious goodies visit https://www.cottagedelight.co.uk.

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!