Savvy UK shoppers to stock up on blankets, heaters, and other energy-saving items during Black Friday

UK shoppers plan to seek out hunt energy-saving bargains before Christmas, including blankets and small space heaters, on Black Friday this year. 

According to new research announced by quantilope, the research platform that automates advanced research methodologies, over a quarter (28%) of shoppers plan to buy products to help save on their energy bills this winter, while a third (34%) will look for basic essentials for themselves or their family.

quantilope surveyed 400 consumers in the UK (and a further 400 in the US) to understand more about their Black Friday shopping habits and how they plan to pay for their purchases.

A quarter of consumers will avoid Black Friday this year, with the majority of these avoiders saying there's nothing they need to buy on a Black Friday deal (64%). Almost half (46%) think Black Friday is over-hyped and one in ten say it causes them stress. 

The rising cost of living is clearly having a major impact, with a quarter of those abstaining from Black Friday shopping saying inflation has impacted their discretionary spending.

Alex Hall, Associate Director at quantilope, believes shoppers are looking to Black Friday as a way of saving money in more ways than one. “It’s a time when people usually look for deals on gifts for themselves and their families ahead of Christmas. 

"While this still holds true this year, we’re also seeing substantial metrics for those stocking up on basic essentials, items for the household, and even energy-reducing items. This might signal the start of a changed perception about Black Friday.”

The ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ generations

According to quantilope’s research, younger shoppers are planning to use ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ (BNPL) services, perhaps so that they don’t miss out on any Black Friday bargains that could save them money in the longer term. 

While around a quarter of all consumers (26%) plan to use BNPL in the UK, this rises significantly among younger generations, with 40% of Gen Z and 36% of millennials planning to do so.

This is backed up by new research from McKinsey & Company, which indicates BNPL services are becoming increasingly popular as the cost of living crisis worsens and people turn to shopping on credit. It also states that millennials and Gen Z are more likely to use BNPL in the coming months.

“This is further evidence that the current economic climate impacts what shoppers buy and how they plan to pay for it. But what’s really interesting is that as well as people planning to buy on no interest credit services like BNPL as well as credit cards, cash is also still a common form of payment. Despite the rise in contactless payments, one-in-four shoppers in the UK are planning to pay for their Black Friday purchases in cash”, adds quantilope’s Alex Hall.

The Real Bamboo Company has new sustainable baby gift boxes!

Top bamboo wood specialists, The Real Bamboo Company, has a selection of gift boxes in time for Christmas – but suitable all year round.

High on their list of best sellers is the Bamboo Baby Gift Set, containing a selection of premium bamboo products just perfect for little ones.

This is a gift set that will be received with real pleasure, and you’ll give it knowing it’s helping fight global warming, too.

Bamboo really hits the sweet spot. The products are a delight to handle, look beautiful and are supremely sustainable. Bamboo is an ideal alternative to plastics. 

As a raw material it grows quickly, so it’s infinitely renewable, and all items can be recycled when they're eventually used for the last time.

In this gift set, the babygrow is a revelation. Its soft and cosy texture is similar to silk and ideal to help a baby relax and sleep easily. Bamboo fabric is also exceptionally skin-kind; in hospitals it is the product of choice for clothing premature babies. 

"Other items are more obviously bamboo, likes the carefully crafted spoon set and plate, while the baby wipes share some of the remarkable gentle touch that comes with the babygrow.

The Real Bamboo Company’s Baby Gift Set, is available at £39.99, and includes

Zipster Babygrow

Bamboo Plate

Bamboo Spoon set

Biodegradable Baby Wipes from Cheeky Panda

Baby toothbrush

Baby Shampoo + Shower Gel

These are beautiful and very thoughtful products which are 100% ideal for Christmas.

You can easily make your purchases online from the company’s website and select the babygrow of your choice from a range of 19 different designs.

In fact it is this flexibility which is one of the company’s strengths. While many retailers of bamboo products usually adhere to a single product type and a limited range, The Real Bamboo Company selects the best of the best from many different environmentally responsible suppliers, really taking the chore and effort out of your shopping.

And behind the choice of these products is a real drive to supply high quality sustainable goods that carry value now and also for the future. 

Using this highly renewable and versatile of natural materials helps reduce our use of plastics and bamboo comes with many other good properties.

Bamboo clothing has excellent moisture wicking qualities, so it stays comfortable to wear.

It helps with temperature regulation too, so it is warm when the weather’s cold, and cool when it’s hot. As it grows, bamboo absorbs more carbon dioxide than cotton or timber, and releases more oxygen back into the air. It’s a completely natural and biodegradable material – and it makes beautiful products.

Alice Horgan, Director at The Real Bamboo Company, says: “Bamboo is beautiful, versatile and very sustainable. It’s a great alternative to harmful plastics. Knowing this, why wouldn’t you buy it? Everything we sell has an ethical origin, and it’s good to know that by using bamboo we can help reduce the impact of global warming.”

The Real Bamboo Company’s Bamboo Baby Gift Set is available at £39.99 , plus shipping, from their website at https://www.bamboo-company.co.uk.

Be on trend with a Wild Woodland Christmas

Cosy, rustic, contemporary and charming: Just a few ways to describe one of the season’s biggest Christmas decorating trends according to leading online homewares destination, Wayfair - introducing Wild Woodland.

Embracing an abundance of natural fresh and dried foliage, a colour palette of tonal greens, earthy neutrals and touches of frosty snowy whites come together to create a soothing, enchanting look.

Wild Woodland is inspired by nature, connecting us to the outside world even in the cold depths of winter.

Wayfair’s Resident Style Advisor, Nadia McCowan Hill explains what it's all about: “The trend captures the essence of woodland charm, but its overall simplicity displays how easy it can be to give your home a harmonious festive makeover. 

"Incorporating greenery into decorating schemes will instantly lift a room, but the complimentary tones in this look of comforting oatmeal, verdant greens and pale woods help foliage displays take centre stage."

wayfair.co.uk

Deck the Stalls: Triton launches national search for UKs most festive bathroom

Tinselly taps, reindeer-inspired baths? Christmas tree toilet seats? If that kind of thing sounds like your ideal, then please read on!

Because Triton Showers is calling for fans of Christmas to submit their seasonal bathroom looks, in a search to find the UK’s most festive bathroom.

Christmas-lovers have until 11.59pm on 12 December to send in their Santa-inspired decorations, to be in with a chance of winning Christmas gifts for the big day. 

The winner and four runners up will also win an eco-bathroom bundle, helping them enter the new year with a cleaner, greener conscience.

The competition was launched after research commissioned by Triton, which discovered one in five of us admit to adorning every single room in their house, with nearly a quarter claiming they usually spruce up the bathroom to some degree or another.

The survey of 2,000 adults also revealed that we'll spend around £40 on fairy lights, ornaments, little trees and scented candles to add festivity to the lavatory. Other adornments likely to make an appearance in the toilet include wreaths, tinsel, stockings and festives towels and bathmats.

Ashley Cooper, who is the MD at Triton Showers, said: “Christmas is a time of year wet Brits like to go all out with decorations. Where people would once adorn a tree in the living room, add a wreath to the front door or hang tinsel around the fireplace, now they’re looking to spread the festive cheer across the whole home, bringing Christmas joy into even the most unusual spaces.

“To celebrate the rise in Father Christmas-inspired stalls, we’re searching for the UK’s most festive bathroom. Whether it’s an inflatable elf to share your shower with, a candy cane toilet brush, or a singing Santa: we want to know!”

To enter, Christmas fans just need to submit a photograph of their festive bathroom in the comments of Triton’s Deck the Stalls Facebook post. Alternatively, submissions can be made on Instagram by uploading a photo of their bathroom with the hashtag #DeckTheStalls and tagging @tritonshowers in the post.

For further information, please visit: www.tritonshowers.co.uk/deckthestalls 

T&Cs apply. 

The winner will receive a £300 Love2Shop voucher and an eco bathroom bundle, worth £34.99. Four runners up will win an eco bathroom bundle each.  

Hyde Park Winter Wonderland is open Friday 18th November 2022 Monday 2nd January

The UK’s most iconic festive event will be making its grand return this Christmas to celebrate its 15th edition in London’s Hyde Park. Opening on Friday 18th November 2022, this year's Hyde Park Winter Wonderland is set to be the most magical one yet as we look back on 15 years of festive fun.

Celebrating the ticket launch on 28th July, Hyde Park Winter Wonderland will be kicking off the year's festivities early with a surprise appearance by Santa Claus in Hyde Park. Morning joggers, commuters and park-goers are in for a surprise as Santa arrives on the iconic Serpentine Pond via pedalo! 

Disembarking ‘on land’ inappropriately dressed for the summer in full Santa get-up, he’ll be joined by an elf assistant. The festive duo will get the word out about Hyde Park Winter Wonderland’s return to passers-by by gifting refreshing ice lollies with a Hyde Park Winter Wonderland twist...mulled wine ’poptails’ and gingerbread ice lollies.

Open daily from 10.00am – 10.00pm, Hyde Park Winter Wonderland will bring back Christmas with a plethora of amazing new and returning attractions, including the UK’s largest outdoor Ice Rink, an exciting new Magical Ice Kingdom, Bar Ice experiences, thrilling Zippos Christmas Circus and Cirque Berserk shows, the Giant Wheel and a bigger Real Ice Slide with an extra lane! From high adrenaline to family favourites, there’s something for everyone at this year's Hyde Park Winter Wonderland.

Six brand new attractions welcome the 2022 opening to ensure fun for the whole family. Here’s a sneak peak of some of the activities which all aim to entertain at great value prices:

• Rides that are sure to give customers a thrill include the Aeronaut Starflyer, which is the world’s largest transportable Starflyer, the brand-new Après-ski Party Funhouse, The Time Machine, Canadian Mountie Funhouse, the unique Discovery plus the return of Dr Archibald with a new immersive VR experience.

• The Magical Ice Kingdom returns with a brand new creative where customers can explore 500 tonnes of sculptured ice including secret passageways, the snow-tunnelled ice slide and the crystal carriage of the Ice Palace.

• Bigger and better for 2022, the Real Ice Slide returns but now with 6 lanes!

• Santa Land where all days are merry and bright is offering a great new family value package which lets you enjoy 4 Santaland rides for just £10. Start planning the ultimate family day out.

• Get the best value for games and buy the Winter Wonderland Game Coins in advance for fast and easy playing. These can be redeemed at any game stall onsite showing the Coin symbol.

• Explore the new street food areas across the site to eat, drink and be merry under the festive twinkling lights.

For those looking to get a head start on their festive plans and lock in the city’s most magical Christmas experience, tickets and pre-bookable rides, games and attractions are on sale from 28th July 2022 onwards.

“We’re so excited to be bringing the UK’s largest festive event back this Christmas as we celebrate our 15th anniversary.” said Suzy Griffiths, Winter Wonderland Event Director for IMG. “This year we want to bring people together to celebrate the amazing memories we have made over the last 15 years and make new magical memories to last a lifetime. That’s what the festive season is all about and Hyde Park Winter Wonderland is a fun-filled family tradition that guests love to mark down in their calendars as far ahead as July!”

Get Christmas 2022 in the calendar with tickets available to purchase starting 28th July from hydeparkwinterwonderland.com.

Open Friday 18th November - Monday 2nd January, 10.00am – 10.00pm (open every day except closed on Christmas Day)

To ensure the most memorable experience, all Hyde Park Winter Wonderland visitors will require a timed entry ticket. The event will be offering off-peak (free), standard (£5), and peak (£7.50) entry tickets, with all advance online tickets for entry, attractions and rides remaining the same as 2021 prices. Many off-peak entry times remain free and in addition, when guests spend £25 online ahead of their visit, their entry fee is waived. We recommend that you pre-book your tickets ahead of your visit for the best value.

The event will have multiple entry times, but once inside visitors can stay as long as they like:

• Morning entry times: 10:00am – 12:00pm

• Afternoon entry times: 12:00pm – 14:00pm, 14:00pm - 16:00pm, 16:00pm - 18:00pm

• Evening entry times: 18:00pm – 20:00pm, 19:00pm - 21:30pm

For further information please visit: www.royalparks.org.uk.

So, what can you see? 

The UK’s largest outdoor Ice Rink, an exciting new Magical Ice Kingdom, 80’s Après-ski theme Bar Ice, thrilling Zippos Christmas Circus and Cirque Berserk shows, the Giant Wheel and a bigger Real Ice Slide with an extra lane this year! There really is something for everyone at Hyde Park Winter

Wonderland - from families looking for some festive fun, to out-of-towners visiting the Capital this Christmas, to adrenaline junkies, the after-work crowd and more.

Six brand new attractions welcome the 2022 opening to ensure fun for the whole family.

Here’s a sneak peak of some of the activities which aim to entertain all:

• Rides that are sure to give customers a thrill include the Aeronaut Starflyer, which is the world’s largest transportable Starflyer, the brand-new Après-ski Party Funhouse, The Time Machine, Canadian Mountie Funhouse, the unique Discovery plus the return of Dr Archibald with a new immersive VR experience.

• The Magical Ice Kingdom returns with a brand new creative where customers can explore 500 tonnes of sculptured ice including secret passageways, and a snow-tunnelled ice slide, before getting the perfect Instagram photos in a Unicorn-drawn crystal carriage

• Bigger and better for 2022, the Real Ice Slide returns, now with 6 lanes!

• Santa Land, where all days are merry and bright, is offering a great new family value package which lets you enjoy 4 Santaland rides for just £10. Start planning the ultimate family day out now!

• Get the best value by buying the Winter Wonderland Game Coins in advance for fast and easy playing. These can be redeemed at any game stall onsite showing the Coin symbol.

• Explore the new street food areas across the site to eat, drink and be merry under the festive twinkling lights.

The event is sponsored by IMG.

Let Curious Rose Help friends and family feel warmer and cosier this Christmas

We all know it’s free to put another layer on, or cuddle a friend (two friends, if it’s really parky). As the nights draw in, however, we want increased cosiness and we are looking to traditional methods of keeping warm. 

This is where that old stand-by, the hot water bottle, comes into its own. 

And we at That's Christmas feel that these will make absolutely perfect Christmas gifts this year.  

Cost comparison

It currently costs nearly £2.50 an hour to put the central heating on (based on gas at 10.31p per kWh, with a 24kW boiler). 

By comparison, it costs roughly 4.37p to boil a litre of water (3kW kettle for 2.5 minutes, at 35p per kWh for electricity). So that’s a cost of pennies, compared to heating the whole house, literally under 2% of the cost!  

And a hot water bottle will stay warm for at least a couple of hours, and can sit on your lap or up your jumper, whatever you are doing. 

Even cheaper is the newcomer to the party, the microwave wheat bag. For a 500g wheat bag, it costs 1.17p to microwave for 2 minutes (based on a 900W microwave, at 35p kWh of electricity). One of these will stay warm for over an hour, and is a safer alternative to boiling water for children or elderly people.

Climate concerns

It's important to hold onto our values about the environment when choosing a new hot water bottle, or wheat bag, or even a jumper for that matter. Polyester fur, and polyester fleece, are two of the worst culprits for shedding microfibres into the oceans (never mind that polyester is made from fossil fuels, in unregulated working conditions, and transported from China with a carbon footprint any Yeti would be proud of).

Wool is the perfect natural solution.

So, what you need is wool. It’s a natural by-product of healthy sheep farming, it actually stores carbon during its useful life, and breaks down into the earth very quickly once discarded. It is durable, naturally anti-bacterial, and its structure repels stains. 

It only needs airing, not washing very often, which again reduces energy costs. And of course, wool holds the heat, which makes it perfect for hot water bottles.

More excitingly, wool can be dyed a range of gorgeous colours, and knitted in hundreds of different patterns. Whether traditional or trendy, a good bit of knitting combines design and function perfectly. Just what we need in a cold spell, especially with a recession round the corner.

Curious Rose design and knit colourful hot water bottles, using only pure lambswool. Their yarns are dyed in Yorkshire, and knitted in the Midlands, sticking with traditional methods for a proudly British product.

Their microwave wheat bags (in a delightful hot water bottle shape) are made using pure wool blanket fabric, which gets softer and softer the more you cuddle it. They even do a range of brightly coloured alpaca snuggle socks, perfect for surviving the (cold) winter in style.

Learn more at www.curious-rose.co.uk.

Christmas lights and winter illuminations at National Trust properties

You can enjoy  Christmas lights and winter illuminations at National Trust properties throughout England and Wales.

Winter Lights at Anglesey Abbey in Cambridgeshire is a sensory, after-dark experience that brings to life the nature found at this beautiful place. 

Enjoy coloured lights illuminating the trees and sculptures inspired by wildlife. Projections and sounds will add to the immersive experience for a memorable evening out.

Christmas lights at Belton House, Lincolnshire. At Belton, the tree-tops will glisten and the gardens will shimmer and sparkle.

It’s definitely the most wonderful time of the year to wander beneath historic tree canopies drenched in seasonal colour and shards of light, frosty snowflakes, stars and baubles.

Indulge in the Christmas lights at Blickling Estate, Norfolk. Explore the magically lit walled garden at Blickling for a festive experience. 

Discover the garden of lights and warm up with a hot drink and mince pie as you make your way through the delightful light display.

Christmas lights at Dunham Massey, Greater Manchester. Explore the illuminated trail at Dunham Massey after darkness falls. 

The winding gardens and deer park will be illuminated in a festive display of twinkling lights. Plan your festive visit to Dunham Massey.

In the North East you can visit Gibside, Tyne & Wear and enjoy the Christmas lights there. 

Light up the dark winter nights with Christmas lights there. Follow an illuminated lantern-lit trail, look at majestic sculpture as it winds through the 18th-century gardens. Pick up a treat or two along the way from street food vendors, and take in the show of light and colour.

See the Winter lights at Ickworth, Suffolk  Make your way through the colourful winter illumination trail around Ickworth's formal gardens. 

Discover the iconic rotunda lit up with a vibrant display, and see your favourite place in a new light. Capture the joy of the Christmas season at Ickworth as it's transformed by colour and light.

In Dorset you can enjoy the Christmas lights at Kingston Lacy. Spend time together at Kingston Lacy this winter, and create forever memories as you see the gardens lit up with bright colours. 

Go on a magical journey with your loved ones and discover twinkling lights and festive decorations to ring in the Christmas season.

Wow! Fire and fantasy at Polesden Lacey, Surrey  Ignite is returning to Polesden Lacey with a new, after-dark experience for 2022. 

Step into an enchanting landscape that will fill you with wonder and enjoy moments of reflection and playful discovery along the illuminated trail.

Enjoy Luminate at Shugborough Estate, Staffordshire  This festive season, visit Shugborough for Luminate's magical evening winter lights trail. 

Immerse yourself in the mile-long trail, with colourful lighting elements and light play, all set to special ambient music.

Meanwhile in Wiltshire you can enjoy Christmas lights at Stourhead. Winter nights will be lit up at Stourhead with a beautiful display for you to marvel in. 

The grounds will be decorated with festive cheer for you to ring in the festive season in style.

If you visit Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire you'll see the gardens awash with colour and dazzling light displays along the longest ever illuminated light trail to take place at Waddesdon.

Pop over to see the Christmas lights at Wimpole Estate, Cambridgeshire  

The gardens at Wimpole will be illuminated with colour this winter. Make your way through the illuminated trail throughout the gardens and enjoy the spectacle. 

Lights, lasers and seasonal sounds will fill the air with festive fun, making the most wonderful time of year even more magical.

To learn more or to book tickets please visit the National Trust at https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lists/christmas-lights-and-winter-illuminations.

Other local National Trust properties may also have special Christmas events on over the Christmas period, so please check with them for details.

(Image courtesy of the National Trust showing the Christmas lights at Gibside.)