Got a Secret Santa to buy for? WonderDays has the perfect gifts

In its latest Christmas gift guide, the UK's most flexible experience day company offers plenty of ideas for alternative office secret Santa gifts

Secret Santa has officially become a firm and favoured tradition in British workplaces and if you need some inspiration for Christmas 2022, WonderDays has released some great office secret Santa gift ideas.

In its latest Christmas gift guide, the UK's most flexible experience day company offers plenty of ideas for alternative office secret Santa gifts.

Top 10 Secret Santa Experience Day Gifts includes classic Christmas gift experiences, like driving days and afternoon tea, alongside more unusual ideas with a wellbeing subscription service, urban beekeeping and axe throwing. 

Customer Service Manager Shaun Howells is the one in charge of the WonderDays office secret Santa Shaun explains: "We always set an upper budget for any secret Santa gifts, which really does encourage some very creative and fun gifts among the team."

He went on to say: "Unusual secret Santa gifts can bring that bit of extra fun to the workplace at Christmas. We've seen some really imaginative Christmas gift ideas from our team over the years, from homemade hampers with the recipient's favourite things to the virtual wellbeing subscription service we now have on offer ourselves."

However, it should be realised that Secret Santa is not just for the workplace.

It can also be a way for families, especially larger ones, to do Christmas gift buying without breaking the bank, according to WonderDays marketing manager, Maria Wilkinson.

"Christmas gift experience ideas can make brilliant secret Santa gifts for families too," said Maria.

"If you have a particularly large family, everyone choosing one person to buy for as their secret Santa means everyone gets a Christmas gift to open, while keeping Christmas budgets down.

"With our experience day gifts starting from just £9, we think giving them something to do as their secret Santa is the perfect Christmas gift."

WonderDays is a UK experience day company launched in 2022 to offer a more flexible and simple buying experience than any other business for those looking for the perfect gift of things to do.

Offering quick and simple online exchanges should customers change their mind after purchase, it’s the only company that also offers fully customisable experiences for any number of people.

For more information, visit the WonderDays website here https://www.wonderdays.co.uk.

NORAD is Ready to Track Santa’s Flight for the 67th Year

FROM PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. Defending North America is the North American Aerospace Defense Command’s (NORAD) #1 priority. NORAD monitors and defends North American airspace 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

But on December 24, NORAD has one additional extra-special  mission: That of tracking Santa Claus as he makes his way across the globe, delivering presents to children. 

This is NORAD’s 67th year tracking Santa and it’s a tradition the Command is proud to continue every year.

The NORAD Tracks Santa website (www.noradsanta.org) is already live. It features Santa’s North Pole Village, which includes a holiday countdown, games, movie theatre, special Christmas-themed music, a webstore, and more besides. 

The website is available in eight languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Chinese. 

The official NORAD Tracks Santa app is also in the Apple App and Google Play stores, so parents and children can count down the days until Santa’s journey on their smart phones and tablets. Tracking opportunities are also offered through social media on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, as well as on partner platforms: Bing, Amazon Alexa and OnStar.

Starting at 4 a.m. EST on December 24, website visitors can see updates as Santa makes preparations for his flight. Then, at 6 a.m. EST, trackers worldwide can call to inquire as to Santa’s whereabouts by dialling the toll-free number 1-877-Hi-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) where they will either speak with a live phone operator or hear a recorded update.

NORAD Tracks Santa is truly a global experience, delighting generations of families everywhere. This is due, in large part, to the efforts and services of numerous program contributors. This year’s contributors include:

Space Base Delta 1

Acuity Scheduling

Alaskan NORAD Region

Agingo

Amazon Alexa

Amazon Web Services

Ansys

Avaya

Balsam Hill

Canadian NORAD Region

Canadian Forces Museum of Aerospace Defence

CenturyLink

Cesium

Christmas in the Park

Colorado Springs Chamber & Economic Development Corporation

Continental U.S. NORAD Region

CradlePoint

Defense Video & Imagery Distribution Systems

The Elf on the Shelf

Getty Images

Hewlett Packard

Historic Arkansas Riverwalk of Pueblo

IU Globelink

Marine Toys for Tots Foundation

Meshbox

Microsoft

Microsoft Azure

Microsoft Bing

Naden Band of Maritime Forces Pacific

NASA Space Place

Nashville.Net User Group

Navy Marine Corps Public Health Center

OnStar

Package From Santa

Plantronics

PR Karma

Portable North Pole

Royal Canadian Air Force Band

SciJinks

Shirt Stop

SiriusXM

Six String Soldiers

Snowy the Mouse

Space Foundation

Together We Stand Foundation

U.S. Air Force Band

U.S. Air Force Academy Band

U.S. Air Force Heartland of America Band

U.S. Coast Guard Band

U.S. Department of State Family Liaison Office

U.S. Merchant Marine Academy

U.S. Navy Band Northeast

U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee

Verizon

NORAD is a United States and Canada bi-national organization charged with the missions of aerospace warning, aerospace control and maritime warning for North America. NORAD prevents air attacks against North America, safeguarding the sovereign airspaces of the United States and Canada by responding to unknown, unwanted, and unauthorized air activity approaching and operating within these airspace.

Santa’s Red Letter: What if Santa wrote back?

A special, personalised Letters from Santa so realistic they’ll convince even the most sceptical child.

Don't’ stop believin'! Not only a good tune but the mantra of the folks at Santa’s Red Letter, who’ve created letters from Santa so authentic and believable you might start to wonder yourself!

Press printed on beautiful parchment letterhead, with Santa’s own signature in gold foil, these letters will make even the biggest Santa Doubter think again. Add a certificate of Nice or Naughty, and you have the makings of a marvellous, memorable Christmas gift.

Choose from two categories of letters to match any kind of person. The “Nice” Red Letters are for children (or adults or groups) who have been trying their hardest to be good this year, or have done an act of service that deserves recognition from Santa.

The Black “Naughty” Letters, however, are for children and adults (or brother-in-laws or bosses) needing a reminder that Christmas is around a corner, and lumps of coal are still in fashion.

Letters range from gentle and concerned to funny and caustic. Santasredletter.com is a clever way to spread Christmas cheer and even startle a non-believer. 

All letters deliver with:

a North Pole postmark

a wax seal bearing Santa's emblem

press printed, quality stationery with "From the Desk of Santa" letterhead

individualized message with custom text

quality envelope addressed directly to recipient

a gold embossed Santa signature

 Product Reviews

“Absolutely wonderful letters. My children love them. They look so authentic.” -- Tina.

“Receiving a letter directly from Santa and postmarked North Pole was the highlight for my son! He couldn't tell enough people about it.” -- Rhonda.

“The letters were so authentic and real, even my dubious 8 year old was excited to open his! Another year of Santa magic for us!” -- Brittany.

See the letters: http://santasredletter.com.

Celebrate Christmas with Sangria

The Spanish restaurant, Alioli, in Touchwood, Solihull, has launched a new Sangria menu just in time for National Sangria Day on 20th December.

The exciting Alioli restaurant has proven itself as extremely popular since opening its doors in June, on serving the best Andalucian foods and wines and is now set to expand its offering with a range of tempting Sangrias.

Sangria is the traditional drink of Spain, it's a truly delicious blend of wine and fresh fruits which is celebrated annually every December.  

Guests at Alioli can choose from a delicious selection of red, white and rosé sangrias which have been developed by the specialist inhouse Spanish team led by Chef Alfonso Garcia Sanchez.  Blends include the classic Sangria Tradicional or exciting variations like the Sangria de Cereza y Amaretto with red wine, Amaretto, sour cherries and Cola.

Ricardo Serafin, General Manager of Alioli said: “With the miserable weather we’ve been experiencing lately, Sangria is the perfect drink to transport you to sunny days in Andalucia and National Sangria Day is the perfect excuse to come along and sample the new varieties we have on offer.”

And for guests looking for some authentic food taste experiences to accompany the Sangria, Alioli offers the ultimate ‘Tapas Experience’ for £50 which can be shared among 2-3 people.  The experience includes a set of 10 popular tapas dishes like Croquetas de Jamón, Padrón Peppers, Calamares Fritos and Marinated Olives.

Inspired by the gypsy culture of Andalusia, Alioli serves tapas food that sparks passion and artistic energy in a lively and colourful setting.  

It's the region's first restaurant to honour the culture of flamenco dancers and the largely misunderstood gypsy community and celebrates art, passion and the region of Andalusia.

Alioli is located in Touchwood Shopping Centre Solihull and is open Sunday to Thursday 11:30am to 10pm. Friday, Saturday 11:30am to 10:30pm.

For further information visit www.alioli.co.uk.

Don't get caught out by spoofing this Christmas, warns Which?

Which? The UKs leading consumer champion, has claimed banks are failing to protect their customers and are “leaving customers wide open to spoofing fraud”. Their investigation learned high street banks representing over 60% of the UK consumer banking market have failed to take advantage of the latest technology including Ofcom’s “Do Not Originate” registry which prevents spoofing of important phone numbers.

Only last week the Metropolitan Police announced the closure of iSpoof which was trying to defraud customers by impersonating banks including Barclays, Santander, HSBC, Lloyds, Halifax, First Direct, Natwest, Nationwide and TSB. The police reported:  “At one stage, almost 20 people every minute of the day were being contacted by scammers hiding behind false identities using the site.”

Pay.UK, who govern the UK’s Faster Payment service, introduced a framework for Request to Pay in 2020. This meant banks don't have to rely on insecure channels such as emails and SMS where customers can’t trust the identity of the originator. Instead communications could be transmitted securely bank app to bank app where participants had been through a “Know Your Customer” process to validate their identity.

Answer Pay were the first certified provider of Request to Pay technology, Mike Chambers Chairman of Answer Pay comments: “We see Request to Pay as a vital tool in helping secure remote payments but we can’t do this alone, the financial services industry must respond to the fraud challenges that face us.”

A spokesman for Which? said: "Given the lack of adoption and eye watering levels of fraud on its network, we call on Pay,UK to take the necessary steps to amend its rules to ensure the benefits of Request to Pay are realised, by compelling users of its faster payment service, such as banks, to deploy the service.

"The fraud problem we have in the UK is so bad UK Finance have described it as a “national security threat” following the 123% increase in impersonation fraud last year. Surely regulatory intervention is needed to ensure the appropriate steps are taken?"

He went on to add: "There's a precedent for regulatory action in other markets with the Monetary Authority of Singapore outright banning banks from sending clickable links in SMS and email instead promoting app to app communication.

"Perhaps all is not lost then, with new regulatory powers expected to be granted by parliament to the Payment Systems Regulator we should hopefully see Faster Payments become a safer way to transact with the effective use of Request to Pay?"

Bank fraud and spoofing is an especial problem in the run up to Christmas, with people making more purchases than normal with buying presents, extra food for Chirstmas, etc. So please do take care when you get a 'phone call or an email that purports to be from your bank or building society.

To learn more visit https://www.which.co.uk.

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For Christmas, they'll pull you a FREE pint AND give you £5,000! Interested? Read on!

With the current interest rate hike reaching 3%, highest level seen since the end of 2008, the cost of living crisis has gone from bad to worse.

Aluna Local independent restaurateurs are on a mission to save Christmas by giving away £5,000 to one lucky guest to help with the cost of living crisis.

The owners of Aluna, Siamais and Lulu Wild in Birmingham cocktail bars and restaurants are planning to give back to the community where they can in a very big way!

With electricity bills rising, the independent restaurant group, Enchanted Ventures have pulled together to ‘Pull you a Pint’ AND Put £5000 in the Bank! Yes, that's £5,000 for one very lucky guest!

What's more, the owners are also offering to give away a free pint when you enter the competition. Naomi Aly said, “It seems like money is escaping our bank accounts at every opportunity.  This £5,000 is to spend on whatever you choose. It could be two years of energy bills, a well deserved holiday or save it to treat your family this Christmas.”

“It’s a real tough time at the moment, and due to a bit left over at the end of the quarter, we thought we’d put it to good use and remind people you can still come out into the city and have some fun. So come into Birmingham, grab a free pint at some of our best cocktail bars in Birmingham City Centre and potentially win £5000 to spend on whatever you need most. What have you got to lose?”

Naomi went on to say: “When we had the opportunity to offer a financial prize, we thought this was something that could help anyone, and we knew we had to help our community if we could. And as we can’t give it to everyone, at least we can offer a free pint to everyone, instead!  We know a long recession is looming and eating and drinking out is normally where people tighten their purse strings. I suppose this is our way to say we are here and we want to help where we can.”

The competition is open to anyone over 18 and can be entered at any of the Enchanted Venues: You can go to Lulu Wild a cool, modern Chinese restaurant, and sit on their bunny chair. Or head to the golden wings at Aluna cocktail Bar in the Mailbox or the beautiful birdcage at Siamais Thai restaurant in Brindleyplace.

The competition runs from 7th November 2022 until 30th November 2022

To be in for a chance of winning this awesome competition and being utility bill free for two years follow these easy steps:

Just head down to any Enchanted Ventures venue in Birmingham: Aluna in Mailbox, Siamais in Brindleyplace or Lulu Wild in Brindleyplace.

Sign up to the competition using the restaurant’s iPad to receive an email with instructions on how to collect your enticingly free pint.

Head over to the restaurant’s iconic instagrammable spots at each of the venues to capture some heart-warming memories, be sure to post them, tag the venue and use the hashtag #TBC.

Enjoy your pint safe in the knowledge you’ve entered this awesome competition

One Winner will be notified in December 2022

For those wanting some quality food, drinks or simply just a refreshing pint this autumn, be sure to check out the restaurants on-line: https://luluwild.co.uk https://aluna.uk.com and https://siamais.co.uk.

ALUNA 128-130, The Mailbox, Wharfside Street, Birmingham B1 1RQ

https://aluna.uk.com

SIAMIAS 6, 7 Brindley Place, Oozells Street, Birmingham B1 2HS

https://siamais.co.uk

LULU WILD Unit 7 & 8, The Waters Edge, Brindleyplace, Birmingham B1 2HP

https://luluwild.co.uk

T&Cs:

Open to over 18s only

Pint can only be claimed between Sunday and Thursday during the dates above.

One Winner will be notified by Enchanted Ventures in December 2022

Winner must have valid UK bank account to receive the prize money.