Alcohol free Christmas cocktails with Fever-Tree?

43% of consumers now opting for non-alcoholic alternatives. Fever-Tree's new Cocktail Mixers are perfect to shake up your Christmas drinking by helping you swap your favourite cocktail for a mouthwatering mocktail!

Fever-Tree's cocktail mixers are ideal for creating a super easy mocktail, simply by switching out the spirit for a non-alcoholic version. Fever-Tree recommend Everleaf's non-alcoholic spirits range as a perfect pairing!

Jazz up your Christmas and treat yourself to a booze-free Mojito or Margarita to kick start the New Year in a mindful, indulgent way.

The lineup:  

Fever-Tree Classic Mojito Mixer: Fresh Mexican Limes meet Moroccan Mint for a zesty, refreshing twist. Just add non-alcoholic rum and ice for a mojito masterpiece. 

Fever-Tree Classic Margarita Mixer: Packed with fresh Mexican limes, sweet Italian Blood Orange, and a hint of sea salt. Add a non-alcoholic tequila alternative, shake or stir, and enjoy an authentic margarita.  

Available now at Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's, Waitrose, and online at Ocado, for just £4.50.

Say goodbye to the hassle of squeezing limes and adding multiple complex ingredients! Just mix, shake and serve!

How to make the perfect mocktail at home:

Simply add ice to a glass.

Pour in 50ml of your chosen non-alcoholic spirit and top it off with Fever-Tree's mixer.

A quick stir, and it's ready to sip and enjoy. Ideal for an evening with friends or a night in front of the telly during the winter nights.

And don't forget, next month is Dry January and you can ramp up you mocktail mixing abilities then.

Still time to get shopping at the UKs Christmas Markets!

There's still time to do your Christmas shopping at the UKs special Christmas markets. In fact, the very useful website Business Name Generator has compiled a list of those that are not only still open for business but that remain trading into the month of January.

No UK Christmas market will remain open for longer than Reading’s, which will continue to operate until as late as January 7th. However these markets are only open for an average of 11 hours per day, compared to the 12 in other cities.

The Scottish capital city of Edinburgh is keeping its stalls open right up until January 6th, keeping any Scottish shoppers with a fondness for festivities feeling very satisfied, indeed.

Glasgow’s Christmas markets will also stay open until after the New Year, officially closing on January 4th. However, Glasgow’s markets only stay open for an average of 9 hours per day, with opening hours varying massively between weekdays and weekends.

Southampton’s festive markets will also stay open until right up to January 2nd, giving shoppers a whole 48 hours after the turn of the New Year - or 8 days after Christmas Day - to keep the festive spirit alive and well.

To learn more visit https://businessnamegenerator.com/the-best-christmas-shopping-cities

Signature Cocktails by Amanda Schuster

Phaidon (Phaidon.com) is pleased to announce the publication of Signature Cocktails, which is a stunning, landmark volume that showcases 200 iconic drinks from around the globe and throughout history. 

What is a signature cocktail? It's a special, bespoke drink that expresses the nature of the time, person, venue, city, or country for which it was originally created. 

This stunning compendium serves not only as a recipe collection but as an unprecedented history of these legendary drinks, too. 

Signature Cocktails spans in excess of 500 years, uniting everything from the classic Mimosa to the Brittany Spears-inspired Hit Me Baby One Mai Tai to create surprising juxtapositions and a fresh overview of the subject.

Curated by New York-based cocktail connoisseur Amanda Schuster - in consultation with regional experts across the globe - Signature Cocktails is a satisfying collection of drinks, all of which are remarkable in their breadth and character. Each entry is accompanied by the name of the creator, place and date of invention, and spirit type, alongside the original recipe and a specially commissioned contemporary image of the drink.

It's in hardback at £29.95, and will be an excellent gift for the professional or amateur mixologist in your life.

Charcuterie trees to baked Cambozola how to throw the perfect Christmas party with Asda

It's officially Christmas party season! Asda shoppers can enjoy the full festive season with unmissable offers on a delicious selection of grazing and party food - tis' the time to be merry after all.

Grazing dishes are perfect for those who want to curate a plate and get creative with their presentation. This year, influencers are crafting charcuterie trees, chalets and wreaths from a selection of snacks, with the hashtag #charcuterietree gaining 27million views on TikTok.

Asda is encouraging their shoppers to get creative this year, with the Build Your Own Festive Antipasti Board. For just £5, shoppers can enjoy a selection of cheeses and salamis, sweet cranberries, apricots and semi-dried tomatoes. The board comes with instructions on how to build your Christmas tree, so shoppers can impress as the host with the most.

Asda’s Build Your Own Festive Grazing Cones (£6) pack includes a selection of pitted green olives and pepper drops, Iberico cheese, semi-dried tomatoes, air-dried meats and baked breadsticks – plus shoppers can turn the box into a cone stand to create a display centrepiece!

The Mezze Grazing Selection (£4) features a Provolone Piccante cheese, amongst a mouth-watering selection of meats. Racking up five-star reviews on Asda.com, the Party Snack Platter (£5) brings the heat with a selection of spicy cheddar cheeses and is a “great snack to have at a party” according to one delighted customer.

With a sweet and delicate prosciutto, rich and garlicky salami and smoky chorizo, the Continental Sharing Selection (£2.95) is perfect for the meat-lovers, whilst the German Style Salami & Cheese Selection (£2.95) features a Beechwood smoked cheese - for a continental taste of Christmas (think Christmas markets!).

Get this party started! The buffet is open...

Mini foods have been trending in recent years, and the novelty hasn't worn off when it comes to miniaturising party favourites.

Asda’s Mini ‘Mac’ Burgers (£5) with cheddar cheese and diced gherkins are served in mini brioche buns and finished with their own take on the famous burger sauce. Serve alongside Mini Hot Dogs (£5), for the ultimate selection of finger food. Sure to make any party less messy, the Mini Cheese & Pepperoni Parcels (£3.50) are packed with delicious mozzarella cheese, diced pepperoni and tomatoes. Rounding up the selection of minis, the vibrant Oriental Money Bags (£2) are filled with 3 different flavours - tangy hoisin mushroom, sweet and sour shredded vegetables and soy and chilli jackfruit.

Add a touch of nostalgia with the Extra Special Lobster and King Prawn Vol Au Vent Selection. Partygoers can choose from Canadian lobster in a rich thermidor sauce, or king prawns in a creamy beurre blanc sauce - both of which are encased in crisp puff pastry.

Guaranteed to be a talking point at any buffet, the Extra Special Brown Butter & Spiced Dark Rum Stuffing Wreath with Brûléed Pigs in Blankets is an eye-catching pork stuffing wreath, made using only British prime pork cuts. Infused with this year’s signature flavour, this stuffing wreath contains notes of rich brown butter and spiced dark rum and has been hand-decorated with their Extra Special Pigs in Blankets.

Make your party extra special with Asda’s specialty cheeses. It is Christmas after all!

A classic cheeseboard is a must-have at any festive gathering. The Extra Special Cheeseboard (£12) is served on a proper slate board with a tasting card and a wine pairing suggestion from Asda’s wine expert for each of the cheeses. Four new cheeses; Vintage Cheddar, Leicester Gold, 16-month Iberico Reserva and a French Mon P’tit Creamy Brie, join last year's favourite; the Vintage Red Fox.

Bring some festive theatre with the Baking Cambozola with Cranberry Glaze. A first-to-market product, it combines a mild creamy blue cheese with a sweet cranberry glaze, made by a top award-winning glaze maker.

Recent stats have revealed cheddar is the UK’s favourite cheese, so customers are set to love the Extra Special Wyke Farms Vintage Cheddar Bake with Caramelised Onion Chutney (£12). Rich and indulgent and topped with a caramelised onion chutney, party hosts can keep this cheese hot and oozing at the table, as it comes with a stand and candle.

Adding a touch of sweet, the Extra Special Camembert & Cranberry Savoury Profiteroles (£5.50) are indulgently filled with a creamy camembert sauce, and topped with a cranberry, cheddar and parsely crumb for a sweet and crunchy finish.

Fill the freezer now!

Pick and mix all your favourites with Asda’s much-loved multibuy offer on frozen products. Fill the freezer, then the table, and let the party begin! Ending on 2 January 2024, shoppers can shop four products and get the cheapest item free of charge.. The offer includes seasonal favourites like Party Cheesy Stars (£2.50), Party Salt and Pepper Prawns (£2.50) and Party Sticky Chicken Skewers (£2.50).

As always – customers are advised to save some room for dessert. A crowd pleaser is the Tempting Trifle Gateau Bar (£3.50), with fluffy layers of sponge, a smooth cream mousse, strawberry sauce and a shower of coloured confetti sprinkles. Kids are set to love the Jingle the Reindeer Ice Cream (£2) – a chocolate and marshmallow ice cream, rippled with a chocolate sauce and topped with red sugar pearls.

www.asda.com

12 days of M&S: Over six million doors opened in nations biggest digital advent calendar

Over six million digital doors were opened on the M&S app in just five days.

Hundreds of thousands of new customers have downloaded the app, pushing it to number one in the app store over the first weekend.

Over half a million free gifts and savings were redeemed– with over 10 million still up for grabs in the remaining week, including Christmas light up Liqueurs and bottles of Prosecco.

 In just the first five days, more than six million doors were opened since ’12 Days of M&S’, the retailer’s popular digital advent calendar, launched on 1 December.

Previously known as ‘12 Days of Sparks’, the digital advent calendar returned this month for its third year, bigger and better than ever before, pushing the M&S app to number 1 in the app store over the first  weekend, as hundreds of thousands rushed to download the app.

In the first five days, over half a million customers redeemed their free gifts or festive offers which included everything from Christmas decorations, pyjamas, slippers to chocolates and boxes of biscuits.

Over 10 million other free gifts were also available, sincluding the hugely popular Christmas light up Liqueurs and bottles of Prosecco, plus a special saving on Christmas Jumpers, just in time for the big day.

Customers who opened all 12 doors, were automatically be entered into the draw for the chance to win a magical M&S Christmas with a £10k M&S Gift Card, plus thousands of other prizes up for grabs, too.

Sharry Cramond, Director of M&S Food Marketing and M&S Loyalty said: “We wanted to make 12 Days of M&S bigger, better and more festive than ever before and the response was absolutely incredible, with hundreds of thousands of customers picking up their free gifts from stores and making savings using their festive offers."

Asda urges customers not to miss out on their Christmas Cashpot

Asda is reminding customers they need to convert their Asda Rewards Christmas Saver Cashpot into vouchers before this expires on 31st December.

The Christmas Saver Cashpot feature launched in August and rewarded customers with a bonus for saving their Asda Rewards pounds to spend during the festive period.

Rewards users can convert this Cashpot into vouchers to spend either in an Asda store or online until Sunday 31st December 2023.

Asda is urging any customer who hasn’t already done so, to join the 1.2 million savvy shoppers who have already created vouchers before their Cashpots expire.

So far, the average voucher created is £20 which customers have been redeeming to reduce their grocery bill and help them to prepare for the big day.

To create a voucher, customers must go to the wallet section of the Asda Rewards app and select "Create Voucher” and then confirm the amount they’d like to spend from their Christmas Saver Cashpot.

Any new customer who signs up for an Asda Rewards account before Monday 25th December will receive a £5 off coupon for their first shop. They then have until Sunday 31st December to complete their second shop to receive an additional £5 in their Cashpot.

Throughout the year, customers have been completing Missions and buying Star Products to help grow their Cashpot. Asda has also launched a number of seasonal giveaways and coupons to enable customers to make big savings. Highlights for this year include:

More than seven million customers have used the Asda Rewards app since launch and have earned over £300m in their Cashpots.

Asda customers have earned 12m entries into a Christmas instant win prize draw through the latest ‘Scan to Win’ and have won over £6m in their Cashpot.

More than 4m money off coupons across a wide range of products have been given away to customers.

15 lucky Asda customers have won £5000 in their Cashpot with over 100,000 customers winning a value above £10.

1.7m have earned over £4m in bonus payments for saving Asda Rewards pounds in their Christmas Saver Cashpot.

To get started on Rewards, customers need to download the Asda Rewards app and log in with - or create - an Asda Groceries account.   

Terms and conditions for ‘Scan to Win’ and a full list of products excluded from Asda Rewards can be found on Asda's website - Asda.com.

Run, run Rudolph all the way to Morrisons for your free carrots!

Rudolph and all the other hard-working reindeer who haul Santa's sleigh should visit Morrisons stores to pick up their free carrots. Or if they are too busy they can send a human friend to collect them on their behalf.

Morrisons is spreading the festive cheer by giving away over 175,000 wonky carrots across all its supermarkets to help customers prepare for Rudolph’s visit. 

British wonky carrots are oversized or misshapen but still taste absolutely delicious, and these free, festive favourites are available to collect for free from the front of all 496 Morrisons stores between tomorrow, the 22nd until 24th December. 

By giving the carrots away, Morrisons hopes to encourage families to choose wonky vegetables more often to help cur down on food waste as this produce would have otherwise been discarded.

During the festive period, Morrisons carrot sales more than double in the week before Christmas compared to the previous week, showing the Norse tradition of leaving food and drink out for Father Christmas and his reindeer is still as popular as ever.

Andy Todd, Carrot Buyer at Morrisons said: “The spirit of giving is what Christmas is all about, and we’re thrilled to help add a little bit of magic to our customers’ celebrations by giving them a delicious wonky carrot to leave out for Rudolph. Our tasty wonky range helps our British farmers reduce waste and offer customers a delicious alternative at a fraction of the cost, too"

Launched back in 2015, Morrisons Naturally Wonky fruit and vegetables helps to minimise food waste and offers affordable produce to customers. The range includes 24 wonky varieties including potatoes, carrots and parsnips. In the last 12 months, nearly 27,000 tonnes of fruit and vegetables were sold this way. (I have admit my wife and I are partial to their wonky grapes!)