The Spirit of Christmas

[teamsaint]

Why settle for fine, when for a few shillings more, you can have divine?

FG is the stuff that puts people of whisky for life, because it's like pouring toilet cleaner down your throat. Still, if you like caramel colouring and don't value your oesophagus, you knock it back, sir.

Meths, toilet cleaner. What a past you had @Noggo.
no wonder you appreciate the good things in life nowadays.
I buy whichever brand has the best advert on the telly. Seems a fair way to decide.

Edit: a splash of cream soda and they all taste the same anyway.
(IIRC scotch and cream soda is Beef oven's favourite tipple.)

[Beef Oven!]

Meths, toilet cleaner. What a past you had @Noggo.
no wonder you appreciate the good things in life nowadays.
I buy whichever brand has the best advert on the telly. Seems a fair way to decide.

Edit: a splash of cream soda and they all taste the same anyway.
(IIRC scotch and cream soda is Beef oven's favourite tipple.)

I adore Cream Soda (R Whites, only the best), but I only would use it with a single malt. Goes best with Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix.

[Thropplenoggin]

Meths, toilet cleaner. What a past you had @Noggo.
no wonder you appreciate the good things in life nowadays.

I may have been in the gutter, TS, but I sure saw a lot of stars.

[Nick Armstrong]

Snow Phoenix.

That's an Apple Operating System isn't it?

[Nick Armstrong]

Why settle for fine, when for a few shillings more, you can have divine?

Okay... well the current FG is coming to an end (the cleaning lady was in this afternoon ).

What would you suggest for a few shillings more (Domestos and Jeyes Fluid aside )?

JW Black?

[Beef Oven!]

That's an Apple Operating System isn't it?

This being the season of good will, it can be anything you want it to be, cali!

[Nick Armstrong]

This being the season of good will, it can be anything you want it to be, cali!

Specially after a half of T-Nog's crème de meth!

[amateur51]

Had I placed the bet that was in my mind when I wrote my post, you'd have won me money there, T-Nog - I said: I bet T-Nog'll come along and pour scorn on that...

Like shooting fish in a barrel

Actually, I think it's fine.

You'll have to tell me where you buy your meths

[BBMmk2]

Today is called PANIC SATURDAY!!!

[teamsaint]

Just spotted a £150 “luxury hamper “ in the Aldi catalogue. Looks tempting !!

Xmas hampers…almost but not quite irresistible ? Bound to be a bit disappointing ? The xmas catalogue hampers made the news headlines for weeks in end a few years ago when one of them went bust ….but maybe they are making a comeback …..

[oddoneout]

Just spotted a £150 “luxury hamper “ in the Aldi catalogue. Looks tempting !!

Xmas hampers…almost but not quite irresistible ? Bound to be a bit disappointing ? The xmas catalogue hampers made the news headlines for weeks in end a few years ago when one of them went bust ….but maybe they are making a comeback …..

Catalogue hampers are rather different from the Aldi offering - they were in effect a kind of saving scheme at the end of which if you were lucky you got the basics of your Christmas food requirements all dolled up and delivered - assuming the company didn't go under taking your money with it. Perhaps it was seen as preferable to putting away a bit of money regularly in your own account as the catalogue money couldn't be accessed.
Decades ago OH decided to get a large John Lewis hamper which, as it didn't include any fresh food, could be dipped into as and when. The contents were good, and included several things we wouldn't have otherwise bought but I couldn't help thinking of how much I could have got if I had been given the money instead. The basket part of it (didn't have a lid) was a good 'un though and I still have it. I think now if I were to go down the hamper route I would go for one of the choose your items ones available locally, not least since I can't eat the cake, biscuit, pastry type offerings usually found in ready made ones.
Aldi probably a pretty safe bet, although if it includes fresh food you'd need to be sure of being able to deal with it (eat or freeze) in time!

[Petrushka]

I thought I'd go down the DIY route this year with hampers for two close friends. I've got the baskets and produce from our local Waitrose but think I might have overestimated my DIY skills re the cellophane bag wrapping, not to mention having to get them (no car) to our meet up point two weeks hence. Might be easier to wrap items individually and put them in a gift bag. Not the same, though, is it?

However, it does mean I've chosen all the contents with each friend in mind so perhaps that's all that matters.

[teamsaint]

I thought I'd go down the DIY route this year with hampers for two close friends. I've got the baskets and produce from our local Waitrose but think I might have overestimated my DIY skills re the cellophane bag wrapping, not to mention having to get them (no car) to our meet up point two weeks hence. Might be easier to wrap items individually and put them in a gift bag. Not the same, though, is it?

However, it does mean I've chosen all the contents with each friend in mind so perhaps that's all that matters.

Might be worth trying a youtube video on how to do the wrapping? I think The Works do some good value stuff like cellophane, and I ‘m sure we got baskets there a couple of years ago. This video looks quite helpful.

https://youtu.be/Wgh0ewxIWBk

It is fun to do hampers .