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Raisie Bay

My Sunday Snapshot, Christmas Lights Switch On

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Every year we love to see the fabulous Christmas tree in Bournville lit up, it’s a delight to pass by but it’s also fun to go and watch the Christmas lights being switched on. Last year it wasn’t made into an event because of the Covid restrictions, but this year it was all on again and the crowds were out in force despite the cold weather. We actually woke up to snow in the morning and the wind was fierce.

This year we were lucky enough to know about the disabled car park which is right next to the tree. My girls had already been dropped off to look around the stalls and entertainment but were freezing by the time we got there so we stood outside and they sat in the car to watch the Christmas lights being switched on. I guess Christmas 2021 has begun now!

We had a walk around with the Little Man but there was too many people and so many steps. We skirted around the outside not being able to get near enough to actually see any of the stalls or shops. Then we got back in the car and went home.

It was a lovely end to the week. I also had a fabulous day on Friday as it was my birthday and I was really spoilt by everyone.

We had a lovely take out from the Japanese and the kids had Dominoes. Then we played Jackbox.tv together as a family and had a good giggle.

Now I just have to work out when or how I’m going to put the Christmas tree and decorations up at home. Do you have your decorations up yet?

Word of the Week 48 – Birthday

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Hello and welcome to the home of Word of the Week. A nice and simple weekly linky, with everyone welcome to pop by and share. The idea of the linky is to reflect back on your past week and share it with us. It’s great if you can sum it up in a word or phrase, hence giving us your Word of the Week. My word this week is ‘birthday’ and you can read more about that below.

I’m not totally strict on using just a word or phrase. But please try to stick to the theme of summing up your week. There are not too many rules with this linky, just remember to read at least another couple of posts in the link up after adding your link. I will read and comment on all posts and tweet them out for you. I also have a Pinterest board devoted to Word of the Week and I will add posts to Mix Please add the badge below to your post so that others may find us and join in. If you comment or tweet then please use the hashtag #WotW

Word of the Week is open from 6am on Friday Morning to 12 noon on Monday. Plenty of time to join in!

If you are unfamiliar with the Word of the Week linky then please feel free to ask any questions. New linkers are always welcome, we love to hear what you have been up to in the past week.

MY WORD OF THE WEEK – Birthday

Today it’s my birthday! I’m hoping to celebrate with my favourite Japanese Take Out. My main birthday wish is a nice peaceful day.

When I was approaching my 50th birthday I remember feeling incredibly old. I was really having difficulty coming to terms with it. But in the end it turned out to be just another special day with lots of presents and the next day I felt no different. I didn’t turn into a diddery old lady overnight.

Birthday’s are great when you are young and you can go out and celebrate, maybe have a party, loads of gifts and so on. When you get older it’s down to your family to make it special. But, even though I get older each year, I look back to that worry about becoming 50 and one thing really strikes me. Age doesn’t matter at all.

Now it’s over to you, what word or phrase sums up your week this week?

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Cadburys Gifts You Don’t Want to Miss This Christmas

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I love Cadburys, I live not far from the Cadbury Factory and Cadbury World. I know they sold out to another company a few years ago, but I really hope the village of Bournville stays the same. I’ve put together some fabulous Cadburys gifts you don’t want to miss that are available this Christmas.

I am an affiliate for Cadburys so if you click through any of my links and purchase something I may earn a little money at no extra cost to you. Thank you for all of your support x

First A Competition

Cadburys are offering a Christmas Eve Box in their competition which you can enter up until December 17th 2021. All you have to do is tell them what day Christmas Eve falls on this year. Why don’t you have a go, it’s free to enter.

https://www.cadburygiftsdirect.co.uk/christmas-competition

Christmas Eve Box

If you want to buy a box and not wait to see if you are a competition winner you can do so in the Cadburys Gift Shop.

The Cadburys Christmas Eve Box costs £12 and includes:
2 x Cadbury Christmas Puds
1 x Cadbury Dairy Milk Tree Decoration Baubles Box 108g
1 x Cadbury Snowy Fingers Biscuit Box 115g
2 x Cadbury Instant Hot Chocolate Stick
1 x Cadbury Mini Snowballs Bag 80g
1 x Cadbury Selection Pack 89g includes 5 items: Fudge, Freddo, Buttons, Curly Wurly treatsize, Chomp Selection

Selection Boxes

Selection boxes are a great gift idea for gifts especially for kids (or big kids!) This pack is the giant Selection Box which is £15. There are others available from just £1.09.

fabulous giant selection box £15

  • 1 x Giant Selection Box measuring 43cm x 31.5cm x 2.5cm , which includes:
  • Cadbury Dairy Milk Caramel Bar 45g
  • Cadbury Dairy Milk Fruit & Nut Bar 49g
  • Cadbury Dairy Milk Whole Nut Bar 45g
  • Cadbury Dairy Milk Bar 45g
  • Cadbury Crunchie Bar 40g
  • Cadbury Boost Bar 48.5g
  • Cadbury Twirl Bar 43g
  • Cadbury Flake Bar 32g
  • Cadbury Curly Wurly Bar 21.5g
  • Cadbury Wispa Bar 36g
  • Cadbury Picnic Bar 48g
  • Cadbury Double Decker Bar 53.4g
  • Selection Pack 89g which includes a Treatsize Curly Wurly, Freddo Bar, Buttons, Fudge and Chomp

Hampers

A hamper is fabulous for Christmas, whether as a gift for one or a whole family. I’ve bought a big hamper for my ‘hospital family’ those that take care of me when I have my infusions. There is something for everyone but here are a few choices I’ve picked to show you.

£30 Christmas Hamper

Contents:

  • 1 x Cadbury Heroes Tub 600g
  • 1 x Cadbury Roses Tub 600g
  • 1 x Cadbury Christmas Freddo Selection Box 135g
  • 1 x Maynards Bassetts Wine Gums 400g Carton
  • 1 x Maynards Bassetts Jelly Babies 400g Carton
  • 1 x Cadbury Eclairs Carton 420g

Or You could go really special with this Ultimate Christmas hamper including the Wicker Basket for £70

Contents:

  • 1 x Chocolate Coloured Wicker Gift Hamper with double clasps
  • 1 x 800g Cadbury Roses Tub
  • 1 x 800g Cadbury Heroes Limited Edition Tin
  • 1 x 400g Cadbury Bournville Selection Box
  • 1 x Cadbury Stocking Selection Box 179g
  • 1 x 850g Dairy Milk Bar with Merry Christmas Cardboard Gift Sleeve
  • 1 x 430g Cadbury Retro Selection Box
  • 1 x 108g Cadbury Chocolate Christmas Decorations
  • 1 x 80g Cadbury Dairy Milk Mini Snowballs Bag

Alcoholic Gift Packs

For the grown ups there are some fabulous Alcohol and chocolate combination gifts. Here are a couple of my choices.

Cadburys Wine and Chocolate Hamper £50

  • 1 x Dark Brown Wicker 16″ Hamper Basket with single clasp
  • 1 x 16 Little Black Pigs Pinot Grigio 75cl
  • 1 x 16 Little Black Pigs Shiraz Cabernet 75cl
  • 1 x 420g Chocolate Eclairs Carton
  • 1 x 185g Heroes Carton
  • 1 x 290g Roses Carton
  • 1 x 180g Milk Tray Box
  • 1 x Cadbury Bournville Giant Buttons 110g Bag
  • 1 x 110g Dairy Milk Bar
  • Please Note: This gift contains alcohol and cannot be bought or delivered to any person under the age of 18.
  • Proudct dimensions 42cm x 33cm x 22cm

Wine and Choc Hamper £27 red or white wine

  • Cadbury Double Deck Selection box 498.8g (product dimensions) 250mm x 230mm x 65mm which includes:
  • 1 x Cadbury Milk Tray chocolate Box 78g
  • 1 x Cadbury Dairy Milk 45g
  • 1x Cadbury Dairy Milk with Caramel 45g
  • 1 x Cadbury Dairy Milk with Fruit and Nut 49g
  • 1 x Crunchie 40g
  • 1 x Twirl 43g
  • 1 x Flake 32g
  • 1 x Curly Wurly 21.5g
  • 1 x Wispa 36g
  • 1 x Boost 48.5g
  • 1 x Treatsize Cadbury Buttons bag 14.4g
  • 1 x Double Decker 54.5g
  • 1 x 75cl 11.5% 16 Little Black Pigs Pinot Grigio in a gift box.

Cadbury Bars and Beers Hamper £22

  • 1 x 200g Cadbury Dairy Milk Bar
  • 1 x 110g Cadbury Dairy Milk Fruit & Nut Bar
  • 1 x 200g Dairy Milk Caramel Bar
  • 1 x 120g Dairy Milk Whole Nut Bar
  • 1 x100g Bournville Dark Chocolate
  • 1 x 500ml St Peter’s Gatekeeper Golden Ale ABV. 4.7%
  • 1x 500ml St Peter’s Best Bitter ABV. 3.7%
  • 1 x 500ml Old Style Porter ABV 5.1%.
  • Product dimensions 265mm x 245mm x 95mm

Building Chocolate

Last year we made a Gingerbread Chocolate House from Cadburys and it was a lots of fun, and just as disastrous as our usual gingerbread houses. (We made it work though and it was so tasty.) This year Cadburys have added to their collection and as well as a house you can make a train, cottage or cabin

Cadburys Dairy Milk and Oreo Train Kit £10

There is so much more on offer on the Cadburys Gift Shop Website and delivery is quick, you can get it next day if you order before 4pm. I hope I’ve given you some inspiration to get you started.

Start a New Journey with Yowu Cat Ear Headphones

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We were kindly sent a pair of Yowu cat ear headphones to review, I asked Boo to choose which ones she would like and she went for the light blue cat ear headphones.

These headphones are popular with the gaming community, they offer great control and also look the part. Using an app. on her phone Boo can customise her headphones to suit her. She loves the way they light up and said they feel comfortable and work really well either by blue tooth or wired.

The Technical Bits

List of features:

  • Bluetooth or wired
  • choice of colour and style
  • customizable lights and sounds
  • virtual 7.1 channel
  • noise reduction microphone
  • charging time 1.6 hours
  • accessories: charging cable and plug (please note if you are in the UK this plug will need an adapter)
  • frequency range 10HZ-20kHz
  • 1000mAh lithium polymer battery

Our Review

These headphones are despatched from the UK but are imported. The plug is a two pin but you can buy an adapter pretty easily.

The box was really pretty and the headphones have their own sturdy case.

The box
Headphones in hard case

Boo loved the headphones. She said they were really comfortable and loved all the features, especially the changing colours. She wouldn’t let me share a photo, so you’ll have to take my word for it that she looked really cute in them.

The headphones cost $139 which is around £103 at the time of writing this. I’ve bought many a pair of cheap headphones and it really is worth splashing out sometimes as you do get what you pay for. They took two weeks to arrive in the post.

If you want to splash out a little more Yowu also do special edition headphones, Cardcaptor Sakura is one of my favourites but I’m way too old to admit I’m an Hatsuni Miko fan (no, I’m not, you are never too old, she’s amazing!) and I’m sure Star would like the Fox Spirit Susu edition.

I’m not the only Hatsune Miku fan in the house, I remember when the Little Man had Levan Polka on repeat.

My Sunday Snapshot – It’s not a Kiss!

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The other day my two cats were on the coffee table, well for a little while until I threw them both off. They both wanted the place and were sniffing. It’s not a kiss! I had my phone in my hand so I took a photo.

Sabrina will always go up to Ash when he comes in to sniff him. She likes to know where he has been and what adventures he has had. It’s also a form of Cat greeting, so I guess, not unlike a kiss. But, they are not really friends.

Sabrina is a lot older than Ash and was brought home with her brother when we already had two cats. She is used to having other cats around which is why we got Ash as she was getting lonely with the other cats dying. She was always the small timid cat though, and being bossed around by the others. She was always last to the food bowl. When Ash arrived we had problems with the food so we now feed them in different places from different dishes. They do still sneakily eat each other’s food though. Sabrina will stand aside if Ash goes for her bowl, but Ash also lets Sabrina eat from his. We just know that as the bigger and hungrier cat, Sabrina would not get to eat much at all if we didn’t feed her separately.

I think Sabrina just about tolerates Ash, they have occasionally curled up together to sleep but not often. They don’t fight and I guess that’s the best thing. Sabrina is an indoor cat and Ash an outdoor cat and they couldn’t be more different. Sabrina is constantly find a lap to curl up on, whereas Ash would rather curl up in a cardboard box. We’ve tried cat beds but neither of them will sleep in them.

It’s not a kiss! But it is a cute photo.

Ash in a Basket