General Chat

I normally buy cheap gift sets for our carers for Christmas. The soap and body lotiony sort of sets. They must be cheap because they are not allowed to accept anything over a fiver and because I am not that generous anyway.

There have been hardly any about this year so the poor unfortunates will have to make do with chocolate instead.

pound shop abound!" Make your own little sets

If you had the time Sharron you could make some shortbread. I did some as gifts, covered a bit of stiff cardboard box with foil, place some pretty xmas red and white tissue under the shortbread slices and then tied the whole with cellophane and ribbons. It did look really special. Guessing it would be quite a bit of work so near to Christmas though.

Make my own. It is all I can do to wrap them. Pain in the bum,Bah humbug.

Most years I have been able to get them easily in several places for a couple of quid but this year they just don't seem to be there.

Aldi had packets of three soaps last year and a cheap shop I know had them in all through the year which made it easy but even they don't seem to have much this year.

asda had some really nice gift sets reduced to a fiver today

Too much. I only get them a bit of tat.

The last couple of years I have been getting sets for a couple of quid. Don't want to spoil them!

Have you tried the pound shop? x

i think carers do a wonderful job
most are wortnh their weight in gold

wilkinsons has cheap things in

It will have to be chocolate this year I think. I'm sure they will be able to force it down if they concentrate hard.

Very true.They are worth their weight in gold.
We always have chocolate for them, a bowl of those little bars because the old man likes to look like Lord Bountiful and I do hope it ensures warm hands.
Amazingly, they have some clients who ring up and complain about petty little things like what time they arrive.
I am just so glad to see them whatever time. Saves me wiping his bum dunnit?

i think chocolates is a lovely idea, as some of the cheaper sets dnt usually smell so good lol,

some of the shops have has milk tray on offer for £2, and morrisons has boxes f roses £4 each, but buy 1 get 2 free, a right bargain :-D

I saw a lovely box of Cadburys (the purple box) for £2.50 in Superdrug - reduced from £3.99.

I wonder if they might have gift sets.

Vera

Just add this to their choccy gifts Sharron, they will be even more grateful!!!

Chocolate prices to soar on cocoa shortage
.By Julia Kollewe, Dec 14, 2011



..Savour your chocolates this Christmas because they could soon become a rarity. A cocoa crisis is brewing which threatens to push up the price of the dark stuff in coming years and could make the humble chocolate bar a pricey delicacy.

A growing taste for cocoa in places like China, along with the rising popularity of dark chocolate which has some proven health benefits, are to blame. Experts predict the shortage of cocoa could worsen to a million tonnes within eight years.

An area as large as the Ivory Coast, the world's biggest cocoa producer, would need to be cultivated to plug the shortage.

Angus Kennedy, editor of trade publication Kennedy's Confection, told The Express: "Part of the problem is the growing demand for chocolate in Asia where countries such as China are turning more towards Western tastes."

He fears that if producers are not given more help to boost cocoa bean crops, chocolate will be pushed into the delicacy price bracket - and chocolate lovers will have to make do with less appealing chocolate flavour substitutes that "don't melt in your mouth". Manufacturers may end up putting more nuts and other fillers in your chocolate bars.

He says farming practices are still archaic, which is holding back production of cocoa beans.

"In 20 years chocolate will be like caviar," predicts John Mason, founder of the Ghana-based Nature Conservation Research Council. "It will become so rare and so expensive that the average Joe just won't be able to afford it."

Superdrug appears to have ideas under £5.