There’s three weeks to go until Santa Claus comes to town, and if you haven’t already, it’s time to get your skates on and start Christmas shopping! After a devastating year, local businesses across Staffordshire need your support more than ever this Christmas, so take a look through our Staffordshire Christmas Gifting Guide for all the inspiration you need!
Couture Bakehouse
What’s Christmas without beautiful, buttery shortbread? Jenny, founder of Couture Bakehouse, discovered her Granny Gwen’s traditional shortbread recipe in a handwritten recipe book years after she passed away. Jenny decided to give it a try for herself and it has since become a firm favourite with her customers. The whole slab of shortbread – yes, that’s right, a whole slab – is 7” x 5” and is perfect for sharing with family and friends as you binge watch Christmas films! It also makes a beautiful stocking filler gift, as it is wrapped in cellophane and tied with a pretty red bow.
The shortbread slab is £9.95 inclusive of postage costs, and is sent first class with Royal Mail. They are posted out weekly on Wednesdays and Jenny can also include a bespoke message to your recipient. The last Wednesday for posting will be 16th December, before she takes a well earned break for Christmas. As well as shortbread slabs, Couture Bakehouse also has brownie and shortbread gift vouchers available to purchase.
To order, email couturegroupltd@yahoo.co.uk or text, call or WhatsApp 07794 497491.
The Good Life Meat Company
Give the gift of quality charcuterie this Christmas with The Good Life Meat Company. Their Charcuterie Platter Christmas Gift Bags will certainly ensure that your recipients (or yourself!) have the best dressed festive grazing table. Helen and Andy have teamed up with other local businesses to bring you two sensational gift bags this Christmas.
The medium gift bag contains two packs of The Good Life Meat Company’s award winning charcuterie, a pack of Moyden’s cheese* and a jar of Stokes pickle*. Priced at £18 plus postage, this truly is the perfect gift for foodies! The large gift bag features three charcuterie packs, a spicy spreadable n’duja, two packs of Moyden’s cheese* and a jar of Stokes pickle*. The large gift bag is priced at £30 and the impressive spread really will steal the show at Christmas parties!
Postage costs are £8 for one gift bag of any size, or £10 for 2-3 gift bags. If you’re local, you can also collect directly from their premises near Sugnall Walled Garden, or receive delivery if you’re within 5 miles of Eccleshall. All parcels will be posted out for next day delivery on Monday 14th December. Orders can be placed by contacting Helen at helen@goodlifemeat or give her a call on 07720 638410. You can also visit the website to order. *Please note that some varieties may differ from those pictured. For more details, contact Helen.
Scrumbles
All I want for Christmas is a sweet treat box from Scrumbles Cake Shop, *drools*. Sarah and Beth have really pulled out all the stops with their luxurious Christmas treat boxes for the festive season, and we really hope we find one of these under the tree on Christmas Day!
They’ve created four different cakes boxes for all tastes. First up is the Children’s Treat Box, which is £10 and includes a Christmas tree brownie, a Rudolph hot chocolate cone, a stained glass window gingerbread tree decoration, a ‘build your own’ mini gingerbread house kit, a candy cane, chocolate coins and a chocolate Santa Claus!
A delightful twist on the traditional mince pie are Scrumbles’ Mince Pie Cookie Cups, priced at £8 for a box of four. So if you’re not a fan of pastry but would love to try mincemeat encased in a gorgeous spiced cookie, these are the perfect choice.
Brownie lovers! For £12, you can indulge in Scrumbles’ Brownie Box… or give it as a gift, of course. This box has six wonderfully festive flavours of brownies, including ginger and salted caramel, marzipan, tiramisu, Baileys, chocolate orange and After Eight. We think we are in love!
Last but not least, there is the Blondie Box. For those who don’t like the chocolate overload of traditional brownies (are you mad!?), blondies still offer that gooey, fudgey goodness but with a light vanilla flavour. Scrumbles’ Blondie Box is £12 and offers six Christmassy varieties including gingerbread, white Toblerone, eggnog, mince pie, white chocolate orange and Lindt.
You can purchase your boxes online and collect them from Scrumbles Cake Shop in Leek. If you just can’t make up your mind about which box to get for your loved ones, Scrumbles sell gift vouchers over the counter. Head over to their website here to order your treat boxes.
Just Perfect Wines
A glass of fizz is an absolute must at Christmas, but a bottle is even better! Just Perfect Wines have created the ultimate Christmas Prosecco Treat Bag for fizz lovers, filled with fabulous treats. It includes: two mini bottles of prosecco DOC made by artisan winery Furlan; a 50ml bottle of cherry brandy liqueur which pairs beautifully with the prosecco for a festive cherry fizz; a box of exquisite prosecco truffles which are lovingly handcrafted by the artisan chocolatiers Noble and Stace of West Sussex; and a box of sensational cranberry rocky road chocolates, handmade by Langley’s Rocky Road in Cornwall. All packaged up in a jute bag, tied with a ‘Merry Christmas’ ribbon and priced at just £23.95 plus £4.95 postage, this really is the perfect gift for prosecco lovers.
As well as their Christmas Prosecco Treat Bag, Just Perfect Wines have a virtual ‘Christmas Gift Shop’ on their website so you can browse their other festive best buys including the Christmas Whinberry Gin Treat Bag and wine gift sets to name a couple. Plus, if you spend over £60, shipping is free!
To get your hands on their fabulous gifts, head over to the website here and place your orders. Please note that the last day for orders to arrive before Christmas is 17th December.
Dalton’s Dairy
Dalton’s Dairy in Staffordshire are famous for their impeccable ice cream… you really can’t beat relaxing in the sunshine with a tub in the summer! But did you know that the family run business also produce their own butter, milk, cheese, honey and jam?
Nestled on the outskirts of the southern Peak District, the family pride themselves on the quality of the milk produced by their happy cows, and no Christmas Day is complete without their produce. A bacon sandwich on Christmas morning slathered in Dalton’s salted butter, traditional bread sauce made with Dalton’s whole milk for Christmas dinner, Dalton’s luxury ice cream for dessert, and of course, a cheese board featuring their amazing Staffordshire cheese (made in Cheddleton by Staffordshire Cheese Co using only milk from Dalton’s cows) as you nestle down and watch Christmas films with the family in the evening.
And if you want to give the gift of quality dairy produce to your loved ones, Dalton’s Dairy also have gift vouchers available to purchase on their online shop.
F & B Bakes
Keen foodies Beth and Fumbi specialise in creating luxury brownies with unique flavour combinations, perfect for grown ups. Fumbi was a quarter-finalist in MasterChef 2017 and continues with his passion of making delectable desserts which are inspired by his travels around the world. As well as their usual brownie flavours, such as pistachio crunch, cherry, and triple chocolate to name a few, the duo have incorporated festive additions to their usual collection this Christmas, featuring Baileys, spiced nuts and espresso flavoured brownies! These scrumptious brownies will certainly turn heads this Christmas, and would pair perfectly with a festive liqueur by the fire.
F & B Bakes offer boxes of 3 (£6), boxes of 9 (£16) and boxes of 16 (£22), all including any three flavours of your choice, so you can mix and match your favourites. These prices are inclusive of local delivery charges around Stafford. Your final ordering date is 21st December, and they will be delivered to you on the 23rd December.
If you’re a little further afield, they also offer UK wide 1st class postage for their box of 3 (£10), and their box of 9 (£20). The final ordering date is the 18th December and they will be delivered on or around the 21st December.
To order, head over to their Instagram page and send them a message, or email fbbakes@gmail.com.