Foxy Tea

We spent last night finishing off our Christmas shopping online - phew! What if you haven't finished your shopping yet though? Are you still looking for inspiration? Well today's post is the perfect gift for the tea lover in your life!

Foxy tea got in touch a couple of weeks ago and asked if we would like to sample one of their teas..... naturally we said yes!

Foxy tea were founded earlier this year and specialise in ...yes you guessed it... teas. They have searched the world over to find the best quality, 100% natural whole leaf teas. Now you can buy their teas and even personalise the tin to create the perfect gift.

I was set loose on their website and told to pick my choice of tin, personalisation and tea. I have to admit it wasn't an easy decision, they have some really lovely designs. In the end I opted for a Christmassy design, the snowman......

You can add a name and a message to the tin which is a really cute idea - a fab present.

Then of course I had to pick which kind of tea I'd like. There's a choice of eight top quality teas - I chose the peppermint then sat and waited for it to arrive.

It arrived really very quickly and as much as I loved the tin, to be honest I couldn't wait to rip into those teabags. They were packaged in an aluminium pouch to keep them fresh. Upon opening the bag the smell was just gorgeous - proper peppermint tea.

It was then that I really noticed the teabags themselves. 

The bags are 100% biodegradable, pyramid teabags. Without sounds too cheesy you can feel the quality in the bags and see it too - the tea leaves look so fresh!

Ok, ok, ok Rhoda get to the point...what does it taste like?! Well several years ago we went on holiday to Egypt. I remember sitting in the hotel on the last day with a pot of peppermint tea. It was the most gorgeous tea I'd ever had. Foxy tea takes me back to that day. Honestly it's the closest to that tea I've ever tasted - full of flavour and it tastes so so fresh. Just fabulous! Perfect for relaxing and enjoying in the comfort of your own home.

If the rest of their teas are half as good as the peppermint I think their customers will be very happy.

If you do want to create a personalised gift for the tea lover in your life you can do so for just £8.99. You can, of course, buy their teas without personalising the tin. Each tin contains 15 teabags and retails at £4.20. 

I'm really impressed by the peppermint tea. I think next on the list to try is the caramel rooibos :-)

NOTE - please order before 18th December for Christmas delivery.

You can keep up to date with all the news from foxy tea by following them on twitter (@foxytea) or liking them on Facebook.

A sample of peppermint tea was received free of charge. This has in no way affected our opinion of the product. All opinions expressed are entirely our own.

Beebo Magazine Launches in the Southwest

We are always on the look out for new ideas here at Rhoda Reviews, whether it be a new website, product, service or publication. So although we are based in Scotland a new publication for the Southwest caught our eye - Beebo Magazine.

Beebo, "the Southwest's must have family magazine", launches in the spring and we were lucky enough to be given a sneak preview of what's on offer.

I have to admit that it feels pretty surreal reading about Easter Eggs and Mother's Day before we have even had Christmas, but that said we still really enjoyed it.

Beebo is a bright, beautifully designed magazine that welcomes the reader. I was a bit concerned that it wouldn't be relevant to us due to the geographical nature of the publication, but I was wrong. There are some really interesting articles in there, with advice from Mums to Mums, product reviews, ideas for gifts, the best Easter Eggs... it really is packed full. Of course when it comes to recommending places for Mother's Day Lunch it's all based in Somerset, well that's the point of the magazine isn't it? I have to say though that I wish we had something similar for our local area (if we do we've certainly not happened across it).

The magazine has a feel of quality about it, from the articles and adverts to the images. It feels like it is aimed at "yummy mummies", that's not a criticism it's just an observation. I love the fact that it includes tasty looking recipes and a local competition too. All in all it's a great read.

An initial 10 000 copies of Beebo will be distributed across carefully selected locations throughout Somerset in the spring. Thereafter it will be a quarterly magazine, with special seasonal features as well as the usual family articles, suggestions and days out. So keep your eyes peeled for that first edition! You can subscribe online and also keep up with all of their news on their website and Facebook page.

We were not compensated in any way for this post. All opinions are entirely our own.

Support UNICEF This Christmas

I don't know about you but sometimes I think about Christmas and the amount of money that gets spent and wonder why we don't just donate it to charity? I mean it's very nice that Uncle Bob still gives us a box of chocolates, it shows he cares and that's lovely. When you think about it though, if he'd written in a card that he'd given that £3 to a worthy cause I think that would mean more to me....and my waistline.

I remember one Christmas opening up an envelope from my, then, fiance. It was a card from a well known charity saying he had effectively bought a chicken for a family in a distant country to help them thrive. I was delighted! Instead of spending a tenner on a DVD that I'd watch once, he'd put the money to a worthy cause! I remember trying to explain to others why I was so excited, honestly this chicken was just such a fantastic gift. Of course he did buy me other things too, but useful things like books that I will read instead of just bulking out the stocking with some tat that will go in the charity shop pile or, dare I say it, the bin on Boxing Day....a waste of money.

I'm actually writing this now thinking, oh dear what if my family are reading this? Well you know what? they know me well enough by now! They know that I only like useful gifts, gifts I will use, read, enjoy or gifts that will help others. So this rant hopefully hasn't come as a shock to them.

Where's this going I hear you ask? Well my point is that we can give gifts that will actually help someone's life. After all, shouldn't we all be thinking of others at Christmas?

Fair enough I hear you say, but I'd still like a present. That's fine, there's no reason why you shouldn't want a present too... and there's no reason why that can't happen. Which leads me on to the purpose of this post...

I was contacted last month by UNICEF who introduced me to their partnership with Claire's fashion retailer. Together they are selling a range of jewellery that not only fulfils the "gift" part of a present but also the "charity" side too.

For every piece of this jewellery sold, a £1 donation is made to UNICEF. This £1 could provide life-saving vaccinations for eight children or feed a malnourished child for a day.

So yes you are giving a tangible gift, but you are also helping in a small way to change lives.

I really like this idea and I plan to give a piece of this jewellery to my Goddaughter. She loves pink and so I know she will love this, but I'm also hoping that her parents will read to her what it says on the package. I'm hoping she will realise how lucky she is on Christmas Day when she is surrounded by gifts and family, and that maybe this small piece of jewellery will remind her to think of others as well as herself.

The UNICEF range of jewellery costs a maximum of £5 and is available from www.claires.com. A donation of £1 is made to UNICEF. You are welcome to add a further donation at the till if you should so wish.

So if you are still to do your Christmas shopping stop and think about what you are actually buying, why you are buying it and if really you are helping anyone by buying it.

RANT OVER!

Never Forget Christmas Giveaway!!!

Regular readers will, I'm sure, remember our posts about Never Forget last year. Missed them? Well you can find them here and here.

The lovely Ellie at Never Forget has a special treat for you all - a giveaway! As Christmas is fast approaching this will be a relatively short run competition so make sure you get your entry in straight away!

First things first though...what do you mean you haven't heard of Never Forget?! Never Forget is a truly gorgeous website packed full of unique, personalised gifts. There's something for everyone on there and with the option to personalise gifts you can make sure that Christmas gift really stands out from the rest.

Ellie has offered Rhoda Reviews readers the chance to win Design Your Own Personalised Face Cloths - the perfect stocking filler for all the family. In fact she is offering THREE prize packs - the first prize winner will win five personalised face clothes, second prize will win two and third prize will win one!

So what do you have to do to enter? Well simply complete the rafflecopter entry form below - it's just one question so super easy!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

UPDATE

Thanks for all of your entries. The answer is that Never Forget have sold 714 personalised face cloths in the month of November!! I've gone through all the entries, and those closest are....

1st Prize goes to Tracy Nixon who guessed 750

2nd Prize goes to Keith Osborne with his guess of 762

3rd Prize goes to Ness Gorton who guessed 650

CONGRATULATIONS!!

I will drop you all an email this morning.

If you didn't win, don't worry the Never Forget personalised face cloths are currently on offer! Pop over to the website and grab a bargain today!

Thank you to Never Forget for providing the prizes for this giveaway.