Christmas lights and Sunday roast

I hope all’s well…

At home, November has always been a special month as it’s Alex and Jack’s birthday month. When they were small having their birthday at the end of November, with parties to arrange and presents to buy, meant the Christmas decs were held back until well into December. For obvious reasons, this year has been like no other and we have therefore decided (like so many) that this year the decorations are coming out early!

We started with our outside lights at the weekend. We have a shrub (I think it’s a member of the Laurel family?) that over the years has grown into a small tree and I have three sets of warm white cluster lights scattered in the branches. It really looks quite magical as it illuminates the tree internally. I also added the brilliant Luxform “fireworks” Mini Tree Lights to flower tubs by the front door (pictured above) – Ellie and Toby can rest assured these are the only fireworks we’ll be displaying! I have to say, when I pull up onto our driveway after a day at The Q it certainly provides a lovely warm welcome.

I honestly don’t think there is a right or wrong time to put up your lights and decorations if they bring cheer to your lives, particularly lighting, as it can add to a celebration at any time of the year.

I hope you have been getting inspired by our gift shows this year and being able to send parcels directly to the intended recipients might have helped take some of the pressure off. Don’t forget to keep an eye or ear out for the many differing interest-free instalment (Easy Pay) codes designed to help you spread the costs of your purchases! For example, there is an “ALL3EZ” voucher code promotion running (Terms & conditions apply) in conjunction with our Black Friday Event – tune in for more details over the weekend. Sadly, I’m not in for the event but I know there are some great beauty, fashion, home and tech gifts… there’ll be something for everyone in your family.

You may recall a few years ago we had quite a bit of building works at home, which resulted in no kitchen for more weeks than we like to remember. So when I was given a sample of the Ninja Foodi Max 7.5 litre Multi Cooker to try, Mrs F immediately said how much easier life would have been for the family at the time if we had had a Foodi Max! It’s an amazing piece of kit that is a pressure cooker, air fryer, steamer and slow cooker all in one.

This is the “Max” version and larger than the Foodi we have previously sold. That said, for its capacity it takes up a relatively small footprint on your top, but you need to factor in the tilting lid if you plan to put it under wall cupboards. It has so many functions and a non-stick family sized cooking pot, removable Pressure Cooker lid, Cook & Crisp basket, two-tier reversible rack for steaming/grilling and layering ingredients, and a chef-created recipe book – providing endless possibilities for both novice and experienced cooks alike.

I hope you can tune in and join me at 6pm this Monday the 23rd for some great demonstrations with our lovely Gail Samways. Are you impressed with my Sunday roast efforts? Mrs F certainly was! Before you say anything… I like it well roasted!!

My foodi pal Andi Peters and I will follow on straight afterwards at 7pm as the Andi Peters’ Food Fest series continues. We can’t tell you how much we appreciate all the lovely feedback we get from you all – it really means a lot to us. If you’re a Facebook fan I hope you might join me after the show at around 8.05pm for a catch up.

Lastly, I am honoured to be the latest subject of the brilliant Will Gowing’s series of Inside QVC podcasts – you can listen to it now here. I hope you enjoy finding out a little bit more about the old Silver Fox 😉

Until next time… stay illuminated, well fed and healthy,

Dale x