Father's Day at Aldi and What Fred Said about his Dad!

This Father's Day, Aldi is a one stop shop for buying what you need to make a special day for your dad. From buying ingredients to cook dad's favourite food to buying gifts that he will love. Here are some ideas for what to buy him this Father's Day.

Aldi stock a great range of alcoholic drinks in store including ales, beers, lager, cider, spirits and wines, which represent excellent value. Whatever your dad's favourite tipple, you will find a selection of drinks, many of which are award winners.  Ian would love the gold medal winning Highland Black 8 year old Scotch Whisky, which is just £12.99 for a 70cl bottle. Or perhaps a selection of the bottled beers and ales, which start at just 90p a bottle.

Aldi are passionate about producing top quality chocolate made from the finest ingredients. The Moser Roth range has a selection of bars of chocolate, truffles and chocolate assortments. This includes a range of award-winning 125g bars - each bar combining the finest smooth dark chocolate with an intriguing flavour. Choose from Mint, Chilli or Orange and Almond at £1.19 each.

Aldi's Specialbuys this week include some ideal gifts that would make excellent Father's Day gifts to suit a range of budgets:

Specialbuys available from 18th June

Fire Pit £19.99

The easy way to enjoy crackling flames outdoors.  This firepit is made using robust black powder-coated steel with folding legs for easy storage. It includes a mesh cover, log grate and tool. A lovely addition to the garden on summer evenings.

810W Hammer Drill  £14.99

Ideal for drilling wood, metal, plastic and concrete, this hammer drill is good for DIY loving dads.

It includes adjustable side handle and depth stop.

Fruit and Vegetable Plants £2.99 each

Growing your own is easy with these established plants in big 4 litre pots. Choose from 8 varieties. Any dad who enjoys gardening will love to nurture these plants and harvest their crops.

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Just for fun,  Aldi have come up with a list of questions for kids to answer about their dads. I asked 6 year old Freddy the following questions about his dad!


What Fred Said about his Dad for Father's Day:

1.       What makes your dad happy?

I do!

2.       What is the funniest thing about your dad?

He tells jokes.

3.       What is something your dad always says to you?

I love you.

4.       What is your dad really good at?

Looking after me.

5.       What does your dad do as a job?

He pays for things. (?? He is actually a data centre engineer!)

6.       What is your dad’s worst habit?

Going to work because I don't like being without you.

7.       What is your dad’s favourite tea?

Pizza.

8.       What would you like to say to your dad?

I love you.

9.       What are you going to do with your dad on Father’s day?

I can't say because it's a surprise!

10.     Why are you proud of your dad?

I don't know but I am.

Last Minute Father's Day Gift and Card Ideas

Gift ideas from Asda

You can pop into your local Asda store and easily pick up something for dad this Father's Day.  You'll find gifts at pocket money prices to top of the range high tech gifts, so there is something for every budget. Perhaps dad would like a bottle of whisky or maybe you could buy the ingredients to cook him breakfast in bed?   Maybe socks, pants, T-shirts and PJ's would fit the bill or how about a box of chocolates. CDs, DVDs and games make great gift ideas.There is so much choice.

The Mr.Men merchandise from George is a fun gift idea for dads. Dads will love feeling like the Mr Strong of the family.

Or how about this Star Wars notebook and light sabre pens for the Star Wars loving dad in your life? Maybe Luke Skywalker could get this for Darth Vader, who after all is his father!

The Dog's Doodahs Cards

There is still time to order a card for your dad from The Dog's Doodahs.  Orders made before 2pm are posted the same day by first class post.  There is a range of cards from the sentimental to the downright rude!  So whatever the age of the kids and the taste of their dad, there will be a card to suit.

We were given a code to make one and the kids chose this lovely photo card for their dad.  It is a lovely design and the photographs will make it very precious to him.  There are loads of other designs they could have chosen including one that suggests he was "mum's bitch"!

The Dog's Doodahs is an all-occasion online card and gift shop selling a host of traditional, cute and funny cards alongside some rather cheeky ones which feature jokes about alcohol, sex and getting old.  Many can be personalised with photos and text on the front and the inside, so you can tailor the card to the recipient, bringing a smile on their special day.  The site is fun and friendly and perfect for anyone looking for something a bit risque!

A standard size (A5-ish) card is £3.99 delivered from www.thedogsdoodahs.com


Give Dad A Hug and Say Thanks

A recent survey commissioned by Wilkinson's Sword says 49% of dads won't get a hug or kiss this Father's Day and 44% of people admit to not thanking their dads for everything they do for them.  Women are more open with their emotions than men, who on a whole, find it more difficult to express their love to their fathers.

That is so very sad.  We're a very touchy feely family who tell each other how much we love each other on a daily basis. Ian used to be a bit uptight about his emotions, as he doesn't have very demonstrative parents, but after 20 odd years with me, he is now as gushy as it gets!

Wilkinson Sword are asking for us to express our love through making a #Dadication on Facebook or Twitter, telling our dads what we are grateful for.  I really like this campaign, giving good dads the recognition they deserve.


             

So don't forget to dish out the hugs, kisses and thank yous this year...they don't cost a penny and will mean more than any gifts!!

Father's Day Gift Guide 2014 - featuring Getting Personal, Little Tiger Press, Dove and Radox

June 15th is Father's Day, the day when we celebrate all those wonderful dads out there!  This year, why not treat your dad to something special to let him know just how much he is appreciated?  Here are some ideas for perfect pressies for dads that we have been lucky enough to receive for the purpose of this review.

Getting Personal sell a huge range of items, many of which can be personalised to create a completely unique gift to suit the occasion.  Whether your dad is a whizz in the kitchen, enjoys pottering around in the garden or enjoys taking part in sporting activities, there is a gift idea to suit.

We were sent a gift for Ian that is just perfect for him!  He enjoys the occasional wee dram of whisky - it must be down to his Scottish ancestry - and he loves the quality of a good single malt.  So the Personalised Five Whisky Gift Set was the obvious choice.

The gift box is lovely, containing five miniature bottles of whisky from a hand picked selection of rare and independent distilleries.  Included is a presentation mat and tasting cards.  The whole thing is presented in a slip case which can be personalised with a message. Whisky lovers can learn a little about their favourite tipple whilst sampling the contents of the beautifully presented gift set!

It costs £36.99 and you can find it here: www.gettingpersonal.co.uk/gifts/personalised-set-of-5-whisky-gift-set-regional-selection

Little Tiger Press has some lovely new titles out now, which little ones will love to share with their daddies this Father's Day.

Sorry Dad is the tale of a father and son cat.  Although they are best of friends, the little cat can be a bit cheeky at times and finds himself in the odd spot of bother!  This book sees the little cat trying to work out how to say sorry to his long suffering dad.  He finds a rather unique way to apologise and his dad doesn't stay cross for long!  RRP £6.99 for ages 3-5.

Me and My Daddy is a fantastic carry case with four mini paperbacks, a card and stickers inside.  Little ones can make a card for their daddy and then snuggle up to enjoy one of the stories:  Before We Go To Bed, My Daddy and Me, Oops-a-Daisy! and The Very Happy Hippo.  Each little book is beautifully illustrated and features a story that both the kids and dad will love. RRP: £9.99 for ages 3-6

If you are looking for something very affordable and useful, Dove Men+ Care have some great products perfect for the men in your life. Based on his lifestyle and skin type, you can find some male grooming products that would make an ideal, thoughtful and practical gift for dads or grandads.

The Daily Care Duo gift pack  (RRP £6.50) features a Clean Comfort anti-perspirant deodorant and a body and face wash with micro-moisture technology. It will help keep him feeling fresh all day long with its subtle and crisp fragrance.

Radox also have some products that would be suitable for men on Father's Day.  The Muscle Therapy Bath Soak (RRP £2.31) and 2- in-1 For Men Shower Gel (RRP £2.15) are a good idea for a sporty dad.  The bath soak helps to warm muscles and ease away aches and pains, while the shower gel is great for dads on the go. You could make a male grooming hamper to perfectly suit your dad's needs, because men deserve to be pampered too.

Whatever you do for your dad this Father's Day, I hope you have a wonderful time!

Celebrating Father's Day with Glenfiddich Whiskey #cbias

I am a member of Collective Bias Social Fabric Community. This content has been compensated as part of the social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client.

My husband Ian is a fabulous, hands on father to our five children who completely adore him, and he fully deserves to be treated to the finer things in life.  When Father's Day comes around it provides an extra excuse to do just that!  Celebrating having a great man in my children's life is something I do everyday, but this one day a year gives us a licence to go that step further and go to town with good food and gifts as we come together as a family to let Ian know just how special he is to us and how lucky we all are to have him.

One of Ian's favourite tipples is Single Malt ScotchWhiskey - possibly due to the fact that Scottish blood runs through his McDonald veins!  Taking part in a shop for Collective Bias to purchase a bottle of Glenfiddich 12 Year Old Whisky as a Father's Day gift, put a big smile on the face of my husband and gave me an opportunity to really spoil him.  

Take a look at our photos from our shopping trip to Morrison's in my Google + album where we looked at Father's Day Gift ideas and bought our Glenfiddich which was on special offer at just £20 for a 70 cl botttle!

Buying the Glenfiddich was just the start of Ian's treats, as I wanted to use the whiskey, not just as a smooth, warming drunk, but also as an ingredient in a recipe for an amazingly delicious sounding Chocolate and Glenfiddich Whiskey Layer Cake.  I found a recipe at The Little Loaf and tweaked it everso slightly.  The resulting cake is rich, indulgent, dark, moist and absolutely divine. The Glenfiddich Whiskey adds a grown-up and rather masculine twist to the chocolate cake which will make it a hit for any dad on Father's Day.  So buying a bottle of Glenfiddich is a great gift idea.  What's more, dad gets to finish what's left of the bottle at the end of the baking session. A gift that just goes on giving!

Chocolate and Glenfiddich Whiskey Layer Cake

Ingredients:

For the cake

340g plain flour
525g golden caster sugar
128g cocoa powder
2 ¼ tsp baking powder
2 ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 large free range eggs
375ml milk
188ml rice bran oil
3 tsp vanilla extract
375ml boiling water

For the whiskey syrup

100ml water
100g caster sugar
50ml Glenfiddich whiskey

For the buttercream

150g softened butter
350g icing sugar
4 tbsp condensed milk
2 tbsp Glenfiddich whiskey

For the ganache

250g dark chocolate
250ml double cream
100g light brown muscovado sugar

Method:

For the cake

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Prepare three 20cm cake tins. I use Cake Release.
• Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into the bowl. Add sugar.
• In a separate bowl, beat the eggs then add the milk and rice bran oil. Pour into the dry mixture and whisk for two to three minutes until well combined.
• Whisk the boiling water to your mixture a little at a time until combined. The batter will be extremely liquid.

• Pour into your prepared cake tins and bake in the centre of the oven for 25 – 35 minutes. Remove from oven when cooked through.

For the whiskey syrup

• Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. 
• Simmer for a couple of minutes until the sugar has dissolved. Add the whiskey and simmer for one minute more then remove from the heat.
• Drizzle the syrup over the top of each cake.

For the buttercream

• Beat the butter until pale and fluffy. 
• Sift in the icing sugar and whisk to combine, then add the condensed milk. 
• Continue to beat, slowly adding the whiskey.

For the ganache

• Place the chopped chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl.  
• Heat the cream and sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and simmer for one minute. 
• Remove from the heat and allow to stand for one minute then pour over the chocolate and stir until smooth and glossy. Allow to cool to a spreadable consistency.

To assemble the cake

• Smear ganache on top of one of the cake rounds.  Spread buttercream onto another round and sandwich together.
• Repeat by smearing ganache on top of the cake and spreading buttercream onto the third round and placing on top.
• Use the rest of the ganache to coat the top and sides of the cake and smooth over.

I really enjoyed making this cake with help from Kizzy who loves baking. The aromas that emanated from the kitchen were amazing.  Seeing the end result made us know that all our hard work was well worth the effort.  When Ian saw the cake he was very keen to sample it along with a wee dram of Glenfiddich Single Malt Scotch Whiskey!  He said the cake was amazing.

We may have started our Father's Day celebrations a bit early this year, but I wanted to share this cake recipe with you in case you want to treat the man in your life.

The Binary Box For Father's Day

Revamp Your Wall Space With The Binary Box Plus Get A 25% Discount This Father's Day

The Binary Box is an exciting website run by passionate folk dedicated to the idea that decorating does not have to be dull!  The Binary Box offers a huge and tempting range of vinyl Wall Stickers in different formats to suit any room or taste. From trendy to traditional, toddler to teenager there is something to suit everyone. Each vinyl comes with clear instructions and can be removed easily whenever you want to redecorate following the simple step by step guide. It’s the fun and cost effective way to make your house fresh, different and give it a stamp of individuality.  Any room can be made to stand out with a wall decal from The Binary Box.  If you have a plain blank wall in your home you can make it look absolutely stunning with The Binary Box!

This Father's Day, The Binary Box are offering a 25% discount when you buy one of the special bumper stickers for just £2.99.  In three cool designs, you'll find one that suits your dad's personality.  I like the 'Who's The Daddy' design!

Who's The Daddy?

The Binary Box collections offer a huge choice of designs.  Trendy dads might like their very own Banksy graffiti design to add a fun, modern and irreverent personalisation to a favourite room.  How about this Anarchist Guard to provide a focal point to any space?

Get  Your Own Banksy Artwork

Music Loving dads will love having an iconic image of their favourite music legend on their wall.   Choose from Icons Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Morrissey, Ian Brown or Oasis.

Globe Trotting dads may prefer something from the World Map collection.  From the traditional to the quirky, these will look great in a study, inspiring wanderlust!

This year the Cool Britannia imagery of 2012 is making us all feel patriotic.  The Best of British Collection  includes iconic and quintessentially British imagery to add a statement to any room in the house.  You can have your very own post box, double decker box, red phone box or even a London Street sign to bring the capital to your home!

If dad is more of a mad scientist the Science Museum collection has a great selection of science geek images to please him.  Planets, astronauts, DNA molecules or even a Periodic Table will look really impressive on the wall!

If you have a dad who would like to funk up his wall space with something really unique and impressive then check out www.thebinarybox.co.uk and make this Father's Day a bit different!

Review

I was given the chance to try some wall decals from Binary Box.  I decided to get a selection of products including some rubber ducks for our bathroom, name stickers for my two youngest children and a car sticker for Ian's car.  I loved some of the Banksy designs but you would really need a big expanse of clear wall to make the most of them.  (With five kids and all the stuff that comes with them, we don't have much free wall space left!)

The stickers arrived in a stout plastic tube that kept them safe in transit.  I was surprised by how large they were.  The Rubber Duck wall sticker set contains seven ducks.  The smallest is 11cm x 11cm and the biggest is 45cm x 48cm.  They are priced at £19.99 and are available in different colours to suit your decor. We went for brown and yellow to match our bathroom.  With the top layer on the picture they look a bit creased and dull, but that is not indicative of the finished result.

Our Binary Box Delivery

The stickers are easy to apply if you follow the instructions.  You simply stick the adhesive top layer and the sticker to the wall whilst pulling out the backing paper, smoothing it out as you go.  When the backing paper is out you pull off the adhesive top layer which leaves the sticker stuck to the wall.  The colour of the sticker on the wall is much more vibrant once the top layer is removed.

Step By Step Sticker Fitting 

There are good fitting videos on the website demonstrating the technique, very useful for the larger images.  The stickers can be removed using a hairdryer and again full details are on the website.

I really like how our ducks have brightened up our plain bathroom walls.  They look really good and the kids love them!  Ian also loves his Rubber Ducks and car sticker and agrees that they would make a great gift for Father's Day! Just make sure you have the appropriate amount of wall space to do the design you choose justice.

Albelli For Father's Day Gifts

Photo Books...Perfect Presents For Father's Day

This June 17th it is Father's Day.  For the well organised among you, this may mean that you are thinking of what to buy your dad to mark this special day.  One idea for a really thoughtful present that will bring a lifetime of joy is a photo book.  Filled with favourite, family photos, a photobook really is the perfect keepsake that any dad will be thrilled to receive.

Albelli was voted no.1 by the gadget show (sure to impress any geeky dads out there!) and promises 100% satisfaction.  Moments captured on camera can be used to make a beautiful, bespoke photo book.  Don't keep those digital snaps stored on a computer...they deserve to be turned into something special!

There are many different sizes and formats to pick from with prices starting at just £6.95.  The designs and layouts can be personalised according to the style you want.  Covers can be personalised using a photo, or you can choose a coloured linen cover, or a luxurious leather finish.  Pages can be upgraded to a high gloss finish and extra pages can be added to include all those extra prints.   Each photo book really is as unique as you make it!  There is an auto-fill option if you want to make a photo book really quickly online.  You simply select your chosen photos and the book is created for you.  Alternatively you can create your own using the downloadable tools, giving total control over the design.

The website includes some inspirational ideas to get your creative juices flowing.  Ideas such as a Year Book, or a Family Tree or a 'This Is Your Life' style book can be created for your dad.  You could even photograph children's artwork and include drawings, which will preserve favourite portraits forever!

I was offered the chance to make a photo book for Father's Day and decided to make a book dedicated to our  recent holiday in Disneyland Paris featuring Ian on the cover!  I made a folder of photos I wanted to use then  used the downloadable tools to edit, organise and arrange my photos exactly how I wanted them using a plain white background.  I opted for a photo on the front cover which is an optional extra.  It is a lovely way to personalise the book with a photograph of dad!!

There are loads of masks, frames and backgrounds available to really add impact to your end result, but I went for a simple theme, using the maximum number of photos.  It is up to you how you want to present your pictures.  Text can be added to tell the story and share thoughts and memories.

Another optional extra is to get the pages upgraded to thick, glossy photo quality paper.  It really makes the finished product look like something special.

The finished book arrives well packaged.  The customer service is excellent and the turnaround is prompt.  Emails keep you informed of your book's progress.

As ever I am really impressed by the quality of the Albelli Photo Book that I created.  I'm sure that Ian will love seeing all our holiday snaps brought together in a gorgeous, glossy, quality photo book with his photo on the front cover!

Take a look at albelli.co.uk and discover their range of photographic products and be inspired to make your dad a beautiful and thoughtful gift this Father's Day.