Start planning your festive season with these must-try foodie spots and products
From the best festive beverages to extravagant dining adventures, embrace the holiday spirit with these delightfully merry experiences
Who says Christmas should only be enjoyed in December? Kick off the holiday season by indulging in our selection of stellar seasonal treats, destinations and experiences.
Enjoy the festive period mindfully with alcohol-free spirits
For those hoping to enjoy Christmas while cutting back on alcohol, SENTIA Spirits offers functional alcohol alternatives tailored to health-conscious adults, perfect for mixing into delightful mocktails. Crafted to enhance your brain’s natural GABA, a neurotransmitter that promotes calmness, SENTIA blends GABA-enhancing plants for moments of relaxation and sociability.
GABA Black combines ginseng and ginkgo for enhanced focus and energy, perfect for fueling productivity or powering through a workout. GABA Red promotes relaxation with botanicals like ashwagandha and passionflower, making it ideal for after-work drinks or evening unwinding.
The latest addition, GABA Gold, features a sophisticated blend of hops and schisandra, bringing warmth and balance to any social occasion. It provides a calm, lifted mood, making it the perfect choice for those prioritizing social connectivity and personal wellness during the festive season.
Enjoy unmistakably Czech lager
There’s nothing like catching up with your friends over a cold beer in a warm, cozy pub at Christmas. Enjoy the authentic, rich flavors of Budweiser Budvar, the national brewer of the Czech Republic, known for crafting exceptional lagers.
With nearly 130 years of brewing expertise behind them, Budvar’s beers are slowly matured in historic cellars in Budějovice. The brewery takes pride in using the finest whole-cone Saaz hops, Moravian malts, and artesian soft water from an ancient aquifer, earning them Protected Geographical Origin status from the EU.
At Budvar, there are no shortcuts — real lager takes time. Each sip reflects a commitment to quality, ensuring that every beer is worth the wait.
Maximize fridge space and keep food fresh with handy containers
One of the most underrated parts about hosting Christmas is the leftovers on Boxing Day and beyond. But for your food to stay fresh and tasty, you need high-quality containers. Franklin Lade offers precision-engineered kitchenware designed for busy lives.
Founded by a chemical engineer frustrated with subpar storage options, each product is crafted from premium, food-safe materials. As a carbon-neutral company, sustainability is central to its mission. The glass containers are microwave, oven, freezer, and dishwasher safe, ideal for storing a variety of festive dishes, from pigs in blankets to desserts.
The best-selling five-piece set is designed for easy stacking, maximizing fridge space for a stress-free cleanup. Plus, all items come with a one-year guarantee. First-time customers receive a 15% discount when signing up for the mailing list at franklinlade.com.
Gift someone a moment of mindful escape with a delicious dram
Isle of Harris Distillery is offering the gift of quiet contemplation this Christmas with The Hearach single malt whisky, a complex dram designed to be savored in peaceful moments of pause. Amid the hectic holiday season, The Hearachencourages people to appreciate the moment and connect with the Isle of Harris through its remarkable whisky and accompanying immersive soundscape, which transports listeners to the tranquil Hebridean island.
Every drop is distilled, matured, and bottled on the island and presented in a beautiful box, with the option to add a personalized message — the perfect gift for a loved one this Christmas.
Prepare to be offended at this outrageous interactive dining experience
Spend some time at an explosive, interactive diner where politeness is definitely not on the menu. Offering a dining experience like nothing you’ve experienced before, Karen’s Diner in Angel is ‘the rudest restaurant in the UK’.
More a mission statement than criticism, experience the thrill of being served by the sassiest waitstaff you’ve ever come across, all named Karen. Expect banter, burgers, roasting diners, quick wit, and outrageous games.
With a 1950s-US aesthetic, an incredible menu of burgers, hot dogs, wings, and dirty fries, plus a cheeky cocktail selection, Karen’s Diner knows that the sassiness is forgiven when the food is this good. Whether with friends, family or for an unforgettable first date, a strangely good time is guaranteed — and special packages are available for parties.
Receive 15% off food when booking your meal at karenslondon.com. Just add SASS15 to the booking notes. Offer ends 15 December 2024.
Celebrate the season with classic British dining
Named in The Sunday Times’ Top 100 Restaurants 2015 list, James Martin Manchester is a warm and inviting dining experience helmed by the celebrity chef. Natural daylight accentuates the exposed brickwork and industrial-chic steel girders of the historic Great Northern warehouse, complemented by James’s own selection of luxury, vintage-style fabrics and artwork.
In this incredible dining space, enjoy a seasonal à la carte menu of high-quality dishes made from locally sourced produce. For £55 per person, the Festive Dinner package offers a range of delicious British dishes to feast on, such as crab risotto, slow-roast pork belly, Yorkshire ox cheek bourguignon, and a range of mouth-watering desserts.
The New Year’s Eve package offers a five-course signature menu complete with fizz on arrival and unlimited table time for £90 per person.
*James Martin Manchester is situated inside Manchester 235 Casino and is an over 18 venue. bedrinkaware.co.uk. Challenge 25 policy in operation.*
Sip a luxurious, non-alcoholic, champagne-like tea
Designed to pair perfectly with food, Saicho offers non-alcoholic, single-origin sparkling teas. The award-winning champagne-like teas come in three expressions: Darjeeling, Jasmine, and Hojicha, each with a set of distinct flavor characteristics, unique to the respective regions in India, China, and Japan.
Each sparkling tea has been carefully balanced and crafted to shine a light on the nuanced and complex flavors of tea, promoting as much interest and provenance as premium wines and champagnes.
Saicho proudly produces a refreshing tea that is vegan-friendly, sulphite-free, low-calorie, and with no added artificial sweeteners or preservatives. The brand has a dedicated commitment to a clean and transparent production method that truly celebrates the world’s finest teas.
Protect your food on-the-go
Looking for better ways to keep your food hot or cold when traveling to work? Or perhaps a practical Christmas gift for a loved one? Harnessing high-performance vacuum insulation technology, the Thermos Icon Food Flask is the latest innovation from Thermos.
Choose from two sizes — 470 ml and 710 ml — and eight colors, from peony pink and sandstone to solent navy and rock cap green. The 470ml food flask will keep contents hot for 10 hours or cold for 24, and the 710ml will keep your food hot for 14 hours or cold for 24.
Both include a stainless-steel spoon and a non-slip base, as well as being leakproof when closed, dishwasher safe, and BPA-free.
Receive a 20% discount with code DISCOUNT20 at thermos.co.uk. Offer valid until 31 December 2024.
Shop local, eat healthy, and help build a sustainable planet
AnyFeast is an e-commerce subscription-based app that simplifies meal preparation with customizable, affordable recipe kits. The brand stands out with features like Leftover Magic, where AI suggests three additional meals using leftover ingredients, minimizing waste and maximizing flavor.
Smart Shopping allows users to snap a photo of any ingredient, prompting the app to recommend tailored recipes. The focus on Taste of Tradition emphasizes local, seasonal ingredients and authentic cooking instructions from ethnic home cooks.
The idea for AnyFeast originated with founder Pankaj, who faced a life-threatening disease and personal losses during the pandemic. These experiences prompted him to reevaluate his priorities and explore healthy eating options. He identified significant industry issues, including unsustainable packaging, high costs, and bland flavors.
Receive 50% off your first box with code WELCDOME50 in the iOS or Android app and at anyfeast.com. Offer ends 31 December 2024.
Find the perfect festive scene for your Christmas meal out
With two unique locations in London and a mouthwatering menu of dishes, Flesh & Buns is the perfect choice for your festive celebration.
The Oxford Circus restaurant offers a laid-back yet glamorous atmosphere and private dining rooms, while the Covent Garden restaurant is a relaxed, underground eatery. The Izakaya-style menu features hand-rolled sushi and the famous Flesh & Buns platters — where guests can build their own bao buns.
The group specialise in robata-grilled dishes and smoked meats, smoked on-site in Oxford Circus’s US-style smoker.
At £55 per person, the four-course festive tasting menu offers a selection of spicy and zingy light bites and a main event of either smoked pork rib, crispy duck leg, salmon teriyaki or the brand-new dish ‘angry chicken’. Finish by toasting marshmallows over a table-top fire and tucking into festive s’mores.
Buy an award-winning gin to help save an endangered bird’s habitat
Downton Distillery’s The Great Bustard gin is an ode to the Great Bustard bird that was once a common sight across the open plains of Wiltshire and Norfolk, becoming extinct in England in 1832.
Only 35,000 remain in the wild and in 1998 a conservation work started to bring them back to the Wiltshire Downs, 50 can now be found gracing the plains. When you buy a bottle of Downtown Distillery’s Great Bustard Gin, you’re helping to pay for new habitats for these birds.
Using five botanicals that these birds forage for, the gin has won seven international gold medals, including best gin for a martini. Following its IWSC gold medal, the gin was showcased on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch, where it was described as the ‘British Countryside in a glass’.
Receive a 10% discount on your first purchase with code GBGIMAS24! at checkout. Offer valid until 20 December 2023.
This content is brought to you by Living360, a digital lifestyle destination keeping you up to date with health and fitness, food and drink, beauty, travel, finance trends and more.