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Not how I want to do my bargain hunting!

It’s Boxing Day evening, the turkey is pretty much stripped, the relatives are beginning to grate, and there’s no Doctor Who to distract you.

What do you do before you go completely Boxing Day bonkers?

How about getting prepared for your next foodie gift need for less with the best of the Boxing Day sales that are available from the comfort of the fireside? Or, if you’re the foodie, then either treat yourself for less or give your less foodie friends the gift of good taste. Here’s a few suggestions from my sales roundup:

1. Heal’s – I’ve written several times about how much I love Heal’s, and I love them even more at sale time. On the foodie front, I would buy and put away the “We Love You Santa” plate and mug set for next year, not to mention stocking up on saucepans and griddles. The Dualit chrome hand mixer is what I asked Santa for, and for bakers it’s a gift at £49. The Gibralter glasses are perfect for mojitos come next summer (or New Year’s Eve) and dipping bowls would surely have appropriate recipes all year round. Sadly, there are none of their food gifts in the online sale, but you may get lucky in the store.

2. John Lewis – middle England’s favourite has a pretty good sale going on. Plenty on offer in all kinds of kitchenware, stuff for eating off and stuff for clearing up with afterwards. Tea towels not only make great gifts, but they are great for wrapping up collections of other things that you buy, or make, like a collection of jams for example. And if you’ve always wanted a fuchsia pink juice extractor, now may be the moment to buy one! Truly though, I’d go for the hampers which are now half price. You can recombine them to make other gifts, or just indulge yourself!

3. Cook in Style – big sale going on here, and I use this for all kinds of equipment that you can’t necessarily find on every high street. Need an electric meat slicer for your home-cured meats? They’ll do you one and give you up to £25 off. KitchenAid Mixer? All sorts of colours available with £30 off. They’ve also got a small but concise selection of cookbooks with 50% off, so worth a look.

4. Buy A Gift – great bargain hunting here as they have at least 25% off everything, with code JANSALE, and they have a great selection of cooking courses available including sushi making and home food smoking. These don’t go out of date for a year, so worth stocking up at the discount price.

5. Pedlars – another of my favourite shops, especially at sale time. There are discounts on a lot of the Joseph Joseph stuff, and I love the melamine Sea Life dinner plates. Lots of stylish mugs and tea towels on offer too, which always make good standby gifts, or parts of gifts. And not necessarily foodie, but I love the Cityscape Tea Light holders, which would give beautiful lighting and interest to any dinner table or gathering! 

6. Amazon – you know me, can’t resist a good cookbook, and there are over 200 in the January deals on Amazon, from Jamie’s America through to the new Larousse Gastronomique. Good place to spend your Christmas money, as it will stretch further with 60% off.

7. Thorntons – a British institution, going for less. The chocolates. Not the company. That’s someone else.

8. British Airways – in spite of all their recent issues, the BA sale is still my favourite one (well, if you don’t count the Astley Clarke diamond sale). There are some good discounts going, from just the flight to all inclusive deals. I have a hankering for Istanbul or Morocco this year, so checking for deals here.

So go on, run away from the family chaos and stock up, or else plan a long trip. Up to you whether or not you take them with you!

Beetroot Relish from Jamie Oliver

You’ve been making a list, checking it twice, you’ve worked out what’s naughty and what’s nice. And now you’re having a sudden panic as you’ve counted up the presents and you’ve forgotten someone! If it’s a foodie gift you’ve forgotten, then never fear! Here’s some last minute suggestions you can still order in, so no need to brave the High Street just yet.

1. Jamie Oliver has some great stuff, without his face on it, that I think makes a great standby foodie present. There are good preserves and oils and, lets face it, you’re going to trust these more than some awful flavoured collection from the corner shop. A duo of beetroot relish and red onion pickle, wrapped in a funky teatowel, or a mixing bowl, would make a brilliant gift. Or I suppose I should have said a pukka present. Order by Thursday this week to guarantee pre Christmas delivery, and benefit from free delivery. Perfect!

2. Treat them to a different foodie day. All of the major experience companies offer very interesting days, and most still seem to be guaranteeing pre Christmas delivery. From Virgin, you could buy the Cupcake & Cocktails Experience, or learn some new dishes at the Novelli academy or spend a day cooking fish with Keith Burke. Not quite doing it for your foodie? Try Red Letter Days or Buy A Gift or check out the fantastic courses for real artisanal food at The School of Artisan Food, from patisserie through to wild yeast baking.

3. Heal’s have some great foodie gifts, and you’ve got through till midnight this Sunday to order from them. Truly a

Love it or loathe it, it's a great gift

present of love if you hate the stuff, but if your foodie loves the stuff, then they have a great Marmite gift. I’ve featured the pate gifts before, and you’ve got a choice of game, meat or fish, so something for everyone. There’s some cool stuff in their barware section, like the Beer Cooler Zinc Tub, ideal for the beer and party loving foodie. Looking forward to warmer days ahead, then I like the Metrokane Wine to Go Neoprene Carrier, perfect for picnics.

4. For the serious foodie with expensive tastes, then London Fine Foods is perfect hunting ground for great gifts. They have everything from Beluga Caviar to White Truffles, milk fed Pyrenne’s lamb and fabulous Jamon Iberico de Bellota. There are gift boxes on offer or, if the choice is too much, gift vouchers! The provenance and quality will make any foodie’s Christmas morning!

5. For your pick of great foodie presents, it’s also still not too late to order from Natoora. For most of the UK, orders can go through up until 22nd December, some parts of London are the 23rd. There are beautiful boxes of macaroons (watch this space, I say 2010 will be the year of the macaroon) and panettone, and if the choice is too much there are some great hampers already put together. Check out the Pure Indulgence and Great British Christmas versions.

That should keep the foodies very happy with their presents come Christmas morning, and should keep you happy by shopping from the comfort of your own chair!

I wrote about great foodie gifts with great taste from Heal’s a couple of weeks ago, and now here’s the icing on the cake. Right now you can get 15% off Christmas gifts, furniture, lighting and home accessories with promo code PD1411 between now and 22nd November.

If you need to get organised, then this would now seem a very good time to do so!

Heal's cosy hot chocolate gift

When Santa’s elves sent out the first foodie gifts for Christmas this year, I wasn’t over impressed. The blueberry vodka filled glass stiletto still makes me shudder now. But it was early (too early) and it looks like the good stuff is beginning to make it to shelf.

One of my favourite sources is Heal’s and, thanks to the wonder of the web, their selection is available to those of us nowhere near their shop. Having a scan over what’s on the site now, I’d be putting a dibs in on these as being very acceptable for different kinds of foodies:

1. Cinnamon Stars Biscuits – at £5, these look like a great looking, and great tasting, gift that you could give to everyone, from the milkman to the teacher, and they won’t break the bank.

2. Marmite Gift Set - they sold out of this last year, so there’s definitely still some demand for this. A combo of recipe book, Fudge’s Marmite flat breads and a jar of the black stuff. One for the lovers.

3. Dr Indulgence Essential Chocolate Treatments - basically, a chocolate first aid kit. Perfect for real chocolate lovers as a grown up alternative to a selection pack.

4. Cosy Hot Chocolate Gift Set- actually, this is just a really nice looking gift, that I would buy for a girlfriend, foodie or not. The mini hot water bottle and cover is very cute, the Pantone mugs still look quite cool and to then get real chocolate flakes and mini marshmallows is a bonus. Not bad value either at £22.

5. Fish Pate Gift Box - I like this as well. As you’d expect from Heal’s, this is a very attractive looking gift, made up of three different fish pates and some savoury oatcakes. There’s also a game version or a meat one if your foodie likes it more meaty!

6. Globe Savoury Gift Set - actually, not easy to work out from the name, or even the picture, but this is actually a good collection of relishes. Liking the sound of caramelised onion chutney, mustard with beer and black peppercorns and aubergine and mango chutney.

So, six of the best for tasteful and tasty foodie gifts this Christmas!