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| Red Wine Image, thanks to Shutterstock |
I do love a good challenge. You know how it is, someone starts off a sentence with 'I bet you can't...' and that's it the competitive spirit in you rises above the parapet and snaps 'challenge accepted, of course I can!'
So here I am with a loaded One4all gift card and the challenge to do something really special for one of my children for Christmas. Now of course that doesn't sound too difficult, does it? We can all make our children smile but my challenge is to sort out the whole gift experience by just spending money off the One4all gift card and that means I can only shop with retailers and outlets signed up to their scheme.
I must admit I was a little worried, how many retailers could they have where I am able to use the One4all gift card without any issue? Surely not that many I'm thinking, maybe about 50 but the little voice in me is wondering if they will be big retailers that I know and what to shop with.
You Can Spend it Everywhere (well nearly!)
Well let me tell you, worry not! The One4all gift card is accepted by over 120 different High Street brands and you can spend it directly in more than 50,000 branches or use it online with many of them too. And these are not just random shops these are massive names like M&S, Argos, Clarks, Carphone Warehouse, Pizza Express, TK Maxx, The Body Shop, Red Letter Days, ToysRus, Halfords and I could go on and on, as there are so many reputable and fantastic brands.
So I'm sat here with my glass of wine in hand (Laithwaite's the online wine specialist have also recently just joined up) and having a good look through all the retailers deciding what the perfect way would be to treat Miss E, as she is the one I have decided to focus this challenge on. Don't worry though as JJ and Miss M will have wonderful treats too.
One4all suggested I could treat her to some new toys or craft materials or maybe I'd want to invest in a new tablet for her to play on but after (carefully) chatting to her about what she really wants for Christmas I think I have settled on taking her out for some quality time together and building memories rather than adding extra clutter to our house.
Of course I don't have a favourite child but Miss E is my tender-hearted one, she is such a little sweetie and she always does everything she can to be kind and inclusive. I've even known her to miss out on things that she was desperate to do as she wants to be fair and to ensure her more gregarious twin Miss M is included too. This is one loyal little lady; be mean to her twin and she'll cut you off.
So I really do feel she deserves an extra special treat and now I'll enjoy having a search on the One4all site and planning out what we might do together. Here are a few of the ideas I came up with and I'll share with you in my next post what I have actually gone ahead and booked and what we are doing - all will be revealed in good time!
Red Letter Days - Children's Chocolate Workshop in Covent Garden £20
I know both of my girls would love a chocolate workshop in the Cocoa Vaults of Hotel Chocolat in London's Covent Garden. In this one hour workshop they'd decorate their own chocolate slab masterpiece and then it is skillfully wrapped for them to take away as a truly unique gift. Afterwards we could soak up the atmosphere of Covent Garden with the street performers and excellent market. It really is a beautiful place, especially at Christmas and there is giant mistletoe everywhere this year!
Theatre Tokens - A trip to see a West End Show like Matilda
I love theatre tokens, they are so versatile. You can spend them direct with theatres or you can take them to the half price ticket booth in Leicester square and bag yourself a really good on-the-day deal. I know Miss E has been wanting to see Matilda for a while, so we will probably try to see that one but of course there are loads more wonderful shows in London like the School of Rock and Aladdin.
Lunch Out - Pizza Express, Toby Carvery, Harvester, Ask Italian, Zizi
There are so many great places we could go and use our One4all card and enjoy lunch, these are just the few that I know my daughter would like but there are plenty of other brands more suitable for just adults like All Bar One and Miller and Carter Steakhouses.
Superbreak - A Night away for us in a Hotel
You might not have heard of Superbreak before but they are long established and have been successfully providing deals for short breaks for decades. They have hundreds of places and hotels to choose from, in fact you can do all sorts with them, cruise, coach tours, Eurostar or ready made package breaks.
Virgin Experience Days - Junior Tree Top Adventure for Two with Go Ape £36
My kids all adore Go Ape, they've been a couple of times now and would happily do it again as every course is just a little different and therefore fun. I'm not so sure that they could convince me to go up there though so this might not be the perfect one for me and Miss M to do together.
Go Outdoors - Plan a Camping Weekend Together
I have to admit I've been a little shy about camping these last few years but all my family are really experienced as they have been involved in scouting for years. Miss E does love sleeping under canvas so maybe I need to man up and buy myself some personal camping equipment from Go outdoors and we can have a back to basics weekend together. I do always love the look of friends photos as they sip hot chocolate on an evening as the sun goes down outside their tent.
I've been looking around and choosing for a good couple of hours now and if I'm honest I could go on and on as there is so much to choose from but that's it for today. As I mentioned earlier, check back in next week and you can see the finalised itinerary of what Miss E and I will get up to for our special Mother and Daughter weekend.
In all I've been super impressed with the One4all gift card and I think it is the gift answer for those people who are tricky to buy for. When you give them a One4all gift card they really can suit themselves.
Catch you soon, Mich x
Disclosure: Thanks so much to One4all for providing me with a loaded gift card so I could plan and execute this amazing time away for Miss E and myself. I have not been instructed what to write and I remain honest.
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