Jingle Bell Jog and a Christmas hamper

Hey peeps- I survived!

The Jingle Bell Jog was rather hilarious! My friend picked me up and we headed into town to collect our Santa suits. The suits were, um, interesting! I could have worn the trousers as dungarees, and even though they were baggy with a big drawstring, if you moved at all you split them in the crotch! It was also boiling! There was no bag drop so I kept my capris and top on as it was freezing walking from the car, but I ended up being so hot. I attempted the beard on, but it was so fluffy and itchy so I left it around my neck.

After a “warm up” we were off- the most laid back run ever- no timer clock, no signs to say how far we had gone- the roads weren’t closed so at several points we had to wait at roads for the green man!

But we got a lot of beeps from cars driving past and we were wa ving our flags back at them. We took it gently (one of my friends had not run at all in preparation so she did really well)- we ran the first mile, then ran/ walked the last two- making sure we ran to the finish. No idea what my time was as I didn’t stop my Garmin until it beeped for 4 miles back in the car!

What a cool medal though! Santa has the right idea in a sleeveless top to run in!

I made sure I stretched when I got home, but my leg has felt fine again, so that is good news. If I feel OK then I will have another run on Tuesday.

Now I am trying to persuade Andy to get our decorations down- I have suggested watching Home Alone as a sweetener! I think we are now putting it back to this Tuesday though.

A few weeks ago I was sent a gorgeous Christmas hamper from Hampergifts. They have a lovely selection, including lots of vegetarian/ alchohol free hampers. The one I was sent was called The Noel, and it is chock full of goodies. It came beautifully wrapped in ribbon, and I have no idea how all the contents fit in the basket as once I had unwrapped it I could not fit them back in!

The contents as listed on the website:

  • Olives Et Al Chilli & Garlic Olives 150g
  • Dark Chocolate Coated Marzipan Loaf 100g (I got Lindor truffles instead)
  • Cottage Delight Spicy Mango and Ginger Chutney 340g
  • Edinburgh Tea & Coffee Co. Fresh Ground Breakfast Coffee 56g
  • Large Christmas Fruit Cake 500g
  • Milk Chocolate Coated Almonds 150g
  • Alice McPhersons Petticoat Tails Shortbread 150g
  • Olive & Sesame Savoury Breadsticks 100g
  • Triple Chocolate Gourmet Cookies 100g (mine were lovely lemon ones)
  • The Wooden Spoon Cranberry & Orange Sauce 113g
  • Walkers of London Milk Chocolate Fruit & Nut 240g
  • Buchanan’s Chocolate Russian Caramels 100g
  • English Breakfast Tea x 10 Envelopes

It had a lovely mix of savoury and sweet items, and I love that it included coffee and tea instead of wine (although of course there are hampers with wine too). The Russian Caramels were in lovely gold and red wrappers, and sprinkled about the basket, so they have all been eaten now. I am saving the Lindor for the Christmas holidays as I have seen a way to make little reindeer with them, and I am thinking the cranberry sauce will be perfect in sandwiches. My Mum and Dad have been enjoying the mango chutney, and Andy’s family have been loving the spicy olives.

The chocolate coated almonds are also slightly gold coloured.

They are also huge: brazil nut sized and very moreish!

I have made hampers for people before, and it is always hard to find something to put them in- I love the idea of using reusable things like a utensil holder or something. I also think the range on the website is really good so well worth a look, even just for ideas.

Have you ever made/ bought a hamper for someone? Have you ever run in fancy dress?

Thanks to Hampergifts for providing me with the hamper to review. All opinions are my own.

Loading Facebook Comments ...

13 thoughts on “Jingle Bell Jog and a Christmas hamper”

  1. The best I could do in terms of fancy dress was a pair of Reindeer antlers, and even those fell off within two miles of starting a 10K race 😉 I can’t imagine how uncomfortable a Santa outfit must be to run in though! I overheat in even thin clothing, so I’d find those suits pretty much unbearable. Good to hear you had a nice race though, and that is definitely an absolutely cracking medal 🙂

    xxx

    1. I wanted to do the reindeer run, as they got to wear antlers, but sadly that was just for children! We were run/walking so it was not as bad as it could have been had we run the whole way!

  2. I did the santa dash in Liverpool last year, they’re so much fun aren’t they?! I also hated the santa outfit though and felt like it was falling down the whole way! I would probably look for some red running leggings and just wear the jacket bit of the suit if I did it again.Cute medal though!

    1. I saw a few people doing that with the leggings, but we were saying it was half the fun really- no timer clock or anything so it was all about looking silly and struggling with the clothes.

  3. I can’t even imagine how hot those Santa suits must be but those races all look like so much fun!!! And that medal looks fantastic! 🙂

  4. Oh wow I imagine racing in a Santa outfit must have been quite tricky! But it’s nice that you just took it as a bit of fun and ran with friends. I love doing that sometimes. Just not being so serious all the time about getting a good time and enjoying the run.
    The hamper looks amazing! I love the variety. And chocolate covered almonds…mmmm. We bought a hamper from Lakeland for my granddad for Christmas this year. It has biscuits, preserves, jam and fruit cake. I hope he likes it!!

    1. I bet he will 🙂
      Yes the run was just what I needed- not even a clock so it was not about time at all, just about having fun.

Leave a Reply to runningcupcake Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *