Tiny Toblerone (Asda) By @Cinabar

I absolutely love the look of this huge bag filled with mini chocolate bars. When I was a child, I used to get so excited about miniature chocolate bars, like the ones in a box called Neapolitans. They were tiny, not like fun-sized bars, but closer to 2cm across and came in a mix of flavours. There’s just something so fun about miniature things, and I used to pretend to be a giant while eating them. Naturally, I was eager to see what these Tiny Toblerone were like.

I opened the bag (which unfortunately didn’t have a resealable top) and found three types of mini bars inside. All of them featured the classic nut nougat of regular Toblerone, but in miniature form and made with three different types of chocolate. When I unwrapped them, the bars were smaller than I’d expected, but each still had the iconic three triangles. I didn’t bother breaking them apart, I just ate them whole!

The white Tiny Toblerone was lovely; sweet, creamy, and indulgent. The dark chocolate one was rich, with lots of cocoa and a deeply satisfying flavour. Of course, the milk chocolate version is the original and, in my opinion, still the best.

Every Christmas, Toblerone brings out massive bars that make fun gifts, but they’re so awkward to eat. After the novelty wears off, you’re left hacking pieces off with a knife and trying to gnaw through enormous chunks of chocolate. I can’t tell you how much I’d prefer receiving a bag like this instead of a giant bar. And yes, I still felt a bit like a giant eating these cute little bars!

Medicating Grandma - Grass & Co Liquid Relax Drink [@NLi10]

 I go to visit my partner's grandmother most weekends, and she's taken an active interest in the unusual things I review for this site.  At 97 most of the things I bring along are declared 'interesting' but never really referenced again.

As she's been suffering for anxiety as the nights draw in I thought I'd offer her some of this Grass & Co relaxing drink.  It may sound a little 'magic potion' but essentially it's a tea-style herbal infusion, but jazzed up to look and taste more like a sparkling wine.

The chamomile & peach sounded the most grown up so that's the one we tried.

I didn't spot it had some mushrooms in it too - but as it was from the supermarket I'm thinking they are quite normal ones.  I filled her in on all the details and then let her try some.  She didn't have much - but did like it so drank more than I expected.

I think it had the desired effect on both of us and we had a lovely chat and almost forgot to order our lovely big lunch.

We had the delivery Toby carvery again - not as spectacular as the first time (the tip is order early to get the freshest bits) but still perked us both up.

While herbal drinks can help your negative mindset in a gloomy December afternoon, I think having a decent meal and someone to talk to is the real calming solution.  That said - the flavours were sophisticated and I could have happily carried on drinking them (but I had to drive back and didn't want to be too relaxed) so I'll save the other can for another day.

Maybe it's a good way to cope with a chaotic family Christmas!  At the very worst its a few needed vitamins and a break from the alcohol.

Polly’s Floret Extra Pale Ale (Morrisons) by @Spectreuk

I haven't had a sausage stew since I left home many years ago. I used to love my mom's sausage stew. I wasn't a beer blogger back then, and I didn't drink much booze with my meals. How times have changed. Although that does make me feel a bit like an old boozer now, but hey, we have to indulge ourselves sometimes. Besides, it's almost Christmas.

This Polly's Floret Extra Pale Ale should wash down my sausage casserole a treat, and warm me up from the coming storm this weekend. At 4.2% in volume, there wasn't much information on the hoppy flowery smart looking can. I'm expecting floral or perhaps herbal hops, and of course, pale malted barley, and a little wheaty taste.

On opening Polly's Floret Extra Pale Ale there was a heavy floral hop smell with a sweet pale malt behind it. This was a very frothy beer, even for an ex-barman to pour out. A misty murky blonde coloured pale ale, on taste the floral hops all but assaulted my palate with their intense bitterness, followed closely by the added wheat. It's fortunate I adore bitter beers, and this one was no exception. The sweet pale malted barley smoothed out the sheer floral hops into the aftertaste, washing down my scrumptious sausage casserole a treat.

Belvoir Farm Clementine & Cranberry (Ocado) By @Cinabar

I really enjoy Belvoir drinks, even though they can be a little pricey. When I spotted their new festive flavour, Clementine & Cranberry, on offer, I decided to treat myself to a bottle. The packaging is gorgeous, with some shiny gold accents that make it feel special. I think this would look stunning on a Christmas table—or, like me, you could enjoy it during a cosy night in.

Upon opening the bottle, I noticed a light, delicate aroma with hints of orange. The drink had a lovely fizz, and when poured, it revealed a pleasing pink hue.

The taste was delightful. It wasn’t overly sweet, as some fizzy drinks can be, but instead had a nice complexity. The sharpness of the cranberry was perfectly balanced by the citrusy sweetness of the clementine. I found it very easy to drink and thoroughly enjoyed the flavour. Combining these two classic Christmas fruits creates a harmonious mix of sour and sweet, making it quite moreish.

I’ll definitely keep an eye out for more offers on Belvoir drinks—they’re really rather lovely.

Wafflemeister toasting waffles - sealed waffles to toast at home [@NLi10]

 I'm a big fan of waffles, so when Waitrose suggested I add these to my online shop I said 'yes!'.  Along with Scotch pancakes and crumpets they are a great Sunday evening snack (or just before bed with a cup of decaf tea).

I've never heard of Wafflemeister but if they are the wafflemaster and using the language of the wafflemasters to call themselves that then who am I to disagree!

Produced in Belgium! Toast for 30 secs

All good

But oh no - the waffles are recursive - the waffle bag contains 4 smaller waffle bags that hopefully only contain the two waffles, and not 4 smaller waffle bags.

Hooray - not too small, but I'd have coped with them being the size of the two waffles.

I think 30 sec (on the timer) in my toaster didn't give it time to warm up so I'll try 40 with the next ones. The mysterious (vanilla based) flavours were great, the texture was awesome and I still have 6 to eat as late night snacks.  Individually sealing them is great as I don't feel like I have to eat them all in a couple of days like some other brands.

Overall I think these are the best you could get without asking Santa for a waffle maker (which I'd love but likely use once a year), so I'll be hoping that more places sell these so I can keep them in stock.