Baby, it's cold outside!

We've had another dusting of snow last night. There has been snow on the ground since Friday and it seems to maliciously refresh itself every time I get up the gumption to clear off the walk! Very frustrating and bone-chillingly cold (yes, I am Canadian but I feel the damp, British cold terribly!), it is also gut-wrenchingly pretty and highly festive!

Speaking of the C-word, my plans and preparations are coming on apace, which is heartening! I have larders full to bursting point, mostly thanks to Suma and Nectar! No these are not magical potions of some kind, but my two current favourite businesses (so please forgive the product placement- believe me, I wish I was getting reimbursed for it).

Suma is a wholesale co-operative which does all sorts of organic, fairtrade, ethical foodstuffs and sundries. They have recently opened their doors to individuals (previously they only supplied businesses) and I have managed, by my rough calculations, to save myself nearly £100 by buying things I would usually buy individually at the supermarket in bulk. They're excellent for anyone who is really into vegetarian/ vegan/ organic/ fairtrade/ green products. Just make sure you have space to put it all!

Nectar is high on my "good" list at the moment because they have made my Christmas that little bit more enjoyable. I'll explain: being a creature of habit I shop at the same supermarket week in and week out. I also tend to fuel up the car there. So a free rewards points card was not a huge leap to make, and I dutifully handed my husband a duplicate card. At the time he was working a job which involved a stupid amount of travelling, which meant that he was spending a lot of money filling up the car. Granted, the firm was paying for both the car and the fuel, but I thought it would be a great way to rack up some points. The downside? There were only two particular petrol station chains he could get the points from, and I politely asked him to a) only use those stations and, b) use the card. Well, needless to say, he found it a bit too much bother to do either while he was busy driving up and down the country, so it didn't exactly get a lot of use.

The turning point came last Christmastime. We were both doing the shopping for our big dinner, and predictably rang up a considerable total at the till. I asked if we could cash in our points to shave a bit of money off, and we were both pleasantly surprised when we ended up with a balance under £20 for the lot! The look on my husband's face was priceless, and as we exited the store he said quite firmly. "Right. I'm convinced now. I'm going to use that card!"

He very shortly had to change jobs so we no longer have the opportunity to rack up points on fuel, but his current place of employment has joined in the scheme so now we're gathering up points from there as well! On Monday we went to gather our Christmas feast for this year, asked to cash in what points we could... and cheerfully paid the outstanding princely sum of 67p. Merry Christmas, Nectar card!