Retro Sweets: The New Way to Say I Care

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Retro sweets are getting to be big business again in the UK, after all who could possibly forget the fun they got from their first gobstopper or how they kept examining its rainbow colour changes? Popping into the corner sweetie store for a quarter or even 2 oz of sherbert pips, rhubarb and custards or pineapple cubes used to be the highlight of any kids’ school day, and those days seem to be returning as the rise of retro sweets within the UK reaches fever pitch.

It’s hard to say whether this rise in retro sweet popularity is due to the grandparents of our current generation educating their loved ones on sweets from their childhood, or if it’s the parents. One thing is for sure, kids of today (and their parents!) are spoilt for choice when it comes to indulging their taste buds with the sweets of yesteryear.

The delight and pleasure achieved from dipping lollies into sherbert or sucking chewy Refreshers is something nobody forgets, and these childhood joys can be recreated any time you choose to buy retro sweets from popular sweet shops and websites. If you’ve really missed wearing candy necklaces and popping the sugared beads into your mouth at whim, why not buy yourself a bag full of them?

Wine gums, Love Hearts, Fruit Salads or Black Jacks and fizzy fruit bottles or cola bottles are available to buy in bulk bags from a number of retailers within the UK. You might prefer to buy your own jar filled with the retro sweet mix that used to float your boat. Alternatively, hampers, boxes and sweet bouquets make great gifts for friends or family.

Traditional boiled sweets or toffees that used to be sold by the quarter ounce are now available in jars or bags. You could even indulge your loved one with a personalised sweetie jar that’s full to the brim with their sweet shop favourites - we used to have a jar full of Kola Cubes in our kitchen.

Anybody preferring quick sweet snacks on the run might wish to opt for candy cans, with handy ring pulls and realistic tin can packaging to take you on a trip down memory lane.

Even corporate clients and businesses can get in on the sweetie action! With sweet carts, Victorian sweetie jars and hampers or tuck boxes available, you can gift the ultimate unusual sweetie gift to business contacts and employees.

No matter what the occasion, you’re sure to find the best retro sweets to suit your budget and excite friends, colleagues or family. These historically popular sweets will arouse fond memories in everyone, and our modern generation of kids will find them just as entrancing.

You’ll discover a host of memorable sweets at Retro Sweet and can take advantage of free UK deliveries to ensure your sweetie orders are received in great condition and at the earliest possible moment. No matter whether you buy your traditional sweets for yourself, family or friends they’re sure to excite interest and conversation. The option to personalise your sweetie gifts from Retro Sweet is a novel way you can make your retro sweet gift extra special for each and every recipient, while the variety of sweet gift options and presentation packages you can choose at Retro Sweet is truly phenomenal.


Retro Christmas Pressies from Spoilt Rotten Gifts!

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Since featuring Spoilt Rotten Gifts this time last year, I’m so pleased to see this fabulous website has gone from strength to strength. Owner Nichola is just about the nicest person in the small business world and I simply love her collection of vintage, retro and intrinsically British gifts. Her handpicked selection has now grown to include some of my favourite designers including Sass Belle, Anorak, Orla Kiely and Nicky James! It perfectly suits Nichola’s eclectic style and is testament to her background in buying for the likes of John Lewis.

Spoilt Rotten Gifts is the perfect destination for unusual stocking fillers that will transport someone back to their childhood, offer a solution to something they’ve often whinged about, or for children’s gifts that are sure to be coveted well beyond the excitement of Christmas. Here are just a few of my favourite things:

Spoilt Rotten Gifts
Clockwise (left to right): VW Campervan Shaped Mug £5.99 each / Kate Garey Sausage Dog Day Bag was £55.00 now £49.50 / Wall’s Ice Cream Satchel £25.99 / Nicky James Blue Owl Satchel £25.99 / Rusty And Friends Set Of Three Suitcases £20.99 / Magpie Birdy Robin Cushion £16.99 / Disaster Designs Beatles Alarm Clock was £15.99 now £8.99 / Orla Kiely Gardening Gloves £12.99 / Sass Belle Baby Fox Cushion was £15.99 now £12.79

I was literally spoilt for choice when choosing something to review this time around. As my Craigy is a bit of geek, he’d be happy with absolutely everything on the site, and there are also some seriously scrummy baby outfits that Heidi would have looked gorgeous in. But given I’m a selfish mare, I actually treated myself. This seems to be happening far too often at the moment - the kids faces are a real sight when the postman coming knocking with parcels for mummy and not them!

Sass Belle Owl Doorstop

I plumped for this adorable Sass Belle owl doorstop in pretty green, pink and white printed fabrics. Given everyone is so ill at the moment (I’m actually writing this very post from a stuffy room on the children’s ward at the Royal Berkshire Hospital - poor Dex has been struck with bronchitis) Craig is sat at home with Heidi helping her get over her latest tooth, and airing out all the rooms. Rose the owl has therefore been tasked with the very important job of stopping doors from slamming and frightening Heidi. In fact, Heidi seems quite enamoured with Rose and loves babbling away to her.

Rose is nice and heavy and carries all her weight in her bum (don’t we all!) so sits up against doors perfectly (no laying down on the job!). The hand-stitched felt appliqué eyes, wings and feet are such a sweet little detail, and the fabrics all go together beautifully.

Rose is also performing night duties at our house and propping open the lounge stair gate at night to save mummy and daddy from nightly meltdowns. At £9.96 (reduced from £12.45) she’s a fab little Christmas gift for a vintage interior addict.

Birdy Twin bag

I also ordered a gorgeous wash bag and make-up bag from the retro Wren Birdy range. In sky blue and lemon shades and featuring a blue tit and yellow wagtail, this beautiful set of printed PVC coated canvas bags are very 70′s. Lined in nylon, they’re easy to wipe clean if you have any spillages, making them fab for the frequent traveler or make-up fiend. The cute make-up bag measures 215x140mm so is also the perfect size for popping in your handbag, to protect its lining from loose powder and rogue lipsticks.

The heart-shaped Wren zip pulls are a neat little contrast against the fabric and will withstand a fair bit of tugging when you’ve overfilled the bags. At 310x200mm you wouldn’t think you’d run out of room in the wash bag, but I’m the last person in the world who will criticise you if you do! This is currently housing all my daily lotions and potions and I love its cheerful design when I delve in every morning.

At £16.99 its such a lovely gift for a special lady and in true Mary Poppins style, they’re practically perfect in every way!

If I’ve tempted you, have a browse of Nichola’s wibbly wobbly world of Spoilt Rotten Gifts, and pop over to her website, or show her some love on Pinterest, Facebook or Twitter.

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