When the boys were little, we used to buy Christmas Advent Calendars for them. These had twenty-four perforated windows, and behind each was a lolly or small toy, the aim being to provide a tiny treat for every day between the 1st and 24th of December.
I thought it would be nice to take the essence of this idea – a small daily treat – and rework if here. Over the next five days (I can’t manage twenty-four), I’ll be posting up a few little things that I love and giving you the opportunity to w1n them.
This really is just a tiny g1veaway, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. I’ve thought long and hard about what to include, and tried to pick items that are fun and just a little bit unusual. None of them weigh very much, so I’m happy to send them anywhere (although if you’re overseas, I can’t guarantee you’ll get them before Christmas!).
First up is a kitchen tool which gets used nearly every day in our house to cut the top off Small Man’s boiled egg. It works a treat, and the one we have has been in constant use for over two years. We have one of these to g1ve away.
Please εnter by leaving a comment below. All five g1veaways will close on Monday 13th December 2010 and you’re welcome to εnter all of them. Thanks for joining in the fun!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
What a lovely idea, a mini advent giveaway!
Would love to enter, thank you!
Hi Celia,
That is the coolest!!!
I love your idea, and if I have your permission…would like to copy it next year!
Please include me in your egg snipping give away!!!!!
BTW….I just love it when I see I have a new post of yours waiting in my inbox.
I have started a new job and have been too busy to participate in blogging of any kind …but have been enjoying it all from the side-lines!!
Jude
Jude, of course, please feel free to use the idea! :)
It was fun just watching the picture progression on that egg!
I’m game for ANYTHING “that works a treat”!
I made fruitcake yesterday- OH YEAH- I’m in the holiday baking mode!
Celia, you always have such fabulous and fun ideas. You are like a Christmas angel.
Looking forward to seeing what the next 4 days g1veaways are.
I am sure all your deserving recipients will be thrilled.
:-) Mandy
I have never seen such a thing! I’m a fairly good egg slicer but I managed to mangle Lola’s egg the other day. She eats two almost daily so this would be very handy indeed.
Would love to win this give away.
Your blog gives me the inspiration to try something new all of the time.
What a lovely idea! I practise my karate kicks on my boiled egg so please don’t include me. Zeb says he will trade you one of his advent calendar treats for a panettone biscotti though xx
What a Fab idea, I found your website earlier this year, and have used many of your ideas for my christmas pressies, I must say I am very proud of my Vanilla essence and soon to try Vanilla Syrup, and my granddaughter just loves the hot chocolate mix, apparently you don’t even need the milk!!
Have a great Christmas
Jacky (Warkworth, NZ)
Not sure I should enter for this one … the best part of having boiled eggs is the tap tap tap on the top. But if I win I promise to give it to Himself – this is his sorta thing!
Don’t enter me, but what a cool little contraption… Snip!
What a sweetheart you are! This is a very cool tool too. I hate picking little bits of shell from my egg, it spoils the whole experience; like finding one bone in my fish when I eat out- I can’t enjoy it anymore I just take tiny nibbles expecting to be stabbed in the gum any second!
What a fantastic little gadget Celia, I’ve not seen anything like that before. And what a lovely advent treat too.
What a great implement! Aren’t people clever, constantly thinking up new ways to spend money?
Not an entry but what a great idea! I must admit I usually butcher eggs when I try to cut off the tops with a knife-it’s like I have hands like Shrek! :P
Hi Celia
I tend to be a lurker on your blog but when I read the opening lines of this post I couldn’t help laughing and had to comment. I wrote one on Dec 2 that starts “when my kids were little they used to have those chocolate advent calendars”!!
I don’t need an egg snipper, but lovely idea – thanks for sharing it. :-)
Clare, jinx! :) Thanks for stopping by!
What a great idea Celia!
I’d love to enter.
I’ve wondered if boiling eggs in vinegar would make the shell go soft.
Don’t enter me, Celia – but what an idea! Who thinks these things up?
Cool idea, and cool gadget… please, don’t enter me, I am living too far away from you and would feel bad if you had to mail it all the way here
But I loved your idea of the 5 gifts, and will be paying attention to see who will be the lucky winners….
This is a lovely idea Celia!
please include me in the entries; my 5year old is always so impatient with her boiled egg that she ends up smashing the whole thing!! haha
And just to let you know: I LOVE Christmas!!! Our advent calendar is up. It’s a homemade quilted one that goes up every year. It has a different picture on each pocket and every evening I put a little treat or toy in the pocket for my girls to find in the morning.
I’ve baked loads of gingerbread tree decorations, all monogrammed for friends and family (and kids’ teachers!), Christmas cakes, figgy log, shortbread, and panforte. Will start the shortbread and rum balls this week.
My mum makes the traditional steamed pudding each October and it’s hanging in her laundry ‘aging’.
Can’t wait!!!
Emma
What an absolutely adorable idea! I loved having advent calenders as a child, though I was always too impatient to just have 1 chocolate a day! :)
Hey C, that is one very cool little gadget. I’m going on a hunt for one.
Love your ‘mini’ Advent calender idea. My daughter would love the egg decapitator, she’s so gentle tapping the egg that it never breaks!
I’m up to my elbows in pre-Christmas baking and wondering if it will cool down so I can make pannetone!
Great contest idea Celia! It seems that it is a hit with all. I have never before seen a tool like the one you are using for the eggs…we humans are a creative lot, aren’t we!
What an awesome little gadget! Definitely a must for my kitchen :)
I didn’t know such a tool existed! I have to get myself one of those as I have been trying to use a tea towel to stop burning my fingers as my little man (3 years old) loves eggs. Thanks Celia for letting us know about such a terrific gadget.
Thanks for all joining in – this really is a great little gadget! For those of you in Australia, I’ve just found it online at Peters of Kensington:
http://www.petersofkensington.com.au/Product/ProductInfo.aspx?id=1598113
Hi – I’ve just discovered your blog and I can’t wait till I get some time (maybe after Christmas is over) to read back on past posts.
I would love one of these little gadgets – I always manage to mangle it and get shell in the yolk.
Thanks Celia!
PS I found you via Not quite Nigella (thanks Lorraine!)
i love to enter for this xmas giveaway, only for the sake of sheer happiness we all get by your kind festive intention! may happiness be omnipresent to your family my dear celia!
What a lovely idea Celia. I have never seen one of these before. Count me in please. My son loves his ‘egg and soldiers’
I’ve never actually seen these snippers…..I love discovering new things, these would be perfect for creating that tiny little gateway for dunking bread chips
Fantastic! It’s so hard to time the egg and THEN be quick to get the top off (and every little bit of shell) before the yolk sets….perhaps one of those would help?
[…] the large Alexanderplatz square. At Butlers, I bought myself a nice egg sniper. Thanks to Celia of Fig Jam & Lime Cordial, I knew what they were! And then I got 2 German cookbooks. No, I don’t speak […]