After yesterday's rather sombre post, we thought we would give you two things to cheer you all up in today's blog: food, and novelty aprons! We'll be sharing a few fun, festive recipes for you to try over the holiday season, based on the 'chef' stereotype you fit best!


Cookie Monster: The Dessert Expert 

If your cookies, crumbles and creme brulee all put Mary Berry to shame, then why not try making your own festive dessert this Christmas?

Why not try this Peppermint Bark Cheesecake from Cooking Classy, or these delicious Rolo Christmas Cookies from Living Locurto:                                     
                                            

The Impatient Cook  

If you're looking for something quick and easy to whip up in the kitchen, then why not try out these simple 3 Ingredient Candy Cane Lollipops from BBC Good Food, or these Pan Roasted Brussel Sprouts With Bacon if you're after something savoury.

Kitchen Hero 

If you're a bit of a wiz in the kitchen, you'll want to try something extra special this Christmas to wow your dinner guests.  Why not try out this incredible Roast Duck recipe from Jamie Oliver, or this incredible Chocolate Cake With Homemade Marshmallows for dessert! 

Batman (The Dark Knight) Adult Apron
(Buy Apron here)

Foodie Frankenstein

If you like to try something a little different in the kitchen, then what better time of year is there than Christmas to test out some new and interesting recipes?

If you're looking for some interesting combinations to have a crack at, then take a look at this Brussels Sprouts, Chilli and Thyme Jam, or these Pork and Cranberry Sausage Rolls, both from bakingmad.com.


Danger - Man Cooking (Apron and Hat Set)
(Buy Apron here)

Boozy Baker

For a flashy fish dish with an added kick, have a go at this Beetroot and Vodka-Cured Salmon from Woman and Home. If delicious bakes are more your speed, take a look at this fantastic Hazelnut Liquor pastry dish from Half Baked Harvest.

6 Pack Apron
(Buy Apron here)
Christmas is a time for love, happiness and smiles all round, but sadly, the same can't be said for Christmas films . In fact, Christmas movies can be pretty darn depressing at times, as illustrated by some of the examples below. 

I should warn you that there will be spoilers below, so if you're planning on watching some of these and haven't already, it's probably a good idea not to read the descriptions....


The Snowman - Snowman melts:

This film broke our hearts as children, and it still does to this day. It sets about fulfilling a childhood dream, then goes and completely destroys it! A boy is led by his snowman companion, flies to the North Pole with him to meet Father Christmas, only to discover that he's a melted puddle by the next day! Traumatic to say the least...


A Christmas Carol (2009) - Christmas Past:

Don't let the combination of animation and Jim Carey fool you, this version of Dickens' classic is pretty dark and depressing at times, particularly during the 'Christmas past' section. Not only do we see Scrooge as a sad and lonely little boy at boarding school, we then have to watch as he endures the death of his sister, and loses the woman he loves due to his developing fixation with wealth.


A Muppet Christmas Carol - Tiny Tim prophecy: 

Although this version is far more light-hearted than the 2009 adaptation, it still has a few moments that leave us feeling rather emotional. Once such moment comes later in the film, as the silent and creepy Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come reveals that adorable Tiny Tim will not be alive next Christmas.


Jack Frost - Jack is put to rest:

Okay, so a few people may have commented that the snowman looks a little creepy, but there's still no denying that this is a heart-warming family film. At the very end of the movie, Jack has to part ways with his son Charlie, this time, getting a chance to say the goodbye he never got the first time round. This makes for a sad and bitter-sweet ending to a story of second chances, giving us all the feels, all at once.


Love Actually - Too many moments to count:

Love Actually has to be the best, British Christmas film, with a stellar cast and a host of both hilarious and sad moments. From Colin Firth's sad goodbye to his Portuguese housekeeper, to Andrew Lincoln's confession of love to Keira Knightly (his best friend's wife) on her doorstep, this film is filled with emotional moments to get those tears flowing. The award for saddest moment of all goes to Emma Thompson, however, for that emotional realization scene when she discovers her husband has bought a necklace for another woman. We can't even listen to that Joni Mitchell song without sobbing.

Edward Scissorhands- Hold me 

Although this film is pretty melancholy throughout, the part that hits us right where it hurts is when Kim lovingly asks Edward to hold her, to which the replies 'I can't'. Burdened by difference and doomed to a life without normality, Edward is forced to endure a reclusive existence once more, free from the judgement of humanity. 

For more Christmas Posts, follow us on Twitter. We promise they're a lot more cheerful that this one!
Do you love a challenge? Do you enjoy a good puzzle to get your brain working? If so, this Maze Cube - Large is perfect for you! 

This 3D Tetris-like puzzle has 19000 possible solutions, so it should keep you busy up until Christmas next year! It consists of 13 different pieces in red, blue and yellow, which make a thousand different configurations. When put together correctly, you can make a perfect cube.


If this Maze Cube interests you, then you'll be happy to know that it is our Deal Of The Week, and it is now reduced to £4.50! That's more than 50% off, what a bargain!

If you're looking for the ultimate brain teaser that will challenge you this Christmas, then look no further than our Maze Cube - Large! With over 19000 different solutions, you won't be getting bored of this in a hurry! 

Click Here to check out our other puzzles!
Below are some of the most popular and well-loved gifts of Christmases past, but looking back, it's rather difficult to understand the appeal of some of them... Just goes to show what great marketing can do for you.

Lava Lamp

You knew you'd reached the peak of maturity when you had one of these in your room! It almost felt like living in your own Nickelodeon TV show!

lava lamp

Nintendo 64

If you want to know JUST how awesome getting one of these for Christmas was, watch this video. With games like Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, it's still considered to be one of the greatest consoles of all time.
Nintendo 64 console

Baby Born

Because apparently, having a doll which could pee itself on demand was what every little girl in the 90's really wanted. And people think that the 'period Barbie' idea is strange....

Bop It

This frustrating, reflex-testing game was a must-have item at all your childhood sleepovers, before it was thrown across the room in frustration of course. When they came out with the 'Extreme' version, it all got a bit much for us.

Furby

Was it an owl, an alien? No one really knew, but everyone wanted one! If you think about it, this was probably a far better test of your parenting skills than Baby Born or Tamagotchi ever was, as you prayed every waking moment that it would finally stop begging for food and Go.To.Sleep!

furby toy

Mr Frosty 

We're pretty sure that everyone still has one of those ice moulds lying in the back of their kitchen cupboard somewhere.


Chemistry Set

What could be a more wholesome and innocent gift for your child than a box of flammable chemicals? Most of these had 12+ ratings on the box, but you ignored that because you were such a rebel! You soon got tired of it once you'd realized that just about the only fun thing you could do with it was to burn magnesium.

Mouse Trap

This game seemed like the best idea ever, but once you'd realized how long it took to set up, the rare chance of being able to set off the chain reaction soon lost its shine. Plus, if you ever lost a single, tiny part, the entire game was left totally redundant. 

mouse trap

For more fun posts about gadgets, gifts and pop culture, follow us on Twitter!

Christmas is a time to eat, drink and be merry, so we thought we'd share some festive drinkspiration with you, to enjoy with friends at parties and get-togethers this year. 

Cranberry Jelly Shots

All you'll need for this recipe is a pack of jelly mix, some cranberry juice and orange vodka.

Heat 2 1/4 cups of cranberry juice on the stove until it comes to the boil, then add in the jelly mix until dissolved. Add 3/4 cup of orange vodka before leaving them to set overnight. If you can't find the original ingredients, you could sub them to suit your needs, for example; using orange jelly and regular vodka. See the original recipe here.

Santa Shot

This awesome 2 colour shot is made with 1 part grenadine syrup, 1 part green creme de menthe, and 1 part peppermint schnapps.

First add some grenadine so it fills 1/3 of your glass. Then, add equal parts of the creme de menthe, and then the peppermint schnapps. If you've done it right, it should produce a lovely layered, look. See the full recipe here.

Eggnog

This one is pretty indulgent, so you'll need 1 litre of milk, 475ml of double cream, 12(yes you read that right) egg yolks, a tsp of vanilla extract, 475ml of whiskey, 12 egg whites, 200g of cater sugar and a pinch of ground nutmeg. 

Click here for full instructions on how to make this creamy Christmas cocktail.

Icy Holiday Margaritas


For this you'll need 1/2 cup of thawed frozen cranberry juice, 1/2 cup of tequila, 1/4 cup of orange liqueur, 3 tbsp of melon liqueur and 5 cups of ice cubes. If you're feeling creative, you can also add some decorative sugar and/or berries for extra flair.

Blend all ingredients but the ice cubes, then, with the blender running (carefully) add the ice cubes one at the time through the lid opening. Blend until slushy. For more details, click here.

To give your drinks an additional impact, we also have some great glasses and drink accessories:


Ice Shot Glasses

Ice Shot Glasses 4 Pack

Conundrum Wine Glasses

Conundrum Red Wine Glasses (Set of 4)

Mixology Mason Jars 

Mason Pint Jar (Set of 4)

Ice Ball Moulds

Ice Ball Moulds: Make Your Own Ice Balls
Mason Jar Shots

Mason Jar Shot Glass - Set of 4
For more festive inspiration follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Gadget Inspector | Gadgets and Gizmos, Gifts and Novelties
Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, and there is no better way to celebrate this joyous season than to have the whole family gather round and watch a festive a film together! With that in mind, we have a few suggestions that we strongly recommend to get you in the Christmas spirit:

 Be warned: spoilers may lie ahead. 
 

How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) 

In this adaptation of the cherished children's tale by Dr. Seuss, the bitter,green Grinch (played brilliantly by Jim Carrey) comes up with a plan to take Christmas (which he absolutely despises) away from the cheery and festive inhabitants of Whoville (who he equally loathes). His plan may be foiled, however, when he bumps into cute Cindy Lou, who tries to melt his dark and black heart and change his devilish plans to ruin the festive season.
 

Elf (2003) 

This beloved festive comedy is a favourite among many families, and for good reason! This film follows Buddy the elf (Will Ferrell), a human raised by elves, and his experiences with modern-day New York and human culture, whilst on the search for his birth father. The whole family will be chuckling away whilst they watch Buddy struggle with human life. 

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) 

This film is well and truly the definition of a Christmas classic! It's entertaining and message driven, with a truly remarkable performance from James Stewart as George Bailey, a man who is contemplating suicide. By the end has a fresh, new outlook on life, as his neighbours all pitch in and help him get his life back on track. If you're not sobbing into your mince pie by the end of this film, there's something wrong with you! 


The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) 

Michael Caine, Gonzo the Great and Kermit the Frog – now these probably weren't what Charles Dickens had in mind when he was writing A Christmas Carol, but that is one of the many reasons to love this warm-hearted take on the classic story. Despite the presence of Muppets, it is to be believed to be one of the more faithful versions of the original tale, and is of course our favourite! 

Die Hard (1988)

All John McClane (Bruce Willis) was hoping for was a a quiet and relaxing Christmas, but Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) has other ideas, when he holds the staff (including John's wife) of the Nakatomi headquarters hostage. With no immediate police help, John is forced to take matters into his own hands and try to save his wife from the evil German terrorist. This against-the-odds action is hailed to be one of the greatest Christmas films ever, and for good reason too!  

Home Alone (1990) 

After mischievous Kevin McCallister (Macauley Culkin)  get's into an argument with his family, he's sent to his room. The next morning, the whole family leave for their trip to Paris, but accidentally leave without Kevin! He wakes up to an empty house, all by himself, and soon begins living an eight year old's dream. This dreams is short-lived, however, as he soon realises that two burglars are going to attempt to rob his house on Christmas eve. Left to defend the house on his own, Kevin sets up a host of make shift booby traps around the house to try and stop them..

What are YOUR favourite Christmas movies? Let us know on Twitter!

Now that November has ended, the time has come for us to announce the winners of our Movember competition. Throughout the entire month we've been encouraging you lot to grow out your majestic moustaches, and tweet us your fan-tache-tic movember attempts to win prizes while showing your support for a great cause, and you didn't disappoint! We've been inundated with brilliant moustache pics from far and wide, making it really difficult for us to choose the best three. If we could, we'd send you all a moustache-themed prize for being such great sports!

We started by shortlisting our moustache donning competitors before choosing our favourite three, but before we announce our winners, we'd just like to thank everyone for entering once again; you should be so pleased with yourselves for supporting such a worthy cause!
So, in 3rd place, who will be winning this ZAP - Mullet and Tache Set is... @grinnerlynn! We love the arts and craft moustache, and we salute you for that pose! 
Congratulations to @crummey15, you're our runner up and the winner of this classy Anchorman Wallet and Moustache Set. We loved your White Goodman style moustache! 
And finally, the entrant who stood out to us most and will be winning this fantastic Thabto Moustache Door Mat, is @leeinroyston! Your Double moustache was well and truly spectacular and is deservedly our winner

To the 6 entrants we've shortlisted - you made cracking attempts, so we thought we'd add your pictures to show our appreciation. Please feel free to enter again next year, you may well end up in the top three!

Congratulations to our lucky winners and thanks to everyone who entered. Keep your eyes peeled for more awesome Gadget Inspector competitions coming soon. 


It's the 1st of December! Who had the first choccy in their advent calender today? (You're never too old right?) Seeing as all of our Christmas parties are due to kick off very soon, we thought we would put together a little survival kit to guarantee you have the best night ever!


Drink in Style

At Gadget Inspector we have a huge range of drinking accessories, which are perfect to give your party that added dose of boozy fun. These Bomber cups are the most fast and efficient way to measure out your alcohol of choice, or create the ultimate 'bomb' mixer without the hassle of buying individual shot glasses. The best part is that they come in packs of 10, 6 and 4, as well as being sold individually, making them ideal as both a party supply as well as a gift!

If you're looking for something a little more festive to add to the seasonal cheer, then these Christmas Spirit drinking flasks are exactly what you're after. While they make a great serving solution for party shots, they also have a little loop for you to hang them just like a real bauble! Hide them somewhere on the tree as a reward for those who are quick enough to spot them, just make sure to watch out for the more clumsy guests! 

christmas drinking accessories
Fun and Games 

While you may be old enough to consume alcohol, it's undoubtedly a fact that Christmas turns us all into a bunch of big kids! With the range of drinking games we have available here at Gadget Inspector, you're sure to find something to add a fun twist to the evening's festivities, whether this is an alcohol fuelled card game or a beefed up version of beer pong!

drinking game sets
Buy Here                                                                                         Buy Here 

The Secret Santa Gift

If you're going out with your work buddies to celebrate Christmas, it's more than likely that you'll also be taking part in a Secret Santa draw. While it may seem quite difficult at first to think of an item which fits the brief and budget, you're sure to find plenty of quirky and affordable gift ideas here!

This Giant Gummy Bear is ideal for the sugar addict in your office, while the stress Rubik's Cube is a useful yet subtle way to tell someone that they need to chill out! This Complaints Department Grenade is also a humorous desk top addition for someone who works in customer service. 

secret santa gifts

Picture Perfect

Christmas parties are a great opportunity to take loads of funny and memorable photographs, so it's essential that you have some great accessories to make these even better! If you want to get some great group photos, why not pick up this Selfy Stick to capture some awesome phone snaps? We also have a bunch of fun fancy dress props, for adding to all your outlandish poses! This crazy and slightly scary Basset Hound Mask is just one of them!
picture props


The Recovery Solution 

If you've had a really good time on your Christmas do, it's quite likely that you'll be feeling a little worse for ware the next day. Whether this is due to an over-consumption of alcohol or lack of sleep, it's a given that you'll want something cosy and comfortable to cuddle up in. Our Christmas Snug Rugs are the perfect thing to keep you warm and toasty, while rekindling your festive spirit!

chirstmas sung rug


Today, America will celebrate their annual Thanksgiving holiday, a custom that is said to have been initiated by a feast shared by a group of early settlers and Native Americans. Here in the UK we tend to be a little clueless on the finer details of these celebrations, so we thought it would be a great idea to share some fun facts about the day with you!

The Annual Turkey Pardon

Every year since 1989, the president of the USA is presented with two turkeys, one of which will be saved from the dinner table by being officially 'pardoned'. Read more about this strange tradition here.

Forks Wouldn't Have Been Used at the First Thanksgiving Feast

The now commonplace eating utensil wouldn't have been present at the first Thanksgiving feast, simply due to the fact that it wasn't invented until 10 years later, and didn't become popular for another 200 years! 



They Probably Didn't Have Turkey Either...

While Turkey has become a firm staple of the modern Thanksgiving dinner, evidence suggests that the famous feast which inspired the holiday would have more likely consisted of passenger pigeon and seafood!

Speaking of Which, Americans Eat A LOT of Turkey!

The rough figure is around 46 million of the unlucky birds, more than double those eaten at Christmas!


Black Friday Origins

The day of deals and crazy shoppers was apparently named after it's ability to get business owners 'out of the red' and into positive profits.

There are Actually Two Thanksgivings

Canada celebrate their version on the second Monday in October!



Jingle Bells Was Originally Intended For Thanksgiving!

The famous tune was originally written for Thanksgiving and not Christmas, but was so popular that it kept being played into December and soon caught on as a popular Christmas song.


What do you call a Male Turkey?

Believe it or not, this isn't intended as a joke. Only male turkeys make the recognizable 'gobble' sound, which is why they are referred to as 'Gobblers'.  

690 Million Pounds of Turkey?

We've told you how many Turkeys the US consumes each year, but apparently this is how much meat was consumed at it's height - that's roughly the same weight as the population of Singapore!


Arnie Loves Thanksgiving! 

We'll leave you with some, errr, 'words of wisdom' from our favourite action star. Schwarzenegger was one quoted as saying 'I love Thanksgiving turkey. It's the only time in Los Angeles that you see natural breasts'. And on that note...

From page to screen, comic book heroes and villains have been an integral part of modern popular culture, particularly in recent years. Whether you're a budding Batman or an aspiring Avenger, we stock a wide range of themed accessories and novelties here at Gadget Inspector. To show you some of them, we thought we would put together another gift guide so you can get all of your shopping done in time for Christmas! 

Batman Apron

Bruce Wayne may have Alfred to do all of his cooking, but some of us just aren't that lucky! If you don't have an elderly butler to do all of your work, don't despair, we have the perfect solution to your problems. This easy-tie apron is perfect for whipping up a hearty meal in a hurry, particularly if you find yourself having to pop out between dishes, to deal out a dose of justice on the streets of your city.

batman cooking apron

Hulk Mug

If you find that your tea demands often go unnoticed, this hefty Hulk mug could be the solution to all your beverage bothers. Shaped to resemble the sizeable fist of the green Goliath, this mug not only provides you with a generous helping of your chosen drink, but also sends out the message that you won't take no for an answer! 
hulk fist mug

Joker Wallet and Belt Set.

If badass bad guys are more your speed, then why not show your allegiance with this awesome, Joker wallet and belt set? Complete with a cool, retro comic book design, these additions to your wardrobe are an ideal way to show some love to good ol' Mister J. Just pair them with a purple suit, and you have the perfect combo! 
joker wallet and belt


Superhero Logo Cufflinks 

The Batman v Superman film is being released in the new year, so it's high time that we all picked a side! Wear your allegiance on your sleeve (quite literally), with one of our superhero cufflink sets! Whether your a high-flying businessman or a justice-serving journalist, be sure to show where your loyalties lie. Browse the rest of our selection here.

         superhero suit cufflinks


Stay tuned until next time, when we bring you another gift guide to save the day! To see our full range of gifts and gadgets, visit our homepage now!