At the end of November, I was lucky enough to be invited to an event hosted by my local shopping centre, Queensgate.

Of course, the event involved tasting foods from a variety of shops and restaurants in Peterborough – and who says no to food?!

The amount that was there was pretty overwhelming, ranging from chocolate to burgers and even glittery prosecco! So without further ado, here are some of the goodies available in shops this year:

John Lewis

The staff at John Lewis were generous enough to provide us with a mouth-watering selection of cakes from their cafe! My favourite was definitely the Chocolate and Orange Cake *insert dribbling emoji here*! But there was also classics such as Lemon Drizzle and Bakewell Tart available!

There’s also this insta-worthy bottle of Unicorn Tears Gin Liqueur (£40 for 50cl) which has a shimmery iridescent effect (it made a great boomerang)! The other gin which isn’t pictured is the Edinburgh Gin Rhubarb & Ginger Liqueur (£18 for 50cl) which is absolutely divine! PLUS if you’re absolutely ginny about gin, you can pick up these cute gin baubles!

Marks & Spencer

Marks & Spencer had a lovely variety of sandwiches, cakes and pastries for us to try! However, I am genuinely obsessed with their Christmas edition Orange, Cranberry & Pomegranate juice (it’s especially good for hangovers).

Their other food consisted of Festive Feast sandwiches for £3.50 (Turkey Feast, Brie & Grape, Prawn & Smoked Salmon and Ham Hock & Golden Beetroot Piccalilli) but one of my favourites was the turkey and cranberry sausage rolls!

Lakeland

If I’m honest, I always thought Lakeland was a shop for the older generation but this press event showed me that it totally wasn’t! The first thing that caught my eye was the Pop a Ball shimmer dust (£7.99) which you’ve probably seen all over social media! It adds an iridescent shimmer to any sparkling drink!

It was the Peppermint Bark that completely sold me though. Made with creamy white and dark chocolate, this bark has a subtle minty taste that makes it so addicting! It’s £11.99 and you can buy it here (I already have hehe).

Carluccio’s

Carluccio’s holds a special place in my heart as it was one of the first restaurants I visited with my boyfriend and his mum! We were offered a selection of food from both their festive and normal menus.

Pictured above is:

The festive menu is available until January 3rd and you can currently get 2 courses for £17.95!

Other stores:

Hotel Chocolat have an enormous Christmas Gift Box (£35) which contains over 20 different chocolates!

Pret A Manger is offering a large selection of Christmas sandwiches which are absolutely delicious including Pret’s Christmas Lunch (this is also available in a veggie version), Mature Cheddar & Pickle, Ham & Cheese, Smoked Salmon and Chicken & Bacon Caesar!

We also tried some delicious burgers from Handmade Burger Co! The selection available included: