Gifts

Christmas is always a very busy time in Bah Humbugs, all our elves are busy packing up hampers and preparing parcels to send off to Father Christmas.

My youngest Humbug will be two in December and the night he was born i was busy placing an order online with one of my large wholesalers from my hospital bed - it's hard to get time off at such a hectic time of year!

Anyhow.... i've digressed there! For small independent businesses the endorsement from major National Magazines and Newspapers can lead to a huge surge in orders and really helps to boost our sales. We're delighted to see that our Best Selling Retro Sweet Hamper is featured in this month's WOMAN & HOME MAGAZINE in their BEST EVER GIFTS SECTION. So just in case you were un-decided about our wonderful Hampers, this is a pretty good endorsement.

Our Bah Humbugs Sweet Hampers are completely our own creation, they aren't sold in any supermarkets so you won't find them on the shelves of other retailers. This weekend we had a customer in the shop who was convinced that she'd bought one from Tesco's but that just isn't possible. These hampers are all lovingly created by The Bah Humbugs Team in our Sweet Shop in Yorkshire - we promise you that!

Woman & Home December 2014 - Best Ever Gifts

Hi fellow sweet lovers

Today I'm looking at Lion's sweets.  Do you all remember them?  Way before I came to join the team at Bah Humbugs I had realised that Lion sweets held a place in the heart of so many people and that everyone has their particular favourite.  In fact, at one point in my life I 'typed' my work colleagues by what I thought would be their favourites.  For example 'H' was a Mr Sports Mixture, 'S' was a Miss Fruit Pastille, 'L' was Lady Licorice Gums!  I'm not sure I was always right, but it was fun at the time.

Lion Sweets have been manufactured since 1903, and they have retained their reputation for quality and taste. These gum sweets are still made at the original factory in Cleckheaton, which is a great bonus for our Traditional Yorkshire Sweet Shop to be able have such an iconic brand made so close to home.

If you haven't already decided which are your favourites (which I very much doubt!), then let me remind you of the Lion Range.

Lion's Midget Gems

Perhaps the top sellers are the delicious Lion's Midget Gems, a selection of fruit flavours, hard and chewy and with the original Licorice Gums still included.

Lion's Sports Mixture

Lion's Sports Mixture is another firm favourite with it sports shaped hard gums packing a punch with their fruity flavours, and again including the Licorice Gums.

Lion's Fruit Salad

Next up we have the delicious Lion's Fruit Salad, hard gums shaped as fruit to correspond to their flavour.  Chewy, fruity and incredibly moreish!

Lion's Fruit Pastilles

If I still haven't got to your favourite, maybe you're a Lion's Fruit Pastilles person?  Fruit shaped again but these are sugar coated and, once more, deliciously chewy and bursting with flavour.

Lion's Wine Gums

Lion's Wine Gums might be your thing?  Geometric shaped sweets which are stamped with 'wine', 'claret', 'rum', 'port', and which, as a child, I thought were truly naughty sweets to eat! Hard gums bursting with flavour.

Lion's Liquorice Gums

And now for what I consider the hardcore devotees to Lion's sweets class as their favourites.  We have Lion's Licorice Gums, although included in some of the other mixtures these are sought after on their own and are extremely popular.

Lion's Poor Bens

And the final two are of course, Lion's Poor Bens, a mix of liquorice and aniseed flavour in a delicious chewy hard gum, and Lion's Butterscotch Gums, sweet and buttery whilst also hard and chewy - a great combination!

Lion's Butterscotch Gums

I hope I have triggered a few nostalgic memories for you and perhaps given you some gift idea's for those Lion's lovers in your life.  You can find all the range on the shelves of our traditional sweet shop, in our sweet shop online, and the complete range makes up our Lion's Sweet Hamper, a great gift for Christmas, birthdays, or just to give because you can!

Lion's Sweet Hamper

With Christmas fast approaching I'm sure what to buy for our loved ones is something we will all soon be thinking about. Secret Santa is an especially difficult challenge when it comes to finding a gift that someone special will love, but keeping to that lower end budget. But don't worry, Bah Humbugs sweet shop is coming to the rescue! Here's our top 5 Secret Santa gifts:

1. Retro Sweet Cone - a positively delicious trip down memory lane for anyone!  Including such favourites as Double Dips, Black Jacks, Refresher Chews, Drumsticks, Fruit Lollies, Double Lollies, and much more! A fabulous gift and great value.

2. Jelly Belly Jelly Bean Gift Bags - Super scrummy Jelly Belly Jelly Beans!! 50 Assorted flavours in this gift bag including all the classic favourites including Toasted Marshmallow, Buttered Popcorn, Very Cherry, Blueberry, Lemon Drop, Plum, Bubblegum, Tutti Fruitti, Peach, Mango, Peach and ALL the other flavours.

3. Lucky Dip Bags - Buying for someone slightly younger? Why not try our lucky dip bags! The perfect surprise for Christmas morning and are fantastic value!

4. Sweet Buckets - If you know the recipient of your present's favourite sweet, why not get them a whole bucket full? They are fantastic for any occasion and if you would prefer to fill one of the sweet buckets with a sweet of your choice, then please email us and we can create a Bucket Full of Treats just for you!

5. Micro Retro Sweet Jar - Super Duper Sweets in a Sweet Jar, all for under a fiver! Perfect for that slightly smaller but still equally as fabulous gift!

Check out more gift ideas on our online sweet shop!

Hello all you lovely Bah Humbugs fans out there!  I thought I would share with you a picture of our lovely traditional sweet shop, nestled in our glorious Yorkshire Dales market town of Masham.  We are all getting very excited about Le Tour de France travelling through Masham on 5th July and Ms Humbug has been busy decorating the shop front in celebration of Le Grand Party!

If you haven't already decided what you want to do when Le Tour visits Yorkshire then why not come to Masham.  There is plenty of parking and there will be access in and out of some of the car parks all day despite the main road being closed for the race.

It promises to be a weekend to remember and Masham is certainly getting in the party spirit.  There will be live music, bars, gift stalls, food stalls, big screens and much much more going on over the weekend so check out some of the following web sites to make your plan:

http://letour.yorkshire.com/

http://www.visitmasham.com/events/event/le-tour-yorkshire-through-masham/

http://www.mashamevents.co.uk/

http://www.mashamsportsassociation.co.uk/le-tour-masham/

While you're here pop in and browse our range of retro sweets, liquorice, sweet gifts, sweet hampers, boiled sweets and much more.

We look forward to seeing you!

If you could see our little market town of Masham right now it couldn't fail to bring a smile to your face.  The excitement is building at a great speed and we still have three weeks before the epic race reaches our lovely Yorkshire Dales town.

Mini 'jerseys' in all the racing colours are strung up around the town and, as bunting goes, these are fabulous! We have flags flying, brightly coloured bicycles adorning shop fronts and all sorts of imaginative decorations put up by local businesses, making the town a very happy and jolly place to be.  And the sun is shining which makes it all so much more pleasant for everyone.

Bah Humbugs has a bicycle with the King of the Mountain colours - white with red spots - which looks amazing about our doorway.

If you haven't yet decided where you want to be to watch Le Grand Depart then why not come to Masham? There are campsites, parking and access to and from the town all day via routes not affected by the race.  There will be plenty of entertainment from the night before, throughout the day on Saturday and into Saturday evening.  Food stalls, bars, gift stalls and much more to make everyone's visit and stay an exciting and fun filled day.

Bah Humbugs traditional sweet shop will be open as usual on the market square, and we will also have a sweet stand on the recreation ground amongst all the other happy stall holders.

Why not pick up some sweets to see you through the day?  Something like Dandelion & Burdocks which are a delicious hard boiled sweet that really taste of the popular traditional retro drink.  Or if you have a more classic taste in mind you could grab yourself a bag of Sherbet Lemons, a great zingy lemon flavour with that delicious fizz of sherbet.

You may well be in Masham all day so you could use your time wisely and do a little shopping for gifts and treats while you're here.  Our Retro Sweets Hampers are always popular gifts, or perhaps you know someone who would like to receive a Best of British Jar, a Kilner jar packed full of traditional British hard boiled sweets.

You might just want to pop in for an ice cream and say hello.

Whatever you plan on doing for 5th July be sure to check out the routes and what's on.  Try looking at Masham's Community Office web site,  www.visitmasham.com or the Welcome to Yorkshire site www.yorkshire.com

Let's hope the sun shines and we all have a great day!

Happy New Year to One and All!

I hope you all enjoyed the festive season but now that it's over for another year, how many of you are feeling a little down in the post Christmas and New Year lull?  Why not check out some of the fabulous sweets at Bah Humbugs.  Perhaps some of these could brighten your day and put a little 'spring' in your step?  Or maybe you've been left with some lingering bug that you can't shake off? Well look no further than Bah Humbugs online sweet shop!

A jar of boiled sweets would certainly add some colour! Try Apple and Mango, Banana and Custards, Black Cherries, Dandelion and Burdocks, Raspberry and Kiwi, Rhubarb and Custard to name but a few.  Mix them all together and you have a jar bursting with colours to cheer you up, to share with your friends and perhaps just to keep to yourself.  What could be better than curling up in front of a roaring fire, a good book and a jar of your very favourite sweets?  If you take a look at the Best of British Sweet Jar or Hamper you may find this is what you're looking for!

If you're one of the many people who've been left with a lingering sore throat or a tickly cough after the festive break then you could try something from the selection of throat sweets? What about Paynes Original Army and Navy Tablets? To sooth your throat and ease that tickle you could try some Cough Candy Twists, or Voice Tablets? There are many more options on the Herbal and Medicinal Sweet page.

Do you know someone with a birthday coming up and you've used up all your ideas on Christmas presents? Why not have a look at the options offered by Bah Humbugs? A Sweet Hamper, Sweet Jar or a Sweet Subscription might be just the ticket. Orders can be posted anywhere worldwide and you can check out their Customer Service page for details.

You may be one of those lucky people who has something exciting to look forward to this year - a big birthday party, a hen weekend, maybe even a wedding?  Why not see what Bah Humbug can offer for such events with their range of Sweet Party Bags? Gifts can also be packaged and personalised to order.

There are many more ideas too so why not spend a little on your time browsing through the pages of Retro Sweets, Liquorice, Toffees and Fudges and much much more. You won't be disappointed!

We're always trying to come up with new and inventive ideas at Bah Humbugs and this year is no exception!  We're delighted to announce the arrival of The Bah Humbugs Sweet Club - A Monthly Sweet Subscription!

This is an ideal gift for those folk who've got a sweet tooth and would like nothing more than a fabulous sweet package posted through the letter box each month. Each subscription is totally customisable to suit your tastes, or we can send a surprise sweet each month. One this is guaranteed, and that is that each parcel will go down a storm!

There are three subscription packages available, for either 6 or 12 months:-

• Bronze - 1 x 200g sweets per month
• Silver - 2 x 200g sweets per month
• Gold - 1 x 1000g Sweet Hamper per month

Our Sweet Subscription is featured in BBC GOOD FOOD's Recommended Christmas Gift List and also COMPANY MAGAZINE'S Top gifts for foodies this Christmas.

Is this something that you'd like Father Christmas to deliver this Christmas? We'd love to know your thoughts! To place your order for a SWEET SUBSCRIPTION click here.