At the time of writing, we’re currently about halfway through what we have discovered is called Blue Monday, which is apparently the most depressing day of the year. While we have been pretty good at keeping our New Year’s Resolution to be (or at least, try to be a little bit) healthier, days like these have us reaching for the drawer with all those emergency chocolate bars. But if you’re going to have a momentary lapse, why not take the opportunity to do it in style?

Tellallmyfriends are offering you this fantastic opportunity to take your baking skills to the next level. If you’re looking for some new chocolate recipes, we have the perfect experience for you. We’re not talking about chocolate cake. We’re not talking about chocolate cookies. We’re not even talking about éclairs. We’re talking about The Cupcake, Chocolate Martini, and Whoopie Pies Making Class! With this experience you’ll have the opportunity to use the finest Green and Blacks chocolate to create some truly wonderful and outlandish desserts. For the aspiring baker in all of us, there’s expert advice from master chocolate makers who will show you how to create the perfect cupcakes and Whoopie pies. And did we mention the Chocolate Martinis?

For just £49.00 you will get a 2 hour master-class! Each customer gets six freshly baked cupcakes and two Whoopie pies to transform into their personal dream dessert. There’s also fun to be had with the decorations, such as silver balls, chocolate beans, and edible shimmer sprinkles, as well as luxurious sugar craft, or you can copy their classic designs, such as The Cookie Monster Cupcake and The Mr Whippy Whoopie Pie. You’ll also learn how to shake your own Chocolate Martini, not to mention dipping your martini glass into molten Green and Black’s milk chocolate! At the end of the experience you can wrap up your creations with boxes, ribbons, and stickers available to personalise the gift. Or you can just take them home…for safekeeping…You’ll have learned new cupcake recipes anyway, it’s not like you need proof that you went!

So, it’s the start of the New Year. We’re all carrying a bit of that Christmas weight around. All that turkey and Christmas pudding has taken its toll and running for the train isn’t as easy as it was a few weeks ago! If you’re anything like us, you’ll have made a resolution to get fit in the New Year. And if you’re anything like us, you’ll have made that resolution every year only to see it fall by the wayside. But now you can give yourself or a friend a little nudge from Tellallmyfriends: The Full Day Kick Start Your Fitness Package.

For anyone who’s looking for advice on how to exercise or how to workout properly, this experience will give you the confidence and the skills you need to start your own day-to-day regimen. Located at the Hillmotts spa, your day begins with a tour of the facilities and a chance to meet the friendly staff of fitness experts. Then it’s time to start your workout! The focus is on your…ahem…backside and your abs in a targeted circuit training procedure, then there’s an intense calorie burning session. This is followed by a break to give you a rest, during which there’s a talk on nutrition and fitness to help you better understand how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. After all this talk of nutrition and healthy eating, it’s time for a healthy and nutritious lunch! Then it’s back to the workout, with some weight training followed by a martial arts class. Tai Chi, Yoga, and Qi Qong are on offer to add another dimension to your routine!

At the end of the day you’ll receive a final talk, and you’ll be given a free exercise and nutrition plan to make sure that you can keep up the good work you’ve done. If you’ve got the best of intentions but feel like you need a bit of a nudge to push yourself, we can’t recommend this highly enough. And if you want to bring along a friend or a partner to share in the experience, check out the Full Day Kick Start Your Fitness Package for 2! Get serious about losing that winter weight and kick start your year!

Happy New Year, everyone! We don’t know about you, but we’d barely recovered from the festive season before it was time to come back to work! But after a whirlwind Christmas period, 2012 is finally here. And while it’s a little scary to be staring down the barrel of another year, it’s an exciting moment too. All the things we’ve been putting off as we got towards the end of the year are now at the front of our list as we prepare to start things fresh, with a clean slate, and with our best foot forward.

Which brings us to those New Year resolutions. They tend to be the same every year, don’t they? One of the resolutions that we’ve found on our lists the most often is “Try new things” Does that sound familiar? Well, at Tellallmyfriends we’ve got plenty of experiences to choose from to help you to break out of the norm.

For anyone who’s ever wanted to push themselves and try an adrenaline experience, we’ve got a wide variety of options. If you’re ready to take the plunge, there’s that classic thrill-seeker’s choice: The Bungee Jump! From just £59.00 you can take the 160ft plunge at locations nationwide! If you’re a little more cautious, we have great options like Indoor Skydiving, which gives you thrill of 170mph winds from the safety of a wind-tunnel as opposed to leaping out of a plane! And to those of you who are looking for something a bit different, we say why not try something a lot different: Sphereing! We’ve got Air Sphereing, Harness Sphereing, Eclipse Sphereing, and Aqua Sphereing on offer so there’s something for everyone who fancies trying this insane new craze!

Oh, and we’ve got plenty of Chocolate Making Experiences when, sorry, if, those resolutions to cut out chocolate are broken!

Happy New Year, friends!

We’re sure that whatever car you drive is a nice little motor. Or maybe not, maybe at least it gets you from A to B. Actually, you know what, we don’t know, maybe it’s a hunk of junk. Maybe you haven’t had the chance to drive anything since you passed your driving test. What we do know is that, unless you’re a very lucky man or lady, you’re probably not dropping the kids off in a Lamborghini Gallardo or making a late-night trip to the shops for milk in a Porsche. But if you’ve ever want to feel the raw power and exceptional grace of a supercar at your fingertips, Tellallmyfriends has the perfect thing for you: The Supercar Driving Experience + Passenger Ride and 4×4!

Are you ready for the downside? You’ll have to choose which car you want to drive! There’s the Ferrari, the Aston Martin, the Lamborghini Gallardo, the Porsche, and the Audi R8. The instructor will make sure that you’re familiar with the track before he lets you take the wheel, then you have four laps to show what you can do. This great experience also comes with a Passenger ride and a 4×4 experience. It’s also currently 50% off! Bag this amazing driving experience either for yourself or for someone who really deserves it for just £69.00

If you already know which one you want, then maybe you’d be more interested one of the more specific driving experiences we have on offer. The Ferrari, Lamborghini Gallardo, Audi R8, and Aston Martin are all available as individual supercar blasts without the passenger ride or the 4X4. And if you’ve really got a need for speed, maybe you should check out the Lotus Elise! But we know that you’ll love the The Supercar Driving Experience + Passenger Ride and 4×4!

This cold weather can get us all down in the dumps. In fact, if it wasn’t for the fact that Christmas was right around the corner we’d all be huddled under our duvets refusing to go outside. But there’s a very British cure to this situation that’s been passed down from generation to generation: Tea. No matter how bad or how absolutely, insanely freezing cold it gets, we can always be cheered up by a steaming hot mug of tea. But why settle for the (admittedly amazing) classic combination of tea and biscuits when you can treat yourself and a special somebody to a Deluxe Afternoon Tea for Two at one of the prestigious Marriott hotels?

Choose from 8 of Marriott’s renowned 4-star locations around the country and relax and enjoy this quintessentially British experience. Nestled next to tea pot and your  cups of gloriously refreshing tea, you’ll find a mouth-watering selection finger sandwiches, cakes, and pastries. This is the perfect experience for anyone looking for a quiet and comforting break from the outside world with a loved one.

The Deluxe Afternoon Tea for Two at a Marriott Hotel is currently 15% off at Telllallmyfriends and can be yours for £49.00. So treat yourself and enjoy some delightful English afternoon tea!

At this time of year we’re all feeling that Winter stress. It’s cold, it’s dark all the time, we’re feeling the strain, and it’s starting to show. Chapped lips and cracked, dry skin. It’s a nightmare. What you need is a day of somebody else taking care of you. A day where you can retreat from the harsh realities of the outside world, put your feet up and let some trained experts help you feel better.

At Tellallmyfriends, a Bannatyne Spa Day voucher is currently 2 for 1 at the tremendous price of £65.00. Take a friend or a loved one along with you to enjoy the relaxation! When you arrive at the spa you’ve chosen (there are 29 locations available), you’ll be placed under the care of the experienced professionals. From there it’s all about the pampering, as the package includes a refreshing Elemis pick me up facial, which will unblock those pores and leave your skin feeling wonderfully fresh, and a Leighton Denny On the Move Manicure, which will brighten and lighten your nails.

The beauty therapists at Bannatyne spa are some of the best around so why not take advantage of this offer and get out of the unforgivingly cold weather and into a warm, relaxing spa. By the time they’ve finished you’ll feel refreshed, renewed, and ready to face the world again!

We love sushi. But when we think back to the first time we had it, we were trying to be cool and sophisticated about it but, to be honest, we weren’t completely sold on the idea of eating raw fish. Of course, this all changed once we actually tried it. Now we can’t get enough of the stuff. However, as much as we love it, sushi isn’t one of those things that we feel confident enough to whip up for dinner. Whenever possible we’re keen to expand our cooking repertoire, so we wanted to share this, the Sushi Workshop!

At Tellallmyfriends, we’re offering you the chance to develop your sushi-crafting skills as you learn the tricks of a trade from a master sushi chef at the best sushi restaurant chain in the United Kingdom (and beyond). You’ll be taught about the rich history of sushi, before getting hands on with the key ingredients: fish, rice, and vegetables. From there, it’s all about the crafting: hand rolls, inside out rolls, and rice filled rolls wrapped in delicious seaweed. Anyone who’s familiar with sushi knows just how finely crafted each individual piece is, and by the end of your lesson you’ll be ready to wow your friends with your prowess. You’ll also be given a rolling mat and the recipes you used to take home, so there’s no excuse for not practising and making sushi to impress in no time!

The Make Your Own Sushi school is available either specifically for their London restaurant or for their other locations nationwide. This experience is perfect for anyone who loves to cook, anyone who wants to broaden their views on cooking and food, for anyone looking for a taste of the orient, or anyone looking for a great taste!

We all suffer from a great deal of everyday stress. We cram ourselves onto crowded tubes and buses, we desperately try to beat the traffic, we staying late at the office to catch up on work. Basically, not are we insanely over-stressed, but we’re all rushing so quickly from one place to the other that we’re prone to missing the quieter, simpler pleasures of life.

So why not take a break from the rat race and discover the historic beauty of Leeds Castle in Kent on a Segway, that strangely joyous piece of modern technology. What is a Segway, you ask? Well, Segway riding is an experience like no other: a high-tech piece of machinery that’s exciting to use and relaxing to ride. As you travel through the beautiful surroundings of Leeds Castle in beautiful Maidstone, you can enjoy the sensation of breaking your routine with an often hard-to-find vehicle in one of England’s most historically beautiful locations. Built in 1119, Leeds Castle has a rich and varied history, whether you’re interested in medieval battles, or its use as a hospital during World War II, or if you’re a Doctor Who fan (one of the classic serials was filmed there!).

Tellallmyfriends currently have this experience is a 2 for 1 offer, which means that you can take a special somebody with you on this relaxing escape from the hustle and bustle. The leisurely pace of the experience means you can take in the lovely views while enjoying the company of your significant other, or catch up with a friend. If you’ve never had a segway ride before and you want to get out of the city and into the countryside, this experience is perfect for you.

1. Dinner and Theatre Evening in London for Two

There are few evenings out better suited for couples than seeing a brilliant West End show. Choose from a wide selection of classics like The Woman in Black, Dreamboats and Petticoats, and Blood Brothers and new favourites like Legally Blonde. This is perfect for couples wanting to celebrate with a night out in London’s Theatreland!

2. Lovers Flying Lesson with Lunch and Champagne Package

Experiences are always better when they’re shared. With this fantastic experience, one half gets to take control of the plane while the other demonstrates how much they really trust their partner! Take to the skies with your special somebody and celebrate the day with some complimentary champagne.

3. Deluxe Afternoon Tea for Two at the Marriott

This is a classic, quintessentially British, couple’s experience. Experience a delightful afternoon tea with your partner at one of eight beautiful four-star Marriott locations, with sandwiches, pastries, and, of course, wonderful, wonderful tea! Escape from everyday stress with this refined treat.

4.  2 for 1 Indoor Skydiving

Get an adrenaline rush with that special someone and check out indoor skydiving. This experience lets you and your partner experience the thrill of freefall in the safety of Airkix’ 170mph wind tunnel. If either one of you’s feeling a bit nervous you can relax and enjoy the experience knowing that your other half will have to do it too!

5. Full Day Cooking Course for Two

Last week, the Tellallmyfriends team went to check out master tea blender Alex Probyn’s Tea Tasting and Blending experience. We get through a heroic quantity of the stuff here at the office. From green tea to bubble tea to good old-fashioned English tea, we love it all, so you can imagine how excited we were to learn from the master. We couldn’t wait to learn how to make tea, and we’re talking loose leaf tea here, not your everyday teabags! It was a wonderfully educational and magically delicious three hour experience as we wrapped our tastebuds around some incredibly tasty blends, discovered how to slurp properly to get the maximum amount of flavour, and learned just how rich and varied the history of tea is.

We also got the chance to create our very own blends, and ours arrived at the office today! Here’s a photo of what we’re calling “John’s Rooib-ust Peppermint Flush” It’s got 40% Rooibos tea, 45% Darjeeling tea, and 15% Peppermint tea. We’re pretty sure it’s going to be awesome! If you’re looking to buy tea online, why not take the next step and check out Alex Probyn’s Tea Tasting and Blending and he’ll help you blend your own tea to figure out which combination is best for you! It’s also available as an experience for two so you can take a friend or a special someone along to share the fun! Then you get to relive the experience when your own tea blend arrives in the post a few days later. Show your friends and family what you created. Here’s John with his fantastic creation!