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!

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!

Hello there! It’s the season of giving and Tellallmyfriends couldn’t be more excited. We’re constantly looking for new ways to thank you for shopping with us, whether it’s competitions or contests, and in the spirit of the season we’ve come up with something that we think is pretty special. So what is it? Any order that you place with us before Christmas will automatically enter you into our Tellallmyfriends raffle. The prize? Well…

The 5-star Bentley Waldorf Astoria Hotel in London is home to some of the most luxurious spa and relaxation facilities in the country, staffed by the top professionals. It’s also the site of London’s very first traditional Hamam. The Turkish spa experience starts with a traditional exfoliation treatment using black olive soap and essential oils with a traditional goat-hair Hamam glove, followed by a cool water rinse in the steam room to leave your skin feeling wonderfully refreshed. From there, it’s time for your half-hour massage from one of their expert therapists to ensure your total relaxation. Finally, there’s a Bentley’s afternoon tea to enjoy! Choose from tea, coffee, or tisanes followed by a selection of sandwiches, freshly baked scones with clotted cream and organic preserve, pastries and cakes. You’ll feel so relaxed and pampered that you won’t want to return to the outside world!

Sounds great, doesn’t it? This experience is usually £169.00 but we’re offering you the chance to win it absolutely free! All you have to do to enter the competition is make an order with us. There’s no limit as to how many times you can enter, each completed order will count as one ticket in our raffle. So get shopping now for your chance to win a Luxury Hamam Spa Experience! Happy Christmas!

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!

Are you looking for something a bit different to give as a  present this year? We tend to think of Christmas as a sedate, chilled-out holiday where we all park ourselves on the sofa and eat until we can’t think any more before falling into a food-induced deep sleep. So how about waking that special someone up and adding a bit of adrenaline this festive season with a helicopter Thrill Flight?

If you’re anything like us, you don’t have much cause (or opportunity) for jetting about in a helicopter in your day-to-day, but with this fantastic 50% off deal we can get you up into the air for a heart-racing thrill flight. This experience is designed to demonstrate the appeal of helicopter flying; combining sight-seeing with the rush of high-speed flight.

The experience starts in the scenic English countryside before your helicopter rockets into the sky and heads towards the city. Choose from six locations and view your city from the air as your expert pilot shows you just what this aircraft can do.  In a six mile circuit, the pilot will push the speed up to 150 mph, all while pointing out the historic landmarks of your chosen area. How’s that for multi-tasking?

There’s nothing quite like getting a completely new perspective on something you thought you knew, not to mention the adrenaline rush of leaving the ground behind and speeding above the rest of the world. If you’ve never flown in a helicopter before, this is a great opportunity to get a taste for it while seeing what the city looks like from the air. We’re sure that once you’ve tried this Thrill Flight you’ll be checking out Tellallmyfriends looking for more helicopter experiences to try!

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

Gift 1:  Green and Black’s Chocolate Making

OK, we use any excuse, but Christmas does mean chocolate. This year, why not give the box of Celebrations a break and treat her to the ultimate in chocolate making. Working with the finest Green and Blacks chocolate, she’ll learn how to create delicious chocolate recipes, and she’ll get to take her creations home. This experience is also available for two so you can join in the fun!

Gift 2: Bannatyne Spa Day

If she doesn’t have a sweet tooth, how about treating her to a day of relaxation at a Bannatyne spa?  Everyone deserves a day of pampering, and the massage therapists and beauty specialists at Bannatyne are the very best at what they do. The package includes a facial and a manicure, plus as a two for one offer she can bring a friend along. Or you, if you ask nicely.

Gift 3: Next Top Model Makeover and Photoshoot for TWO

Let her look and feel phenomenal with this great makeover and photoshoot package. This half-day experience includes a moisturising treatment, a professional make-up application, dry-hair styling, and finally the professional photo-shoot! She’ll get to bring along the outfits she wants to be photographed in, and take away a complimentary 5×7 print to remember the experience.

Gift 4: Tea Tasting and Blending

If you’ve seen her get bored with the same old tea bags, we suggest that you treat her to a tea tasting and blending experience with the master of the tealeaf Alex Probyn. She’ll learn about the history of tea, what goes into creating a great cuppa, and she’ll have the chance to create her very own blend, which will be packaged and delivered to her.

Gift 5: Thrill Flight

If she’s looking for something with a bit more adrenaline involved, we recommend this helicopter thrill flight. With a choice of six locations, she’ll be whisked up into the air to marvel at the stunning surrounding landscape! If she’s never been in a helicopter before this 150mph experience is the perfect introduction.

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!

As chocoholics know, Green & Blacks are the creators of some of the finest chocolate ever to grace the inside of a wrapper. Even if you’re not the biggest fan of chocolatey goodness, you know that you know someone who is. Here at Tellallmyfriends we’ve got a fantastic 15% discount offer on their wonderful Indulgent Chocolate Making Workshop where you can learn the tricks of the trade for yourself.

Whether you’re serious about creating a wonder of dark chocolate, or whether you’re looking to make a more playful concoction than the usual chocolate cake, there’s something for all fans of the cocoa bean who’s looking to learn how to make chocolate as well as expanding their repertoire. There’s an array of the finer things available to use as ingredients in your chocolate dessert, with everything from cardommom and chilli to marshmallows and praline laid out for use in your creation. And let’s not forget the finest Green & Blacks chocolate! You’ll learn about the fascinating history of chocolate as you create your own recipes, and at the end of the day you’ll have over twenty of your own chocolate inventions to take home.

The Green & Blacks Indulgent Chocolate Making Workshop is the perfect gift for anyone who’s got a sweet tooth and is interested in putting their culinary skills to the test to create their ultimate chocolate delicacy! Looking for a recipe for chocolate? Look no further! There’s also a Green & Blacks Chocolate Making Workshop for Two if you’d like take a special someone along. If you think that this an experience you’d like to get someone but are feeling a bit concerned about the price, don’t forget our fantastic group gifting app! With Grant My Wish you and your friends can club together to make sure that you get the gift you really want to give, rather than the gift you have to settle for.