If, like me, you always find yourself stuck in a rut at Christmas time and can't think of what to get your parents or siblings and end up opting for the usual - gift voucher, candle or aftershave, it may be time to think even more basic.
With the cost of living crisis very much in the mind's of families all over the country, this year, most households will be reducing the amount they spend on decorations, presents and even food.
If you're looking for new gift ideas for family members and are sick of loading up your laptop to stare blankly at the same sites you've visited 100 times already, it may be worth checking out Aldi's middle aisle for some inspiration.
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Equipped with just £15 and in desperate need of a gift idea for my dad, I headed to my nearest Aldi store in Portobello to peruse their festive wares. I ended up coming away with three reasonable gifts having spent a quarter of what I'd typically spend out of desperation.
Arriving on a busy Sunday afternoon, their middle aisle was attracting a lot of attention. To make it more of a challenge and affordable for everyone, I opted to spend just £15, and not a penny more.
After a few minutes looking at what they had on offer, I feared I wouldn't have any luck, but on the flip side of the isle, I struck gold - quite literally. I found myself looking at a stainless steel thermal gold gravy boat designed to keep sauces hot for longer - jackpot.
It may not seem like much of a gift, but with mum slogging away in the kitchen every Christmas, one of my dad's very few tasks is to dish the gravy. This contraption will allow him to do so without the fear of causing an uproar when he accidently does it ten minutes early. Christmas dinner is all about timing after all.
The gravy boat was £5.99, meaning my initial limit of £10 was surely going to prove too difficult, but by spending an extra £5, I could probably manage to pick up two more gifts.
I done just that. If, like my dad, yours is typically grumpy and enjoys a cup of tea or coffee every morning, what is the solution? A Disney 'Grump For Life' mug and socks set, obviously!
Priced at just £4.99, the blue mug with the grumpy dwarf from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs design would do well to replace any of the same 20 mugs that have been in the cupboard since I was born. The socks are just an added bonus, but to get both for less than £5 was a steal.
Unfortunately, at this point, I was sitting at just over £10 so I decided to stretch my pennies a little further and look for a reasonably priced box of biscuits or chocolates. With most large boxes of shortbread taking my beyond the £15 mark, I stumbled across the classic box of Fox's biscuits, with two layers, for £3.99.
You definitely can't go wrong with a box of biscuits, and what better to enjoy a cup of coffee out of your new mug with than a couple of Fox's classics.
So, my little shopping challenge was over, and I had won. Well, I wasn't technically playing against anyone, but the feeling of success was there. The headache of finding another gift idea for my dad had disappeared and all for just £14.97.
I would definitely recommend Aldi's middle aisle for anyone struggling for inspiration this Christmas and with the options on show constantly being refreshed, you never know what little hidden gem you will stumble upon. Another plus is the fact that most items are reasonably priced and will be within your budget. It may even give you inspiration for other items outwith Aldi.
With that being said, I now fully expect my dad to enjoy a cup of coffee out of his new mug on Christmas Day, sporting his Mr Grumpy socks before stepping up to keep the gravy hot at dinner time and tucking into a few Fox's classics in the evening. Anything else and I'll be sticking with the £10 budget next year!
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