Christmas Is Coming!

The holiday season’s nearly upon us, and we’ve got loads of festive treats for our wonderful customers to do Christmas the British way – crackers, advent calenders, christmas pudding and delicious British chocs for use as stocking stuffers. Take a peek!

Christmas Gifts At Tea & Sympathy

Christmas crackers are an integral part of Christmas dinner in Britain. Pull each side for a loud bang, and to find a joke, a toy and a paper crown inside the cracker!

An Advent Calendar filled with delicious Cadbury Chocolate.

Don’t tap it, whack it! Terry’s Chocolate Orange is an essential Christmas stocking stuffer.

Everything here and more is available in our store – Carry On Tea Sympathy. We deliver locally and can also ship orders to the US and Canada.

The Harvey Nichols Walk of Shame!

Ahh, ladies (and gentlemen), we know this one well – especially around this time of year! Whether you mean to meet friends for one, or you’re on a mission to clear the cobwebs, it’s easy to regret that extra drink or seven in the cold light of day. Far than lecture you, we’d like to share this fantastic video from Harvey Nichols, the famed London department store, which celebrates those bleary-eyed, sticky-breathed moments between wherever it is you woke up the morning after and closing your front door firmly on the night before!

Do share any New York ‘Walk of Shame’ moments in the comments section below. Also, please check out our Youtube channel.

Here’s wishing you all a Merry (drunken) Christmas – have one on us!

Stocking Fillers!

With only five days to Christmas, it’s time to talk stockings. We could bore you with the history behind the tradition of stuffing an oversized sock with small but perfectly formed gifts, but frankly we don’t care. What matters, is that you get the right treats for your loved ones, and that’s where our guide comes in.

We love these. Terry's have let out a white chocolate version of their famous chocolate orange. Christmassy to the max in neon-snow packaging; unwrap for segment after segment of citrus-flavored cocoa joy!

An old classic. When Scrooge said "Bah, humbug" to Christmas in Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol', he was referencing the boiled mint candy, known as a humbug. 150 years later and they're still going strong, and just as delicious. We sell buy the weight; stuff a quarter pound in the bottom of granny's stocking and you'll keep her happy til 2012!

...or we stock them already bundled up in a neat vintage-style tin!

What better present for the tea connoisseur than a festive teaball! Pack with your favorite flavour leaves, dunk in your pot and leave to infuse and you've got the best cuppa chai this side of China! We have many designs in stock, but are particularly fond of these stocking adornments.

These are unbelievably adorable. Mini boxes of Cadbury Roses, Britain's favorite chocolate selection box. Roughly four inches tall, these are the perfect size for your kiddie's stocking, or an elf's! Packed with the finest examples of Britain's confectionary offerings.

Ahhhh, we are salivating on the keyboard. Thornton's are Britain's most popular luxury chocolatier, and this is their utterly irresistible toffee. It comes in the original sugary, buttery version, or with added liquorice for that extra kick. Add to your loved one's stocking at your own risk - cravings and withdrawal symptoms may follow!

*We are open every day until Christmas eve, when we close at 5pm.

Christmas Gift Guide #2

SIX DAYS TO GO, SIX DAYS TO GO. Yes, you heard us right, ONLY SIX DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS. Goodness me, it gives us palpitations just thinking about it. With over 40% of shoppers leaving their gift buying to the last minute, we know we’re not alone in our anxieties. To try and ease the strain a little, here is the second compilation of the best festive goodies we have in stock. While it’s too late to ship, come in-store to pick up anything you see here, or throughout our Christmas section.

Quality Street are a true Christmas classic back in Blighty. A fetching tin, or smaller box, packed with individually wrapped chocolate morsels. Your favorite may be the strawberry fondant, but granny prefers the praline. Pass round a box on Christmas day and discover the joys of the best of British candy!

Cadbury, Cadbury, Cadbury, ah how you make our lives complete! We've just got in this selection of goodies from the UK's most popular chocolate house. Milk chocolate-covered cookies, and monster-sized bars of what they do best: chocolate straight up.

Our china selection is extremely popular. While a grandma, mother or aunt may be the first person who jumps to mind when thinking who to buy a teapot for, younger gals and guys also love a bit of porcelain just as much. Predominantly imported from England, as you can see we have a wide variety. From plain colored, to dogs and cats, to the Tower of London, we have chinaware in every shape and size. Add to a loved one's collection, or start one anew, this Christmas.

The Tea & Sympathy bible! Penned by our Nicky and the very talented Anita Naughton, "Tales of an English Teashop in New York City" is packed with all the recipes we feature on the blog and many more. It also contains a whole host of great anecdotes from T&S's history, including love, loss and triumph. Whip up a Shepherd's Pie, snuggle up in front of a fire and loose yourself in tales of your favorite teashop.

Christmas certainly ain't complete without cookies. Alongside the aforementioned offerings from Cadbury's, we've got McVitie's holiday tins in stock. Overflowing with a whole selection of Brit 'biscuits', there's something for everyone in each tin.

More to follow in the next couple of days!

Forbes Life Christmas shopping guide

While we’re firmly in the 99%, it’s nice to see the 1% chose to do their festive shopping with us. Here we are in the Forbes Life Christmas shopping guide. And with prices that anyone can afford – our Christmas puddings range from $6.95-$45.00, and our crackers from $14.00-$55.00. Also check out our own gift guide, with plenty of ideas for family and friends.

 

Christmas Gift Guide

My goodness, Christmas has crept up on us this year. With only 12 days left, we’re into the final countdown and we know as well as the next person that this is when most of the shopping happens. We’ve put together this guide to some of our best Christmas products to help you get the right gifts for one and all.

As well as being available in-store, we can ship any of the items you see here. Get in touch via email (info@teaandsympathynewyork.com) or by phone (212-989-9735), if you’re interested in anything you see here or have any further questions.

And from everyone at Tea & Sympathy, Merry Christmas!

Hope & Greenwood old fashioned candy selections. Beautiful packaging, and great for anyone older who would have grown up with these treats, or as a way to introduce the next generation! $8.95-$35.00

For the tree we have these great Union Jack baubles. A perfect gift for an Anglophile friend, or keep them for yourself and have the snazziest Douglas Fir in town.

Walker's luxury toffee selection. Four flavors, complete with a mini metal hammer to save your teeth the hard work! $14.95

This might be our favorite Christmas product. A yard of Jaffa Cakes, containing five standard-size boxes. Sure to keep even the most diehard fan of these delicious chocolatey, orangey biscuits happy for a month or two! A steal at only $25.

We've really gone all out with our Christmas cakes this year. Handmade in Massachusetts by some incredibly skilled women who call themselves 'The English Cousins'. Incredibly authentic and totally delicious. Fruit, frosting and plenty of brandy! $65

Fancy a cup (or two) of something festive? The very skilled tea mixers at Taylors of Harrogate have let out this limited edition Spiced Christmas blend. If you're not yet feeling the yuletide spirit, a mug of this will get you in the mood!

No Christmas is complete without a box of choccies. So we've flown in a wide selection from Thornton's, Britain's best-loved quality confectioner. Pour yourself a glass of port, sit by the fire and slowly but surely work your way through the whole lot!

And if you, or the one you're buying for, is more of a Cadbury's fan, then this is for you. All the favorites, packaged in a festive stocking. A chocoholic's dream!

And, of course... tea! We have a wide selection of Ahmad's Tea gift boxes in stock. With up to 12 flavors in each, this should keep any tea drinker happy for the rest of the year.

Now in stock: Advent Calendars

We hope you all had as wonderful a Thanksgiving as we did. Who knew you could stuff a turkey with Shepherd’s Pie mixture! Now on to the serious business of Christmas. And look what we have in stock to help your kids (and you) get excited for the big day: advent calendars, with a window for each day hiding a delicious morsel of British choccy goodness. Priced between $10.95-$14.95, there are only  six days until December 1st, so stop by the store or email (info@teaandsympathynewyork.com) or call (212-989-9735) for shipping.

The classic. Mars advent calendar. Perfect for kids and adults alike.

 

Thornton's advent calendar. For the cocoa connoisseur.

 

Assorted cartoon calendars. Perfect for the little'uns.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING ONE AND ALL.. Try our #MinceOccuPies

We’d like to wish a very merry Happy Thanksgiving to all our customers at Tea & Sympathy, and all those who follow our blog. We hope you eat well, drink well and spend it with the people you love. The restaurant and produce store is open as usual tonight, until 10.30pm, so if you don’t want to cook at home (we’re delivering: 212-989-9735), or need to pick up some last minute goodies, stop by!

And with christmas only a month away, now seems the perfect time to begin introducing the this year’s festive treats. First up, as well as being gorgeously buttery, devilishly sweet and oh-so-moreish, thanks to our collective punning skills at T&S, our first offering is also politically relevant! May we introduce to you… Mince OccuPies! Yes, that’s right, we have named that quintessential pastry treat of British Yuletide (packed with sultanas, dried fruit and a spiced syrup) after the goings on in Zucotti Park that dominate New York’s daily headlines. We’ve also invented our very own twitter hashtag #MinceOccuPies (how 21st century!) which we will be using with unrestrained glee between now and December 25th. Please copy, paste, and retweet to your hearts’ content. After all, nothing mixes better than festive frivolities and a bit of political insurrection.

99% delicious

We have various packaged mince pies available in-store at Carry On Tea & Sympathy, as well as the unbeatable homemade #MinceOccuPies, for $2 each, or $6 for two with our very own brandy butter. For further info, please stop by, email us at info@teaandsympathynewyork.com, or phone on 212-989-6735. And remember the Twitter hashtag: #MinceOccuPies!

From all at Tea & Sympathy, we wish you the happiest of Thanksgivings, and a brilliant December to follow. Now bring on Christmas!