Aldi-lover Amber-Louise Large set herself a challenge - to see how many Christmas presents £10 could buy her in her local Aldi. The store's middle aisle is filled with weird and wonderful items which could make perfect Christmas gifts. The MyLondon writer wanted to see how many presents a tenner would get her in the supermarket - and was amazed.
Amber-Louise found several options, including the perfect Secret Santa gift for any Jo Malone fan, and something she'd love to be given. She said: "I don't usually enter Aldi's middle aisle armed with a purpose. I let the aisle speak to me, like some sort of supermarket medium, and tell me what I need - a sausage roll maker or a candle twice the size of my head.
"Every week is something different and it can be a bit of a gamble as to what you will face in Aldi's mystical middle aisle. One week it could be power tools. The next week it could be beauty dupes. The following week it might as well be magic beans. I'm in need of a bit of magic right now.
"It is Secret Santa season and I've got £10 to buy the perfect present and no idea where to start looking. So for once in my life I head to the middle aisle with a purpose. Maybe, like the room of requirements, it will listen to my wishes and magically produce the ideal budget present."
She first finds a selection of candles and spots a great gift for Jo Malone fans. She said: "The hotel collection looks over at me as if to say: 'Why are you considering anything else?' This is the range inspired by (or smelling very, very similar to) popular luxury perfumes. Many of them Jo Malone. Jo Malone candles start at £55 each.
"Aldi's Hotel Collection candles start at £4.99 for a set of four mini candles. This set includes Lime, Basil & Mandarin, Pomegranate, Sweet Almond & Macaroon, and Rose Noir. Some of the most popular dupe scents at Aldi. I would definitely be happy with this set. I would also be happy with one of the larger wooden wick candles in the Hotel Collection.
"One of them is even called Amber Woods. I could pretend it was named after me. Just when I think Aldi must have run out of wax I see them: the mammoth candles. These are almost twice the size of my head and more than twice my budget. Yet oh, how I am tempted. The Hotel Collection Hurricane candle has four wicks and must take about ten years to burn through.
"Now I might be a tad over-exaggerating there but I doubt you'll find anyone who has ever actually finished one of these. So £24 is a lot, yes, but it might be worth it. Just not today. Today I only have £10. The mini set it is! Still with £5 .01 (let's not forget that all-important penny) to spend I traverse the aisle for something, anything, other than a candle."
There was also a Calm puzzle, for people who are into games, costing £3.99. Disney lovers would be smitten by the 101 Dalmatian and Lion King socks on sale for £2.99, and there was also plenty of chocolate on sale, like a £3.49 sharing bag of quality street.
Amber-Louise added: "They are all good options and any one would make for a nice stocking filler. Candles, chocolates and socks might seem like basic gifts but the middle aisle does not do boring. The candles are designer dupes, the socks feature childhood favourite characters, and the chocolate... well, it's chocolate.
"Who would complain about receiving a big bag of chocolate? The middle aisle has spoken and I have listened. It would not usually be my go-to for gift giving season but Aldi always seems to have something up its sleeve. My Secret Santa is going to be very happy."
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