Turkey Tinsel and Festive Bingo – Where’s the Place to Be This Year?

Sound the klaxons roomies! Next month is Christmas! Can you believe it? The most wonderful time of the year is just around the corner and as while that sinks in, let me tell you about turkey and tinsel bingo sessions that are coming to a high street near you.

Mecca Bingo and Buzz Bingo are just two of the many bingo brands that know how to deliver Christmas on a platter, and you won’t even need to do the washing up afterwards. More and more people are turning to bingo halls for their Christmas parties and this is down to an evening packed with plenty of wintertainment, food and drinks and prize-winning opportunities.

Get your bingo dabbers at the ready as we reveal how to book your place at THE best Christmas party on the high street.

Feel the Buzz

Buzz Bingo will take the hassle out of hosting a Christmas party for you with reserved seating, an evening of bingo games plus a meal and a drink. Mid-week parties will cost £15 per person and weekend parties will cost £20 per person and include the following:

• First chance tickets
• Main event tickets
• Main event xtra
• 2 x pots of gold stamps
• National Game ticket
• Double number jackpot ticket
• Special ticket

Choose your meal from the following menu: Scampi and chips, chicken tikka masala and rice, tandoori vegetable masala and rice (vegetarian), macaroni cheese (v), Mexican bean roll and chips (vegan), classic beef burger and chips, southern fried chicken burger and chips or a jumbo hot dog and chips. Each member will receive a mince pie each too. What about the drinks? Draught pint of Carling Lager or Carling Cider. Small bottle of wine (choose from red, white or rose). 16oz soft drink, choose from Pepsi Max, Diet Pepsi, R White's Lemonade or a cup of tea or coffee for the more adventurous amongst you.

Mecca Lota Noise

Mecca Bingo – the Rank owned bingo establishment are getting you into the festive spirit with fun-filled sessions of Christmas bingo starting from November 1st, but before all that, how would you like to drive away with a brand-spanking new motor? On Sunday December 1st, all 77 Mecca Bingo hall across the country will join forces for a special prize draw where three Vauxhall Crossland cars will be won!

Simply make your way to any of the bingo clubs up and down UK high streets on Sunday 1st December and play bingo from 7:30pm for your chance to win. Back to the turkey and tinsel bingo now and like Buzz Bingo, Mecca have two party tiers; £15 mid-week and £20 on weekends.

A glass of fizz, your choice of festive platter or meal and all your bingo is included in the price –including link-up games. Unlike Buzz, Mecca have festive-themed meals on offer, including a festive burger, Christmas cod burger, merry berry gammon, Christmas cracker pie and a celebration pizza.

Add a tasty desert to your package for just £2; vanilla cheesecake with strawberry sauce, chocolate brownie and ice-cream or apple crumble and custard (where’s the Christmas pudding and brandy sauce?). The price list at the bar is already low compared to clubs and pubs, but those who pre-book a Christmas bingo party will receive exclusive offers on selected drinks – what a bonus!

During the intervals, 80-ball bingo games will be available at the table and if you choose to play electronically, you can play casino games, slots and jackpot games at a touch of a button.

Between games…

…refer to get up and move around? The arcade machines will be available all night.

Early Christmas Cake

The best Christmas cakes are the ones prepared in advance. Feeding the cake regularly with rum, whiskey or brandy (drool) will add to the flavour and keep the cake moist. I make a Christmas cake each year and I often bake them for elderly residents in my small village too and I’ve not had a single complaint. Fancy trying your hand at baking your own this year.

This is the recipe I swear by:

Ingredients:

• 1kg dried fruit
• Zest and juice of a lemon and an orange
• 150ml brandy, whiskey or run with extra for feeding (the cake not yourself!)
• 250g softened butter
• 175g plain flour
• 200g light brown sugar
• 100g ground almonds
• 0.5 tsp of baking powder
• 2 tsp mixed spice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 100g flaked almonds
• 4 medium to large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (Madagascan vanilla if you can get hold of it).

Method

1. First things first; pre-heat the oven to 150*c/130*c fan/gas mark 2. Mix the dried fruit, zest and juice of both lemon and orange, your preferred choice of alcohol, butter and sugar into a large pan over a medium heat and stir.
2. Bring the mixture to the boil and simmer for 5-minutes before tipping the mixture into a large bowl. Leave to stand for 30-minutes. Line a deep 20cm cake tin with a double layer of baking paper then wrap a layer of newspaper around the outside and tie with string to secure.
3. Place the flour, ground almonds, mixed spice, ground cinnamon, flaked almonds, eggs and vanilla extract into the cooled mixture and combine thoroughly to ensure there are no hidden pockets of flour.
4. Tip combined mixture into the lined cake tin and level. Place in the centre of the oven for 2-hours. Remove cake from oven when cooked and place holes into the cake with a skewer. Spoon 2 tbsp of your preferred alcohol over the top to allow the liquid to drip into the holes.
5. Remove baking paper when cool and store in an air-tight container. Feed the cake with 2-tbsp of alcohol every fortnight until a week before Christmas, as this allows the cake to dry before icing.