It is coming up to the most wonderful time of the year and Birmingham’s iconic Mailbox is ready for the festive season. I headed along yesterday to explore and wanted to share my experience with you to inspire you to visit this Christmas Time.
As you enter the Mailbox you are greeted with twinkly Christmas Lights and trees, eager to see what you will discover as you set foot inside the centre.
I headed first to Medicine Bar and Bakery. A favourite for many Brummies with their fabulous choice of bakes and cakes. Pastries, doughnuts, slices of cake, lunch options and a wealth of drinks to choose from. I chose the hot chocolate which was divine. It would make the perfect place to sit and catch up with friends but equally, a great space to come and treat yourself to a hot drink and cake as you catch up on some work.
Next on my visit was a trip to Harvey Nichols. With a huge Christmas Tree directly outside the entrance to the store, I felt incredibly festive and excited to see what was instore. As a quick note, if you take a selfie of yourself next to the tree and share it to social media tagging @mailboxlife and using the hashtag #MagicalMailboxChristmas you can be in with the chance of winning a £100 Harvey Nichols voucher to spend instore.
Christmas shopping is a real treat in Harvey Nichols with their carefully selected options covering all budgets. I fell in love with so many different options including the collection of felt Christmas Tree decorations. A tiger with a Christmas hat, a mouse in a top hat, little robins, a giraffe in a pink suit and a felt pom pom wreath. These would really add some fun to your Christmas Tree.
Tis’ the season for Christmas Hampers too and if there’s one company who know exactly how to make a Christmas Hamper, it is Harvey Nichols. Black picnic baskets filled to the brim with a variety of treats including Naughty Nibbles Gouda Palmiers the height of Dutch fashion and Emmental Straws, olives, chocolates, Christmas pudding. Hampers for those who love gin and wine or hampers for those who do not drink. All bases are covered with these stunning hampers. I’d be thrilled to receive one of these.
As we come towards the middle of November, now is the time to be getting your hands on Advent Calendars and Harvey Nichols selection is varied and has ideas for all tastes. I (as you can probably guess) wanted them all. The TipTree Wilkin & Sons Ltd calendar may have been my personal favourite filled with a fine selection of 24 mini jars of Tiptree preserves. The thought of waking up and having a different jam to put on your toast every morning, was a fabulous idea to me.
The Original Cake Co also tempted me. A different slice of cake every day? Yes please.
Another quirky calendar was the Harry Potter Wizarding World one. Every day, let the sorting hat determine whether you belong in Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor or Ravenclaw and take your treat from that section.
They had chocolate calendars, popcorn calendars, jelly bean calendars, Reeses’s Peanut Butter Cups calendars and the Naked Marshmallow Co Calendar.
For those not wanting to have an edible calendar, they have the Harvey Nichols beauty calendar which has flown off the shelves. I think they said they only have three left yesterday, so if you want one – be quick.
It was nice to see lots of stocking fillers too including preserves, chocolates, biscuits and coffee/tea packs.
Harvey Nichols also has a food hall, filled with an array of food and drink options. The Christmas Globe Gin Liqueur really stole the show with the glittering bauble shaped light up bottle. But what I really thoroughly like about the food and drink hall is the uniqueness and varied options. Wine options I had never seen before, colourful gins of varied flavours in the most beautiful bottles, confectionary in fancy bags filled with old school sweets that you haven’t seen for years but were your favourites (Laura’s Confectionary to name just one brand), Flower and White meringues beautifully presented, fudge, toffee, chocolates, miniature drinks bottles that would be ideal inside make your own crackers. I was drawn to the EL&N London section which I have never heard of before but the pretty pink packaging and wellness feeling from the items, really took my attention.
Keeping up with local trends, they had a collection of sake priced from £6.50 a bottle to what must be top tier Sake at £145 a bottle.
It is so nice to see such a range of products that suit all budgets.
Harvey Nichols do also have a beauty and fashion section within the store and if you are a REWARDS member you can kickstart the festive season with the annual Shopping Party enjoying (until Monday 14th November) 25% off Fashion, 15% off Beauty and up to 20% off Food and Wine (certain exclusions apply) but I headed next to their bar to enjoy a rest and some delicious cocktails (or mocktails if you don’t drink).
I can highly recommend the Lychee Martini which consisted of Belvedere vodka, kahlua, vanilla syrup and espresso. It was delcious.
The Lady Cascara Berry is the current cocktail of the month which is made up of Discarded vermouth, Rin Quin Quin Quin, Orange Bitters and Fever-tree Grape and Apricot Soda.
If wine is your tipple, you might like to know a bit more about the Harvey Nichols Wine Wednesdays. Join their Wine specialist Tatti Sukamongkol every Wednesday evening 5:30pm – 6:30pm to discover a variety of seasonal wines. From old world classics to new world favourites, you can try a delicious selection of wine in good company. It is a complimentary tasting with Tatti sharing two bottles of wine each week, complimented by some nibbles. Book your spot by emailing tatti.sukamongkol@harveynichols.com and follow Harvey Nichols bar on social media where they use the handle @hnbirmingham_bar to keep up-to-date with discounts, offers and events.
Feeling nice and warm after cocktails and a rest in the Harvey Nichols bar, I headed off to AC Hotel Birmingham, passing the beautiful Christmas Bauble photo point.
The AC Hotel is the perfect location for a night away. Located in the heart of the City Centre surrounded by shopping and dining options in the Mailbox and a stones throw from all of the local theatres, concert and event spaces it is convenient and equally, it is an upper-moderate tier lifestyle hotel brand for the design-conscious traveller.
Wooden flooring, plush bed with crisp linens and fluffy pillows, clean and bright spaces with a real focus on being environmentally friendly. Recycling bins within the hotel room, a future idea of moving away from unnecessary plastic covering the complimentary slippers, to replacing them with recyclable cardboard covers and my personal favourite, no unnecessary sheet at the bottom of the bed (for design purposes) or cushions that get reused in other hotel brands. This hotel is about cleanliness, convenience and giving you, the user, a great experience.
I enjoyed a look around the Superior King Guest Room that overlooked the canal and night life. You could see The Birmingham Repertory Theatre in the distance and it would be a perfect place to sit and read a book, overlooking the City.
The room came with Sky TV, 49 inch TV, a Nespresso Coffee Machine and drinks fridge stocked with water and also local beers from Birmingham Brewing Co which I thought was a really nice touch.
I headed to try out the offerings from the AC Lounge, the dining and bar section within the hotel. A European-inspired restaurant with an array of offerings including afternoon tea, tapas, wine and cocktails. The tapas sharing board was divine with Serrano Ham, Chorizo, Manchego Cheese, Spanish Olives, Artichoke Hearts, Hummus, Red Pepper Tapenade and Roast Sundried Tomato bread.
The hotel bar has fabulous communal spaces to sit and work from too which would be great for networking meetings or if you are self employed and work from home but would like to have a change of scenery.
I was also happy to hear from E’ime of the plans to have bottomless wine and sharing boards in the new year and other exciting ideas. This really is a hotel that is going from strength to strength. They’re also home to Black Sheep Coffee, ridding the world (in their words) of boring, average tasting coffee, one drinks at a time. I need to give them a try and let you know what I think.
Stepping out of the AC Hotel, back into the courtyard of the Mailbox, it was beautiful to see it getting darker and the lights twinkling that bit more. It feels incredibly festive in the Mailbox. Although I didn’t have time to visit myself, they have Sixes Social Cricket (a fun indoor cricket place with food and drinks), Everyman Cinema (for all your new films) and a variety of restaurants, bars and shops.
Inside the shopping centre you can find one of the Penguins which is part of the Wild in Art Brum’s Penguin Parade. A trail around Birmingham to find 15 beautifully decorated Emperor Penguins who have waddled in to the City until the 6th January 2023 when they will waddle back out again. From Percy the Party Penguin to Kevin the Kinguin, how many will you find?
We loved this one in the Mailbox. We won’t tell you exactly whereabouts he is, that would surely spoil the trail.
Finally, before heading home, I visited Malmaison and their new café, Café Mal. Previously a Starbucks it now sells some Starbucks coffees/drinks but is also now able to stock and create their own treats. Looking inside the fridge it was nice to see a wide variety of drinks including alcohol. They had sandwiches, toasties, paninis and also bowls of food including Leaf & Loaf Spicy Tomato Pasta with Feta which looked tasty.
Along with a great choice of cakes and bakes including lemon drizzle, banana bread and muffins. I went for a Starbucks Festive Gingerbread Hot Chocolate and a Rocky Road – highly recommend both. They’re hoping to make their own creations soon as we head closer to Christmas including Baileys Hot Chocolate and other exciting creations – watch this space!
There’s lots more to see and do at The Mailbox and as I do them and take photographs, I will add them to this post.
If you’re ready to get into the Christmas Mood and have some shopping to do, want to catch up with some friends or spend time with the family, I’d highly recommend a trip to the Mailbox.
For more information visit the Mailbox website here.
Disclaimer: I was invited along to the Mailbox. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.