My husband’s birthday is in the middle of December. Getting him presents for his birthday and also for Christmas is a nightmare.

This year (well, last year technically) we were in our local newly opened Starbucks Drive Through when we saw sizeable, quite impressive Advent Calendars for sale. They were half price due to it being mid December, so it seemed a fun thing to do to buy one for his birthday. It was meant to be for coffee loving adults, a pair of Starbucks socks; metal stencil for making a nice pattern on your coffee; 2 identical keyrings, a giant chocolate coin, were gifts that hit the mark. However, packets of Starbuck’s sweets; a mini jigsaw; a Christmas sticker; a lapel badge and packets of individual drinks did not. But it was fun while it lasted.

Leaping forward to July, I wanted the drawer for other things. But there were a few of the gifts left in a bag. The little rubber figure with a loop on its back attached to a long length of rubber attached to a rubber cap is still a mystery – perhaps something that attaches to a pencil, or perhaps something to slip onto a straw to stop others drinking your drink? It’s a mystery. One gift remained – a gingerbread man. He was still in his plastic wrapping and would go nicely with our morning coffee.

There we were, coffees made, packet opened, ready to snap him in half for sharing, when…… he didn’t have the right texture……..he was made of rubber for hanging on a Christmas tree!

Starbuck’s you did not know how much you could disappoint this customer with a rubber gingerbread man in July!