It's 2018, and that means we now have an advent calendar for every taste - ones with gin, ones with whiskey, ones with beer and pork scratchings...
But there's always a gap in the market somewhere, as one bloke noticed when he decided to create his very own advent calendar filled with Fray Bentos pies. That's right, that means a pie EVERY single day in the lead-up to Christmas - and a bonus of two steak puddings for Christmas Day. Absolute genius.
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Nigel Canning, 37, spent two months making the unique calendar for his girlfriend, Nikki Barton, proudly presenting to her on her 38th birthday on 1 December as a surprise gift.
You'd be forgiven for thinking this cost him a right wedge, but it turns out he managed to make the whole thing for about £30, having managed to track down the 25 pies for the 15,000 calorie calendar from B&M Bargains for £1 each.
Childcare worker Nikki said: "I was gobsmacked. It was just hilarious when I first saw it.
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"I didn't take offence to it because I know he's only doing it as a joke. That's the sort of person he is.
"I never thought in a million years that he'd come up with something like that. He's obviously put a lot of effort into it."
The advent calendar now has pride of place on the couple's dining room table in Dicot, Oxon.
Nikki added: "I haven't had any of the pies yet. I don't mind one every now and again but 25 is a bit much.
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"It's definitely unique and a bit different to a classic chocolate calendar."
Nigel, a production assistant, made the calendar itself from 25 cardboard boxes he taped together, popping a number on each door and covering it in festive wrapping paper before filling the whole with a 500 calorie tinned pie.
While Nigel admitted Nikki 'doesn't even like pies that much' (but he loves them, and is looking forward to chowing down on one every day), he said he was inspired to create the gift after Nikki got him a pork scratching advent calendar last year.
"After she got me that I didn't want to just get her a chocolate one," he said.
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"For Christmas last year I got her a Fray Bentos pie as a stocking filler as a joke.
"It was all wrapped up and she pulled it out and said 'what the hell is this?'.
"There's no real reason for it at all. I remember eating them as a kid and they were just so convenient.
"It's just a bit of a joke. I can't imagine she's going to sit down and eat a pie every morning."
It was definitely a bold joke - meaning Nigel was slightly nervous before handing it over.
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"I thought she'd either love it or I'll end up wearing it," he explained.
"She has no fondness of pies as such and I just hoped she didn't take it the wrong way.
"I find the whole thing hilarious. We have got that sort of relationship where we have fun.
"A couple of people have said to me that she might take offence to it but I've worked hard on it.
"She will laugh it off, I'm sure of it."
Nigel reckons there's a 'gap in the market' for calendars like this, and we can't help but agree... Because nothing says Christmas like a pie in a tin, right?
Featured Image Credit: SWNSTopics: Food, Christmas, UK News