Aldi has revealed the long-awaited date that its viral Kevin the Carrot toy range will be back in UK stores for the festive season.
We can’t deny it now, it’s officially ‘that time’ of year again.
The shelves of supermarkets nationwide are filled with festive food, drink, and gifts from top to toe, Christmas adverts are being released thick and fast, and Manchester Christmas Markets are now officially open and spreading seasonal cheer right across our city, so it only seems fitting that Kevin the Carrot will soon be making his return.
Aldi’s unofficial – or you could say official at this point, let’s be honest – Christmas companion has become an absolute fan favourite over the past few years, appearing on the majority of the retailer’s Christmas adverts and being turned into different themed products and merchandise along the way.
By far the most popular of those themed products has to be the Kevin the Carrot plush toys, which have been known to have shoppers queuing outside their local stores on release day.
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Bound to sell out almost as soon as they hit the shelves once again this year, Aldi has now confirmed the date Kevin will be back.
Kevin the Carrot will be returning to the Specialbuys section in the legendary ‘Middle Aisle’ with an assignment to “make this the best Christmas possible”, according to the retailer, from this Thursday (14 November), and shoppers will be able to collect all the characters from this year’s Aldi Christmas advert.
The Christmas Plush rangestarts from just £2.99 each, and includes Kevin himself, alongside his pal Katie, “like you’ve never seen them before”.
You’ll also be able to get Humbug plushies, little tree decoration plushies, and also the new ‘My Pal Kevin the Carrot’ too, who haslong arms and legs and is described as being “the perfect Christmas companion”.
Shoppers looking to get their hands on the Christmas Plush range are being advised to “act fast”, as with all Aldi Specialbuys, it’s a case of “once they’re gone, they’re gone”.
The Christmas Plush range will be in Aldi stores nationwide from Thursday 14 November.
Featured Image – Aldi UK
Shopping
One of Manchester’s biggest vintage shops to close after a decade
Daisy Jackson
One of the biggest and best vintage shops in Manchester has announced its imminent closure.
Thrift Shop, which is part of the legendary Cow Vintage family, has said that the landlord of its store has ‘chosen not to renew our lease’.
The beloved vintage shop has been in its spot just off Piccadilly Gardens for a decade, with colourful rails stuffed with pre-loved denim, coats, dresses, accessories, and more.
Ahead of its closure this week, Thrift Shop has announced details of a major closing down sale, aiming to get rid of all its stock.
Initially touted as two for £10 on all thrift items, they’ve now slashed prices even further and are offering three items for £10.
That does exclude their ‘premium’ items, where you can snap up big labels like Carhartt and Levi’s.
Sharing the sad news of its closure online, Thrift Shop Manchester wrote: “We are gutted to announce the closure of beloved Manchester store.
Thrift Shop Manchester is throwing a huge closing down sale
“Last week we found out our landlord chose not to renew our lease after over ten years in this unit.
“To bid our farewell, we’re doing a MASSIVE closing down sale to get rid of all stock !!!! All Thrift items will be 2 for £10 until our last trading day on 30th May!!
“We’ve absolutely loved serving you for all these years, so long, farewell and, as always, get thrifty.”
In the comments, fellow independent retailer Thunder Egg – which just had to move out of its Oldham Street store (but is still in Afflecks) – commented: “So sorry to hear this, retail landlords in Manchester are absolutely in their sh*tbag era right now.”
Thrift Shop Manchester will close for good on Saturday 30 May.
Demolition and regeneration plans for former Manchester shopping centre to begin next month
Emily Sergeant
Plans to demolish and regenerate a former shopping centre in a Manchester suburb are set to kick off from next month.
Following planning approval at the end of 2025, major plans to transform the former Chorlton Cross Shopping Centre into a ‘thriving’ new destination to live and shop are set to commence with demolition in the next couple of weeks.
If you’re unfamiliar with the plans for the new Chorlton neighbourhood, they include 262 one, two, and three-bedroom apartments, all with access to outdoor space through balconies and gardens, 53 affordable homes – with 49 of them being available for social rent – and around 3,500 sq metres of public open space with fully walkable routes and outdoor seating areas.
A mix of flexible retail spaces, including a new ‘Makers Yard’ suitable for smaller start-up businesses will also be included, alongside new tree planting.
Phase one of the project will involve the dismantling the former shopping centre and neighbouring Graeme House buildings.
According to developers, the first step will be to close the precinct car park at the end of this month, before new hoardings are installed around the site to close the area off to pedestrians and vehicles for safety reasons.
The demolition work is expected to begin in mid-June, and be completed by August.
Where possible, materials from the existing buildings will be reused during construction of the new neighbourhood in a bid to help reduce the number of vehicles needed to remove materials from the site.
“Demolition marks another major milestone for the project, which will completely transform the former shopping centre,” commented Georgina Lynch, who is the managing director at Manchester-based developers, PJ Livesey.
“Our demolition contractor will carefully manage any issues throughout the work, and we will continue to stay in regular contact with local residents and businesses as the demolition progresses.”
Emily Sergeant -
11th November 2024 
