Two more days left for Menu For Hope V!

[Update:] Menu For Hope has been extended to December 31st!

I've been sick with a cold since Friday. You know the usual stuff - headache, feverish, coughing, and above all that overwhelming grumpiness and desire to make the lives of everyone in my immediate vicinity (or, 'meatspace' as the hip kids call it) as miserable as I feel. In this kind of mood, the last thing I want to do is to go out and do any last-minute holiday shopping.

Maybe you feel the same way (about the shopping, hopefully not the cold part). The last couple of days before Christmas should be spent in your cozy home, decorating your kids, hugging your presents, and wrapping your tree. Or do I have that confused... Anywho, to take care of those last, difficult-to-shop-for people on your list, how about giving them a raffle ticket or two for Menu For Hope? If you need something to hand to them physically, Sara of Ms. Adventures in Italy, this year's Europe host, has made some great printable 'coupons' and a 1-page explanation of the Menu For Hope program(me).

I've checked over the prizes from Just Hungry and Just Bento, and I think (though my eyes are so blurry they are a bit unreliable) that you still have pretty good odds for all 3 of them.

I'd especially like to draw the attention of European readers to EU01, the 50 GBP box of Japanese food goodies from Japan Centre. Think about it - you get to put together a selection of Japanese food with me, the self-styled Japanese food expert-type person, as well as the Tokumine family who own Japan Centre, as your virtual guides! If you've ever been to a Japanese grocery store and stood there flummoxed by what you see, or just grabbed something and taken it home to find out you don't know what to do with it...or that was just wierd, this is the prize for you.

And yes, for all you chocolate fans out there, what can be better than a bar of Swiss chocolate for a whole year (or, a bar per week)? That would be prize code EU02. Details for prizes EU01 and EU02 are <a href="here.

And last but not least, if you want to kit yourself out with cool bento gear, or indeed anything cute/cool/odd from Japan that J-List sells, and get your hands on some bento books that I can vouch for personally (one of them even translated to English!) then EU03 is the one for you. Details for EU03 here.

So! Get thee over to the instructions page, click around a few minutes to take care of last-minute shopping, and relax back home with that towel draped over your head over a steaming bowl of sinus-clearing menthol water. Ahh, bliss.