The calendar, made from 25 cardboard boxes taped together, contains pies with a variety of different fillings behind each window
A PRANKSTER built an advent calendar filled with 26 Fray Bentos pies for his girlfriend.
Nigel Canning, 37, spent two months making it, even though other half Nikki Bolton is not keen on the tinned favourite.
The dad of one bought £1 pies with a variety of fillings to put behind each window and included two steak ones for Christmas Day.
He presented it to Nikki, 38, for her birthday at the start of advent on Saturday.
Baffled Nikki said: “I was gobsmacked. It was just hilarious when I first saw it.
“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.”
Mum-of-one 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.
“It’s definitely unique and a bit different to a classic chocolate calendar.”
The calendar – made from 25 cardboard boxes he taped together -has now taken its pride of place on the couple’s dining room table in Didcot, Oxon.
Production assistant Nigel – who competes on pranks with Nikki – says he was inspired after his girlfriend of two years bought him a pork scratching advent calendar last year.
The dad-of-one said: “After she got me that I didn’t want to just get her a chocolate one. 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?’.
“She has no fondness of pies as such and I just hoped she didn’t take it the wrong way.”
Nigel has picked a mixture of steak and kidney, chicken, minced beef and onion and chicken and mushroom pies.
The pair say they will not be eating pies on Christmas day and any surplus puddings will be donated to family.
A Fray Bentos spokesman said: ““What a fun idea. There’s been lots of chat this year about whether we’ve reached ‘peak advent calendar’ this year, and surely this proves that we have.”
