This Christmas, The Living Room Group - owner / operators of The Living Room restaurant and bars, and Prohibition bar and grills - will replace the traditional Christmas cracker toy contained in Christmas crackers with a donation of £5,000 to charity.

Each of the groups 19 restaurants and bars, split between the two concepts, will take part in the initiative throughout the month of November and December, over which time, a total of 50,000 crackers will be placed on the tables of guests celebrating Christmas parties.

Each year thousands of Christmas party toys at an average cost of 10p each are cleared from the restaurant and bar's Christmas dining tables and simply thrown away. This equates to £5,000 each year that is literally being disposed of.

Managing Director Danny Fox commented "With the Credit Crunch and concerns for money wastage being so topical at present, we've looked into removing aspects of our operation that don't benefit our guests or affect our product and service in anyway. We identified that an enormous amount of money was being wasted each year in the production of Christmas crackers, money that we feel could be put to better use".

Danny continued, "It is important, however, not to take too much of the fun out of Christmas celebrations, and with so much doom and gloom around, its imperative that we give our customer's something back and something to feel good about; which is why we're channeling this saving into charity instead of absorbing it into our balance sheet".

The initiative, which is being sponsored by Disaronno Amaretto, will be launched in support of 2 chosen charities: Cancer Research UK and UNICEF and each charity will benefit from a donation of £2.5K.

The cracker toy has been replaced with a voucher explaining the reason for the substitution to guests. It will also act as a discount voucher offering diners 30% discount off the total food bill when returning in January 2009; a deferred benefit for a time when finances are likely to be more stretched than ever.

The Living Room restaurant and piano bar is a stylish yet comfortable venue currently operating in 15 major cities across the UK including: Liverpool, Manchester, London and Edinburgh. Its reputation for great food and drink, coupled with excellent service and chic surroundings makes The Living Room a favourite haunt for both regular guests and occasional visitors. The Living Room is recognised throughout the UK for its exceptional service standards and high quality food and cocktail offering. Prohibition bar & grill is an up-tempo bar with a freshly prepared food offering. It specialises in the preparation of high-quality cocktail and drinks and has a relaxed, music-orientated atmosphere.