Posts

Posted on

creating Christmas * day 14

The gingerbread men

As requested by Master Freddie, today was gingerbread day and as Little L and Sweetie were here for the weekend all the grandchildren took part (though baby Chocolate only helped with the decoration as he arrived later).

I cheated and bought two packs of the ready made gingerbread from Sainsbury’s. I noticed it in the ready roll pastry chiller and thought it a good idea….and thank goodness I did as I had little time to make some beforehand and when all said and done the children are really eager to cut out the shapes and then get down to the serious business of decorating.

I would say it all went off successfully – you can usually tell by the size of the mess and the extent of the stickyness!

DH rolled out the gingerbread, whilst I filled the waiting oven trays once the shapes had been cut and a bonus – there was no squabbling over the cutters.

The 10 minute wait for them to cook, with watchful eyes on the oven…… and at last the decorating could begin.

Sweetie decorated the least of them, but ate most of them!

Little L is quite artistic and was able to control the icing better. I love her gingerbread man with a moustache!

Master Freddie’s technique was to pile everything on….it will all taste good.

With the remains of the white chocolate and sprinkles we made some chocolate lollies for Christmas.

The clearing up was a mammoth task, but with all hands to the deck we managed to clear the table to have lunch when their mums and dads came to join us – probably thankful that granny had volunteered to do this.

Afterwards, my younger daughter unwrapped her birthday presents with a lot of help from the little ones. Little L had made her a lovely card that was like one of those children’s activity books with pop up sections and flaps to raise and pull out bits.

They all left with trays of gingerbread and a few other crafty bits we had made over the weekend and now everyone has gone home and peace has descended….. bliss.

But, I must get back to finishing my cards.

Methinks, it is going to be a mad week ahead as we move ever closer to the big day. We have a neighbour’s get together, a hairdresser’s appointment and another concert to attend. The crowds are building up now to such an extent that you have to wait in a long queue for the smallest of things, or even to park the car or vacate the carpark.

Luckily, I won’t have to go back into town for very much now other than the fresh fruit and veg. I do need to take stock though of what is still to be done and go through my list.

Hope you had a lovely Christmassy weekend and for those of you that are under the weather I wish you a speedy recovery. X

If you would like to leave a comment click here.

Posted on

creating Christmas * day 13

The musical interlude

There is nothing to beat watching a children’s Christmas concert or play. They are so delightful and what a range of characters; the shy ones who look shell shocked to be in front of a strange audience and can’t manage to utter a word to the bold ones who shout out with gusto.

I remember my school Nativity play when I was 6 or 7 years old and I had been chosen to be one of the angels. Grandma made an angel costume from a nightdress pattern in silky white lining material and adorned it with gold ric-rac. I thought it was heavenly and could not wait for the day when I could wear it.

I was one of four angels and we were slightly elavated behind the shepherds and kings and had to stand on the rather wobbly long wooden low bench at the back. At the end of the performance we all sang ‘O little town of Bethlehem’ when halfway through I suddenly disappeared and only 3 angels remained standing…..mum wondered where I had gone as did the rest of the audience; I had done a classic faint, ended up on the floor and was having to be revived.

And that was the end of any stage career I might have hoped for!

Today, was my grandson’s star appearance at his musical concert. He was playing the glockenspiel together with another boy of similar age. Just the two of them on stage with the teacher giving help where needed. She had chosen two very simple songs – Jingle bells and Twinkle, twinkle as they have not been at the music school club for very long. They both played well remembering all the notes in the right order and we could sing along to help with the rhythm.

I did manage to take a video on my phone as well as they had obtained permission to put it on Facebook later.

These are always moments to cherish.

Back soon x

To leave a comment click here

Posted on

creating Christmas * day 12

The humble mince pie

I don’t know about you but as I get older a mince pie gives me more trouble than I need at Christmas. Call it indigestion, heartburn or whatever I know when I have eaten one these days.

It is a bit miserable that I can’t eat them without suffering anymore as nothing says Christmas quite like a mince pie; I swear they have been in the shops since we returned home from holiday in August. In Sainsbury’s, like most supermarkets, they are piled high but are never as good as a homemade one, at least I don’t think so.

I still make a few but these are mainly to give to people dropping by unexpectedly or take to some event. I like to make those tiny ones that you can eat in a mouthful and they do make a lovely little gift.

Strangely, I can eat a small amount of the wonderful Ecclefechan tarts that we can buy in our local Sainsbury’s now. They are like a cross between a Yorkshire curd tart and a mince pie. At one time we only ever saw these in the shops in Scotland when we went up to our cottage, the little town of Ecclefechan being only a short detour on the way to Stranraer.

So I will stick with these at Christmas time, maybe one day I will try out a recipe for them!

As I missed posting this yesterday, there are two posts today so that I can catch up.

Back soon x

To leave a comment click here

Posted on

creating Christmas * day 11

The Christmas Angels

Christmas without angels at our house would be like a picnic without sandwiches.

Since my two daughters were about six and seven, I have always put an angel in the top of their stocking.

Over the years, they have been made of many different materials – paper, wood, ceramic, wire and even a knitted one…. and when I was desperate and couldn’t find any one year, they had chocolate ones.

The photo above was the cute angel from December 2023 and one of my favourites. You can see more of them here on a previous Christmas post.

This year, I have struggled again to find angels in the shops amongst the abundance of mice and dinosaurs; they are definitely in short supply!

On the journey home from Elizabeth Gaskell’s house yesterday, we called at a garden centre for a hot chocolate.  The Christmas display that met us as we walked in through the door was rather overwhelming, but at last, hanging between a polar bear and a frosted bauble, I spied an angel.

They are quite unusual, made of pottery of some kind with a raised gold decoration and quite heavy for their tiny size.  They are snuggly wrapped in tissue paper now, hiding away until it is time to make their appearance on Christmas day.

Earlier today, I did some more work on the Christmas gifts for my four friends. We only give small presents, usually under £10 and mine are often handmade or a mix of something handmade and bought.

This year, by request, I am making the calendars once more with pictures in and around our village.

You can see the previous calendars here

I have been taking photos all year on our walks around the village ready to edit and print them. They are only small desktop ones..not very intrusive or requiring wall space.

Along with the calendar I am planning (though this might not work out) to make some tiny gingerbread stars that will be partially dipped in white or dark chocolate and perhaps a sprinkle of gold decoration as well. These will be put into a cellophane bag and dropped into a lovely Christmas glass that has a raised Christmas tree on the front amidst a flurry of snowflakes that I bought weeks ago in Sainsbury’s.

Well, that is the plan and another post, another day.

We havea few busy days coming up now; we will be out all day tomorrow and then the girls (Little L and Sweetie) are coming to stay and we will no doubt be crafting.

I had an idea as I fell asleep last night to use some glittery gold and silver card and coloured tissue that I have in my craft boxes to make some hanging stars with them.

This is a prototype I made up quickly today. I think once hung in a cluster, the light will shine through the tissue like a stained glass window. Each star that I cut out then makes a smaller star. It will be very much a ‘watch this space’.

Today’s Advent window was a Christmas pudding. I won’t be making one this year as we are going to my sister’s house, but generally I just buy a small one for DH as it is far too sweet for me these days. I love the look of them though.

And now I am ready for putting my feet up and watching the catch up of Shetland on the TV.

Back soon X

If you would like to leave a comment click here