Creative Christmas Homemade Santa Sacks

Stockings are never large enough for little boys with big gifts, so I decided to make for them as part of their Christmas gift some sacks with their names on, so that every Christmas we can put their toys in them. Hopefully they will treasure these until they are grown men.

Creative Homemade Christmas Presents

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

One of this year's creative Christmas presents from me was handmade boxed mini iced Christmas cakes. I used my late-grandmother's recipe which I found in the process of clearing my mum's house earlier this year.

A Creative Merry Christmas

When you can't put up a Christmas tree as you have a climbing toddler, you have to get creative instead...

...tree painted with my kids hands & the decorated by them as well

Gingerbread House

Not done as much Christmas crafting as I would like this year but I did make a gingerbread house, it is becoming tradition to attempt to make one every year with my other half but this year's has to be the most successful yet - thanks to Lidl for the kit!

...when Santa got stuck up the chimney...

It looks so good and it took ages to make that it now seems a shame to eat it :)

Slow Cooked Ham in Cider (great for Christmas!)

With all the spices this is great for an alternative Christmas meat on Christmas day.

Ingredients:

1.2kg gammon joint

Approx 30 whole cloves

500ml bottle of cider

100g soft dark brown sugar

100ml maple syrup

2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp ground nutmeg

2 tsp ground ginger

1 orange, quartered

Method:

1. Pierce small holes on the surface of the joint with a skewer or sharp knife and insert the whole cloves into the holes. Try to spread them out evenly.
2. Pour the cider over the joint in the slow cooker.
3. Press the sugar into the surface of the gammon joint around the cloves.
4. Gently pour the maple syrup over the meat, so as not to wash off too much sugar.
5. Place the spices (cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger) into the cider.
6. Squeeze the juice from the quartered orange over the meat and place the remnants of the orange skin into the cider as well.
7. Slow cook for 4-5 hrs on high for the first hour then on low for the rest.erve with roast potatoes and vegetables for a lovely Sunday roast.

Serve with roast potatoes and vegetables for a lovely Sunday roast. 

Christmas at ours

Christmas has arrived a little early here, but I worked out if I didn't get the Christmas decorations up this weekend it probably wouldn't happen this year...

...cannot wait to see my toddlers reaction when he sees it in the morning :)

Spiced Cranberry Chutney

This is the last Foody Friday regular recipe post, but never fear I will continue to post interesting recipes which I make. (See FOODY FRIDAY news) But for the last one, it had to be a good seasonal one . . .

For Christmas this year, I was inspired to create some foody presents. I googled some fun recipes and decided to have a go at Delia's Spiced Cranberry Chutney recipe . . .

Delia's Spiced Cranberry Chutney recipe

I was pleased with the outcome although I think I should have allowed it to simmer for slightly longer than Delia suggested as one batch I made has come out a little too liquid, but it's really delicious chutney and makes a wonderful Christmas present for friends and family.

Snowman Soup

I do love a bit of Christmas Creativities :)

Snowman Soup

You need:

Snowman chocolate mould (each mould needs to hold approximately 25g chocolate)
Small plastic cellophane bags
Lollipop sticks
Pre-wrapped candy canes
The Snowman Soup Poem

Ingredients:

150g cooking chocolate

50g mini marshmallows

a sprinkling of cinnamon

Method:

1. Boil a pan of water.
2. Break chocolate into a glass bowl.
3. Sit the glass bowl over the pan of boiling water.
4. Stir the chocolate until it has melted and is smooth.
5. Spoon the chocolate into plastic mould until full.
6. Push the mini marshmallows & lollipop sticks into the melted chocolate.
7. Place in the fridge for a few hours for it to set.
8. Turn out the chocolate snowmen from the mould and place in a small cellophane bag with a candy cane and tie.
9. Attach the Snowman Soup poem and give to your friends and family.

Snowman Poem

If you're in need of a festive cheer

Cos it's cold outside have no fear

Heat one cup of milk, good sir

Dunk your snowman, have a stir

As you watch the snowman drown

You will see the milk turn brown

This might make you stop and think

Perhaps I'll go and have a drink

As you slurp your snowman soup

You might find your eyelids droop

As you're nicely warmed inside

Snuggle in your duvet and hide

Then the chill will be no more

You will be warmed to your core

Lots of love from ??

Attached snowman poem

Snowman Soup

      

Rocky Road Fudge

Condensed Milk

Ingredients:

400g dark/milk chocolate

400g can of condensed milk

30g butter

110g icing sugar

200g chopped glace cherries

150g mini marshmallows

Melt chocolate, butter and
condensed milk together in a pan

Method:

1. Break chocolate into pieces.
2. Melt chocolate, butter and condensed milk together over a low heat in a pan, stirring until smooth.
3. Add icing sugar, whilst stirring.
4. Add in the 2/3rds of the chopped cherries and mini marshmallows and mix in well.
5. Line a tin with greaseproof paper and press the mixture into it.
6. Scatter over the leftover marshmallows and cherries and press into the surface.
7. Leave in the fridge to cool and set for a few hours.
8. Slice into small pieces.

Suggestions:

Add biscuits pieces or nuts to the mix.

Place in an empty jar with a decorated label or ribbon to give to someone as a present especially at Christmas.

Hand Painted Personalised Coasters

Last year we decided to get personal and creative with Christmas presents...

...a few years ago we had tiled our kitchen and had a lot of leftover tiles. We backed the tiles with felt and finished them off with own hand-painted designs, making a great personalised coaster Christmas present!

I was quite proud of how they turned out, I just hoped our friends and family loved receiving them as presents :)

Christmas Hyacinths

My dad is a bit predictable and every year for Christmas he plants some hyacinths bulbs into nice ceramic bowls and gives them as Christmas presents.

...it's always lovely when the January blues are setting in to come home to the wonderful scent of hyacinths and the beautiful colourful flowers...

...this year it has taken a while for ours to flower but when we were away on holiday last week they came out in full bloom!!

A great idea for Christmas presents for friends and family if you are quite greenfingered  :)

Christmas Cranberry Detox Smoothie

Eaten too much over Christmas? Well now is a perfect time to start a healthy plan for the New Year and this smoothie recipe is a great one to get you off to a great start without losing the Christmas spirit already!

Ingredients:

2 cups of fresh cranberries

2 bananas

4 tbsp honey

1 cup of orange juice

Method:

1. Put all the ingredients together into a blender and BLEND!

There you have your finished Christmas Cranberry Detox Smoothie.

Old adventures . . . of Christmas in Fortaleza, Brazil

FIRSTLY MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ONE AND ALL!!! 

PRIMEIRO, FELIZ NATAL A TODOS GENTES!!!!

Christmas 2005 was spent in Brasil in the city of Fortaleza, before going on holiday to Salvador for a few days. It was strange that it was so hot and sunny over Christmas and we actually spent Christmas Day on the beach :)

We were working with a church in Brasil, so as part of the children's work we arranged that they do a nativity play in the church at one of the Christmas services...Mary got stage fright, so it went a bit pear-shaped.

Mary, Joseph & Baby Jesus in a Brasilian Christmas Nativity - Igreja Batista Alianca

Brasilian's are not into Christmas as much as they are New Year, but there were, a few decorations up, these are a few in the square in the city centre. Looking carefully there is a star above the clock tower and a white Christmas tree to its right, which was lit up at night.

City Centre Christmas Decorations