Christmas countdown day 15

10 days of festive fun left before we get a visit from the man in red suit.  In the Advent calendar today I got a massive six Hershey kisses to share with hubby.   The obligatory Christmas joke

"What do you get if you eat Christmas decorations?"

"Tinsel-itis!"

My Photo shoot challenge today is buttons.  I have made a couple of Christmas decs using a pot of white buttons that I picked up in a charity shop in Cromer on our weekend away, they were such a fabulous bargain at only 30p!and I still have loads left over for other projects.  I wish I lived nearer I would be in that shop all the time.

The button that will be seeing the most action over the Christmas period will be on the TV remote control.  Gone are the days of getting the double TV magazine and highlighting all the shows you want to watch, nowadays you just click your way through the planner and hope there are too many clashes.   We always watch the Dr Who Christmas special, we never bother with it at any other time of the year but for some reason it has become embedded in our Christmas rituals.  If the Italian job is not included in the TV schedule we will be knocking the dust off the DVD it is our favourite family movie and I am already filling up on everyone's favorite Morecombe and Wise




Lots on the to do list is still to do :{

Christmas cards are still unwritten - I must get them done tonight or tomorrow at the very latest

I have now decorated to the hall

The "tree" is a bit of a work in progress but is not too far off.  I just need to decide which other bits are going out in the front room.

 Decorate the dresser and the mantle in the back room and put out the nativity scene.

We have loads of food in the freezer and the pantry so just a few bits of fresh and some treats to pick up a bit closer to it.

I still have all my presents to wrap  and indeed some to buy so that will be my weekend taken care of!

Christmas countdown Day14

Day 14 means we have just 11 days of Advent left how will we cope with out chocolate, photo challenges and not to mention the cheesy jokes!!

The boxes came out of the loft and after blowing a years worth of dust off the top I was soon reacquainting myself with lots of old friends and delighting in some treasures that had been forgotten. I usually have a clear plan in my head of colour schemes and themes when it comes to decorating for Christmas, this years alternative tree is dictating some of what will or won't work, due to it's special nature balance is key and there have been a few moments where I have been juggling twigs and baubles! Happily there haven't been any casualties so far.

A little music for you to listen to while pondering the photo shoot today as the subject is "white" it can only be White Christmas courtesy of Mr Bing Crosby & Mr Danny Kaye and taken from one of my favourite Christmas films.  One of the best bits of the film is this number but this version, if you are not familiar with the film please watch in order to enjoy the joke.

I made tons of Das clay ornaments and still have some clay left to use so I need to have a little think about what to do before it starts to dry out.  I love their simple classic shapes and the how easy they are to make, I have seen the same type of thing made with a homemade salt dough concoction which may be a cheaper option. If you are thinking of making these for next year have a look around in the sales for cookie cutters, I also brought a child's rolling pin but a bottle would be fine to use. I did buy from Tiger stores a letter set to print the words on the decorations but I found it a bit of a pain to use as it wasn't very easy to move the letters around in the holder.

Hold on to your Santa hats its joke time

"Why does Santa have a garden?"

"Because he likes to HO-HO-HO"

Any thoughts on ways to use up the air dried clay would be very welcome, please drop a message in the comments or if you are a fellow blogger leave a link .

Christmas countdown Day 13

Day 13 on the Advent countdown, and happily my cold is starting to subside so I can enjoy my Hershey kiss today.

Photo challenge today is tree or in my case not so much tree and more branch

 I am not entirely sure if this is a branch or a root, it was growing around a log we collected for the fire back in September.  When I first removed it I thought it was one continuous piece but as it dried it became apparent that it was three separate pieces which made it easier to hang.

I have made some white Das air dried clay ornaments to hang and I will raid my not unsubstantial collection of baubles and trinkets.  I will of course post some pictures once it is decorated.

I was planning to make a beach find driftwood tree from the treasure we collected off the beach at Wells next the sea last weekend, however, I am not sure I will have enough time to fit it in now so it may be one to save for next year.

I am lucky enough to already have this lovely driftwood tree that the family brought me a couple of years ago.


Just time for the festive joke

"How do snowmen greet each other?"

"Ice to meet you"

And a liitle festive tune lets rock around the Christmas tree


I hope your plans are progressing a little faster than mine, I seem to take one step forward and two steps backwards at the moment.

Christmas countdown day 12

Day 12 on the Advent countdown and it is one of the felt gift tags I made on my failed attempt to sew for 30 minutes a day.



This ties in nicely with today's photo shoot "RED", my cold is still making it's presence felt so only a couple of quick photos to share today

Some lovely Scandi inspired paper chains I put together last week ready to decorate the hall way.

I love this little red spotted jug I picked up from a charity shop when we were on holiday down in Sussex in September. When I finally get round to decorating the dresser this will hold some holly from the garden.  The holly bush is of personal significance to me as it one of the plants we brought back from my Mum's house after she passed away.

Playing around with spotted cake cases for the previous "spot" photo shoot.




Joke time

"How do angles greet each other?"

"Halo there!"


Just time for a festive tune before I disappear in search of more tissues:(

Christmas countdown day 11

This is one of my favourite makes of the advent extravaganza, there is something about the simplicity of the design that strikes a cord with me and I had fun making it

Photo shoot today is BIG, but sorry I have no photos for you as I have a stinker of a cold and the only thing that has been big today is a growing pile of tissues, I could however, do a good impersonation of Rudolph with my bright red shiney nose "sing along now everyone"



Joke for today

"Where do snowmen go to dance?"

"A snow ball!"


Plenty of tea, rest and cold cures  in store for me tonight and fingers crossed I will be in better shape tomorrow.

Christmas countdown day 10

Oooh into double digits today which excites and scares me in equal measures because the big day is getting nearer and my to do list continues to grow!

Right on to the important stuff, today's Advent treat is a little different, it is a felt holly brooch, I made this a couple of years ago, it looks cracking on a Santa hat as well on the lapel of my coat and makes me feel very festive and inspired me to share for a little Christmas music

When I drew up my photo shoot list I clearly had some plans that didn't make it all the way, today's Pom Pom being just the case so Santa hat pom poms above and below a little improvised present adornment is the best I could rustle up.

Little paper cone hat adorned with pom poms and a googly eyed faces attempting to disguise a couple of bottles of cider,well it beats a bottle bag.  You can probably tell I was having a few issues keeping things stuck on with sellotape so I am currently experimenting with blu-tac.

Joke time and it is very appropriate for the weather we have had lately, my heart goes out to the poor folk in Cumbria who's lives and businesses have been devastated by the flooding up there.

"Why does Santa need a big umbrella?"

"Because of all the rain-deer!"

My to do list looks like this and by the end of the weekend I would like to clear at least 3 of them, I am not working Friday but we do have a social commitment all day Sunday so that leaves me two days clear.

• write and send the Christmas cards
• have a good tidy up and a clean through before getting the tree up
• trim front room 
• trim back room
• trim hallway/stairs

Let me know what you though of the music choice and leave a comment to let me know your favourite Christmas song

Christmas countdown day 9

Day 9 in the Advent countdown photo challenge and this post is dedicated to one of the essential food groups for Christmas MINCE PIES!!

This I believe is the best ever mince pie recipe, it's based on this BBC Good Food recipe and the comments from people who have contributed.

Ingredients

225g butter - diced
350g plain flour
100g golden caster sugar
jar of mincemeat - more if you want them well filled
1 egg - beaten
icing sugar to dust - optional


Method

1. Light the oven - 200c or gas mark 6 or fan 180c
2. Rub the butter into the flour then mix in the sugar
3. Add a generous half of the beaten egg (the remainder is for brushing the tops of your pies)
4. Bring it all together into a dough, it will be easy to handle and will stick together without being too stickly,
5. You can use it straight away or chill it if you prefer to use it later, it does freeze well too.
6. You do not need to grease your mince pie tins so you are ready to roll out your pastry, because this has such a high fat content you need to do this between two sheets of cling film.
7. I don't measure the depth of the pastry before I cut it out I just go by feel, and this can be rolled very thin, you will know your own family preference.
8. Cut out the base circles and place in your tins 
9. Add a spoonful of mincemeat (you can be as generous as your mincemeat stocks permit!)
10. Cut out you pastry lids and press gently into place to form a seal.
11. Brush the finished pies with beaten egg
12. Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes 
13. Leave in the tin for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.
14. Dust with icing sugar before serving (Optional - I don't usually remember)

Notes

This pastry is very forgiving and copes quite well with being re-formed a few times.

Try not to spill any mincemeat on the tray it's a right pain to get off!

The original recipe doesn't use the egg and the pastry is more like a shortbread so behaves quite differently, why not try both versions and see which you prefer

These pies are never going to win any beauty competitions but they are the tastiest, I have tested them on family, friends and work colleagues and everyone loves them.

They are delicious on their own but also work very well with vanilla ice cream

I apologies for any adverse effect this recipe may have on your waistline! and please note that I am not a cookery expert so follow this with caution!!

 

Chocolate free Advent day today, probably just as well when there are mince pies around!!  but not joke free :)

"What do you get when you cross a bell with a skunk?"

"Jingle smells"

Oh what a stinker!!


Let me know how you get on with the mince pie recipe or if you have one that is even better please share.