Tag Archives: Christmas

Christmas Eve traditions

I can’t quite believe it’s Christmas Eve. After months of planning I must admit the only thing I hadn’t really thought about was the food, resulting in a last minute dash around the supermarket at the weekend!

We’re slowly starting our own family traditions. This year the children have lovely new pyjamas to go to bed in. We’ve got a selection of Christmas films to watch and books to read. We are looking forward to the minute my husband finishes work (luckily he works from home) so we can really start Christmas.

Tonight we’ll be leaving out some treats for Father Christmas and Rudolph – a mince pie and carrot along with a glass of milk.

felt mince pie

 

Happy Christmas everyone!

Leave a Comment

Filed under Christmas, crafts, handmade

Our 2012 Gingerbread House

You can probably guess from the title of my blog that I love gingerbread houses! This year we made a kit from John Lewis over a couple of days. The toddler was really excited about it as he loves his “gin-gin” men! First of all he helped daddy put the kit together, then we left it to dry overnight.

The next day we got out all our sweetie supplies which included icing pens, liquorice wheels, Necco wafers for roof tiles and gumdrops for the fence.

gingerbread house decorations

We got to work, the toddler mainly ate the sweets whilst I iced and strategically placed the sweets.

gingerbread house

We all love it although there have been mutterings about when we get to eat it. Hopefully it will last until at least Christmas Day!

I’m not the only person who’s been busy in the kitchen and I thought I’d share some of my favourite gingerbread houses.

I can’t believe this is Jennifer’s first attempt and I like the idea of decorating with chocolate rather than sweets.

Helen from The Crazy Kitchen shares her tips for building a gingerbread house, using chocolate cake covering which hardens quicker than icing and tastes better too :)

Emma at Cakes and Scribbles has made a lovely festive gingerbread house, as has Angie at Cakes Photos Life whose roof is made from shiny chocolate coins. There are so many ways to decorate gingerbread houses.

Emily at a mummy too has created her gingerbread house using a mould from Lakeland. I also bought this so I can’t wait to give it a try next year. It includes instructions for a chocolate and gingerbread house, needless to say we’ll want to try both!

Cas at Mummy Never Sleeps goes one step further and has created an awesome gingerbread igloo. She says she knew what she wanted to create and has even included a fish! I can’t wait to see what she makes next.

Finally, I love these no bake gingerbread houses from Maggy at Red Ted Art. What a genius idea to use chocolate biscuits, definitely one we’ll be trying next year.

If you’ve made your own gingerbread house why not join in with Helen’s gingerbread house linky.

3 Comments

Filed under baking, Christmas, gingerbread, gingerbread house

A little luxury at Christmas

If you’re looking for a little luxury this Christmas then look no further than The White Company. I do like The White Company and often pop in to the shop in Brent Cross as I find it the perfect place to buy gifts. I have to admit I rarely treat myself though, which is why I was delighted to receive a little box of treats from them just in time for Christmas.

This vintage crystal star decoration is perfect for giving your Christmas decorations a vintage vibe. The striking glass design is uniquely hand crafted and hung from an antique-style metal chain. I’ve hung ours in the window so it catches the winter sunlight and I think it’ll be staying up all year as its far too good to only get out at Christmas!

vintage star

I’ve been enjoying the smell of the Winter Signature Candle. Apparently Winter is their all time best selling scent - a combination of spicy cinnamon and clove with zesty fresh orange. The signature candle comes in a beautiful white gift box, which makes it a great gift too. With 28 hours burn this is a winter and Christmas must-have.

winter candle

I always keep a bottle of hand cream near as my hands are so dry, especially over the winter months. The White Lavender Hand and Nail Cream smells delicious and is easily absorbed. It comes in an easy pump bottle and looks great in my bathroom. Unfortunately I seem to be allergic to it so I’ll be passing it on to my sister!

lavender hand cream

Little Sis was sent something too, a soft plush Little Snowy Penguin. He’s machine washable so perfect for her as she’s teething and chews anything!

snowy penguin

And the good news is that you can still order in time for Christmas! Shop online by 6pm on Saturday for Christmas Eve delivery.

 

Leave a Comment

Filed under beauty, Christmas, vintage