|
Post by ariella on Dec 6, 2021 23:55:36 GMT
I actually like having a quiet Christmas and don’t mind my children spending the time with their partners. I loved the magical side of it when they were young but it’s nice to sit and please ourselves a couple of decades on. I baked pistachio and cranberry cookies today. It’s a Toblerone cheesecake when I can get my hands on gluten free digestives as they’ve been sold out the past week. Then stollen Muffins eaten warm from the oven for the weekend when there’s more people about to eat them. I was given a traditional German recipe, Zimsterne, many years ago by a friend and make them every year as they’re my favourites and once I start eating them, I can’t stop. They are cinnamon and ground almond stars with a meringue topping and I even have a tin they absolutely have to go in - a Raymond Briggs Snowman one. Isn’t it funny how once traditions are started, it feels so special to continue them?
|
|
|
Post by suesbird on Dec 7, 2021 9:48:43 GMT
Gosh you are all organised. I been away all weekend and the oh still away and all the decorations in the loft so have to wait. I have to up my game this year on the outside of the house as the street is looking good. I have just bought lights to decorate my bedroom window, no doubt the oh will moan but hey he can go back working away. I made the advent calendars for my lot, 5 in total over the years and it costs me a fortune filling them every year. At the ages of 37 to 41 years you would have thought they had grown out of it. My two little grand daughters have the lindt chocolate Santas. Out for Christmas lunch with my coffee friends, 6 of us to a very nice restaurant. Only opened a couple of months ago and it looks beautiful. Fingers crossed and I am not driving so maybe a little tipple.
|
|
|
Post by jellybean on Dec 7, 2021 9:56:14 GMT
Enjoy your day Sue. Stay safe x
|
|
|
Post by criswell on Dec 7, 2021 11:56:15 GMT
All you baking sounds delicious ariella I made stollen one year. I've not tried stollen muffins though. I'm not usually very organised before Christmas. Many a Christmas Eve I've been icing biscuits at midnight. Have a lovely lunch suesbird . My mum started buying little presents for an advent calendar for me when my brother's children were small. Because I don't have any children she decided to make one for me instead. She still likes to buy me a few little things to open before Christmas and would do a whole advent calendar if I let her. I few years back I made an advent calendar box for my Mum and stepdad. I'd do a jigsaw puzzle in advance and put pieces for a section into a diffent drawer in the box so they had a section of jigsaw to do each day. The downside of that was that it would have spoiled the surprise if I'd given them the jigsaw box so they had to do the puzzle without the picture. They started to find that a bit difficult so now I give them them a whole puzzle and box at the start of December. We always had a paper advent calendar when we were little and we had to take turns with the window. I still like to have traditional advent calendar every year.
|
|
|
Post by jellybean on Dec 7, 2021 12:48:42 GMT
|
|
|
Post by ffiscool on Dec 7, 2021 13:40:25 GMT
I actually like having a quiet Christmas and don’t mind my children spending the time with their partners. I loved the magical side of it when they were young but it’s nice to sit and please ourselves a couple of decades on. I baked pistachio and cranberry cookies today. It’s a Toblerone cheesecake when I can get my hands on gluten free digestives as they’ve been sold out the past week. Then stollen Muffins eaten warm from the oven for the weekend when there’s more people about to eat them. I was given a traditional German recipe, Zimsterne, many years ago by a friend and make them every year as they’re my favourites and once I start eating them, I can’t stop. They are cinnamon and ground almond stars with a meringue topping and I even have a tin they absolutely have to go in - a Raymond Briggs Snowman one. Isn’t it funny how once traditions are started, it feels so special to continue them? I’m salivating
|
|
|
Post by ariella on Dec 7, 2021 21:54:58 GMT
Got the GF digestives - they just happen to be choc digestives but I think it’ll still make a nice cheesecake base. So this will be our big blowout Toblerone cheesecake for the festive period. My eldest flew home from a working trip today so once he’s done his 48 hours isolation and PCR test is negative, hopefully he and his gf will come and visit this weekend and the cheesecake will go down a treat. The following weekend I’ll make the Christmas pavlova wreath I do every year. For our actual Christmas dinner I don’t make a dessert as everyone is stuffed, so I buy a good old £1 mint vienetta and it’s light, fresh and gluten free, which is just perfect to have after a large roast dinner. Christmas pud and lots of cream is always our Boxing Day tea. criswell, the stollen muffins are pretty much the same recipe but baked into muffin cases and sprinkled with icing sugar as soon as they come out the oven.
|
|
|
Post by samwiseg on Dec 15, 2021 17:16:55 GMT
Well....finally got round to the tree! Once I get going on it I'm fine, but it's getting it started is the problem!
It's sooo nice to see everyone's creations...and speaking of which, do you remember my home made fairy? I bet suesbird does I tried to send a picture of my fairy via a chat platform called discord the other day and it wouldn't let me because it said it refused to send explicit content?! Yep, it thought my Christmas Fairy had boobs. Dunno what they mean, do you?!
|
|
Oct 6, 2011 7:41:27 GMT
Marianne Marlow
Administrator
George, Daisy, Iris, Billy, Peter, Chipper, Dinku, Barney, Ayla and Rocky
Posts: 28,784
|
Post by Marianne Marlow on Dec 15, 2021 18:06:25 GMT
Christmas tree at Canary Wharf today.
|
|
Oct 6, 2011 7:41:27 GMT
Marianne Marlow
Administrator
George, Daisy, Iris, Billy, Peter, Chipper, Dinku, Barney, Ayla and Rocky
Posts: 28,784
|
Post by Marianne Marlow on Dec 15, 2021 18:08:42 GMT
I'm sure the photo will turn up later, when the image site isn't doing it's weird thing.. :/
|
|
|
Post by ffiscool on Dec 15, 2021 18:11:13 GMT
very pretty... our road, loads of houses put up lights, lit up deer and the like. do love it all
|
|
|
Post by criswell on Dec 15, 2021 23:57:58 GMT
Your tree looks lovely samwiseg and the fairy is great. Marianne Marlow The Canary wharf tree is great too. They've managed to fit so many baubles on it. We've put up Christmas tree number 2 - in the dining room - but so far it only has lights, tinsel and beads. I'm looking forward to putting all the ornaments on tomorrow and then I'll post a photo. I am enjoying seeing lit up houses whene were out in the car. I missed that last year as we were only going out if necessary. There is a house round the corner that has a life size santa sitting in an armchair in the front window and lights or other decorations visible in all the other windows too. Last year they had a giant Christmas cracker outside. This year they have a santa and a snowman.
|
|
|
Post by Hezz on Dec 16, 2021 0:55:14 GMT
So fairies now have to be gender-neutral, do they?? What the?? . That is so funny, pity it is also so stupid.
|
|
|
Post by suesbird on Dec 16, 2021 8:31:01 GMT
hahaha Sam, love it. Well I had to up my game this year. The street is getting more Christmassy every year. Sooooooo I decided to buy 500 fairy lights for my bedroom window and 500 is alot!!!!!!!!!!! They go around my window twice, around my bedside lamp and across the headboard. So now my bedroom looks a brothel, not that I've ever been in one. I will take pictures tonight as in my porch I have a village made of white plastic canvas and cross stitched white with a skating ring in the middle. I have also been knitting snowball men and a snowman with a chocolate orange in his tummy and my latest things are knitted cupcakes. Well the cupcakes are bigger than my hand!! I'm sure the grand daughters will love them. I do like looking at other people decorations.
|
|
Oct 6, 2011 7:41:27 GMT
Marianne Marlow
Administrator
George, Daisy, Iris, Billy, Peter, Chipper, Dinku, Barney, Ayla and Rocky
Posts: 28,784
|
Post by Marianne Marlow on Dec 16, 2021 11:35:44 GMT
500 lights suesbird, can we see the finished article?
|
|