Homemade Christmas

So I know this is early, but I am busy so am trying to plan ahead. This year I have decided to try and make a few home made gifts for Christmas.

The first thing is we have loads of apples from the garden, so I was going to make some spiced apple chutney for everyone. I have been saving my pretty Bonne Maman jars to fill and label.

Next I have seen a few of these sort of things in the shops and online so I thought about giving it a go myself.

Hot chocolate spoons, a wooden spoon with chocolate on the bottom to put into hot milk along with some marshmallows. These ones are great although I am sure the chocolate is nothing like what I will use.

I also do a mean chocolate fudge so I was thinking of including this too.

Wrapped up nicely in some cellophane and Christmas ribbons I think this should make a nice little hamper. Would love to know what you think and if anyone has any other ideas? Maybe include some recent pics of the kids?

Favourite Recipe Friday - Quick-mix Chocolate Fudge

I had written a brilliant recipe yesterday but it seemed blogger was having a bad day too and didn't save it.

Good news for you though as it got me thinking about another recipe I could use and I'm going with a Christmas theme until Christmas, so yay!

This recipe is one I found in a Good Food magazine a few years ago and it has been my favourite for making for friends ever since.

Also makes a great treat for visitors and to give as a gift, wrapped up in a pretty box or bag.

Ingredients:

350g/ 12oz caster sugar
170g can evaporated milk
140g/ 5oz butter, cut into large cubes
100g/ 4oz white marshmallows
175g/ 6oz plain chocolate, broken into small pieces
1 tsp vanilla extract
25g/1oz pistachios (you can leave these out if giving to children or people who don't like nuts or alternatively add some sour dried cherries)

Method

1. Line the base and sides of an 18cm square cake tin with baking paper. Put the sugar, evaporated milk, butter and marshmallows in a medium saucepan. Warm on a low heat, stirring once or twice, until everything has melted together and you have no grainy sugar left. Increase the heat and boil for 9 mins, STIRRING CONSTANTLY, until thick and a toasty brown colour. Remove from the heat.

2. Add the chocolate and vanilla extract to the pan and stir with a wooden spoon for 1-2 mins until the chocolate has melted and the mixture begins to thicken. Stir through the pistachios, if you like.

3. Working quickly, spread the mixture into the prepared tin. Chill for at least 4 hours or overnight until set. Cut into squares to serve.

Will keep in an airtight container for up to a month.

I gave this to someone who doesn't normally like fudge and he loved it!

It really is so quick and simple and like normal fudge recipes doesn't require a thermometer. I make a batch up just before Christmas eve to give to any guests that pop over as a treat or for hubby to take to work.

Christmas traditions, when families collide!

So me and my husband's families both have different Christmas traditions, for me we just stayed at home the four of us. We got up opened our presents, had breakfast, played with said presents, had lunch around 3pm and then carried on playing with presents or watched Christmas films in the afternoon/evening.

My husband on the other hand opened some presents in the morning, went round to one of his mums friends for nibbles and visited other relatives or friends, home for lunch and then carried on opening presents in the afternoon until his sister had one left and 'won' as the last one to have a present to open! (I kid you not and this still happens today and she is 28)

So when two families come together what do you do, before we moved in together and got married etc we would both stay at our parents and then meet up in the evening. Then when we moved in together we stayed at home or went to one of the parents house.

The first year after having my son, we stayed at home and the following year we had my parents round for lunch, then last year because I was heavily pregnant we went to my in laws but the day was pretty awful to be honest.

We opened our presents to each other, then went over to my family to open presents with them and then about 1pm went to my in laws to open presents and have dinner. We didn't end up eating till gone four and by time we had finished it was time to go home again, the day seemed short and my son didn't get to enjoy any of the presents like I remember doing as a child.

This year my son wants a scooter, I have visions of him going outside with his Daddy after we have had breakfast and playing with his new scooter! Not of us waiting in for family to arrive or traipsing round to them etc etc.

I want it to be like when I was little, mum making dinner and dad with the kids building and playing with toys whilst watching Home Alone or Toy Story!

So what are your traditions, did you have to compromise or did you make your own that resembled nothing you grew up with?

My mum has invited us over to them but it means one of us can't drink and we will either have to leave all of our toys at home or traipse them over to my parents house. She seemed most upset when I eventually declined but surely she can understand as we never went anywhere at Christmas!?!

It is so hard to try and arrange something that doesn't upset one set of parents or the other, really all I want to do is make me and my little family happy and stuff the rest but as a person with a conscience I cannot do this without feeling bad.