It's Christmas Eve!

Christmas is nearly upon us, when anticipation and preparation gives way to celebration!  I love Christmas Eve - there is snow on the ground and magic in the air.  I am spending it at my parents' house, with young nephew and niece as the perfect little Christmas helpers.  Today will go something like this...

- wrapping up warm to go last minute shopping for new christmas cake decorations (the old santa has last year's icing stuck on his boot, and the collection of little green fir trees we have used since I was a child has dwindled to just two trees - we need a few more tree friends to make a snowy forest)

- cake decorating with the help of some little people

- watching 'Miracle on 34th Street'

- taking my parents' dog for a walk in the frosty park

- posting the neighbours' christmas cards

- gathering round a huge tree for a candlelit children's carol service

- cooking up hot mince pies and mulled wine

- putting out some sherry for Father Christmas and a carrot for Rudolph

- reading 'The Night Before Christmas' to the little ones before they fall asleep 'with visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads'

- putting out all the presents under our tree

- trying to get to sleep, which is as hard now as it was when I was five...

Merry Christmas to you all!

Countdown to Christmas #5: Throwing a Christmas dinner party

The house was filled with merry laughter, chinking glasses, and christmas songs from bygone days.

We were dressed up all sparkly and festive*

We dined by candlelight in my studio, transformed into a winter wonderland of silver and white.

We feasted on a roast, sweet mince pies, handmade truffles and pints of steaming mulled wine.

We shared stories and secret santa presents by the open fire.

There's nothing quite as cosy as a Christmas dinner party with friends and festive fun on a cold winter's night.

How are you keeping warm this winter?

*see, I'm working on self-portrait bravery!

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For more Christmassy fun see other 'Countdown to Christmas' posts

Countdown to Christmas #4: Christmas cake - how do you make yours?

My grandma always used to make our Christmas pudding and cake.  I could never understand why she would make it so far in advance (the Christmas before!) and how it didn't go mouldy.  She said "good things are worth waiting for" and she was so right. 

When I lived in Japan I remember being so shocked that people at sponge cake decorated with strawberries on Christmas Day.  I have no idea where that tradition came from!

This year I made a very special Christmas cake to celebrate a very special Christmas - one when a close friend's dad just got the all clear from cancer.  The best present anyone could hope for.  So I made the cake, and I have sent it off to Cornwall to be iced by his two little granddaughters.

This is a lovely old recipe, best made about six weeks in advance, but if you make it now and feed it brandy each day it should still be delicious come Christmas day.  Enjoy!

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Ingredients:
200g each of raisins & currants
50g glace cherries
200g chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts)
150g butter
2 large eggs
100g dark brown sugar
zest of half a lemon
150g plain flour
half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon
quarter teaspoon each of ground cloves & ground ginger
sprinkle of nutmeg
200ml of brandy (or maybe more if you are anything like me...)

Advance preparation
1) Put all the dried fruit in a saucepan with the brandy, bring it to the boil and then take it off the heat. Cover it and leave it overnight to soak up all the lovely brandy goodness.
2) Take your eggs and butter out of the fridge so they warm to room temperature
3) Prepare your tin (see below)

How to make your delicious cake
1) Put some nice Christmas music on in the background and pour yourself a large sherry!
2) Preheat your oven to 150 degrees C / gas mark 2
3) Cream the butter and sugar, then mix in the lemon zest
4) Add the eggs and beat well
5) Sift the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger, then add to the mixture, alternating with adding the soaked fruit (which should smell amazing by now)
6) Add the chopped nuts and fold in
7) Put into prepared tin (see below) and bake at 150 degrees C (gas mark 2) for around 2 hours
8) Once the cake is cooked, wrap it in foil straight away (still in its tin) to keep the top of the cake soft as it cools
9) Once it is cooled, remove it from the tin and wrap it in a double layer of greaseproof paper and a double layer of foil.  This version of Christmas cake will easily keep for up to six weeks in an airtight container, if you store it in a cool dry place.
10) Every couple of days add a bit more brandy to the cake and by Christmas day it will be moist and delicious!

How to prepare your tin
Prepare your tin by cutting out two circles of greaseproof paper the same size as the base of your tin, and two long rectangles that are slightly longer than the circumference of your tin, and 12cm wider than the height of the tin. Fold each of the rectangles in along one length, about 2cm from the edge, and then snip small triangles out of the folded section (as if you are making a frill). Hold the two rectangles together (to make a double layer) and use them to line the tin, with the frill side at the bottom of the tin. The triangles you cut out should allow the frill to sit on the bottom of the tin. The circles then go on top of the frill to line the base, and your cake mixture will sit on top of this. The lining should be sticking out about 10cm above the rim of the cake tin. (See photo above).

All ready to send off to be iced by my young friends...

Icing your cake

If you want to ice your own, first spread a layer of apricot jam over the whole cake, cover it in marzipan, then royal icing and whatever decorations you fancy. 

Then tuck in!

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What's in your christmas cake this year?

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More Christmas goodness here in the Countdown to Christmas

Countdown to Christmas #3: The magic of baubles

I love baubles.  When I was little my dad would get down the boxes of christmas decorations and we would throw everything on the tree - the paper chains we made in school, the balding angel we called 'Arthur Scargill', the baby's first Christmas bauble my little brother (now in his 20s) had when he was a few months old, the gingerbread stars we had just cooked up in the kitchen.  It didn't matter what colour anything was, as long as it sparkled.

When it came to buying decorations for my own place I decided to do away with the (lovely) haphazard craziness and try out a colour scheme instead.  Every year I try to find a new bauble for the collection, and find myself captivated by the magical glass creations I have brought back from New York, Tokyo, Paris and Rome.  I love it that we are now building our own story into our tree. 

A couple of years ago my man and I went to Venice and visited a glassblowing factory where big burly Italian men blew the most exquisite, delicate decorations. 

Window of glassblowing factory in Murano, Italy

This year I am thinking about silver and white for the tree, with some turquoisy-green here and there.  What about you?  Do you have a favourite colour scheme for your tree, or do you prefer the haphazard approach?  And do you have a favourite decoration which makes you smile each time you unpack it from the box?

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This year I have created some hand-made decorations to give to others.  You can see a step-by-step how-to here

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More Countdown to Christmas posts here 

Countdown to Christmas #2: Making tree decorations

Christmas is going to be very special this year, as our first one in our new house.  As part of Louise's ornament swap, I thought I would make some vintage-style hanging tree decorations to share. 

Here's what I made and how I made them, inspired by an idea in Ideal Home.  They are easy (and cheap) to make and look sweet hanging up. 

Step 1: Choose a variety of coordinating decorative papers and cut them into 8cm x 4cm strips (you will need six pieces for each decoration)

Step 2: Fold each piece in half lengthways, and then fold the corners inwards (with the folded edge along the bottom)

Step 3: Fold each piece in half so the folded corners are together

Step 4: Insert the points of one piece into the 'pockets' of another (you should have a double-sided pocket next to the folded corners)

Step 5:  Continue doing this to build up a circle

Step 6: Tie several finished circles together with twine or ribbon, fix with a brad and hang on your tree...

What are you hanging on your tree this year?

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More Countdown to Christmas posts here

Countdown to Christmas

I have a confession to make.  I absolutely love Christmas.  This is our first Christmas in our new home, so I want to make it really special. 

There is so much to soak up and enjoy that I have to start preparing in November(!), so for the next eight weeks I will share some of those moments with you - recipes, traditions, hand made decorations and gifts and other lovely things - as we get cosy and get ready for this magical time of year. 

I hope you will share some of your thoughts, preparations and your own traditions in the conversation along the way.  You will be able to find it all on the Do What You Love Countdown to Christmas page here

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Countdown to Christmas #1: Ornament Swap

In keeping with the theme, Louise is has launched her Creative Colour Challenge: Ornament Swap over at Dream, Inspire, Create today.  I love making decorations so I am definitely going to get involved.  Why don't you join in too?