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Christmas Cake Marzipan and Royal Icing
Hello! I am a newbie to making my own Christmas Cake! My two children and I had a blast on stir up Sunday making it with the presoaked fruits we had made weeks before. 😋 My question is regarding timings for Marzipan and Icing. Do I have to put the marzipan on and leave it for a few days before I add the royal icing? Or can…
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Books for Children
Good morning I have 5 great-nieces & nephews and was thinking of a book as a gift for at least 4 of them but not sure what is appropriate. My children are older now so I've lost a bit of touch with what would be good. There are 2 5-yr old boys, 2 2-yr old girls and a baby so obviously something different for him. Thanks in…
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Did you spot all the Christmas puns in this week's email?
For added fun, and in classic MSE fashion, we've sprinkled this week's Money Tips Email with as many festive films, lyrics and phrases as we could muster. Apologies if we've missed your favourite. Did you spot them all? See the full list below to find out if you're as switched on as the Christmas lights. :santa2: * "For…
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Special Lamb recipe for Christmas?
Does anyone know a really special lamb recipe that I could cook on Christmas Day - using a slow cooker? We're going to be having our turkey dinner on Boxing Day and hubby has asked for lamb. I want to use the slow cooker (oven is unreliable plus we will be at church in the morning) and thinking about a casserole or maybe…
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6 Year Old Birthday Party - HELP NEEDED!!
Hi everyone :) Okay so my son is 6 in the first week of January. I'm a student and am hanging on to my threads of the last student loan I got trying to get me to the 7th Jan (also the same day as my son's birthday). I really want to throw him and his friends a party but I wasn't to do it as cheap as possible! My house is…
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Make retro candy/sweet boxes and bouquets for adults & kids + Photos (MERGED)
Was looking through a magazine last night and they had page on what to buy for Christmas. One of them was a retro candy boxes for christmas for £25!!!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT. It contained all the old sweets such as those candy necklaces, wine gums etc. Got me thinking, you could easily buy an empty nail storage/screw box for…
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16 free (or very cheap) ways to sprinkle some Christmas magic - blog discussion
After the Black Friday hoopla of last week, many are feeling the pressure to spend in the run-up to Christmas – especially those with kids. So we wanted to come up with some ways to sprinkle a little Christmas magic for free (or very cheaply). Read the full blog: 16 free (or very cheap) ways to sprinkle some Christmas magic
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Evil board game suggestions, please.
As it says on the tin - Evil, infuriating board game required for crimbo at the vicarage, please. Last year's hit was Pass The Bomb. * Thanks in advance for any ideas. [purplesignup][/purplesignup]
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Help with gifts for teenage boys
Hello! I have absolutely no idea what to get for my cousins! I have 4 (2 lots of brothers) to buy for and they are 12 - 15. I am clueless! :rotfl: I've asked the parents. One of them said chocolate or a voucher and the other sent me their amazon wishlists. I'm just struggling as chocolate seems boring (and I'm sure they…
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Christmas present from grandma
Hi, My mum wants to buy my little boy ( 6 months at xmas) a present (for about £50). Can anyone reccomend something useful. TIA
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What Gift to take to Hindu Mundan Ceremony?
Hi all I have a friend with me at the moment who is attending one of these ceremonies in a few weeks and is unsure if she should take a gift and wouldn't like to offend by taking something along that is inappropriate. If anyone has any ideas please can you let us know Thanks
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Hamper help!
Hello, knowledgeable people in my phone! I'm looking for some ideas and wondered if you guys could help? This year I'm thinking about doing hampers/gift baskets and struggling for ideas. Couples hamper (22&21) (brother and his gf) - £40 Cousin - female (21) - £20 Cousin - male (18) - £20 Cousin - male (14) - £20 Godson -…
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Christmas IOU discussion
Hi, we've designed a special new Christmas IOU certificate to help tell family you're waiting until the sales, so you can give a bigger and even better gift. Please let us know your feedback. Does it print OK for you? Do you have any other tips on teaching kids about money at Christmas? If you use it, please tell us how it…
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Secret Santa help
Please help! We are doing secret santa in work. We have to spend £5 and it is using initials. The initials I have are K G. I have no idea where to start. She is a lovely lady in her 50s if that helps with any ideas. She loves Gin but I just can't seem to find anything. Any help is much appreciated! Laura
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Christmas Shoebox Appeal
I was talking with my grandson about filling a shoebox with some Xmas fields for a little boy of a similar age and what might he like. A quick google of Shoebox Appeal returns some not so nice info about if being run by a far right homophobic American. Other sites saying it’s exaggerated. Anyone know the truth? If it’s…
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Real Madrid sale, until midnight.
Anybody thinking of buying for a RM fan, there is a sale on their website until midnight. 30% off kits & shirts, plus free printing and badges & free standard delivery. Quite a good offer, just bought Daughter a shirt, total cost £54. Would have been about £85 normally.
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Christmas Period Menu Plan
I know, I know I must be bonkers planning ALL the food over the festive period BUT.... I like to spread the cost by getting things in early and I'm lucky to have the 22nd until NYE off and I do not want to go to the shops. I like to splash out a bit on food over the festive period, but also don't want to slave away cooking…
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Best place for Christmas trees decorations?
I’m looking for some new Christmas tree decorations, was hoping to find some slightly larger than your average baulble. John Lewis have some nice ones but are £10-£12 EACH! Christmas time uk are similar. I don’t want tacky ones but also don’t want to spend a fortune! Dunelm has some nice ones but doesn’t offer home…
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Too early for Christmas lights?
High streets and shopping centres may now be festooned in Christmas decorations and lights to get you to spend, but when's the right time to do it at home? Some at MSE Towers have seen their neighbours put up Christmas lights - is it still too soon, or are we being bah humbugs? Let us know in the thread below.…
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Winter family buffet for 90yr old
Hi - can you throw some ideas please. I am holding a surprise party for mum in law in Dec - maybe 25 of us. Doing at our house as we have the most room. Anyhow hubby not too well and neither am I so keeping it as simple as possible (ie buying as much as I can from Tesco!) - and not too expensive. For savouries I though:…
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