Old style Preparations for Christmas 2010!!

thevicster

Thanks for the link to the hot drink mixes, I LOVE chai tea so hopefully this will work out less expensive than shop bought!

suzie_wong

I've seen an idea on a website which I am going to adapt to make it more personal, and also suitable for children. The website is alphabetphotography.co.uk (I think). You can have any word, eg someones name, made up from photographs- where each letter is actually a photograph of something which happens to be the right shape. It's difficult to describe, but if you have a look you will see what I mean.

I thought I would try taking some photos of letters made up of things that my children like, eg different favourite sweets, lego etc on a bright background. I am going to try to make each of their names up, with a separate photo for each letter. The frames can be bought fairly cheaply from Ikea (luckily my kids have short names!) and I have nothing to lose by taking some photos and seeing how they turn out. I'm quite excited to try! :j

By the way, in case you were wondering, I have nothing to do with the website I mentioned- their pictures are beautiful but too expensive for me!

morg_monster

Hiya,
DUH i was thinking I'd just make some vanilla sugar, didn't think of putting the vanilla in the coffeemate itself!

My turkish delight recipe comes from a christmas recipe book of my mum's, I always make it at her house! So sorry I can't type it out at the mo. The one at the top of this thread looks similar to the one I make; some recipes don't use gelatine (mine does), also some use both lemon juice and rose water in the rose flavour. I don't remember mine using citric acid though. The silicone tray is a great idea, I will have to remember that for this year. I have also made lemon flavour by replacing the rosewater and some of the water with the juice of 1 lemon (so the total amount of liquid is the same). Absolutely divine! Highly recommend making more than one batch as they are very moreish.

Topher

I'm loving this thread:
I've just finished putting together a collection of gardening related things for my Allotment owning sister's birthday (I guess it pretty well makes up one of yer Christmas hampers) Anyway, thanks to a 75% off sale in Wilkinsons, I've got her packets of Johnson's World Kitchen seeds, & World Botanics seeds, five in all, as well as a small propagater (!) some biodegradable plastic pots and saucers and an aubergine starter pot. To these I've added ome wildflower seeds and cress seeds that I got free with magazines (that I bought for £1 each off the market), a Grow and Cook Book that I got free with an old magazine subscription. Then from the 99p shop, two Chatsworth Grow Me starter bags (nicely presented in brown paper bags.)
Alltogether I've spent £5.91
I was feeling happy with that until the dog got ill only three months after I'd cut down his insurance fom the "Moreexpensivethanamortgage" one, to a cheaper one. We're going to lose out big style. Which is a secondary worry compared to that of his health and wellbeing, but there all the same.

Oh well, swings and roundabouts eh?

tartantotty

wssla00 wrote: »

I really WISH there was a WI near me.... I'm 27 and would join in a shot but I don't think they have an equivalent in Scotland? If anyone want's to correct me I would be VERY happy!

Hello! Thw WI in Scotland is the WRI (Women's Rural Institute). I know where I am in NE Scotland there are loads of branches in all the wee villages and towns round about. The best way to find out in your local paper - most have a 'round the rurals' section that says what has been going on in each branch. I am sure there will be a website too if you google it. I have been obsessed with the WRI since I was wee, but have never plucked up the courage to go (I am 32), but I intend to at some point!

psso

wssla00 wrote: »

I really WISH there was a WI near me.... I'm 27 and would join in a shot but I don't think they have an equivalent in Scotland? If anyone want's to correct me I would be VERY happy!

Have a look on here and see if there`s one near you.:)

http://www.swri.org.uk/

sistercas

some lovely ideas on here it has really inspired me to have a go at some hm pressies

I bought a couple of coffee mugs yesterday which were on offer in sainsburys , i thought i could get a small pack of coffee beans and make some choc truffles ( maybe get or make some sugar swizzle sticks ) and wrap it all up in cellophane - would make a lovely xmas pressie for DB and SIL

zippychick

I have merged the Christmas presents/preparing threads together - and renamed it as a general OS christmas thread for 2010. This means we keep all the discussion together for this year.

thanks:j

A special picture for this thread!


Zip

katholicos

I read somewhere on MSE...don't recall which thread or poster, mentioned that they save all their 20p pieces. I've just started doing so myself. My family are all bought for (or i am making homemade gifts for) for the most part but my son isn't and he prefers money to gifts so he will have whatever i manage to save up in 20p's between now and Christmas....though i will exchange the coins for a note or two before putting it in his Christmas card!

zippychick

Okay! it's taken me around an hour - please check out the first post for a mega christmas index! ! ! ! ! Subscribe to this thread or bookmark it so you can find all the handy christmas links in one place!

Ho ho hoooooooooooooooo!:p:beer: