Great ‘Decorate your house for under £20’ Hunt

PJ1

Hi Everyone,
The other day I'm sure I read a post about stained glass biscuits to decorate a tree with but can't find the post/recipe now. Can anyone point me in the right direction please? Thanks.
PJ x

tweegirl

We're on a very limited budgetthis year - got home the other day to find my DP had decorated the house from top to bottom - he used paper chains made from old coloured cardboard file dividers and jigsawed christmas shapes out of an old piece of plywood - it all looks so brilliant and is all the more special because he spent so much time doing it - the ex would have gone to House of Fraser and put the christmas deccies on the credit card.

helen_caslass

PJ1 wrote:

Hi Everyone,
The other day I'm sure I read a post about stained glass biscuits to decorate a tree with but can't find the post/recipe now. Can anyone point me in the right direction please? Thanks.
PJ x

Servings: Makes 15-20 Biscuits
Level of difficulty: Easy
Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
350g plain flour
100g Butter
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
175g soft brown sugar
1 egg
3 tbsp golden syrup
packet of boiled sweets
ribbon

Method
What you’ll need: weighing scales, large mixing bowl, small bowl, tablespoon, teaspoon, fork, rolling pin, Christmas cookie cutters, baking tray, wire rack, straw, palette knife, small cutter slightly bigger than the sweets, an adult!

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/gas mark 5.

2. Weigh out the flour and butter. Place these into the mixing bowl and measure out the spices and bicarbonate of soda and add to the bowl.

3. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until it is like fine breadcrumbs.

4. Break the egg into the small bowl. Add the syrup to the egg and beat well with the fork. Pour into the mixing bowl along with the sugar. Mix the flour and egg mixture together until it forms a dough.

5. Sprinkle a little flour onto a clean work surface, put the dough onto it.

6. ‘Knead’ the dough - squeeze the dough together, turning it and twisting it until it becomes smooth.

7. Use a little butter and grease the baking tray.

8. When the dough is smooth, sprinkle a little more flour onto the surface, split the dough into two balls and roll out one ball of the dough until it is approx 5mm in thickness.

9. Cut out lots of biscuits with the cookie cutters and carefully place each biscuit onto the greased baking tray. Use the straw to punch out a hole in the top for the string to go through to hang on the tree then use the small cutter and cut shapes out of the middle of the biscuit.

10. Carefully lift out the dough with the palette knife and place a sweet in the centre. Repeat with the second ball of dough.

11. Place the biscuits in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until they are golden brown. Remove them and re-pierce the hole in the top and let them cool on the tray until they are quite cold, then transfer them to the wire rack.

1. Carefully thread lengths of ribbon through the small hole in the top and tie with a bow or knot ready to hang on the Christmas Tree, or give them to friends and family as presents.


prob not same recipe but hope it works ok for you

PJ1

Thank you very much-most appreciated. Now I just have to find the time to make them! Merry Christmas. x

helen_caslass

ho ho ho

sorry couldn't resist merry christmas to one and all

Poppycat

bump.........

Smickan

Apologies if this has been mentioned, but Asda's have some cheap deals on (so manyfor £3 if I remember correctly) some lights (coloured and clear) for 69p and tinsel starting at 15p for 2 meters

There's also some other bits but I can't remember off the top of my head They are all together though for ease of browsing for the cheaper end

linda-ann

Cheapest way is use last years:rotfl:

clairefun

What a great thread! *is planning a trip to the woody scrubland behind my allotment for some greenery*. Let's see, this year we've made paper chains - bought a couple of cheap packs from the works for some 'shiny' and will be doing more out of cheap plain paper ala Elf.

We'll be making snowflakes to stick on the window & hang from the ceiling. I've saved my Christmas tree trimmings to make a wreath or hangings with once I get hubby to take some ivy of the shed and thoroughly de-spider it for me . We're making salt dough decorations next week, and some felt trees / gingerbread men/ stars etc stuffed with rosemary clippings and sprinkled with christmassy essential oils.

Currently we're printing out decorations, my 3 year old is colouring them, and I'm stringing them up all around our hallway - he's proud and they look really impressive - the cbeebies advent calendar had some we added yesterday! Keeps him quiet as well >.<

I'm also planning to cover some card with green fabric and make him a christmas tree to put on the wall in his little room - he can add some of his decorations to it as well, and should be fairly child friendly (if I tried putting a tree in his room, he'd eat it or something!).

Ooh I'm excited! Now I just have to get people to m house to see it!

Alfietinker

StudentLife wrote: »

I agree that huge woods/forests are hardly going to be destroyed by cutting off a few branches. However, i just wanted to highlight that it may be illegal (someone may know for sure). I live by the sea and we can get fined for taking pebbles from the beach. I'm not being a killjoy here, i just don't want people to get fined for their 'free' xmas decorations, when they take branches from woods.

Hi, just thought I'd say I looked this up when I wanted to take greenery to make a wreath last year.

All the information I could find said that it is only illegal to take endangered/rare plants, digging up plants, or to take without permission from other people's land. So ivy/twigs/pine cones etc are fine. I wouldn't start cutting people's trees without asking though, or raiding yews in church yards etc! And it pointed out not to take too much from one place, or if there are only a few plants of that species so as not to spoil it for others.

Hope this helps.