OS Christmas 2014 thread!!!!

sugarpuss27

Pigpen - they look amazing as a doting Auntie and Unc we would love these. Better than gifts, so personal, brilliant.:T

SIRENS

Well i have made a wool order (any excuse really!) as Dad has asked for a reindeer hat (fair isle) also got some to make some mitts for dm to match the scarf i've just finished. Still to make scarf for mil and some Christmassy flannels for dd and ds.
uniscots what about a nice Christmas stocking for them to hang each year?

We are huge elf converts and this will be our 3rd year of elfing, it can be done ms with mainly crafting ideas, or little jokes, such as sticking christmas hats on all the photos, switching all the the childrens clothes into each others draws etc.
pinterest is great for ideas, there are also several facebook groups for sharing ideas, great fun!
Any how best get on with the knitting:eek:

pigpen those cards are brilliant, i love the robin!

LynseyLou_2

Those cards are FANTASTIC! How creative!

Christmas is going to be a bit different for us this year. We have to move from our student accommodation into new digs and money will be tight. It will also be a very special Christmas, as it will be our first one as a married couple (getting hitched next month). Looking forward to mum-in-law's colossal Christmas spread but worried about how to pay for presents. Only got a small number of people to buy for but still difficult. Will probably use the Topcashback earnings for shopping vouchers.

emmi31

Wow I love those !!
Little man did hand painting for the first time at special school yesterday and loved it so will definatley be trying those !!

Thanks

pigpen

Emmi.. mine also made wrapping paper which I don't have pics of.. we got a roll of brown paper and some paints and Christmas sponges and did printing .. snowman shapes, stars, trees etc.. looked very cute tied up with raffia ribbon. Works on offcuts of fabric which is so easy to wrap with too Painted plant pots looked fabulous too .. if he can manage terracotta pots without breaking them.. we went through a few and plant spring flowering bulbs in them.. a bow of tinsel and voila! insta-gift

What about little fruit cakes? .. the ones done in the small tins like mentioned previously in the thread and put ready roll icing over and give him some icing pens to doodle with.. it doesn't matter what they look like it is the fact he has made them with you that matters..

I'm tempted to suggest skittle/werthers/other sweetie vodka but it might be inappropriate for a small child to be playing with alcohol even if it does only involve sorting sweets into individual coloured piles.

stamp sets? you can get festive stamps and ink pads and he can stamp pics.. if he can press them hard enough it should work.

piglet27

Hi emmi welcome to this Christmas loving thread, it' great. You will love it! Fantastic ideas pigpen, love your cards.


I had such a bountiful hoard of blackberries that I managed to make 2 small decorative pots of jam for hampers. I will definitely be making some pots of onion marmalade today, for stashing too.


Must get on with making Christmas cards, tags and cakes this week or I'll definitely run out of time as I generally have more flare up's as winter approaches.


Have a great Sunday all.

jlhmd666

Snorkypants wrote: »

Awesome thread! I've really enjoyed reading it though, I've ordered We'll Eat Again as the date and ginger cake sounds gorgeous!


Re the onion marmalade - do you use it like marmalade (i.e. on toast) or is it used more like chutney?


Also, someone mentioned Bailey's cheesecake, I've used this recipe multiple times and it's lovely. http://www.chocolate-source.co.uk/chocolate_recipes_cheesecake_irish_cream_cheesecake.htm
I half the amount of topping as it's very rich and we prefer it thinner. With value cream cheese, own brand Irish cream and cheap chocolate from lidl it's not to expensive to make, as treats go.

My 'We'll Eat Again' book arrived yesterday so can't wait to read through it

I used the onion marmalade like chutney and we both had cracker and cheese or cheese rolls with it. Sadly it's all gone so I will be making some more today but double the ingredients

Thank you for that recipe, I will be making that this year now

jlhmd666

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

Morrisons have the tubs of Christmas sweets in 2 tubs for £8, but bear in mind they have shrunk from 1.3kg to 860g now :mad: that is why we no longer buy them.

I also got 2 boxes of cadbury fingers (still made in this country) 50% extra free for £1 in farmfoods today.

We bought two of the tubs yesterday and was disappointed that they had shrunk but the two will have to do. Alongside that, the kids will get a selection box each and that's it as far as chocolate goes this year.

jlhmd666

Islandmaid wrote: »

Hi all,

Loving the ideas - thank you all.

Went to Ald! This morning and must of looked like I have alcohol issues with 2 x gin and 2 x vodka as well as 2 bottles of wine.

The gin and vodka are to make sloe gin and skittles and toffee vodka I explained to the cashier, who had raised an eyebrow at half 8 this morning - luckily I also has said sweeties there too.....

I have a number of k!lner bottles ready for Christmas, will make it all in old lemonade bottles first then strain off and pour into the pretty bottles in December.

How do you make the skittles and toffee vodka please?

Islandmaid

Jlhmd - there,s loads of different methods, but for the skittles vodka I use 5 old water bottles with screw top lids, split the skittles into the different colours and put them into the bottles (20-30 sweeties in each) top each with approx 200 ml of voddy, put the lids on and shake like mad - when the sweets had disolved, I strain each bottle to remove any bits and scum, then put into my pretty bottles.

The toffee vodka - easier - take about 100ml of vodka out of a bottle - unwrap a whole pack of butterscotch (I use *erthers), smash em with a rolling in (in a bag) and tip into voddy bottle, put on lid and shake till disolved.

I also want to try candy cane vodka this year, using same method as toffee - thought it would make nice prezzies for the overage 'Yoot' in our family with a candy cane tied to the little bottles.