Put away your purse & become debt-averse

foxgloves

Thanks, 1LL - yes, I love marzipan. It's such an easy job to do, as whatever it looks like is completely immaterial, as it is going to be covered in icing. I've learned to be economical with this part of the Christmas Cake too. I often pencil in little notes to myself in my cook books & I've noted on the page of our favourite Christmas cake recipe that it only requires ONE slab of marzipan & ONE slab of fondant icing! As it looks like a bit of a 'juster', I used to buy two packs of each 'just to be on the safe side', which was a waste of money (although, as you know, I used to make cheat's peppermint creams with the leftover icing & they were freezable too) but now I see my little note & know that the cake decorating works perfectly well with one pack of each. Also, I used always to buy a jar of apricot jam for sticking the marzipan onto the cake......until I stopped being so spendy & thought I'd try using some of my home made marmalade. It worked so well & added to all the festive flavours, that I do it every year now - another thing I don't need to put on my shopping list. Am intending to make royal icing this year instead of buying fondant, as I fancied a change.....& although I did buy some little decorations to go on the top, they were in the bargain box at the local baking shop, so I was happy with that.
F x

foxgloves

And greetings to everyone else,
I'm pleased to say I am feeling loads better than yesterday. My tummy still feels a little bit on the squiffy side, but there has been no sickness & I don't feel so lacklustre & pathetic now.
I have managed to get my 3 target tasks done. The last presents are wrapped & I packed all the gifts for family we are seeing early next week into one of the boxes I covered so that they are ready to go & also look festive. I've marzipanned the Christmas Cake & I've done my mid-month Budget Check-in.
Oh........it took ages this time. I know why.....it's because I am kind of triple-accounting, just while I have some money ring-fenced for work on our house next year & also because Mr F was actually paid TODAY - even earlier than I was expecting, so I have also ring-fenced that for allocating on my next Big Budget Day when I set January's budget. As I've said before, 27th is usually pay-day so there is no way I'm going to be suckered into the December Pay-Trap. I have also spent quite a bit of time carefully doing various swaps between various budgets & making sure I've done the related bank transfers & spreadsheet updates accurately. I found 3 transactions which aren't yet showing on our online bank statement, so have been careful to commit that money in my accounting so that I don't end up 'losing' funds in that twilight zone around pay-day. I've self-fortified with coffee & a few Co-*p chocolate eclair sweeties & have finally got it done. There were no nasty surprises that I could see, & compared with my original December Budget, I am only £6.64 adrift......& for a change, it is in our favour! I'm pleased with that, as it has been quite a financially complicated couple of months, with one thing & another. And as usual, once I know what the figures are looking like, I feel more settled in myself. Back in the Spendy Decades, a friend had a go at showing me how she did her own budget. At the time, I could barely think of anything worse than seeing the results of my terrible money habits written down in black & white, but I do remember her saying that I would feel better for KNOWING. Even if it was bad. Knowledge would be power when it came to addressing the situation. I don't think I really understood that until the LBM struck. I completely 'get it' now. If for whatever reason I'm a few days late with doing my Big Budget Day or my mid-month check-in, I really do feel quite twitchy, as though it all might be secretly getting away from me while I'm busy doing other things.
So......that was today's key tasks achieved. I've also hung the overnight laundry on the heated airer, topped up the bird feeders, & done my German practice, so apart from cooking dinner, I shall call that a day for jobs & have some leisure time. It's a chilly night here, so stay warm, all of you.
F x

Onebrokelady

wishingthemortgaheaway wrote: »

We are not ones for throwaway Christmas clothing here:
Pickle is about to celebrate his 4th Christmas:
His 'reindeer slipper socks' are on their 4th (and last) Christmas - they really are a bit small - but he's loving them again, and socks stretch.

His only Christmas jumper is on it's 3rd (and last) Christmas - definitely no growing room left in that one.

Hubby has bought him a new one for Christmas, but it's at least two sizes bigger than all his other clothes, so I imagine it will last the next few years.

In our local parental online community, we have a variety of 'swaps' threads - Wellies - incredibly useful when we need two pairs at a time (one for home one for childcare) and children's feet grow so quickly.

We've also had a 'nativity/Christmas play' costume thread. I don't think we've had a Christmas jumper one this year, but I think I'll start one for next year.

Also- our tree was rescued from being skipped by a large supermarket chain who had it displayed at a conference for
About 6 hours!!! Hubby rescued one (pre-lit & all decorations included) I hope the other ones found a good home.

Christmas Eve - no Christmas Eve boxes here. Although, there is something going round book face at the moment that says, In Iceland, on Christmas
Eve you eat chocolate and read books - I think I'm going to participate in that tradition!

Wish.

It's my favourite Nordic tradition,they give each other books on Christmas Eve then they sit in bed all evening reading them and eating chocolate,sounds perfect to me :rotfl:

foxgloves

It's a lovely tradition, OBL & doesn't involve silly levels of spending or buying extra plastic. I also like the nordic-style spicy Christmas biscuits which you pierce with a skewer while they're still hot from the oven & hang on red ribbon. I made those one year using my star & heart cutters & they looked really festive. They weren't Mr F's best thing though, as he wasn't keen on the cardomom..... which he would scoff in a trice if it was in a curry!
Target tasks today include some festive cooking for the freezer but I must go & gather the dry laundry from the heated airer first.... the thing you have to remember with a heated one is that leaving it on once the laundry is dry is wasting money....... so I'm going to trot off & deal with that little money leak right now.
Talk to you later,
F x

carrielovesfanta

foxgloves wrote: »

No puking! And feeling better than yesterday. I don't know what that was all about... probably a little bit of a minor bug, but it hasn't progressed into anything more ominous & I've had a good night's sleep - I'm back on valerarian tablets to try & improve the early waking - so far so good.
F x

Glad you're feeling better foxgloves. It sounds a lot like what I had this week. Felt sick and squiffy tummy and rough but not full on bug!

carrielovesfanta

I want to get in on all the Christmas tradition posts now It's lovely reading them!

We didn't really have any Christmas eve traditions in our house apart from watching The Muppets' Christmas Carol. I have kept this going into my adulthood

Here in the NW, new Christmas eve pyjamas are a big thing. I'd never heard of this before but I took the idea down south to my mum's a few years ago and presented them all with new pjs which went down really well

A new Christmas eve tradition that hubs and I have started is having Christmas fettuccine for dinner. It's something that they mention in the film "The Holiday" (recommend if you haven't seen it). It's nice because it's light but rich at the same time so it feels special but not too filling.

foxgloves

I don't know the film, CLF, but I could go with Christmas fettucine!
I had honestly not heard of Christmas Eve pyjamas being 'a thing' until I started reading MSE posts. It is probably because I don't have children, but I can't recall my nephews having them when we've spent Christmas with them. I wouldn't thank anyone for pyjamas as I don't wear them.....or much else (well, in bed, obviously, lol, not generally, as I don't think the world is ready for that!)
So are Christmas Eve pyjamas just ordinary jamas which are given on the 24th? Or do they have to have a festive design, such as snoozy reindeer? And if it's the latter, won't kids have outgrown them by next Christmas? Oh, hang on, if Christmas jamas are a thing, then that doesn't matter, as there'll be new ones. Am just trying to get a handle on jama festivities.......
F x

foxgloves

And now for today's post.....
I got the weekly tediosity of ironing out of the way early doors so as to be able to enjoy my festive cook-up. I've had the fairy lights on along my big dresser (they're up all year as they make me happy) & an audiobook and I've made two loaf tins of sage & onion stuffing (one to take down with us on Christmas Day & one rolled forward for our own festive roast dinner when we get back), two tubs of bread sauce (ditto) & I've baked a modest tin of sausage rolls for the freezer. That just left a ball of pastry without a job to do, so I decided on my old festive faithful.......cheesy Christmas tree biscuits. Sooooooo easy, the sort of thing you'd make when your Nana gave you some leftover pastry to play with. I just roll it out, sprinkle it with a little grated cheese, fold it over & re-roll, then cut into shapes with my Christmas tree cutter. A brush with milk & a tiny sprinkle of paprika mixed with onion powder on top & into the oven. I can't really eat much pastry because of the naughty gallbladder, but Mr F assures me these are very nice with beer. Well, into the freezer with them for now, or he will start being a gannet when he gets in! The pastry was one of the packs I froze, which I made a few weeks ago with the just out of date white pastry fat I found at the back of the fridge. It was worth doing & I still have a pack left for making a quiche at New Year.
I've done my German, although not much as I wasn't really in the mood, so just my piano practice to do - I think I'll have a cup of tea while I do that - then I had better think about cooking tonight's meal. Tamale pie tonight.....a great way of stretching 100g of mince into a tasty filling & pretty healthy meal for two. I've found a few carrots which need using up plus a small amount of savoy cabbage so I think I might shred that & make carrot ribbons & stir-fry with garlic to go with it. I abhor food waste, so they will get used one way or another.
OK, piano time.
F xx

DawnW

I like the sound of your cheesy Christmas tree biscuits Foxgloves. I tend to make sweet(ish) biscuits with leftover pastry, roll out, dot with butter, sprinkle with a little brown sugar, mixed spice and whatever dried fruit I have, fold over, brush edges with water, seal, turn over, reroll a bit, cut a lattice pattern, brush with water, sprinkle with a little granulated sugar and bake. Cut into squares or fingers when done. My grown up kids still fight over them. They call them 'pastry things' :rotfl:

I will definitely be trying your cheesy version though, as I hadn't thought of that!

carrielovesfanta

foxgloves wrote: »

So are Christmas Eve pyjamas just ordinary jamas which are given on the 24th? Or do they have to have a festive design, such as snoozy reindeer? And if it's the latter, won't kids have outgrown them by next Christmas? Oh, hang on, if Christmas jamas are a thing, then that doesn't matter, as there'll be new ones. Am just trying to get a handle on jama festivities.......
F x

Just new jimjams from what I gather (although these days they might have a more festive design I think). I guess if the kids need new ones it's quite a nice time to get them