Christmas Travels.

Christmas where families live far apart results in a festive season of endless on train, off train, with huge suitcases. I know we are not alone in this (I have friends who have it much worse) but it is pretty tiering. We left our house on the 24th for Dixons parents in Sunderland, and yesterday was a pit-stop back at home, to pick up my parents presents now we're at my parents for our second Christmas. We will be back in Leeds to spend New Years with our friend-family, then straight back to work; which adds up to a very exhausted me.

It is worth it though, I love seeing our families spending time with each of them is pretty important and I can't imagine having Christmas without Dixon there. And, it really does make me appreciate my own home when we get to the end of it all. I'm never 100% comfortable unless I am in my own bed and able to work by my own schedule (and use my own coffee machine).

I hope your festive season is/was amazing, and that you're getting the chance to relax, appreciate and enjoy.

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Christmas v2.

Last year I  had a pretty shitty Christmas; on Christmas eve eve noro-virus got me. I was up all night throwing up, the next day was the same... It was awful. Dixon managed to get me us on a train to my parents house. Christmas Eve came around and the virus came for Dixon too. He was in a pretty bad way come Christmas morning, we had both hardly slept and hadn't eaten in a couple of days. We didn't want to be anti-social so dragged ourselves to my brothers for Christmas dinner; the food looked amazing and we filled our plates. But ate nothing. We weren't feeling fantastic by this point so we went and sulked away in the dark living room feeling sorry for ourselves. We lost our Christmas, and it really sucked. 

Today is the last day at work until the new year and I am making the most of feeling fit and healthy. The tree is already up. I'm going to bake, wrap and decorate.  I'm going to take very opportunity to see friends and family. I'm going to mull all drink possible and sprinkle cinnamon on everything I eat. I can't wait.

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Christmas Travels.

Not being a couple who has a driving licence and who's families live a hundred or so miles apart splitting Christmas equally can be hard (and tiering!). This year it was my parents turn to have us on Christmas day. My middle brother hosted Christmas dinner we had an amazing meal and ended it on the sofa watching films. Then yesterday we hopped on a couple of trains, with two suitcases stuffed with presents we've received and presents still yet to give. Up the country we shot for Christmas number 2 with the Dixons'. Lots more presents, chocolate and time with the puppies.

I love seeing both families equally, but hell, its tiring!  It means we don't usually get back into the comfort of our own bed until the new year (this year a little before) which is exhausting. This year it was made a little bit more complicated as we both got pretty ill (I wont go into detail but it involved a whole heap of throwing up). You know what though? I wouldn't change it. Although, our own car would make it that little bit easier.

Do you have to split your time at Christmas? How does it work out? I hope regardless you've all had an amazing, exhausting festive period and are looking forward to the new year.

Berry Cocktails

I finally gathered some things together to make cocktails, and have a bit of an experiment. This was one experiment I was completely willing to be my own guinea pig for.

I ended up with two really wonderful, simple drinks. Which I really want you to make, and share. They're both sparkling wine based, but of course you could substitute this for fizzy grape juice for the kids or those who don't drink. I am no mixologist, but hopefully I explain it well.

Raspberry and Vanilla 

You'll need:

       - Fresh Raspberries

       - Natural Vanilla extract

       - Sugar

       - Sparkling Wine - I used a Conegliano Prosecco (found at Sainsbury's) I chose it because of its fruit under notes, you don't need anything fancy but fruity rather than dry would be good. 

       - A sieve, wooden skewers.

First of all, in a cup, crush up 1-2 raspberries with 4tsps of sugar per glass you plan to make. Into the mixture add about half a shallow teaspoon of vanilla extract, or more to taste. In a glass pore your super chilled sparkling wine, add the raspberry mixture and stir. Whilst the mixture is all fusing together add a row of berries to a wooden skewer and roll them in sugar. Back to the wine mixture, sieve out the seeds and pull and pour the remaining liquid into a nice wine glass. It should be a beautiful pink-orange colour. Add your sugar berry skewer and serve. 

I think the best thing about this is that no-one has an excuse not to eat the fruit! I hate making punches and being left with a tonne of fruit at the end. Its sweet, sparkly and the vanilla adds extra depth.

Blackberry and Lemon

You'll need:

       - Frozen blackberries.

       - Lemon Bitter - I used Fee Brothers, alternatively if you want it to be less alcoholic and/or you can't get your hands on bitters, you can use Sanpellegino Limonata (basically, the best lemonade drink you can get, ya know) 

      - Sparkling Wine - As Above

      - Sugar

In a little bowl, soak your frozen blackberries in a little lemon bitter (you'll only need a drop or two per berry), this will start them defrosting. Sprinkle over a little sugar. You ideally want them to be soft on the outside and still chilled in the middle so they keep the drink cool. Add 2 or 3 berries of your soaked berries to a wine glass, juice should have been drawn out as they've defrosted so add a little of that too. Add your sparkling wine and a few more drops of bitter. Serve.

The blackberries will keep the drink chilled, and the bitter will add a little sharpness. The colour will be golden and more purple the longer it stands.

Give a little Hand-made.

I'm a big advocate for buying local, hand-made and from small businesses. Supporting those people is hella important to me. It feels a lot more special about having something that is more original than the mass produced stuff that chain-stores sell. And, it's always wonderful opening a present and knowing tonnes of though has gone into making it, and choosing it, just for you.

I think we should all be making the effort to buy a little more from those hard-working people who are trying to earn an honest, creative living (Lets face it, a lot of high-street stores haven't exactly behaved themselves recently). And, now that the holiday season is here we have the perfect opportunity to start!

I've put together a few goodies to entice you, and get your gift giving cogs ticking. Each of the below are beautifully hand-made in Britain;

1// Two little bird wall decorations, hand made in ceramic. The design is actually a vintage lace press, how amazing! The wonderful blue colour is perfect addition to anyones home - Ceramic Bird Couple from Prince Design UK.

2// I would have squeeled so much opening this as a little girl! Actually, I would now too. Sometimes the classic presents are the best, right? A great way to introduce small children to wildlife and art all in one - Colouring Book of Birds from Kate Broughton.

3\\ How cute is this bunny? House of Ismay has some really really wonderful little brooches, all relating to classic books, isn't that the smartest idea? Perfect for book & animal lovers alike - Watership Down Brooch from House of Ismay.

4\\ Soap! Everyone loves a smelly set at Christmas, right? Here you can choose two pieces of soap hand-made right here it Britain all specially boxed up for you. And how good was the Black Raspberry and Vanilla one sound?! Tasty. - 2 Soap Gift Set from Saffron Barr. 

5\\ Now this is beautiful! You get everything you need (minus the stuffing) to create your very own rag doll. A perfect little project for kids who have a creative side, something they can be proud of and keep forever. - Tilda the  Doll from Jane Foster.

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Gifts that Give.

This Christmas I have decided to give a few charitable gifts to my family and friends along side their main gifts. Charity is a tough thing to talk about around holidays. Money is tight. But when money is tight for us, its even worse for those who rely on charitable donations to keep their organisation afloat.

There are so many fun, interesting and meaningful gifts to choose from out there now. I think they're perfect for giving and that warm feeling you'll get is definitely worth it!

What about growing your own mango tree? Not only is it a great source of food, but something familys can sell at market or trade. Help families build up their livestock by buying a share in a farmyard. How about training up a pump attendant? £20 can give a villager 3 days training on maintenence to vital water pumps. And finally, adopting an animal is pretty standard, but what about adopting one of the last 800 mountain gorillas in Central Africa? Who could say no to that baby face!

You could always think a little closer to home. I'm going to be donating to the Whitehall Dog Shelter. I'll be giving enough for 8 doggy Christmas Dinners (thats 1 for each person I'm gifting to!). I'm going to make little cards to present them to my loved ones, and I hope they'll be super happy thinking about those little pups having a treat. I know I will be :)

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What about you, have you given a charitable gift before? What did you decide to give? And how to the receiver react?

Make your own wrapping paper.

With Christmas looming, I'm experimenting with some wrapping ideas. I'm thinking my own home-made wrapping paper in pastel blue and purple covered in triangles, with thick white ribbon. Making your own wrapping paper may not necessarily be cheaper but its definitely more fun, original and personal, plus its super easy.

You'll need to have:
     Plain wrapping paper (mine are from Paperchase), paint colour of choice, paint brush & pallet /or/ plastic tray, craft foam (self adhesive if you can get it, PVA if you can't), scissors and a pencil.

You'll need to do:
     Its super easy, start by cuting out your shape of choice from the craft foam. I went with triangles. Stars, hearts, circles, leaves, chevrons would all look great. Stick your foam onto your pin, keeping it central will mean you can apply the pressure more evenly. I used a mini rolling pin (from a kids baking set) so I could do one line at a time, with plenty of spaces between each shape.

     If you have plastic tray handy use that like you would with a roller brush. I didn't, so put a small amount of paint directly onto the foam with a brush. Weigh down your paper on a flat surface. Then, roll ! Once completely dry you can roll up and store until whenever you need it. Perfect for birthdays, Christmas, anniversary's etc.

Tips: Less is more when it comes to loading up your rollerstamp with paint, more will make it slip and stretch out the design, which isn't necessarily bad, but if you're wanting the designs uniform its best to avoid that.

I'm planning on doing a load more over the weekend, along with name tags. I'll let you know how it goes!