So deck those halls, trim those trees....

.....raise up cups of Christmas cheer

Taken from one of my favourite modern Christmas songs......well I say modern it's about 30 years old!

I had planned a post with pictures but for some reason the lappy is playing silly b*ggers and refusing to work. I have no idea how to put pictures on here using iPad so text only it is.

There is much excitement from the pups as its Christmas Eve. If we could bottle this we could have cheap, environmentally friendly energy for the entire world :)

I'll leave you with the immortal words, originally sung by Judy Garland in Meet Me In St Louis.

"Have yourself a Merry little Christmas"

Oh crumbs...

So the Christmas holidays have officially begun in earnest. Am I the only one it fills with dread? No? Just me then? Ho hum.....
OK dread is a bit of strong word but oh my word it's only day two and I am already shattered. You will of course sit and assume I've been dashing here, there and everywhere entertaining the kids. Nope. I haven't set foot outside of this house for 2 whole days. Cabin fever? Moi?
I've been on my feet all day doing various activities with the pups. Painting and glitter, colouring in Christmas pictures (sadly not one of them has chosen the picture of Mary and Jesus) and generally creating a mess that needs regular tidying in order to preserve my sanity (although I confess it was at breaking point after the state of the lounge again tonight).

There is one activity which is routinely begged for and is a holiday time staple in this house.

Baking.
Special requests were make for Christmas cookies. How I wish I'd never bought those Christmas themed cutters.
Since Pup1 has the memory of an elephant this promise was one I couldn't wriggle out of. So I originally planned biscuits with the pups and that was it. However for some reason I was struck by the urge. To do more baking. Next time I have this irrational desire someone please slap me round the face and bring me to my senses. Don't get me wrong I love baking. Just not 3 different items in one afternoon while practising being a UN peace negotiator.

Now bear in mind I am not a tidy cook, I tend to bake and create in a state of chaos. Add pups to the mix and it's increased tenfold as they jockey for positions to see best at the work top, demand to sniff, poke and stir the ingredients. I put things down and then I can't find them, several tea towels are used and please Father Christmas bring me a dishwasher. I've lost count the number of times today I've had to wash up.

My festive cutters. I hid the angel as quite frankly it's a total PITA to get the biscuit dough out of without severely deforming her wings. Likewise the Snowman one and his silly little brim on his hat. We need simple shapes and these ones fit the bill. Biscuits are now cooked and will be decorated tomorrow with glace icing and sprinkles because why would I want to give myself a break from cleaning up ;)

I've not used this tin for........mumble mumble well far too long anyway and for some reason I decided to bake some doughnuts. Or is it donuts? Really who cares....

Mix the batter according to the instructions. Be sure to dribble lots of excess batter over the tin because it will have been 40 seconds since you last had to tidy up. By the way do you like Pup1's Iron Man picture lurking at the side. Told you I work in chaos, it was dicing with death sitting there.

The finished goods, liberally rolled in cinnamon and sugar. Only it would only really stick to the one side of the doughnut. Oh well who cares. Note to self oiling the pan is totally insufficient to allow the doughnuts to be removed whole. It is necessary to butter the entire pan. Another note to self......even partially broken they still slip down a treat.

Biscotti. Chocolate with mixed nuts. Don't ask me what nuts as I haven't got a clue.
Supposed to also go down very nicely with a coffee or some booze. If I ever get the peace and quiet for 5 mins I'll try it and be sure to let you know.

Will this stuff last til Christmas. I doubt it.
Will I be making it all again in time for Christmas? Get knotted.
I shall be doing as nature intended and serving up Cadbury's Chocolate Yule Log and sitting on my butt watching The Santa Clause. Because for some strange reason I have thing for Tim Allen.

Choo Choo......

So as usual the curse of not enough hours in the day has meant that I have not made a single Christmas card this year <blush> Not even one of the ones I experiemented with in a previous blog. It's been a whirl of Nativity plays, meeting friends and their new babies, meeting other friends for coffee and chats and general running around, keeping house and trying deperately to finish the Christmas shopping. Sympathy? Nah of course not as in all likelihood you are doing exactly the same thing.
So Christmas crafting has been non existant. Til today. Do you remember in this post a mention about a jingle bell from The Polar Express. Well I've finally done the final push to get them finished.

Thank heavens for free box templates on the Internet :)

Pick your card, cut out using a craft knife for ease, score and using double sided sticky tape glue it together. Simples.

Add a jingle bell (from Father Christmas of course) and attach some suitably jaunty ribbon.

Nestled in the box all nice and snug. OK the ribbon will be tucked in but I chose to leave them out for asthetic reasons for the pic......

I sliced some wrapping paper to wrap round the box to finish it off.

Add a little strip to form the bow going the other way and here it is. Father Christmas' first gift of Christmas. Here's hoping the little pups actually get the idea behind it......

I'll show you mine.....

.....if you show me yours. Christmas tree that is.

Yep all you tree purists, it's artificial. I love real trees, the smell of them, the tradition of picking them (A christmas tree farm is about 3 minutes drive away) just the sheer pleasure of bringing the outdoors into your house. However my artificial tree doesn't make my hands itch after handling it, drop needles that small kids and cats can make a mess with and it fits snugly into the same place in my lounge each year. Maybe in a few years I'll switch back to real tree but for now I'll stick with Christmas I can pack in a box. My heartfelt thanks to the person who actually managed to make artificial trees look good ;)

So all you style gurus what adorns the top of your tree? Star or Angel?

I am afraid I pick an angel every time. All the stars we've had were plagued with stability issues, they just couldn't commit to a relationship that involved clinging to the top of a spindly bit of twig for dear life. Whereas my Angel has the benefit of her skirt as ballast.....

I am afraid for us though Christmas starts on 1st December. Yes I know the period we are in is technically Advent but the pups don't really understand that. December is my all time favourite month of the year so I like to squeeze as much fun, joy and excitement out of it that I can. So up go the decorations, out come the lights and break out the Christmas music and DVD's. It's time to bask in the warmth of the love of my family (when they're not bickering of course) and enjoy the season, cold weather and all round general happiness. No that doesn't include the gods of shopping, commercialism and consumerism, but sensible, affordable spending (I can't lay claim to having always done that but I am learning) and if all else fails spend nothing but time those that matter.

Out of my decorations I have some favourites, not all bought or indeed made by me.

 Pasta wreaths made by the pups last year. They had such fun making these and they've survived storage so they are now hanging on the window handles in the kitchen :)

So whenever you start your celebrations I hope you have a happy time.
Time for me to head off and watch It's a Wonderful Life for the 100th time.