Pine Cone Christmas Crafts For Children

Last year our kindergarten made these cute little pine cone angels and Christmas trees with the children and hung them in the windows. The are so simple that toddlers can make them and are fun to decorate.

You will need:

Pine cones (obviously!)

Paint

Beads

Glue

Glitter in silver, gold or red

Ribbon or coloured string

Small wooden or polystyrene balls

Gold doilies

For the Christmas Trees:

Paint the pine cones with green paint. While the paint is still wet, sprinkle the tips with glitter. 

Leave to dry then glue coloured beads onto the tips as the baubles. 

Finish by glueing or tying a lenth of coloured string or ribbon to the top so that you can hang your decoration.

For the Angels:

Holding the pine cone flat side up, dab the tips with coloured glitter glue or with glue and sprinkle with glitter. You may want to balance the pine cone in a small cup to keep it steady and allow you to use both hands.

Draw a face onto the wooden or polystyrene ball and glue it to the centre of the flat surface, as in the photo. Next cut some lengths of wool, string or ribbon for the hair and glue it in place. 

Fold the doilie into quarters and then cut out two quarters. Glue them to the back of the angel, gold side facing outwards. 

Finish by glueing or tying a lenth of coloured string or ribbon to the angel so that you can hang your decoration.

A Festive Jar Of Walnuts

This is a simple but very effective way to brighten up a shelf, ledge, mantelpiece or windowsill for the festive season. 

Just fill a kilner jar with walnuts (pine cones or chesttnuts would work either), tie a gingham ribbon round the neck of the jar and place it on a surface with a backdrop of holly, ivy and other greenery of your choice.

This Is Motherhood #017

Homemade Christmas Food and Drink Gifts - Part Two

I am spectacularly late on this. Seriously. The production time on this post would rival that spent on any Hollywood blockbuster. The budget was ever so slightly lower though. 

On the 14th November, on the spur of the moment, I decided I would film the making of my homemade foodie gifts. What I neglected to take into account was the amount of editing a spur of the moment vlog needs. Especially when there are countless star appearances by Number Three. He even attempted a few stunts, but I literally caught him in time. 

But anyway, back to the matter at hand - making a few cheap and cheerful, quick and easy food gifts.

Are you in need of some last minute gifts? Does your creativity need a culinary outlet? Or do you just need a way to get rid of all the bottles and jars you've been hoarding all year? 

Whatever the answer, you have come to the right place. Take a look at my short vlog and see the gorgeous, tasty edible gifts you can make in no time, with very little effort, no cooking and very few ingredients. 

In this vlog you'll learn how to make:

 - Candy Sugar in Grand Marnier, for pepping up punch, mulled wine black tea or coffee

 - Homemade Vanilla Sugar, for adding an extra depth of flavour to baking

 - Layered Seasonings in a Jar or Grinder

 - Homemade Seeded Brown Bread Mix, just add buttermilk before baking (get the full recipe here)

You'll be amazed how much you can make in five minutes!

Your shopping list:
Caster sugar
Vanilla pods
Orange liqueur
Candy sugar
Sea salt (coarse)
Black pepper
Oregano
Chili flakes
Brown flour
White plain flour
Bicarbonate of soda (bread soda)
Fine salt
A selection of seeds (linseed, poppy, pumpkin)

P.S. In an ideal world (or on a better organised blog) you would find here at the end of the post some lovely printables to pin, print or download. But this is the real world, my real world to  be exact, so maybe there'll be printables next year. If I think of it on time.

Compromising on Tradition, But Loving The Cookies

During the summer, I mentioned how the memories my children have of summer are so different to my own childhood memories. Today an article of mine was published on The Irish Times website. It looks at how The Bavarian and I have tried to bring the traditions we grew up with into our children's lives.

As with many aspects of marriage and family life, establishing traditions involves compromise. Whose family dinner was better and should be passed on? Should we start our own tradition as a family? In our case, the main difficulty I had was bringing in something Irish to the German traditions that surround us here and which The Bavarian grew up with.

You can read the article here but if you just want to cookie recipes, then click here.

An Old-Fashioned Christmas for Us

The commercialisation of Christmas bothers me more with each passing year. Maybe it is because I am getting older. Maybe it is because Christmas is being forced upon us earlier and earlier in the year. Maybe it is because of phrases like 'the religious side of Christmas' (hello! it is a religious celebration, only existing because of Christianity. The commercial side is the add-on). 

Whatever the root cause, I have been aching for an old-fashioned Christmas for years now. A Christmas with a nativity play and carols, with hearty homemade food, a tree dressed in decorations with a history. A Christmas of reading and walks and board games, of card games and candlelight and Christmas music in the background.

That is my wish for this Christmas. We will be at home in our own house, The Bavarian, our three sons and I. We're having friends over for drinks tomorrow, we're spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day by ourselves. We'll have sincere gifts, nice homey meals and good wine.

We won't have new PJs, a Christmas Eve box or a mountain of presents. But we will have candlelight and snuggles on the sofa. We'll have 'It's A Wonderful Life" and games of Scrabble and Uno. Basically, we'll relax. What a perfectly old-fashioned thing to do at Christmas.  

Cocoa and Knoedelbrot

I though I was doing things right, going to bed with a hotwater bottle and a book at ten pm. But here I am at twenty past midnight, wide awake, drinking cocoa and with the word knoedelbrot* stuck in my mind. 

Not being able to sleep is not a thing that happens to me. Outside of late pregnancy, I have only once gotten up in the middle of the night because it was preferable to lying snug in my bed. But tonight my mind is racing with unwritten to do lists. Only fours days till Christmas. I really must. I can't forget to. What about the. Will I remember to. 

I know that none of these things really matter. We have enough in the house to keep us fed for the few days the shops are closed. The presents are, all bar one, bought and stashed away. Santa never wrapped my presents when I was a child, so I don't think the children will mind if he doesn't get round to wrapping theirs. There will be presents under the tree. Good one at that.

We are not having visitors after the 23rd, so no cleaning needs doing. The tree and other decorations are up. The Christmas mugs have been hauled up from the cellar. 

THE STOCKINGS! Jesus, where are the stockings? I was about to type that everything Christmas-related has been brought up from the cellar, but the stockings....I haven't seen the stockings! [Adds stockings (seach cellar or buy new) to list]

OK. New plan. New list.

1. Scrap all other lists

2. Do not make mental lists being made while not being able to sleep

3. Make easy meal plan for 21st to 26th and stick to it

4. Put Christmas books, dvds, cds and board games in one spot in sitting room

5. Make final trip to post office and supermarkets (buy stockings!) on Monday

6. Do not forget the knoedelbrot

7. Forget about remembering the knoedelbrot and go to sleep

*Knoedelbrot is chopped up stale bread rolls used for making bread dumplings, Semmelknoedel, the one food Number One has asked for this Christmas.

The Dos and Don'ts of Bringing Children to a Christmas Market

Do:

Get them a mug of Kinderpunsch (hot, non-alcoholic punch)

Point out the twinkly fairy lights, the Christmas tree and any other light effects

Make sure they at least try some of the delicious, sweet and savoury food on offer

Let them go on the carousel

Bring them to see the crib

Make sure they see the handcrafts on display

Explain what they should do in case they get separated from you

Remember that their eyes are much lower down than yours. They may only see peoples bags, elbows and the backs of jackets

Expect a few grumpy moments after the initial awe

Don't:

Let them out of your sight for a moment

Say "we're not staying long", unless you really aren't

Promise what you can't deliver. Check in advance what events are on, what is on display, etc. before you go, if possible

Let them touch the items on display at the stall. It could end up costing you a lot.

Drink too much mulled wine

Nostalic Christmas Decorations

I've spent the day getting Christmas sorted - the goose and other meats ordered, the presents bought and wrapped, the cards written and posted. I set myself a tough goal and I got through a surprisingly large number of the items on my to do list, but not everything.

Tomorrow we are buying the tree and I had hoped to root out all the decorations in the cellar. But time just hasn't allowed for that. I had to tick off other equally important items like listening to Micheal Buble's  Christmas album and drinking mulled wine while revising my list. 

We have a big selection of decorations that has been built up over the years - Newbridge silver gifts, blue and white ceramic baubles from a trip to Amsterdam, Villeroy and Boch glass mistletoe pendants, as well as several pieces from Christmas markets. 

This weekend, the collection was added to with a couple of lovely nostalgic pieces from the Christmas market in Regensburg, Bavaria. My dad was visiting and treated his older two grandsons to their choice of decoration each from a stall with a huge and varied selection of nostalgic decorations.

Number One chose a cute little squirrel while Number Two chose about five different things before settling on an igloo. 

I love that they didn't go straight for the snowmen or Santas. And I'm relieved that they didn't opt for the fire engines or police cars. 

I was so busy taking it all in, I completely neglected to buy anything for myself. I did put my eye on this gorgeous deer, although he is rather large for hanging on a tree. 

Just look at the colours! Not to everyone's taste, I imagine, but they are so vibrant and eye-catching, aren't they? 

They remind me of the delicate baubles my parents had when I was very small. One would always break, either being hung or being taken down on Little Christmas. Fingers crossed the squirrel and the igloo with survive a few Christmases!

Christmas in One Day

I have an ambitious plan for today. I am going to organise Christmas. 

Tomorrow we are getting the tree. 

Today everything else is being done. 

ALL the presents will be bought. 

ALL the presents will get wrapped. 

The goose will get ordered from one butcher. 

The special Christmas Eve sausages will be ordered from another butcher.

The decorations will be brought up from the cellar. 

The Christmas CDs will be found.

The cards will be written and posted. 

Love Actually will be watched.

Mulled wine will be drunk.

From nought to Christmas in 24 hours.

Wish me luck. 

Hitting The Christmas Markets

It may be a bit quiet here on the blog for the next week or so. The Christmas markets have started and as a result we will have a steady stream of visitors over from home to visit them.  

Soon I'll be sharing photos and tips for any of you who may want to plan a trip for next year. Germany's Christmas markets really are a highlight and one of the best ways to get into the festive mood. 

Getting all your Christmas shopping done while surrounded by twinkly lights, the scent of cinnamon and vanilla in the air, a mug of mulled wine in one hand and a bratwurst in the other - for me the magic hasn't faded yet. I hope it never will. 

Homemade Festive Food Gifts

I don't know why but Christmas is very much about food, isn't it? Much more so than any other day of the year. We plan for ages in advance what we are going to eat, we do mountains of food shopping and we give and receive hampers. I love all of that, but I think I enjoy the hamper making best - all the decisions of what to make, wondering which combinations to give people and how o decorate it all.

Back in my student days I worked in Magill's delicatessen in Dublin and used to put together dozens of hampers in the run up to Christmas. The days were long and the shop was cold and by Christmas I was sick of the sight of cellophane and sticky tape, but I never tired of the food. Chutneys, relishes, jams, cheese crackers, spice mixes, Stollen, pasta, Pannetone and beautiful marzipan creations passed through my hands into the baskets and made their way under other people's Christmas trees.

The inspiration I gathered in Magills has contributed to my love of making homemade food gifts for friends at Christmas. It is such a satisfying thing to do - to take a jar and fill it with lots of good things, seal it, pretty it up with a ribbon and a label and bring it to a friend. 

If you're not a jam-maker or a chutney lover, fear not. There are plenty of other options - from homeamde chocolates to spice mixes and crackers. I'll be posintg tips, tricks and recipes for homemade food gifts over the next few days. I've even made a little video for you of some of my favourite quick and easy edible gifts. Maybe some the of inspiration I gathered will pass over to you!

The Arrival Of Advent With Its Wreaths, Calendars and Cookies

By now I have made a fair few mentions of Advent and the traditions that go with it here. Since last week I have been busy as a beaver with all sorts of crafts projects as well general making and baking, with the result that the house looks great and smells delicious. 

My Husarenkrapfen - jam-filledhazelnut biscuits

I'm quite content in myself knowing that, come what may before Christmas, the house has a basic level of festive appearance and there is always something tasty to be eaten with a cuppa. The nearer we get to Christmas, the more the scent of a cinnamon and clove candle will fill the house and the flicker of my real-log-fire dvd in the will be noticable in the background. (Oh, how I miss a real fire in Winter!). The Christmas decorations and the tree will be put up, visitors will begin to arrive and those cups of coffee will be replaced with mulled wine. 

But back to the here and now - last week I wrote about my salvaged shutters and how I hoped to turn them into some form of decoration for the house throughout Advent. I was sure, as I am with every project I begin, that I would find the time to decorate in leisure. By Saturday one of the shutters had been dusted, scrubbed and freed from as much dead ivy as possible. Then came the hard part - how to decorate it. 

My head was buzzing with ideas of my own as well as with inspiration from my Pinterest boards. And so Sunday morning saw me sat on the living room floor surrounded by ribbons, wreaths, stars and snowmen, candles, jars and pine cones. I spent a happy hour or so fiddlling about and trying to bring my ideas to life. My original plan to go with a green and silver theme just didn't look right in our red and white living room. The end result is more cosy chalet than sleek elegance, but I like it. It works here. 

The following day, Monday, Operaton Advent Calendar kicked off. Since moving into our house five years ago, we have built up a lovely Advent calendar tradition. I decorate the stairs in ribbons, fairy lights and a garland and, once the children are in bed, on the eve of December 1st I hang the homemade Advent calendar. 

This year the calendar is filled with a mixum-gatherum of toffees, chocolates, Christmas tree shaped pasta, mini bath salts and a few tiny little toys. Other years it has been filled with Playmobil figures and their tiny accessories or with collectable stickers. 

Seeing the boys go to bed excited and wake the next morning even more excited about something so simple is wonderful. It gives me a lovely warm, motherly feeling to know that they love this tradition of ours as much as I do. It is a little like a rehersal for Christmas Eve. 

Pre-Christmas Thoughts

The first of November is an important date to me. Up till Halloween, I am firmly in Autumn mode and cannot bear the sight of Christmas decorations in the shops or TV ads for anything related to Christmas. But once the 31st October has passed, my mind begins to race with ideas and plans for Advent and Christmas. 

No matter what else I am doing, at the back of my mind there is a little thought that simply will not rest. He sits there with his notepad and scribbles away, copying down ideas from anything he sees, plotting and planning which recipes to cook or bake, how to decorate the house, where to hang the Advent calendars, what to fill them with, ...... . Inevitably his list is too long for me to live up to but I love that he is there. 

Around mid December he takes a break and is generally replaced by another little thought, just as dedicated to his role. Unfortunately his task is to be anxious and he constantly asks "Where'll you find the time to....?" or "Have you forgotten...?". Occasionally he'll remind me of the list his colleague compiled and how little of it has actually come to fruition. I like to think he's playing devil's advocate to spur me on, but I have a feeling he's just being nasty.

Generally speaking his shift ends somewhere around the early afternoon on Christmas Eve. The little guy who takes over from him is quite lazy compared to his predecessors. "D'ye fancy a drink?" he says. "Go on, a drop of hot port will get you into the festive mood. Sure you can make the stuffing while you drink it". He can be quite insistent. "Stick on a festive CD while the kettle is boiling. Light a cinnamon-scented candle", he says, putting his feet up and leaning back in his chair. He knows all the right buttons to press. So what can I do but give in and let the Christmas celebrations begin?