Twelfth Night

January 6th is Twelfth Night, or if you're superstitious, the last day to take down your Christmas decorations. But don't bin everything just yet! Here are a few things to save for a thrifty Christmas next year.

Cracker decorations- can be used to seal packets for some homemade treats next year:

Christmas cards- cut out to make gift tags:

You can recycle any leftover cards at Tesco supermarkets:

Long pieces of ribbon can be saved to wrap around smaller presents next year:

PS There are also some great Christmas bargains in the shops at the moment, to get you prepared early for Christmas 2013. Stick it all in a clearly marked box and you'll be laughing next year. Here are a few I found:

Waitrose 2 tier cake stand, £0.69:

Lindt Irish Cream Truffles, again in Waitrose, £1.14 (these are also available in special edition stracciatella flavour, yum!):

M&S Christmas dinner party invitations, £50p:

Happy crafting and sales shopping!

New Year's Resolutions

1. Blog some more and maybe even rescue Captain Sew from the depths of the attic, where he is hiding from the dust:

2. Exercise some more whilst enjoying the beautiful countryside in Gloucestershire:

3. Do enough of the house to host NYE at our house next year and hope it's as good as this year:

4. Stop nagging Dave. Or he might actually run away and live on a remote island:

5. Don't sweat the small stuff. Life's too short. Instead spend it appreciating the little things, like the sky this morning:

Here's to a happy and healthy 2013.

Lucy x

Mince Pies

You know Christmas is nearly here when you eat your first mince pie! So here's a recipe to make a batch and get that 'Christmas is coming!' feeling...

Ingredients:
225g cold butter, diced
350g plain flour
100g golden caster sugar
280g mincemeat
2 tbsp of milk
Icing sugar, to dust

1. To make the pastry, rub the butter into the flour, then mix in the sugar and a pinch of salt. Combine the pastry into a ball, adding a tbsp of milk if necessary to bring the dough together, although it should remain firm. Knead briefly.

2. Preheat the oven the 200℃ (180℃ for fan ovens)/400℉/Gas Mark 6 and grease 18 holes of two shallow muffin trays.

3. Roll the dough out on a floured board to around half a centimetre in depth and, using a cookie cutter slightly larger than the muffin tin circles, cut out 18 'bases' and press them into the tins.

4. Fill each pastry base with a couple of teaspoons of mincemeat. Be careful not to overfill.

5. Gather up the remaining dough from the bases, roll out to the same depth as previously and this time use a cookie cutter around the size of the muffin tin holes to make the tops. I used stars and hearts, but you could make full lids or use any shape you please.

6. Brush the tops lightly with milk (or a beaten egg if you prefer the glazed look) and bake in the centre of the pre-heated oven for around 20 minutes, or until golden.

If you want to make these in advance, they can be frozen after step 5. Mince pies make a lovely gift or treat to take to a friends, if you can resist gobbling them all up.

PS How do you eat yours? Hot? Cold? With cream? With brandy butter?