Trees and Traditions

I'm sure you know by now that we love our traditions in our house.

Especially those that involve Christmas.

Traditionally we wait until the second weekend in December before putting up our tree. This year that worked out particularly well as James was home from Stornoway for the weekend and so he could also help us out. He has a smiliar OCD attention to detail when it comes to adding the lights as I do and so it's good to have his help!

Early on Saturday morning he and I went out to choose the tree, while everybody else was still at home in their jammies. James chose the tree for me, then we took it home and left it out on the back patio for the branches to settle down once out of the netting.

Saturday was a busy day, with me organising everything we needed for the Piano Recital I was hosting for my piano pupils to perform at that evening. I spent a large part of the afternoon baking mince pies, cupcakes and peppermint bark for the recital. We also had to get along to the Village Hall early enough to set everything up, so there was no time for decorating the tree in the afternoon.

The recital was a lovely event and I was so proud of how every one of my pupils performed. We started the evening with hot chocolate and home baking, then the performances followed on. I think I might even make it a new Christmas tradition

We were back home from the recital in enough time to have some of the evening left for decorating our tree.

Opening the decorations boxes is always so exciting and everybody loves to go through the box talking about their favourite decorations.

Fraser kept himself busy while we put the lights on the tree.

I say 'we', but what I really mean is 'James'. He put the lights on while I held up the roll of lights and followed him backwards and forwards holding them for him.

Lights and tinsel on, ready for the mismatched ornaments to be added.

These are a couple of new decorations that I made this year. A yellow one for Fraser and a blue one for Ally.

It gets more than a little messy once everything is in full swing!

Our tradition is that the youngest puts the star on the top of the tree, usually helped by the oldest these days.

Isn't it pretty? 

Another of our December traditions is to have a little activity advent calendar. Every day contains a small activity, nothing too big as December is busy enough. Some of our activities have been/will be:

- write to Santa

- write out Christmas cards

- bake gingerbread men

- make paper chains

- a treasure hunt

- snowman pancake breakfast

- have supper under the tree

- Christmas Bingo

- Reindeer Game (like Beetle Drive)

- Christmas Movie Night (this one appears more than once!)

- Family Games Night

- Make marshmallow snowmen

- put up the tree

-go to the big boys' school concert

The treasure hunt is always just little random clues I make up and we hide around the house. The treasure is always some new Christmas jammies for the younger boys. The older boys tend not to wear jammies so there is no point in buying them some Christmas ones! 

I thought I might think of a different prize this year but for a few weeks Ally had been saying that he really hoped we would do the treasure hunt this year and that the prize would be new jammies. So I stuck with the tradition that he loved.

We had the treasure hunt at the weekend. Fraser and Ally loved racing around the house solving the clues, and they loved their treasure when they found it.

Do you have any Christmas tree/advent traditions that you do every year? I'd love to hear what they are if you do!

Mince Pies {Gluten & Dairy Free}

Today's Christmas free-from recipe is another Christmas staple - mince pies. 

These are a current favourite of 5 year old Fraser's, who could easily tuck away at least 3 of these in a sitting.

For years gluten free pastry seemed to be my kryptonite. I love working with 'normal' pastry, and it's so simple to put together, but whenever I tried making a free from pastry I could never make one that would roll out without crumbling. I'm pretty sure if you've ever tried making a free from pastry then you will know the issues!

But then I stumbled across a magic ingredient which instantly perfected my gluten free pastry.

And meant that now my free from pastry could roll out like this...

That's quite a change in texture and rollability from a free from pastry without the xanthan gum.

Now I happily make free from pastry, without any of the crumbly frustrations of before.

You can find xanthan gum in the free from sections of most supermarkets (although I'm sure that the Stornoway Tesco is one of the stores that doesn't have it - the Coop does though!) If you are struggling to find it, I got the tub above from Amazon and it's lasted for ages.

I always make my own mincemeat for putting in my pies. I'm just not overly keen on the spiciness of shop bought versions. Like the Christmas Pudding recipe I shared yesterday, it really isn't as labour intensive to make your own as you might think. I don't think you can go wrong with the recipe from Nigella's How to be a Domestic Goddess. I've used it for years! If you are using shop bought mincemeat don't forget to double check that it is free from.

So for your free from pastry you will need:

8oz gluten free plain flour

2 tablespoons icing sugar

1 tsp xanthan gum

4oz dairy free margarine

1 egg yolk

2-4 tbsp cold water

12 bun tray

circle cutter

star cutter

mincemeat

- Put the flour, icing sugar and xanthan gum into a food processor and mix together quickly. If you don't have a food processor then just mix together in a bowl.

- Add the margarine and blitz until all the margarine is blended in and it looks like fine breadcrumbs. Or use your hands and do it the old fashioned way, rubbing the margarine into the flour with your fingers.

- In a cup mix the egg yolk with 2 tbsp of the cold water. Add this to the food processor while it is running (or add to your bowl and mix together with a knife) and watch for it all coming together into a ball of dough. You may have enough liquid for it to come together into a dough or you may have to add a tbsp or two more of the water. Don't let it get too soggy, you are looking for something that comes together in a bowl and will be rollable. If you are making it in the food processor it will come together in a matter of seconds.

- Wrap the dough up in cling film or a plastic bag and put it into the fridge to rest for around half and hour.

- Remove from the fridge, dust your work surface with some gluten free flour, put your ball of pastry down, sprinkle more flour on top and roll out until it is round about 1cm thick. I've never actually thought about how thick it should be. Not too thick, but then not so thin that it will break when you pick it up. Maybe look at my pictures above for a guideline if you aren't too sure!

- Cut out circles of the pastry and place into a 12 bun tin. Keep rolling and cutting out circles and also some smaller stars for the toppings.

- Add about a teaspoon full of mincemeat into each circle and top with a star. 

- Bake at 180C for around 20 mins. I find that gluten free pastry doesn't brown up as much as an ordinary pastry so watch that you don't over cook them.

- Let them cool and then dust with a generous sprinkling of icing sugar.

- These are so amazing when eaten still warm from the oven. The pastry is super light and melt in the mouth when they are warm. 

One of our favourite December evening suppers is warm mince pies with some warm Winter Punch - we love the Belvoir Fruit Farms Winter Punch.

Christmas Pudding Recipe {Gluten Free, Dairy Free & Nut Free}

Traditionally you are supposed to make up your Christmas pudding on the last weekend in November, but although I love keeping many traditions I don't think I've ever managed to get my pud made on that weekend, despite my best intentions earlier on in the month! 

This year I thought it was really going to be the year that I managed it, especially since I made my Christmas Cake way back in September, but once again it is December before I find myself making it. Still, there is no harm in making the pudding later than tradition dictates. One year I was even as late as the week before Christmas when I made it and I don't think there was any adverse effect on the flavour or texture of the pudding. 

I do like to get it done and out of the way as early as possible though, since there is so much going on in December. And the purists do say that getting it made early means it has time to mature and increase in richness.

I've been making our Christmas Pudding gluten, dairy and nut free for quite a number of years now, and the recipe I use is a combination of bits and pieces from other recipes I have used in the past. Most Christmas Pudding recipes use suet, but suet isn't gluten free (at least I haven't found any that is) and so I use margarine rubbed into the flour as the fat in my recipe.

This recipe works equally well if you have no need of free from ingredients and use 'normal' ones instead.

And if you are wondering why bother making your own Christmas Pudding when there are so many available to buy (although have you tried finding a decent gluten & dairy & nut free one?), then I will say that a homemade one is much more superior in every way. It is incredibly simple to make, with no skills involved other than mixing everything together, and the only time consuming part is the 5 hours that you need to give it to steam. But that's hardly labour intensive!

 Not only does it taste great, it's also much much bigger, and you can bask in the domestic-goddess type glow of satisfaction when you see it flaming on the table on Christmas Day.

You will need:

250g mixed dried fruit

50g dried cranberries

150g prunes, chopped

200ml brandy, or alcohol of your choice

100g Gluten-Free Plain Flour

125g wheat-free breadcrumbs (about 4/5 slices of bread, blitzed in a blender)

100g dairy free margarine

150g brown sugar

1tsp ground cinnamon

1/2tsp ground cloves

1 tsp baking powder

zest of 1 lemon

zest of 1 orange

1 cooking apple, peeled and grated

3 beaten eggs

~ Put the dried fruit, cranberries and prunes in a bowl, pour over your chosen alcohol, mix well, cover and leave to soak overnight.

~ Add the flour and margarine to a bowl and rub the margarine into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

~ Add the rest of the ingredients into the flour/margarine mix and mix together with a wooden spoon before adding your soaked fruits and any leftover liquid, then mix well again.

~ Traditionally every member of the family is supposed to take a turn mixing the pudding, and according to Nigella you were supposed to mix from East to West in honour of the Wise Men!

~ Once everything is well mixed, which really doesn't take long at all, tip the mixture into a greased 3 pint bowl or pudding basin.

~ Cover with greaseproof paper with a crease in it to let the mixture expand, tied with string. Or the lid if you have a proper pudding basin!

~ Put the pudding in the top of a steamer and steam away gently for 5 hours (yes, really). I tend to make mine just before dinner and then let it simmer away until later in the evening.

~ Let the pudding cool and then keep it somewhere safe until Christmas.

~ On Christmas day it will need steamed again for 3 hours. To save on hob space I usually cook my potatoes in the bottom of the steamer for part of that time.

~ Run a knife around the edge of the bowl before putting a plate over the bowl and turning it upside down and gently shake the pudding out.

~ Heat a ladle full of brandy over the gas hob (or in a pan) and then light when it is warm enough.

~ Quickly pour it over the pudding and take it to the table while everyone 'Ooohs' in wonder.

Christmas Part Two - The Bit In Between, When You Don't Know What Day It Is & Blasting Into The New Year

Continuing our round up of the Christmas season. If you missed part one, The Build Up and The Big Day, then you can read it here.

The Bit In Between, When You Don't Know What Day It Is

Those lazy days between Christmas and New Year are great aren't they? When you don't have to be anywhere or do anything, and when you can legitimately laze around because it's so dark most days that nobody has the energy to do anything anyway!

We didn't hibernate the whole time though. Yes, we made the most of hanging around at Granny and Shen's house and playing with all the new stuff everyone got, but we also made the effort to get out of the house sometimes and blow off the cobwebs. Poor Granny was struck down by the flu the day after Boxing Day so that was another reason we made the effort to go out some days - just to give her a bit of quiet to rest!

One of the first requested places to go was the boys' favourite coffee shop, and village shop, where Fraser enjoyed seeing their giant gingerbread man decoration!

We followed this up with a late afternoon walk along the beach, where it was funny seeing snow on the sand.

The boys all indulged in their favourite beach game of wave chasing, well all except for David who had no wellies.

And of course Calum (15) took a few photos. 

Those days between Christmas and New Year are perfect for a little treat or two.

I decided that these in between days would be the perfect time to try and learn a new skill.

For years now I have often thought about how I would like to learn to knit properly. Usually I haven't done anything about it as there are still so many things I have on my 'want to crochet' or 'want to cross stitch' lists! But I have always wanted to try knitting a pair of socks, and after seeing the most amazing sock yarn in the wool shop in Stornoway one day I thought, well why not now? So I also bought the circular needles, downloaded the Winwick Mum Sock-a-long Tutorial that I have read so many good reviews about and set about it. 

How I had to concentrate in the beginning stages! Bear in mind that the only thing I have ever knitted before was a straight scarf, many years ago, and it was not a skill that I found came naturally to me like crochet did.

But I stuck with it and soon had the beginnings of a cuff forming! 

Because of the concentration levels required at the beginning I only worked on it for short times.

Another day, which even had a tiny bit of blue sky, we went out for another beach walk. This was at the request of David, who the previous day had bought himself a lovely new pair of wellies. So of course he wanted to test them out properly!

This was the beach in my dad's village, the one with the fresh water springs that we always need to drink from. It really is the purest water you will ever taste!

James took along some of his new art supplies and set about doing a quick water colour of the cliffs while we explored the beach.

Fraser (4) found some old rope on the beach and pretended to go fishing.

Parts of the cliffs and seaweed were frozen.

He would have sat there all afternoon had the rain not chased him away back to the car!

Blasting into the New Year

The boys all enjoy being able to stay up until past midnight on Hogmanay to see in the New Year, and this year was no different.

I finished the old year by getting a reasonable looking cuff finished on my socks.

And spent an hour or so back in my comfort zone planning what to do with the yarn pack my sister in law had given me for Christmas.

Ally (8) dressed particularly smartly to see in the New Year.

And Fraser enjoyed being able to drink Shloer after midnight!

When we came home from the New Year's Day service at church I took the chance to grab a photo of all of the boys while they still looked smart, and was delighted that out of the many attempts to get one of everybody looking/smiling/not blinking/not messing about I got this one. It's definitely one for the wall.

James took on the job of making the table look nice for New Year's Day dinner.

He folded all the men's/boys' napkins like this...

And the ladies' ones like this...

Dinner was a lovely roast beef, and my contribution was the Yorkshire Puddings...

...and the meringues for pudding. I had so many egg whites left over from the egg yolks that I used to make the pastry for the dozens of mince pies I made the week before that meringues seemed the sensible option for pudding!

Of course, only one of the boys can eat meringues as the others all have an allergy to egg whites, so I made up a chocolate Christmas pudding thing for them.

There was also a third option for pudding, and one that caused great hilarity amongst everyone.

My dad told us all that he was going to try flambeing some pineapples. He hadn't tried it before, but seemed confident enough. I think he's been watching one too many Masterchef!

Everyone wanted to watch Shen set the pineapples on fire, and so everyone came and gathered round the cooker.

No one was quite prepared for how high the flames would go though, and I wish I had filmed the shrieks that came from everyone.

I did get photographic evidence of the massive flames though!

The fire theme continued later on in the evening too. Once everything was cleared up from dinner we all went outside for some fireworks and sparklers.

We rounded off our fun start to the New Year with a game of good old charades.

Before our holiday came to an end we had to have one more beach trip. We met up with friends there, and his time we made sure it was at low tide so that we could walk along to the caves that you can only get to at low tide.

That blue sky very quickly disappeared and we were all completely soaked by the heavy rain by the time we left the beach later on. Somehow it doesn't seem so bad getting rained on at the beach. Well I don't think so anyway!

Just before we left Granny and Shen's I could see my sock starting to look like a sock.

And then it was time to head back home again. Somehow, despite the car being absolutely packed when travelled up for Christmas, and despite leaving with even more stuff than we arrived with, we still managed to fit everything into the car!

It's always sad leaving, but we had timed our return to make sure that there were still some days of holidays left before school went back, so there was still some holiday fun to look forward to.

We were thankful that the weather also behaved on our return journey.

Back home and unpacked there was the inevitable fill up the cupboards with food shop. I thought we might actually need two trolleys for it!

After a few more lazy days, the last day of the Christmas holidays came.

I thought we should do something fun to round off the holidays and so everyone chose to go to the indoor crazy golf.

It was a close fought game, and I'm proud to say that I was second over all!

It was all less than a month ago, but now that school has been back for a couple of weeks and we have settled into all of our old routines it seems so much longer ago already. I'm glad that we were able to fill up so many more happy memories for another year.