its beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

Well, it kind of is.  Actually as the storm lashes away outside and I have several days graft ahead of me, its not quite there yet.  But it is creeping closer.  Every day another window (door?) on the advent calendar is opened..... So I know where we are.  Bub is very keen on knowing what number we are at.

One thing has been wonderful.  A couple of afternoons spent with my Bub making Christmas decorations. 

This year I made salt dough.  How easy was that!  Imaging all these years and I never every have.  Its easy, its surely cheap, and with microwave technology (I know, how modern....) it dries in a jiffy too.

I got the recipe here.  But essentially its just playdoh without the cream of tartar. Plain Flour, half as much salt, a tad of oil.  teeny bit of water.   Et voila.  I don't think its easily ruined.

We made star shapes and painted them all RED as in Pantone's colour of 2012.  Pantone say its Tangerine Tango.  But its just bright red to me.  Yummy.

I went to the supermarket and bought up ingredients for
Mince pies (I buy shop mincemeat and Jusroll.  It's quite enough effort to make em up and bake em I find)
Claire Smith's most delicious flap jacks EVAH
Mulled wine
chocolate truffles
and Sophie Dahl's peanut butter fudge. 

The only untested element of this is the fudge and Hub says he is up for the challenge.  He does like to learn new things.

The rest is either going to be consumed at one of 2 small child friendly minced pie and mulled wine early evening soirees, or going to be part of the BIG CHRISTMAS HAMPERS Hub and I have been putting together for the Parents over the last few years.