On the fourth day of advent my children made jamjar lanterns

 First we painted the surface of the glass jar with PVA glue and then we could layer tissue paper on top.  When the layers were finished, we painted another coat of glue over the top to make it slightly glossy.  We also added sequins.

on the third day of advent my lovely children made some bird food

We bought a block of suet, melted in the microwave and stirred in some ready mixed bird food (bought on the market), some peanuts and some raisins.  Then we put it empty yoghurt pots with a hole in the bottom and some string.  I left it to set in the fridge and shall hang it up in the garden in the morning.  The best ratio for this recipe is one part fat to two parts dry mixture.

on the second day of advent my lovely children wrote some letters to Father Christmas

I printed out some paper from Activity Village and ...

E wrote:

 G wrote:

 and P wrote (with a little help from G):

on the first day of advent my lovely children made ....a plateful of Pepperkacker

We used this recipie:

150g butter
100ml. golden syrup
200ml. caster sugar
100ml. whipping  cream
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp cinnamon
Zest of a lemon
1 tsp baking powder
450g plain flour

Melt the butter, syrup and sugar in a pan and cool. Stir in the cream. Sift together the flour and spices and stir into the liquid mixture to form a dough. Chill in the fridge overnight. Roll out to a thickness of 3 mm, cut with a cookie cutter and bake at 175 C for 10 minutes, or until golden.

Winter Lights

Today we went to see the Winter Lights at Anglesey Abbey. It was fab ... the trees and plants were beautifully light up. We ate hot food and drank mulled wine (or hot chocolate) whilst we were entertained by some shadow dancers telling the story of Peter and the Wolf. Then we carried on walking past the beautifully still river with stunning reflections to a bubble machine and Jazz band.  I really enjoyed myself but sadly tickets have all sold out for this year - I can't wait for next year. 

Hannukah

To find out other religions, the girls and I enjoyed sharing this book:


 

It explains the reasons for Hanukkah including the story of  the Maccabees battle and the story of the oil. The girls enjoyed listening and then helped me prepare and eat Latkes and Sfenz. 

The recipe for Sfenz I got from the bbc website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/sfenzlibyanhanukkahd_87526)

You need: 

For the syrup

• 150ml orange blossom honey
• 50ml/2fl oz water
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp orangeflower water (although I didn't have any)
• few drops vanilla essence
  
  

For the doughnuts

• 2 eggs beaten
• 50g sugar
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 150g plain flour
• the zest of 1 orange
• 50g chopped almonds

Method:

1. For the syrup, mix all of the syrup ingredients in a pan and heat gently, stirring occasionally, until the honey is dissolved.
   
2. Bring to the boil, but avoid stirring until the syrup has thickened (this should take about 30 minutes), then keep on a low heat until needed.
   
3. For the doughnuts, mix together all the doughnut ingredients in a bowl e, adding a little more flour if necessary to make a firm dough. Knead for a few minutes until smooth.
4. Roll out the dough and cut out about 12 circles with a round pastry cutter (8cm). Use a smaller pastry cutter or glass to form the inner hole of the doughnut.  
   
5. Heat a deep pan, half-filled with oil, to 180C or until a small cube of bread sizzles and turns golden when dropped into it. Carefully place a few doughnuts at a time into the oil to deep-fry (they will puff up so don't overcrowd the pan). (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.)
   
6. When the doughnuts are golden-brown on both sides, remove and drain on kitchen paper and then place on a wire cooling rack positioned over a plate or more kitchen paper.
   
7. Remove the syrup from the heat and spoon over both sides of the still-warm doughnuts, turning them with a fork or tongs.
   
8. Serve straightaway.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Mad Hatter Hats

Inspired by a trip our trip to Alice in Wonderland, the girls enjoyed being (mad) hatters and decorating top hats (bought from amazon) with ribbons, sequins. feathers, butterflies and bows!  They used PVA glue to stick things on and have enjoyed wearing them round the house!