Christmas Preparations 2013
 

I made my cakes today. So far thats it for me. What have you done?

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I expected Aliantha to have listed things like sunscreen, bug dope, frozen margaritas, flip flops, etc.

Cakes look yummy though. :-)

They will look better when they are decorated. :)

The kids are giving little bags of their favorite granola to all their teachers this year. We already go through quite a lot of it ourselves, so I started doubling production way in advance so I wouldn't be killed in the first week in December. So far I have 6 of 13 bags ready and waiting.

Meanwhile I'm still looking for gift inspiration for the kids. I have a couple ideas, but I always have to come up with far more than I need so I can hand good ideas over to the various relatives who will otherwise buy them crap they will hate. I only have to come up with one gift for everyone else on my list, so they don't get to take up mental space for a few more weeks.

My office desk area as of yesterday. :-)

That doesn't look like the Christmas Cactus I'm familiar with. :haha:

Define "familiar". :D

"I know too much about cacti to be familiar with them. "

I've almost started thinking about Christmas gift lists. I also dream of fruitcake, but there's no point making any - I'm not supposed to eat it right now, and my family hates it. Sigh.

I like it.

I didn't think there were any of us left. Or maybe it's a Scots thing?

You're tempting me ... I may just throw caution to the wind and make fruitcake after all!

We used to make fruitcake with all dried fruits, none of the candied stuff, lots of nuts and a good rum soak. A lot of people would hear fruitcake and run away screaming, but I just figured more for me. :D

C9 ceramic LED lights. They will last 22 years at 3 hours per day. You can connect as many as 90 stands safely. $6.98 for 25b lights on a 14 ft strand. That's 8 in the picture. They are not quite as Jolly looking and warm as the traditional bulbs, but they're not as icy cold as the little clear lensed leds either.

I like the big c9 bulbs because they look festive in the daylight as well.
I need to decide if I am going to go with a full sized tree, or a little one on the coffee table. I think it might be smarter to go with a small tree this year so that I don't have to build up the ornaments supply in a hurry

The only candied fruit i use is ginger and cherries. The rest is rum soaked dried fruit. Also, almonds, walnuts and pistachios. I think this years cakes are going to be yummy. After baking, i sprinkled them with lychee liqueur. Now they are bundled up for a few days till i get my decorating supplies.

Wish I could have some.

I like fruit, nuts, cake, and rum. Someone local get the recipe and make me one. Stat!

American fruitcake is a whole different animal to fruitcake in the rest of the (alleged) English speaking world. Not sure what liking it is supposed to do with Scots either :/.

Do you think maybe I shouldn't bother finishing putting the decorations away from last year? :lol:

I have bought advent calendars for the rest of the clan

What is american fruitcake like? Recipe anyone?

The commercial stuff they peddle in tins and bricks, ranges from gross to crime-against-humanity.
Other than my ex, I don't remember anyone making their own, although I'm sure there are people out there who have old family recipes.

That looks very different to what we have here. Fruit cake is meant to be dark and rich.

Fruit cake is a "gag" gift in my family. :D Looking at the calendar, we'll decorate on the 14th or 21st.

see, I told you it was an animal

You reckless hellion. I like the cut of your jib.


mark yourself tempted.

I think we need to compare family trees, unless persistent christmas decorations are an English thing.
What did you get the rest of the sept?

I thought leaving the Christmas lights up all year had to do with being a redneck woman? :right:

I'd say you've earned a little sumpinsumpin for yourself.

FRUIT CAKE!!!

:jig::jig::jig:

The kind I've had could be used to sink a body in the river, or as a door stop, or to bludgeon someone to death. But it's tasty. I'd like a little snackerel right now with some tea, actually.

We didn't do fruit cake so much. Our tradition was date nut bread. Similar, but more like a banana bread kind of thing, but darker and heavier. My wife hates date nut bread, so I never bother making it any more.

That sounds yummy.

Try Grandma's Fruitcake sold by Beatrice Bakery and Cabelas. It is soaked in rum, bourbon, and brandy. I swear it is the best you can find, plus you can get a buzz from just smelling it.

So today i went and got the last of the ingredients i will need for my christmas treat cooking. At least, i think i did. lol. I just need to get a ham and a turkey and we're all set now. May not worry about the turkey this year as we arent actually hosting any meals this christmas, but definitely will get a smoked ham and bake it with a glaze of some sort. I might make some rumballs tomorrow!

I bought a turkey. but that's for Thanksgiving. It's a really small one (11lb) because Thor felt the need for tradition but the rest of us have no special love for leftover (or even first-time) big bird.

I'm going to my moms for thanksgiving I have a tksgiv party 2 go 2 and a christmas party 2 so we'll see...

I forgot, I got sultanas/golden raisins for my Christmas Pudding a few weeks back. really should get on with that...

hurry, before they turn into grapes

Ran out of brown sugar making a large batch of cookies yesterday, so i guess i will need more of that. Apso, i need to tell maverick to stop using my brown sugar!

Having a tksgiv party 2 go 2 is reason in itself to give tks. Have a happy holiday, JBK.

The icing for my cakes arrived today. Going to start the decos tonight!

I covered the first cake tonight. Need to look for boards for the other two.

we're having venison for thanksgiving.

Today we made rumballs and christmas crackles.

Ali, you seem to be in the Christmas spirit. I'm wondering about the weather though. So much of the imagery of Christmas features snow, and cold and mittens, scarves, gloves. ..etc...

But it's bastardly hot down there in December, right?

Does that weather make it harder for you to get into the spirit? Or are you just used to it because you've been there your whole life? Do they market Santa in Bermuda shorts maybe?

Christmas is just hot. Always hqs been. :). Its not about the weather for me though. Its about tamily and friends and all the treats they love just once a year. I love christmas. Always have and always will. :)

I thought everyone around here knew that about me. One year i even did a 60 day countdown. New thread for each day! That was commitment.

I've mentioned before that we are having a complete break with tradition this year and having Chinese. Me trying to head some of the flashpoints off before they start. We all enjoy Chinese and are going to make a feast if it, with hors d'oeuvres about midday and a sit-down at about £2.00. Of course there will be crispy duck :)

Going to eye up handcarved turkey over the next few weeks and buy when it is discounted. It's wonderful meat, but free-range and all that jazz, so you do pay for it. Pop in the freezer, just enough for sandwiches on Boxing Day as that's all Mum says she will miss. And after all, very little washing up, no long cooking times, no overstuffed fridge. Oddly I think we'll be more in the spirit of a (family) Christmas by not having a roast at all.

The 'rents can do the Christian thing. I just want to do the not having it end in tears thing.

So no preparations immediately. Got nearly a month to pull it all together.
Just 4 x prizes left to buy, and some cards.
I'm enjoying the build-up vicariously through my customers :)

cake 1 of 3
 

That's my goal, too. Although my lifelong experience of Christmas, both in family of origin and family of procreation, is that 'It's not Christmas 'til somebody cries.'

First, we have to get through Thanksgiving. If nobody cries, threatens others with bodily harm, commits assault, or runs out of the house in tears to fall in a snowbank, I will truly give thanks.

Ali - that cake is beautiful.

Thanks ortho. This year i wanted to experiment with stencils. It worked ok, but i will do some things differently next time.

cake 2 of 3
 

Very pretty, Ali!

Lovely Ali. The stencils work beautifullt.

But you might want to watch the nativity cake around these parts; Joseph looks suspiciously hobo-esque to me ;)

Yes, Joseph looks like he might whip out a joint any minute. LOL. Just kidding Ali. Your cakes look fantastic!! Makes me want to hop a plane and eat your cakes. Yumm

Sundae,

How Long is a Chinaman.

Go on, you got me

Sundae - are you going to bake anything special? I think you a fabulous baker and I haven't seen any lately.

Thanks guys. Heres a secret. The red one is going to my ss recipient. Just hope customs doesnt wreck it.

Christmas Preparations 2013
 

OHMYGOD!!!!!! Please let it be me!! Haha.....I know I live an ocean too far away for you to be my Secret Santa. But one can daydream, right? :-P

By the way, love all our cakes. :thumbs up:

(I can't get my emoticons....grrrrr...)

gorgeous cakes Aliantha. nomnomnomnom