Mumsnet Talk

Phew! For a minute I thought the thread wouldn't accept my message because I just wasn't making enough stuff for Christmas this week. And then I realised it was because we had reached 1000 posts. Thought I'd lost you all!

We were all listing what we need to finish still. I'll be back tomorrow with mine - if I do it now I will dissolve in tears but tomorrow I will have had a night's sleep and a stiff drink. Not necessarily in that order, although....

Ah ha, I found you!

As I was saying:

I did a 'peppermint bark test run' of just milk chocolate and it was incredibly sweet. I think for the real thing I will do a mixture of dark with white chocolate on top.

I made apparently freezable fudge yesterday, have yet to taste it but as it's full of white chocolate and cranberries and the mixture was lovely I have faith

I have:
*Made and hung my wreath
*Made fudge, footprint mugs, knitted snowmen, soap, handwarmers and bookmarks for family hampers.

I still need to:
*Make up and stuff the mouse I knitted weeks ago
*Make something for my friend's DS's birthday (9th Jan) he's got a book and a mouse so far, I'm thinking a big snake to use up all my wool oddments
*Finish the Christmas cards, the pictures are printed and trimmed and I've bought the card, just need to stick the pictures to the card, fold etc. Then write them...
*Make the patterns on the cans I saved to make candle lanterns
*Make up the keyrings, I've got the blanks and have printed the pictures.

Now though, grouchy six week old needs to be dragged out in his pram!

I'm really struggling to get motivated atm, i've been planning to frost church candles all week but just haven't quite got there.... Any tips for getting the motivation back?

Mrs T I am right there with you - my advice is to take a total break and do something else, preferably boring housework/chores stuff for a couple of days. Getting back to your handmaking will seem like a break! Plus you will feel all smug about the other stuff you got done. Alternatively set a time limit to work on it, put on inspiring music/radio prog on iplayer/dvd/whatever, pour drink, grit teeth and do as much of the job as you can in the time you have set.
There is the Other Road though.... re-brand your crafty plans as very early planning for next Christmas, pick out just one or two to finish on time for this Christmas and do only them, all the while basking in the smug knowledge that you have not only reached the end of your (hastily revised) To Do List, you are already ahead on planning next christmas

Found you

MrsT I was like that the other day, I think it's because I had so much to do that it was getting overwhelming. I couldn't even think about making a list of what to do because writing it all down would have depressed me even more!

I forced myself to finish off the cards because they needed posting, once that was done I felt more inclined to do the other things too.

I would do the things that are necessary rather than stuff you want to do but that is not essential.

I don't know if they've been mentioned on the other two threads but I made chocolate turtles yesterday.
I pinned the recipe a while ago thinking they would be nice for Christmas nibbles, we'll be lucky if they last the next few days

Some star-shaped pretzels, lay out on a foil-lined baking tray, add a rolo to the top of each pretzel and bake for four or five minutes.
Take them out, add a pecan half to each one, and squish it down on to the rolo.

They taste salty and crunchy and sweet and caramelly all at once

Wholelottarosie they sound fab! No - I mustn't any more things to my list to make!!!

Got some bacon jam cooking at the mo even though I said I wouldn't make any until after Christmas as I have too much to do already!. Just made 6 dozen mincepies. Phew! Knackered now!

Hello ladies, I'd like to ask a question. How do you stop your clementine and. Love pomanders going mouldy? Do I leave them in the cold for a few days? Dry them out in a low oven? Leave them be?

Thanks for your help!

Ooh gloria how do you make free able fudge? I have some cranberries left over i'd love to use.

Got my tablecloth fabric now so need to get the appliqué done and everything hemmed.

Still to make

Roulade - Christmas eve
Biscuits - Christmas eve
seat pads no time
Dinner stuff - Christmas eve and day
Christmas bunting - if I have time

Rosie. Wow! Love the turtle idea

Third edition already?! There's no stopping us!

Will be back tomorrow after visitors have left...

Vickety It's a mumsnet recipe, I spotted it in the sidebar and was sucked in

It doesn't say in the recipe that it's freezable but I did some googling and apparently as long as you let it cool completely you can freeze most kinds of fudge. Of course I may dig it out on Christmas Eve to find it's gone all kinds of wrong but it had to be worth a shot!

Recipe

Thank you Gloria that's brilliant. I like things I can make when I have some spare time then get out as I need it.

Bacon jam is amazing!!! Will definitely be making some more for my meat-loving friends!

Zeeky It's great isn't it!! We ate all ours so now have to make more for gifts. It's so nice with baked beans on toast!

Ooh, my bacon jam will be ready in about 15 minutes - the house smells amazing!

Ok someone has to tell me what bacon jam is! I resisted asking and looking like a wally but now I've read it again and need to know!

Oooh, found you all. I'd just written a very, very witty reply to question about peppermint bark choccy and it went all "you're not welcome here anymore" on me! (thought it was a bit quiet over the weekend!! )

So; update to my list;
*make fudge for four families
finish off guinness mustard
finish off bunting binding for nieces' birthdays (on 22nd & 25th)
* make plate for goddaughter/niece's birthday
* make my own placemats for Christmas
* learn to patchwork (!!!!) and make my parents their table runner with all the odds and sods left over from my other work
get material for and make the pirate flag
make felt letters to stick on car-rolls to give away as presents
finish making but still need to write Christmas cards
* make spicy biscuits for party
* make mulled wine for party
* host the party for 100 75 guests (some have dropped out. Phew!)
make a felt stocking for DS
do labels for chutneys, fudges and mustard
* wrap/present presents
* decorate house
* buy and decorate tree
* prepare food for Christmas Eve and Christmas lunch

Have also made my dad some hankies

I love bacon. I love the idea of jam. Calling it 'bacon jam' though is a bit wrong, surely?! Can someone who's made it pretend it's called 'bacon relish' or something?

Flubba the fact that it's called jam makes it even better! If it was called bacon chutney it wouldn't be quite as appealing .

For those of you wondering what it is, it is a recipe by Notquitenigella (sorry can't link as posting on my phone), using smoked bacon, onions, garlic, brown sugar, maple syrup, coffee. Cook it for 2 hours then blitz in food processor. We had some with cheese & biscuits earlier & it was fab. Like the idea of having it with beans on toast

no no no. It's wrong I tell you. Wrong!

Thank you. Very tempted to try this - does it keep well or freeze?

>>off topic alert<< Not that I'm watching the x-factor, but if I was, then I'd say Little Mix have to pronounce the whole word if they're going to sing Silent Night so it doesn't sound like "sleep in heavenly pee"

Lol @ little mix. Think they possibly just won on that though