Mumsnet Talk

I am disappearing under waves of not quite finished projects and need to ride along on the wake of other people's successful Christmas makes. Last year's homemade thread was brilliant - am I really the only one this year?

I'm doing stuff - all the chutneys etc are done, toffee vodka made, fudge and shortbread in the freezer.
Left to do - dip the shortbread in chocolate then crushed candy canes
biscotti (cranberry and almond, chocolate and orange)
dipped marshmallows
some kind of chocolate bark (probably involving crushed candy canes, I have a lot!
ricciarelli
and ice the xmas cakes

I'm doing coasters, several kinds of flavoured alcohol and anything else I can think of!

For all those who made vodka. Sweet ones have worked a treat. Also made caramac and mint aero these are looking not so great. Any advice or tips please??

This week I'm planning salt dough decs, chilli jam and tablet.

I've done air-dry clay decorations (and made the boxes for them to go in) and altered notepads.
Still have to make peppermint bark and chocolate spoons and some sort of biscuits/ cakes. We've got loads of time, right?

You may need to filter that vodka using coffee filter paper or even kitchen roll over a sieve. Haven't made those flavours though.
Yes I had forgotten I was making chocolate spoons. I think I had better buy more chocolate.

I've done mars bar vodka think it will need filtered

I have just uploaded a picture of a Bunting Christmas Tree I have made for my sister - it took 12 hours to make!!!

Please someone say it doesn't look shitey <begs>

I'm going to filter anyway, the skittle and rhubarb and custard have fully disolved just need to filter the sediment. The chocolate ones however have done faff all and are looking at me shouting faliure not sure where I went wrong. Looking forward to the home made Baileys though yum.

Have you heated the chocolate ones?

If you don't have a disgwasher you can just bung the bottles in a sink/pan of hot water and keep popping in periidically to give them a shake.

The christmas tree looks lovely Laurie.

Thank you

I've made christmas pudding flavoured rum, DH has already been drinking it in coffee.
Made the cake with the fruit that was in the rum for 2 months.
On the weekend before christmas I shall be making star shaped white chocolate bark with cranberries and almonds.
Spiced christmas biscuits.
Ice the cake.
Cheese straw biscuits.
Next weekend I shall make the first batch of mince pies, will probably make some christmas eve too.

Most of the above is for gifts. I might make some fudge as well.

Im making too

Currently have some Homemade marshmallow setting so looking forward to tasting that. First time ive made it.

Hoping to incorporate it in for the teachers presents. Have also made choc spoons and thinking of a hot choc pack kind of thing!? Making it up as I go along really!

Also need to do Christmas biscuits of some kind.

Might also do salt dough/air clay if I get time.
I feel so disorganised and time seems to be flying by!

I've got to finish ds's playmat, make a penguin for dd2 (though hoping she might have forgotten about that request), plus finish the gifts for teachers etc. Need to get them done this weekend, so could do without school landing a parent/child craft project to be in next week, it's not even Christmas related, don't they realise that they are interrupting my Christmas energy by doing non-seasonal craft, however educational!

i have made stockings, small tree decorations for the dcs trees. snowman soup bags for the adults with cappucinno drops ect and candy cane sleighs for the children. I would love to make christmas biscuits but will see how i feel as not been to well

I've made hand scrubs, candles, cranberry sauce, chocolate peppermint bark, lebkuchen and biscotti (freezing the last 2) over the past week. I'm looking for other edible things I can make ahead of time as it's easier before schools break up.

I second putting the chocolate alcohol in a sink of hot water to warm it a bit that sorted mine out when I was ready for failure!

Saw this link which might be useful for people.

Here

I'm waiting for my bottles to be delivered...then I'm making sweet shop vodka.

I have apple liqueur and plum liqueur, which need to be strained and bottled up into individual bottles with pretty labels.

With those, I'm giving a bottle of sekt/prosecco (which is imo how it tastes best!), and buying some coasters and/or nice glasses. Was going to make coasters but don't think I'd be able to make them look v. good, though I've looked up loads of tutorials on how to do them.

Various sets of magnets (the glass bubble ones, plus I've done some square ones with large mosaic tiles) are done and need to be prettily packaged.

Usual selection of Christmas biscuits has been baked (thank god), so everyone will get a mixed bag of them too.

All decorations are made and up. I went for cheapy-cheap paper decorations this year and have to say they look better than anything else I've ever done <bitter at wasted years>. I've made paper snowflakes and snow baubles, paper ornaments, a paper wreath and done some extra big paper feathers for the tree.

Calendars for grandparents have been bought, just need to print out the photos for them and get ds to do various month-appropriate doodles for me to stick on.

Also what still needs to be done is the spicy nuts - I've seen loads of recipes on the internet, so did a test run with walnuts the other night - absolutely gorgeous! I have 2 people who like really hot spicy nuts, so will do an appropriately hot spicy mix of nuts for them, and then something a bit milder for my dad and another friend. Bagged up nicely with a bow and that's it.

Only a couple more presents that actually need to be bought and then I am all done!

Twolittlemonkeys - how do you make your bark star shaped?

Sorry that should have been for fanjo

You're all bloody amazing ! I'm making arancello for the first time and feel like Nigella, but you're all making lots of other lovely things too.