Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer!

A great way to spend time with the kids this weekend on the lead up to Christmas is by creating these tasty and fun Rudolph biscuits. These are not your average Rudolph biscuits, these are gingerbread men turned upside down to create gorgeous reindeers' with lovely big antlers!

Have a go at creating fun and colourful antlers! See who can make the craziest design.

Ingredients for gingerbread biscuits:

• 125g unsalted butter
• 100g dark muscovado sugar
• 4 tbsp golden syrup
• 325g plain flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tsp ground ginger

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C and line baking trays with baking parchment.
2. Melt the butter, sugar and syrup in a medium saucepan, stirring occasionally, then remove from the heat.
3. Sieve the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ginger into a bowl and stir the melted ingredients into the dry ingredients to make a stiff dough.
4. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and roll to a thickness of about 5mm. Dip biscuit cutters into flour before cutting the dough.
5. Place the shapes onto the lined baking trays and bake, in batches, for 9-10 minutes until light golden brown.
6. Remove from the oven. While still warm, and using a skewer or chopstick, make any holes that you will need to hang up the biscuits with ribbon or to make a yuletide garland. If you are decorating your Christmas cake with gingerbread people, make the holes in their arms so that ribbon can be threaded through at a later stage.
7. When completely cool, decorate with the icing.

Decorate with different coloured icing for Christmassy reindeers this December! Have Fun!

Find full recipe here

Crafty Wedding Favour Ideas!

It's always great to get creative when it comes to planning a wedding or if you may want to have wedding favours or thank you gifts for your bridesmaids. Crafting the perfect wedding favour could seem like an impossible task, however, there are simple ideas that can look absolutely lovely on your table on your big day.

A great idea for wedding favours or treats for your bridesmaids is to collect old and unused jars (you can get friends to save their old jars for you too) and put something delicious in them to satisfy your guests' sweet tooth, homemade jam or chutney, shortbread or sweets. You can finish off your jars with colourful ribbon to match your colour scheme or lovely lace!

Another great idea is to give all your guests seeds of your favourite flower or plant in a recycled bag or jar. This way they can take the seeds home and plant something that will last and they can see grow (and it will always remind them of your wedding). 

Personalised cookies are a great way to give your guests something to nibble on during speeches or to soak up the champagne! They would look lovely on the place setting and world no doubt be enjoyed by all the guests.

Making your wedding favours is a great way to get crafty and enjoy making something for your guests to enjoy!

Outside with the kids: Making Bird Feeders

There are so many fun things to do with the kids outside in the summer, instead of them being trapped inside in front of the tele or on the computer! As well as going for bike rides, walking the dog, having a picnic and making a camp, creating bird feeders out of everyday cartons and bottles is a great way to teach kids about different types of birds and let them get creative!

There are many types of bird feeder, created using old cans, bottles, cartons and ribbon and also more artistic one off bird feeders using tea cups and coloured glass bottles! However, making a bird feeder with your kids is very simple, and there are two alternatives, either using a plastic bottle or carton or using ice lolly sticks.

Here is a fantastic way to create a bird feeder using your old plastic bottles, instead of throwing them away.

1. Firstly wash your plastic bottle or carton and make sure all the packaging and wrapping is removed.

2. Cut a hole in the side of the plastic bottle, large enough for birds to get at the seed, but insuring the seed won’t get wet in the rain and constantly fall out.

3. Make a few small holes in the bottom so that the rainwater can drain away.

4. Using strong string, make two small holes in the cap of the bottle and thread the string through, tying the end around a tree branch or washing line. 

Watch which birds are in your garden!

Adapted from RSPB Youth, to see full instructions click here

Add holes for wooden spoons into your bottle for great shelves for the bird to perch on while getting some bird seed.

Another great way of making a bird feeder that the kids will love is by using lolly pop sticks. 

Create a base and then layer the lolly pop sticks in a square around the base.

Use a larger stick as a perch for the birds and add string to hang! Voi la

Making bird feeders are such a great way to keep the kids entertained as well as teach them about the wildlife and birds in your garden.

Isle of Wight Garlic Festival

Set in the stunning Newchurch in the heart of the Isle of Wight, the Garlic Festival is the best of food and entertainment!

The show, on this weekend the 17^th & 18^th of August features a vast array of sights, tastes and produce to suit all ages. 

Just a few things going on at the festival include:

                Huge garlic marquees, featuring cookery demo’s all day long

                100’s of arts and craft stalls, businesses and mouth-watering food

                Local produce and live music on a big stage with beer tent

                Children’s entertainers, archery and giant fun fair

As well as being huge garlic fans, we love the sound of this festival and think it would be a great way to unearth yummy garlic recipes which we would love to try out.

So… In true garlic appreciation of this coming weekend we have come across a glorious garlic inspired recipe and we hope you love trying it out…

Feta & Garlic Rosemary Scones... Mouth Watering

 

Take a look at the recipe here... Feta & Garlic Rosemary Scones

Browse the Garlic Festal website for more info About the Show. Happy Garlic Festival!