Mini mincemeat puffs - a recipe for the control freak mum

Dolly's mini mincemeat puffs

When my children were babies I threw myself into being what one friend of mine calls a 'Playdough Mum'.  

I indeed made an abundance of playdough, and did lots of baking with them - at a time when they were too young to hold a spoon.

However, when they got old enough to start wanting to crack their own eggs into bowls, or measure out flour, or dollop mixture into cakes themselves, I found that our kitchen became a very tense environment indeed.

I have a friend who lets her kids go wild in the 'baking' stakes, and they make all sorts of interesting (inedible) concoctions and they completely trash the kitchen while they are at it.  I really really respect her for letting them do this in the name of letting them have fun and learn, because when I bake with my kids, it is in very controlled conditions.

So when the lovely people from the Great British Chefs website contacted me and asked if I fancied cooking a festive treat with my kids from their website, I chose the recipe I thought would create the least amount of mess.

And yesterday Dolly and I produced these delicious and extremely easy mini mincemeat puffs - a much nicer version (in my opinion) of the traditional mince pie.

It was the perfect recipe for us, because Dolly almost had total control (for a change) and she really felt she had produced something by herself without me breathing down her neck.  And the best bit was that she and Betty really enjoyed eating them, as did family and friends - they really were a winner!

The Great British Chefs website has loads of fabulous looking recipes for kids, and I am really looking forward to trying out some more.

Thank you to Great British Chefs for sponsoring this post - Dolly now thinks I'm a nicer mum...

Festive filmsets - how to make your home shine like scenes from Sainsbury's new Christmas movie

With friends and family coming from far and wide to share in the seasonal fun and festive spirits, Christmas is the perfect time to deck out your house and show off your interior for all to see.

In Kevin Macdonald’s new film, Christmas in a Day, we have the rare opportunity to glimpse into other family’s homes, seeing first hand how different people celebrate Christmas across the country.

And though these are all real families and real homes, you can’t help but see them as cosy Christmas sets, ready for the performance of the year on the 25th if you’re just about to start building your very own festive scene, here’s how to make your home shine just like those in Sainsbury’s Christmas in a day.

Setting the scene

If you’re like many households, the job of getting the scene ready for Christmas begins weeks before the day itself.

Preparing the tree, making the decorations, digging around in the loft to find those oversized Santa lights from last year; all of this and more goes into transforming your home into a winter wonderland.

In order to make the most of your Christmas set, try to have a big clear out before the decorating begins. This will help you to clear away the previous year’s clutter and will give you more room to store your brand new presents once the festivities are over.

Assembling the perfect cast

If you watch the Christmas in a day video, you'll soon see that it takes a large and varied cast to properly fill your Christmas set.

Everyone from grandparents to neighbours and second cousins to life-long friends can play their part at one point or another, so get those invitations out now and start preparing for a real feast.

If you’re hosting a Christmas party this year, why not go all out and create some personalised decorative touches 

for your friends to enjoy, they’ll appreciate the effort that you’ve gone to and you can reuse any left over decorations to make your house shine on the big day.

Lights

Lighting is always an important feature of interior design, but at Christmas time it’s absolutely crucial. 

A few cosy lamps placed around your home will help to make the space feel warm and well loved. You can also use white and multi-coloured fairy lights to highlight your interior design features and to add a touch of sparkle to your home. 

Camera

Just like the families in Christmas in a Day, you can turn your home into a real film set by investing in a video camera of your own and filming your family as they open their presents and enjoy the Christmas feast and festive fun. 

By capturing these special moments you can treasure them year after year, seeing friends and family grow as time goes on. You could even make a screening of past Christmas videos into a traditional part of your family Christmas celebrations. 

Action

With your Christmas tree in place, the lights plugged in and ready to go and all of your friends and family around to enjoy the fun, there’s nothing left to do but shout ‘Action!’ and let the festivities begin. 

Just make sure that after all of the effort you’ve put in to create the perfect day that you get your due credit and maybe a standing ovation or two once the credits have finally rolled.

This is a sponsored post supplied by Sainsburys.

Styling head from ELC

We recently received this Styling Head from ELC.  Betty has wanted one for a long time and so is very happy indeed (I remember spending much of my childhood wanting one too, but my mum wouldn't wouldn't allow it, and told me to brush my own hair instead).

I have seen many of these dolls in the shops, but this one seems far superior to the others I have seen.  Some of the faces look really scary/distorted, and are just too small to be realistic - but this one has a kind gentle face, thick glossy hair, and is the right size.

I have a nightmare every single morning trying to brush Betty's long thick tangled locks - she is a moving, squirming, moaning target, and we normally end up falling out, and me threatening to cut all her hair off.

So: if I completely tangle up the hair on this styling head, and shake it around and shout a lot while she is trying to make her look nice, she might gain an insight into what I have to go through every single morning.  Of course, once my point has been made, I will leave her in peace to play and have fun with it.

This head costs £22.00, it comes with 13 accessories including brush, clips, and make-up, I am really pleased with it.  I am looking forward to having a little play myself.

Christmas activities to do with the kids

It has certainly started to get a lot colder now and with limited sunlight to enjoy, embracing a number of outdoor activities is quite simply out of the question.

However, this often means you’ll have an abundance of restless kids on your hands, which means having a few great indoor activities up your sleeves is essential. Here are some of our top Christmas favourites.

A redecoration project

One task that can be completed throughout the winter season is redecorating your younger children’s bedrooms. Thankfully this is something they enjoy being involved in so you won’t have trouble persuading them to get their hands dirty! 

From choosing the colour scheme to re-arranging their toys, there are a number of great decorating tips and bedroom ideas to take inspiration from. 

This is also a good opportunity to get rid of the old in order to make way for the new. With Christmas approaching at a rapid speed, they’re guaranteed to receive even more toys from friends and family so take this chance to clear out excess clutter as much as possible.

Simple fun

There are a number of games you can play in the household, many of which require very little effort. Hide and seek is a favourite of many and whilst it wiles away the hours, it never becomes tiresome to your children. 

Other options include gathering the board games that have been stored in the attic all summer and spending a few hours teaching the children how to play. After a while you may even find they’re happy to continue the game on their own. 

Christmas baking

When the holidays hit, you’ll find that you have the little ones on your hands a lot longer than usual. Creating a number of baking projects is a great way to entertain the children and one that keeps them in the warmth of the home. 

From Christmas cakes to mince pies, there are a number of fun recipes to choose from. It is however important to ensure their safety. Stocking up on plastic utensils prior to the event is a great way to do this.

Getting back outside

If your children are raring to go outside, it may be wise to invest in a few garden ideas. From outdoor heaters to obstacle courses, there are a number of options to choose from and of course when it snows creating the best possible snowman they can is a must.

This is a guest post supplied by SuperSavvyMe

Green Earth Wok by Ozeri

I love stirfries but have always struggled with woks in the past, and have found that unless you stir continuously, you end up with a burnt oniony mass in the bottom of your pan.

So, having found the Green Earth frying pan fantastic, I was really excited to receive this Green Earth wok to review.

Like the frying pan, this wok has a smooth ceramic non-stick coating (100% PTFE and PFOA Free) - and it is COMPLETELY NON-STICK!  As my husband said 'food literally hovers above the pan.'  

You only need to use a teeny weeny amount of oil, and it is a joy to wash up - no scraping for hours with a scourer.  And it comes in that fabulous funky green colour!

In addition to being completely eco-friendly and ultra-safe, the Green Earth Wok's natural ceramic coating is far more durable and scratch-resistant than other non-stick surfaces. 

I absolutely love this wok and would totally recommend it, if like me, you have always struggled in the past.  Perfect for all those turkey stirfries post Christmas!

The wok has been reduced from £49.96 to £36.96 on Amazon - go and check it out!

Personalised Advent Calendars from Snapajack

I have to admit that I can't bear most of the advent calendars on sale these days - particularly the ones my children choose - Betty always goes for a Disney Princess one, and Dolly always goes for Peppa Pig.  Both contain cheap chocolate, and they are pretty ugly to look at.  But they make my girls happy, so I go with it.

But Snapajack's personalised calendars might just have recused me from Cinderella and Snowwhite's sickly sweet faces grinning at me from the windowsill throughout the whole of December.

www.Snapajack.com offers a wide range of advent calendars that are completely customisable with personal messages, text and photographs, and most importantly they have a delicious, continental chocolate behind each door!

There are 15 different advent calendar designs to choose from and each cost £12.97, which I think is very reasonable indeed.

Snapajack also offers 100s of other customised gifts, from playing cards, mobile phone covers, to party packs - do go and check out their fab website!

Snapajack say: 'When you order from www.snapajack.com your advent calendar will be produced with care and with the support of world-class technology and print expertise and dispatched within five working days.'

This is a sponsored post

Scribbles on walls, ink stains on wood: how to cover up the mess if your little one runs into mischief

No matter how hard you try, it’s impossible to keep an eye on your children 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This means you’re bound to come across a few problems every now and again. 

The minute your little bundle of joy starts walking, you need to have eyes in the back of your head if you want to prevent any mischief. Most parents will be able to recall at least a few times that their children have caused mischief in the home. 

Some problems are more common than others and below you’ll find just some of them.

Problem #1: Wall scribbles

Wall scribbles can cause a wave of panic in your mind. You go out of the room, come back in and find bright coloured marks all over the walls. You automatically panic. After all, how are you going to get rid of the marks? 

The good news is if it’s crayon you can iron it out. Simply place an old t-shirt folded up, over the stain. Iron over it on a medium heat and this should remove the stain. There are also some specially designed pads you can buy that wipe off any scribbles and marks.

Problem #2: Ink on wood

If the marks have been left on wooden furniture or on your nice solid timber sliding doors, don’t panic. Use half a cup of water and add baking soda to it until it resembles a paste. Rub the paste over the stain with your fingers. Use a damp cloth to wipe off the paste and you should notice the ink comes off with it.

Problem #3: Removing paint from the carpet

Another really worrying problem is if you’ve let your little cherubs paint and they’ve accidentally got it on the carpets. Scrape as much as you possibly can from the carpet before using a towel to wipe it up. Water based paints will need water to dissolve them. If the paint is oil based you’ll also need to use a little turpentine to get rid of it.

Problem #4: Smartphone and tablet problems

You go out of the room, come back in and find your little one has accidentally sent texts to all of your contacts. Or they have dropped your tablet onto the floor and cracked the screen. You can prevent these problems by making use of parental controls, investing in a good protective screen, and more simply, keeping them out of reach from your child. 

This is a guest post supplied by The Sash Window Workshop