It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Tonight I am going to watch Christmas movies! I have waited long enough, but tonight is definitely the night for me to bust out my favourite Christmas DVD and snuggle up on the couch with some wine. I'll get the toddler off to sleep and then it's all about me ;-). I can say that now, it's only just past 9am. Give me the full day at work as well as an evening of an over tired toddler and my story might change, but right now I'll revel in the thoughts of cheesy Christmas and some alcoholic grapes in liquid form.

To further accentuate the Christmas cheer, I have made some Christmas cookies for the office. A crisp sugar cookie with a subtle mint flavour. ENJOY!

Watch out, a Strawberry Charlatan

We survived Christmas for another year. 

Since having a child, Christmas has completely changed. Santa is once again part of the equation and we set "traps" for him and his reindeer. We also get up at dawn and spend the day with a sugared-up toddler. We are then generally too exhausted to get drunk and end up falling into bed and going straight to sleep.

Another thing to note is Christmas in Brisbane is hot. For some reason, most of us follow the traditions of the colder climates and serve ham, turkey, roast veggies and pudding, ie hot and heavy. As I generally make some kind of dessert to share at our family's Christmas gatherings, I decided this year to make something a little light and fruity. And with the above comments regarding our change of Christmas routine and our cold climate charade, I've decided to call my dessert a Strawberry Charlatan (instead of a Strawberry Charlotte).

Possibly the best fruit cake EVER!

Tis the season to be jolly and one thing which is sure to make you happy is this Rich Chocolate Fruit Cake. It's from multiple Women's Weekly Christmas edition cookbooks, but it taste so good that it deserves to be in multiple copies.

Just putting it out there - I love Christmas lights. I am very happy to say that my son has inherited this trait from me. So, here are some pictures from our Christmas light excursion last night. Merry Christmas.

Baked gifts come from the heart

There are some foods you can't go without at Christmas. You have to overdose on ham (breakfast, lunch and dinner), you must eat Christmas pudding smothered in thick custard (YUMMMM) and you have to indulge in practically everything presented to you. As you might be able to tell, Christmas is all about the food for me. However, I also love finding great gifts for people and watching them open them. So, why not combine these two joys? To continue with my baked gifts, this post features what I made for my son's teachers.

Week-before-Christmas dessert

Put your ice-cream down. Forget about the cheese platter. Don't even bother popping to the corner store for a Vienetta. I have a pre-Christmas dessert for you (and it's really easy to make). I have been waiting for months for the follow-up of Mowielicious' online magazine. The first one was stunning - beautiful photos, great recipes and the use of superb fresh produce. When I found out his second magazine would be a Christmas edition, I stalked his blog until it was launched. 

A very jammy Christmas

I think I have already mentioned my plans to bake for as many gifts as I can this year. With a week until Christmas, I really have to get moving.

We are doing a type of Secret Santa this year with my husband's family. This post is kinda breaking the surprise (if he or the family reads this post), but one of my people is my Grandfather-in-law. He's a vegetarian and quite hard to buy for (don't worry, was not planning on getting him a chunk of meat, just thought I'd throw that piece of trivia in there). Last year I made him some chocolate sauces and they were a winner. So this year I decided to try jam. At the markets yesterday there were boxes of delicious looking cherries. I hate maraschino cherries or anything cherry flavoured, but I love a juicy, fresh cherry. They are perfectly in season at Christmas, so by default, are the traditional Christmas fruit. So when deciding on a jam flavour, how could I pass up cherry?

An angel for the top of the Christmas tree

I love Christmas. I love singing Christmas carols (to myself as I am incredible tone deaf!), I love Christmas food, I love buying presents for people and I love the festive feeling that is in the air. 

Growing up, Christmas was always a big affair full of tradition. We always put the Christmas tree up on the 1st December with carols playing in the background and my sister breaking at least one ornament (age did not stop this tradition). My Mum sat back and watched until it was time to put the angel on the top of the tree - that was her job. I have so many wonderful memories of those years that I want to incorporate some of them into my own family so my son can enjoy them he grows up. My family always used a fake tree, however my husband's family used a live tree. More often than not it would be a massive branch that they found somewhere in a park (or one year, just on the side of the road). My husband has always said he wanted us to have a real tree, so this year, we do. It's not huge, but something that can grow and take on a shape of it's own.

The Christmas baking starts with something simple

I've been doing a bit of research into delicious baked items that I can give as Christmas gifts. Last year was the first year I did this and had a great response. Those people I always find it hard to buy for, I found easy to bake for. So this year I'm extending the baking gifts list. As Christmas in Brisbane is always sweltering (and generally rains for those interested), I don't want to bake anything to heavy. For my 92 year old Grandma I'm planning on baking an assortment of cookies. So today I started testing some recipes. I need to work on my royal icing, but the cookie and icing taste nice. If you feel like some easy recipes to try, have a go at this one. ENJOY!

Bourke Street Bakery tart

I LOVE BOURKE STREET BAKERY! Every time we go to Sydney, I always make a trip to the bakery and sample something new. If I hear anyone is going to Sydney, even for the day, I tell them to try and get to Surrey Hills and experience the joys of this little bakery.

I love the feel of the bakery. Even though it's small and always has lines wrapping around the corner, it is heaven. For my birthday this year I requested gift vouchers, which lead me to finally buying the Bourke Street Bakery cookbook. After scrolling through the 369 pages, I decided the first thing I must make was the chocolate mousse tarts - pause for drool!