This weekend (with just 9 days to go) we’ve decided it’s time to get into the festive spirit.  We’ve put the tree and decorations up, we’ve made and eaten mince pies and started watching Christmas movies, my favourite is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (I believe it to be a Christmas movie, it has snow in it and Father Christmas).

I made this tree two Christmases ago, it’s really easy to make and is a great alternative to a traditional tree. Just collect large sticks of various lengths and string them together  (best way to do that is to string it together whilst it’s hanging in position). This year I’ve treated us to a new Polar Bear decoration, as soon as I saw him I knew we had to have him… I love bears!

This year I’ve added to my decorations by making a PomPom snowball garland, which happens to tie in nicely with my gift wrap theme this year.

As for the mice pies, I cannot recommend this recipe enough… honestly the best mince pies you’ll ever taste! And so easy to make too, recipe below. They’re a winner every year!

Mince Pie Recipe (makes 9)

Ingredients – 112g cold Butter, 175g plain flour, 50g sugar and a jar mincemeat.

Method – Rub together the butter, sugar and flour until it turns into a dough. Then divide the dough into half. Roll each half into a sausage shape and divide and cut into nine discs. Flatten the discs into the holes of a patty tin and fill with mincemeat. Make lids out of the other half of the dough and press onto the filled bases with the warmth of your fingers then bake for 20 mins at fan 180C. Simple! And so yummy!