They placed him in a manger…

The nativity story is probably the best known Bible story, so it’s the one that’s most augmented. Pretty much every primary school on the planet is trying to do a different nativity play, a different spin on what we’ve heard every year since we were in the play ourselves. And every year there’s a sermon […]

Mince Pies

You’ll need some mincemeat for this – I’m sure shop-bought would work fine, though. The pastry is the important bit here  – this is Ainsley Harriott’s recipe from the BBC, though with some adjustments! The result is very popular – with all ages!

Mincemeat – “Mrs Lily Byford’s recipe”

This recipe for mincemeat comes from an old book that my Mum uses every year. It’s a cooked mincemeat, which means (according to both my Mum and the recipe book) that it will keep for not just weeks but even years! You can, of course, try adding some other things to it – Mum adds […]

Last Minute Christmas Cake

This is a recipe that I tried last year (2010) and found that even my Christmas cake hating wife enjoyed! It only needs to be made a week before Christmas, though I suppose earlier would be fine and it keeps well – if you can stop people eating it! Shamelessly lifted from cottagesmallholder.com and minimally edited.