Sugar and spice and everything nice

No, I’m not referring to the female population; I’m referring to Christmas dinners! Last night I went to a very large Christmas banquet, complete with an organ-accompanied choir, carols, and (of course) Christmas crackers! Not long after the other guests and I had popped open our crackers and donned our paper crowns, we were served a sumptuous meal worthy of HRH Queen Elizabeth! The dinner started with a smoked salmon salad. Then we were served a hearty portion of turkey, mash, gravy, cranberry sauce, bacon, sausage links, duck liver paté, and brussels sprouts. Next came dessert, the British classic of Christmas pudding with custard. And finally came the mincemeat pies and clove-poked oranges. Of course, all of this feast was accompanied by generous portions of mulled cider! There is something so very comforting and uplifting about the warm, smoky, spicy-yet-sweet flavours of Christmas fare. I don’t know quite what it is about cradling a hot cup of mulled cider and nibbling on a mincemeat pie that makes me feel like the happiest girl in the world — especially when I’m surrounded by loved ones, as well as sing a slightly-out-of-tune rendition of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” I’m so thrilled that today is only 3 Dec., which means I have even more enchanting Christmas dinners ahead of me this season, all full — no doubt — of plenty of sugar, spice, and all things nice!

Christmas costumes

What is it about dressing up in a costume that is so much fun? When I was a little girl, I loved playing dress-up and becoming a princess or a pirate for a day, and even now that I am a (very mature) twenty-**cough**-year-old, I still love creating and wearing costumes! One of the great things about fall and the holiday season is there are often a multitude of opportunities to play dress-up. Of course there’s Halloween, which gives people a chance to use their wildest imagination to come up with the coolest, most outlandish, funniest costume. But for me, I love holiday dress-up parties where the host gives you a theme from which to choose a costume. Last week I went to a fabulous Christmas party where we were instructed to dress as “something to do with Christmas.” This of course left the door wide open for creativity and imagination, and I was delighted to see the turn-out of elves, Santa’s, reindeer, fairies, angels, and even a Christmas pudding! My best guy-friend and I decided (independently) to come as Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, complete with red noses, antlers, and little bob tails! Ever since I played Prancer (or was it Dancer?) in the school Christmas play when I was 9, I’ve always wanted another opportunity to don a reindeer costume, and last week I got my chance! I had so much fun creating my costume (not buying it from a store, thank you very much!), and the party itself was icing on the (Christmas) cake! There truly is something magical about dressing up, even when you’re a stuffy old(ish) adult with a grown-up job. Now, if only there were a way to have a dress-up party for New Year’s without everyone being subjected to dressing up as the New Year’s baby…..

The two Rudolph’s of the party!

Santa’s, elves, Christmas pudding, and two reindeer!

Cupcakes

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE cake! I can hardly think of a more joyous dessert than a simple slice of yellow cake with chocolate frosting (and maybe some sprinkles!). Last week, I had the great opportunity to go to a Christmas fair at my friend’s childhood school. Walking through room after room of stalls chocked full of Christmas goodies was my first magical experience this holiday season. I only had £15 on me, but I managed to snap up a pink silk scarf for my mother and a silver ring for myself. Then my friends and I stumbled upon a professional baker’s stall, and all three of us audibly gasped when we beheld the magnificently beautiful cakes before us. Literally dozens of too-pretty-to-be-real cupcakes were arranged meticulously in tiers on the booth, their marzipan decorations, edible glitter, and glossy frosting smiling up at us. Of course, no one had to twist our arms to get us to purchase some! I ooh’d and aah’d like a child as the woman behind the stall arranged four perfect cupcakes in a pristine white box, which she topped with a shiny Christmas bow. Cupcakes are not only delightful indulgences loved by one and all, the beautiful thing about them (as if they needed any more pro’s) is their diminutive size. They are the tapas of the cake world — you can buy a box full of different flavoured cupcakes and not worry about being wasteful if you happen not to like one flavour (say, fruit cake) as much as you thought you might. Cupcakes are sweet and cute, and their size is the perfect excuse for sampling more than one flavour! Mmm, if it weren’t lunchtime now, I’d go track down that baker to get a sugar fix to boost me through the day!

How we managed to take photographs before diving into these cupcakes, I've no clue!!!