Haddon Hall at Christmas

haddonhallWow the last few weeks have been busy! My kids seem to positively collect Christmas events and every year there’s even more places they need to be. We’ve had parties galore, dance recitals (the rehearsals were constant!) plays, sleepovers and more! So when a rare non booked day presented itself last weekend I grabbed the opportunity to visit the wonderful Haddon Hall at Christmas time.haddonhall7

For those not in the know (I like to pretend that I am) Haddon Hall is a fortified Medieval house in Derbyshire owned by the Dukes of Rutland. If it looks familiar to you though that’s probably because it features regularly on film and TV. It’s used for just about every production of Jane Eyre (they might as well rename it Thornfield at this rate) and it even featured in the cult classic The Princess Bride!haddonhall3

For the festive season however Haddon has been celebrating the year of the bard with Shakespearean themed decorations (we now have Will Shakespeare hanging on our tree thanks to the giftshop). haddonhall9

haddonhall5Even more festive is the fact that their chapel is dedicated to good old St Nic himself. You can even spot the big man (looking more svelte) saving babies from being eaten in a time of famine amongst the outstanding paintings that adorn the chapel walls. Some of his other laudable (and perhaps slightly less gruesome) deeds are represented as well.haddonhall1

The hall while lovely at any time of year really comes alive at Christmas thanks to the decorations and general jollilility (made up festive word there) that seems to abound.haddonhall2

In between chatting to staff about stunt women throwing themselves off the battlements and just how polite Micheal Fassbender (or Micheal ‘Gorgeous’ Fassbender as they refer to him) the kids had some lovely festive poems read to them while seated on a genuine Tudor bench. haddonhall4

We even caught a performance by the Royal Northern College of music.

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One lovely little addition this year was the opening of the normally shut gardener’s cottage as a Christmas pop up shop, I love the topiary outside 🙂haddonhall10

It’s such a fabulous place to visit and I hope my pics do the hall justice at least a little bit. I definitely recommend a visit if you’re in the area next year.haddonhall8

Easy Paper Decorations for Christmas

paperdecorationsWith Christmas so nearby you’d be forgiven for thinking that time had run out for crafting but today I’ll show you how to make some quick and Easy Paper Decorations for Christmas. They’re also the perfect craft to keep the kids busy now that the Winter holiday looms! All the supplies were given to me by Bostik as part of their craft ambassador program.

supplies

What You’ll Need:

Paper (cut into long thin strips roughly the same size)

Blu Tack Fine & Wide Glu Pen

Plastic Gems

Thread

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Paper Flower

This is the simplest of my two decorations and super quick!

paperflowerStart by laying strips of paper over each other to form a cross, keep laying until you have a star shape made of 6 strips of paper (3 of each colour).

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Using the fine and wide glu pen stick together two opposite strips of paper (see pic). Continue until all the red strips have been stuck together to make three petals. Repeat with the green strips of paper.

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Glue a gem into the centre of the flower, tie on some thread and you’re done!

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Paper Star Decoration

A variation on the same theme but a little more involved.

paperdecorationStart by laying 3 strips of paper side by side. Pop a little glue in the centre of the strips and then lay 3 more strips at right angles to make a cross shape. Continue laying 3 strips until you have a star shape.

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Stick together the 3 strips of red paper, they should curl slightly towards the centre. Repeat on each branch of red paper.

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Take the centre piece from the green strips of paper and stick to the opposite strip as shown in this picture.

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Stick together the remaining 2 strips of green paper.paperdecoration4

Attach some thread and enjoy your new decorations!

 

Rachel’s Orange and Cranberry Cupcakes Recipe

IMG_5473Nothing says Christmas like some yummy home baking and todays Orange and Cranberry Cupcakes recipe is sure to please. They’re super moist, wonderfully fragrant and everything right down to the icing is just a notch above your average cupcake. The recipe was provided by Rachel’s Organic and as I sit here munching on yet another helping I can definitely recommend them. It’s also a great recipe to bake with the kids (as we did!)

Ingredients

225g margarine or butter, softened

225g caster sugar

225g self raising flour

3 large eggs

100g Rachel’s low fat vanilla yogurt

70g dried cranberries, chopped

Orange zest, juice of ½ orange

To Decorate

250g icing sugar

30g Rachel’s low fat vanilla yogurt

Preparation time: 15 mins  Cooking time: 15 mins   Makes: 12 cakes

Method

1. Heat the oven to 190C/Fan 170C/Gas Mark 5. Arrange paper cases in muffin or bun tins. Place the margarine, sugar, flour and eggs into a large mixing bowl and beat for about two minutes until smooth, light and fluffy. Fold in the yogurt, dried cranberries, orange zest and juice. Divide the mixture between the cases so that they are half filled and bake for 12 – 15 minutes, until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

2. To make the icing, mix the icing sugar with the yogurt and mix until smooth. Tip: the icing should be runny and flow.

3. Decorate each cake with a blob of icing and spread with a palette knife. Alternatively, leave to run to the edges of the paper case. Leave the icing to set.

4. Cakes will keep in an airtight container for up to four days.IMG_5483

Tip. These would also make a great midnight treat for Father Christmas. Just add a label to your plate and I’m sure he’d welcome the change from Mince pies!