The Kodak Christmas Crafts Challenge

This is my first year of being part of Brit Mums Blogging Network. They are currently running a competition alongside Kodak so here is our entry for "The Kodak Christmas Crafts Challenge"


This is a photo I recently took of all 3 boys dressed up in their Christmas costumes, I would like to use it as a family Christmas card that they could send to their grandparents and god parents so that it was personal from them.

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Funbrella

The boys were sent two Funbrella to review. We were sent a pink one and a black stars one. The Fubrella's are priced at £12 and £10 for the pink one.

The Funbrella is the perfect umbrella for children with an iconic dome shape and easy use open and close mechanism. They are available in various colours and designs, some with a transparent cover for ease of vision when walking, and patterns with colour co-ordinated handles. 


Recently the boys friend Lexi came over to play, she decided she quite like the pink Funbrella and we said she could take it home with her. She is a very girly girl and loves anything pink so was very pleased when we said it was hers. Nathan also likes his Funbrella he has been using it quite a bit this last week with all the horrible weather we've been having. As the umbrella has quite a large dome shape, it is really strong and sturdy and has even stood the strong winds we've had recently.

When I first looked at the Funbrella I was concerned it wouldn't be safe enough for the boys to use, many child umbrellas I've seen and purchased in the past have had sharp edges and hard opening mechanisms. However with the Funbrella I have no worries the sharp edges are covered in plastic so cant cause any damage and point down towards the floor because of its dome shape. The mechanism on the Funbrella is really easy to use and smooth too so that Nathan could open it himself. We give Funbrella a splashing 4/5 rating.

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Letters from Santa

All three boys are getting more and more excited about Christmas, I'm not sure why - maybe its because of all the chatter about it or the fact that they're on the final countdown at school for their final week. We have done the two Nativity plays - both boys were fabulous and they looked great. Callum has had his school Christmas lunch and tomorrow we have the task of writing out cards for his class mates.

I have never seen the boys looked so shocked or as excited as they have been today, the reason for this is what dropped through our letter box this afternoon, - It was their letters from Santa. The letters arrive in personalised envelopes with north pole stamps on them too.

I was contacted by It's Your Story and asked if the boys would like to receive a letter from Santa each. Both Callum and Nathan were sent a letter.

The boys were really shocked as Santa knew who they were and in his letter he told them that he knew where we lived and the time that he would be visiting him. Plus he said our street would be his first stop - now that made the boys jump and shout lots I can tell you. They were also both surprised that Santa knew who was their best friends and that he knew how old they would be next year. They also thought it was amazing how Santa had put a picture of them on the letters dressed as one of his elves.

The letters were really easy to organise and personalise. I had lots of fun filling in the details as I knew exactly what the boys would be like once they received their "surprise" letters. The information requested was things like best friends, age next year and where we lived. This enables the letters to be personalised to your child.

The letters cost £4.50 each. Delivery is £1.50 but you can pay for express delivery to ensure your letter arrives sooner. If you are thinking of ordering a letter I would advise doing it sooner rather than later as time is starting to be against us all for posting letters and parcels and ensuring delivery before Christmas. The letters are unique in that they can be photo-personalised, I actually think my boys make lovely elves too.

I will definitely be using these letters again next year for the boys, I give It's Your Story a 4/5 rating.

The very kind people over at Its your story have given me a code for all my readers simply enter HERECTB20 to get a 20% discount before 16th December on a letter to santa for your little ones.

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Homemade candy recipes: fruit and nut truffles

There's a candy I remember from my childhood. Our main chocolate factory, Kalev, was (and probably still is) well-known for its chocolate selections or "assortiikarp" as they're known in Estonian. I loved their ganache and praline filled chocolates in those chocolate selections, but my favourite ones were the foil-wrapped large truffles with fruit and nut filling.

Here's my attempt to recreate these childhood favourites :) You can see the final product on the left on the photo above.

Fruit and Nut Filled Truffles
(Puuviljakompvekid)



100 g dried soft figs
150 g dried soft prunes
100 g dried cranberries or cherries (or a mixture of both)
100 g chopped almonds or hazelnuts
1 Tbsp runny honey or golden syrup or agave nectar
a pinch of sea salt

to coat the truffles:
dark chocolate (tempered, preferably)

Remove the stem from the dried figs. If using a food processor, place the figs, prunes and dried cranberries or cherries into the food processor and process until you've got a coarsely ground fruit mixture. Add the almonds/nuts, salt and honey/syrup and pulse again once or twice. (You don't want the nuts chopped too finely, as you want the texture later).
     [You can also simply chop the ingredients as finely as possible]
Place the truffle mixture into the fridge for an hour to cool and harden.
Roll into small balls (TIP: use a little oil to moisten your hands - the mixture won't stick as much then.)
Either dip into melted dark chocolate - or, preferably, into tempered dark chocolate (see note below) until completely covered. Decorate with chopped nuts. Keep in a cool place until ready to serve.

Why and how to temper the chocolate? The Internet - and food blogs - are full of detailed instructions on how to temper chocolate - and why. The latter is easy - unless you temper the chocolate, the chocolate-glazed truffles will lack the shine and the snap, both very desirable elements. "How" is trickier and indeed, tempering can be a hit-and-miss. I've followed this simplified seed-technique for tempering. Place about 2/3 of your chopped up chocolate (or, indeed, chocolate pellets - and NOT compound chocolate!) into a heat-proof bowl and place the bowl on top of a small saucepan, where you've brought about 5 cm/2 inches of water into simmer. Let the chocolate melt slowly, stirring as you go along. Remove from the heat, stick a chocolate thermometer into the bowl. Now add the "seed chocolate" or the chocolate you put aside at the beginning in two or three installments and keep stirring the chocolate and cooling it. Once all the added chocolate pellets have melted, you must continue stirring the chocolate, until it registers 28 C on the thermometer - that will probably take about 15-20 minutes of active stirring, so be patient! You can then gently re-heat the chocolate - either over the waterbath, on top of a hot water bottle or by hovering your hair-drier over the chocolate - until it's about 30-31 C (best temperature for working with chocolate). 

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If you like Cosmo (and Sex and the City), then you'll love this drink: Cosmopolitan glögg

Sex and the City (2008)

Miranda Hobbes: [at a bar, drinking Cosmopolitans] 

"Why did we ever stop drinking these?"

Carrie Bradshaw: "Because everyone else started! "

Perhaps it's time to start again?

This delicious and soul-warming winter drink has got its name from the famous Cosmopolitan cocktail. Ok, there's plain vodka and not lemon vodka here, and I haven't used any limes to give the drink an extra zing (though you could, by all means), but the similarities are definitely there. It's officially my favourite mulled drink this year, even if I do go very easy on the vodka most of the time :D

If you like the classic Cosmopolitan, and enjoyed watching Sex and the City, then this drink is for you :)

Cosmo Glögg
(Jõhvikaglögi)
Serves six
Adapted from Finnish-language book "Kotilieden jouluaika: Pikkujoulusta loppiaisen" (2006)



1 litre good-quality cranberry juice drink
2 Tbsp glögg mixture*
100 ml vodka
50 ml orange liqueur (Triple Sec or Cointreau)

To serve:
dried cranberries (aka 'craisins')
orange twist

Bring the juice and glögg mixture into a simmer, then remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 20-30 minutes. Add some sugar to taste, if you really wish so.
Strain and re-heat. Add the spirits and serve in heat-proof glasses.

* I used Meira's glögimauste, which contains finely chopped dried Sevilla orange peel, ginger, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom. You can use any mulled wine or glögg seasoning mix of your choice, if that's not available. 

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Christmas recipes: Swedish meatballs

Serving meatballs at a Christmas table is NOT an Estonian tradition, but it's something I've borrowed from our Swedish neighbours across the sea. They're especially popular with kids (though adults aren't far behind), and as they can be served hot or cold, they're excellent for buffet table. I love them with a generous grating of nutmeg, but you could also use cinnamon, allspice, juniper berries, cumin. Anne of Anne's Food uses white pepper, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom AND allspice, for example.

This recipe was also included in my latest cookbook, Jõulud kodus ("Christmas at Home"), published in Estonian in November 2011.


Swedish meatballs
(Vürtsikad lihapallid)
Serves four or many more, depending on what else is on the table



400 g minced meat
2 Tbsp finely chopped onion
1 Tbsp potato starch or cornflour
1 large egg
1 tsp salt
0.5 tsp freshly ground black pepper
150 ml milk (10 Tbsp)
a generous grating of nutmeg

butter, for frying

Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl, then form into small meatballs (it's easier to do with wet or oiled hands).

Now you've got three ways to proceed (my preference goes for the last one):

1) Melt some butter on a frying pan, brown the meatballs on all sides, then cover the pan with a lid, reduce heat and cook until done.
2) Melt some butter on a frying pan, brown the meatballs on all sides. Transfer the meatballs onto a small tray and finish cooking them in a pre-heated 200 C/400 F oven.
3) Brush a baking sheet with some melted butter or oil, spread meatballs evenly on top. Bake in a pre-heated 220 c/450 F oven for about 15 minutes, until cooked inside and lovely dark golden brown outside.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Snapfish Photo Products

I like any proud parent love taking pictures of my boys, I have lots of pictures on memory cards and in files on the computer but not actually that many that are printed out unless they are school photos or ones that friends have printed for me, I don't really have a reason for this other than that I just don't seem to print them out. I do love looking at them though through the files seeing how much the boys have changed.

I was asked by Snapfish to review some of their personalised gifts, I was given £35 to spend on gifts so I choose a photo-book, a mug and a fridge magnet.

I have never ordered a photo-book before but have always liked the idea of them, It took me ages to decide on the photos to go in the book. But once I had decided on them it was really easy to upload thme to snapfish. Designing a photo-book couldn't be simpler either with step by step instructions. books start from as little at £9.99. The book I choose was priced at £24.99, it has a hardback cover, 20 pages that you can choose the theme of and add as many or as few pictures as you want to, the book is 11" x 8" in size.

The front Cover

Pictures of James as a baby!

I am really impressed with the quality of the photo-book, the pages are lovely and well printed and the pictures look fabulous.

The is the magnet that I had made.

I love it and it is hung on my fridge as I type holding important school notes in place.  Magnets start at £2.99 and would make a perfect stocking filler for any relative. You can obviously choose any photo you wish to put in the magnet, I just chose this one as it is one of my favourites of the boys.

The final item I choose was a mug, I have lots of mugs, probably enough to open up a shop if I'm honest but I always think its nice to have different styles as my mood and fancies vary from day to day, it also depends on the amount or type of drink I want too, as you can probably tell I am quite fussy over my cups!!

You can purchase a mug from Snapfish starting from £7.99, you can choose which photo you want on the mug from one to many different photos. I choose a few of my favourite pictures of the boys. You can also decide if you'd like a coloured background and for the inside of the mug too.

I would highly recommend Snapfish and their products to anyone, their service is great and items are sent out really quickly. My items arrived within 5 days of ordering them. I am about to put in an order for last minute Christmas presents as both my mum and dad have moaned saying they don't have enough pictures of the boys! I give Snapfish a rating of 5/5.

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