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Posts Tagged ‘xmas’

With Christmas well on the way I thought that it might be a good idea to actually write a list to the world on some of the craziest presents I have received from various people.

They do seem to get madder and madder with my growing age so perhaps it is a somebody trying to tell me that I am perhaps going a bit mad myself. My Aunt is the one who does this as she always hands out crazy gifts. Of course these crazy gifts are more than welcome to the boring socks that are opened.

Some of these Christmas gifts have even been eco friendly gifts which I cannot say I am a personal fan of but nevertheless some of them have been really quite fun to mess around with, so without further baffling, here is the list of my favourites.

The Fighting Old Geezers

These are simply brilliant and I was very chuffed indeed when I received these as they are such a simple yet brilliant gift to give. This was great as whenever I put these toys down on the table they started to lay into eachother. It was just like watching Hulk Hogan wrestle it out in twenty years time.

The simple USB Chess Game

Of course personally I will never play chess, I thought it was still a cool little gift as the set knew exactly when I made a wrong move

The poor Bed linen gift

Yes I received eco bed linen from my mad aunt and this is the strangest of all the items received as it isn’t even a crazy gift.

Has she actually lost it now altogether? I really cannot wait to see what crazy present she has in store for me this year. After all, most people have that crazy person who loves to give out wacky gifts every year right?

So now its your turn to tell me what have your wackiest and strangest gifts been at Christmas time.

As Christmas is finally on its way I thought I would start to get into the mood by writing about some of the strangest things I have actually been given.

Her mind seems to be drifting further and further away each year as the presents are getting weirder with each passing Christmas. My Aunt is the one who does this as she always hands out crazy gifts. In a way it is a really nice break from opening the boring socks and clothes packages I am so used to getting.

Some of these ethical Christmas Gifts have even been environmentally friendly gifts which I cannot say I am a personal fan of but nevertheless some of them have been really quite fun to mess around with, so without further waffling, here is the list of my favourites.

The Fighting Old Geezers

The great thing about these is that whenever they are switched on you seem to get a small gathering of people each routing for one granddad over the other. Basically you get two toy granddads and once you set them down on the table or wherever they start hitting each other with canes. However I did get a bit of enjoyment out of watching two old men hit eachother with a stick, is that so wrong.

The awsome USB chess game

Of course personally I will never play chess, I thought it was still a cool little gift as the set knew exactly when I made a wrong move

Bed Linen

Yes I received organic bed linen from my mad aunt and this is the strangest of all the items received as it isn’t even a crazy gift.

Has she actually lost it now altogether? I really cannot wait to see what crazy present she has in store for me this year. What will it be?

Do feel free to drop a comment to tell me what your strangest Xmas gifts have been.

Everyone knows that Christmas is the one time of the year where everyone can let their hair down, forgot their worries and enjoy themselves. However, the people responsible for preparing the Christmas meal often do not get a chance to feel the festive joy and sometimes stress levels can go through the roof. Having to make sure portions are correct, everything finishes cooking at exactly the same time, and keeping it all warm are just some of the challenges. Here are three tips then that you can use to help your Christmas meal go smoothly.

Prepare Food Early. You’d be amazed at just how much of the food can be prepared well before the meal, without compromising on quality. Cooked vegetables wont go bad or dry out if you place them into cold water and reheat them before serving. Place into hot water again for a couple of minutes and there are as good as fresh. Most of the sauces will keep just fine if you make them in the morning and then just add some more water and heat up again quickly when you want to serve. Unfortunately its very difficult to pre-cook the turkey as it tends to dry out and tastes better fresh, but you should now have time to cook this.

Lay Table Early. This can be done at the very beginning of the day and saves a lot of hassle. You can lay all the place settings, cutlery and champagne flutes as long as you know how many people you are expecting. You can even place the crackers in position and add decorations such as poinsettias in glass vases.Making sure everything is in place and everyone has everything they need early on saves people complaining they haven’t been given a fork or napkin later on.

Self Serve. If you let people plate up themselves from dishes in the kitchen you save a lot of time and effort. This way you don’t have to lug heavy bowls and serving dishes back and forth, the dining table doesn’t get cluttered up, and people can have exactly what they want. It’s advisable to keep the wine glasses on the table however as trying to juggle food and drink never ends well.

As everyone is well aware, Christmas should be a time of celebration, happiness and family bonding. That said, preparing a Christmas meal for the whole family is often none of these things, and is instead very stressful as the chef of the family will testify to. Having to make sure portions are correct, everything finishes cooking at exactly the same time, and keeping it all warm are just some of the challenges. Lets take a look at some effective ways to reduce Xmas meal time stress.

Prepare Food Early. You’d be amazed at just how much of the food can be prepared well before the meal, without compromising on quality. All the vegetables can be cooked hours in advance and then simply kept in cold water until you serve the food up. Add to hot water for 3 minutes and its ready to serve. If you have a microwave you can make your sauces up early doors and then just heat them up again with a bit of added water when you need them. Don’t try this with the potatoes or turkey however, as these don’t taste so good reheated.

Lay Table Early. This can be done at the very beginning of the day and saves a lot of hassle. You can lay all the place settings, cutlery and champagne flutes as long as you know how many people you are expecting. You can even place the crackers in position and add decorations such as poinsettias in glass vases.Getting all this sorted as early as possible just gives you less to think about later.

Self Serve. If you let people plate up themselves from dishes in the kitchen you save a lot of time and effort. This allows for much more room at the dinner table as its not taken up with serving dishes, and people can choose exactly what they want to eat, without grandma loading your plate up with sprouts. It’s advisable to keep the wine glasses on the table however as trying to juggle food and drink never ends well.