CHRISTMAS CRACKERS AND HOW TO MAKE THEM FOR A FESTIVE HOLIDAY SUPRISE!!

Now I know that some of you may not know exactly what a Christmas cracker is or what it does, but let me start out by assuring you that it is not something that you can spread cheese on and eat! Well, you could, but you might regret it a short while after....
Perhaps not as well known in the United States. , The humble Christmas cracker has been a staple ingredient in every household in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia since time immemorial. They are loved by children and adults alike and are always the first part of the traditional Christmas dinner every year.

They are basically a party favor, a small cylindrical cardboard tube, wrapped in festive paper and filled with a small prize, a paper hat and usually an awful joke. There is a long, thin peice of paper that runs through the cracker that, when broken, produces a loud snapping sound, or "crack"-hence the name. The idea is that you hold one end and offer the other to someone else at the table and then proceed to play a mini "tug-of-war" with each other, until the cracker "cracks" in two.

These can be bought in varying degrees of quality. At the bottom of the pile there are the bargain basement cheap ones that will most likely fail to produce any form of noise except a groan from the pullers and a soft swear from the person who paid for them. The other end of the scale sees opulence personified in the form of 6 hand crafted crackers costing upwards of $5000, containing such prizes as gold watches, pearl earrings and diamond rings-I kid you not!

How to make Christmas Crackers

   It is easy, quick and fun to make your very own Christmas crackers, and kids absolutely love it! All you need is a few toilet rolls, some fancy Christmas paper, a roll of ribbon, glue and some prizes to go inside. Even the snappers can be bought over the internet if you aren't able to find them at your local arts and crafts store. I have found a great website called Old English Crackers.com, which is an entire website devoted to the humble Christmas Cracker and all the information you need on how to make Christmas crackers this year. They even sell all the materials you will need to bring gasps of surprise from your guests this season as they take their seats at the dinner table.
   Traditionally, you get to choose whom you pull the cracker with and whoever ends up with the larger half after the "bang", keeps the prize. It is then customary for the winner to pull their cracker with the same person, in order to give them a sporting chance at winning something back. Soon enough, everyone at the table is wearing a paper hat, and has recited the groan-inducing corny joke found in their cracker, won a prize and is ow offering to trade their prize with the person next to them.
   So go ahead and have a go at making your very own Christmas crackers this season for the personal touch to the Christmas table, and bring a touch of old English tradition into your home.

VANILLA PEACH COFFEE CAKE!!

Did you know that the fruit this summer is supposed to be the best it has been in years? Apparently, fruit loves hot weather. I personally have eaten more peaches and cherries this summer than I have in about five years just for that reason. As I have been a little overzealous lately buying peaches and cherries I found myself with a few peaches that were going to be too ripe for me to eat on the same day. That is unless I wanted to have them for every meal plus a few snacks. So I decided to make this recipe for Vanilla Peach Coffee Cake. Vanilla Peach Coffee Cake Adapted from Allrecipes.com Batter: 2 eggs 1 C milk 1/2 C oil 1 tsp. vanilla 1/2 C sour cream 3 C flour 1 C sugar 1 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. baking soda Topping: 5 or 6 large peaches, diced. 3 Tbsp. butter, melted 11/4 C brown sugar 1Tbsp. cinnamon 2 tsp. nutmeg 4 Tbsp. flour Vanilla Icing: 1 Tbsp. butter 1 tsp

DIY GLASS CHRISTMAS TREES!

This diy comes from www.alderberryhill.blogspot.com . These are very cool and look like an upper end designer look. Start your Christmas decor now and you will have time to relax later when the holidays do arrive! Glass Christmas Trees Happy Weekend Everyone! Christmas crafting is in full swing for everyone by now and I am enjoying the crafting season as well. I love the color turquoise and am trying to work it into my Christmas decor. Here is my latest turquoise creation. Glass Christmas Trees And here is how I put them together. What you will need for the project: Styrofoam cones or stack trees. Craft paint Brush Glue gun Glue sticks Glass bowl fillers (the ones that are flat on the bottom). The process is so simple. Paint the styrofoam, let dry Glue on the glass I glued the glass on using a brick laying technique. The second row started at the seam of two glass pieces, not directly above the one below it. Sometimes

PRESENT TOPIARY TO DECORATE YOUR PORCH AND FRONT DOOR!

This comes from www.thatvillagehouse.blogspot.com . I made something similar a couple years ago, without the pots. It was about 6 feet high. I got the inspiration from a Chirstmas dectoration that we bought at Target. This is a very good idea and make a great enterance to your home. So here's a little something to thing about for next year. Before you know it December will be here again. You could also do something like this for an Easter theme. Enjoy! A Merry Welcome! So here is my first Christmas project for the year!! I saw something similar at our church's Advent celebration & pretty much straight up copied it. I couldn't help it. It was love at first sight! I plan to make a 2nd stack to go on the other side of my door, so I'm not completely done, but I thought I would share it with you anyway. I started with 3 different sized boxes...9, 12 & 14 inch cubes. I used an ice pick to punch holes in each of them so that I could run

DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

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