DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

    In Scotland, Christmas is known as Nollaig Beag, which means "Little Christmas". The date for Christmas was one of the many holidays chosen to take the place of a pagan holiday. Instead of pagan winter solstice festivals. Christmas was celebrated. Christmas was celebrated as a primarily religious festival during ancient times, and continues to remain a primarily religious celebration today. Christmas was celebrated in Scotland until the Reformation. The celebration of Christmas was banned in Scotland in the 1600's. Protestantism had spread throughout Scotland, and Christmas was considered a Catholic holiday. Prior to the Reformation, Scots did celebrate New Years' Day, called "Hogmanay", which included many characteristics of Christmas.  Hogmanay is still a more important holiday in Scotland today than Christmas. Scottish Christmas Traditions, Decorations, and Foods    The Scots have always had a belief in the supernatural through the ages. These...

How would your kids like a letter from Santa Claus this year? I've designed a simple template for Santa letterhead that can help you make the magic happen. Some ways you could put it to use: Your  Elf On The Shelf  could bring a letter back from his nightly trip to the North Pole. Use as a little extra convincing for curious little ones asking a few too many questions. Include a special note from the big man in your advent calendar. Use as a thank-you note for the milk and cookies on Christmas Eve. Tuck inside your favorite holiday book encouraging kids to go to bed. Attach to one of those "too big to wrap" gifts as a gift tag. Use as a gift certificate for grown-up gifts, like a special date for your husband or an outing with a friend.  DOWNLOAD | Grab the PDF file  here   or the JPEG  here . Print on any color paper. (I used a nice textured cardstock). Do your best at some jolly handwriting and you're done! I wouldn't stress about m...

I'm pretty sure that just about every parent has whipped up a batch of homemade clay at one time or another. I think we've tried just about every clay recipe we've ever run across. Some are better than others and some just have different purposes. We have a play-dough recipe that stays soft and colorful for practically forever and won't dry out a long as you keep it in a zippy bag. We make a new batch from time to time and I think the making is as much fun as the playing when its done. Still, we had a difficult time finding a baker's type clay that we really liked. The typical salt/flour stuff distorts too easily and I wasn't fond of the texture. Some clays didn't dry well... they would crack or get grainy of just plain stink while they baked. Then we found this simple recipe and fell in love. I don't even remember where it came from... I have it scribbled on a piece of paper in the back of my recipe binder. Simple ingredients. It do...

    Christmas  Day in  Ireland  is December 25.     Here the Christmas celebrations last from Christmas Eve to the feast of the Epiphany on January 6, which is referred to as "Little Christmas". Christmas in Ireland is a religious as well as a festive occassion. Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom and hence, Christmas traditions here echo those of the western countries.    In preparation for Christmas, Irish families bake Christmas cakes, puddings and mince pies. Mantelpieces are decorated with  flowers  (such as holly) and  ornaments . A popular tradition here, as in other western nations, is hanging the mistletoe in a doorway and to kiss under it. Before  the holidays , families give gifts (usually  money ) to all those who provide service to them throughout the year, such as  the plumber  or the milkman. Chirstmas shoppers    Homes are cleaned a...

The   bundt cakes are very versatile  , can present in many ways, perhaps one of the most spectacular is as if it were a cupcake, just how you see in the picture. To do this you will have to make your   mini bundt cake in format   and decorate with a curly tip coverage you choose. The recipe for this bundt formatted cupcake is   chocolate toblerone,   chocolate flavor of this chocolate is very particular and that gives a special touch that will be wonderful for all those who you may be fans of this sweet, plus the fruit This is also dry very gently bringing the crispy dough. TobleroneChocolate bundt cake recipe  Ingredients 160g butter 130g caster sugar 140g brown sugar 2 eggs 140 g flour 60 g cocoa 1 teaspoon baking 1 pinch of salt 130 ml evaporated milk 110 g yoghurt 220 g of toblerone Chocolate Ganache ** to decorate 300g couverture chocolate 200 ml cream Directions  Pre...

This year I'm obsessed with glitter. But not just any glitter--German glass glitter. It's actually made from ground up glass, and it is absolutely gorgeous. You can find beautiful glitter glass  here ,  here , and  here . Don't you love how these jingle bells look like they're frosty? There are different grits of glass glitter. Here are examples of fine, medium, and large grit glass glitters. I think for the jingle bells I preferred the medium grit. I saw a glitter-encrusted jingle bell at PB the other day, so I pulled out my jingle bell supply and got to work glittering up every last one. Here's how to glitter a jingle bell or two and then turn them into a wreath. They're great as ornaments, gift toppers, even gift tags. Gorgeous. Glittered Jingle Bell Wreath Tutorial Supplies: *Glitter (in a bowl with plastic spoon) *Jingle balls *Craft spray adhesive *Craft wire *Ribbon and trim 1. Cut a few ...

Five Tips for Better Holiday Photos     This season is the stuff that cameras are made for: holiday lights and decorations, brightly wrapped presents, kids anxiously darting around the tree. Your camera is probably getting excited just thinking about the opportunities you're going to give it in the next few days. So as you get ready for the veritable Olympics of personal digital photography, consider these five tips for taking better pictures. Also, if you're shooting outdoors, don't forget my  advice on winterizing your camera . And since you'll be taking a lot of pictures indoors, be sure to review my  tips for taking better pictures of people  and how to  get better results in difficult lighting .    Finally, before I get into the nitty-gritty of this week's holiday photo tips, I want to wish each of you a warm, safe, and happy holiday. 1. Set Your White Balance There are few lighting situations trickier th...