Countdown to Christmas: Day 24

Christmas Eve was an insanely busy day, not helped by the fact that I didn't get any sleep last night. But it was all very good festive stuff, and I had an amazing time. (I just wish I hadn't been so tired that I went out in odd shoes at one point, and then broke my glasses in the evening!)

Operation Turkey

First thing in the morning, I headed over to Bury for what me and my mother-in-law were calling Operation Turkey (i.e. I took her to the local farm shop to pick up the turkey she'd ordered). This was an odd mission for a vegetarian to undertake, but she did give me a cup of tea and some homemade mince pies afterwards.

Castlerea Christmas Party

Next stop, Castlerea Care Home for the Christmas Eve party. I took a bottle of Salted Caramel Bailey's and some mince pies, read 'A Visit from St Nicholas' (aka ''Twas the Night Before Christmas'), and then handed out presents for the residents and staff. They had a Christmas quiz after that, but I couldn't stay because I had to fly off to my next thing.

Christmas Drink With a Friend

Me and my friend Poppy met up in Bowker Bank Woods for a festive drink and a chat this afternoon. And yes... yes I did make more mulled apple juice for the occasion.

Walk in the Woods

I had an amazing twilight walk to my parents' house through Blackley Forest this evening, with The Nutcracker Suite in my ears and a rucksack full of presents on my back. Admittedly, all I'd had so far today was mince pies, a little bit of Bailey's and some mulled apple juice (on around 2 hours sleep), but it was a perfect walk all the same.

Salted Caramel Lebkuchen Tea

At my parents' house and enjoying a little bit of calm before the rest of my family arrive, with some Bird and Blend Salted Caramel Lebkuchen tea.

Advent Tea

Behind the final door in my Bird and Blend tea calendar... Peppermint Hot Cocoa!

Advent Jewellery

And behind the penultimate door in my Avon jewellery calendar (because it's got a renegade Door No. 25 for tomorrow)... a candy cane pendant!

And so, the countdown is over and I'm ready for Christmas with my family, and so that's where I'm ending this blog. The wheel of the year will turn again after New Year, when we'll be getting ready to celebrate Imbolc.

Countdown to Christmas: Day 23

Today was a very busy day. Lots to do before tomorrow (which is going to be even busier) and then Christmas Day (also Rob's birthday).

Christmas Rainbow

I spent a big chunk of this afternoon shopping in Cheetham Hill. It was pretty hectic at Manchester Fort today, but literally everyone stopped in their tracks when an already impressive sunset gave way to the most incredible rainbow I've ever seen. It was so vivid, you could make out every single colour, and it was massive as well. I celebrated afterwards with a vegan Turkey & Trimmings Toastie and a Hazelnut Mocha at Costa (because I am a sucker for a festive menu).

Hannah’s Bookshelf Christmas Special

This afternoon was the Hannah's Bookshelf Christmas Special on North Manchester FM, when I talked about a selection of festive books that were published this year.

Christmas Pie

We were able to do one of our Christmas traditions that we had to miss last year... Christmas Pie! It's Christmas, but in a pie. I was so tired from all the preparations that I couldn't be bothered cutting pastry leaves for the top, so I just stuck some holly leaves on there (we didn't eat them though). We watched It's a Wonderful Life and then had salted caramel chocolate tarts for pudding.

Advent Tea

Behind Door No. 23 in my Bird and Blend tea calendar... Mince Pie!

Advent Jewellery

And behind Door No. 23 in my Avon jewellery calendar... silver bow earrings!

Countdown to Christmas: Day 22

Back in Manchester after a wonderful pre-Christmas holiday! Lots to do over the next couple of days though.

More Mulling!

Time to mull some more apple juice.

Bailey’s Wood Winter Solstice Walk

I led a Winter Solstice Walk in the Woods for the Friends of Bailey's Wood today. We talked about seasonal folklore and I, as always, shared tales of Captain Christmas. We also saw some amazing mushrooms and stopped for some mulled apple juice under the silver birch trees.

Mulled Apple Juice

There was still some mulled apple juice left after the walk, so me and Rob had it with a mince pie!

Yule Candle

We lit our Yule candle from Chalice Creations tonight. Frankincense, cinnamon, orange and cedarwood to put us in a very festive mood.

Advent Tea

Behind Door No. 22 in my Bird and Blend tea calendar... Salted Caramel Lebkuchen!

Advent Jewellery

And behind Door No. 22 in my Avon jewellery calendar... a gold Christmas tree pendant!

Countdown to Christmas: Day 21

Our holiday is sadly coming to an end, so we left Lizard this morning to head back north again.

A Trip to Truro

Before we left Cornwall completely, we stopped off in Truro for a bit of Christmas shopping. I also popped into Truro Cathedral to see the Christmas tree, and we had lunch and a mince pie at Coffee Traders.

Chocolate Orange Hot Chocolate

I still can't resist a festive menu, so when we went for a coffee before starting the drive back to Manchester, I had a Chocolate Orange Hot Chocolate instead.

Christmas Donut

Stopped for a break on the long drive back and I thought I'd have a festive donut. It's not quite as pretty as I thought it was when I bought it.

Advent Tea

Behind Door No. 21 in my Bird and Blend tea calendar... Welsh Cake Cwtch!

Advent Jewellery

And behind Door No. 21 in my Avon jewellery calendar... a snowflake pendant!

Countdown to Christmas: Day 20

It's the final day of our stay in Lizard. Tomorrow, we'll be heading back to Manchester.

Lizard

Last day of our stay in our little cottage by the cliff edge. We're not sad though - mostly because next year's stay is already booked!

Raspberry Millionaires Flapjack

Raspberry Millionaires Flapjack from Flapjackery in St Ives.

Christmas Biscuits

Every year when we come to Cornwall, my mother-in-law gives me a festive baking kit to make. This year, it was Christmas shortbread biscuits. We didn't have anything to pipe the icing on, but I don't think I did such a bad job with a teaspoon.

Mulled Apple Juice with Rum

Yet another batch of mulled apple juice! Once again, I used our spice blend from Spicy Chameleon, but this time I added an extra ingredient as well.

Advent Tea

Behind Door No. 20 in my Bird and Blend tea calendar... Let's Be Having Brew!

Advent Jewellery

And behind Door No. 20 in my Avon jewellery calendar... silver moon earrings!

Countdown to Christmas: Day 19

Still on holiday in our little cottage at The Lizard!

Twilight Walk

This evening, we went for a twilight walk to the cliff edge near the cottage. There's some really dramatic rocks there that looked amazing in the evening light (though it got very dark very quickly so we had to be careful).

Rudolph Millionaires Flapjack

Rudolph Millionaires Flapjack from Flapjackery in St Ives!

Christmas Pudding (Stage 2)

So we steamed the Christmas pudding for 8 hours today and had a bit of a surprise when it was done. Turns out, although I have a number of skills, judging how much baking powder to add to plain flour when we don't have any self-raising is not one of them. We have a very puffy pudding.

Tullibardine Whisky

More nice whisky tonight. We had a Tullibardine tasting set, which was another present from my little brother's recent trip to Scotland.

Escape from the Museum

And another escape room game tonight. This time, we escaped from a museum.

The Christmas Appeal

After another successful escape, I settled down to read The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett, accompanied by Candy Cane tea from Bird and Blend.

Advent Tea

Behind Door No. 19 in my Bird and Blend tea calendar... Champagne Supernova (their Manchester blend)!

Advent Jewellery

And behind Door No. 19 in my Avon jewellery calendar... silver loveheart earrings!