Getting Ready For Christmas

I'm off work next week. I can't wait. I've barely started my Christmas shopping - I have so much to do. I have a few presents for my immediate family and my best friend's son and I've made my Christmas cake. And that's it. Today, we went to the supermarket and bought a bunch of the dried ingredients for all my Christmas baking.

I made a start today. I have made some meringues (they're OK but I don't much like eggs, and I think they have absorbed the colour from the baking paper as they have a slight brown tinge), which, if I keep them in an airtight container, may keep until Christmas. I also made a batch of fudge. I have failed at this so many times before, and I just cannot do failure at cooking. And I actually think it is starting to set. I'm so proud of myself. This is only a practise batch, though.

So, for Christmas, for the children in the family and my friends' children, I have decided that I will, in addition to buying them a present, give them a bag full of home made sweets and treats. My best friend thinks it's a lovely idea. She even wants one. I have so many ideas of what to put in them. I have recipes for sugar mice and stripy biscuits and Turkish Delight and loads of other yummy sounding things. I just don't know if the bags I plan on getting will be big enough! I am excited that I'm going to be able to decorate the bags with pretty ribbons. I'm actually really excited about it!

I also need to crack on with my mince pies. I made lovely mince pies last year and I was going to make a start on them today. But I left my recipe book with the best ever mince pie recipe in at my
 house and I'm busy baking and cooking at my mums.