4 Festive Activities To Do At Home This Christmas
Why not try these Christmas activity ideas during the holiday season
Activities included:
1. A Great Chocolate Recipe
2. Craft Craft Marbled Tree Baubles
3. Make Mince Pies
4. Bake Christmas Gingerbread Cookies
1.
A Great Chocolate Recipe
Overview
Cooking time: 15 mins, plus 2hrs chilling
Preparation time: 10 mins
Serves: 6 - 8
Ingredients needed for the holiday Cholocate Slab Recipe
- 600g (1lb 5oz) milk chocolate, broken into pieces
- 200g (7oz) white chocolate, broken into pieces
- Selection of chopped nuts, dried fruit, or freeze dried raspberries
Utensils
- Baking tray 33x23cm (13x9in)
- Baking paper
- Wooden spoon
- Large heatproof bowl
- Cocktail stick
Steps
1. Lightly brush a 33x23cm (13x9in) baking tray or shallow tin with oil, then line with baking paper.2. Place the milk chocolate in a large heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Melt the chocolate, stirring as you go.
3. Pour the melted chocolate into the tin, tipping it from side to side to fill the corners.
4. Melt the white chocolate as before, then pour small amounts into the tin and make swirly patterns with a cocktail stick.
5. Scatter with your with your desired toppings, desired toppings, then leave to set then leave to set in the fridge for about 2 hours.
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2.
Craft Marbled Tree Baubles
Overview
Preparation time: 2 minutes per bauble, plus drying time
What you'll need for making Marbled Tree Baubles
- Colourful thread or string
- Scissors
- White Christmas tree baubles in various sizes
- Large bowl
- Nail varnish in 2 colours, used here: orange and lilac
Steps
1. Attach a piece of string to a Christmas tree bauble. Fill a large bowl with enough lukewarm water to completely submerge the bauble.2. Add a few drops from each of the bottles of nail varnish to the water. The nail varnish will form a thin, colourful film on the surface of the water.
3. Now immerse the bauble completely in the bowl, holding the cap and ring to push it under water.
4. A thin layer of nail varnish will coat the bauble. Hang it up to dry for a couple of hours.
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3.
Make Mince Pies
Overview
Prep: approx 20 mins
Prep ahead: the pastry can be made 2 days ahead and kept in the refrigerator, wrapped in cling film, or frozen for up to 8 weeks
Chill: 10 mins
Bake: 10–12 mins
Storage: the pies will keep for 3 days in an airtight container
Makes: 18
Ingredients needed for the holiday Mince Pies recipe
- 600g (1lb 5oz) milk chocolate, broken into pieces
- 1 small cooking apple
- 30g (1oz) butter, melted
- 85g (3oz) sultanas
- 85g (3oz) raisins
- 55g (13⁄4oz) currants
- 45g (11 ⁄2oz) mixed peel, chopped
- 45g (11 ⁄2oz) chopped almonds or hazelnuts
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 1 tbsp brandy or whisky
- 30g (1oz) dark brown muscovado sugar
- 1 small banana, finely diced
- 500g (1lb 2oz) shortcrust pastry, shop-bought
- Plain flour, for dusting
- Icing sugar, for dusting
Utensils
- 7.5cm (3in) round pastry cutter and 6cm (21 ⁄2in) round or shaped cutter fairy cake tin
Steps
1. Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F/Gas 5).2.To make the mincemeat, grate the apple (including the skin) into a large bowl. Add the melted butter, sultanas, raisins, currants, mixed peel, nuts, lemon zest, mixed spice, brandy or whisky, and sugar. Mix until well combined. Add the banana and mix again.
3. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of 2mm (scant 1 ⁄8in) and cut out 18 circles using the larger biscuit cutter. Re-roll the pastry, and cut 18 smaller circles or festive shapes, such as stars.
4. Line fairy cake tins with the larger pastry circles, and place a heaped teaspoon of mincemeat in each case. Top with the smaller circles or shapes.
5. Chill for 10 minutes, then bake for 10–12 minutes or until the pastry is golden.
6. Carefully remove from the tins and cool on a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar to serve.
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4.
Bake Christmas Gingerbread Cookies
Overview
Preparation time: 20 mins, plus chilling
Makes: 24 biscuits
Ingredients needed for Christmas Gingerbread Cookies recipe
- 600g (1lb 5oz) milk chocolate, broken into pieces
- 5 tbsp golden (light corn) syrup (or use dark agave syrup, which has slightly less sugar content)
- 110g (4oz) unrefined soft brown sugar (light or dark)
- 150g (5½oz) unsalted butter or coconut oil
- 350g (12oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 4 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 150g (5½oz) icing (confectioners’) sugar
Utensils
- Saucepan
- Large mixing bowl
- Medium bowl for the icing
- Christmas cookie cutters
- Non-stick baking tray
- Wire rack
- Food storage or disposable piping (pastry) bag
Steps
1. Heat the syrup, sugar and butter in a saucepan for 2–3 minutes until bubbling and melted. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.2. To a large mixing bowl, add the flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices. Stir well, then make a well in the centre and pour in the syrup. Use a wooden spoon to stir until a dough is formed.
3. Wrap in cling film (plastic wrap) and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or freezer for 15 minutes to cool and firm up.
4. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan (200°C/400°F/Gas 6).
5. Take the dough out of the fridge or freezer and use straight away. If you have left it overnight, remove the dough at least 1 hour before use to soften up enough for rolling. Cut it into quarters. Knead it a little in your hands then press into a rough circle.
6. Roll to around 5mm (¼in) in thickness. Use Christmas cookie cutters to make 24 biscuits. Smaller biscuits keep for longer without going soft, especially if you wish to hang them.
If you plan to hang the biscuits, use a chopstick to pierce a hole at the top of each cookie to thread string through once baked.
7. Place each biscuit on a non-stick baking tray leaving at least 2cm (3/4in) between each one, and bake for 10–12 minutes until just starting to go dark brown around the edges. They will still feel very soft when coming out of the oven, however they will quickly harden as they cool. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl, then trickle cold water into the sugar, and keep stirring until you have a loose but firm mixture. Put the icing into a food storage or disposable piping (pastry) bag and cut the end of the piping bag point, no more than 2mm (¹/₁₆in) from the edge; this will give you nice neat writing.
9. Number your biscuits from 1 to 24, and add any decoration you desire. This part is great to get the kids involved.
10. Allow the icing to set before either packing the biscuits into a lovely festive tin, or threading with string and hanging on a foraged branch.
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