Christmas Time Is Here

 I wasn't really ready for Christmas, but it came anyway. And you know what? We had a great time. 

My homemade Christmas crackers (a clever idea by my friend Jasmine) and the aftermath!

We didn't have a big Christmas this year. Just a couple of gatherings with people who meant the most -- family, old friends, and not so old friends. We talked, we laughed, we played (or at least the kids did), and we ATE. Aside from ham which I made three times this year, my Christmas feasting was mostly non-traditional: Sushi and Jap-inspired pasta with friends, Teppanyaki with the in-laws, Dim Sum lunch with my family, and Steamboat with the girls. It was awesome, not the least because we didn't have to endure paying cut-throat prices for seasonal food. I was telling the hubby that we should totally do the reverse during Chinese New Year and have Western food but my old man refused. Hah.

Of course, I couldn't pass up the chance to cook one large Christmas meal, which I managed to do, with some contributions from my Mum. She took care of the Angus Roast Beef and made a salad and some soup, while I whipped up some mash, a jap-insipred pasta, tackled the Ham, and tried something new: a Pork Knuckle. Nothing gets me excited like trying a new recipe, especially when trying to reproduce a family favourite!

After getting directions from the butcher and doing a bit of online research, I decide to follow this recipe. I salted the skin of the knuckle the night before generously as directed. "敢敢来!" said the butcher, so I that's what I did. And behold, the next day, the skin was nice and tight and dry. That's when I started getting excited. I seasoned the meat portion in the morning and added some extra seasoning to the skin before I stuck it in the oven. It cooked nicely for about 1 hr 15 min, then I turned the temp up to 220°C and hoped for the best. It was a bit scary cos I've rarely ever turned my oven that high. Didn't help that it started smoking! (It was from the oil dripping down from the meat and hitting the hot pan.) I gingerly hung around and when the skin turned a lovely golden colour, I decided to pull the knuckle out. On hindsight I probably could have left it in for a while more but I didn't want to risk it. But I was very happy with what I pulled out. The skin had a nice ring to it when I tapped it with a spoon and I knew it was going to be crispy. 

Port knuckle:  When I first put it in the oven and immediately after pulling it out!

Of course, the ultimate test is the taste test, and the verdict? It was really really yummy. (Yay.) The meat was tender and juicy while the skin had a good crunch to it. I'm definitely going to do this again -- and perfect it! It was a really good meal, if I may some myself.

The Christmas Feast

After all that food, we broke from past tradition and did the gift exchange and opening there and then, much to the delight of the children. They were certainly thoroughly spoilt, with gifts from my whole family. My parents and my sis and brother-in-law bought them so many gifts! It was a present bonanza.

Barbie! Her first, from her doting grandparents.

The orange Hot Wheels Lamborghini that he's been telling me about for a couple of weeks. His grandparents had brought him along to pick his own presents.

And the wall track to go with the cars! This has stayed on in my parents' house, to be played with when he's there.

Mr Men and Little Miss complete collections! Yay! A present from my sis and brother-in-law, at my request.

No Christmas is complete without Lego! This from my brother.

Meips favourite present of them all, and really the smallest one she received: a Hello Kitty pouch from my sister. I don't know how I managed to raise a Hello Kitty fan, but the the cat is definitely growing on me!

That was our Christmas, and I think it was a lovely way to end the year. 

Aboard the Christmas Light-Up Tour

For as long as I can remember, I've enjoyed seeing the Christmas light-up down Orchard Road. It was always a highlight of our December holiday when my parents to take a drive down and take photos with the displays. I'm not sure if it's because I've become jaded with age, but I feel the displays by and large are not as impressive as they used to be when I was a child. But twinkly lights, well, they still hold some magic.

My MIL suggested taking the kids out on an open top bus to view the Christmas lights, and I, remembering the good time that we had doing just that a few years ago (when my sister rented a whole bus!), thought it might be fun to repeat the experience with the kids.

I first checked out FunVee and realised that they were offering a FunVee Christmas Light Up Tour, which included sounded pretty extensive, since it included the Orchard Road Light-Up, Marina Light-Up and the Gardens By the Bay Light and Sound Show. Also included were a River Explorer voucher and a $10 dining voucher. But the high prices -- $39.90 for Adults, $30.90 for Children -- threw me. Especially since our main intention was just to see the lights.

In the end, we opted to try the Hippo Bus Christmas Light Up Tour, which I heard about from my friend Del. This was $10 a head for a 30 minute ride, with buses running every half an hour from 7.30pm to 11pm, and was available only on 20 Dec, 21 Dec and 24 Dec. We squeezed it into our full schedule anyway.

On the night of the tour, there was some confusion at the beginning as we couldn't find the ticket booth, which was not at Midpoint Orchard where they said it would be. We rapped on the door of the bus to ask the guide and even he was puzzled. It later turned out that the ticket booth had been shifted to Union House, two buildings away. Fortunately we were still able to squeeze unto the bus though we did end up with seats near the back. Still good for viewing the lights, but not so great for pictures as the metal railings got in the way.

But the best part about being up on top was being up close and personal with the lights. The children tried numerous times to stretch up to grab them, but failed to. Thankfully. The tour did feel rather short though, since half of it was spent travelling along Orchard Boulevard, which was undecorated, to get to Tanglin Mall. The contrast when we rounded the corner was  quite startling. It was all quiet and calm on the parallel street, but once we turned the corner onto Orchard Road, there were lights and people all around. I was also surprised to see that there were plenty of live street performances which were on-going. Guess I haven't been out to town much at night lately!

All too quickly, our ride came to an end. Noey wasn't too pleased about having to get off the bus and at that point, I too thought that it was way too short for the $10 per person that we had to pay. So will I do it again? Probably not, unless the ride is longer. Or if we1 charter a whole bus and take everyone out for a spin. The bus comfortably sits 55 on the upper deck so it might be a fun thing to do for the whole family!

BB Share-A-Gift Food Hamper Delivery

One of the more meaningful activities which we were involved in this Christmas was volunteering for the delivery of food hampers to needy folk under the BB Share-A-Gift Project. 

Volunteering for this project has been on my list for a while and I'm glad that this year, we were finally able to do this. My kids (and I!) certainly live very privileged lives and I'm always thinking I could do more to help the less fortunate among us, and get the kids involved in the process too. So when this opportunity came up, I quickly put ourselves down for this. Figured there's no time like Christmas time to help spread a little cheer too.

I had a little chat with the kids the day before our scheduled date to explain what we would be doing. And any doubts that they didn't understand what it was about were put to rest when my 2-year old, in her prayers that night, remembered to thank God for the fact that "tomorrow we will be going to bring food to poor people because they don't have enough." Her own words, not mine. I was very proud of her. 

So the next morning we woke up bright and early to join a group organised by the BB 19th Company, flagging off and distributing food hampers in Yishun. It was, for me, extra meaningful to be able to volunteer in this group as this is particular company is sponsored by my ex-church, the church I grew up in. In my many years there, I watched many boys grow from wide-eyed young ones into God-serving and fearing men. Quite a number continue to be active in the BB, and it was really heart-warming to see all the familiar faces, albeit looking a lot older than I remembered them to be! I also met a number of old church mates whom I managed to catch up with briefly.

But we were mostly focused on the job at hand. So after a short briefing by Gabriel (who I definitely remember first meeting as a young teenager!), we set off, with our address slips in hand and 10 big bags in the boot. 

Gabriel, who did a good job with the briefing, and even giving out his phone number as a point of contact.

We could opt to have a BB boy follow us, but since we really didn't have much space in our car, we decided to do the deliveries on our own. We brought along our marketing trolley after receiving some tips from friends, and it really came in handy! The kids could get involved pushing the trolley along, though we also gave them a couple of items to carry from time to time so that they could feel like they were helping.

The boys helping to wheel our hamper along to the next lift lobby.

Meips with her bag of milo. She requested to carry it and then promptly burst into tears when we asked her to hand it over to the recipient. Oops!

And the kids, they were good sports. They walked with us, helped press elevator buttons, rap on doors (Meips), and when asked, gamely greeted the recipients with cheerful "Merry Christmas!" greetings and doled out the handshakes (Noey). They certainly helped bring out the smiles! 

In between, they had fun giggling at the sight of a t-shirt that they saw hanging in a tree, peering at a squashed cockroach and waving at stray cats. They did get tired though, after we'd completed deliveries to 7 households, and thereafter took turns to go up with me for the rest of the deliveries while the other rested in the car. In all, we managed to complete deliveries to 9 households out of 10, which we realised after we got back was a pretty good hit rate.

It was a meaningful time which was well spent, only marred by the fact that my poor husband managed to pull a muscle in his back while bending over mid-way through. He was a bit incapacitated thereafter but fortunately he's managed to get it sorted out. Despite that, we all agreed that it was a good experience overall and we hope to be back to do this again next year. I'm also on the lookout for other volunteering opportunities that we can be involved in as a family, so if you know of any, do let me know!

Blessed Christmas!

Joy to the World
The Lord is Come!
Let Earth receive her King!

May the great gift of God be ever present in your thoughts and minds this day. Blessed Christmas, one and all!

Cards for Christmas

This year, I had to put aside all ideas for a homemade Christmas, no thanks to a fair bit of inertia. Whereas I'm usually picking up stuff or planning my gifts in October or November, this year, I waited till we were well into December before I started panicking. So there are no homemade gifts, and I barely managed to get something for everyone on my list. But I still wanted the kids to make a little something for their grandparents, so the kids and I made a couple of cards.

Naomi chose the tapes and cut the lengths, and both she and Noey did some pasting. Of course, they ran off after a while -- right about when they realised it was not a play-with-as-much-tape-as-you-like-session that they thought it was! So I was left to finish the work myself. It's a simple idea, but I think it came out quite prettily. Yes, I'm in love with washi, like the rest of the world!

It has been a busy few weeks for me, and I'm looking forward to winding down with family to see out the year. Well, that's the plan anyway!

From our family to yours, have a wonderful blessed Christmas. In the midst of making merry, let's not forget that He is the reason for the season.

Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
~ Romans 15:13

Our Advent with PlayMo

We've moved right along in December and Christmas is fast approaching! 

I wanted to share a bit about what we're doing for Advent as I've been having fun with this year's Advent calendar (of sorts). Truth be told, I've not been very consistent about it. I'm embarrassed to admit that despite my good intentions, I've been doing the opposite and getting caught up with the things I said I wanted to avoid. Not good at all. It's only in the past week that I've taken some time to re-align myself and I hope be able to see out the rest of the year in good form.

We started Advent a little late as we were away on a cruise during the early part of December. But while we were away, the husband helped me put together a box, out of Lego, naturally.

This was to be our Advent "calendar". How it works is very simple: Every day, I would hide the box and the kids would do a treasure hunt to find it. And what would they find inside? 

A piece of our nativity scene. In this case, it's the angel Gabriel. I selected pieces to represent different parts of the Christmas story. I had this grand plan to build a nativity out of Lego, only to remember that we had purchased a Playmobil nativity after Christmas last year. (Yes, it was on discount!) So rather than re-invent the wheel, we're using the Playmobil set.

So we started with the angel Gabriel who appeared to Mary to tell her of the blessing she was about to receive, to bear a son conceived of the Holy Spirit. The next day the kids were given Mary and we read of her song of praise to the Lord. Following that, they got Joseph and we read the portion of scripture where Joseph was troubled and the angel visits. And so on.

I used the following suggested readings from a BSF handout guide, expanding and using other passages to supplement these as appropriate:

Suggested reading of the Christmas story

• A Saviour King is Promised -- Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7; Jeremiah 23:5; Micah 5:2-5a
• The Angel Visits Mary -- Luke 1:26-38
• The Angel Visits Joseph -- Matthew 1:18-25
• The Trip to Bethlehem and Stable Lodging -- Luke 2:1-7
• The Christ Child is Born --  Luke 2:6-7
• The Angels Visit the Shepherds -- Luke 2:8-14
• The Shepherds Visit the Manger -- Luke 2: 15-18
• The Wise Men Travel to Jerusalem -- Matthew 2:1-8
• The Wise Men Worship the Christ Child -- Matthew 2:9-12
• The Trip to Egypt -- Matthew 2:13-15

Some of the truths to share with the children from these readings

• Christmas is the day we celebrate the Lord Jesus' birthday
• Long ago, God promised to send a Saviour King
• God promised that the Saviour King would be born in Bethlehem
• God always keeps His promises
• Christmas is the time God kept His promise to send a Saviour
• Mary was the Lord Jesus' mother, but His Father was the Almighty God in heaven
• God shows people how to find the Lord Jesus
• God always knows what is best for His people

Like I said, I have not been very consistent, but the kids have done a good job reminding me about their "Playmo box" as they called it, and asking me to get it ready for them to hunt down. Our nativity has thus filled out nicely.

There are still a few pieces to go but we're nearly there. As for my kids, I think they've learnt something along the way too. They've enjoyed messing around with the pieces, for sure!

Looking forward to Christmas!

The Lollibox Christmas Hamper {+ Coupon Code}

It's the school holidays! Time to put aside the books, let your hair down, get out and just have fun. Unfortunately, it's been WET. Hello December.

We've still managed to be out and about a bit but some days, we just holed up and did some art and craft. Luckily for me, I had the help of the Lollibox Christmas Hamper, which made it that much easier for me to keep the kids occupied! 

What's Lollibox, you ask? In a nutshell, it is a subscription-based monthly craft box service. Do check out my previous review here, where this is explained in greater detail. In addition to their monthly craft boxes, Lollibox also provides a host of different products and services to meet the needs of busy parents while providing kids with engaging craft activities to enjoy. One such product is the Lollibox Christmas Hamper. I would term this a bumper edition Lollibox, since it comes with a regular Lollibox and more other materials and craft projects. The kids' eyes more than lit up when they saw this and they couldn't wait to get started.

I want to open this NOW!

The Lollibox Christmas Hamper contains quite a bit of stuff, namely:

• 1 x Lollibox (various themes available)
• Storage caddy
• Holly Christmas Wooden Door Hanger Set
• 1 x Christmas Sticker Book
• 3M Kids Scissors
• Clag Kids PVA glue (37ml)
• 12-pc Colour Pencil Set
• 12-pc Marker Set

I was pleased to see this storage caddy. Should come in useful!

We pried open the Lollibox first and found that it was the Little Sports Champion theme. We decided to start with the Shoot, Score and Win craft pack, which was to create our own table soccer game. Kids get to create their own table top soccer game which they can then play using their fingers. Noey likes anything that involves painting so he started with much enthusiasm. I modified the instructions a bit as we went along. Where we were supposed to paint white lines on the green pitch, I used washi tape to mark out the lines before Noey started painting. Mainly cos I'm anal and un-straight lines would bother me a great deal! So I picked a less sticky roll of tape and used that. It peeled off nicely after that and I was able to use the opportunity to teach Noey as he was peeling how to do it slowly and extra carefully. And it looked great!

Later we also modified the netting as Noey objected to the original design which was open at the back. He insisted it had to be closed, so Mummy to the rescue to change things up again! Good thing there was plenty of material for us to work with.

The items in the Shoot, Score & Win pack, with the items provided.

Painting is serious work. You can find see parts of my blue-spotted washi tape which I used to outline the pitch, on the painted portions and under the green.

Painting and peeling done, it's time of attach the net! The washi tape came off rather nicely and where it didn't we used white paint provided to patch it up.

Painting his soccer ball black. He was supposed to paint black spots on the ball but, well. I gave him a skewer so that it would be easier for him to manage.

Enjoying some shooting fun! 

On a separate occasion, we attempted the Holly Christmas Wooden Door Hanger Set. As with all craft projects in this hamper, everything you need is provided. I didn't manage to take a picture before the kids attacked this but in the set were a wooden door hanger, a strip of paints, a paintbrush and two packs of stickers and sequins for decorating.

What do you do when you have two kids but only one craft set? You improvise! The Holly Christmas Door Hanger Set conveniently came in a nice cardboard carton so… I traced the door hanger out on the back of the carton and cut another one out for Meips. There were plenty of craft materials to go around, though I did cut out an extra Christmas tree from my own foam sheet stash so that it fit with the theme.

Both of them getting in the act with the paints.

It's time to get a-gluing!

The finished door hangers! I helped with the glitter glue for their names (we used the glitter glue from the trophy craft in the Little Sports Champion Lollibox) but otherwise they were able to manage on their own.

We've got a few more crafts to complete, including a Christmas wobbler and a trophy and medal to decorate. At least I know the kids will be kept busy when we're stuck indoors! Lollibox allows crafting with convenience and I think this Christmas hamper would make a good gift too. 

A small bonus for readers of this blog: You can get $10 off the Lollibox Christmas Hamper with the code "SMALL10"! Last date for Christmas orders is 20 Dec so don't wait too long to get it!

And if you're looking to add something to your Christmas party this year that's specially for the kids, here's a public service announcement to let you know that Lollibox has rolled out a Christmas Craft Buffet service, where kids can create unlimited Christmas crafts like reindeers, snowmen, Santa Claus and more. More details in the picture below.

Have a crafty Christmas!

*The Lollibox Christmas Hamper was provided to us for the purposes of this review. All crafting fun and opinions are ours!

Five Priorities This Christmas

Now that we're approaching end-November, there's a tingle in the air that, coupled with the wet weather around us, makes it clear that Christmas is coming!

Our tree is up and I'm looking forward to soaking in the festivities, reflecting on the year gone by and celebrating the reason for the season. Christmas is significantly more than just a  festive holiday to us as Christians and I appreciate the opportunity to turn our focus to the great gift we have been given with the birth of the Saviour. With this in mind, here are five words which encapsulate my priorities this Christmas season:

1. Teach

The children are of an age where they are both able to understand and get excited about Christmas, and it's important to me that they are excited about the right reasons, and not just the presents that they are going to get or the goodies that they are going to eat. Teaching the kids the Christmas story is something I'm greatly looking forward to. It's not that they don't know it. We've read the stories many times in their children's bible and Noey has certainly memorised chunks of it, thanks to the fact that his kindy year-end concert was on the nativity. But Christmas is always a good time to re-tell the tale and reinforce some truths. I've come across some good tips on this which I will be sharing next week.

2. Share

Of all the things we are called to share, surely it must be the sharing of the good news of Christ that is the most important. And what better time than this! I admit I often feel a bit hesitant to say anything for fear of imposing, but I've told myself that I must just start talking, for if everyone was like me, no one would hear.

It is also an opportunity to share with the less-fortunate in our midst, and we're looking forward to supporting The Boys' Brigade Share-A-Gift project again this year, as we did last year. They've started collecting donations at various NTUC Fairprice, Xtra and Finest outlets. Not all, so do check out the donation locations on their website and support this worthwhile cause. 

3. Love

All you need is love, they say. I think it'd be more so for me now when I have two children on my hands all day everyday for 6 weeks! More patience and love would go a long way, me thinks. Love too, for our neighbours and those around us. So I'm going to be enlisting the kids to write notes and make little gifts for friends and family, but also to spread a little cheer around to those we know and those we don't, as inspired by this little kindness adventure. I'm quite excited about that -- and the fact that it's a good excuse to get Noey to do some writing practice!

4. Reflect

Reflecting is much overlooked with our constant need - ok, my constant need - to be on the go. I admittedly don't stop to reflect often enough, but the end of the year is a good time to take stock, and be thankful for what we've been blessed with. And one great occasion we've found to do this is 冬至 (i.e. the Winter Solstice). Usually a few days before Christmas, it's a good time to sit down as a family and think about what we have to be thankful for. And yes, eat 汤圆! It's a little tradition we have and I'm looking forward to it again this year.

5. Give

Giving, I think, not just with our money but with our time and effort. Another way in which we will be supporting the Boys' Brigade Share-A-Gift project is by volunteering with friend to deliver the food hampers to the needy. I signed up last year but alas, the kids fell ill before then and we were not able to take part. So we're trying again this year.

We're also going to be participating in #GivingTuesdaySG, happening on December 3! A campaign to create a national day of giving at the start of the annual year-end holiday season, it celebrates and encourages charitable activities that support non-profit organisations. Not heard about it? Read more about it here. There are plenty of campaigns and initiatives by non-profits and corporates we'll be checking out to try to do our part.

And as an extra bonus, as one of my small ways of giving back, I'm also going to be doing a little giving right here in the form of some giveaways. Yes, starting this Tuesday, I'm going to be doing 4 GIVEAWAYS from now till Christmas, one for every week.

Some of these have been kindly sponsored by the wonderful retailers and business owners that I've been working with, but one will be sponsored by yours truly, to thank you all for being such wonderful readers and for supporting this blog. The truth is, I sacrifice a lot of sleep to write, since it's pretty much impossible to write anything meaningful while the kids are awake. But I do it because I genuinely enjoy it. I've always been the journalling kind and this space offers me the perfect outlet. I started out writing just for myself, but I met others and received so much in return. Not just Items and opportunities for my family, which I greatly appreciate, but more than that, friendships, especially with other Mums, both bloggers and readers. It's helped me keep my social circle vibrant even though I'm mostly stuck at home with two children, and I'm thankful for that. Who says you can't make good friends online huh!

So yes, I'm excited to be giving back and I hope you are! Do come back every week to see what we've got in store for you. (It's not huge -- sorry, not big enough a blog for that! -- but I hope to have a little something for everyone.)

And with all that, I think I'm ready for Christmas! 

 

Linking up with: 

So this is Christmas...

Just like that, Christmas is behind us and we are into the last days of 2012.

It felt a bit frenetic over the Eve of Christmas Eve, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day -- (That was a mouthful, wasn't it?) --  when we squeezed in meet-ups with friends and family alike. But in truth, I thrive on that kind of thing. Much to the husband's dismay, I should add. There's nothing I love more than a good party.

This year's Christmas was a teeny weeny bit anti-climatic for me because I didn't get to cook for Christmas Dinner. Being able to whip up my Beef Roast and sides is actually one of the highlights of Christmas for me. Those grandmothers who love to cook up a fill a whole table with food and exhort you to "Eat! Eat more!"? That's going to be me when it's my turn to be a Grandma! This year's annual family Christmas Dinner was scuppered by the fact that we didn't know till rather late in the day if my brother would be able to join us for Christmas Dinner. So when it turned out that he would be amiable on Christmas Eve after all, my Dad decided that we should all head out for dinner instead. 

But I did have the opportunity to try a new recipe for a ham this year though. Thanks to Jasmine's recommendation, I took the plunge and tried out Nigella Lawson's recipe for Ham in Coca Cola. Yes, you heard that right. I cooked a huge Gammon Ham in Coca Cola.

I was rather nervous the entire time it was stewing on the stove since there was no way I could rehearse this 3kg hunk of ham that I had committed to bring to a family party. But you know what? It turned out AMAZING. The ham had that sweetness from the coke, and the meat was tender and juicy.  I highly recommend this recipe! I was so happy with it, I repeated it for my family on Christmas Day. It really isn't too difficult, though you must get hold of an uncooked Gammon Ham. (I got mine from Swiss Butchery.)

If anyone is interested to try this out, I've reproduced Nigella's recipe below:

Ham in Coca Cola

Ingredients:

2 kg gammon ham (mild cure)
1 onion, peeled and cut in half
2 litres coca-cola
1 handful cloves
1 tablespoon black treacle
2 teaspoons english mustard powder
2 tablespoons demerara sugar

Method:

1. Mild-cure gammon doesn't need soaking, but if you know that you're dealing with a salty piece, then put it in a pan covered with cold water, bring to the boil, then tip into a colander in the sink and start from here; otherwise, put the gammon in a pan, skin-side down if it fits like that, add the onion, then pour over the Coke.

2. Bring to the boil, reduce to a good simmer, put the lid on, though not tightly, and cook for just under 2½ hours. If your joint is larger or smaller, work out timing by reckoning on an hour per kilo, remembering that it's going to get a quick blast in the oven later. But do take into account that if the gammon's been in the fridge right up to the moment you cook it, you will have to give it a good 15 minutes or so extra so that the interior is properly cooked.

3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 240°C/gas mark 9.

4. When the ham's had its time (and ham it is, now it's cooked, though it's true Americans call it ham from its uncooked state) take it out of the pan and let cool a little for ease of handling. (Indeed, you can let it cool completely then finish off the cooking at some later stage if you want.) Then remove the skin, leaving a thin layer of fat. Score the fat with a sharp knife to make fairly large diamond shapes, and stud each diamond with a clove. Then carefully spread the treacle over the bark-budded skin, taking care not to dislodge the cloves. Gently pat the mustard and sugar onto the sticky fat.

5. Cook in a foil-lined roasting tin for approximately 10 minutes or until the glaze is burnished and bubbly.

6. Should you want to do the braising stage in advance and then let the ham cool, clove and glaze it and give it 30-40 minutes, from room temperature, at 180°C/gas mark 4, turning up the heat towards the end if you think it needs it.

*************

My other favourite part of Christmas is seeing my kids tear into all their presents. They are very blessed little kids and our trees was absolutely flooded with presents, waiting to be opened on Christmas Day. We carted most of the presents over to my sister's house for the annual gift-opening tradition, reserving just a few at home just so the kids could have some paper-ripping fun in the morning, and boy, did they enjoy it!

And when it came time to open all their presents proper, they were so completely distracted as they flitted from one item to another! It was just too much for their little minds to compute. Haha. We manage to prevent them from getting right into all the presents at once and plan to stash most of them away to dole out at the right moment throughout the year!

That was our Christmas. And now there's the New Year to look forward to!  

Blessed Christmas One & All

It's Christmas morning and I'm sitting with the Christmas music playing, waiting for the kids to wake up.

My ham is baking in the oven, and on the counter, a fruit cake sits cooling off, ready to be packed asa gift for my Dad. 

Life is good. And surprisingly peaceful!

It's been a tiring lead-up to Christmas this year. There's been the daily buzz of activity, but what has taken its toll are the long weeks of mostly single parenting on my part as the husband was consumed by work. He's finally done, just in time for Christmas, and everything is right with the world now. The kids have certainly missed their Daddy and I've certainly missed him too.

Christmas is a time for family, and I plan to be spending it with mine. 

Above all, however, Christmas is about Christ. And we all plan to be celebrating Him on this day too. 

Wishing one and all a Blessed Christmas.

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

~Isaiah 9:6

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

One of the activities I had put down on our Advent list was to go play with Snow.

Of course, here in the tropics, there isn't any real snow to speak of. Oh no. But here in Singapore, we don't let that stop us. In true Singapore-style, we churn it our ourselves. Only it isn't actually snow in this case, but stage snow -- a rather dense foam blown out by snow blowers.

These days, I realise that there are a few venues where you can get to play with "snow" during this festive period -- like City Square Mall and Anchorpoint, for example -- but I believe the original snow event at Tanglin Mall is still the best one. They've had it for as long as I can remember, and after so many years, they now have it down pat.

It starts off with an avalanche. What is that, you ask? It's two HUGE tubes which pump out a whole load of foam all over the floor. Noey hesitated and edged away at first, when it started pouring out. Then he completely surprised me by jumping right in! And there was no turning back after that!

Completely "snowed" in!  The foam reached almost up to chest height for him.

Really completely loving his first foam party.

After 15 mins, the snow comes raining down! I counted at least 7 snow machines going at the same time, so you can imagine how much there was! It really is a sight to behold.

It's snowing!

At this point, most of the adults can't help themselves -- they jump in too for pictures and just to have some fun. I get dragged in by Noey, but I was kind of expecting it, so I go in willingly. Plus he was such a good time, I really couldn't say no.

Our foamed-up feet!

Trying to catch some of the "snow".

Where was Nomi the whole time, you ask? Watching from the sidelines and determinedly trying to stay AWAY from the foam. Definitely not a fan. Yet, anyway.

Please, none of that fake snow for me!

It was all over in about half an hour. We came prepared, and after a quick wash at the taps conveniently located along the walkway outside Starbucks and a quick change of clothes, Noey was clean and dry enough to get into the car. Frankly, I was really pleasantly surprised by how much he enjoyed it. He didn't fuss about the foam getting in his hair, and even when the stuff got on his face, he didn't freak out, but instead, calmly sought me out to wipe his face, or helped himself by wiping his face on my clothes. (Sigh.)

It was a messy affair, but totally worth it for the smile it put on Noey's face. We parents are all suckers that way.

My little snow man in the making.

Till we can bring them to experience the real thing, this will have to do.

The Snow/Foam Party will be on till 1 Jan 2013, with the Avalanche from 7.30pm-7.45pm, and Snow from 7.45pm-8pm daily at Tanglin Mall. On weekends, there is an extra slot with Avalanche from 8.30pm and Snow from 8.45pm-9pm.

I doubt I'll be checking back into this space before Christmas, so in the event that I don't get another opportunity, here's wishing everyone a Blessed Christmas! God bless.

Have a Heart, Share-A-Gift

I previously wrote about how we are hoping to support the Boys' Brigade Share-A-Gift Project this Christmas.

I took the kids along to NTUC Finest at Bukit Timah Plaza two weeks ago to buy food to donate as part of our contribution to this cause. Noey was full of questions -- What does "needy" mean? Why can't they buy their own food? -- and it was a good opportunity to explain why we were doing this. He accepted it easily enough.

And when we got to the supermarket, we quickly got down to work. I got a basket as I wanted the kids to be able to help fill it up, and we headed straight for the canned food section. I tried to show Noey what the halal symbol looked like, and let him do the choosing.

Walking the aisles, we added some instant noodles, rice, and condiments to our basket. We also stopped by the biscuits and decided to pick some to donate. In went some Ritz, Marie Biscuits and some Fancy Gems (ie. the little biscuits with the coloured sugar bits on top). I hope they make some other children happy. Nomi got most excited after we added the biscuits to our basket and kept trying to dig them out, only to be stopped by Gor-gor.

"No, Mei-mei, they are not for eating. They are for other people!" was Noey's refrain. I'm glad he got it.

To round off our purchases, I asked Noey to pick out a beverage, and he chose this: his favourite Chrysanthemum drink that he usually gets in church.

Our basket full, we paid for our purchases then trotted them over to the donation box. The poor boys manning the collection point really looked rather bored and tired when we turned up -- we were there in the evening -- so I'm glad we gave them something to do.

I had really hoped to follow up this donation exercise with the delivery of food hampers to the actual recipients, so that the kids could see where their donated food actually went. But both kids came down with fevers just before our scheduled date on the 8 Dec, so we had to give it a miss. Nomi continued to be sick for more than a week, putting paid to most of our activities. Instead, we decided to concentrate our efforts on donating more food for distribution to the needy.

We will be going back for our third round today.

Time is running short as the Project ends on 19 Dec and the target for donations has still not been met. They are still urgently short of halal canned food, milo and cooking oil, amongst others! You can do your part today by dropping off the food and provisions at the collection points (See here for details of donation locations) or even by making an online donation. Let's do our part to give those who need it some Christmas cheer during this festive period, shall we?

Cook: Potato Gratin

Christmas dinner is one of my favourite meals, not just to eat, but also to cook. Yes, it takes me hours, but nothing beats the satisfaction of having the table set with festive delights. Roast Beef! Ham! Turkey! Mmmm.

Today I thought I'd share a recipe for something new that I'm looking to put on the Christmas menu this year -- Potato Gratin. 

I'm always on the lookout for good side dishes, and potato is something that just never fails, especially when paired with meats. My usual staple is Mashed Potato, and I've done many versions of this. I made Potato Gratin once on a whim because I wanted something different, and it turned out so well that the husband immediately asked me to make it again. I agreed, mainly because it's really quite easy, and that creaminess and cheese were a hit with me too.

Here's how you do it:

Potato Gratin
(Serves 6 as a side)

Ingredients:

4 Russet Potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (between 0.5cm-1cm thick)
30g Butter, unsalted 
200ml Milk
200ml Cooking Cream
1 Bay Leaf 
2 cloves of Garlic, peeled and finely sliced 
Salt and Pepper, to taste
150g Cheddar Cheese, shredded
Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Method:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 200°C.

2. Use some of the butter to oil an appropriately sized baking dish and set aside.

3. In a large saucepan, heat the milk, cooking cream, garlic, and bay leaf together with the potato slices. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5-10 mins, till the potatoes are half-cooked (i.e. almost soft). Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.

4. Scoop out the potato slices into the buttered baking dish. You don't have to line up the pieces but try to spread them out fairly evenly. Remove the bay leaf and pour the milk and cream mixture over the potatoes.

5. Cover the mixture with cheddar cheese and dot with remaining butter. You can also sprinkle with some parmesan cheese if you like.

6. Put the baking dish in the oven and cook till the top is bubbly and browned. This should take about 15 mins.

7. Remove from the oven and let the dish stand for about 10-15 mins before serving.

Cooking Notes:

♥ If there is too much liquid, add enough to just cover the potatoes with the tops of the potato slices exposed. This will ensure effective browning. 

This post is part of the Festive Food Blog Train hosted by DinoMama.

Up next is NerdyMum who will be sharing her recipe for Mulled Wine tomorrow.

The NerdyMum.com blog is about the crazy things sleep deprivation can make one do. It pretends to cover topics on parenting, marriage, cooking and science but mainly it’s a portal disguised to hide the daily rants a woman is entitled to. Hop on over to check it out.