don't you love...time to play

So I did warn you it would be slow on the blog front for a few weeks.  We have been relaxing and having fun but I thought I would give you a sneak peak at a little of what we have been up to.

The base of one of my Christmas tree pinata's which are going to be centrepieces for the Christmas table.  I am really pleased with how they are turning out.  They are huge so the rest of the table won't need much aside from lots and lots of white.   I plan to stuff them with chocolates, candy canes and a few little treats for the children, more details soon.

This is what real mini gingerbread houses look like made in real homes.   See the tutorial and some much more polished versions at Kelly Moore.

Tip 1: Making a firm royal icing
When you are making the royal icing beat the egg white really stiff.  This was our first attempt, it was to soft and drippy.
Tip 2: Substitute for Graham crackers
All the American tutorials recommend Graham crackers which are not available in Australia. We used Coles "Nice" biscuits and they worked well.

Miss E and I took a drive around the neighbourhood to admire all the Christmas lights.

There is a totally over the top house which we drive by on the way to school.  They have been getting ready for months.  Every day we tried to spot what had changed the day before - a new polar bear on the roof, Santa going down the chimney, several fairy light trees popped up in the garden.  It has been very entertaining.  Last night there were tons of people admiring the house on the pavement, it was festive and friendly and made us feel full of Christmas fun.

Yes, that I Santa on a fishing boat on top of the garage (bottom left) and next to him another Santa appears to have borrowed Cinderella's coach.

Hope you are having fun too.