Bah, Humbug!

I have to confess, the Christmas Spirit has been a little bit absent of late. We're having our first Christmas away visiting family since Ho-Tep was born and having settled into our own little lazy holiday routine for the past four years, this year December has been a flurry of activity. Presents have had to be organised waaaaay ahead of time, I've had two kids-worth of social calendars to keep up with as it's been Ho-tep's first year nursery school, plus an active role in the Parent Focus Group there has meant my feet have hardly touched the ground. Oh, and did I mention we were ill with the flu - again! - for a fortnight? So, we've been busy and it's been hard for me to think past the to-do lists and the calendar and the Night-Nurse towards the simple joy of Christmas.

But a few things have happened recently to change all that. Firstly, the kids innocent enthusiasm for the impending celebration has a way of sneaking up on you. Secondly, we spent a lovely afternoon with some friends yesterday eating mince pies and drinking mulled wine while listening to a Bing Crosby Christmas album and generally getting very festive. The colours of the season have also worked their magic -


and finally - it's started snowing!

It started last Thursday and has just got deeper and colder and deeper and colder all weekend.
I've lived in Bathgate for eight years and I've never seen it this cold and snowy in December before. I've been so grateful for my moon boots this last week keeping me solid going up and down the hill, and the kids' thermals and waterproofs have been brilliant at keeping them nice and weatherproofed as we've trekked back and forth through the town going about our business. The way things are going, we may well have our first White Christmas for years. Which is fine, as long as it doesn't mean we spend Christmas Eve stranded in the car on the A1, halfway to Leeds!
The kids have been having a ball, though. Snowball fights, Snowmen, actual snowflakes on the windows in the morning... what more could they want?



Well, maybe some Festive Hot Chocolate to warm them up after a fun afternoon in the snow?

Festive Hot Chocolate - Serves 4.

4 cups soya milk + 2 tbsp
2 heaped tsp cocoa powder
2 heaped tsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp malt extract
50g dark chocolate - about half a bar - broken into small pieces.
Soya cream to taste.
4 candy canes (optional)
Vegan marshmallows (optional)

Method

Combine the milk and chocolate pieces in a medium sized pan over a low heat and stir frequently until the chocolate is melted and the milk is hot. In the meantime, combine cocoa powder, sugar, cinnamon, malt extract and 2 tbsp milk in a cup and stir until a smooth paste. Once your chocolate-milk mixture is hot, turn off the heat and quickly scrape the cocoa-mix paste out of the cup into the pan before whisking it in well. Divide the hot chocolate into 4 cups, top up with a generous glug of soya cream, and add some vegan marshmallows and a candy cane stirrer. We can't get hold of vegan marshmallows so we keep it plain with the candy cane. Brandy, coffee liqueur and Cointreau all make welcome - and adult - additions to this warming cup of good cheer.

Over and out...

Oh, and by the way - I'll post the results of my Puregate giveaway next time, so stay tuned to find out who I'm passing my baton onto...